Amber & Comforter Chameleon

Woody has many, many super powers, but among them is his ability to match duvet covers with amazing and handsome ease.

See for example how his ears and points and nose took on a pink glow when we lived in Madison and had a pink duvet?

Could it possibly be the same cat who looks downright tan against the back drop of our new duvet and comforter, a wonderful and much used gift from my mom and dad?

Without those gorgeous blue eyes, he would be invisible.

Amber & Medical Miracle

Look how much better my fashingles are!

I mean, my head still hurts, and it stings and throbs like it was on fire and somebody was punching me in the nose simultaneously, but it did not cross the line and is clearly getting drier (eww) and smaller.

Thank you, antiviral drugs.

Amber & Good Ridiculous vs. Bad Ridiculous

What incredibly ridiculous reason could make me go out in the middle of a blizzard to see my doctor, 150 blocks away?

 

Face shingles.

If it crosses that line, I need to have my doctor paged.  Eye danger!

Ridiculous.  But here's some ridiculous in a good way for balance.

Eyeballs of both kinds of ridiculous, herewith.

Amber & Black-Eyed Ambers

Also, why do I have black eyes today?  Not the usual black circles under the eyes (I know why I get those), but really dark circles around my eyes, specifically darkest on the bridge of my nose?

They're even darker than they look there--the Photobooth flash really washes them out.

Possible theory:

Amber & Holiday Eyes

I am just zooming through these preparations.

Amber & Tiggy Pooja

It's that time of year again (or, really, the first time since this is the first ever observance) to honor and devote ourselves to the grace and majesty of the Ultimate Dainty Paw with Tiggy Pooja.

There are so many fantastic stories about Tiggy to be retold on her special day.  We can remember the harrowing tale of how Tiggy did battle with the metallic silver thread, protecting our household from really bad fashion choices.  And then there is the tale about how gravity has no effect on Tiggy and so she grew to be the size of a mountain once to protect us during our journey through the dark, cold lands of Wisconsin.  (For much of that journey we actually rode on Tiggy's back, or at least I rested my head on it.)

She was so big then!  But she also has the power to be as small as a mouse-- almost invisible if the challenge (the vacuum cleaner) calls for it.

Tiggy knows not every battle needs to be fought.  Sometimes, when your brother wants to chew on your butt, you are better off just going in the other room.  It's the lesson of Tiggy's non-violence.

Also, for Tiggy Pooja, we listen to alot of David Bowie because, in certain lights, Tiggy, too, knows the magic of the green and blue eyes.

For Tiggy Pooja, we spend most of the day (except the laundry offering) at home.  Tiggy frequently reminds us that the home is where her heart is.  How badly do we  really need to leave the house?  With our bag?

Tiggy is small, but full of love.  She likes her chest rubs in the morning, she likes to sit on the toilet to make sure I am surviving the horrors of the shower, and she often purrs just being next to me.  I love her, and I am thankful for the chance to honor her on her special kitty holiday.

Amber & Mysteries of Life

How is it that this guy,...

...who seems to be pretty much the same (still tiny pee clumps, but all he wants to do is play), manages to hit the Shift+Command+8 keys every time he walks across the keyboard?

Is his eyesight that bad?  Or does he like the world more abstract?  Zoom:

Unzoomed:

Amber & 99¢ Well Spent.

See?

I need something to keep me happy until I get the rest saved.

Amber & Six Things At 6 am

1.  What can possibly happen when you are on bed rest and leave your chewy beast alone with two rolls of paper towels?

Shreddy mayhem.  What are those blurs under the drying rack?  Why that is Ginger and Woody rolling around with crazy head in piles of shreds.

2.  Not being as active as I usualy am, I was thrilled to discover this use of my skills while prone.

I am going to excel at this.  I wonder how to interpret Mrs. Tiggy Winkle while asleep.  I bet Miss Tiggy Winkle can help me.

3.  Why am I craving a chili dog at 6 am?

(Photo of my hertiage food, a Capitol Lunch dog, by Candice)

4.  Who knew some kitties had boggled eyes?

5.  What did we do when we had insomnia before LOLcats?

6.  Remember when we went to the River House last year and Pickles was the bravest and came outside to explore before any of the other cats?  Think he'll be that brave again this year?

Amber & Trend Smooshing

Who could have foreseen this latest trend in owner-and-cat photography?

The one-eyed love shot?

Oh, cat-allergic-readers, what you miss out on.  There's nothing like smooshing an eye into a cat.

Amber & Two Unbirthdays

Maybe I wore too much mascara today?

Well, I had to be fancy for this guy's pre-birthday party!

(The one in the pink shirt, not the one in the strawberry.) His real birthday is Friday, but we are observing on a different calendar where we have drinks tonight.

Also, I didn't post about this guy's birthday last week.

You can totally see where I got my nose from.

Amber & Catch 22.5

So, I have a weird problem inside the eyelid part sort of way in the corner of my right eye.  And the doctor said it looked like a stye and gave me some eye drops.  But it's gotten more painful and the eye drops made it swell way up and the lower eyelid was sort of folded down when I woke up this morning.  Gross.

And right now it hurts like crazy, but it doesn't look that weird from the outside. But I think it looks all red and gross inside, but when I look in the mirror my glasses block my view of that fleshy innard eye skin part.  And without the glasses, I can't see well enough to even tell I have an eye.

So, I thought I would take a picture.

It didn't work.  When he gets back from his business lunch, maybe my coworker will help me? There was no discussion of forcing your colleagues to look at your eyeballs in my harassment training.

Amber & Forks

When you think about it (which I do alot these days), ambivalence is really an expression of the complexity of the human mind.  It's not a bad thing to be able to appreciate a choice isn't either right or wrong, but that there are different consequences and results for each.  Looking on the bright silver lining side, it's actually evidence of thoughtfulness and intelligence to be able to feel two ways about one thing at the same time, or alternately.

The way I see it, with my glasses where the supposedly protective coating is flaking off the left lens or with my contacts where the right eye is an older prescription, decisions are just like math.  You need to add up all of the pros and cons and hope they don't just balance out to zero like a redox equation (to mix my math and science).  The trick, though, is assigning values to the components.  Some factors are more valuable than others.  For example, a bunch of things may all be prickly, but maybe only one of them is also a hedgie.

So, where does that leave us?  Doing alot of math in our heads.

But, while we do math, time makes decisions for us.  While I am adding up the benefits of short hair vs. my Plan, I am cruising along the path to puffs.

For example.

Amber & Ducks Mate for Life

If nothing else, I am consistent in my adorations.  See for example, pickles.  (Not Pickles.  About him I can be very fickle especially when he puts the fleece wand on my face at 4 am and then sits on my chest and mews.)  This especially true of my crushes, which I hold onto like Eva Marie Saint clinging to Cary Grant and the eyeball on Mt. Everest (thanks to Steve, who knows the difference between Mt. Rushmore and Mt. Everest).

Speaking of Cary Grant, I am incredibly loyal to my actor crushes. Once I love you on-screen, you can do just about anything, take any bad role, grow old, change your hair and guest star on NCIS, and I will continue to love you diegetically, aesthetically, and dreamily.  Only maybe I will blog about you a little less.  Take, for example, Johnny Depp.

Sigh.  If you've known me for any length of time (or ever had tequila with me), it's likely you know the root story of my love for Johnny.  If you haven't been that lucky (or were just Googling "puff coats"):  In 1987, I watched the premiere of 21 Jump Street, and started to sob--not because the show's tackling of trouble youth was especially effecting, but because Johnny was so damn pretty.  And, I knew I could never have him.  Ah, desire. First it's red, and then it's blue. And everytime I see an iceberg, Johnny, it reminds me of you.

I've seen everything Johnny has made, even Sweeney Todd, even though "seen" there really means squinted at out of one corner of my eye while the window on my laptop was only about two inches wide.  (I don't like scary movies.)  You can make that third lousy pirate film, Johnny, and I will go see it--in the theater!  And I will like it because you are pretty in a white flouncy shirt with bad teeth.  So take that.

The latest test of my love is the Alice in Wonderland posters in the subway.

Now, I love Alice in Wonderland.  (It even inspired my first born laptop name.)  And I love fake eyelashes. And I totally am all about dyed red hair, and hats, and tea, and madness.  But that poster just scares me!  And, I don't think it's a coincidence that I dreamt that I had a weird gap between my teeth last night.  I even tried to avoid the poster by taking a different entrance to the A after Awesome Club, but then I had to sit across from one on the train for 161 blocks!

But, Johnny, I will go see your latest endeavor in the theater, even if it proves to be your scariest role yet.  Because, Johnny, I would pay to watch you breathe.  And my love is nothing if not eternal and hopeless.

Amber & Awesomeness

Sigourney Weaver, cats, lasers, and intertextuality run amok.

Amber & The Tragedy of Winter

I like winter.  At least when it's cold I can bundle up; there's not much you can do during the hottest days of summer and not get arrested, really.  And I like puff coats, and boots, and wool socks, and hand-knit scarves.  It's a good fashion season for me, maybe because it's so covering.

Plus, if you live in New York, as I do, there's not much use in wasting energy hating the seasons.  They come.  And, they go.  Sunrise, sunset.

But, it sure is hard on my hair.

It's mostly a bummer because my hair is just starting to get flippy again, and I know CRD will never get to see it as long as the weather necessitates wearing a hat.  CRD loves flippy almost as much as he loves girl detectives.

Did you ever notice how unsymmetrical my eyes are?  I sure just did.

Amber & Fancy Dress

I am all in my fancy dress today, mostly in the American sense but also a little bit in the British sense since my costume is someone who dresses up.  Really, what constitutes fancy for me centers around three main elements which I will outline herewith.

1.  Princess Eyes

You probably can't tell at all, but I am wearing mascara and eye shadow in order to create a princess-like sparkly-ness around my eye area (not to be confused with Sparkle Eyes from that Goats movie).  I went with shades of a coppery-pink today instead of my usual purplpe princess look so they would match my shoes (discussed in depth below).  It's really important, when displaying princess eyes, to open your mouth and stick out your tongue a little-- you know like a princess.

2.  Giant Earrings
When asked to name one adjective to describe my earrings (seen above), Nick described them as "hoopy."  So, true.    My personal choice has been, in the past, HUGE.

3.  Kitten Heel Shoes with Copper Roses

See those little roses?  They totally match my eyes, which I am sure everyone at tonight's event will notice.  My favorite thing about these shoes is not that they have two straps or the fact that kitten heels remind me of kittens, but rather the purple racing stripe on the back of the heel.

Vrooom!  Meow!

Amber & The Letter E

Some buddies have no e's in their names at all.  Like: black cat.

Some have one, like a cherry atop an e-less sundae (a "sunday" as it were).  See for example, Miss Tiggy Winkle.

Some people have a middling number of e's in their first and last names, like me (two) or my sister (also two).  I call those people "Middle of the E-Roaders."

But some people have an astounding number of e's in their names like Peter.  He has a total of four in his first and last name, and that's not even counting the two more stuck there in his middle name.

So, today, I wish him a totally e-less Happy Birthday.  He has enough e's; he doesn't really need any more.  Not that it's his fault he's hogging up the e's.  On this day at the year of his birth, he didn't name himself.  Why, I bet he was just a squishy little guy, all puffy and what-not, and had no idea what an e even was.

Several years later, he came to my holiday party.  Here he is apparently leaving early, probably because he was bored by the lack of e's.

Happy birthday, Peter.  I'm glad you were born and think you deserve all the e's you have.