Blog

There are many reasons for not updating a website. I have been guilty of most – didn’t feel like it, was too busy and so on. However this time, I have a moderately good reason – I got married. A wedding is probably a good excuse for a three month gap, so that accounts for about half of my silence. The other half is due to a series of disastrous events in the area of wedding photos. After multiple photography failures, may I present my wedding photo: (taken by a talented guest.)

Yes, my parents are dressed as Cossacks – it was one heckuva ceremony. I wish I could show you more, but I’m fairly convinced that this is the best that we’re going to get.

The adventures of Nom continue. He enjoys chewing on hard things, like porcelain and metal. He has snapped the tip off of one of his kitty fangs. Despite this, he still happily eats everything that will fit into his mouth. On several occasions I have had to gently extract these from his various openings. I will be setting aside a portion of my earnings for a stomach surgery for Nom, as I’m sure that day is coming.

Perhaps though, he may have a savant side. (I’m groping for a silver lining for his mental faculties.) It is possible that he’s a military genius. Recently he and Brownie (the elder cat) had a fight in a closet. The fight ended with Brown wearing a coat hanger and charging around the house. The rampage ceased when she simultaneously hooked my computer and perforated my legs.

Despite my lack of posting, I have been keeping busy at the painting desk. Here are two pieces that I took to Gencon. They each won their category and Lunah took Best of Show.

When you update your website on a quarterly basis, it’s necessary to post some awesome stories. Recent events have made this easier, because I now work at Microsoft. My very first act there was to walk into a lamp in the lobby.

About a week later, I was seated with my boss at a table and needed to unplug my laptop. The outlet was quite a ways underneath, so down I went. Unfortunately my cord was stuck, and the sound effect that goes with this problem is sort of an, “Eeh.” Consider for a moment, the perspective of my boss (a very nice lady) who just watched her new employee crawl under a table and squeak like a mouse. My dignity is so fleeting.

As of the last update, poor Nom was recovering from a broken tail, which has been restored to its full glory. Shortly after he recovered, I left a lily on an off-limits counter. The plan was to plant it in my garden. Nom had another idea, and as soon as my back was turned, ate it. Lilies are toxic to cats, so he spent the next 48 hours getting fluid through tubes and being force fed activated carbon. He recovered from this too, and is doing well, though he’s a bit grumpy that I leave for work.

My aura of destruction has transferred to those around me, leaving me largely unscathed. (Except the recent spurt of aquarium water from the last post.)

Andrew was afflicted. Completely without my help, he tipped a chair onto his foot. Almost immediately after the accident he had some well-meaning visitors. One was the curious kitten, Nom, and the other had come to play in our weekly D&D. When Nom investigated the broken toe, the visitor, trying to protect Andrew, picked the kitty up and gave him a gentle, low-to-the-ground toss.

Nom’s troubles began when he neglected to put out his feet. I only heard a thud, as he hit the ground, bottom first.

A couple of days later, I was on dingle berry duty. (hehehe *insert immature pun here*) It was worse than usual, since he had eaten a hairband. I removed from him six inches of cat-coated elastic. I paused for a moment, determining the nature of this object. If you’re ever in a similar situation don’t do that; flush first, wonder later. The insides of cats are foul smelling. I’m very thankful the hairband came out, since these can end kitties.

Nom’s troubles were not over. In an accident I did not witness, he took a table runner, a kitty cushion, and a stack of junk mail and made a pile of them behind the coat tree. Unfortunately he was part of that pile, and he broke his tail.

His tail was a magnificent plume, almost as big as he is. He curled it in the air as he contemplated, and as he walked it, was a banner for his butt. Now he cannot lift it, and it hangs limp.

The end of it can still twitch his displeasure, so we expect that it will heal in time. He is somewhat subdued, in the way that infinity is diminished by subtracting one.

I’m crossing my fingers for a fast recovery.

In the meantime, here is Biff Thundermuffin. I gave him a name to match his personality and it stuck, becoming the official Darksword name.