because i’m terrible at keeping up, i am now, almost three weeks later, going to share the photos and videos i took with my iphone at this year’s saintly city cat show. MEOW!
my favorite judge, walter hutzler, was back again this year. maybe you want to watch a video that includes him? my friend, mary — who attended the cat show for the first time this year — shared this video with me. so great!
persian so fluffy she be lookin’ like a sausage.
i think the most common breeds at the show are usually rex kitties and persian kitties. total opposites, right?
honestly, i left my dslr at home this year because i thought i probably didn’t need to come home for the fourth year in a row with 200+ photos of cats that aren’t mine. there are oodles of kitties that i wanted to photograph (such as an american curl! i’ve never seen that breed before.) but i’m glad i had the iphone because it takes excellent video — which came in handy when the vulcans showed up!
first, vulcanus rex knighted the prince of replacement (cat show) judges.
then he knighted the people’s choice award winning kitty, an egyptian mau named mica. the most adorable moment happens at about 1:52.
i love hanging out with other crazy cat people. and cats. in fact, little miss sio kitty is taking up most of my lap right now — every night she tries to separate me from the computer but my arms are long and i can still reach the keyboard!
I don’t have any spectacular plans for ringing in the new year tonight – a quiet Caturday night with my felines will do just fine after all of the driving I did for Christmas last weekend.
Have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve! I’m wishing the best for all of us in 2012.
What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? I got to see a little bit of California’s wine country! So lovely, I want to go back.
Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t usually make real resolutions, but in 2012 I’m going to continue improving my domestic diva-ness: canning my own food and sewing my own quilt.
Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend, Erin, had her daughter, Lillian, last New Year’s Eve.
Did anyone close to you die? Jason’s uncle (aka Dad #2), Fred, passed away in August. My mom’s uncle, Roger, passed away in September.
What countries did you visit? I decided to stay in the US this year… (I should use my passport more.)
What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? Paint on the walls in my home, a comfortable crafting room (“lady town”), and my dream bathroom. We have a lot of housework to do in 2012! (And thanks to my generous siblings, we have a very good head-start with our home improvement funds.)
What date(s) from 2011 will remain etched your memory, and why? Over the 4th of July weekend I photographed a very lovely half-Indian, half-Scottish wedding. August 21st was the day Uncle Fred lost his battle with cancer. July 29th was the day Jason closed on the house. (There were a lot of good days mixed in with bad days this year.)
What was your biggest achievement of the year? Advancing my career as a web chick (aka web developer)!
What was your biggest failure? Not paying off more debt.
Did you suffer illness or injury? Excellent timing: I was diagnosed with an ear infection about two days prior to my insurance ending with my previous employer — and I would’ve had to wait another month for my insurance with my new employer to kick in!
What was the best thing you bought? Movers really helped me out mid-August (as did my fantastic brother-in-law).
Where did most of your money go? I’m honestly not sure — a lot of little things really add up, I guess.
What did you get really, really, really excited about? Moving into the house with the man I love! Also, becoming more of a domestic diva: cooking for Thanksgiving dinner with friends, canning, gardening (next year), knitting, and sewing.
What song(s) will always remind you of 2011? Cloud Cult’s “Running with the Wolves.”
Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? Happier!
thinner or fatter? About the same, though my new employer feeds me a lot and I haven’t been walking or standing as much.
richer or poorer? A little bit richer, but still working on paying off that pile of debt!
What do you wish you’d done more of? Crafting, reading, hanging out with friends.
What do you wish you’d done less of? Wallowing in depression about money.
How will you be spending/did you spend Christmas? Over the last couple days, Jason and I were in South Dakota with my family. This afternoon we’re celebrating Bertine & Zach’s wedding. In another two weekends, we’ll be celebrating with Jason’s family in Iowa.
Did you fall in love in 2011? I fell more in love, if that’s even possible.
How many one-night stands? I try to stand at least once every night.
What was your favorite TV program? The Walking Dead. It makes me nervous and I can’t watch it without Jason being around, but it’s so well written and acted!
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I try not to use this word/feel this emotion.
What was the best book you read? The only book I read this year was The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, but I did very much enjoy it.
What was/were your greatest musical discoveries? Florence + The Machine is probably my favorite from this year.
What did you want and get? For the last five months or so, I’ve been dying to trade in my Android for an iPhone, but it was never financially feasible. I was going to wait until next month to take the plunge, but my sweetie did some sneaking around and got me an iPhone for Christmas! I may or may not have cried (just a little bit). (Excitement, you know?) (Who am I kidding? I cry at everything.)
What was your favorite film of this year? Harry Potter!
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 30 this past November. I had a couple friends visiting, Bridget and Lindy. We went to brunch at Fat Nat’s Eggs, visited the Museum of Russian Art and IKEA, then for dinner (with Jason and Kristi joining) we made Tater Tot Hot Dish and watched both of the final Harry Potter movies back-to-back. It was a great day!
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If our girl kitties would just (at least) tolerate each other.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? Too poor to shop for clothing, make do with what I have.
What kept you sane? Jason.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I very much enjoyed watching Will & Kate’s Royal Wedding (and seeing what she wore and her jewelry and etc. etc. etc.)
What political issue stirred you the most? I don’t know, I’m not really very political (out loud, I guess).
Who did you miss? Friends from South Dakota (I didn’t make it home enough this year).
Who was the best new person you met? I met a lot of new people this year — my new team at work, friends’ friends, or people just passing through my life’s adventures.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011: Just breathe. Everything will work out.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: Then lights they fill the air, or were they always there?
I finally see it. I finally see it.
And I heard the captain say, I heard the captain say,
“You’re always close to it, so very close to it.”
There’s so much energy in us.
this past valentine’s day, my sweet boyfriend snuck into my house and left a big bouquet of flowers along with a couple groupons that i would like — one was for a visit to chateau st. croix winery & vineyard, which included a tour, a cheese plate, wine tastings, and two souvenir glasses to take home. the winery was across the river in wisconsin, so we decided to make a whole, fun day trip out of it.
we paused in st. croix falls at a scenic overlook since we were a little ahead of “schedule.”
i think this photo is hilarious because it was my idea to look DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN so of course i’m making a stupid face and ruining an otherwise pretty darn cute photo.
i’m now not sure if those (off to the left of the photo) are taylor’s falls or st. croix’s falls.
king of the world! … or at least of this rock.
look at all that lichen.
zooooom!
jason risked his life for this photo. i almost had to leave him behind. (but he had the keys to the car…)
james knox polk: thank you for making wisconsin and for providing a name for a great street to live on (twice).
chateau. lions everywhere. i loved it.
now entering narnia!
our first tastings: 2006 atelier alexander valley zinfandel (the zin) and jaune d’or port (“like drinking a sugar cookie”). both very delicious. i liked most of what we tasted, and i went home with a bottle of the 2009 wild river rose.
oh, now we’re on the tour.
it would be fun to volunteer on bottling day/weekend in september. who wants to join me?
jason got on the floor for this photo, reviewed it, then proclaimed he was a genius. yes, you are, sweetie.
the cheese plate for two. you mean i have to share this?!
jason was even gonna eat the whole plate, too!
super cute bottle. i would’ve bought a bottle if i had a “wine fund” set aside.
knights like us, baby we were born to runnn… to the winery… to drink wine…
this photo was an “accident” but it’s evidence of the face that i make at jason most of the time. it’s my i’m-falling-more-in-love-with-you-right-now face.
dead wine barrel converted into a charcoal grill = totally awesome! can also be used as a smoker.
it was a special festival weekend at the winery, showcasing some of the local artisans and businesses. the sun came out just for us to wander around the booths and take it all in.
at this booth i informed jason of my plan to some day have my own sheep and my own wool-spinning machine. heck yes, i’m gonna make my own yarn. maybe i’ll get a llama, too (that is the yarn used for the hats in the foreground).
i liked the chardonnay and roasted garlic marinade.
meow!
i wanted to steal this puppy.
this is his (her?) “good side.”
see? more lions!
hello, wisconsin.
this is in the bathroom. sort of rude, but sort of funny, too.
vineyard birds.
sign says: “open wine”
i say: “okay, i will!”
then we stopped at this goofy little sculpture park on our way to stillwater.
this is the work area. there was some art in production as we walked around.
jason told me i live here. it doesn’t even have a floor.
there wasn’t any gold leaf left for us.
hey, then we got to stillwater! the river here was really high — the muddy area is where it had been in the last couple weeks.
i could tell you that this is my favorite flower, but i’m not sure it’s the truth. i proclaim every flower i see to be my favorite. so i’ll just tell you this is one of my favorites, for sure. and it’s growing on my front steps!
these are survivors i picked out of the mess that was my flower garden attempt last summer. i decided i didn’t have enough time or energy to devote to another flower garden project, so i was sort of cleaning up the area and discovered these guys, growing strong during a chilly minnesotan spring.
bleeding heart, periwinkle, lamb’s ear, and day lillies.
wikipedia just told me that periwinkle is also a kind of sea snail. the more you know!
this is me tonight: i drank a nordeast grain belt and watched the season finale of glee online. i laid on the floor. the kitties wrestled around me. didn’t turn the television on at all. it’s just quiet, except for the tick of the clock and the gurgle of the kitties’ water fountain.
in one month, i’m going to san francisco again! i’m bringing my special dude and we’re going to hang out in golden gate park, i want to see that japanese tea garden. oh! and this time i will make sure to see the full house house from alamo square. i’m also be attending voices that matter: web design. i’m excited! this lady needs an airplane ride.
Did some sewing tonight. A normal-height ironing board and putting away all of the clutter really helps production.about 17 hours agofrom Twitter for iPhone
