Kittens No More

I am happy to announce that I think last November's cat trap & neuter project was a success! So far we have no new kittens in the yard, which is a huge relief. I loved watching them romp around in the yard as babies, but it was very sad to see them suffer and lead such short lives.

If you have feral cats in your NYC neighborhood, please contact the one of the organizations below. Volunteers will help you trap, neuter and release the cats - or you can become a volunteer yourself. Not only will you be helping these animals have healthier lives, but also making the whole neighborhood a cleaner and safer place to live.

NYC Feral Cat Initiative
c/o Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals
244 Fifth Avenue, Suite R290
New York, NY 10001-7604
Phone: (212) 330-0033
Email: info@NYCFeralCat.org

Neighborhood Cats
2576 Broadway, No. 555
New York, NY 10025
Phone:(212) 662-5761
Email:headcat@neighborhoodcats.org

Paws Gone Wild

Most people don't know Paws because he's a huge baby who hides whenever someone comes over to the house. He spends his days lounging around and he's never really gone outside - unless you count 5 seconds in the hallway. This morning I opened the kitchen window and encouraged him to venture out on the fire escape. He didn't leave the window sill, but even that was a giant step for this little kitten.

Peeking in the neighbor's window.

Checking out the feral cat posse in the yard.

Thinking it might be about time to go back inside. This is kind of scary.

Sunday Something

Sunday night Preeya and Dave came over for dinner. It started because Friday night Abe and I bought a new Homie and it looked like a Homie Preeya. Darn, I can't believe I didn't take a picture of it. Also, I wanted an excuse to make the Matzo-Crusted Chicken Cutlets I saw in Martha Stewart Living.

The cutlets did not work out. It's a whole long story about making my own matzo bread. I ended up just using bread crumbs to coat the tenderized chicken and baking it with slices of garlic and olive oil. I roasted some brussell sprouts, made a salad, and cooked some rice in the rice cooker. I felt like a mom making a real home-cooked meal.

I started eating and then tried to clean it up so I could take a photo

Then we had dessert.

Then Preeya played the tromboner.

Abe wanted to sign her to a record deal.

Garden Season

Saturday was fun. In the morning I went to Lowe's with Chelsea to get some gardening supplies. We made a pit stop at McDonald's on our way home and I had a McFlurry lunch.

Back at the apartment, I got to cleaning up the backyard. After I had cleaned all the trash out, raked the ground, did some planting of brussel sprouts, propagated the Tiger Lilly, and completed a new grill station layout, I thought it looked pretty awesome back there. But now, when I look at the photos I realize there is still so much to be done. The problem is that I rent and plan on moving next winter, so I don't really want to spend money on someone else's property behind a Chinese restaurant. But to give you an idea, I've posted some before photos (circa 2 years ago) for reference.

Click for large view.

Click for large view.

I planted a ton of brussel sprouts, moved the strawberries into containers, tried to cover a lot of the shadier areas with mint, lavender and wild flower seeds.

After a day of yard work I took the G train to Brooke and Miles' apartment for the first BBQ of the year and it was damn good.

Hello, Spring. You Are My Friend.

Friday night I got off work and Abe and I went to McCarren Park to play catch. We went back to the very first place we ever played catch together. Awwww.

If you click you can see the sequence in a larger version and pretend it's a movie.