My Very Own Sven

Yay! I finally got them! Sven's sent the wrong pair to the store so it look an extra week before I got the ones I wanted. They guys are going to see a lot of action this winter.

Here is a not-so-great photo of them that was just taken:

Cool Sky

I just looked out my window and thought the sky looked cool.

Enlarge and center on your screen for the full effect.

The Kitten Crisis

So I have a yard/lot behind my building, which is adjacent to several other backyards. I also live above a Chinese restaurant that has access to the yard. We have a lot of feral cats that hang out back there - it's a pretty sweet layout for a stray cat.

If you click & enlarge this photo you can see 2 of the kittens snacking.

In the spring/summer one or two cats usually have a litter of kittens and we'll have a little kitten playground out there. I kind of let them be because it's summer and they seem to do fine on their own.

However, this year a cat had a litter late in the year - sometime in August. Now it's October and the kittens are still small and will be as winter hits. There was one kitten that I named Harry - he was sickly, but so freaking cute and would let me pick him up. I tried to monitor him, fed him, gave him a little attention. Finally I found a place that would take him away to be fixed up by a vet and put up for adoption. Unfortunately, I went away for a few days and when I came back he was missing. I cried for two days - I wish I had found Neighborhoodcats.org a few days earlier.

Harry's twin brother.

I hope Harry turns up again this week, but in the meantime there are 4 other kittens back there that I need to help. Neighborhoodcats.org is supposed to come by sometime this week to set up humane traps. The kittens are so cute I'm sure they will be adopted right away and we will also try to catch the adults so they can be neutered and then released back into the yard.

Bands, Gardens, Dorms & Fried Chicken

This weekend was action packed.

On Friday I went to a CMJ show at Mecury Lounge to see the band The Delta Spirit. Colleen recently got into them and she got a few of us together to go to the show. It was really, really fun - I think I have a new favorite band.

After the show Colleen, Abe, Katie, Greg and I went back to Greenpoint to the bar Matchless and Starr met up with us. When Abe and I left the bar we went over to Palace Fried Chicken and got chicken and French fries. It's pretty disgusting there, but sometimes it just hits the spot.

Saturday my aunt, uncle and cousin came into town to see my other cousin, Eddie (he lives down the street from me). They picked me up and we all went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. It was supposed to be a stormy day, but the rain held up and we had a great time enjoying the fall weather.

Saturday night was a big one - Piper's 30th birthday!! She held the party at her apartment in the city and the theme was "College Dorm". Kind of a vague theme, but once you saw the decorations and got everyone in costume the whole look really came together.

Pacific Northwest Getaway

This past weekend Abe and I went to a wedding on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington. Paws did not want me to leave.

Abe got there on Tuesday because he was a groomsman in the wedding and then I flew in on Friday, drove a car 2.5 hours to the ferry, took the 1.5 hour ferry, and made it just in time to have dessert at the rehearsal dinner. The wedding was amazing and special, but it was particularly exciting for me because I finally got a chance to meet the rest of Abe's friends that I have heard about for 3 years!

Orcas Island is totally Jurassic Park.

Saturday morning I went for a walk and ran into some deer by the resort mansion. They are wild, but tame, and will let you pet them. It was awesome.
I found some celery by the kitchen door - deers ain't interested in celery.

I had some time to kill before the ceremony so I went for a long hike in Moran State Park. Here is where I saw my first Banana Slug.

The ceremony took place on a grassy cliff overlooking the bay. They had a mariachi band playing in the background.

The reception was fun - great food (I must have had 10 bacon wrapped scallops), lots and lots of dancing, and even a hot dog station late night.

The after-party was just straight up shenanigans back at the suite. Abe and I got locked out of our room at 3am and didn't get in till 4am. The next morning we pulled ourselves together with the rest of the kids and took the ferry back to Anacortes. I think this is Mt. Baker.

From there we drove to Seattle where Abe's dad picked us up and took us to Olympia.

On Monday we took a day trip into Tacoma. We were going to go to Mt. Ranier, but it was rainy in the morning. All the museums were closed in Tacoma, but we walked the Crystal Bridge that features Dale Chihuly's work.

On our way back to Olympia we stopped at some crazy outdoors store called Cabela's. There was an aquarium inside and a huge taxidermy display. I got a great sleeping bag on sale.
Then Abe took me to Evergreen State College (where he went to school). It was real purty. Too bad Ted Bundy is forever linked to this place in my mind. We poked around the new buildings, which were really cool - great architecture and it really incorporated nature into the structure.
We kind of just hung out for the rest of the time and flew back Tuesday afternoon. Biggest lesson learned: if you live in Brooklyn do not fly into Newark airport at night and take the train home. It took us 2.5 hours and we had to take 4 trains.