Looking for home for cat

My cat Sneaky is a 6 year old Pixie Bob. She is declawed and microchipped and up to date on her shots. She is really affectionate and talks a lot. I am having trouble because of my travel - she is so lonely. Is there anyone who would be willing to give her a home? Call me at 214-864-2947 if you can help out. She is fixed. Her coat is sort of spotted and she has a short tail.

Waiting For Gustav

Hello everyone,

It's Monday morning in Baton Rouge and I'm sitting in Cathie's house listening to the wind and rain from the leading edge of Hurricane Gustav, which is making landfall in south Louisiana as a Category 2 storm. The main worry this far inland is that we'll lose power as the wind starts downing tree limbs, so Cathie and I are plugging away on our laptops while we can.

I left New Orleans on Saturday night to avoid traffic (the city issued a mandatory evacuation order on Sunday morning) and arrived in Baton Rouge with no difficulties. Most New Orleanians were either on the road or finishing final preparations by that point, so most everyone I saw was packing their car or putting plywood over their windows. By way of contrast, preparations here in Baton Rouge seem pretty minimal - biking around Cathie's old neighborhood I didn't see a single house with boarded windows! Cathie's house is a mid-1930's Arts & Crafts bungalow and should be able to withstand the storm with no problems; hopefully the nearby trees will do the same.

So we're here working until the lights go out, and then we'll probably crack a book or two, open a bottle of wine and wait for the storm to blow over. We have plenty of supplies and are about as prepared as we can be. I'll probably try to get back to New Orleans in the next day or two - security there is very high (the LA National Guard is out in force) so I'm not worried about looters. I'll post an update if anything noteworthy happens. 

Finally...the Bench!

It took out about two weeks longer than I thought, but there was really no deadline. After changing my mind several times and redoing certain portions, it probably has more coats of paint than it needs, but it was yet another learning experience and fun to do!

I learned that I don't like to do base coats. I'm too impatient and it shows up in my drips, blobs of paint, and irregular brush strokes (plus lack of sanding in between coats). On the other hand, I'm probably too obsessed with design (I'm one of the kids who had to color within the lines), and I touched those up ad infinitum. (Ralph asked at the first of the week if I ever planned to finish it!)

It hit the backyard yesterday and it immediately started raining. Ah well...it's up to the elements now...I've done all I can do!

A run of good things

Well, I sold my house in San Antonio - the price sucked, but at least my company covers some of the loss. Also, 3 weeks ago, I quit smoking!!! Right now I am in Romania, and I was worried about maintaining it here because everybody smokes, but really, I just have to inhale and I get a nicotine hit - no seriously, I have no desire to smoke. I took Chantix for 2 weeks, but then I stopped due to headaches and I am having no problems.

This week I am in Romania, where the refinery has planned a big trip to the Danube Delta. Then I go to Poland for a week, then to Spain for a week to see Gaby and Juan Jose. They live in Allariz, near Portugal. I am supposed to return to Romania Sept 8 to live for 3 months but the contract has not been finalized.

Every day here, we work until 4 and then I head to the beach along side the Black Sea for a few hours. The hotel is on the beach. Living here won't be so great though as there is not much to do and it is not easy to travel anywhere else except for maybe Bulgaria.

Anyway,
hello to everybody?!!!
Love,
Val

Frustration and Contemplation

My current project is painting a bench for the backyard. I planned to copy a design from a book I first checked out of the library and then purchased used from Amazon. It involves suns and squiggles, multiple colors, etc. Unfortunately, the paint I am using, exterior enamel, does not layer well, and my stencils are not sticking well enough for me to get a clean line. That's my frustration. (And, BTW, the pink is the primer). Any suggestions?

My contemplation? Frequently, the NY Times magazine has a feature that involves an interview with an interesting person...a chef, a designer, a writer. Some of the questions involve their daily schedule, their favorite foods, or an item they would never give up. As I sit on my little blue stool contemplating my frustrating paint job, I realize how much I use it.

It started out as one of two chairs accompanying a round child's table that Judi, Valerie, and Laura's grandparents gave to them. No plastic in the 60's; this was solid maple. The only remnant left is this backless stool, which now has Kristin's name carved into it. It has traveled around the US with me, and I use it to stand on to paint, to hang pictures, to wash windows, to reach things that are too high, and now to sit on and think. It seems indestructible. Hopefully, one day it won't prove me wrong and crumble beneath me, but, at least, I won't have far to fall! I could buy a new and safer replacement, but as long as it lasts, I won't give this faithful friend up!

I'm curious. What would you not give up?

Holy Helicopters, Batman!

One of the cooler things about having a wildfire in the area is the sudden surfeit of emergency vehicles in the area. Fire trucks, airplanes, and helicopters, oh my!


Here we are getting ready to board "Shania", a very large air crane:
Here are Lilli and Michael doing their pre-flight checks:
Toby, with his steady hand and sharp eye, is ready to man the pumps:


Lilli and Michael, taking off from the pond and heading back out to the front line with 2,000 gallons of water:


Way to go, guys!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 7th birthday to Lillian today!