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LaurenKaz
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Name: LaurenKaz
Location: California, United States
Gender: Female
Interests: Cats, rollerblading, attempting to cook, biking, more cats, Anthony Bourdain completely rocks!, interior design, travel, hanging with friends and did I already mention cats?
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Member Since:
7/6/2004
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| What I Did Last Thursday Evening, by LaurenKazSo you might be wondering to yourself—was it fun? Was it scintillating? Was it something LaurenKaz would do again? The answers are (in order): no, no, and emphatically, NO. Just to set the record straight, y'understand. So one of the feral cat colonies we're caring for (managing is obviously the wrong term) has spun out of control. We should've guessed something was up when Snowflake and Cleo got preggers. More recently, Himself spotted more kittens so then we knew Callie had been busy...although she never looked fat. Adding to the mix, some new male cats moved into the area so the colony was mushrooming. And MUSHROOMING. On the ill-fated aforementioned Thursday, I was wondering where the heck Himself was—he was supposed to drop his dad off to the car dealer and then head home. Suddenly I got a phone call and a panicked voice yelled, "I GOT ONE OF THE FERAL KITTENS!!!" This was a complete surprise to moi-self as all of the cages and carriers were still in the warehouse. He said, "WELL IT WAS STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO MY FOOT AS I WAS FEEDING EVERYONE...SO I JUST GRABBED IT!!!!" Needless to say, the kitten wasn't very pleased. As far as First Contact protocol goes, this was an Epic FAIL.   [Wow, we had no idea Himself's fingers could get that fat. I'm waiting for Cat Scratch Fever to set in.] Catching a Feral Kitten with one's bare hands = Mistake #1 Lacking the aforementioned traps and carriers, he decided to stuff her (muted tortie so we know its a female) into a Whole Foods cloth bag and knot the handles in lieu of cramming her into one of the large plastic bins with a lid. Stuffing a Feral Kitten into a shopping bag and expecting it to sit quietly for the first car ride of its life = Mistake #2 He was then driving like h-e-double toothpicks when he spotted the tiny head poking out of the WF bag. He at least didn't crash the van at that moment. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT—I TIED THE HANDLES REALLY TIGHT!!!!" After they arrived home, Himself (further) spooked the kitten by trying to get her into a carrier whilst in the van. I said, "Don't let her run up front—she'll go under the dashboard!" Himself replied (with an eyeroll), "WHAT'RE YOU TALKING ABOUT? THERE'S NOWHERE TO GO UNDER THE DASHBOARD!!!" Lo and behold and verily I say, the kitten vanished from sight...just like magic. After crawling around and removing as many seats as possible, Himself finally conceded that she was in the dashboard. This was Not A Good Thing. Allowing a Feral Kitten to go into the dashboard, not thinking there are a zillion kitten-size nooks inside = Mistake #3. After sitting almost motionless in the van for a couple of hours, I finally did hear the kitten working her way up and around the dashboard. Himself was recovering from the trauma by sipping martoonis as darkness fell and my left leg went to sleep. [Completely OT: have you ever wondered how you would do if someone, say, was stalking you and you had to hole up in some dark place and not move a muscle? For hours? I determined that I would FAIL at this exercise and therefore better off running like h-e-double toothpicks. A leg cramp doth not go away of its own accord.] Finally, I set up a humane trap IN the van and we went away to watch some "Stargate: Atlantis" eps (hey, its on Netflix's Watch Instantly). Came back to the van and SUCCESS! I had pictured having to pry open up the dashboard in order to get her so this was the optimal result. Here she is in our spa/suite: [Looks kinda like a Martian or a gremlin, doesn't she?] Last night, we showed up at the colony with traps and carriers in tow. After quickly trapping two kittens, Himself turned to me and said, "Well that went a whole lot more smoothly than last night." YA THINK, EINSTEIN??!? The kittens are pretty feral but figured out how to use the potty box after only one accident. Not bad. Here's the Motley Crew: Only 3 more kittens + 7 adults to go after this. Never a dull, as they say. And can I also add that one might have an EE/CS double major from UC Berkeley but that doesn't even remotely equal one iota of common sense. Seriously. | | |
| Various and SundryAlameda Naval Air Station For the very first time ever, toured the now-defunct Alameda NAS with my buddy Jeff. He has visited many a time and even taken tours of the USS Hornet, an aircraft carrier turned into a permanent museum, so he was a font of information. He highly recommends the flashlight tour (there's one coming up on 8-15-2009) which starts @ 8:30pm and goes for a couple of hours. The tour features areas not normally open to the public and includes...(duh duh duh)....a visit to the BRIG. If Jeff hadn't pointed this out, would've blown right past a Catamaran of Distinction: the Cheyenne was operated by Steve Fossett, the businessman-adventurer (first to fly solo non-stop around the world in a hot air balloon). The catamaran set a world record in 2004, being the fastest sail vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a scant 4 days and 17 hours. Apparently, the Cheyenne was in dry dock for work but the untimely demise of Mr Fossett has put it in an uncertain state. Check out the Picasa album if you'd like to see more pics of the Alameda NAS. More Sammy Samperson Cuteness Yes, greel08--just when you thought it was safe to view my public Picasa page (say that 3x fast): yet another album of adorableness has hit the virtual presses. This time, a blue birdie was used as both a prop and a color foil for Sammy's sparkling orbs. Check it out: Yep. Still No TV. Its Been 9 Months...but who's countin'? Finally, a topic sans Picasa album. Himself and I continue to resist buying a replacement television but have to confess that Netflix more than makes up for the "lack" so its not like we can feel virtuous for denying ourselves entertainment (back to self-flagellation with the cat-o-nine-tails) (I kid, I kid). So much for discipline and the promise to focus on more constructive pursuits instead of whiling away the hours staring slackjawed at a non-flickering (love-love-love the MacBook Pro) screen. So while we're not keeping current with favorite reality shows like Top Chef and Project Runway, we're being entertained by Burn Notice and In Plain Sight (the so-called major networks are on hiatus for summer, otherwise the list would include NCIS and the CSIs...and...and...). Thanks to Watch Instantly from Netflix, we're catching up on a goodly amount of TV shows and movies: love-love-love Leverage (the cast and dialogue are snappy and hilarious) and even oldie-but-goodies like Earth: Final Conflict. Have to say one of THE most intriguing series is Sanctuary which stars Amanda Tapping (of Stargate ____ (ad nauseum) fame) as Dr Helen Magnus, a 157-year old teratologist whose mission in life is to capture and/or save Abnormals--mythical and often monstrous creatures, providing them sanctuary from "civilized" society. Copyright ©2009, SyFy. All rights reserved. This series started as 8 webisodes but its popularity resulted in the show being picked up by SyFy (formerly SciFi Channel) for a 13-episode television season...and Season 2 is in production! Besides being able to view Ms Tapping as a long-haired brunette speaking with an anachronistic English accent (vs. perky Samantha Carter), its amazing to realize the production is filmed almost entirely using the "green screen technique" (check out the Gallery on SyFy's "Sanctuary" site for pics of the actors in front of said screen). CGI rules! And as Joe Bob Briggs still (hopefully) says, "Check it out." Recognize Christopher Heyerdahl, the bald gentleman on the left? He plays two characters in Sanctuary: the semi-evil John Druitt (aka Jack the Ripper) and Big Guy, a Neanderthal-like butler cum chauffeur/bodyguard. But those afflicted with the Twilight wasting sickness (as in brain cells and time wasted reading these popular tweener books) will be more interested to learn he plays Marcus, one of the Volturi, in "New Moon." Sorry, gojeannie: just can't get past the soppy, interminable teenage angst. Much prefer the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series for snappy, sexy, dangerously addictive vampiric adventures (and Anna Paquin et al do a reasonable job on the HBO TV series). R-Pats? Fugeddaboutit. | | |
| A Magical Day in The CityMet up with Vanessa to visit SFMOMA and the Farmer's Market...food for the soul and the tummy, as it were. Turns out the first Tuesday of every month is FREE at this museum so we opted to give it a go on one of those days. Was quite surprised to see the long lines of people waiting to get in since it was way past the 10am opening hour. But there are 2 exhibits in particular which are likely to be drawing the crowds: "Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946-2004" and "Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities." The Avedon exhibit goes to Nov 29th but O'Keefe's & Adams' works will only be there until Sept 7th. Get thee hence to SFMOMA and check them out!  With our objective now firmly focused on ingestion, we wended our way down to the foot of Market Street where the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market was in (semi) full swing. During the summer months, the Farmer's Market adds Thurs to their lineup; that means you can get the freshest and the best on Tues, Thurs and Sat. Hafta tell you that going on a weekday—even though its not as populated with vendors—is also not insanely overrun with marketgoers as on the weekend. It was veddy veddy civilized, in fact!   Being the foodies that we are, it was difficult to decide on the ONE lunch item we wanted to enjoy. So being smart girls, we split 2 sandwiches which were beyond dee-vine... Vanessa ordered a beef brisket that had obviously been relaxing for many an hour; it literally melted (in a good way) in the mouth. I ordered an egg salad sandwich so far beyond the ordinary: it rested on a piece of bread almost lighter than air, then was topped with a slice of cheese and sauteed arugula leaves. Perfection. Oops! Forgot to mention the goodly variety of organic produce—amazing displays of perfect fruits and vegs fresh (so to speak) off the farm... Its highly recommended that you leave the market just before closing (2pm) as bargains are to be had almost everywhere you look. Vanessa totally scored with bouquets of flowers—buy 2 and get the 3rd free! Here's the Picasa album if you'd like to check out more of the Farmer's Market. | | |
| A Sammy Samperson RetrospectiveNot to worry—Samwise is hale and hearty. This is just a compendium o' pics from different stages of his brief (he's perhaps 1.5 years old now) but already action-packed life. Included are links to the Picasa albums so you can get more Sammy, more of the time. And no, can't even begin to fathom why Ms Lellis thinks Sammy's the resident favorite. Sammy's Baby Pics The Samster magically appeared in our warehouse, a tiny feral kitten snagging fud like a pro but hissing and spitting if accidentally confronted. Da Kidz in the Morning For once, Sammy doesn't comprise the bulk of the pics (although you'd never realize this from the following pic). This is certainly anomalous. Must ponder. Sammy in the Winter Our Guy was monitoring the haps in the backyard—nothing's too insignificant or trivial to escape his notice. Sammy Samperson & Friends Just so you know Sammy doesn't get exclusive rock star treatment, here are (some) snaps of (some) of the others. The Kidz In an attempt at journalistic fairness, this album showcases some of the other kittehs but, gosh darn it, there are certainly a lot o' super-cute Sammy shots. Das Kidz Wow, even managed to get pics of Marvin and Tobi. Who'd a thunk? Overshadowed, of course, by Samwise's photogenic-ist tendencies. Were that a word? Sammoo A study in sepia-toned shots. And although kittehs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes plus sport wide-ranging personalities, I can't help but wonder if the Samster hails from a particular brand o' cat. Here's one of my favorite ICanHasCheezburgers which perfectly captures his Innocence Personified in both looks and action: Cripes! Two Xanga entries in less than half a year...the sky is falling! The sky is falling!  | | |
| Only a teensy bit o' catching up to do... Usual sordid story. No excuses. Mea culpa, mea culpa. Here are some highlights for the year, Cliff Notes style. Am including Picasa album links in case you're interested in seeing additional pics. Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island Had a simply mah-velous trip to Port Angeles in January, dahling. The change in weather can be quite startling—we're talking from one day to the next.     One of the goals for this trip was to visit the Butchart Gardens decked out in all of its holiday finery (Dec 1 - Jan 6) so off we went to Vancouver Island via car ferry. The grounds are unbelievably magical—softly swathed in snow, bejeweled with festive garlands and whimsical decorations, featuring the wonderful Twelve Days of Christmas vignettes (we tried to remember the stanzas of the song, oftentimes in vain). Here's a sampling: the Partridge in a Pear Tree, Two Turtledoves and the Three French Hens (ooh la la!). The pictures can't do the gardens justice, however, as they should be experienced at night when the miles of twinkling strands light up the trees, pathways and snowbanks...there's hot chocolate and steamed egg nog (genius!) in the café to warm up your innards...and musicians and singers perform the traditional carols whilst freezing their pies off in the frosty air. Butchart Gardens, located in Brentwood Bay, is open until 11pm (yay!) during this holiday "season"; make plans to check it out and be sure to snarf some great seafood as you stroll around quaint and beautiful Victoria. Hearst Castle and the Central Coast Had the best vacation ever in April! A group of us girls headed down the coast for an evening tour of Hearst Castle. Cambria is 90 miles south from Monterey so that meant, gosh darn it, an overnight stay and mini-adventures along the way. Stopped all too briefly at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Its the site of the now-defunct Waterfall House built during the same era as Hearst Castle, featuring exotic landscaping (you can see the palm trees in the distance) and an unparalleled view of the Big Sur coastline.   Zooming down Hwy 1, Ms Lellis spotted some odd objects piled up along the coastline so we stopped for a looksee. Turns out Piedras Blancas is THE largest elephant seal rookery on the West Coast! We were looking primarily @ mamas as the "weaners" (NO, not "wieners" as my peabrain understood the vocalization) had hightailed it a month or so before.   The pièce de résistance of the trip was the aforementioned evening tour of Hearst Castle, offered at specific times of the year and only on the weekends including Friday. This is another NOT to be missed experience! Number One: imagine wandering through the grounds bathed in golden twilight. Number Two: there are limited tours per evening so the castle is not overrun with visitors like during the day. And Number Three: docents dress in period piece clothing and set themselves up in vignettes—sipping cocktails around the Victrola, playing billiards in the smoking room or walking alongside the Neptune Pool. The tour offers an incomparable way to experience a bygone era... La Casa Grande; a guest bedroom; the kitchen (open 24/7 for the ravenous guest); and evening over San Simeon (the pics get increasingly dark as daylight faded). Seahorses in Monterey If you have not already done so, get thee down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and view the marvelous Secret Lives of Seahorses exhibit! Ms Lellis and I went in May and managed to avoid most of the madding schoolkids (important safety tip, Egon: not going during the summertime is highly recommended). The exhibit is compact but comprehensive with many representatives of this very unusual animal and its relatives. The stars of the show, IMHO, are the zippy little weedy sea dragons and their charismatic camouflaged cousins, the leafy sea dragons. Suckers are hard to photograph as they are constantly moving even while appearing deceptively docile, plus the crowds jostling in front of the tank make taking snaps are real challenge (read: fuzzy pics). | | |
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