Life in general

So I had a good but exhausting couple of days with my folks. Dad's growing a scraggly little Gramps beard. It's weird, but I definitely understand dislike of razors, and he doesn't have to look all respectable for parishioners anymore. Mom and I spent a good chunk of yesterday debating vociferously about immigration/assimilation issues and also (separately) the death penalty. *headdesk* Otherwise, it was a great visit, and I managed to get them to go to Coventry instead of the mall, so I finally accomplished a Mom and Dad visit that doesn't include a mall trip (I don't understand their fascination with malls. I really don't.) They're pleased with the progress on the house, which Mom was seeing for the first time, and Ringo came out and made friends with them too.

Speaking of Ringo, he's a major bright spot in the past couple of weeks. I've finally got some pics that I'll try to get posted today. He's totally settled in now, and doing wonderfully. The abscess is completely healed, he comes when called more reliably than my dogs do and happily climbs into my lap for petting and belly rubs. He's totally unfazed by the dogs now, and will sit next to them, sniff their faces, and I've even caught him obviously pondering the toy potential of Tarma's tail. He also reminds me a good deal of Morph, which is nice. I still miss the old boy. Ringo's ridiculously affectionate, and I'm utterly smitten. This is very much what I'd hoped for with a new cat in the household -- another one to be "mostly mine" like my old lady cat Mushroom is. I'm looking forward to the next couple of decades (hopefully) with him. Unfortunately, he's young and wriggly, so I've had to dump most of the pics as hopelessly blurred. No pics at all of his eyes, which are very pretty. Also, he seems to think that humans are finger-lickin' good. He's big on licking the fingers of whomever is petting him. It's odd, but adorable. Below are the halfway decent pics I've managed to get of him, as well as a bonus pic of Tarma asleep on her new toy.









In other news, I'm still flaring pretty badly, and it's been a rough week in that regard. Nightmares last night didn't help anything. Blerg. The household meetings last night were productive but stressful, and that came right through in the dreams. My subconscious -- it is not a subtle place. There may or may not be linketies today, depending on my energy level after reworking the chore list. I may be more in the mood to stare blankly at some Brisco County Jr or Doctor Who than to read lots of depressing stuff about the world, and I'm too brainfogged to multitask as effectively as I normally can.

Oh, also frustrating: Laptop power port is dead, have to take it into the shop. Blackberry trackball is about to fall out. Have to take it into a different shop on the other side of town. *grump* At least both are covered, so they shouldn't cost me anything.