Oh, and a rant from a few days ago: Why does Amtrak have a special boarding call for people who require special assistance if they don't actually provide any Amtrak employees to assist people? I went during the early boarding call because I knew that I'd have trouble getting my suitcase up the stairs to the train, and not only was there no Amtrak employee to ask, I couldn't even ask another passenger for help because the only people there were the other people who required special assistance.

Thanks for the idea for the pesto.

Mom's cat is indoor/outdoor, so we've gotten pretty good at making sure the right cat gets out and gaurding the doors for the other.

I'm pretty sure that if Dean did get loose or ran away he'd come right back home because he's really bonded with his sister and me. He pretty much never meows unless he's been closed off away from one of us. Well until the other day when he was begging to get out.

Why does Amtrak have a special boarding call for people who require special assistance if they don't actually provide any Amtrak employees to assist people? I went during the early boarding call because I knew that I'd have trouble getting my suitcase up the stairs to the train, and not only was there no Amtrak employee to ask, I couldn't even ask another passenger for help because the only people there were the other people who required special assistance.

Well, that's just a crapload of fail there. Maybe they just want to give you a headstart.

Gorgonzola-walnut ravioli = yum! I will be returning to this pasta shop again.

5 lbs. of potatoes peeled, and bf is defurring the couch. He's very serious and type-A about it. It's very cute. (Seriously, check out my pics page on FB, y'all! Have I ever showed you guys a pic of D? Bad girlfriend! He's adorkable.)

Erin, he's a TOTAL CUTEHEAD!

YES, HE IS!

Hee.

My cheesecake turned out NOT to be no-bake. Whoops. But it is now baked and chilling. Need to start sicing up bread for stuffing. I think I can do that in front of the TV...

I should be sleeping, or cooking, or cleaning, and yet.

Just found out that my son's 2 closest friends have both totaled their cars in the last couple days. One of them at 2am with my son in the car. No one was hurt, so he didn't think it was worth mentioning.

His chances of getting a car just went down a few notches.

Also, this whole teenage thing could be more fun.

Oy, Laura. Glad no one was hurt.

Have croutons toasting in the oven.

Whew, Laura! Good thing the young men are ok.

Askye, Harvey cooperates really well with the harness and leash, but when I take him out on it, he ends up being more insistent about getting out the door on his own. What we do to discourage cats crowding the door, is to keep a plastic grocery bag hanging from the door knob. We rattle the bag to scare the cats away from the door. For some reason, both the cats are quite spooked by the sound - whether that is because it is similar to a rattlesnake's rattle, or because there were traumatic kittenhood experiences of getting caught in the handles of the bags, I'm not sure. If Dean does not respect the bag rattle, then perhaps a soda can with a few pennies in it would do the trick. The idea is to make the scary noise when the cat is focused on the door and/or window, and comes to associate the scary noise with the door/window, and so wants to avoid it more. This approach can also work with getting on counters and tables, but only works so long as the association is strictly between the noise and the particular spot you want the cat to stay away from. Once the cat figures out that you are making the noise, the jig is up.