I haven't been here since about 1200 posts ago, so, hi. Caught up the last ~300. I saw msbelle's post on FB. I'm very sorry to hear about Strega, and with apologies, I'm not sure who is Strega. Laura mentioned Maria above, and I was stricken to think that it might be Maria N, and am so relieved to read the restaurant posts above.

Thfffbpt to your landlord, Hil.

I'm afraid I don't really know Strega, either, Java cat.

I just went through the last couple hundred posts on natter, and JZ clearly knows so it is, so I'm just going to email her.

RE restaurants and Halloween, my neighborhood is bonkers for Halloween. Some years ago I was talking to the then-owner of my then-favorite pizza place, and he said Halloween is the busiest time of year for them, everybody has Halloween parties and everybody serves pizza. The next biggest day of the year is the Super Bowl.

Katie I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. She was lucky to have you and Dave, as are all your cats, past, present, and future.

Someone from my hometown had a birthday yesterday, and I clicked his thank you this morning, and veered off onto the page of someone I knew a little bit from the hometown. She and her husband now own this: [link] this, [link] and possibly something in Malibu, too, I couldn't figure that out. This too. [link] They are architecture fans, into renovations.

Which just goes to show that everything is relative. I am so happy with my little house thus morning, being able to turn on my heater and take the chill off, and having hot running water. I know one of my friends from my hometown feels a little sorry for me, or maybe disappointed that I'm not more ambitious. My life is certainly different from the person above. I was going to say she would feel sorry for me, but actually she was a nice person, and so were her parents and siblings, and I doubt that would be part of her vernacular.

Great idea. [link]

Excellent plan they have there.

Thanks Java. We really miss our little friend Ellie. Nobody could ever patrol around the house first thing in the morning the way she did it.

I knew she was mortal when I adopted her and that I would have to say Goodbye too soon, but it is awfully hard every time. You'd think I'd get used to it, but noooooo. I suppose it's good to see that my crusty, indifferent heart still has so much emotion hiding in it.

"Did your organizer come yet? I guess not."

What an asshole.

"Did your organizer come yet? I guess not."

What an asshole.

What she said.

Hey y'all. Life at Chez Suzi continues to be interesting. Crowley is healing from last week's stitches and will get them out just in time to get neutered. The thumb luck on my patio door broke off in my hand and they didn't give the repair dude the right part, so he just left and hopes to be back next week. Kelly and her family are leaving for Phoenix tomorrow for a funeral. Sunday I finish up the classes for my major and move into 4 classes for my specialization.

CJ took me shooting yesterday. My first shot of his pistol, while on target, unnerved me. I had to put it down and walk away for a while. I didn't grow up around guns. I didn't know anyone who had them (if they did, I didn't know) until I moved to Colorado. With each firearm CJ has purchased, he has gone through all the information on it with me - the safety features, how to load it, unload it, and so on. But I hadn't handled any of them myself until yesterday. He was great about talking me through each step, being patient and checking in on me, gently encouraging me to try again. The rifle felt more controllable, which I completely didn't expect. CJ mainly wanted me to be able to put into practice what he has been showing me so if I HAD to use any of them, I could.

I had a similar experience when a cop friend took me shooting, Suzi. Almost all of the handguns were so heavy and so REAL, they were kind of overwhelming. The only one that didn't bother me was the .22 rifle.

And I also agree with earlier assessments of Hil's landlord.