Blupdate Neanderthal Poetry Style

Kids no kick, kids no chop; we donate karate gear to the shop.

Big Garage Clean mean take free stuff, workout equipment so boys get buff.

Tree outside block nice view, five-hour trim make look like new!

Winter say, "Here me am! With big snow--I you slam."

Ski mountain full, so Chase come here; try learn snowboard with borrowed gear :)

Soft, weird cat make Graysen ill; Gabby bring two, his space she fill.

Spax cat puke lots of hour; Geely cat escape well-built tower . . .

(No . . . is not trash panda . . . is Geely cat . . .)

Suprise Brennen work; buy Buck shoes. Yes, on blog. You no choose ;)

Red car break, it not funny; go to shop, cost big money. Sound like flush when it turn on, need new tires, battery; van's is gone. Two of five got no heat. Neanderthal smart; just use feet.

Valentine Date Day

It was just so nice of Valentine's Day to happen on one of Buck's usual days off! I wanted to do something different than our typical dinner and errands date, so I did some research on restaurants, shops, and unique spots in the Old Market area. It was a gloomy, rainy love day, but we decided the weather reduced the amount of people out and about, which was alright with us :)

Our first stop was a darling little coffee shop that serves delicious waffles--and how about waffle charcuterie, yes please! The ingredients tasted fresh and legit, not cheap. My favorite was the fruit compote, chocolate chips, and fluffy whipped cream. Oh, and they had Valentine special drinks--I got a Love Shot, a raspberry chai! Yummmm!

We decided to take as many pictures as we could, and to work on our selfie prowess . . . it's still a work in progress, ha! Waffles get TWO pictures; they were that good!

Next, we went to a vinyl shop down the road--I thought it was a trendy retro place, but it turns out it has been there forever! At one of our five eye appointments on our seven-appointment day, the receptionist told me how, as a teenager, she'd walk down to the record store after work when new albums were released (or she'd call and have them save one until she got there). It was the same place! We don't actually own a record player, but it was fun to look at some of the vinyls (and CDs) we had as kids and teens--and a few we wished we'd had. I found the She's Too Fat Polka, what?!

Next we went into a retro toy store . . . it was massive! Toys from every year of our childhoods and beyond. We both found our elementary school lunch boxes on display, right there next to each other ($40 plus each, which is funny because Brennen pondered the other day, "I wonder what stuff we should be keeping that will be really valuable someday." :) Well, we could have saved our CareBears and RainbowBrites and my brother's He-Man (they had the one with the crush chest that rotates!) G.I. Joe, Ninja Turtles, Cabbage Patch, one thousand Barbies, oodles of memories with price tags on every shelf! I spotted a Papa Smurf glass, which I'm pretty sure was a McDonalds happy meal item 35 years ago, and was instantly transported back to seeing it in my kitchen cupboard. I could even tell you which shelf it was supposed to go on! Crazy!

Our next stop was a Christmas shop--I'm not sure how they stay in business when it is not Christmas. Inside, down the aisle, there was a little gift shop of locally made/inspired items, which tricked us by having its own entrance around the block. I looked in the window and said, "That's the same lady!" Ha, it would have been weird to show up again in her section from a different direction. We took two selfies for the two stores (not really, but it looks like Buck is wearing an elf hat in the second one, so I had to include it :)

We continued to look more bedraggled as the day went on--the rain kept on falling, but it wasn't terribly cold. Buck said it was like being back in Ireland on our honeymoon . . . not quite, but a sweet observation :) Next, we stopped into a little candy shop; I didn't even know it was there! They were bringing out fresh trays of goodies, so they must be making them in the kitchen somewhere. Clearly a big day for a homemade candy shop, that little store was packed!

We did some outdoor selfies, too! You get a picture of our "usual" attempt and a "not-so-bad" attempt :) It was nice seeing some green foliage in the winter.

We walked a block over and a couple blocks up to visit an old, old bookstore that I've been curious about checking out. It was . . . interesting. I expect an old bookshop to be enchanting, delightful, attention absorbing! This one smelled funny, not a good funny. There were the typical stacks of books everywhere and nooks and crannies galore, but not quite as charming as the bookshop I assembled in my puzzling adventure earlier this year :)

I might have missed a couple stops, but we tried to keep up with our photos :) We debated coming home or driving farther out to find a little British shop I'd heard about. After some discussion, we compromised and picked a place in between, because I wanted to bring home cupcakes for the kids for a Valentine dessert after dinner. Well, as we walked up to the cupcake shop--another bookstore got right in our way! This one was newer and soooo much cleaner. It turns out the books were also used, ahem, "Gently pre-read in almost new condition." But they were cheap, and that was great! I also bought a puzzle that was cheap, because I'm guessing it too is "gently pre-built." That kind of grosses me out, but we'll see what I think when I open the box :) No pics in there, but we did take an important safety precaution after the cupcake shop--given the wet weather and all ;)

We did find the British shop, but were kind of disappointed in it, so didn't take any pictures (although the queen in the window display next to a red phone booth might have been amusing--but it was still raining). We bought some frozen meat pies and some Digestives (cookies that I enjoyed in Ireland) and a bit of Cadbury's chocolate from their limited selection. We had hoped to grab hot food as a snack, but that didn't work out, so we found an Ahi Sushi Ramen, etc. restaurant in the area. I ordered a couple of egg rolls and egg drop soup; Buck ordered Pad Thai and shared with me (and still brought a half-full box home!) The entire time we were there--they played one song over the speakers . . . "I want something just like this--bum, ba-da-dum, bum--something just li-ike this . . ." We nearly went insane. Good food, though!

Upon arriving home, we decided not to make dinner, but to order Valentine's pizza from the gas station--the best! It was delivered about the same time Brennen arrived home from work. We ate our pizza, then headed downstairs to watch the first two Maze Runner movies (who forgot they were about zombies?, oh yeah, that's me raising my hand)! We took a zombie break and broke into the cupcakes and candies and British dessert things.

Noah joined us after he finished working. Gabby and Chase had plans elsewhere, but Caelan said Gabby stopped by with some Valentines while Buck and I were out on the town. Graysen also chose sweet treats and cards to put on the Valentine table at breakfast-time. And of course, we opened our red envelopes from Grandma J and cheered for a restock of Starbucks gift cards :) I'd say it turned out to be a pretty happy Valentine's day 💖

Kitty Stuff

We're pretty sure this kitten has some brain issues. He is so not sure-footed and he is very forgetful! He'll cuddle me one minute, and then if I leave the room, he freaks out like he's never seen me before and off he goes at lightning speed to hide somewhere. It's odd.

There's also a chance G$ might be allergic to him . . . he hasn't been to an allergist since he was three and looked like this--

Back then his scratch test came back clear, allergic to nothing. But in the past few weeks, he's back to looking like this--

We were able to get an allergist appointment only eight days out (which is amazing, since the first place Buck called was months away). He's been off the allergy meds he was taking, as directed, for almost a week now. We're running out of kleenex and the sneezing, nose blowing, and itching is starting to bother him (more than starting :) 

Working on stealing my pen . . .

Graysen built him a scratch box!

I'm not sure how he got back behind the washer and dryer again, but I know he couldn't get out because I completely blocked him off. He decided it wasn't such a great place to be, after all.

We now go to the wall by the stairs to find a pencil for school, bill paying, writing notes, etc. His collection was up to six and growing!

Raptor eyes, like Jurassic Park

Sometimes he just HAS to have physical contact. He sat like this for close to 30 minutes. It looks like he's praying for healing, lol. Maybe he should put his paws on Graysen instead :)

As it turns out . . . he should NOT put his paws on Graysen. Buck took Graysen to the allergist yesterday (one of our seven doctor appointments of the day). They did the 24-pack scratch test and cats popped at a 4+--the highest on the scale! Interestingly, that was the only allergen he reacted to, but as the seasoned allergist said, "I don't believe it." He said Graysen's nose structure is altered from years of rubbing it, how crazy is that? The cartilage at the end is not developed/soft and he has a divot where there isn't usually a divot. Something about his eyes, too, but I'm relating what I remember Buck relating to me :)

The allergist would like to do further testing (I think a 72 panel?) to find out what the other things are (he's almost sure of dust mites, like Buck), but only if Graysen wants to pursue allergy shots. That's one shot per week for a year (one hour appointment each), then every other week, then every month, etc. until he clears five years. FIVE years of shots!! He'll be 20.

So, despite the fact that cat allergens apparently stick in one's home for a solid year, we decided the best thing to do is to return BB to the organization (as per contract) that we adopted him from. I guess we really did just have him on lease! I emailed them just a few minutes ago, so I guess we'll see how that reversal process goes.

Yes, there are ways around having an allergy and having a cat simultaneously . . . these involve tearing out our carpets, having our furniture cleaned regularly, wiping down walls with soap and water frequently, running a HEPA filtration system, confining the cat to a couple of rooms (or outside, which is strictly against our contract), having G$ change his clothes before bed, washing his hands any time he touches the cat, and somehow keeping the cat out of Graysen's space (BB climbed the ladder to the top bunk and chewed on Graysen's toes two nights ago, so . . .) It's a lot. And that is while he's doing the allergy shot regimen.

For now, Graysen has five prescriptions to help zap the current reaction. Which is crazy, because Buck took him to his appointment when G$ was little and he came back with a whole stack of prescriptions then, too. I guess if we only have to go through this process once a decade, the shots won't be necessary. Graysen has a recheck in a month, and the doctor will decide what the best course of action is at that point.

And I finally got my cat selfie, just in the nick of time :)