Happy Belated Birthday to Kashy Boy !!

I'm such a bad mom. I forgot to post a birthday wish for my Kashy. Well, here it is: I wish you a long and happy life, little one. May your meows be heard for many years.

But, he did get some cake recently (also recent photos of The Boy):

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Happy Birthday, Cl. Panic!!

Wow! You are eleven years old today. How does it feel??

I hope you have a wonderful birthday while at work today and that you eventually get your fish tacos. In the meantime, feast on this very special Apple cake that I baked for you.

Long Live Panic!

P.S. A-Dog--those cranraisin and oatmeal cookies were awesome, as usual!

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Goodbye, Chuck !!

2007-2009

Today, Chuck passed away. He had been battling popeye for about a week, and gasping. I think it might have been tuberculosis. He just gave out. Poor guy. I was a bad mom. I will be bringing him home to bury under a tree. Photos will be posted later (closed casket).

I will miss seeing his black face every morning. He really connected with a lot of people at NNN. I only told a few people today, but so many more expressed their condolences and their grief when word got out. Chuck touched many people.

In honor of Chuck, I have set my Outlook to say "Chuck" whenever I get email.

I miss you already, sweetie!!

UPDATE...

Here are two of Chuck's last photos taken less than a month ago:

This evening, we had a small burial ceremony in the back porch. I did the burying. Mr. Nonny Nu looked on. Chuck was a good kid. We hope you like your final resting place, boy.

Goodnight, Chuck.

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Happy Birthday to Ca Loc!!

Today is Ca Loc's birthday! According to Nu Sisters' lore, Ca Loc has many hidden talents, one of which is playing the drums. You'd never think that by looking at her now! So serious, with those laser eyes...

But, Big Sister Ca Loc, thank you for always being there and caring for all of us young 'uns. We can always depend on you to give us good advice and good food. Happy Birthday!

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Squirrels

I have a squirrel problem.

We have a flower planter in front of the new Nu Residence. It originally had a few bamboo plants but, due to the townhouse being empty for quite a while before the Nus moved in, the bamboo had become bamdead. So, for the past few weekends, the Nus have been working to dig up the bamboos for removal. Those suckers are stubborn! Not only do they have pretty massive root structures, their roots also grow lengthwise so that they form a network just under the surface of the soil.

We were finally able to remove all of them so we bought some nice flowers last weekend and planted them in the flower planter. See how nice they turned out? There were Asian lilies, snap dragons, feathers, gardenia, and some other kinds of lilies.

But, all is not well in the Land of Nu. Why, you ask? SQUIRRELS. Look at what they are doing to my flowers. They dig them up--see the dirt on the edge of the planter? That dirt wasn't there last night when I went to sleep. The squirrels also chomp off the buds. Now, I don't mind if they ate the flowers, but they just bite off the flowers and leave them laying around to mock me. The thing that worries me the most, though, is the fact that the squirrels are exposing the roots of my plants. I get up every morning to find little piles of dirt on the ground next to the flower planter and pretty deep holes in the flower beds themselves.

What can I do about this? Cl. Panic suggested that I employ a bb gun, but I don't exactly want to hurt the squirrels. Just keep them out of my flowers. Does anyone know of anything that will keep squirrels away without killing or hurting them??

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Pen Conspiracy, Part II

See Pen Conspiracy, Part I.

Sir Walter Scott once wrote:

Oh, what a tangled web we weave,
when first we practice to deceive.
Marmion, Canto vi. Stanza 17.

Conspiracies are very much alive at Nu, Nu, & Nu, LLP. Why, just the other day, I reached for a yellow highlighter in my pen receptacle and found this instead:
Notice anything strange? Yes, it's a green highlighter camouflaged as a yellow highlighter. My first thought was that the ink had expired. Yes, I know. Mr. Nonny Nu will no doubt have a comment about me being a dingaling.

At the time, I was dumbfounded, but I quickly regained my composure and thought, "Who the hell could have done this?" I recalled that Cl. Panic had recently done some experimentation on Sharpie highlighters and that I had left a comment expressing skepticism at his abilities on his post. I also knew that we have a colleague at NN&N who shares a passion for pens. (Let's call her the L. Woods, just for kicks.)

I immediately took the yellow green highlighter down the hall to L. Woods, who expressed complete surprise:
nn--Dude, check this out!!
LW--What is it?
nn--It's a yellow highlighter that has green ink in it!!
LW--No way! Lemme see...
*LW hands nn a sheet of paper**
*nn lays down a thick green highlight out of the yellow highlighter*
LW--omg, that's cool.
nn--Isn't it?
LW--Totally! Where did you get that??
nn--I found it in my pen thing! I bet Cl. Panic did it.
LW--Why would he do that?
nn--Hm...you know what?? I specifically said on the blog that I didn't believe he could do this!

After this conversation, I walked back to my office and turned off my computer for the night. At that point, I heard a scream come from the L. Wood's office. Then she called my desk phone. But, seeing as how I was done for the day, I thought I'd just drop by her office on my way out. When I got there, she was BRIGHT RED with laughter and embarrassment.

LW--OMG, nn, can you delete the email I just sent you without reading it, PLEEEEEEEEZZZZZZE???? I meant to send it to someone else but sent it to you by accident. PLEEEEEEZZZZZEEEE?
nn--Um, what is it about?
LW--*sigh* Okay, I'll tell you, but you can't let Cl. Panic know that you know because I'll lose my super spy status.

With very little torture involved, L. Woods spilled the beans. Here's the email, folks:
Yes, it's practically Spy vs. Spy here at NN&N. Very interesting. However, I did receive this as a birthday present this morning!

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Happy Birthday to Sushi Cat and ogunsgirl!!

Oh, Sushi! It's your birthday again. You're still the bestest kitty in the world. The two newbies are getting better (especially the grey one), but there is a very special place in my heart that only you could fill. Happy birthday, kitty. Let's you and me share this fish cake like old times...
To ogunsgirl: How time flies! We've known each other for over six years now and have become such good friends. You are always there for me! Hm. Let's see. Last year, I believe it was chocolate. So, I hope you like crab this year!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NONNY NU!

A simple Birthday Message for You.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUZ!

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The Sharpie Liquid Accent ConspiracyI call shenanigans!by Cl. Panic, guest blogger

I'll start by saying that I'm a pretty big fan of all things Sharpie. And the folks as Sanford have been great about replacing their products on the rare occasion that they fail prematurely.

Those who know Cl. Panic know that Cl. Panic is a bit of a pen nut. Not enough of a pen nut to have a blog about pens, but enough of a pen nut to read the blogs of others that are more pen-nutty (or creative) than I.

As it turns out, I really like the Sharpie Liquid Accent highlighters. Nice bright colors, free-flowing ink, and no stuttering to slow death -- the mostly-clear barrel lets you now when you're about to be highlighter-less. Unfortunately Nu, Nu & Nu, LLP doesn't stock such high-end fare in the supply cabinet. Just cheap-ol' no-name highlighters that fade from fluorescent yellow to dingy, washed-out yellow after a few days on paper.

Not surprisingly, my penchant for the Liquid Accent is shared with at least one co-worker, and at least one bigger pen-nut. After reading a comment over on Good Pens, I decided I'd try to refill one of the Liquid Accent highlighters. You'd know, save the earth and all.

Refill you ask? How in the hell . . . . Well, I have a bottle of Noodler's fluorescent ink that I've been using in a refillable fountain pen to annotate really boring TPS reports and to prepare for my meetings with the Bobs. It rocks. And so that comment got me thinking: I have a bottle of ink and an empty Liquid Accent. This can't be so hard . . . .

Out came the pliers (this thing was NOT easy to open) . . . wait. Hold on. What the hell? It turns out that the Sharpie Accent has a false bottom. Or false middle. Or whatever. And not in a good "the money's hidden under the false drawer bottom" kind of way.

It just so happens that the false bottom is hidden by the trendy graphics on the barrel of the highlighter! I inserted a straw into the cavity to illustrate the treachery (ironically marking the end of the barrel with a black Sharpie).



It turns out that these run out of ink so quickly not just due to my over-highlighting, but because they come from the factory about half full!

I call shenanigans.*

The clever black barrel design. The nearly impossible-to-open end cap. All part of the great Sharpie conspiracy? The world may never know.

* Granted my now-empty Sharpie Accent wasn't a recent purchase. Perhaps the Sharpie folks have since changed their ways. But given the wide-spread occurrence of Grocery Shrink Ray, I somehow doubt it.

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R.I.P. Grasshopper

David Carradine passed away. I loved him in Kung Fu and also Kill Bill. But, mostly Kung Fu. He always seemed so at peace with himself. I'm very surprised that he hanged himself.

*moment of silence*

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Music of the Week: Return by OKGo

So, a bunch of us are stuck at Nu, Nu, & Nu LLP because expert reports are due. I'm just chugging along and listening to my music. Return comes on. Don't know why, but this song always reminds me of Sush. I miss you, kitty.

Return by OK Go
Now its years since your body went flat and even memories of that
are all think and dull, all gravel and glass. But who needs them
now -- displaced they're easily more safe --
the worst of it now: I can't remember your face.

Return.

For a while, with the vertigo cured, we were alive -- we were pure.
The void took the shape of all that you were, but years take their toll,
and things get bent into shape...
Antiseptic and tired, I can't remember your face.

Return.

You were supposed to grow old. Reckless, unfrightened, and old,
you were supposed to grow old.

Return. You were supposed to return.

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Calendars In The Mail

Hello, everyone! Yesterday, I mailed out the TWoNN calendars. So, you all (with the exception of three people who haven't confirmed their addresses) should be receiving them soon. Check your mail boxes! They are pretty good this year.

The calendar covers the TWoNN calendar year (4/15/2009 to 4/14/2010). Each month focuses on a word that was submitted by a TWoNN citizen a few months ago. I hope you enjoy them, and I will try to get the next one to you on time.

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Happy Memorial Day!!

What do you all think of my outfit today? I love it. It took some time to put together, but I believe it was worth the time. I feel pretty!

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Precious Moments

No, I haven't blogged in a long time. It's because I was buried under MOUNTAINS of work (ask Cl. Panic and Green Thumbs if you don't believe me). But what has dragged me out of the bleary-eyed just-wash-enough-clothes-to-get-me-through-the-week mode that I've been in? The almost indescribably creepy concept that is Precious Moments.

You all know what I'm talking about. Those figurines of angelic children with the large eyes? Yeah, those. But you must be wondering why these precious and momentous little things should creep me out, right? Okay, I'll tell you.

I received this email today from Midge:









Without reading the URL, I just clicked on the link and was greeted with this. "What's so creepy about that??" Right. Just bear with me. So, as you all know, 3-Fish is Midge's and Midge's Sister's mom. She is also MonkeyPig's and my sister. We all love her, but 3-Fish sometimes does things that are, well, to say the least, unexplained. 3-Fish lives in Kansas and there are not any Disneylands or Magic Mountains there. Instead, they have Silver Dollar City and the aforelinked Precious Moments Park.

Now, I have nothing against SDC. I love SDC. I remember eating a very tasty turkey leg at SDC. They also had great rides. But, PMP is another matter entirely. I was never creeped out by Precious Moments until I went to the park one time when MonkeyPig, Jean Cutter, and I were visiting the Fishes in Kansas. We parked, we got out of the car, paid for admission, and was allowed onto the grounds. Now, what do you think is the first thing that greets me? The thing that sets the tone for the entire visit?

A COMPLETELY SILENT, LIFE-SIZED PRECIOUS MOMENT INDIVIDUAL FLOATING TOWARD ME WITH ITS GINORMOUS EYES.

I thought I was having a Donnie Darko moment. If I am not mistaken, I swear I heard a low hum that didn't seem to have a source as the PMI otherwise noiselessly approached. I don't know if it was because the size, dead silence, and hover of that thing was totally unexpected, but that has creeped me out for over a decade. I believe that everyone else on the visit had the same reaction and are probably traumatized by that thing, too. Okay, with the exception of 3-Fish, who just loved the visit. *rolls eyes*

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Hair

One of the magazines that we subscribe to is GQ. I know that this is for guys, but I love this magazine. I really like the articles, but I love the "advice" columns and the new gadgets articles. A problem I've always had, though, is with the ads because there are so may fem models in them.

I was trolling the GQ site and saw that Edward Cullen was going to be on the cover of the April issue. (Have you read his wife's autobiography??) Normally, Mr. Nonny Nu reads the issue and then passes it along to me, but this month was different. I called dibs on it at the beginning of March. Since we were moving, I was really antsy that it would be misdirected. Anyhow, it arrived this week without a hiccup.

Now. Take a look at the Burberry ad on the back of the issue:

What is going on with the dude's hair?? I could barely contain my laughter around Zac Ephron's 'do. I mean, can a man get any prettier than that? But, that was until I saw the Burberry ad. That's some hair. Oh, cripes. I was just now trying to imagine what the hair looks like from the back. Yikes. Is there a split down the middle of that guy's head with all the hair brushed forward? I don't get it. I'm just glad Mr. Nonny Nu doesn't have enough hair to do his hair that way. Thank goodness for small favors.

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