Meow gets a bath

Most of you have perhaps met our feline companion, Meow. We've had Meow in my family since she was a wee tiny kitten being fed with an eye dropper. I told my sister over and again, "Do not get attached to this kitten. She is not remotely likely to survive, she was taken from her mother far too young." Well, that loud tiny kitten did survive, and she came to live with Jay and I when she was around 8 weeks old (I should mention this was without Jay's consent or knowledge, but that's a tale for another day). Meow has been with us now for 12 years, through 3 cross-country moves, graduate school, and marriage. She's lived in Georgia, Massachussetts, and California. She's visited San Antonio, TX, the painted desert, and the Grand Canyon. Over the years, our little girl has become quite the dumpling. Hey, she's a spoiled house cat, it's part of life! But one downfall to this is that she cannot quite reach the more delicate parts that a cat needs to keep clean, if you catch my meaning. So about every other week or so, she gets a bath. To be fair, she is extremely good-natured about the whole thing, right up until she has to be dried off. Then, she hisses and the claws come out. I finally decided to let her "drip dry" so to speak. I wash her, then wrap her in towels and hold her in my lap till most of the water has been absorbed off of her. During this time, she licks her paws and complains about her recent experience. It's really quite funny, and while we didn't capture it on video, Jay did take some pics. I'm laughing in all of them, because each time Jay tries to get Meow to look at the camera while she's licking her paws, she proceeds to complain bitterly. Poor kitty. But she smells so nice!

MDA Muscle Walk

This weekend was a very nice mix of busy and relaxing. We went for a run on Friday night to cap off our week. Lately we've been jogging at the UCLA track in the evenings. It's well-lit and very convenient to the lab. Saturday morning we were up bright and early to attend the Muscular Dystrophy Association Make a Muscle Walk at Studio City. Jay's office had formed a team, and we walked two laps through the CBS Radford studios. We got to see people building sets, and some of the city scenes used in various TV shows. We had lunch with our friends Dan and Gretchen at Mexicali Cafe and did a little window shopping. That afternoon we relaxed at home, as Jay continued planning his camping trip with Rob that is coming up this weekend! We ended up visiting Santa Monica where we had dinner at Real Food Daily. It's a vegan restaurant my friend Jenny introduced me to - so very yummy! Sunday we had our Pilates class, and followed that up with errands and sushi for lunch. It was a nice, busy weekend. Hopefully our team photos from the walk will arrive soon, and will be posted below!

The owl you saw...

is a great horned owl! He was lovely, you can guess his species based on the lovely stripes of his feathers and the tufts at his ears.

We had a nice, low-key weekend. We had dinner with some friends in Hermosa Beach (they have a lovely beach and pier area), then spent some time getting our apartment tidy. Jay's cousin Robert and his fiancee Tia are coming for a visit, and we want the place to looks it's best!

Hope you are all well, and having many grand adventures.

Devil Canyon Hike

On Saturday Jay and I headed up north to Chatsworth, CA where we planned to hike Devil Canyon. The trail is well-known for its sandstone canyons and a year-round stream. I was hoping to see some interesting wildlife, and Jay wanted to get some good pictures. I think we were both satisfied! The trailhead would've been impossible to find if not for the friendly assistance of a fellow walker we ran into. The trailhead is now buried behind a new subdivision full of luxurious McMansions. Once we located the trailhead, we found that the trail itself was not maintained. We had to do quite a bit of "bushwhacking" and hiking in the stream itself. The trail was verdant, with plants growing even on the canyon walls.

Here is a shot of the canyon walls, and the blue sky above.
And here is a shot of the sun onto the stream below, where we entered the canyon.

But I mentioned wildlife, and we found some creatures! Along the trail, we heard frog croaks echoing off the walls. Some patience sitting next to the rocks beside the stream brought out the frogs, a local species called Pseudacris sierra. There were tons of the little guys around!
We also saw a parasite called a horsehair worm, and lots of snails attached to the stream walls which I think may be an invasive species. The best of all, though, we spotted on the hike out. An owl, snoozing in a tree waiting for the sun to set so he could begin his hunt. Would anyone like to guess the species? I'll post the answer later this week!

Meow's Cat House

When Meow stayed at the California Cat Center, we noticed that her favorite spot was the privacy tent that was provided for each kitty. It's a spot they can go curl up and hide, and inside is a sheepskin/fur pad to keep them warm and comfortable. Meow loved hers so much, that we bought her one to take home. She stays in it quite a bit, napping and hiding. Beware of putting your hand too near... she will defend her little home! I've been moving it around the apartment for her, and right now it's at the foot of our bed. I just thought I'd post a picture for you all of my cute girl napping in her new tent!

Welcome to the New Year!

Happy 2011! We had an extremely busy 2010, and it looks like this year will be the same. We spent the holidays in San Antonio with Jay's family, and had a wonderful time. Our new nephew is beautiful, and just as advanced as Darren had told us. He quickly figured out "scooting" when we arrived, and tried several times to wrangle Uncle Jay's camera. Another budding photographer in the family.

I continued my annual tradition of getting sick during the holidays. I was sick at Thanksgiving, right before Christmas, during Christmas, and then sick for New Year. Jay and I rang in 2011 with me asleep on the couch, taking decongestants. He woke me up 20 minutes before midnight, got a New Year's kiss, and then we were both asleep by 12:30. Party animals, I know. I stayed sick at work, and finally caved on Tuesday and stayed home to nurse a sinus infection and 100 F fever.

While I am back at work and feeling much, much better, the congestion has remained, leading to this fun conversation at the lab with my bay mate Chris. Chris is hilarious, and has had to put up with quite a bit of my silliness. But this exchange was a classic. I had gotten a baked potato for lunch from the Greenhouse at Ackerman. Chris was apparently unaware they had a baked potato bar there, and when he came into the lunchroom, he said, "Hey, where did you buy a baked potato on campus?" I stared at him a moment, and then asked in a very puzzled voice, "What the hell did you just say to me about pink bananas?" Yes, I was still experiencing that lovely sensation of having a bucket over my head. My ears were ringing the entire day, and Chris did not miss an opportunity to bring up pink bananas.

Decking the halls

This holiday season is looking to be one of the busiest yet - and yes, I know I say that every year! I have my Christmas spreadsheet updated, but until I get this fellowship off my desk at work and submitted, I will feel like I am treading water, barely keeping my head above the surface. To help get me into the Christmas spirit, Jay and I decorated our apartment this weekend. For the last few years we have not had a Christmas tree. Jay has always wanted a live tree, and I've always been much too practical to consider it. I decided to give in this year and see how it goes. Meow has calmed down considerably since her kittenhood, and so is unlikely to knock the tree over and break every ornament (this is what she did her first Christmas). So on Sunday we trekked out to the Home Depot tree lot and picked out a 7 foot Noble fir. We tied it to the top of Subaru in the falling rain and drove home, where Jay trimmed off the extraneous branches and we got it into the apartment. We drank eggnog and played Christmas carols while we hung our ornaments and lights, and put out my growing nutcracker collection. We collect ornaments during our travels so that we can reminisce about our trips and happy memories while we trim the tree. Here's Jay in the midst of draping the lights, complete with eggnog in hand!

And here is our nutcracker collection.

Our stockings are hung, our advent tree is filled with chocolates, we have lights in our windows, and snowglobes and holiday tins line our book shelves. Now all I have to do is finish the Christmas cards, buy all the gifts and wrap them, and get them in the mail! At least I have this lovely tree to keep me motivated and in the spirit.