Poor Henry

Oleo has finally (after three years) started lying on my lap while I sit on the couch. The problem this creates is that my lap has been uncontested Henry territory. This evening, while she was keeping my thghs warm, Henry came over and sat on the coffee table and stared at her. It was clear what he wanted. He wanted his Mommy. I could see in his little whiskered face as he processed the following choices. a) stare and try to intimidate Oleo into leaving, hard because her eyes are closed and she is purring. b) share. If you know Henry and Oleo, this is not an option. c) Leap, scratch, bite, hiss or otherwise violently remove her. Thus making Mommy mad and ensuring Oleo's spot for the rest of the night. Thankfully (for me, cos I could tell he was leaning towards c.) K chose that moment to occupy the rocking chair and thus provided an acceptable alternative.

troubles and KitKat

There is a new addition to my daily bus riders. She does not appear to know the usual crowd who entertain me so while I try to read every morning. Instead, she spends the entire ride, (a good 40 mins) telling someone on the other end of her cell phone the latest in her custody battle, car troubles, man troubles, kid troubles and something gross and unrepeatable about her "health". I read a piece today on BBC news where an Austrian Mayor is banning use of cell phones on public transport. I actually let out a cheer when I read this. It could be like the no smoking ban which is travelling around the world successfully, or it could end up like the no-talking-on-your-cell-while-driving law which seems to be scarce and unenforced in spite of repeated cheering on my part. Either way, I'd like the lady-with-many-troubles to ride a different bus, or run out of minutes, or get laryngitis troubles.

In addition to this horror, I bought and ate most of a KitKat today. On the second stick I realised there was what I call the Hershey's aftertaste. It is the same aftertaste you get from splenda or other sweeteners. I ate the third stick just in case, but that just made me check the wrapper. Apparently KitKat is made by Hershey's here. It just isn't right. Why couldn't some other American chocolate company get on board? Oh I know... stop being such a chocolate snob Natasha. SIGH.

Golden Finches!

We hung thistle seed on a new feeder and within a couple of days we had some takers. They really are an amazing coloured bird and you have to look twice to be sure you aren't seeing things. Their colour is the same as the buttercups which have taken over our front yard.

squir'ls

Dern things are eating my bird seed. We have lathered the bird feeder poles with vaseline and are hoping to catch some pretty funny sights of squirrells sliding back down their poles!

Further tales of riding the bus

In a previous post I told you all about some pretty nasty characters who I rode the bus with. I have now been riding the bus to work every morning and every evening for 5 weeks and I am glad to report that the previous characters were out of the ordinary. Firstly, I ride the same buses every day, which means the same bus drivers every day. My morning driver is woman and she always greets with a laugh and when you get off she commands you to have a good day in a trilling voice that echoes around the bus. My second morning driver is also a woman and I don't even have to pull the bell to stop the bus anymore as she now knows I always get off at the same place.

Sharing the morning bus with me is a lady who gets on at the same stop that I do. She always arrives about 30 seconds before the bus does, blowing hard. She makes the same comment to me every morning; "phoo, that hill, I dunno, phoo!". She is buddies with a few of the other daily riders. a large man, who semi-reclines over the same two front seats, and his lady friend who takes up half a seat she is so small. He has a booming laughing voice and she has a high twitter. Then there is "Dr. Pepper man". This guy has told us all repeatedly how all he ever has for breakfast is a Dr. Pepper and usually the soda is right there in his hand as evidence. He rests it on his not insubstantial chest so that the top of the bendy straw sits conveniently on his chin. I am always fascinated by how he doesn't end up with sticky soda on his chin. These four and the bus driver keep up a steady stream of chat and laughter till they have all got off one by one and only the bus driver is left, sitting high and dry in her seat.

The afternoon crowd are far more subdued. I always have the same bus driver but there isn't the daily rider crowd to make the ride interesting, which means I am able to actually get through more of my book.

Namibia in our lounge

These paintings were another excellent xmas present for K, from my Family. We have finally hung them, above our fireplace, and they look wonderful.

Chipping sparrows

House finches are being kicked out

We put new seed in the bird feeder and that has attracted a new kind of lbj. The chipping sparrow is a pretty little lbj and easy to identify by the markings on his head. Now the house sparrows have some serious competition at the feeder.

How one can benefit from careful packing

These two items were the kind that usually get left behind in a cross-contintental move. They are the kind of item that is sadly found in the dustbin, or on the most unwanted shelf in a second hand store. They don't match with anything, not even each other. They are doomed to be abandoned. The first is a wine glass that was K's xmas present and he loves it. The second is a glass cutting board decorated with brussel sprouts and I love it. We are not the type to abandon such beloved items and the great thing is, I know there are other people who will be glad to see that here they are in our kitchen!

What makes my working day worth it

In the middle of a stressful day this week, I went and hung out with these two to destress. I know they look like one and the same dog, but I swear they are two. They were adopted together on Friday, the woman who adopted them is a very lucky gal.

A cat called Shy, with a wonderful face

I have been thinking to myself this week of how perfectly she would fit in with our two. Her colouring is exactly like a combination of Oleo and Henry. Just a half of each! Of course we can't have another cat...

Violet

Violet, if you remember, is the cat who is supposed to live in my office but doesn't really like me. She has been warming up to me recently, coming to get snuggles in the middle of the day when there are no babies or dogs in the office to scare her off. She really is quite a sweetie.

A post from my desk

Hehe, Sammy just made a dog cry. It was a mastiff/pitbull/labrador mix. Poor baby.

A book recommended, but not for the faint of English.

You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll cringe. You will wonder how you could ever have put an apostrophe in some of the places you did. If you are a psuedo-Englander living in the States, you will wonder how you are ever going to write again.

A good movie

K and watched a few movies this week; American Gangster, The Jane Austen Book Club and Catch and Release. Each was good for our particular mood of the eve but the best was Catch and Release.

The plotline is simple, it's a romantic comedy and it's sweet and a little cheesy. What makes it a wonderful movie is what is going on around the romantic. In fact, it is the comedy part that allows the movie to be more than just another romantic comedy. K and I chuckled our way through it, the humour is smart and quick and quirky. In actual fact, I think silent Bob is why the movie is so great.

So, highly recommended by K and I for a Friday night after a stressful week.

At dawn in the backyard

How I lost my husband to taxes

K has been at his laptop on the dining table all day trying to work through and out of our taxes. This is one of those times where I am eternally grateful that I married the man I did.

After two days he has just completed our federal taxes. Here are some questions that came up related to that. Must we pay taxes on scholarships? Were we domiciled in Namibia? WHERE is our "tax home" and is that the same as our residence? Did I pay into my 401K and do I have an IRA? (The answer to that last is - a militant wing of the Irish government? No, I don't have one of those)

So now that he has completed the federal taxes he only has DC, Virginia and Maryland left! HOW on earth did we manage to live and earn in this many places?

We have learned many things today, including the following from the IRS publication 54: (Hopefully I won't get arrested for reproducing it!)
The term "foreign country" includes the seabed and subsoil of those submarine areas adjacent to the territorial waters of a foreign country and over which the foreign country has exclusive rights under international law to explore and exploit the natural resources.

Just in case you lived on the seabed off the Namibian shore and were wondering where to pay taxes...

Monticello from our house

Henry enjoying spring

Some colour in our Neighbourhood