...but I'll post here as well. Folks have asked me what I want for my birthday tomorrow, and what I really want are donations made in my name to HSHV. That would be the awesomest birthday present ever. :)

12:12 Driving to the cemetery where my mom and dad are buried. I can't believe it's been three years since she died. #

17:52 Some of you might appreciate this: RT @shaunabiznet: Dear John, Thanks for the Layoff bit.ly/W27zZ #

20:57 Whywhywhy am I still on OKCupid? I do not want "short term love" from Mr. "I'm white fit and hung." #

20:59 Who propositioned me because he thinks "unattractive people are shallow". (WTF?) He received a patented Lisa's Scathing Response (tm). #

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13:12 I desire ice cream. I wonder what's in the fridge? #

13:13 Also, Joomla is threatening to change my life. Well okay. At least change the way I view website building. #

16:46 Ignore all tweets from @bangping. She lies like a lying liar! #

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22:37 Chocolate Wafernusse: SO ADDICTIVE. Thank god they're cheap at Aldi. (Think European KitKat with hazelnut cream. YUM.) #

10:32 Help my shelter win a grant! We were #1 in the state, but we've fallen to #2. Please vote! bit.ly/BYob6 #

10:34 Er. Vote for the Humane Society of Huron Valley, of course. :) You can vote daily, once per browser. bit.ly/BYob6 #

15:45 I am totally failing at social media today. Tried to post a video link to @hshv, and took about 3 tries to get the link right. #geekfail #

18:16 Dinner tonight: be social, or eat leftovers and code? #

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22:41 Wow. "Catwoman" really was appallingly bad. #

09:03 Dr. appt next week, so certain folks will not yell at me. ;) #

09:34 I am bouncy this morning. Not sure why. #

11:26 Anyone out there familiar with Drupal? Opinions? Considering implementing CMS for work--we have one for donations, but not the main site. #

11:36 Ditto Joomla. Any thoughts? #

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09:13 There's a bright golden haze on the meadow... (No really. There is.) #

09:14 The corn is not, however, as high as an elephant's eye. #

09:42 I really love BBC News. The announcers can be so delightfully snarky. #

15:06 Merlin just had his first claw-clipping. He was a very brave boy! #

18:53 Er, I just noticed that the mole that's been on my nose all my life is suddenly swollen and tender. Right. Call dr. tomorrow. *frets* #

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• 11:08 Fosters are at the clinic today, getting snipped and poked. One of them, Blue, will be staying at the shelter, looking for a new home. :) #
• 18:14 @NorwichGrrl that's easy, look at my username! :) Selkies are a long-time favorite. #
• 20:47 RT @bangping From across couch: @roane: DID YOU JUST STICK YOUR TAIL IN MY WATER? Lucy: *screeches indignantly* Ahh, life at my house. #
• 20:47 It's true. Lucy is a menace. And also, is evil. #
• 20:49 @JoeCaloric It's true! She's @bangping's cat! #

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• 09:03 Excellent weekend all around. Time spent with awesome company and even managed to get some work done. #
• 20:58 I love this. So much. RT @LauraBishop: RT: @phuul RT @geekgirldiva: bit.ly/buffyvsedward Buffy vs. Edward! Made of awesome. #

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A meme I can get behind. Italicize the plays you have read, bold the titles you have watched (TV/film) and * the ones you have seen in performance.

( There be memes ahead )

bangping has some WONDERFUL pictures of the babies in her journal. Tonight's my first night to take all the night feedings. Wish me luck. :)

We have babies.

It's kitten season at HSHV, and today we had at least 10 tiny tiny kittens come in--bottle babies. They needed foster homes. It's a harsh thing, but while HSHV doesn't euthanize for space, these are kittens that need 24/7 care, and we can't provide that at the shelter. Without foster homes, we can't care for babies this young. And today we were short of foster homes. So I called bangping and told her what was up, and we agreed to take some of the babies home. The good news is, all of the babies found foster homes today, so everyone's being taken care of.

I don't know what happened to their mother(s)--we're pretty sure the three we have aren't all from the same litter. There's no telling. The sad thing is, most likely nothing happened to their mothers, but some well-meaning people came upon some kittens and brought them in to us while Mom was out finding food for herself. But there's no way to know. Two are possibly less than a week old: eyes and ears closed, with the umbilical cord still attached. The third is a little older, but not much. Her eyes are starting to open.

They are beautiful, and frighteningly dependent on us. As bangping says, for the next few weeks, we'll be living life in two-hour blocks, between feedings. I'll be taking them to work with me on days she has to work, and we'll split the night feedings so neither one of us is up and down all night. After about two weeks, the feedings will get further apart. At eight weeks they'll be old enough to take back to the shelter for adoption.

No names yet, although the oldest one is apparently going to be Mandy (assuming we're correct about her sex--it's hard to tell at this age!). I'm trying to dissuade bangping from naming the little orange tiger-striped one Monster, on the grounds that their names right now are marketing tools for when they're adoptable. :) This is my first real fostering experience, so I'm trying very hard to love these little guys, but hold enough back so that I can let them go when the time comes.

I have a feeling this won't be the last time we do this. Kitten season has a long long way to go.

I'm terrible LJer, I go away and leave you postless for ages, and when I come back, it's just to ask for something. (FWIW, I am still reading you all faithfully, I promise.)

So, here's the thing. Walk and Wag is the Humane Society of Huron Valley's biggest fund-raising event of the year. This year, as I'm sure you can imagine, things are tighter for everybody, us included. We've been really lucky so far, but W&W is huge for us.

W&W is a chance for folks to get together on May 16th in a park with their dogs and either walk, or not. We ask folks to have friends and family sponsor them to raise money. Obviously, I'll be there, and although I may be too busy being an employee to walk, I'm still asking for sponsors. If you're local and can attend, please do! The details are all on the website. If you want to sign up as a walker or as a team and raise some money yourself, fabulous! If you want to buy a raffle ticket, contact me. But if you just want to spare a few dollars to help out homeless animals in Washtenaw County and surrounding areas, please do so, either by sponsoring me or making a general donation to the event.

Thanks guys. :)

Hey custardfairy did you see this?? :)

EPA Acts to Block Mountaintop Mining Project

Okay, so. I'm now on twitter as roane. I promise not to import my tweets to LJ, ever. Facebook, on the other hand, is fair game.;)

I know I've been quiet lately, but that's mostly because things are going very very well. I love my job, I love the classes I'm taking, and I have wonderful people in my life. All is as well as real life ever gets. :)

I'm reading everyday, though.

Needing food inspiration today. I'm kinda wanting to try making something Indian, but I can't find any recipes online that appeal to me. Suggestions are welcome.

Also, thanks to bangping I'm sucked into watching Pop-Up Videos.

But really: I'm gonna be productive any minute now.

I made cabbage soup last night, because my mom used to make me cabbage soup, and I missed it. It was not quite like hers, but yummy nonetheless:

Sweat together a chopped onion, minced garlic, some roughly chopped carrots, and ditto celery in olive oil with plenty of salt. Add in half a shredded cabbage. Dump in a large can of crushed tomatoes, and one of those 32 oz boxes of beef stock (could use chicken or vegetable stock, I'm sure). Salt, pepper and add herbs as desired: I used fines herbes. Simmer until the cabbage is tender. If there's room in the pot, and broth enough, you could expand this to include more veggies or macaroni--I was going to add potatoes and macaroni, but I ran out of room (a common problem with me and soup). Instead I just added a can of cut green beans and let them simmer long enough to blend and heat up. You could probably add some sort of meat in there if you really wanted (pork would probably be lovely), but it's plenty satisfying without it.

What I wound up with was a bowl of crunchy-tender vegetables in a savory, thick broth. I've been devouring the leftovers for lunch delightedly.

Of course, what I discovered today is that, along with the usual cabbage-effects, apparently cabbage is also a diuretic. Oops. Good thing I'm working at home today.

When I started working at HSHV, I didn't know much about feral cats or how humane societies and rescue groups are caring for them. I didn't know anything at all about trap, neuter, and return programs (TNR), that help assure these cats live out healthy, happy lives. Now I'm convinced it's the most humane and caring solution to the problem of feral colonies in the area. At HSHV, we have a situation where we could help, if only we were allowed to. My boss's boss sent out this email today, asking for help. I'm passing it along in case anyone else wants to help.

( Email text follows )

A very happy "you're not old cause you're younger than me" birthday to bangping! The dogs promise to let you sleep in on your birthday by not barking at every truck that goes by. :)

Get your own valentinr

Also... I joined a gym again and did 20 minutes on a treadmill today. This was two hours ago, and I think I've recovered, mostly. Damn, am I out of shape. Don't cheer me too loudly, you might scare the motivation away. ;)

But, yay endorphins. :)

Pan-seared Delmonico steak (medium rare), wilted baby spinach, crusty farm bread from Zingerman's.

I was sitting down to eat within ten minutes of turning on the stove. Plus, there's fresh pineapple chunks for dessert. Can't beat that. :)