A cat birthday, and other activities in Sequim

Well, we celebrated a cat birthday last Saturday. Miss Kitty clearly hated her birthday pompom hat and the flame three inches from her whiskers, but the Costco rotisserie dinner made up for it.

My dad never was allowed to have pets while he was growing up. He never learned to appreciate or understand animals. Because my mom is not one to be told what to do, we had a dog and some cats when I was a kid, but Dad made it very clear he did not like them and would have nothing to do with them. So it’s so nice to see that he’s formed a bond with Miss Kitty. He pets her, calls her over, gives her treats, plays with her favorite toy. You’re never too old to learn.

Today I ran 7.5 kilometers, a personal record!

A gorgeous sunrise in the Pacific Northwest.

Snow up on the Cascades, and a cool lenticular cloud!

Low-res Seattle, 1996, taken with my very first digital camera, an Apple QuickTake 200. I got it for free as an educational customer bonus when I bought my first computer, a Mac Performa 6205CD, in 1996.

For dinner one night this week I made Coquillettes au Jambon — a fancy French version of macaroni and cheese, with ham, mushrooms, and scallions.

I brought my friend the heating pad on this trip. It goes with me most places. It’s not that my back aches every night; it is more there for comfort. It helps me sleep.

I made chicken tacos for dinner one night. Cooked chicken breast, shredded with a bit of broth, some tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, plus a squeeze of lime juice. Served with lettuce, tomato, onions, sour cream, cheese, salsa, and chips.

And then Dad wanted to help clean up after dinner. I came into the kitchen and found him piling the leftover chicken onto the spoon rest and stovetop. I quickly grabbed a Pyrex bowl and asked him to put the rest into this bowl instead, then showed him how. This kind of thing is just normal now.

This is also normal now. He brought the pitcher of lemonade over to his chair, presumably to refill his glass, but instead he poured the entire pitcher into this bowl of grapes. He then proceeded to eat the grapes, and drank the lemonade out of the bowl. When he finished, he got up, went out the front door, poured the remaining lemonade and grape stems onto the front porch, then took the bowl into the bathroom and put it in the sink.