Meet Jersey, Ichi, Figgy, and Ollie

It's an animal house around here! Three cats is okay but add a dog in the mix and it is a whole new dynamic that I'm not very comfortable with. I think I would rather have triplets than a dog. But Dan says he will train her not to lick, jump, howl, scratch my new wood floors, play fetch, and other niffy and necessary behaviors. Here is a run down of our clan:

Ichiro S. BeeBee (Ichi)- is named after Dan's favorite baseball player, Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. We first met Ichi when he was still in the womb. Our friends' cat got pregnant and Dan picked Ichi because he was the only grey kitty in a litter of black kittens. He is 4 1/2 years old and loves to sleep on our new red velvet chair.

Figgins (Figgy) - is named after Chone Figgins of the Anaheim Angels (one of Elizabeth's favorite baseball players). She was adopted after Dan found her and her three black brothers under a wood palate at the CHP office in Torrance. She is an orphan because her mom most likely got squished by traffic outside the office on the busy street. Dan affectionately called her "garbage" for awhile because she has stripes like the cat Dwight got Angela after he murdered Sprinkles on an episode of The Office. We bottle fed her from the time she was 5 weeks old. She has the loudest motor and likes to swallow her kibble and treats whole instead of chewing them. We call her our "noise ninja" because she is drawn to anything that makes noise like cell phones and sirens. When a T-mobile commercial comes on she perks up at the sound of the T-mobile generic ring. She loves to steal my red grading pens, play with ice cubes in water, and she does this hilarious cackle sound when she sees birds and flies. She is 15 months old.

Oliver (Ollie) - is our newest feline named after Dickens' orphan hero Oliver Twist. He was living in my friend Janee's neighborhood. It took Dan and Janee several weeks to catch him. He adjusted very well to Ichi and Figgy but still runs away from all humans. I still wonder if he will ever learn to trust us. Oh, well, at least he is cute! He is probably 4 months old and loves to wrestle with Ichi and Figgy.

Jersey - is the dog. She is half german pointer and half chocolate lab. We think that she is about 6 months old. She was named Jersey because she is the color of a jersey cow (and we live in Chino where there are many many cows). Once again my friend Janee is responsible for this addition to our "family". She was lost and chasing cars on a busy street. Janee rescued her and tried to find her owners but could not. So. . .Dan wanted to keep her and now Jersey lives in our little cement side yard. She is really sweet (and stinky and dirty) and Dan thinks she has great potential. I'm still holding out for Jersey's real owners to call us.

Well that is it! NO MORE PETS IN THIS HOUSE!!! Don't forget to participate in my pet survey located on the left of your computer screen.

I have been tagged!

I've been tagged by Christine Mowles which means I need to display the picture that is fourth in my fourth picture file. This is the mascot for the Seattle Seahawks. Dan took this picture when he and I were there in 2007 for a preseason game. I never cared for football much until I met Dan and I must say that even though I don't mind it on TV I never go out of my way to see a football game. I wish a more interesting picture was my fourth, fourth picture. Oh well!

I now tag: Mom, Kathryn, Ben, and Rachel

Fire - Update

6:00 am Sunday morning
The good news is the wind has totally stopped in Chino. The sad news is that the fire(s) are coming over the hills from Brea into Chino Hills. Our house is a very safe distance away but we are somewhat trapped in Chino. The fires have closed down most every road that can bring us towards LA. I just might stay home on Monday with Dan. It took him almost three hours to get back to Chino last night after a 14 hour work day.

"Love Him in the morning. . .

. . .when you see the sun is rising!" is how one of my old favorite worship songs begins. Taking a glance out my bedroom window to see the vibrant colors of the sunrise is how I usually start my day. Isn't it beautiful?! I've always been a morning person but Chino really rewards you for getting up early with heartwarming scenes like this. Having learned to take pleasure in the little treasures on this earth has helped me stay grounded in times of turmoil. To me the sunrise is a glimpse of eternal glory. C.S. Lewis in his book The Great Divorce describes Heaven as a place where life is more solid, vibrant, and real compared to earth. The colors will be brighter, the rain will glisten more, the heavenly bodies of souls who have gone to heaven are more solid and strong. His imaginings are quite the contrast from the more accepted view of heaven and life after death where everything is translucent and vapor-like. Our spoiled and imperfect earth is merely a shadow compared to the aesthetic splendor and glory of Heaven.

TIME OUT!!!

This past Tuesday Dan and I finally had a day off together. (Thanks Veterans!) We saved most of this day for a relaxing trip to our favorite local spot, Crystal Cove beach in Newport. After breakfast Dan and I packed a few things and drove 25 minutes to Newport and spent the morning walking along the cliffs with the blue ocean splashing below. We walked barefooted in the soft, wet sand, searched for the most unique looking shells, laughed at the funny little crabs in the tide pools, and laid down on our towels resting in the sun listening to the crashing waves. There were no ghetto blasters, no traffic noise, no little kids screaming, no teenagers casually using profanity. . . it was a marvelous day. After a few hours of relaxation we drove to the Shake Shack and shared a cookie dough milkshake before our drive back to reality. Today I am glad I live in California.

There is a little Miss Havisham in us all!

During our recent move Dan and I purged many things that we no longer needed. In the midst of sorting I came across a bridesmaid's bouquet from my wedding over five years ago and also the lemon leaves from the bouquet of white roses that Dan used to propose to me six years ago. They were a dusty, frail shadow of their former selves; crusty, brown, and frail. I had held on to them long after they lost their beauty because I wanted to hold on to the memories that they represent. At last after I lingered over them I decided to snap a few pictures and toss them in the trash. While unlike Miss Havisham my momentos represented pleasant memories, they still held me hostage. Don't get me wrong. . .I'm all for keepsakes. But when you keep smelly, messy dead flowers in your house for years, you've gone a little too far! I never want to be a slave to my stuff.

Fire!

Hello Everyone! One of the things we were warned about when we moved to Chino was the fierce wind that blows through the valley on occasion. In the first wind storm about a month ago we lost many trees around the neighborhood and the hay at the dairy next to our house caught on fire. We couldn't believe how loud the wind can howl. For the past two days we have had our second big wind storm and unfortunately it is helping to spread fire throughout the Los Angeles area. I took a quick picture of the Corona/Yorba Linda fire from the window of the third story loft. I am so sad for the hundreds of families that have lost their homes to the fires.