Centerfield

Google Maps rocks. Especially the satellite-photo-map hybrids.

We did the turkey thing last Sunday with a real turkey instead of one of the commercial genetic mutants (only three shot pellets found!) and today we're going out with other family for a restaurant buffet meal, then to one of their homes for pie and football and socializing and screaming-children session. The weather's nice, so they can go scream and play outside. We'll scream at the games inside, having goodly Denver and KC representation.

We had a quiet day - just the two of us and our new kitty. Did you know cats beg? I was meowed at rather insistently the entire time I was cutting up the remainder of the turkey. Until, of course, she got a bit of it.

Did you know that guinea pigs beg? They make this "wheeking" noise when they get excited. They can get quite excited when you open the refrigerator, or, in the case of our guinea pig, when she hears a plastic bag rattling. Of course, they're strictly herbivorous, so they only beg for raw veggies, and sometimes fruits, but more than a very small amount of sugar isn't good for them.

We're not fond of turkey in this family, so we did pork chops, garlic mashed potatoes, steamed carrots and cauliflower, and a brown cream sauce -- all homemade in no more than 2 hours, start to finish. We then took this over to my mother-in-law's apartment and had lunch, leaving at home the fruit-and-Jello salad that had not yet set due to poor planning and lack of ice on our part. (No big loss as far as I am concerned; I have an aversion to Jello.)

Afterwards, we dropped the leftovers in the fridge at home and all (except my mil) went geo-caching for the rest of the afternoon. We found some interesting cashes and traded some interesting "geo-swag," including a set of jingle-bells, a rain-gague from Tennessee, and a casino chip from Las Vegas.

After we got home, we had leftovers for dinner, and my husband and I watched "Thank You For Smoking" while the children watched something more appropriate in the other room.

Having both cats and guinea pigs, yeah, some are real beggars all right! They can also tell time, and will let you know when the standard dinner hour arrives. Not having big puppy-dog eyes, they have to be vocal when begging.

I'm curious how your cats and guinea pigs co-exist? How many of each do you have?

Our guinea pig often figures out when we are eating and asks for food then.

Ah, and speaking of guinea pigs, since my daughter is not here to do it tonight, I had better go and give her her vitamin C supplement and some veggies. The vet wants us giving her extra C since she appears to have allergies to something in the environment. (She sneezes.) The allergies are going to make her more prone to upper-respiritory infections, so we have to be extra careful with her. She's worth it, though.

Two of each, and a smallish English Setter. The piglets don't run loose, though. I built them a 2*2*5 foot cage with two levels and a coupla tunnels and "caves." Occasionally the cats come in and watch them, but they never try to get in the cage or anything, just do that sphinx thing and watch them from a few feet away. The pigs sometimes ignore them, sometimes watch back and make noises at them ("Nyah nyah!"). One of the cats is a good mouser, but I think he's a bit intimidated by "mice" that're only half his size.

We don't supplement the pigs, but their feed is supposed to have enough C in it and they get their treats of apple, carrot, or bell pepper every evening. And they know exactly when the treats are supposed to show, and will let you know that time has arrived should you dare think of forgetting. Cute little critters.

The setter, a veteran upland bird dog, does his best to ignore them all, even when the cats try to sleep on him. Inside the house, other critters are fellow citizens. Outside the house is another matter, but he still leaves cats alone.

Anybody watch the Macy's parade? Don't get me wrong; I'm all for public safety and everything, but the ballons were flown so low that poor Grover looked like he was scraping his nose on the street.

Other than that, the only tense moments came

a) when Mom got sick and left me to my own devices in the kitchen, something she never would have done if she was well. (Sinister laugh) As a result, when I brought the stuffed turkey out, Mom asked "What are those little green flecks all over it?"

"Dried parsley. I thought I'd try something different."

Well, everybody ate it, and nobody died, so I may try it again next year.

b) I made fun of our guest's cranberry Jello salad (after the guest had gone home, of course.) Mom said "Keep it up and I'll make you cook everything next year."

An empty threat, since I cooked everything this year.

But hey, at least the dried parsley didn't end up in the pumpkin pie. The mashed potatoes, now there's a thought....

*(I'm with Isadora; I abjure Jello and all its jiggly works.)