2010-01-21

 

It's been a bad year for our tortoises.

After living with us for as long as we've been married - that's since 1996, for those of you who are counting - Natasha the tortoise died in July last year. This was a nasty, nasty shock. I expected her to outlive all of us. ALL of us. She was supposed to make it to 75 years old easy... and yet, suddenly, she was gone.

Here's the thing about Natasha: she was kind of loud to live with. The tortoise loved to dig. Unfortunately, her tank wasn't very deep, yet she persisted. This led to the droning, 1 Hz thump of Natasha attempting to dig through the bottom of her tank to deeper, cooler ground. She had laser-like focus on digging.

Thump.... Thump.... Thump....

And so on.

Visitors never failed to comment on it. We didn't really notice it after awhile, but on a warm day it was just constant thumping coming from Natasha's tank. Cory and Jen suggested that Natasha was actually my role model - following her lead, I was just as tenacious even in seemingly pointless situations. Thump... Thump... "We can be better than this, we just have to look at it from a different angle..." Thump...

I suppose they had a point.

One morning in July and without warning, The Boy went downstairs to feed the tortoises and Natasha was gone. Just gone. No warning, no symptoms we had noticed. It was sudden and terrible and heartbreaking. I didn't see her after it happened. The Boy cleaned everything up (my request) and by the time I came downstairs, both Natasha and her home for the past 13 years were cleared away.

Fast forward to December 2009. After living with us for 12 years, Nausicaa laid an egg -- and we knew she didn't have any boyfriend-tortoises. A visit to the vet said, "They just do that sometimes." After x-rays it turned out there were TWO more eggs in there, waiting to come out. Getting them out was important, because if they broke up inside and putrefied, that would be the end of our remaining tortoise-companion. He gave her hormone shots and sent her home, and the second egg came out a few days later.

We waited for the third.

When it still hadn't come out three weeks later, Nausicaa was back at the vet for another check-up. The egg was still in there, so another round of hormone shots was called for. This was serious. If that egg didn't come out, it was going to kill her.

In the end, that's what happened. Despite her excellent veterinary care and many baths, the egg broke up and poisoned her. It wasn't the total shock that we had with Natasha, but still terribly disappointing. For the first time in our marriage, there are no pet tortoises to nom up our leftover apple cores and lettuce hearts.

No idea when I'll be ready to bring home another tortoise. I'm just not ready to think about it yet.

Labels: beasts

posted by bethanye 10:55:00 PM   

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2007-11-30

 

beast oppression,
originally uploaded by bethanye.

Beast oppression works BOTH ways, it seems.

Labels: beasts, pix

posted by bethanye 8:10:00 PM   

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2005-08-22

 

Not much to say, except... WTF is wrong with ISPs that they think that indiscriminately blocking SMTP is a GOOD idea? I can handle an outside mail server, dumbasses....
I'm making a French Market Bag from Knitty. Damn. It is taking FORever. I don't think I'll ever have the love of felting that some others do. It just seems like a lot of stitches for not much reward.
So, knitting... blah, blah. I have some things I do need to get on with, like fix the neck on the cozy Big Sack -- I just don't like how it lays, though it is a dangerously comfy sweater. Or beginning Christmas presents. Or continuing to research the Molly Wedding Shawl. Or maybe just making something else for me, like the cashmere watchcap I've had tucked away or the Hourglass Sweater which was the inspiration for my recent buy of Noro. I made another Shedir, this one much smaller (I took out a few repeats) to make it more of a hat and less of a chemo cap. I really like the designer of that pattern. Her newest, Eris, calls to me. I just have to finish the 10 or so projects in front of it.
Leda REALLY likes harassing me when I'm on the PowerBook. Maybe it's all the heat this little machine can generate.
Enough drivel. G'night!

Labels: beasts, family, knitting

posted by bethanye 9:54:00 PM   

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(*pointing*) driveler.

# posted by  MollyB : 8/24/2005 12:30 PM

 

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2004-10-04

 

Promises, promises. I'm actually going to keep this one. But first let me say an emphatic thank you to the non-prissy non-snobby knitting circle. Seriously. Most of the people in that sock class were great, but there were just a few... At any rate, back to the good news:
I finished a sock!

The other one still needs a heel, but not bad for a week's work! As promised, here's a pic of the last socks I made:

Which are, as previously mentioned, now destined to be a Christmas present. And here's another:

That one is a bit hard to see, since it's on that stash basket. And what is in the stash basket, you may ask? Both the lovely and the "why is that there"?
First, the good stuff:

Check out that Tesla. Cotton and stainless steel. Currently, destined to be a skinny scarf.
And a few other lovelies:

The polar will be a present. The Crystal FX... I don't know yet. I'm awfully fond of the grenadine one. Maybe I need a glittery red scarf?
And now the ugly, but it has a purpose:

I was thinking about making a Hallowig. I'm just not sure when I'll have the time.
And that's not all that's in the stash basket. Some Calmer for Audrey, dish cloth cotton, and a few skeins of sock yarn round out the bunch.
And one closing pic. My poor in-progress cardigan. Who will get to it first? Bonnie or the giant squid?

Now, I'm off to bed. I'm coming down with something and I don't want to be sick for knitting night!

Labels: beasts, knitting, stash

posted by bethanye 8:59:00 PM   

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2004-09-28

 

Stressful day is over. Knitting evening will begin shortly. Playing with the camera in my new phone, and here's the pic I took last night when Bonnie went after my sock-in-progress.
She's fond of the Addi Turbos, that's for sure. They look like shiny toys.

Labels: beasts, knitting

posted by bethanye 6:32:00 PM   

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2004-05-27

 

Nothing like a nose-job to get your day going. Natasha is now quietly snoozing in her travel case on my desk. Zzzz... I could use a nap, too.

Labels: beasts

posted by bethanye 1:10:00 PM   

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And now I have a live turtle on my desk, to boot. At least, until I take Natasha to the vet.

Labels: beasts

posted by bethanye 8:48:00 AM   

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2004-05-26

 

Tomorrow is "Take Your Turtle To Work Day". For me, anyway. Natasha has a vet appointment so they can trim her beak. It's gotten overgrown, and makes it hard for her to eat now.

Labels: beasts

posted by bethanye 1:39:00 PM   

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2002-12-29

 

It's going to be a lovely, lazy day today. At least, if I have anything to say about it. Moly and JR went out to be touristy, which is good. Stevie's playing Age of Mythology on JR's laptop. Leda has returned, and so I'm not freaknig out anymore everytime there's a raindrop. Oh, and it's been pouring for the past few days - maybe a week - and today the sun has come out and it's all pretty outside.

I've taken to reading Rick B. from CRS's weblog. I don't even play the damn game. How dorky is that?

I told Karen awhile ago that I felt like it was only okay to bitch and moan about how "x is better back home" (substitute whatever you like for "x") for six months after arriving in a new place. And I suppose some things are better back home - like my comfort level! But I only have a few more weeks to bitch... Oh! Only seven more bitchable days! Now that Leda's back, I'm feeling much less inclined to bitch, though. I admit it.

This AoM game is too cute. Good thing that we don't have two PCs, or I'd be spending way too much time playing with "War Turtles."

Labels: beasts

posted by bethanye 12:37:00 PM   

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2002-12-27

 

It's a little shy of being a "Boxing Day Miracle", but Leda came home last night. She was cold and wet, and a little bit thin, but all-in-all she seems to be just fine. She's alternating between sleeping under the covers in our bed and coming out to eat a few bites or get some water.

I'm just so glad to have her back. How is it that I can be so attached to such a stew-pie foul beast?

Labels: beasts

posted by bethanye 12:47:00 PM   

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2002-12-23

 

Leda ran away last night. Given that I've never had a cat run away and return, I'm not hopeful that I'll ever see her again. It's so fucking unfair. I love that cat.

The whole thing reinforces something that's been weighing heavily on me as of late -- should we have even come here? That's not to say that things aren't going okay for us here. I work at the company that I always wanted to be a aprt of, but now where do I look for my "someday I'll get to do that"? I miss our house terribly, and the lifestyle we used to have. Now, I know that if we had stayed in Dallas, that things would have gotten really tight moneywise - keeping the house would have gotten difficult. But I still miss it awful. And now this? To have my baby kitty run off into the cold? I am so angry generally, and this has just pushed me over. It's gotten beyond, "maybe things would have been better if we hadn't come here." Now I find myself thinking, "maybe Stevie would be better off without me, since I don't seem to be able to do anything right." Certainly, I have to think that Leda would be better off right now if I hadn't selfishly dragged her halfway across the country.

And I know all that "things are tough all over so don't play 'what-if'" crap. I know that it would have sucked if we had stayed home...
but at least there I would have known where I stood.

I have a friend here - Karen. She's a really good person, a good friend. I'm very glad that I've gotten to know her and spend time with her. That wouldn't have happened if we hadn't come here. But that's a lot of percieved negatives for one relationship to outweigh. It's not fair to her to be counterbalance to so many things that (right now) seem dire and terrible.

I miss my kitty.

Labels: beasts

posted by bethanye 12:09:00 PM   

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2002-09-16

 

Stevie and I are just odd. There's no way around that, really. Just that we're odd. Example: We have an automatic-cleaning cat litter box. This has got to be one of the best inventions in the world. We have had it for some time, and it lived in the utility room in our house before we moved. Now that it's just down the hall, we hear it every time it goes into a cleaning cycle. It drives Bonnie nuts. She runs across the house to bat at the cleaning arm, and she's in here highest state of alert during this event. So, Stephen has taken to poking her in the back at this exact moment. She jumps so high that she does flips, apparently. b: "Honey, that's mean... But funny. Maybe I'll make that your epitaph - 'Mean but Funny.' What would mine be?" Stephen: "Hmm... How about 'I told you I'd die first?'" b: "Or, 'Does this urn make me look fat?'" We're just a little bit twisted.

Labels: beasts

posted by bethanye 11:55:00 AM   

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2002-07-08

 

We made it. I don't want to abuse my time up here at work, but just a quick note. We made it. More on turtle near-death experiences later. Cats are okay. Well, Leda's still schitzing out some, but she'll make it eventually. And Work is a good thing, I've decided. Again.

Labels: ancient history, beasts

posted by bethanye 3:21:00 PM   

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2002-07-03

 

They made it!! Well, the turtles are safely in CA. The house is being jacked up as I write this. Had breakfast with Marianna this morning, which was lovely and absolutely needed, and I'm going to the movies with Molly this afternoon. PPG Movie - Woo-hoo!! Then, off for delightful beverages and snacks with the girls. Whew! I'm over-caffeinated and tired all at the same time.

Labels: ancient history, beasts, family

posted by bethanye 8:56:00 AM   

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2002-07-01

 

D-minus 4. Counting down now... Tick-tock... Spent the day with Molly yesterday, which was much-needed. Stevie and I got her a pearl necklace - well, a pearl pendant - that isn't so obtrusive that she can't wear it often. I wanted her to have something to remind her of me, even though we're going to be so far away. She was happy, then cried a bit, then gave us both boob-smasher hugs (and that's a lot of boob to smash!). We were going to get her an iMac, but I like this better. She seems so happy with it. The cats are healthy, but it looks like we'll tranq them for the journey, considering that Bonnie freaked out going to the vet this morning. Shipping the turtles today. The house is empty, since the movers came on Saturday. I was very emotional about that for a few days, but today I seem much better. More at peace with the whole series of events.

Labels: ancient history, beasts, family

posted by bethanye 8:21:00 AM   

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2002-06-21

 

Tortoise Mortis? Rhea says that we can probably ship the turtles to her, but I'm worried about "tortoise mortis" if they don't arrive okay. What would they do in that situation? I wouldn't want to have to make that call - "Hey, we've got your turtle, and she didn't make it. Now what do we do with it?"

Labels: ancient history, beasts

posted by bethanye 12:27:00 PM   

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Turtle Tribulations It's difficult to move. Difficult to move cross-country. And when you add turtles into the mix, it's a logistical pain. We have two tortoises. Natasha is a Russian tortoise, and Nausicaa is a Bell's hingeback. I've recently discovered that it's illegal to transport Nausicaa across state lines without a health certificate declaring her to be tick-free. I've had her for at least five years, which well pre-dates the ban. I don't feel bad about having an illegal turtle. She has a good life, though I wish I had room to get her a better enclosure. When we first brought Nausicaa home, 'Tasha didn't like that at all. We put them into the same aquarium - bad move! 'Tasha first decided to stand on top of Nausicaa. Then, she would hog all the food and pee on whatever was left so that Nausicaa couldn't have any. We separated them within a week or so.

Labels: ancient history, beasts

posted by bethanye 9:45:00 AM   

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