What Was She Thinking?!

I brought the new cat home last night. He's an exotic shorthair (which is to say he's a shorthair Persian). The name on his CFA papers is M&M. I had misunderstood my co-worker and thought she was saying Eminem, the singer. Nonetheless, that's not a name for a cat. Sunny didn't take the newcomer as well as I had hoped he would and in fact moped around the house treating me like a cheating spouse. :-(

After spending a little time with the new cat last night (I kept him in his cat carrier in my bedroom after letting him out to explore a bit and attempt to meet Sunny), I've decided on a name for him. My original thought was to name him Dante, after the main character in my favorite movie, Clerks. But that just didn't seem right. Tobias came to mind and it seems to fit him. So Tobias he will be.

Here's a great poem by T.S. Eliot about cat names. And a few photos of Tobias. Enjoy!

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, or George or Bill Bailey -
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter -
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum -
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover -
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

Today we are washing down that turkey (ugh, a sandwich) with some fruit salad. I'd been craving that lately so I headed out to the grocery store early this morning. That's one good thing about being home during the day; usually you have the grocery store to yourself. I just buy whatever fruit I am in the mood for, cut it up and drizzle just a slight bit of honey over it, toss it and let it sit in the refrigerator for about half an hour until it's chilled. Regarding the honey, that's a tip from an ex-boss of mine, from Cairo. That's how they serve fresh fruit there. And you don't want to overdo it with the honey, just enough to make it slightly sweet. The fruit makes its own juice as it sits.

How many fruits can you identify in the photo below? (Not all of them are in the shot, but see below for a list.)

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It always amazes me the amount of focus and attention that is given to men's nether regions. In this clip, you see people (men mostly) posing next to obelisks, as if making up, just briefly, for something lacking. So .. without further ado, here are some things that make you go Hmm!

P.S. Stolen shamelessly (what else can a brazen hussy do?) from my buddy, Rad. :-)

My cat has glommed onto the wicker bed tray. I don't use it much really. It had been on the floor with a pile of magazines stacked up on it, but since I rearranged my room the other day I just stick it on the chair when I go to bed and put it back on the bed after I make the bed for the day. So now guess who's decided to make full use of it?

I whipped up my favorites today: Chicken Pasta Salad and Lemon Bars. The lemon bars don't last long, needless to say, since once they're cut, there's only nine of them. The chicken pasta salad doesn't seem to be made the same way twice, but it's always good. Recipes and photos below, of course.

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