Back to reality...

Well, I've returned to the real world from my (highly enjoyable) mini-vacation. Life jumped right back in on me! The latest news is, my car needs a new alternator. I noticed it turning over sluggishly when I cranked it this morning, and went out to get it checked at lunchtime. I thought I needed a battery. Turns out it's the alternator, which is a bit more involved (and a bit more expensive). I have an appointment to take it in first thing tomorrow morning to get the work done. Now we'll see if it can get me home from work today and to the mechanic in the morning.

The reason this makes me so nervous is that last summer, Marty's alternator went out and his car shut off on the highway and simply would not start again. This was on his old car, the one my mom bought from him (of course we had the alternator replaced before we sold it to her). I hope I can get home without getting stranded today.

On a lighter note, here's what my e-mail yielded today. This was part of an exchange in response to that question I asked about keeping Ziggy off the table.

That little gem [a suggestion involving orange peels] is adapted from a bizarre book I borrowed from a friend (it includes sections such as "Is marijuana bad for my cat?" and "Do electronic fences work?").

So... I must know... is marijuana bad for my cat? (Do I need to tell him to cut back?)

Apparently it makes them hallucinate and possibly have seizures, although I'm sure that if he doesn't inhale, he'll be fine.

I got several interesting suggestions for ways to keep him off the table. I'll post them here soon.

In the meantime, here is a picture of Ewan McGregor's arm.