Writers' Corner

Susan Juby at the EPL Writers' Corner.

update:  I sent this photo from my mobile phone with little explanation.  I was more interested in the talk than my phone. ;-)

Our local library branch has started up something called Writer's Corner, with a series of guest authors coming to speak.  When my friend asked me if I was interested in going with her, I really didn't know what to expect.  I'm glad we went.  Susan Juby was a great speaker and had a lot of interesting information to share.  I really enjoyed it.

Now I'm curious about her books, and the other Writer's Corner sessions! :-)

My food is looking at me.

Today the girls and I headed to Kyoto for lunch.  Handily, it's close to my husband's office, so he was able to join us.  This has become one of our new favorite restaurants.  Well, for the food, anyhow. Unfortunately, their service is touch and go.  Today, when the girls and I arrived in advance of my husband at about 11 (we go out of our way to avoid the lunch crowd), we told the hostess there'd be 4 of us, not three.  As we were being seated, we were asked if we could possibly not take too long because they had a lot of reserved tables for noon, and it would be really appreciated if we would be able to finish before then.  Uhm.  Yeah.  An hour is more than enough time to eat there, but still... it was awkward.  Then we sat down to our menus and realized that one had not been left for my husband.  It ended up not mattering, as he ordered his usual (Gyu Don), and it took long enough for him to join us that he could use one of ours, but still...

Yeah.

Anyhow.

My younger daughter and I love their Bento Box D, which has chicken, beef, green salad and their awesome tempura vegetables and seafood.  Their tempura is excellent.  I seriously considered their tempura vegetable lunch as an appetizer, but decided against it.  We wanted to be out by noon, after all....  My older daughter, on the other hand, has discovered their chirashi and LOVES it.

 

She is much braver than I am, when it comes to food!

You see that battered, spiky thing in the back, with the lettuce leaf behind it?  It's a tempura battered upper body of a prawn. See that dark spot under the piece of crab leg?  

That's an eye.

Yes, her lunch was looking at me as I took this photo.

And then my daughter ate it.

Cold Night

The nice things about cold night is the fact that the sky is so clear. :)

These two shots are essentially left and right views of the same river bend.

Wind up toy

This is the cutest thing ever!!!

Sonic Boom

In between sets at the Sonic Boom music festival.

Strays

We've had a couple of stray cats showing up on our balcony in the last while.  Today was the first time both of them showed up at the same time.



My younger daughter has named this one Freya.  When we first saw her, she still had an old red collar around her neck.  The first time we saw her without it, you could see a patch of skin where the fur had been rubbed all, and a smaller area where the skin was rubbed raw.



Clearly, this had been a house pet.  She loves cuddles.  Every time she comes to visit, she's rubbing all around our legs and rolling on the floor of our balcony.  When we sit on the patio swing, she likes to sit beside us for pets.  This time, she was comfortable enough to climb into my daughter's lap and even started to doze.  She doesn't like to be picked up, but if you pick her up and put her down beside you, she immediately starts to purr and snuggle.



While I was taking pictures of Freya beside me on the swing, we heard some meowing and off Freya went to check it out.  Here, the other stray - my daughter has named her Horatio - is squeezing under the door to the fire escape.  They seem to know each other, and be comfortable with each other.



As you can see, Horatio is in rougher shape. 

Though more cautious than Freya, Horatio also seems to have been a house pet and is very friendly.  She's constantly on the move, so it was hard to get a good picture in the fading light, even after giving her some food.  She will lie on the seat of the patio swing as well, accepts pets, but is not quite as cuddly.  She's more nervous, and I think she's seen some mistreatment.  That doesn't seem to stop her from seeking out human company!

My daughter is still out on the balcony with both of them, in her glory.

Sadly, we already have 2 cats and that's the limit for pets in our townhouse.  Not that our cats like seeing these two around!  They'll sit in the window and hiss at them.

With winter coming, they are going to need some shelter.  Time to ask a friend at the pound for advice.

UPDATE Sept. 22, 2011:  Well, now.

The first thing my friend suggested was to see if they have microchips, so I took them in to an animal hospital to have them checked.  They were really great about going into the old dog carrier (went in voluntarily) we have.  They were checked thoroughly, but have no microchips.

Horatio, however, was hiding a secret under that long fur.  Testicles.  Yes, Horatio is a male.  No surprise, then, that Freya appears to be pregnant.  I was hoping that belly she was getting was because she was finally getting enough to eat.

There are so many cats at the SPCA and the pound, that we're going to see if we can adopt them out on our own.  The chances that they will be euthanised is too high for our comfort level.  They are such sweet and affectionate cats, but who would be willing to take on a pregnant cat?