The Coyote project, day 18

Neither James nor Dora mind that the fish tank doesn’t have as algae-free walls as it might.

The Coyote project, day 17

Well, we took Dora to the vet just now. She didn’t mind the big dogs in the waiting room, didn’t mind her vaccination shots, didn’t mind the car ride. She just didn’t like getting a physical exam from the vet.

She’s a brave little toaster in general: She’s the only cat in the house who doesn’t run from the doorbell nor, frustratingly, from the garage door opening. She just sits on the “spare” (not thrown out yet) couch in the garage and watches the door go up and down. This wouldn’t be a problem normally, but she was originally a stray after all, so we have to watch her. Still, that’s why we have her wearing a collar with a tag.

She and Lucky get along great, and mock fight and chase each other (yes, Dora, a quarter of Lucky’s weight if she’s lucky, sometimes chases Lucky down the hall) around the house. Hanna, on the other hand, is increasingly frustrated by the situation and hostile toward her, and I’ve taken to locking one in a room at a time, so Lucky and Dora are out when Hanna’s in the master bedroom and Lucky and Hanna are out when Dora’s in the nursery.

My folks are coming up this week and driving her back to Oakland. (I picked up some kitty sedatives for her trip up north, which I know work like a charm from my experience flying Motley Sue from New York to Cairo with a six hour delay in Vienna. She was still woozy 24 hours later with only a half a pill in her system.)

Power user online holiday shopping

Jenn and I have bought nearly all of our Christmas presents online for most of the last decade, but we don’t know every trick. Luckily, Wired comes to the rescue with a number of good hints. I certainly intend to check out the linked-to online coupon sites.

Little boy blue

Yes, we’ve become one of those families: James posed for Christmas card photos on Thursday. (This was not one of the Christmas outfits.)

The Coyote project, day 10

Lucky no longer has a problem with Dora la Exploradora and can hang out with her without conflict. Hanna, not so much, but we’ll work on her. Lucky, as I write this, is sitting outside the nursery, sniffing under the door and listening for the house guest.

As of last night, Dora has both front paws trimmed (albeit not without complaint on her part) and she’s wearing a collar with a tag, in case she gets out in the next few days.