Day. Driving. Insanity.

I meant to go to the Japanese Gardens last week, or earlier this.

Didn't. Well, today's not a good pick, being part of a holiday weekend, but some people (like Scott) had to work, and others would be enjoying the Busiest Shopping Day Of The Year, so I figured it was better than Saturday or Sunday, at least.

I left pretty quickly. There were enough screaming kids.... So I headed for Powell's downtown. I knew I was running good odds of no parking, but I figured it'd be not-too-bad for browsing (I can take Powell's pretty crowded, unlike the gardens) if I could park. Hehehe. My bet on the odds was quite accurate: the Powell's garage had space, but nobody else nearby did. I debated the merits of a very long walk (AFTER having gone up and down the gardens' trail, thankyouverymuch), and decided to come back another day. Preferably by bus, which is the better way to do downtown, if you have the time for it. I hate wasting time, but in the interests of not pulling all my hair out, it's sometimes worth it.

Roamed around a bit, then came home. Yay, home. Yay, safety from the crowds.

Going to head out again in a while though, to pick up my jacket from my parents' place. Probably make a couple stops heading out there, if not more. I mean....I don't usually get out that way, this much, and what the heck, there's a gaming store. Or was, last time I checked in there, which was probably a year ago. Hee.

Coats, cats, something like that.

I got my coat. It's nice and clean and dry.

And I caused much chaos. See, on the way over, I stopped at Bi-Mart to pick up various stuff I needed.

I also picked up stuff I didn't need. Stuff, in fact, that no one in my household could use....

...I picked up kitten toys. A jingle ball, a jingle roller, a catnip-stuffed "hedgehog", and catnip puffs. I won't buy the last again; they shred WAY too easily.

But it was hysterically funny. Now to see if the pictures came out.

Kitten pictures!

[link removed as photos removed - sorry, don't have enough space to keep them forever] - open the Cats folder.

Go to Cats. Tips is black and white, with white 'frosting' tips to her fur. They didn't come out in the photos, if I got any of her (she was less involved and more shy). Flower is grey-and-white, with a thin white stripe down her back. Spot, the only male, is mostly-white with some grey patches. "Scramble" is a temporary name for a cat with no permanent name yet, though Scramble (alias Scram) might stick. Then again, so might any number of other things. She's black and white, only without the tips that Tips has. She and Spot are the two hyperest, most playful cats.

It was great fun to watch her go ABSOLUTELY NUTS over that "hedgehog". Catnip-stuffing, yay!

Anyway, I took tons of photos. These are the best of the best, and please understand that I was taking them with flash on, often at distances where the flash couldn't reach. (It kept the camera from taking them "slow exposure" which, I'm sure, anyone who has ever watched playing kittens can imagine what a blur that would be.)

Scramble in particular made some spectacular leaps. Unfortunately, my shots of those did not come out. They were either too dark, or there was no cat. (Uh, Scramble? Where exactly did you go during some of those??