Anecdotes of the Skipper: A Game of Clue

I have a confession to make: this post isn't actually about Skipper.

So, in that sense, I have failed my self-imposed obligation to post anecdotes about Skipper through Friday.

However, it is closely related to Skipper, and I did post today, so I'm going to claim victory!

Unsurprisingly, as a result of our being 'in a family way,' a few stuffed animals have showed up at our house.

On the left is a beanie baby Thunder Ball, in the middle is Mr. Penguin, and on the right is Hello Kitty-Bunny.

(Yes, Sam likes to sing about Hello Kitty-Bunny to the tune of Kitty-Doggy.)

However, each morning, this is what I wake up to:

Mr. Penguin never seems to make it out of the hallway.

And he is usually found near Hello Kitty-Bunny.

This is actually the most PG version I've come across. They're usually in a far more compromising position.

Thunder Ball is almost always in a room by himself. If I didn't know better, I would think he was the culprit, and, jealous of Mr. Penguin and Hello Kitty-Bunny's illicit affair, he kills them each night.

We have, however, after several days of observation, discovered the actual culprit:

As it has been several years since Tiger last owned a stuffed animal, we had forgotten her obsession with them. Every night after we go to bed she's been playing with them and scattering them over the house. Sam thinks she has a tea party each night.

I suspect it's a deranged version of Clue.

A Leave of Absence

No, I'm not dead yet.

However in the past couple of weeks Sam and I have been kept pretty busy with friends/family coming to town to visit, and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down any for the rest of the month. This weekend is Sam and I's second anniversary, the following week my parents will be down for a day or two, the weekend after that is Hip Gamer's birthday, and then the following week will be my I'm-going-to-be-a-hermit recovery time. That weekend will then be Independence Day, and then Sam's 'weekend' will happen.

With all that in mind, I've decided I'm just going to take the month of June off, since I've already missed a week of blogging goodness due to the (excellent!) problem of a social life.

So, until I come back on July 7th, I'll leave you with this adorable picture:

Cat Variations 6

Sorry this didn't post yesterday. I was in a happy place hanging out with Literary Cat and Adorable Nurse, and didn't notice the glitch until this morning. 

Similar to the previous batch that was mostly a straightforward edit, this set focuses on trying to make the photos soft and gentle. Cuddly even.

Of course, the only cat that's truly cuddly is Nala, though Tiger tries to pretend otherwise. Techie wants to be cuddly, but has no clue how to go about it. At least he doesn't hide quite as much as he used to.

(For the longest time, Adorable Nurse refused to believe that Techie actually existed.)

Which kitty would you want to cuddle?

For high-res versions of the pictures, please visit their Flickr album.

Previous treatments include black and white, seventies, summer, dusty, basic.

Cat Variations 5

Most of what I've done thus far has involved aging the pictures in some way. For this next treatment, I decided to try a more straightforward feel to them. Most it involved enriching the colors and a little basic editing. Of course, some photos reacted better to the process than others.

For your viewing pleasure, a basic treatment:

To view high-res versions of the pictures, please visit their Flickr album.

Previous treatments include black and white, seventies, summer, and dusty.

Cat Variations 4

As I've mentioned before, I've spent a good deal of time going through old family photos, scanning, labeling, and touching them up. Some of my favorites are pictures from the turn of the previous century. While I know that my cats would never in a million years stay still for the old technology to capture them, it's still fun to pretend.

With that in mind, for this next treatment I tried to make them look like old, dusty portraits.

Has anybody found a favorite yet?

To see high-res versions of the pictures, check out their album on Flickr.

Previous treatments include black and white, seventies, and summer.

Cat Variations 3

I almost left Techie out of this particular batch, because he absolutely refused to stay still when I took this set of pictures of the cats. Then I found the one included here that I'd overlooked several times. You don't see his pretty eyes the way you can with the girls, but it's the best picture of the lot.

For this next set, I wanted a hazy warmth. Something that made me think of lazy summer days, especially since Tiger looks like she's drinking up sunshine in these pictures. I'm fairly pleased with the way they came out. Of course, I'm more interested on what you all may have to say.

Without further ado, the "Summer" treatment:

To see higher res versions of these pictures, check out their album on Flickr.

Earlier treatments include black and white and the seventies.

Cat Variations 2

It's amazing to me sometimes the differences that Photoshop can make in certain pictures. For this next set, I wanted them to feel like the pictures my Papa took back in the seventies. One of the results was that everything ended up with a blue-green tinge to it, which made Nala's pictures come out so much better than in the black and white photos. By the same token, I feel like Tiger's pictures were much better in the black and white treatment.

Once again, let me know your opinions on the pictures. I'm too close to the project to have an objective view!

Here are my kittens again, this time with a "seventies" treatment.

To see higher res versions, please see my Flickr account.

Previous treatment done to the photos was black and white.

Cat Variations 1

I love cats. I also love taking pictures.

Especially taking pictures of cats.

In addition, I love playing with Photoshop.

Best part of playing with Photoshop? Playing with pictures of cats.

For a bit of fun and variety, I've decided to do a series of posts containing (for the most part) the same set of pictures with different treatments done to them. I'm curious as to what are people's favorite shots and styles, so if any strike your fancy, please let me know!

To begin with, we'll start with a black and white treatment:

If you'd like to see high-res versions of these pictures, take a look at their album on Flickr.

Shifting gears

Summer has arrived.

I know this from several factors. Firstly, most of my friends either just wrapped up finals, graduated, or will wrap up their teaching gig in the next week. Secondly, despite the fact that this past week has been in the 70's, we've already been having humid 90 degree days. Thirdly, in the past month, we've been grilling our food 2-3 times a week.

However, the most important way that I know that it is summer is that my husband has gone missing.

Now, now, don't panic. No need to call the police. I just mean that my husband has moved to summer hours at work. Since he works at a pool store and all, that means I'll see Sam again sometime in October.

I kid. I kid.

I think.

More accurately, this means that his work schedule has now completely shifted. Not only does he work an extra hour each day, but our weekends will now be Tuesday-Wednesday instead of Saturday-Sunday. Starting this week. Except that he doesn't really get Tuesday and Wednesday off this week because his coworker is still subbing for the local school district, which doesn't get done until the end of this week.

But Sam will be getting the afternoons off today and tomorrow.

Why am I telling you this? Because it will likely lead to a few changes around here at the Work in Progress. I'm just not sure what those changes will be. Either you'll be seeing a whole lot more of me because my Husband is Busy(tm), or I'll never be around because my friends will have more free time.

Aren't you glad I informed you of all this?

Here, have a cat picture.

(Papa, if you want to save this picture, go here--it's a higher quality.)

Kitty Blink Love

It's been two weeks since the last cat picture.

I know, I'm equally horrified by this oversight.

So, today, because I love all of you and Tiger just startled the hell out of me when I went to get something out of the frig:

Happy Thursday!