Dirty Wow Wow

On Halloween, our cat Atticus decided to “dress-up.” Well, not dress up in the traditional sense—he assumed the character of Houdini. Shortly after 9:00 PM, he escaped from the house and started his 40+ hour adventure in the big wide world. My husband noticed he was missing about two hours later and spent the next several hours trying to find him. The next morning, Atticus still wasn’t home. Frantic, we printed up flyers and posted them around the neighborhood and in nearby stores. We walked the neighborhood, calling his name, looking in bushes and under cars. We even drove through the surrounding streets hoping NOT to find him on the side of the road.

By Saturday evening, it started to rain—HARD! We were terribly worried about our white cat that spends all of his time indoors. Where could he be in the midst of all this rain and bad weather? We put his basket out on the front porch hoping that he might find it and know he was home. Saturday night turned into Sunday morning and still, no Atticus. We couldn’t imagine where he was. We printed and put up more signs to replace the rain-damaged ones. Around 3:00 PM, I said to Elrond, “I am starting to lose hope that we’ll find him.” Not 30 seconds later, the phone rang. It was one of our neighbors calling to say they saw the sign at Safeway about a lost cat with a gold ID tag. They thought the same cat was under their car because he had a gold ID tag, too.



We ran down the block to their house. Under their car was a dirty gray cat. At first we didn’t think it was him. Our daughter crawled on the ground under the car to get a better look at the cat. She called out “Atticus?” He turned to look at her and cried “wow!” Not “meow”, but a frantic “‘wow’ you found me!” It was our beloved cat—the cat that makes our house a home with his purring and rubbing and “wowing.” He was filthy, to say the least. We thanked our neighbors profusely and took Atticus home to have a bath. Fortunately, he doesn’t mind water much so this was easier than you’d think. Kat donned her bathing suit and helped get him clean again. After sleeping for nearly two days straight, Atticus seems to be back to his old self.



You may be puzzled by the title of this blog—Dirty Wow Wow. Last summer, we took a trip to Portland, Oregon. At Powell’s City of Books, we saw a display about a book called “Dirty Wow Wow and other love stories: A Tribute to the Threadbare Companions of Childhood.” This adorable book is about beloved childhood stuffed toys (one being named ‘Dirty Wow Wow’). Although Atticus is not a stuffed toy, he is our beloved pet—our ‘Dirty Wow Wow’ who adds so much joy to our lives.

7 Lists of 7 Things

I follow another blog called Kate’s Corner. Recently, Katie posted her “7 Things Survey.” The lists inspired me to write up my own. I thought this would be easy. I was surprised how hard it was to give meaningful answers! Enjoy!

7 things I plan to do before I die. . .
1. Hike to Havasu Falls in Arizona
2. Visit Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Italy
3. Write an essay for “This I Believe”
4. Own a bakery
5. Design my own house
6. Write a cookbook
7. Be a grandmother

7 things I can do. . .
1. Cook almost anything
2. Make quilts
3. Paint and wallpaper
4. Throw a great dinner party
5. Organize
6. Sew
7. Cross-stitch

7 things I cannot do. . .
1. The “splits”
2. Calculus
3. Physics
4. Style hair
5. Knit (not well anyway)
6. Touch my toes
7. Vulcan salute (think “Live long and Prosper”)

7 attributes that attract me to the opposite sex. . .
1. Sense of humor
2. Smart
3. Kind
4. Positive outlook
5. Righteous
6. Likes cats
7. Can cook

7 Things I say most often . . .
1. “El!” (my husband’s nickname)
2. “Kat!” (my daughter’s nickname)
3. “Shut up!” (as in “no way!”)
4. “Groovy”
5. “Planning, this is Laura…” (how I answer the phone at work)
6. “Get out!”
7. “I was listening to NPR today…”

7 Favorite foods. . .
1. Chocolate
2. Cheese
3. Peanut butter
4. Tomatoes
5. Cinnamon
6. Pasta Carbonara (or anything Italian)
7. Cupcakes

7 Books I Love . . .
1. Route 66 Railway (my husband’s upcoming book—due out in mid-October)
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. Funny in Farsi
4. Laughing Without an Accent
5. Life of Pi
6. Skippyjon Jones
7. All of the Anne of Green Gables series

The Artistry of Omar Vizquel

I am a baseball fan. I love the game. My love of the game was tested in 1994 when Major League baseball went on strike. After the World Series was cancelled, I lost interest in the game. Around the same time, I became a mother so I was occupied with other activities.

When we moved to Northern California in early 2000, the San Francisco Giants had just finished their new baseball stadium. Elrond and I watched their opening day game on television, and we became Giants fans that day. In 2005, the Giants acquired an amazing shortstop—Omar Vizquel. He is a joy to watch on the field—he makes dazzling plays with his signature style. He is also easy on the eyes! He is my all time favorite baseball player.

Last Christmas, just five days after my accident, Elrond gave me a Giants baseball jersey with number 13 and “Vizquel” on the back. He also gave me Omar’s book Omar! My Life On and Off the Field. While I was recovering, I read his book and learned about the personal side of him. As it turns out, he is just as dazzling as an artist off the field.

On September 4th, the Caldwell Snyder Gallery opened an exhibit of Omar Vizquel’s paintings. Here was my chance to meet my favorite ballplayer in person! Elrond surprised me by making reservations for us to go.

In the afternoon, we arrived at our hotel that was just a couple of blocks from the gallery. It was a gorgeous afternoon in San Francisco—warm and breezy. We walked down to the gallery around five o’clock. When we walked in, we saw all of his gorgeous work—oils and watercolors in both vibrant colors and dark muted tones. Omar took the time to speak to all of us about what inspired his work. He took questions from the crowd—of course Elrond was brave enough to ask him about the inspiration for two of his watercolors called “Take Me With You #1 and #2”. Earlier this year, Omar was injured during Spring Training and needed knee surgery. He had to sit out the season until mid-May. He said he felt depressed and empty, like a skeleton. Baseball was like a beautiful woman going to a party. It seems as though the skeleton pleads “take me with you!”

Other Giants players and luminaries were there: First baseman Rich Aurilia, Second baseman Kevin Frandsen, Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow (“Kruk”), Comcast SportsNet reporter Amy Gutierrez, Managing General Partner Peter Magowan, General Manager Brian Sabean, and Chief Operating Officer Larry Baer. The people watching opportunities were as much fun as looking at the art. I took pictures with Omar and Ritchie. Elrond took pictures with Kruk and Amy. It was a blast. Toward the end of the event, Omar took the mike and sang along with band. He also did a little salsa dancing with some of the ladies. He was such fun to watch. As we were leaving, I worked up the nerve to talk to Omar. I told him how much I liked him as a player and how my dear husband bought me his jersey and his book. I told him I loved his art and to keep painting. It was one of my best days.

After the event, Elrond and I walked up to Chinatown to have dinner. We relived the whole evening while eating our almond chicken and steamed dumplings. When we were finished, they brought out our fortune cookies. My cookie had the following fortune:

Indeed, one of my dearest wishes did come true.