It's been a rough week. Two major things have happened. First, I have a new Siamese kitten, Simon. Monday, we were walking out the door, and my neighbor caught us in the driveway. He was leaving a local restaurant on his lunch break and happened to see this kitten lying in the median. It was pouring down rain, and the kitten was soaked through, and crying, and tiny. (Poor kitty.) Joey was late from lunch already, and didn't have any cat food/litterboxes/whatever at his house. So I offered to hang on to him. You would have thought I'd moved in a family of illegal immigrants, Andy was so angry. Yes, I realize we have seven rabbits, three cats, and two dogs living in this house. And yes, I realize we're pretty crowded as it is. But what would YOU have done in that situation? Look at this face:
Andy is convinced this cat will be staying for life. But no! My brother wants him. He (Adam) is moving into a new apartment that allows cats, so he is taking him in a couple weeks. In the meantime, the kitty has been the source of all kinds of strife. Andy refuses to speak of him except in tones of deepest disgust. Oh well. It's just for a few more days.
On Tuesday, Andy's car was stolen. It's kind of a weird story. It ended up at a junkyard in pieces. When Andy first called the junkyard looking for it, the owner said he wasn't sure if he had taken any cars like his today, and he'd need a VIN to know for sure. Now I can't remember the details of what I did on any given day last year, but I think I'd remember if I had bought a Chevy Cavalier two hours ago or not. So he just went down there to look around, and lo! there's the car, hidden in a sort of hole behind some brush. And the junkyard owner said, "Well, can you even prove this car is yours???" So he opened the door and grabbed out a deposit slip with his name on it. Um-hmm. So the junkyard guy finally gave him two names of the guys who brought it to him, and the description of the truck they were driving. Turns out the names were false, but the police tracked down one of the guys. He claimed he wasn't involved, he had just followed the other guy to the junkyard, and he didn't know the other guy's name. You got it. A total stranger calls him up and says, can you go to the junkyard with me, and he says yes without ever even finding out his name. Riiiiight. He also had a forged bill of sale, with Andy's signature misspelled and the wrong name to boot. Not that he was involved, because he wasn't.
In the meantime, everything on the car has been stripped out and thrown loose into the shell - dashboard, seats, everything. The radio, speakers, and 12-disc changer are all gone. The junkyard guy said it showed up exactly that way. Now I'm no genius, but if I'm going to steal a car, I'm not going to remove the seats, tires, and steering wheel before driving it. Yet Mr Junkyard claims that's how he bought it. He tried to say, well, I didn't know it was stolen, but you can just take it and I'll just eat the $200 I paid for it. Right, because then for us it's like it never happened.
The annoying thing is, the police are saying that they are liable for a misdemeanor charge of burglary, because they sold the car for $200 to the junkyard. That is !@)#*$@#$@#$, if you consider the actual value of the actual vehicle that was actually stolen. We are definitely out more than $200 on this one. Our lawyer seems to think there's nothing to be done until the police finish their investigation. I'm not sure why that would be. The trail is cold at this point, and nothing can be proven beyond what we already know. They're not going after the junkyard guy because they don't think they could get a conviction on him. He's obviously part of it, he's been involved in several other suspicious car thefts lately, but they can't prove he knew the cars were stolen because the thieves always present a (forged) bill of sale when they bring them to him. It's very very vexing.
Then on Wednesday night my grandmother calls and says they'll be passing near here the next morning, and they'd like to come by. I have been inviting them down here for the 9 years I have lived here. Nine! Never once have they come. They go all over the world, most recently to Italy, but if presented with a 3-hour drive to see her only great-grandchild who loves her, she is suddenly busy or sick or something. Nine years! And she waits until my house is literally filthy, and gives me 12 hours notice. Grrrrrr.
Yesterday I tried to finish our costumes, and ran out of thread. I hate that! I did manage to cut out his gun holster, my rifle belt, and assorted trappings for the vest. In my quest for authenticity, I have learned more about guns since starting this project than I ever knew before. For example, Zoe carries what is known as a Mare's Leg, essentially a sawed-off rifle (or shotgun? I still don't know the difference.) Somehow it is held onto the sling by a hook. I don't think my modified rifle has the necessary loop so I'll work something out. Velcro, maybe. You decide:
I also made, from scratch, Jayne's gun belt and a holster to fit his cap gun. It's supposed to be a LeMat revolver, whatever that is, but the cap gun that came with my rifle will work just fine. I also bought him an airsoft gun that resembles a mini Vera. Sweet! I won't have time to do the other add-ons, like his Bowie knife sheath or ammunition pouch thing, but those can come later because I'm determined to wear these costumes to DragonCon next year.
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wakeful dreamer