The Zoo over Ambuscade Street

KIGGY!!! Look!

In other news, I somehow managed to punch the Hellkitten in the face last night. She was quite put out by the whole situation, although Erik deemed it the funniest thing evar. That'll teach her to try to pounce on my hand while I'm reaching for something!

Sara The Very Stupid Dog also provided me with endless entertainment the other night. Erik was trying to traumatize her by making her think she was in trouble, and then trying to play with her. The confusion made her a touch more energetic than normal. Erik tried to get her to jump up on his chest, but...she missed, and instead punched out with one foreleg and caught him in a sensitive area. I deemed this to be Endlessly Funny, while he slowly collapsed face-first on the ground.

But that's not all! Sara was confused but excited by the fact that Erik was prone and unmoving on the ground. Not being one to leave well enough alone, I had to instigate, attempting to incite our 75 pound dog into leaping on his back. She wasn't quite willing to go that far, but was perfectly happy to slam her head and neck on his back, run about a bit, and then come back to slam her head back down. Then she'd do the slam-plus-foreleg, which was also good for a laugh.

Then, for reasons that escape both Erik and myself, she decided that instead of slamming her head on his back, she was going to try to burrow under his head. This required a running start and a dive towards Erik's unprotected face, and then much wallowing around on the ground while she attempted to shove herself under Erik's neck. I'm not sure what happened after that, because I was laughing too hard to be able to do minor things like see.

Good times - between the two of them, they provide hours of amusement. Especially when socks are involved. Because, as everyone knows, the only proper use of a sock is as a pet toy. Or a dustrag in a pinch.

He Knew He Was Right, a four part miniseries based off a Trollope novel, features quite possibly the best portrayal of the old, bitter, opinionated spinster aunt ever. I'm still one episode away from the end, and undecided about the rest of the series. The Two Sisters (you'll know the ones) are campy and over-the-top. I'm highly entertained by them about half the time, and annoyed the rest - but there seem to be more entertaining moments (the bedside scene) as the series progresses.

There's an annoying tendency to break the fourth wall on a fairly frequent basis. I think that's the primary reason why I'm not as happy with this as I think I could be - it's jarring, and throws me out of the story.

The primary storyline is just...strange. Really strange. As Erik said, "what's his major malfunction?" I don't think that's going to end well, at all. But the subplots are delightful.

Overall, this just can't compare to The Pallisers. But with only four episodes to work with instead of twenty-six, there's no real way it could have. Still...diverting. But if you're looking for an incredible Victorian period drama, The Pallisers should be your very first stop.

(Oh, and have I mentioned that I love The Pallisers? Because I do. A lot. Incredible piece of work, up there with Upstairs, Downstairs in terms of quality acting and writing. Glencora++)

The BBC release of Kidnapped is next in my queue, followed by Felicity and Northanger Abbey. But since Northanger Abbey has a long wait, I'll probably end up with The Nine Tailors instead. And then The House of Eliott, a longer series, because we all need a little more jazz in our lives.

Hmmm - maybe I should allocate another disc to this queue.

So...Mel doesn't think the trim I originally picked out for my dress is going to work, so I need to pick out something new. The dress is going to be a dark hunter green, with the sleeves and forepanel in an incredibly elaborate rust/gold/green brocade. She suggested a few, including this one. I found a few others I think might work: thus, thus (no laughing, rhiannontherose), and thus.

Soooo....because I am braindead after one of the most horrible meetings you could ever imagine, and I can't visualize anything that isn't my bed, I'm soliciting opinions. What do you think would work best? Again, solid dark green jacquard, and this is going to be across the top of the bodice and down the sides of the split overskirt. And it's going to rock!

Oh, Thomas broke down and told Stacey about her dress. She's suitably thrilled, when the exhausted haze from moving clears enough for her to actually feel excited. ^_^