Sing the praises of pants

Today was a day of shopping, preparatory to our first summer vacation next week. I bought two pairs of jeans (one blue, one olive, otherwise identical to my current 550s), one lightweight buttondown shirt that claims to be made from bamboo, another that K. thinks is a "cabana shirt" with wide stripes and embroidery, a beach towel that's so bright I'm hoping it will tan me on both sides at once, and Mario Party 5 for lazy evening video game fun. Everything I bought was on sale, so the whole package cost less than $150; in particular, K. nearly bought me the bamboo shirt for my birthday, and now, a month later, it's half the price. Score! It's nice to have new clothing; I was feeling a bit scruffy in my summerwear. Still need to find a Green Lantern T-shirt.

K. bought swimwear that should turn some heads on the OBX beaches. Lucky lucky SWIL vacation attendees!

We also bought goodies for Gus-Gus: a handsome red harness and leash for going outside in, and a cardboard horizontal scratcher that, I hope, will keep her from clawing up my books. She wiggled out of the harness handily, but I've safety-pinned it so it fits her better; she's such a wee thing! The scratcher came with a packet of catnip, so she's having her first exposure to kitty-narcotics. Right now, she's clutching the scratcher with an "It's mine!" expression on her face. She seems happy.