The squirrels are on notice. It's that time of year again; it's October, my birth month, so it's time to play the annual "Where will Amy pop up next?" game. This year's answer is one that many of you will recognize as a favorite previous playground: the metro Washington, D.C. area.

I'm not flying this year. I'm driving.Correction. We are driving it. Yep, that's right -- we. I shan't be going alone; I shall have my three stout, trusty German squirrels (Günter, Friedrich, and Konrad) with me this year.

This is a recipe that is barely even a recipe—more of a guideline. Chances are, I'm the only person I know who likes this dish as much as I do, but that's ok. More for me.

Steph's (heavily modified) corn chowder

4 baking potatoes (I like high-starch ones; they thicken the chowder nicely)
2 cans cream corn
2 cans whole kernel corn
1 can milk
1 white or yellow onion
half-package of bacon (adjust to your bacony wishes)
1 bunch green onions
several cloves of garlic, minced
seasoning ideas: Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, tabasco/cayenne to taste

So. I have to ask. Is it possible to get any more comfortable than what's shown in this photo, or has Tenzing managed to reach some kind of pathetic, heretofore-never-seen natural limit here?

This level of relaxation takes effort

You know it's impressive when even the seasoned, hardened cat tender walks in the room, rolls her eyes, and says, "You're awful, Tenzing. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Pretty simple, really: shelves make me purr, Edmund hide, Tenzing deathly curious, and Jeff wish he could sit on the couch and do something else for a while.

Funny to think that I've been waiting three years to get all this figured out, when it seems so obvious now. Shelves, shelves, everywhere. Then, toss in enough furniture to make the room respectable, plus a few tables and some nice lighting, and suddenly you've got a room that isn't ignored, but enjoyed.

In the end, it will take twelve shelves to finish transforming the room. True, it would be quicker to purchase ready-made shelving. Quicker, brasher; the end result would be just that: twelve identical shelves.

I haven't taken that route. Not this time, and I'm not even completely sure why.This morning, I tapped fingernails against the varnish of the third shelf, satisfying myself that the horizontal surface of the shelf would be smooth enough for my liking. Of the three done so far, it is probably the lightest.

…is a lovely thing indeed.

I'm not sure why I like working in black and white better than I like working in color, but it's always been that way for me. It's not unlike drawing - by subtracting the inessential, you're left with only the subject's essence.