Howdy! From West Texas

Mom

2012-01-16T13:07:00.000-06:00

Mom fell and broke her arm. Who knew how hard that could be to deal with for her, for us? They can't set it due to location. She is in a SNF for now, needing help with simple things - like getting up! The rest of the family is near enough to go visit her daily. All I can do is sit here and think about her, hope it gets better for her, wish things did not have to be hard for her at this point. But for many it is it seems, more often than not, and frequently much worse than it is for her now. You start to really feel the years that have gone by, when your mom is 87, hurting, and might not go home again. No more acting like things will never change, and on to accepting and dealing with what is - as best we can.

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T09:26:00.001-06:00

Not a very memorable year for me unless I count turning 60 as something big. Well it is in a way. Officially joining the ranks of AARP now! oh what fun!

A rather uneventful year but that has its good points. No big highs and no deep lows. Ah peacefulness! So I find myself not that interested in keeping this up yet not letting it go, hence a short rather dull end of year post.

Happy New Year everyone!

On the road again

2011-11-17T03:10:00.001-06:00

Fall in Kentucky

Cats!

2011-09-14T21:35:00.002-05:00

Precious sleeping in the cradle

Mellow waiting by the go-out spot (they all figure that out so fast!)

Angel has claimed her spot on the cat tree.

BK doing what BK loves best, chowing down.
Not pictured, Fela and Lucky who are outside enjoying the morning!

Grapes!

2011-06-29T17:10:00.001-05:00

Planted three years ago to shade the cat pen I never gave much thought to fruit. It is loaded with lovely clusters and my phone really does not show them well. The birds have finally discovered them though so will no doubt get most. Happy eating birds!

Doodling, now new and improved

2011-06-28T18:07:00.002-05:00

Oh the latest thing that has crossed my path has surely got to be an inspired way to kill time: Zentangle®.

Now this is not particularly new. I can find references to it from 2009 and admit I made no effort to look back further. It is new to me and I'm sure many have yet to hear of it or try it. At first I was amused. Then hooked. This is fun! and takes focus if one wants a neat result. Hence the "zen" in the name, as it becomes a way to meditate, focus and relax. Zentangle takes doodling to an entirely new level. Creating tangles can even leave you with a free form drawing worth hanging on your wall or a way to decorate a pair of shoes. Whatever you do with it, you are sure to enjoy it!

You can find information on youtube (of course) and on the web. Just know that the word Zentangle has been patented, so giving credit where credit is certainly due - check out these links!

http://www.zentangle.com/index.php

http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-zentangle

http://www.sakuraofamerica.com/Zentangle

http://www.youtube.com/user/Zentangle

http://www.flickr.com/groups/zentangle/

Alone in West Texas

2011-06-10T10:05:00.000-05:00

Temporarily, as son is off in Europe! what a cool trip he has had the opportunity to take. It is a college course affair and they are hitting several cities. I do believe I envy him. It took him a while to decide to go, or so it appeared to me, while I was saying Go Go Go!! Can't wait to hear all about it when he gets back.

So, alone. It's not half bad. Nothing really changed. Same routine. None of his tales of school or biking to entertain me but am pleased to think of him in Europe seeing all the sights and learning.

Meanwhile the cat is having to adjust. No John to pick on. She can't go to the living room and meow for him to let her out, then run around to the back yard, slip in the window and return to the living room to meow for him to let her out. Again and again. No, instead she is harassing me. Not as much fun I am sure since this crabby person refuses to open the front door for her. However with it getting warmer the window is closed so I have to open a door for her. If only I could tune out her little high pitched mew. Which would not really help as the dog thinks the cats should have the door opened for them when they ask and if mom does not notice, she points the situation out to mom. Sigh. I might as well give up.

So, not totally alone. There's four cats and a dog. Amazing how much attention and time they take up!

What do I want in my life?

2011-05-13T14:21:00.001-05:00

I read an interesting post a while back. It seemed like a good one to just think about, and to make my own list. Check theirs out:

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2010/12/being-satisfied-with-enough.html

I do not want to repeat their list here obviously, so go read it! but much of what is there would be my own desires as well. These days as a widow and soon to live alone (son has been here finishing his Master's) it seems good to give this some thought and action to make it happen!

One we all need/want =

a reason to get up every morning

You'd think that would just be built in but the number of people on anti-depressants might be a clue that for a lot of us, it is not. Or perhaps I should say a better reason than just having to let the dog out!

Being 'retired' if I can call it that, not ever having a full time job in years, instead of constructive fulfilling job I will put down :

a way to give back to society

Feeling productive usually means greater satisfaction. There is always that need to feel needed, somehow, somewhere. Fortunately it is in our power to make that happen. There are many volunteer opportunites all around us. The group I like to volunteer with is Christian Women's Job Corps.

Then:

to keep learning

keep family ties strong, by putting love and tolerance into action and the effort required to keep relationships strong

to live consciously as much as I can

to be faithful in my Christian walk

Enough to keep me busy, or as busy as I want to be! Just have to work on that number one, though perhaps the rest of them answer that one.

What would your list be?

Fela's new hair cut

2011-03-22T09:23:00.001-05:00

This is what happens when you don't brush :)

Welcome 2011

2011-01-13T16:54:00.002-06:00

Not sure I ever thought about this year back when it was .. oh.. 2000... I can't imagine 2021 now so that's not peculiar. What a year 2021 sounds like! Something so far into the future!

Oh well today is now and it is a new year so off we go with New Year type things.

Money. Always number one with me! I ran across this article and don't we all remember those seven habits books? Being frugal is now the 'in' thing so this is perfect to begin my year with -

7 Habits of Highly Frugal People

With the economy the way it is today perhaps the book will make a comeback and do better than it did in '89!

One sentence in this stands out as I have heard it so many times before - between the stimulus and your response is your freedom to choose your response - and that applies to money, food, conversations with others, anything we do. Live consciously (another favorite of mine). Make better choices. Choose your response.

Perhaps having a reactive dog it means more today than it did say.. ten years ago or so. Su is 12 now, and we have worked hard to help her be a better dog. Today she is a lovely pet but there is still that underlying issue of the reactive dog. I suppose no matter how much I want to choose more wisely, to stop and think, it will always be something I will struggle with rather than something that is automatic.

So here's to better responses in 2010!

and just because I like pictures here is one of my occasional assistant:

And it is Christmas!! Yee Haaa!

2010-12-24T12:24:00.002-06:00

So sorry, no snow pics, no snow here.
No tree pics, no tree here.
Just cats, dog, and son John.
No turkey either.

Will left over roast do?

Enjoying my Christmas, hope you are enjoying yours too!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T10:38:00.000-06:00

happy turkey day to everyone. I am back in Texas and (gasp!) actually cooking a turkey. Figured Suza would enjoy pressure cooked turkey remains and we might enjoy bits of it ourselves. Can't believe I'm not just planning on Denny's. Well that might happen too...

In the forties here? and will warm up to high fifties? yikes. At least we don't have the white stuff.

You all stay warm!

Vinegar or honey?

2010-09-27T12:34:00.000-05:00

I have always liked the little book Silver Boxes: the Gift of Encouragement for what it has to say about our words. Words can hurt or they can help. Which do you choose?

Then I thought about that old saying, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar". My grandmother introduced me to that proverb when I was young. Apparently it comes from Torriano's 'Common Place of Italian Proverbs' (1666). Though I suspect most of us would be more familiar with it in Benjamin Franklin's 'Poor Richard's Almanac'.

Then I thought about a person I knew as a teen who made up a honey/vinegar combination - basically tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of raw honey plus water, a freshing drink that is supposed to cure about anything that ails you.

Well you know what? It does not take a lot of vinegar to spoil the sweet taste of honey (unless you like vinegar) and it takes a bunch of honey to overpower vinegar. (I do like the mix but just thinking of the pure taste of honey vs vinegar here.) So what if I applied all of the above to my words?

When speaking to others do you serve them vinegar or honey? A mix of the two might be fine yet I suspect that then, you need to have more honey than vinegar for the vinegar-y words to be well accepted. If you mainly hand out vinegar, can you really expect people to keep coming back for more? I'll go along with the thought that a bit of vinegar might make the honey seem even better but will leave with this thought..

Remember in your relationships, whether it is friends or children:
You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar!

Happy trails!

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August vacation

2010-08-29T14:02:00.003-05:00

Took a trip to California again, this time went up to Zion National Park. We even stopped by the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Spectacular country! Enjoyed the walk up the river even while struggling with the many slippery rocks under that water. At one point a doe came running down through the river and then up on a bank, trying to hide from all the people. We wondered if she'd fallen in further up where the banks are quite steep.

Grand Canyon


Zion

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Here comes Suzaaaaaa

2010-06-02T13:22:00.000-05:00

out to the park to watch John in a run..

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Su had a good time.. and there she is all worn out in one shot, after a walk. She was too tired to object to being piled high with packing materials. Okay, she probably just did not care, wondering what the kids were up to now! LOL

April trip to California

2010-06-02T12:45:00.001-05:00

Included a visit to Anza-Barrego State Park where we saw some neat metal sculptures at Galleta Meadows …

then there was Torrey Pines State National Reserve where we had a lovely walk on the beach..

of course we went to the beach itself at Oceanside and ate lunch at Islands.. and visited Forrest Lawn Memorial Park to see the stained glass and much more.. along with a night out in San Diego to see Kooza !!

Cooking, for a change of pace

2010-03-26T18:23:00.001-05:00

Cooking is something which I have not done a lot of lately so after watching the ladies from the county extension office prepare a healthy meal at the Christian Women’s Job Corps, I was inspired. Unfortunately not incredibly inspired, just a little bit inspired, to cook. So instead of hunting a lower priced store I hit the one on my way home. There I picked up almost everything that was called for:

chicken breasts, skinless, .43/lb @ $10/lb, $4.25
12 oz of cottage cheese, $2.39
32 oz plain yogurt, $2.19
8 oz light sour cream, $1.49
20 ct santa fe tortillas, $.99
roma tomatoes .79lbs at .88 lb, $ .70
colby cheese, $2.50
enchilada sauce, $1.79
bell pepper, red, $.99
bell pepper, green, $1.69
cucumber, $.50

Ouch. Almost twenty dollars worth of food. I should see what that would have cost somewhere else but perhaps I do not want to know. So.. on to the meal…

There’s only two of us and the meal serves 8 so my plans were to prepare about half of the recipe. The package size available at the store meant there would be a good bit of leftovers with some of those items. ISo sizing down, for the chicken enchilada dish I used portions of some things: most of the yogurt is left, half the cottage cheese and the sour cream had nothing to do with the recipes so there’s all of that. Nearly all the tomatoes, half the bell peppers (half each that is) and only a portion of the cheese.

The recipe called for a different cheese, two types actually, I took the easy way out with just one. From twenty bucks our meal is now down to under ten and if I enforce portion size the chicken dish should serve us twice, while the salad will go a good bit more.

The fiesta salad is a mix of canned corn (already had that), tomatoes, cucumber and bell peppers with some seasoning and vinegar. It called for canned tomatoes but I prefer fresh. So there we go. All cut up and ready to eat – when the chicken dish is done in a few minutes! Almost a real meal instead of my usual, there’s some salmon patties, that’s it.

For a similar salad without the simple vinegar dressing visit Big Oven and for a similar enchilada dish check out Cooks.com. I rarely follow recipes precisely and changing things to make them lower fat is easy to do if you wish.

March Madness continues…

2010-03-25T18:19:00.002-05:00

What can I say? We wanted to take a trip to California so I had to buy a car. Any excuse right? well the old one was a bit of a beater though I love it so now I’m the proud owner of a 2010 Mazda. zoom zoom…

The trip to CA was so nice! John and I left late on Friday so had a hard two days to get there by Saturday afternoon but we did it. Then the fun began. We made a visit to Anza-Barrego State Park and saw some neat metal sculptures at Galleta Meadows . The next day we went to Forrest Lawn Memorial Park to see the stained glass and much more. There was a sunset visit to Oceanside beach but also a visit to Torrey Pines State National Reserve. We were delighted to include an evening watching Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza in our plans as well.

And then there was the shopping. We enjoyed the discount stores and the second hand shops, picking up things as we went until my little car was stuffed! John picked up some nice clothes and so did I.. two reversible skirts from Coldwater Creek for four bucks each. I found a cloche for baking bread to mention a few things.

Of course we took plenty of photos.. John put up a few on his blog and also on his flickr account. While mine are not as good (much cheaper camera, MUCH cheaper, LOL) I do have a few up over on my picasa web albums that I hope are open to the public (that was the plan anyway, let me know if they are not).

We had a great time and I at least came back to Texas all worn out! Pleasantly so I will add.

March madness

2010-03-09T11:46:00.001-06:00

Saw Alice in Wonderland last night. What fun! And it is a good thing to take time out for some fun once in a while when in other areas of life problems pile up. Not all of them my problems but still they affect me.

My ulcerative colitis is flaring up again. It has been over a year since the last one. I had so hoped the meds were going to do the job and my worries were over. The last time I had a bad flare up the doctor discussed the condition of my intestinal tract and surgery. Complete removal of the large intestine. I just want this flare up to go away!

Then there’s the lungs. That’s how I refer to it now, the lung issue. Coughing for ages (months) and finally figuring out that things like stumbling around were due to lack or oxygen, ha ha. It has been going on for four years now, off and on but mostly on. We’ve tried different things, I think I’m fine and don’t go in til it bothers me enough to affect daily life. An appointment with a pulmonologist is scheduled. Hope to find out what is the problem and what to do long term. And here I always thought of myself as healthy, in spite of the colitis. Sigh.

My youngest is off at work in Miami. The work vehicle is a rental supplied by his company. It was stolen yesterday. He had all of his tools in it.

The oldest lives in CA. Middle son and I have long planned on a trip out to see her. We have saved up for that but not enough to fly or rent a car. My car is back in the shop after just getting out last week. It is old now with a lot of miles on it. The mechanic advised against taking it on a cross country trip. Well, that pretty much rules out the trip. Not a thing to cry about yet it is frustrating at times. No money to buy another vehicle so there goes that. Yet I probably need to think of some day having to purchase a car to replace my 14 yo car with 247,000+ miles on it. That made me look at money, income and outgo.

It is so much nicer to not look at money things! Oh dear. Well if I included all the outgo, averaged it out right, my $1300 a month covers it all and leaves me about $200 a month leftover. That is the “discretionary” spending part. Personal items, clothing, car repairs, house repairs, maintenance etc. Not terribly discretionary but much of that can be put off a bit unlike the electric bill or food. Usually I depend on subbing to help but with the u.c. and the lungs that is not working out well this school year.

Well this is a downer of a post. Maybe no one will read it anyway. Off to find some fun on facebook with all my friends.

March 2, Texas Independence Day!

2010-03-02T17:43:00.003-06:00

Image via Wikipedia

Here's to Texas Independence Day! *

To Willie and Waylon, the Alamo, the Palo Duro and the Big Bend, but most of all the wonderful people who call themselves Texans - to all that makes this a great state, we raise a toast today.

.. We're so happy to live in the great state of Texas!

*the historic event 174 years ago on March 2, 1836, the day Texas gained its independence from Mexico

February in SC

2010-02-18T14:48:00.001-06:00

Here I sit in South Carolina for a while - visiting mom and taking it easy. She's getting along pretty good except for a hip that bothers her lately. I am so glad my son is staying at my house while he goes to college so that it is possible for me to leave home on extended visits like this.

Mom and I get along fine but it does get rather amusing in the grocery stores. She heads for the pastry section while I aim for the fresh produce. She's perusing the frozen breakfast items such as strudels and waffles as I pick up yogurt and rice cakes. Sometimes when I visit I just let go and eat whatever but that has sure been hard on the waist line. With all the sweets available it isn't easy to not succumb to more than my normal intake but overall this go round I've done much better with my diet. Mom does say if I mention salads for supper one more time she's going to whop me.

Here's a snow picture from the past week - it did not last long here so we enjoyed the pretty sight -

Life (and death) Preparations

2010-01-15T13:19:00.001-06:00

Well I can't believe this - I sat down and wrote a long post in this new editor and it is simply gone. How annoying. On the other hand it may well spare you ready a bit of sappy writing. Not totally mind you as here I am again but we all know how those rough drafts go - or not.

With everyone talking about New Year's Resolutions a while back and some conversation I can't remember coming up between my son and myself, my thoughts turned to preparing for the worst. Resolving perhaps to make sure the ones left behind have an easier time of it than they'd have if you simply fail to plan. Let's face it, no one wants to talk about it. To the extent all to often that a loved one dies and the bereaved find out nothing was done that should have been done, so now they have not just the grief to cope with but a huge mess to boot. Funeral plans no one thought to consider prior to the need. Financial issues of paperwork or money itself because no one wanted to think about morbid topics like dying. Once the person is dead it is too late but how many times do we hear, if only...

If only the house had been in both our names.

If only we had had mortgage insurance.

If only we had bought enough life insurance.

If only I knew where all the papers were or what bills we have the wife might say...

If only..

Let your new year resolution be to put the ax to as many of those "if only" types of statements as you can ahead of time. Have that impossible conversation. Think those impossible thoughts. If they died - what needs to be done, what needs to be in place?

My husband died in 1998. We had some time to prepare but many things we let slide, or it was too late once the diagnosis was made to change some things. Lapsed life insurance. A large mortgage. Debt. We thought he'd live forever and have a good retirement? Well yes we all do that don't we however life sometimes throws us a curveball.

I won't write about what to do as there are wonderful sites with more information you need than I could put here in a short time. My only hope is if you read this you will consider preparing for the worst. Take care of your loved ones. Don't let it slide. Start the new year out with taking care of those unpleasant things because you know what? Whether you want to talk about it or not, death comes to all of us.

Here's three blogs you can look at to start -
What You Need to Do Before you Go
5 Financial Lessons to Learn from Celebrity Deaths
Things I've Learned Losing A Parent

Morning Rambles

2010-01-07T10:12:00.001-06:00

Snuggling down under the comforter with the cat, sleeping in seemed a good idea on this cold morning (currently 25 out). Normally Su sleeps in nicely but this morning she got up and turned my light on. Dang it. While a touch lamp seemed a great idea Su quickly learned to turn it on when she wanted something. Like me out of bed. Nothing quite like a light coming on in the wee hours of the morning when it is totally dark to get up you fast. Now that it is obviously just Su not a midnight prowler I just groan and drag myself up.

Su out and Lucky-cat with her, it was time to tend to the rest before letting the two back inside. Precious (22yo ex-feral) was yowling for ( 1) attention (2) water (3) food, pick one or all.. she wanted water. There was water in her bowl mind you but it had been there all night. Eww yucky, old water. She wanted Fresh water. At least she no longer demands RO water like she did when we lived in the country and well water came from the tap. Mellow cried to be let out. Fela sat patiently waiting for her treats. And Su wanted back in. Lucky was ‘knocking’ on the door (body slamming it) and I was trying to figure out why the coffee was not perking (ah.. it needs water in the reservoir not in the pot) ….

so begins the morning. Can I go back to bed now? Well no, the trash truck is coming.. sigh. I run out in bathrobe and the men kindly take the trash and even bring one of the trash cans back to the garage for me. Not their job but it is cold out and I am obviously not prepared for this. Greeting them, smiling and saying Thank you probably helps.

Everyone is back in, if not happy (make it Warm momma!) and the coffee is done, John’s up telling me his crazy dreams and I’m ready for for a morning nap.

A new year

2010-01-05T20:17:00.004-06:00

It seems the last few posts were done on Woolgathering, with the dog as my subject. Life would have been simpler if I had not forgotten about starting a blog and later on started a blog only to find out it was the second one. At least they are with the same outfit! Oh yeah.. there's that third one too... Yes you can laugh at me, roll your eyes, whatever is your style. I'm unorganized and we all know it.

2010. It would be nice to have something memorable or philosophical to say about that number but mostly what I think is, remember the movie 2001? And how far into the future that seemed back then? And here we are pushing into that other year that is getting so much attention right now, 2012. More than likely when that year gets here, we will laugh about that one too.

Meanwhile, this blog needs a focus. Which is asking a lot of me these days but we shall see if over the next few weeks it can find one.

Meanwhile since the other blog has so many dog pics in it, let's go for a cat pic here. For better cat photos, check John's out. He has some beauties of Fela.

Su and the talking tree

2009-12-09T13:18:00.000-06:00

I had to do it - we have no tree up but this thing was just sitting there in the garage begging to be used. It will be new to a couple of the cats as well but the first to take notice was Su, of course. She was very curious. No treats came out though so soon she walked off..

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Myra's posterous

Teaching Su to Howl

2009-12-09T10:15:00.000-06:00

Well I can’t say it is working well.

We call it woo-wooing and she will do that at the boys on her own, if they are not pleasing her. Not saying Hi for instance when they walk in, or if they’ve been absent for a long time.

Now someone else whose name shall go unmentioned, taught Su to bark. This was funny for a long time as she had such problems doing it and usually only managed a very small noise. However now there are Corn Dogs!!! and she can bark really loud. Hence the effort to do the woo-woo thing..

James is in town and nearly every morning he gets Su a corndog. She loves loves loved corndogs. We make Su "work" for her food, sometimes telling her what we want, sometimes letting her offer behaviors. I decided a wooo instead of a bark would be a pleasant thing. Uh huh. Well first problem was getting Su to understand what was expected. She tried everything. Sneezes, bows, high fives, lie down, lie down all the way (flat on side), sit, bark, and all again... finally very perturbed Su yawned and made a soft sound at the end of it. It was almost a woo as so she got a treat.

That's when it got funny. Poor Su knew she'd done something that got her a bit of corndog but naturally enough she was not sure what. She tried all her tricks, then tried yawning. Nope. Yawned again with a slight yodel behind it, Yes! I got out the clicker - something I should have done to begin with - and we kept trying. Su still is not quite clear on what sound to make and continues to try yawns but she is doing better. This morning when James came in she really got going, sneeze/snorting at him and finally woo-wooing for her corn dog.

Wish I had pics of her working this out. It was too funny. Also so interesting to watch as she tried yawns and noises to see what worked to get the corn dog. At the moment she’s giving us a real grrowly rwoo.. which works for me. It makes us laugh. That's what I love about clicker training. It gets the dog to thinking, not just waiting for the next order. And it is a lot of fun for the people involved as well.

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added later.. a video of Su trying to figure out what James wants. You can't hear her she makes her noise so softly but he can.. so she gets a treat:

No photographer am I

2009-10-06T12:14:00.000-05:00

photography is fun but definitely not my strong point. Son gave me a nice camera that is not used to create the shots it could create by a long shot. Nope. I just point and shoot. Told him what I need is a camera that is fast for pet photos but not the huge megapixels so sought after as I'm only going to put it on the web, so make it cheap! Oh well. What I have is the cheapest I'm going to get, as I did not pay for it!

He sees the most interesting things while I on the same walk, see nothing to snap a photo of.. oh me such is life. Check out his blogs for pics..

So I'm thinking, how is it I can enjoy something so much but have absolutely no talent for it? Rather like taking art lessons when you really can't paint, or music lessons when you have no "ear" for it.. it is not all a lost cause. You learn to see the world around you in a new way which increases your own pleasure, even if your photos still aren't worth much. :)

Java Chillers! oh yummm

2009-09-28T14:09:00.002-05:00

Love Sonic’s java chillers. Not great for the budget or waistline but my oh my, good in the mouth. Su-dog thinks so too!

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Fall returns to West Texas

2009-09-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

Cool nights and cool mornings. Open doors and open windows. Dog walks on the river are pleasant again.

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Home, Sweet Home

2009-08-09T07:18:00.001-05:00

Or that is the idea anyway. So, a long flight with two layovers, screaming children kicking the back of the seat, no sleep the night before and no nap on the plane, I get home to a soggy bedroom carpet. Oh the joys of home ownership!

Granted, my son had done his best and we' had talked about it on the phone. The plan to get new floor covering for living room/hall etc will just have to expand to include the bedroom. Rats. Nothing like getting up in the night to use the bathroom and stepping on cold wet carpet! LOL. Used the shopvac and pulled it back but still there was enough dampness to get my attention. The dog didn't much like it either. She'd been sleeping on the sofa but with me home she had to sleep on the floor by my bed. Poor Su. True love is giving up the comfy sofa to be near mom on a slightly wet carpet.

I left home in mid May, so it has been a while not counting the short weekend back at the end of May. It is good to be home though I do worry about mom there in SC. We had a nice visit. Did not do a lot but stay at the house, eat, sleep, watch tv. I understand that works well for mom but must confess I found it rather slow.

One weekend we went up to the mountains. I had planned on a short vacation with an old college friend. We wanted to do the raft and rail thing in the NC mountains (Nantahala river, Bryson City, Nantahala Outdoor Center providing raft and guides) and figured mom might like part of that as well. Big sis and her husband came along, so they and mom simply did the train ride. I went with my friend and two more on the train one way with them then the four of us came back down via raft. What fun! It's an easy river, suited for families and people like us just out to have a good time. We started planning our next vacation together that afternoon as we enjoyed our time together so much.

Now it's time for me to get back to jail ministry, the Christian Women's Job Corps, and a bit of geocaching! And perhaps a bit of sub work to pay for the extras. Like carpet.

Slough of Despond

2009-07-16T09:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I have avoided posting due to being in such a depressed state of mind. Oh I thought about it but had nothing positive to say! Things happen that cause sadness, that can't be undone, that one must simply come to terms with in time. I fight the battle of beating myself up - blame, guilt, feelings of worthlessness. Age old battle but occasionally things occur that ramp it up to a level I can barely deal with so.... back to Zoloft.

Coming home often brings me down but this time another incident was added to the mix. So here I am, just hanging in there, knowing that while there will always be a sadness that it will lessen with that great healer time.

Summer here in the countryside of South Carolina passes slowly. Mom shows signs of age and that makes me sad as well.

Gray day

2009-07-06T17:13:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, life just sucks.

And that's my big thought for the day.

East Coast, again...

2009-06-15T08:10:00.001-05:00

Well here I am again in South Carolina. Flew in to Charleston's airport and have been staying in Sommerville this weekend past. Today will be on my way upcountry to visit my mother for a while. My head is beginning to spin! One coast to another is not my usual thing, LOL, but it sure was fun. Such a difference in weather too. Love that southern CA coolness, yet now I am in the coastal SC region I must admit that heat feels pretty fine too. My friend here thinks I am nuts. Give me a few days and perhaps I will agree with her.

California!

2009-06-01T18:39:00.000-05:00

We made it! Drove over 800 miles yesterday so got in today around noon. My daughter's new landlord was here to meet us and do the walk-thru. She is such a nice person! Actually it is a couple but he was working. My daughter has met both already. I was pleased to meet at least one of them. She brought some household items so we would have all we need while waiting for the mover's to arrive with said daughter's possessions, and also some food stuffs! So thoughtful! The condo is lovely. I think this will be a great place to live.

Now, California. Well, the last time I came here by car I was a young child so there's no memories of it at all. The last time I visited was by plane so only saw the coastal area, San Francisco and Long Beach. I must say, coming in from the east it is not too impressive, unless you are impressed by really huge sand dunes, and small mountains that consist of boulders. Then farm fields and what looked like scrubby arid lands a bit worse than some of West Texas. Finally we reached Vista and met the traffic. Oh my. I just do not know if I could ever do this! Or at least, not willingly for long! Zoom zoom indeed. Thankgoodness I did not have to drive.

The kid's at work, the cat is in hiding, and I'm holding down the fort. Drinking coffee and talking to folks back home and others that is, enjoying the pleasant weather and not being in a car.

Check out these sand dunes. People were riding bikes out there. Probably fourwheelers too but we only saw bikes.

and rocks! Oh my goodness, rocks.. mountains made of ROCKS!

Then it got uglier before we finally reached the city of our destination, as I said. No pics of that, I was nearly asleep. And no pics of this lovely apartment as it is not mine. So that's all for now!

Arizona

2009-05-31T23:22:00.001-05:00

We made it quite a ways today, further than we thought when we started out this morning in San Angelo. It was still fairly early (not quite six) when we went through Tucson. So here we are at Gila Bend, Arizona. Long stretches of desert and hills in the background. Rather pretty in its own way.

We've made good use of google's number to call for businesses like hotels. Am so glad my son told me about that! We just call up and ask for the hotel of our choice in whatever city and get connected. Much nicer to know where you are going to stay and if they take cats than to wait til you drive up to figure it out.

The gps is getting a workout finding caches, but it doesn't do bad at finding gas stations either. Which is a lot of help when the distances can be so long between towns along I-8.

The cat we are taking to California is a quiet rider. In fact I have to keep feeling under the seat to assure myself she is still with us. Once in a while we can hear her purr!

Here's a couple of photos we grabbed along the way while driving..

New Mexico. .. much prettier seeing the real thing than in this picture..

Tucson had really gussied up their overpasses and bridges.. missed all but this one shot:

and the last cache of the day gave up this picture:

Texas!!

2009-05-30T20:54:00.002-05:00

Back home in Texas for a quick stopover. Dropping off two cats and picking up one to take to California. Nice to have a day to just relax and visit out of this long road journey. John baked us cherry tarts and then cooked a great supper of mahi-mahi tonight. I did a few things here, got to visit with one friend and never did call mom! Oops. Well she's getting daily emails. Tomorrow morning we head west, and hope our first stop will be in Tucson. The next night should see us in California!

Back in Ohio

2009-05-24T14:57:00.002-05:00

We had a lovely visit in South Carolina. Saw my sister and brother, well one of them, and aunt. Mostly spent lazy days in the country with mom. The time passed by quickly. Well it wasn't but five full days there!

We made a fast trip (not speedwise but no stopping to sightsee) back to Ohio. Good weather all the way and lovely scenery. I particularly liked the farms in one valley along a river. Large barns and silos, wide green fields with mountains behind them. Picture book sights almost in many cases. We made one stop for a cache with a nice overlook. While we did not find the cache we did get a picture!

Not at home

2009-05-22T15:32:00.000-05:00

Boy do I miss my "stuff", even if it isn't fancy stuff, LOL. Have been to Ohio, am in SC, am soon going back to Ohio, then down to Texas, then... well anyway... about half the time won't have internet. So even though I have nothing to say, I'd better say it!

No thoughts, just hanging out. Watching Golden Girls with Mom. Visiting sis, brother, aunt. Listening to the crazy cur dog here bark like mad, thinking how every dog has some issue or other. Generally, the owner only puts up with what the owner can put up with so for them, it's good. However others have different things they don't like and do, so sometimes for them, it's not so good. Life is like that!

Same with people. Everyone's busy with their busies and happy for it. While others think that person should not be doing that or should be doing this - but that whatever they do is just fine. Or if they admit it isn't it's a matter of well it's my stuff and I'm good with that. But you need to change, LOL.

Aren't we a mess though?

Virginia and the Blue Ridge

2009-05-17T21:05:00.001-05:00

The first day out on our trip we reached the Skyline Pkwy, which is a National Park. The day was overcast and threatened to rain most of the time. Even so the drive was lovely - and we took many piictures. Our second day was spent on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had never seen this part of the country before. What a treat even if it was terribly overcast!

There were bikers and hikers on the road with us (bicycle, but also motorcycles of course) and we marvelled at their being out there in such weather. I suppose if you truly love a sport a bit of rain, coolness and gray days make no difference. We stopped too see a small waterfall.

While like everyone else we had always thought of making a drive like this in the fall to see the 'colors' I must admit it was worth it even in the gray spring. Maybe one day we can make a return trip in the fall some day. Here is one shot, that shows so well why these mountains are called the Smokies.

and a few more shots - azaleas and a newt? and some other flower...

On the road again

2009-05-15T10:05:00.000-05:00

Back in Ohio... first stage of a long trip. Yesterday had a long day at the airports. Storms caused flight delays everywhere. My flight out was delayed, the next one missed, the next two full, but space remained on one going to a nearby location. Stacey drove there to get me. Arrival went from 7 pm to just past midnight! Slept good last night anyway, LOL. Leave here tomorrow, sightseeing our way to SC to some degree or other depending on weather.

Here's Pris. She will miss us while we are gone. But has Mello for company. (Another cat).. then they will get to enjoy a long car drive later in the month.

On the road again (soon)

2009-05-12T09:16:00.000-05:00

The last month the mind has not wandered much. Rather tired, busy and contemplating another long trip away from home, indeed the days have been enough to keep me from much mental wondering. Which is a wonder in itself.

There is one thing that does stand out though through all this – my reluctance to leave home. When others have said such I thought what a stay at home! Go nowhere? How dull! Yet the older I get, the more I align myself with them. Is it age alone, a lack of energy, being ever so comfortable in my own place? Will I actually reach a stage of saying No, thanks for the thought but I’ll just stay at home? That’s a bit scary. Is that a common thing I wonder?

We have a lot planned. A flight to Ohio, trip to SC and a visit there with stops along the way, back to Ohio then off to California. Maybe thinking about it makes me tired ahead of time. However I do want to go and know that once gone – once on the plane flying above Texas – all reluctance will fade away leaving nothing but anticipation for the time to come.

Geocaching

2009-04-24T11:35:00.003-05:00

People will sometimes ask me WHY I geocache. There are so many reasons! It boils down to some of us will love it, some will always wonder why in the world would you want to do to do such a thing as that?

Some of my reasons:

It’s a social activity if you want it to be. I rarely go alone. My friend and I enjoy not just caching but stopping for a meal at some bbq place in a small town perhaps, or Starbucks.

It’s a good clean family activity. Well, if you don’t get in the mud anyway.

I wouldn’t walk a mile for exercise alone very often but I will walk a mile for a cache. Or more. Or less. Getting to the waterfall below in the Big Bend was not easy but oh so worth it!

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I enjoy nature. We see quite a bit of fauna on our excursions. Snakes are always fun and then there were the camels and the kangaroos. Imagine that. Longhorns I expect to see but I am still bemused by camels and kangaroos in a field in west Texas.

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Earth caches (a unique geoscience feature or aspect of our Earth) can take you to interesting sites. Also virtuals (example, a historical site) where there is no physical cache, just a location to visit and information to discover. I’ve been places I might have missed otherwise a few times. In the Bahamas while others visited stores close to the waterfront, the lure of a cache led me to the Queen’s Staircase. It’s on a tour true but I’d have missed it if I had not been going for a cache because no one else in my group was interested. So I hiked there alone!

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Wherever you are, there are caches near by for you to find!

Goodbye Lolli-cat

2009-04-09T09:42:00.002-05:00

I wasn’t here when it was time to say goodbye. A part of me will always regret that. Lolli was a rescue from the country living days, a sweet cat who in her mind belonged solely to my daughter. My son said she was not eating much to speak of and getting so thin. So it seemed time to say goodbye.

My preference is for them to die quietly in their sleep. I guess that is what we all hope for whether for ourselves or our beloved animals. Some can't stand the thought of 'putting down' a pet. Yet I hope that they too realize once in a while, it is the best choice for the animal. Consider quality of life, are they in pain? Is there any hope for recovery? I hate euthanasia. I want that beloved pet to be around as long as possible. Yet I also believe that sometimes the last good gift we can give to our animals is an easy, peaceful end.

Lolli was so frail at the last, wobbly on her feet. Then John said Mom, she's barely touching her food. So I made the choice from which there is no turning back. I can only hope it was the right one. I did so want to give her one last good summer in the sun. In any case, she did not lose many days we suspect. Goodbye Lollers – you were a good cat.

Weep Not for Me, In Memory of a Beloved Cat

by Constance Jenkins

and other writings (Rainbow Bridge)

Failure isn’t my fault

2009-04-07T12:34:00.000-05:00

or is it? Failure of one sort or another happens to all of us. We try, fail, try again.. or make excuses! Failure in life itself, failure to achieve your goals and dreams because of ___ (fill in the blank) seems on the surface to be acceptable. At least, I know a few people who have good reasons for not ‘getting there’, wherever ‘there’ is for them. Their divorce, their children (having to care for them), their boss, their looks, the list goes on. I never felt this was quite sufficient an excuse but never had a handle on how to respond either. Once in a conversation with someone good at excuses for why not but many dreams, growing tired of listening to the dreams that would never happen, I said, Less talk! More action! And I walked away wondering, Why do some of us stop at talk? What issues are we not dealing with or what nice psychological reason is there for some of us to end up stalled out?

Now I can’t say a lot, not being a ‘getting there’ kind of person myself. However I never wanted to that much, being happy as a SAHM and not needing to work. Yet I admit at this point that I have excuses for not working that would all fall aside if I really needed to work. So what is the reason we just quit? We read about people who overcame odds that seemed insurmountable or at least very daunting. They did it and we tend to give them some marvelous characteristic uncommon in most men to say, Yeah, they are remarkable people. Meaning, I’m not don’t expect this of me.

Then my son handed me a book. (Some of you knew this was coming right? My children could count on it being a book.) The idea was that someone else needed it, and from the title I did not see much point in my reading it. Then I opened it and read the first chapter.

Oh my. This guy nails it. 13 Fatal Errors Managers Make And How You Can Avoid Them, by W. Steven Brown. Doesn’t really sound like a title for a book just anyone would want to read does it? It did not take many pages though for me to realize this could be a good one for any of us.

We’ve all heard the phrase, the buck stops here. Brown says there is a way to predict failure: People will fail in direct proportion to their willingness to accept socially acceptable excuses for failure. Ouch. There’s another term I’ve heard a lot lately: accountability. So we can have our excuses, uh I mean reasons, and accept failure as something beyond our ability to change, or we can be accountable and accept responsibility. I used to tell my children this very thing. We could blame it on someone (something) else, which meant it was out of our hands, we don’t have the power to do anything to fix this, change this, etc. Or take personal responsibility and then have the power to change things because it is ours. Ownership gives us power to have an effect. To change it, to overcome it, to do whatever is needed for a better outcome.

This is so basic I think yet, something many of us tend to do. It isn’t my fault, I can’t help it – if only ___ then ___ (fill in the blanks, if only I’d had better chances and an education, I’d have a better lifestyle.) Well that might be true, but the question really is, so what are you going to do about it?

So now when someone tells me their dreams and their why nots, will I have the courage and tact to ask gracefully – so you know the problems and what you wish for, what are you going to DO about it? And sometimes, I will need to ask myself that very question.

the cats are out!

2009-04-06T15:00:00.000-05:00

Usually this would be a problem, that cry would mean come help corral cats! (see the Fela up a tree post.) These days though I’ve given up. My son started letting them ‘do their own thing’ while I was out of town. No complaints from me. The cats are happy and stay in the yard. I am working on a total solution – cat pen/garage set up – so they can be out and we do not have to worry about them.

Meanwhile Fela enjoys the grass and hopes a bird will come close.
LBK, the rotten baby, even goes out to roll on the pavement and get all nice and dirty.

Amazingly even Angel, the rescue from the city park nearby, is overcoming her fears to venture outside on the rare occasion. She runs back inside fast though if anyone goes out to take a picture of her! No evidence no evidence! I can hear her cry.. I’m an inside cat only now! (yeah right)

I really advise not letting your cats run free. There are too many dangers outdoors for them, and I’ve lost enough to know better. With luck the handyman will get the cats fixed up with a safe alternative soon.

click! good dog!

2009-04-04T16:37:00.000-05:00

My dog Su has taught me so much over the years. Su was just a little puppy wandering along a country road when I found her. I've picked up a lot of dogs and cats, and this one was to be no exception. It did not take long though to realize she was an exception in her own right. Su came with attitude. So much attitude the vet thought it would be wisest to euthanize her. I don't know enough about dogs to say what the problem was (and to a degree still is) for certain sure but this was a puppy who wanted things her way or no way. And she had the teeth to back it up. All was fine until you made any effort to restrain her or in any other way physically direct her path. Those puppy teeth were sharp! I think she sank them to the hilt in more than one person. Looking back it is amazing when you consider the rabies issue in Texas that we got away with keeping her anyway. She was a puppy. She was cute. I could not believe it was hopeless or 'too much work'.

Today, a long/short eight years later, I look at Su lying quietly on the den floor and think about how well behaved she is in the house, how sweet she is and okay, yeah, she's still not a dog to push around but she's a good dog and I tell her so every day. It's also been a whole lotta work. Yet it was worth it not just for the results (a good dog) but for all that I learned.

Some people are good at teaching, at training, whether it is an animal or a child. Naturals we might say. Some have studied and learned how to do a good job. But some? We expect so much, want it now, make demands, complain about non-compliance, but rarely seek new 'tools' to use that would help both sides have an easier time along with a better outcome. But no one had ever threatened to bite me before so there you go - I didn't learn until I had to or else!

So this is my plug for clicker training - a gentle positive way to modify an animals behavior and shape it to get the end results you desire. Yes, if you followed those links (and my personal favorite clicker site here, Shirley Chong's) you will see this "clicker training" is a way to relate to your dog resulting from concepts that can be used with people as well. I use a form of this in schools where I substitute - it is called tag teach. It grieves me to sub a class where some young child says, "I'll never earn a sticker", because he is a 'behavior' problem and has had only negative feedback. Sit down. Be quiet. Do your work. Pull your tag/write your name/lose recess. Whatever method is used in the class. Certainly there must be consequences for some actions. Yet too often that becomes our main focus. My focus is going to be rewarding the actions I desire - even if there is only the slightest move towards doing that thing, whatever it might be. In time you gain the behavior you want, whether from a dog, a lion, or a child.

There's not room here to tell all of Su's story, the issues we had and how I handled them (and we still train!). This is just to encourage you to search the 'net for these subjects and use them yourself.

It's spring.. when the air makes you want to get out and go places

2009-04-04T11:44:00.004-05:00

like the Palo Duro Canyon. Here are two of my three, enjoying a bike ride to the "Lighthouse" a year or so ago. Someone told me once it is one of Texas's best kept secrets. I don't know about that but it certainly is a great place to visit if you like the outdoors. Plenty of walking and biking trails, at different levels of terrain, cabins and camping sites, horseback riding and even a few geocaches! There's nothing quite like waking up in the morning to see the sun come over the canyon rim, while cooking breakfast on the grill.

And then a pic of the youngest, as we take a break climbing
one morning.

Check this one out for a great vacation at a good price. If you don't
like camping, there is a nearby town with plenty of hotels.

(I would post the snake picture but some people don't like those. However, we never saw but two snakes in all the times we were there so don't worry about it.)

The Carnival of Cats!

2009-04-03T19:00:00.003-05:00

The blog carnival of cats is listed in the sidebar. If you like cats, check it out!
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deleted widget but google it if you run across this post and are interested. it's out there, hosted on a different blog each week. or check out http://blogcarnival.com to see all the carnivals.

Lovely, lazy spring day

2009-03-29T17:59:00.000-05:00

It was such a lazy day. I napped all afternoon then jumped up at five-ish to fix us some supper. Easy enough to pull out rice w/mushrooms, a sweet potato, chicken and mixed veggies. Usually I quit at that point but this time I went for broke - desert! Ah well, that was easy. If you are into tasty deserts that are simple try this one out - Pineapple Angel Food Cake. Not from scratch please. Keep it simple. Not high in calories either unless you eat all of it between two people in a sitting or two, like we do.

It was such a pretty day. The rose bush is putting out new leaves. John and I walked Su down to the quickstop for a newspaper after supper. We both wish the weather was like this all year round. It occurs to me it is the perfect day for lying in the hammock, thinking of nothing. In fact, I think I will....

It's spring fever.... You don't quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!
Mark Twain - American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. (1835-1910)

Su and the coffee

2009-03-29T11:45:00.008-05:00

You see this? It's Su, going nuts over a Starbucks Green Tea Frap. Well thinks John, how about coffee?

Now if I'd had things in focus you could see a pic of Su-dog lapping up Folger's Black Silk coffee laced with Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate and a bit of Demerara Cane Sugar....

Which leads us to photos that look more like this:

Crazy dog.. no focus left, LOLOL

end of day

2009-03-28T23:09:00.000-05:00

and I am tired. Today has been a good day. The website is sufficiently ready to show to the site coordinator at the CWJC.

I'm thinking it would be good to learn more about websites and the making of them. The web is loaded with information, waiting to be used.

The house still has a slight odor of the bread cooked earlier. The leftover cabbage went well with it. I make no-knead bread which is so simple to make that it takes half the fun out of it. On the other hand, I make bread much more often.

To rest my mind I read a bit in an anthology of short stories by Orson Scott Card.
.....
oh this is funny. Apparently I went off to do something else, saving this as a draft. And never came back.. well that's okay. It was day's end and time to chill out (is that term still used?)

But here's a pic to go with.. doesn't this just look like an end of day picture?

Living lean and mean?

2009-03-27T18:19:00.000-05:00

Okay... I was reading Frugal Dad and the latest entry is on saving just a bit over $14,000 in six months. Do what? This guest writer calls himself small-fry. So what am I? I can't think of a term to use for me seeing as that 14+ grand he will save in six months is nearly as much as I am going to live on in one year.

Sometimes it is so hard to take such sites seriously. At least for some of those I know. Surely there are more people out there living in 20 grand or so a year?

Then there is one person I know who has cried to me a few times about how little money she has to live on etc.. while I happen to know it is not far short of four grand a month. And she thinks that is doing without? Take home. House paid for.

I know, I know. Being broke is relative my husband always said. It is just hard to realize and accept I am apparently living at poverty level. So where are the articles on frugal living for me?

Hey, I can write one! How to save $140 in six months. Isn't that exciting?

Okay, so this is a bit of a downer. I just had to get it out of my system. I am poor! But life is good. Even if it is a bit hard sometimes to do things like - oh.. buy new carpet! Or a new (to me) car when this old one (13 yrs, 240,000+ miles) finally breaks down. But life is good. And most if not all of the small pleasures in life are free. I'm rich!

“There is no greater sin than desire, No greater curse than discontent, No greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself. Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” - Lao Tzu

The end of this...

2009-03-25T23:23:00.000-05:00

There were two trips to the Ukraine and many more pictures. Unfortunately, lack of following the Boy Scout motto and an unexpected hard drive crash meant a lot of lost photos. I'll leave this up a while or so, who knows. Fond memories!

End of March

2009-03-25T23:14:00.004-05:00

March comes to an end.. goes out like a lamb they say? Maybe as there are a few more days. Yesterday it rained and even hailed a tiny bit. Otherwise the days here in West Texas (yes, I finally got home mid-March) are beautiful. Temps in the mid-70's most of the time so we have neither heat nor air on, rather doors and windows open. Cats and the dog come and go as they please to their delight.

I have been busy since coming home with the Christian Women's Job Corps and a few other things. Helping them out a little bit and working on a web site for them with the (major) aid of my son John.

Su is happy I am here and ready to play! Or go for long walks down by the river.

March

2009-03-13T08:43:00.001-05:00

And on to Ohio.. for a while. Enjoying the visit with my daughter, caching, running around town to see the sights or shop. We went tea crazy and now have enough to keep us in hot tea for a long time. I like this area with the picturesque main streets in the townships we have visited, the streams and trees, nice walking/biking trails scattered around long said streams.

And I dare say the cats have enjoyed an extra person to snuggle up to on chilly nights.

February??

2009-03-06T07:25:00.001-06:00

Where did it go? Passed right on by with days of hanging out with mom. Sitting on the sofa watching TV, maybe some housecleaning, grocery shopping, eating out. Big doings! But the end finally came and when my daughter passed through I climbed into her car to head south then north with her.

Mom is doing great! Handling being alone just fine.

Pictures? There were a few pics but probably not anything worth printing. No big snow. No good shots of the cardinals. No sight of the beaver at the pond. No trips!! And after all that talk of Florida in the winter or a cruise. However we had a nice month and now I am heading back to dog and cat hairs in West Texas after a few more days in Ohio.

January '09, SC and snow!

2009-01-20T09:06:00.002-06:00

Okay, so not a lot of snow but it is the first snow of this winter for me! I walked back to the pond early this morning and got this photo. The beavers were not out but I could see their trails in the snow. It is warm enough that I doubt we will get any accumulation. Still, there is enough that the cardinals at the feeder are nicely contrasted and pretty to watch.

Fall of 08

2008-11-15T10:44:00.001-06:00

Dad died last month. I went home for the funeral and stayed with mom a while after. We made a trip to the mountains, hoping a couple of days away would be good therapy for her. I've never been much on blogging but now less than usual.

There goes Fela!!

2008-09-24T11:13:00.007-05:00

Good grief. I opened the cat pen door and Fela zoomed out. Straight to the tree. John, having just been taking photos of a certain spider, was ready with his camera. From where he stood however, this was all he could see. So he took like fifteen shots of Fela butt. Silly boy.

Meanwhile, I am up under the tree (I know spidee territory, which is probably why John was NOT under the tree) and I called him, so he got This shot. Happy Fela on the end of the dead limb. This is about as high as she can go as the tree is somewhat truncated. She knows if she tries for another limb it will put her within reaching distance. So she looks and thinks... for quite a while. Then the temptation is too much. She makes a dash for it!

Grabbing one leg, I started pulling. Fela resisted mightily. What she was saying while this was going on is absolutely unprintable. If you did not know better you'd have thought I just grabbed a wild cat not a spoiled housepet. Wait a minute, maybe spoiled housepet does fit. After all, she was sure she should have what she wanted and was madly cussing me out for not letting her dash up the next tree branch.

I win. More of Fela comes out of the tree. I slowly pulled her so she went over my shoulder. Fela hung over my shoulder limply, resigned to her fate. Back inside we went with the "I wanna be free!" cat.

(meanwhile, the car door was standing wide open, amazing no one 'freed' the goodies inside!)
------
the Fela Baby.. giving me That Look.

Look at that!

2008-09-24T10:46:00.001-05:00

What a sight, late at night, coming through the gate into the backyard. Now I think she's lovely and interesting. John on the other hand, was not so amused at nearly walking into Ms. Spider but he did grab his camera for a few fast shots. Now at one point, the spider jumped and John jumped too. It was a small matter of a stick.. how was I to know she'd object so? I really didn't flick her off or poke her hard. Just doing my bit to help him get a more exciting shot. Let me tell you, that boy can jump! (but the spider jumps better I must say.) How frazzled was he you ask? Well the next morning I went out to walk the dog and was shocked to see his car door standing wide open! I was so sure he'd been robbed. I ran back in the house and woke him up. It was not a good start to his day I'm thinking, based on his initial response. However, it turned out that he'd left the car door open all night! Everything was still there, surprisingly enough considering it was right by the street. Whew! I told him that spider meet-up really blew his mind. He says it wasn't so. It was the decaf coffee. Hmmm?

I don't care John. I still blame it on the spider trying to get a close up of YOU.

(wondering what he will say in *his* blog)

Ohhhh this has got to go.. NOW!!

2008-06-30T13:06:00.001-05:00

Oh this has got to go go go! Is this cute or what? She stays here long and I will just Cry when she leaves! Have already put an add on Freecycle and told a neighbor about here. Mix female terrier about 2 yrs old, totally darling, sweet, good with the cats, she's a doll!!

Isn't she cute?

How could someone take this little doll to the pound? I said Oh no! I'll find her a home! But it better be fast because she is a bit addicting.

Temptations

2008-06-28T13:52:00.001-05:00

We all have our small weaknesses right? Mine is bread. Everything about bread is wonderful.
The feel of the dough as I knead it, the smell of it cooking (when my nose is working anyway) and of course, the finished product. If it weren't for fresh bread I might even be losing weight!

Hot bread, butter (the real deal!) and local honey makes a treat that my mouth just waters for.

Round is easy but I have a rectangular cloche that has been crying out for use. Finding a cloth cradle for French bread at a thrift shop, making it mine took no thought at all. Now we know, the next loaf won't be a round one!

Check out Breadtopia, Farmgirl Fare (a year in bread) and No Knead bread so you can start
baking too!

Realizations

2008-06-02T17:17:00.001-05:00

according to my son, http://blog.johnkotrla.com/2008/05/01/a-startling-realization/, I have this thing about birkies. I don't know why he'd blame me for his birkie fixation.

Look - there's obviously room there for another pair (the dog ate one pair) and more sneakers.. wait, there is another pair of sneakers somewhere. And I think there's a pair of birkie's missing... oh yeah, they are on my feet.

Eat your greens!

2008-05-25T16:11:00.001-05:00

Every time I make a salad, here comes Beeky. It won't do for me to give her a piece of lettuce. Oh no. She must help herself to the piece of her choosing, off my plate. A few nibbles and she's done, I can have the rest. At least she's neat, doesn't nose around in the whole thing trying to choose, she's fast to pick one piece at the edge and sticks with that. Some folks at those food bars in eating establishments could take a few cues from her!

my old friend

2008-04-21T13:01:00.001-05:00

my old friend is in the hospital, has been now since the end of February. Well there was an almost two week stint in the Skilled Nursing Facility of said hospital but.. pretty much seems all the same to me. She is so dear to me. This is a hard time for both of us in very different ways. Since she went in to the hospital my good friend's mom and one relative have died. It's been a tough spring. It doesn't seem like it has been nearly 24 years since I met this old lady. She has been more a part of my life than I realized prior to her illness. Hospital staff wonder at my being there, at taking the part I do and can't seem to understand how close you can grow to someone who is not family. She was there for me when my husband died. I was there for her when her husband died. There's never a week that has passed that if I am not on vacation, I wasn't at her house at least twice and maybe five times. It is an odd thing in life, how you make a casual aquaintance (I bought a goat from her) and somehow it develops into a lasting relationship that deeply impacts both lives. You never know it seems, who it will be or why. I would not have thought this lady would be such a part of my life 20 something years ago. Such an age difference, and we did not really do anything together past the goats. Just sat, drank coffee, talked. And that was enough.

My friend died a few days after her 85th birthday. Bye second mom.. I loved you.

Thinking

2008-01-17T09:31:00.001-06:00

Is this a good thing? Or do the claws need to come out?

Take this!

2008-01-17T09:30:00.001-06:00

No fear! Says Fela Kitty. Shoot me? Just watch these teeth!

Where's the water?

2008-01-17T09:27:00.001-06:00

Tell you what, you cannot say we are not optimistic. Don't you just know though that the guys who put this sign up laughed and laughed?

A walk in the park

2008-01-04T13:49:00.001-06:00

We went caching in the San Angelo State Park New Year's weekend. Suza loved the hike but it wore her out (me too!) so once home she curled up in her chair and snoozed soundly.

.............................
After chasing around town to vets, groomers etc, we found plenty of ads for other lost dogs but not the two we picked up earlier. Finally located a rescue group that still had room - so many fill up at this time of year. So all ends well, from my point of view at least!

Fela's Poinsettia

2008-01-04T13:46:00.001-06:00

Fela loved this poinsettia for the whole 12 hours it was here. She'd stick her nose into the middle of the plant and inhale deeply. Then drool. I'd have expected her to chew on it, but nope!

More dogs!

2007-12-19T17:26:00.001-06:00

Dogs dogs dogs! We went out to the state park to ride bikes and found dogs running loose on the highway near the gate of the park. Of course we had to pick them up! One is a Westie we think, the other a cocker, maybe mix. Both are nice, young, and need grooming

Fritti's gone

2007-12-19T17:21:00.001-06:00

It was tough but yesterday Fritti Cat was put to sleep. He could not get well from what should have been a simple upper respiratory ailment. The FIV was showing its ugly head and since there is no good end to this, we decided to say goodbye now.

See ya at the bridge Fritti baby!

Cats and elbees

2007-12-01T09:51:00.001-06:00

or litterboxes (LB you see).. so many of them with so many cats! Litter gets pulled out onto the floor, as every cat owner knows. The boxes built into a cabinet have long appealed to me but getting someone to make one seems to be beyond my ability. Then recently I saw a cat box at the store that looked interesting but the price tag! It was right at 32 dollars. The design appeared easy enough to copy. I picked up an 18 gal storage container and some outdoor carpeting. Cut a hole in the top and glued on the carpet (to help catch litter). Voila! A new box! Large and deep, the cats took right to it. While there is some litter on the floor still, it is a tiny amount indeed. This is so successful and economical that I'm changing over all the boxes to this design. Here is Fela (the tabby stray who was unnamed yet in her last photo) checking out the new box.

Goodbye Misty

2007-08-22T15:14:00.001-05:00

Misty dog was put to sleep today. She was 12 years old and failing, but at the last something else came along. It was fast, just in the last couple of days I noticed her stomach was getting rather large, then she did not eat last night. Without an autopsy we don't really know exactly what the problem was but the vet was certain he felt a mass and she definitely had internal bleeding. So a peaceful good bye was the best gift we could give her. We will miss her. Misty was a good dog.

Wild flowers!

2007-08-20T18:58:00.001-05:00

More flowers. Just because I enjoy looking at them so much.

Geocaching

2007-08-20T18:56:00.001-05:00

yes, I have to immortalize this one. At least I did not find any cats, LOL. If you don't know what geocaching is, look it up on the 'net!

Yep, another one

2007-08-20T18:49:00.001-05:00

This one actually was picked up before Fritti.. and still does not have a name! Neither is she spayed yet, or tested, or...
well anyway, she's not ready to be adopted out. We are enjoying her antics. Some oaf dumped her on a country
highway miles from anywhere. If I had not been out geocaching... (which come to think of it is what I was doing when I found Fritti.)

There's been a few others but we placed those so fast they won't get their pictures in the blog.

2007-08-20T18:43:00.002-05:00

Fritti, the newest rescue. The name comes from Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams.
Fritti was the thinnest cat I have ever picked up. For the first two weeks he was just thrilled to be in the outdoor cat cage. Food! Shelter! Food! Safety! Food!

Fritti has been neutered and has his shots now. We hope to find him a forever home soon.

July's flowers

2007-08-20T18:40:00.001-05:00

We've had such a lovely wet summer. Highly unusual yet much appreciated. The rose garden looks nice and the monarchs are everywhere. At this time of year I am more accustomed to seeing plants wilted or dying. The only drawback is the high humidity is getting to me!

The Lighthouse

2007-05-14T22:13:00.001-05:00

Here is James, sitting at the base of the Lighthouse. Sandstone and shale layers give rise to these formations after years (eons?) of erosion.

At the "Lighthouse"

2007-05-14T22:05:00.001-05:00

The size of these things is hard to imagine from photos. But here you can see my daughter walking along between the two "hoodoos" and get some idea as to the size. I didn't have the nerve to go up there.

The Lighthouse trail - Palo Duro Canyon

2007-05-14T22:01:00.001-05:00

Location: Palo Duro Canyon, Texas.
Here we are on the trail to the "Lighthouse", a geologic formation seen just to the left of Jame's head in the distance. It isn't that long a ride on the bikes, but you best take plenty of water!

Texas Longnose

2007-05-14T21:57:00.001-05:00

Ain't he cute? she, whatever.. maybe you don't like snakes but we do!
This type is docile and never grows very large. Picked up on the trail to
the Lighthouse while in the Palo Duro Canyon, we admired him briefly
then let him go.

Cactus patch cat family

2007-05-05T18:18:00.001-05:00

Mom and kittens in the boy's bathroom. She looks up at me with such intensity.. keeps doing this from the time I found them in the cactus. As if she's trying to memorize me. Like she can't believe it, oh please please help me.. or wondering if this is real. Poor cat. A trusting pet and so desperate. She is very thin.

2007-05-05T18:15:00.001-05:00

Not a great shot but we were focused on rescue, not picture taking.. you can see the family diving right in. Getting these into the carrier is not going to be a problem.

2007-05-05T18:13:00.001-05:00

I took Misty for a walk to the river. Having my camera along and seeing some cactus blossoms I decided to attempt a picture (they were partway down a slope to the river). All of a sudden small animals came out of the cactus! For one second I was startled as there can be any sort of wildlife there but it probably did not take a heartbeat for me to identify these small animals. Four kittens. Then came the mom! All crying for food, obviously dumped off pets. I ran (Okay, I walked fast) with Misty to get food and a carrier then returned by car.

2007-04-07T21:57:00.001-05:00

James sent me flowers for Easter! They are so pretty... this pic really does not do them justice, not one whit.

2007-04-07T21:49:00.001-05:00

Gotta get a shot of Su in here. She loved the cold and kept wanting to Run! I did jog a bit but all that means is Su gets to trot. :)
She had a light dusting of sleet on her back, which barely shows up here. Maybe you can see it.

Easter eggs?

2007-04-07T21:48:00.001-05:00

I don't know how the rest of the egg hunts here in town worked out today, what with the icy stuff on the ground but.. I found some!!
Hope momma duck manages to hatch these out.

Easter weekend

2007-04-07T21:43:00.001-05:00

Easter means spring, right? We didn't have a white Christmas even!

Keeps us on our toes - scramble to get the cold weather clothes back out,
turn the furnace back on.. yada yada yada..Pretty isn't it?

2005-05-08T14:49:00.001-05:00

A spring time stroll at a public garden here in San Angelo. Lovely day, lovely flowers.. lazy dog!! LOL.

2005-05-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the 'facilities' were old-fashioned, but clean!

2005-05-08T14:32:00.001-05:00

Typical building block for many of the churches and homes - adobe, made by on location.

2005-05-08T14:32:00.000-05:00

A kitchen at one church. The meal we ate there was ample and delicious, with a wonderful selection of dishes.

2005-05-08T14:31:00.001-05:00

A church under construction. I hope they got the funds needed to finish it!

2005-05-08T14:31:00.000-05:00

a 15th C tile found on the premises of one country church.

2005-05-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

A country congregation at Old Queen's village gathers to tell us goodbye.

2005-05-08T14:08:00.000-05:00

We had time to visit a few historic places, our interpreter was also worked as a tour guide. This old fort dates back to the 15th C.

2005-05-08T14:06:00.000-05:00

Typical appearance of the inside of a church. The sign on the wall says God is something - I can't quite read it here. Usually the word is love, but I think this word is different. Everything is hand painted on the walls by a church member. Yep, that border too.

2005-05-08T14:00:00.000-05:00

our interpreter in a typical field of sunnies - this one field supports a local church!