= Cat in Hat; Cat in Blinds =

Above was in my e-mail; snapped photo below of Rigby this morning ... Have a great day!



Are you lookin' at me?

Role-playing

Wife, mother, daughter...daughter, daughter... DAUGHTER.

Between writing stories for work and trying to help my mother with looking at houses and now getting ready to buy one (we are signing an offer to purchase and giving an initial deposit tomorrow-yippee!!) I am tired. Really tired. So I haven't felt like blogging much these days. I feel worn out.
And I fear that the three other people in this house haven't been seeing much of me lately. Or I haven't been seeing much of them. Or something like that.
I think I take pretty good care of the cats. Haven't heard any complaints.

* * *

On top of all this stuff, a wonderful man and World War II veteran of the Army Air Corps who I have gotten to know in recent years was tragically killed Sunday in a two-car collision . It was just a short while after our local Memorial Day Parade, on a glorious Sunday afternoon. John was alone, and he was behind the wheel when his new car was broadsided.
Many have said that it was ironic the accident happened on the long holiday weekend, since he was such a patriotic soul. He was active in both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a friend to all.
I feel terrible about it. He was a widower, and his only child, a daughter, died of cancer about eight years ago. He is survived by two granddaughters.
I helped with the story for the newspaper and went to the wake yesterday. There I saw his veteran buddies, all in uniform, who had gathered for a short service at the funeral home. Most of them are his contemporaries, or a bit younger, which made it so sad. One of them, one of his best friends, grabbed my hand and said to me as they were filing out: "I can't imagine what it is going to be like without him."
Me neither.

Little things mean the most

I don't want a medal or anything but I have to brag a bit because it's my blog and I'll brag if I want to.
Without even trying I discovered there's truth in the saying that it's the little things that mean the most.
My mother and I attended a bridal shower Sunday. There were a lot of women there and a LOT of gifts. I was hoping that we wouldn't have to watch the gift opening, but no such luck.

We sat at a table near the back and missed seeing a lot of the gifts that were opened. It was hard to see around all the heads.
When the bride opened my card containing a gift card and an old family photograph, she came right over to our table to thank me, but more importantly to show her mom, my cousin, the photo. It was a picture of the two of them on Christmas Day in 1975 when the baby was just two-months old.
The picture captured a squirming baby wearing a red outfit being held by a smiling young mother.

My cousin immediately got up from the table and walked around showing off the picture to her guests. She was all smiles.

I felt good that having the picture meant so much to both of them, and enclosing that photo with the gift didn't cost a cent.

OK, done bragging. Haven't been blogging much lately. Hope to resume soon. G'night.

* A 1st birthday to remember *

I just knew it. I knew there was going to be a pony.

We just got back from Adam's first birthday bash. It was a cowboy theme. He wore a black cowboy hat that said "Sheriff" on the front.
Twas a catered affair in a pavilion at a town park. Quite the social event.
I'd say there were at least 70 people there.

And a pony.

Photos to follow...

Manna from heaven

When I got up this morning I realized I forgot to buy cereal for certain members of the family (not me).
I went outside to get the newspaper and in the bag were two small boxes of cereal, Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. A promotion, just in time.

They're sugary, but at least there is some cereal if people are looking for it when they wake up.

I hear walking is good for you

Luckily I didn't need to "gas up" my car this morning, but I noticed that regular unleaded gas in New Haven was $4.25 a gallon .....

Social calendar getting filled up

I am tired, so tired I could cry. (Isn't that a song?) Oh wait, that's I'm so lonesome I could cry. Well I'm not lonesome...just need a rest.
Can't get it this weekend, though. Two social engagements. Busy, busy. Out of town and everything...
On Saturday we are celebrating Chunkaccino's first birthday!!! I can't wait. He is a miracle baby and a big boy for his age. Adam is having a cowboy-themed party at a park, pardner. I've got to rustle up a cowgirl hat to wear. I must have one somewhere.

On Sunday I am going to a bridal shower for my cousin's daughter, who I barely know. I knew her when she was little but now she's 32. Yikes.
It's a brunch at a nice place and I have nothing to wear. :-(
My mother is invited, but she has nothing to wear either.

Then Sunday afternoon Kid One and Kid Two are marching in our town's Memorial Day Parade with the high school band.
Yes, Kid One is one of seven alumni members taking part. Such spirit! It's because of their teacher, she is wonderful. She inspires all of her music students to give it their best shot.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Somewhere a job for Ralph ...

He is going to be an independent contractor for an auto repair shop. The owners like him and trust him, I could see that right away.
We had Mexican food with them Saturday and they told us their vision of how to grow the business, with the right team in place. And they want Ralph to be on the team!

He will be able to do the work at home, which certainly saves gas. The only problem is he needs to buy a computer.
Thank goodness for credit cards; we'll be using one for that purchase.

I named Ralph Airhead 55 because of his love for airplanes and the world of aviation, but I could have just as easily named him Carhead 55.
He loves cars. He reads about them incessantly. He knows lots about the current crop as well as the classic ones, and even remembers the make and model of vehicles owned by people in the neighborhood when he was a little kid. It's a subject near and dear to his heart.

We don't know what the hourly rate will be, but anything is better than what he has coming in now, which is zilch, nada, zero.

Happy happy joy joy.

Dandy-lions

Some people photograph their gardens. I photograph a front yard in the morning sun that needs mowing. I should have gotten down on the ground for a more interesting effect, but there was no one around to help me up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~





Can anyone identify these blossoms?
I cut them off a shrub in my mother's yard last week and took a photo, which I promptly forgot to post.

They smelled like honeysuckle to me. Or at least what I imagine it smells like.

What a gas in Connecticut

I paid $4.04 for regular unleaded gas yesterday.

How much does it cost in your neck of the woods?

"Rob"bed identity

I don't know why I forgot to post this mistaken-identity experience from last weekend. Was it a subconscious thing?

After we attended a christening party we took our daughter back to school. She went up to her fourth-floor dorm to get something; I stayed behind. Since there are no elevators so did Ralph.
While we were sitting in the courtyard waiting, our daughter's friend, Christina, who we've known for years, came out and said hi to us.
Meanwhile, a friendly young guy walks over, smiles and introduces himself.
"Hi, I'm Rob. The boyfriend." He shook my hand, he shook Ralph's hand and he started to chat with us and Christina.
I found him likable and quite talkative. He told us his major, what he was going to do this summer, and that he was from South Carolina.
We were listening intently to him, as was Christina. I thought he was a little different than the kind of guy our dear daughter would like, but I enjoyed his company.

(You guessed it. He was the "wrong" guy. I had no idea the girls each had a boyfriend named Rob. Nobody tells me anything.)

Guy #2 arrived and said hello. At that point we still didn't realize that Rob #1 wasn't our daughter's beau. We said hi. Daughter finally comes back downstairs and introduces guy #2 as her boyfriend, Rob.

This is not sounding as funny as I had hoped. It was strange, because I had just gotten used to Rob #1 when I had to redirect my attention to the other one standing in front of me.

It was confusing, but it gave us all a chuckle.

Took some courage

So...the continuing saga of Cats v. Humans.
We left the door open last night. We're brave.
The cats did not come in.
We're fine; they're fine. All is well.

It was cl-awful

I know, I know, another cat story. But the felines provide me with so much blog fodder!

In the early morning hours on Monday (about 2 a.m.) Ralph woke up with a start.
"What the --- ?" he exclaimed (or words to that effect).

What had happened was Rigby (Cat Two for those keeping score) had just playfully scratched the bridge of Ralph's nose, enough to make it bleed quite a bit and wake him up.
I turned on the light, and blood was dripping into the corner of Ralph's left eye. Yuck.
Grab tissues! Run to bathroom sink for water! Emergency!
Ol' Rigby was out of there. He skedaddled.

We cleaned up the mess, and I shut the door to keep out all felines. Needless to say, we've closed the door firmly every night since then.
Sorry cats, we can't let you back in until we get you to a groomer to get those claws clipped.

They need to be bathed and have their nails clipped, but I am not going to do that. It's not one of my jobs.

=^.^=

The good kind of 'mug shot'

This morning mug meme (how alliterative!) comes from my fellow Nutmegger, Linda, who got it from Lois at Lowdown from Lois. (I actually started this post April 18, then got sidetracked...)
As Linda said, there's just one rule and this is it ...

Lois' Morning Mug Meme Rules: Most folks drink some sort of a morning beverage, be it coffee or tea, and most likely from a mug. Please share a photo of your favorite mug(s) and tell a story about how it became your favorite. Include what you drink with this mug.

I collect mugs, as well as gnomes, bunnies, ducks, and Teddy bears, so I enjoyed this meme. I like stuff, I guess you could say.
Anyhoo I had problems with glare on some of the glazed mugs when I photographed them.
I have much better luck when I take outdoor photos.

Here's my morning cuppa Joe in a large mug featuring Maxine, saying "I'd drink flavored tea if the flavor was really strong coffee." I like her crotchety style.
(Bonus points if anyone knows her dog's name. I sure don't.)

Now one of my other favorite mugs out of which I drink coffee is this one, featuring Garfield's "mug." Haha.
I bought this one several years ago at our church tag sale for 25 cents. We all know his canine companion's name, right?

I love Garfield. He is full of just the right amount of cat-itude, don't you think?

Photo number 3 is the one I hesitated to use...the glare is killin' my eyes. But here goes. This coffee mug is a souvenir from Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It has sentimental value, because we went to Lancaster on our first long road trip with Kid One and Kid Two.
They were pretty little then and one of the most unusual things we all remember from the trip was driving past two street signs in Lancaster. We were at the corner of Lemon and Lime. Really! Not kidding about this!

We also saw the Mason-Dixon line on that rather educational family vacation. I had always thought that it was further South. Silly me.
~
The End.

If you haven't done this meme, give it a whirl.

To all moms

Don't have much to say,
except have a wonderful day!

~ A special day ~

22 !

That's how many years ago it was that Airhead 55 and I tied the knot.

Happy Anniversary to me and Ralph. What's our secret, you ask? Dunno, I respond. Ask him.

Today we are going to meet our nephew's firstborn. We've never met him because he was born in Germany in January.
He will be christened and then we are celebrating by going out to lunch with family.
Not sure if we can post pictures of Caleb. We'll have to get the proud parents' permission.
I hope they say yes!

Actual factual feline follies

It's the next day...and the beat goes on.

These cats are keeping us amused as well as keeping me up at night. It's like having babies in the house again.
I need more sleep!

Early this morning Rigby's LOUD snurring (that's snore + purring) woke me up. It's kinda cute, but unfortunately it was only 3:45 a.m.
He nestles himself between us on the bed, all cozy, and makes himself dead weight. All 10 furry, danderific pounds of him.

Try turning over with him there, holding down the covers. It's a challenge.
I guess we could close the door, but I fear we'd be awakened by scratching, saying "Let me in!" in cat language.
This way, he comes in quietly and there is a chance I won't wake up.

= ^. . ^ = Litter box follies

Dang! I wish I had had the camera handy this morning.

Linus was using the facilities and his pesky brother Rigby stopped by the box and started poking his face, trying to mix it up while Linus was concentrating.

It was amusing, to me anyway. Now I hope they do that again so I can get a picture!

Stay tuned.

=^..^=

Just a thought

In three days (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) I met three women with whom I felt comfortable talking, which is no small feat for me. And they all had something important to share, related to what is going on in my life at this point in time.

I really believe we meet the people we are supposed to meet, when we are supposed to meet them.

Sharing sunsets

On Cape Cod:

and at home ...



I am not writing anything today. It's not because I don't have anything to say, but because I have too much and just can't focus on one subject.

Take a quizzzz, or two

Odat had this on her blog recently. Give it a try... Your Slogan Should Be

Patti. Live the Pleasure. (Tee hee. Who knew?)

The Slogan Generator




And here's another. It's about speeling, I mean speling, I mean, oh, never mind.

Your Spelling is Perfect

You got 10/10 correct. Your spelling is excellent. You also have a great memory and eye for detail.

How's Your Spelling?

Cupboard cat

Here's Linus this morning in the (almost bare) pantry. ----->

He's probably thinking: "Garbanzo beans? Unsalted peanuts?? Yuck!"
Where are those catnip treats she gives us? Or those salmon-flavored crunchies? I'm hungry."




<----- And here's me trying to find something to give him to eat.


Methinks it's time for a trip to the grocery store.


Old Mother Hubbard