Outside my window

I admit it. I was looking out the window for inspiration to write today's story for the paper. It's a fun story, about bats, but I'm tired, and need to be inspired.

I snapped this because I liked the way the shadow of the branches looks on the snowy backyard.
Didn't bother to crop it, so you can see the time I took it.
OK, back to work.

There will be a 'wacky cat' update, never fear.

S-l-o-o-o-o-w progress

Kitty cat update: Linus came out into the kitchen as we were eating dinner and he eventually made it over to his food and ate WHILE WE WERE IN THE ROOM.

That's progress, feline style.

Then he went back into our bedroom and actually sat on our bed. In a regal pose, I might add.
It only lasted a few minutes, but he is getting braver.

His brother, meanwhile, stayed in hiding under the bed.

Not my kind of meme, Mimi

I dunno. Maybe I'm just overtired. Or I just don’t understand. That must be it.
Though I do like the skyline photo that is now my album cover. I don't know what skyline it is. NYC? Is that the Empire State Building?
And it was kinda neat that what came up is the name of a real singer, one of the Isley Brothers!
But...
I just dunno.

Love ya, Mimi. Thanks for tagging me and all, but this didn't really do it for me.
Borrowing from the Queen, here is what to do:

The Band Meme

Here's how it goes. You are about to have your own band's CD cover. Follow these directions to the letter. My tagee list is at the bottom of this post. It's fun and requires no thought at all. Go to......

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/

The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result as a comment in this post. Also, pass it along in your own journal because it’s more amusing that way.

OK, I was about to tag L, J, and I in Calif. and S in Ariz. but I don't know if they would ever visit me again if I did. You know who you are.

If you choose to do it, have fun.

He's back amongst us

Long story short, Rigby came out from his special "secret" spot and immediately went under our bed to hide with his brother.
That was about two hours ago, when we were out shopping. Kid One called to tell us. I hope that's the end of the excitement for today.

If I get down and peer at them, they just sit and stare at me.

Picture this ~ WACKY CAT IN WALL

Kid Two took this photo four hours ago. Rigby is still in the wall. His staff is not amused.
I bumped into someone I used to work with when I went out this morning. He has had a lot of cats and told me that the cat will come out eventually. He said they all love tuna and I should put some tuna down by the opening to lure him out.
This kitty is going to be plenty dusty when he does come out.

So much for progress

We have a white and black cat in the wall. Really don't know what else to say right now, other than wonder if these felines come with a 30-day return policy.

It has been an interesting day and a half...and we have a cat in the wall.

Progress to report

OK, it's 7:44 p.m. Friday...I heard a MEOW! come from underneath the futon.

Progress!

New cats ~ an update

They found the litter box last night when we were sleeping! And they drank all the water in the bowl!
Now if they would just come out from their hiding places, I'd be a happy mama.
They haven't made one sound yet. I wonder if they know how to meow.

Of course Ralph wrote about them on his blog, too.

Introducing . . .

Linus



and


Rigby

Poor little guys are scared, sitting statue-like for hours. And they both seem to have drippy eyes. They were only at the vet on Monday...I guess they just need to be cleaned.
I need to show them where the litter box is, but they don't like to be picked up or bothered at this point.
But they do let me pet them.

Today's the day...

...and I'm getting nervous.

In a little while we're going to pick up two cats and bring them home. We decided to just say no to the name Ringo. We like the name, but Kid One really wants to name one of the cats Rigby, so we thought the names would be confusingly similar. And we still haven't settled on another name for Kat Two.
Our son likes Thor, but I don't think so. He liked Milo, but his good friend just got a second cat and the family named him Milo, so we can't be copy cats.

I make the effort

I took this photo in '04 but the message holds true today.
Sometimes I have a few issues with my flower garden.
The house plants are doing pretty well, though.

Cats ~ and what to call them

In our family, we (Mumsie, Daddums, Kids One and Two) all love The Beatles, so last night as we were talking about possible names for our future felines we came up with Ringo.

Not definite yet, but a definite possibility.
Just thought I'd mention that to get any thoughts my blog buddies may have.

January sunset

I snapped this yesterday afternoon from our living room window. I admire the beautiful photos people post on their blogs, and I've been inspired to pick up my camera. (Thanks, Michele, for being a part of my inspiration.)

Wheelin' through life with Ralph and Patti

Our trip Friday to the doctor's office ~
Getting my mother out of the house and situated in the van was not easy. I set up the portable ramp and Ralph gave us verbal instructions. Lots of them. He's a true expert at this stuff!
I brought the chair down the ramp backwards to the driveway, and she rode up the lift on the van and rolled in. So far, so good.
The hard part was when she had to get out of the wheelchair and onto the bench seat in back. Eventually she got herself onto the seat, using baby steps. It took a while.

We got to the commerce park filled with lots of medical buildings. Never been there before and of course we lumbered up the sidewalk ramp to the door to the wrong building. Turned out it was the next one over. Ralph was not pleased, and expressed that displeasure in the office. Oh well.
Nice people, fellow patients, held doors for us.
We had to go back through the parking lot and out on the street (no sidewalk) to the next building, with Ralph leading the way in the wheelchair.
You don't think these offices had power doors to make it easier for patients who were arriving (by the boatload I might add) in wheelchairs, using walkers, canes and generally limping? Of course not. That would be sensible. And the sidewalks going to the doors were uphill. Try being alone using a chair and reaching for the door as you feel yourself going backward. Even with the brakes on, I wouldn't want to experience that feeling.

I cannot adequately describe what it must have looked like. Ralph motoring along ahead of us, me pushing my mother in a manual chair and she holding up her feet, because we forgot the foot rests. She doesn't use them in the house and it was her first time using the wheelchair outside the house.
I tried to avoid the pot holes, but hit one and she screamed. Then she apologized. It could have been worse. It could have been raining or snowing. It was chilly but the sun was out.
The doctor was kind and reassuring. Nothing much can be done except to let the healing process take place.

~ and now a chuckle, taken from the e-mail bag:

Mother Superior called all the nuns together and said to them, "I must tell you all something. We have a case of gonorrhea in the convent."

"Thank God," said an elderly nun at the back. "I'm so tired of chardonnay."

What's in a name?

I never had a cat until I was over 40. Now I'm a bit older, our Humphrey died way too young last June, and I'm about to be the proud owner of two furry felines.
These brothers will no doubt be giving me something to blog about!

Last night I was going through lists of male names, and came up with a few. In the H category, in honor of Humphrey, I chose Hayden. I know, kinda bizarre. But you must agree it's different.

I think this re-naming of Teddy and Tommy is going to be a bit of work.

Cat stories

The four of us had an adventure this morning and met the cat lady. There were a lot of cats in that room! And the smell was rather overpowering. Let's just say I was happy to get back out into the cold, crisp winter air.

We met our future pets -- brothers -- and their foster names are Tommy and Teddy. That's cute and all, but we are working on coming up with something a bit more creative. I suggested that "Tommy" and "Teddy" can be their middle names, and my family agreed.

The cat that's white with some dark patches, who our daughter thought looked like a Tommy, was the less scared of the two. He actually let me hold him.
The other one, white and orange, kept hiding under a bench. He is Teddy...until we name him something else.

We didn't bring them home today. The woman who is the liaison between the foster home and us already made a vet appointment for them on Monday. She wants to be sure that everything is OK. They are about 15 months old, which is the same age our Humphrey was when we adopted him. They need their nails clipped, and she said she'd make sure that was done. They seemed clean, but they need a good brushing out. I can handle that.

I'll keep you posted.

Re: Kitty cat(s)

Ralph and I may soon be getting, or should I say adopting, an adult cat. Or maybe even two.
That's all I'm going to say right now.


Stay tuned.

Guilt, thy name is Patti

My mother just called to tell me not to come over to visit because it's cold and dark and getting late (it's not even 5:30 yet). I told her it didn't matter, but she insisted I stay home.

Ralph did drive Kid One over there this afternoon for a brief visit, but that's it. He hasn't attempted getting into the house.
I feel guilty sitting here at the computer, but she insisted she was OK.

Tomorrow morning we take her in the wheelchair for an appointment with the orthopedic doctor. It's going to be interesting getting her out of the house (three steps). I'm going to bring portable ramps that Ralph has to bridge the gap.

A nice way to start the year

Michele at The Rocky Mountain Retreat honored me along with 16 other bloggers with this award. I am touched that she would find my little corner of the blogosphere inspiring. I just enjoy writing and knowing a few fellow bloggers will be reading what I offer here.

I would like to pass this award on to many people I have met over the past year, but one in particular who may need a lift today is Mimi, Queen of Memes. She has gone through a trauma over the past week, at Christmastime for goodness' sake! and she has been in my thoughts.
Mimi certainly inspires me, both with her beautiful and sometimes quirky writing and with her toughness. She's a tough cookie, but a sweet one nonetheless.

(I hope I don't get banished to the dungeon for that tough cookie remark. I hear it's chilly down there this time of year.)

Feline resolutions

One important thing to remember if you ever participate in a Yankee Swap is to make sure that what you purchase is something you'd like to have.
I purchased eight things (four gifts) for my family to swap at our Christmas Eve get-together at Ralph's sister's house. And the one I really wanted I got back.
Go me.
It's a BAD CAT desk calendar, featuring felines with, what else? attitude.

January 1: Bad Cat New Year's Resolutions:
1. Be kinder to my owner
2. Get owner to leave entire fortune to me so I can run off with a rabbit of easy virtue
3. Have my fur highlighted and streaked
4. Stay clean and sober until Valentine's Day
5. Either lose two pounds or suck in

Just thought I'd share those! Happy New Year, Day 2

~ New year, new template ~

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends.
I was considering a list of resolutions, but they'd probably be boringly similar to most people's : exercise, lose weight, read more books. So I won't!

I can't redecorate my house, but at least I can redecorate my blogosphere home. Still trying out fonts and colors. It certainly takes a while to choose them.
Our next project is adopting an adult cat for our home. Or maybe two. It's going to be fun, and full of blog-worthy adventures, no doubt.

This picture is from a photo shoot in the garden last spring. Not to worry. Most of these little guys are in the garage for the winter. Only a few are out braving the elements.

May 2008 be kind to us all. ~


ADDENDUM (minutes later): This changing around is difficult indeed, because I'm trying not to have my blog look like other people's blogs. I apologize if it does!

Saying goodbye to 2007

Ralph and the kids just returned from dropping off a rented wheelchair for my mother, who fell Saturday and has a fractured pelvis. Ouch. She is in a lot of pain.
She was happy to get it, they report. I had to stay home and work, or else I would have gone too. I'm not a bad daughter, really! I'll be visiting her tomorrow.

Call us boring, but Homer and I are staying close to home for New Year's Eve. He is making chili but basically there will be no partying around here!
I'm sure happy to say farewell to this past year. The sooner the better.

There's always something

Ahh, a sunny but chilly Sunday morning here in Connecticut. It's quiet, unlike yesterday, which turned out to be anything but.

My mother planned to come over at 2 p.m. for birthday cake ~ at 2:45 we were still waiting so Kid Two called her. No answer. At 3, she called from the emergency room. It was a different emergency room at a different hospital than six weeks ago, but it was still an emergency room.

To make a long story short, my mother fell and fractured her pelvis. She is in a lot of pain and they sent her home with painkillers.
She also had to have stitches on her face and right index finger. It's the first time in her life she has had stitches, she said.
She has someone with her at home. I don't want to call yet to see how she feels just in case she is still asleep.

She was fortunate that a kind man was there when she fell who turned out to be a guardian angel for her. He drove her to the hospital, after the walk-in clinic people couldn't help.
That's another story for another day.
I'll write about him some other time.

We all have one ~ a birthday, that is

*50-something*
That's moi.
A child of the '50s, now in my 50s.

* * * * *
Our darling daughter was born on this date.
We share the day. Today she is 19. She was, and still is, quite the birthday gift.

~ Spirit of Christmas continues ~

HO, HO, HO !

Hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas. If not, there's still time. This week between Christmas and New Year's Day is a * magical * one.
It always has been for me, anyway.
The message here is to relax and enjoy, and yule be filled with the Spirit of the Season.

A true Christmas doll

Adam, you were born three months early.
Now I daresay you are chunky and burly.
We love you to pieces, and will never be fickle.
We think of you as a Christmas miracle.

I'm doing my best here with the "poetry," folks.






This is what Adam gave me and his other great-aunts on Christmas Eve.
The tree is made out of his hand-prints traced on construction paper.
It came in a magnetic frame for displaying on the fridge.
It's his first art project, and I think he did a great job.

A Christmas wish

Dashing through the holiday preparations

I just "flung" another string of lights on our Christmas tree. Flinging is about the best way to describe it. Earlier Ralph wrote about not being able to wrap presents very well, now I'm complaining about not being able to string very well.
We do have our difficulties with this holiday stuff. But we continue to give it our best shot. And don't try to stop us.

The sugar cookies I made last week, sans cookie cutter, were great. I may never get the hang of those cookie cutters. But I refuse to let that spoil my spirit.

Ralph is going to be under strict orders to not post a photo of our new artificial tree until I give him the green light.
Green light, get it? Ho, ho, ho!

Another side of life

This afternoon I attended the annual Christmas food and gift distribution at a nearby agency, something I have done for many years now. The executive director said she has seen a sharp increase in the number of needy families this year.
I can't express my opinion in stories I write for the paper, but here I can say this organization does a wonderful job, and appears to get by on a shoestring budget.
I have no reason to doubt what workers there tell me. All of the stories are sad ones, and I won't go into them. Many of the problems surrounding the more than 150 families served this holiday season seem to stem from job loss and major health issues.

There was one client, who I didn't interview, who sticks out in my mind. That's because I was told this man, who appeared to be about 40, lives in his pickup truck with his two teen-aged sons. It is quite cold around here at night. There's snow on the ground. How do they manage to sleep? Apparently they don't want to live in a homeless shelter.

Now if hearing something like that doesn't put things in perspective, I don't know what does.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

As I mentioned yesterday I bought this little scene to make our home more festive. It makes me smile.
Here is one of many clips from the classic show.

Odat shared this with fellow * flakes * and I shall do the same

Quoting from Odat, the award is from Lois of Lowdown from Lois.
Odat quoted Lois:

"Each of us are like those snowflakes. We bring to the blogosphere different gifts, viewpoints, and experiences. Sooo......I'm dedicating this award to YOU, my fellow bloggers. Take this badge and wear it well. All I ask is that you pass it on and refer to this entry as a short award description. When you award this badge to someone, please take a moment to mention what makes him/her unique. Spread the love...There is no one more precious or unique as you!"
~ ~ ~
I am spreading the love, as Lois says, and hoping that all of you unique bloggers reading this take the award and post it on your blogs too.

Need to vent today

I'm not a mean person. I know that, Ralph knows that, my family and friends know that...
But I'm going to sound mean if you keep reading this.
After opening the mail this morning, I feel like I'm about to explode. Simply put: I HATE THOSE DANG CHRISTMAS LETTERS PEOPLE SEND ME IN DECEMBER.
Whew! I said it.
I feel better.
This one today was a doozy. It included tales of death and broken bones yet it still was written in a perky, we have a perfect "Norman Rockwell/Currier & Ives life" tone.

I beg to differ. You really don't. No one does. Nope.
As Ralph just said to me, there is something wrong with the people who sent this. Really wrong. He said they're "empty. " I agree. It's sad.
And the two-page, single-spaced letter, filled with every positive and perky adjective in the book, well that's just insanity.

Meanwhile, on a happier note, I just bought myself yet another present (remember the 10-pack of markers last week?)
Today I found Charlie Brown and his pathetic Christmas tree and single red ornament, made of the finest plastic, at 25 percent off!! I just had to have it.

Setting that up later will soothe my upset. Something to look forward to...

Flashback to last month

As I've done several times before, last night I judged an essay contest for sixth graders in a neighboring town. Last year my bureau chief did the judging, so I had a "year off." I don't mind doing it, and it's interesting to see where the kids are in their thinking at that age. The folks from the other newspapers didn't show this year, so I had the essays all to myself.

The problem for me this year was the subject of the essay is fire prevention/preparation, having working smoke detectors and a family escape plan. As you regular visitors know, I just lived through my mother being dramatically rescued from her bedroom window as a fire raged in her living room. She spent five days in the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. Fortunately she has moved into a nice house for the next six months, paid for by insurance.
Her own house needs a lot of renovations and cleaning up.

So as I sat there reading essays that talked about scenarios like "imagine you are sound asleep and the smoke detector goes off" and listed statistics about house fire fatalities nationwide, I had a flashback.

The essays demonstrated that the children know about the importance of having an escape plan, about not panicking, about meeting their family outside and calling 9-1-1 from a neighbor's house. And that's a good thing.

Tagged by Linda with a (modified) meme

Quoting from Linda: The "Crazy 8's" meme is from Debbie Dolphin of New England Lighthouse Treasures.
Linda decided to make it the "Crazy 8's Divided by Two" meme. Sounds good to me.
So here we go: Crazy 8's Divided by Two Meme

8 ÷ 2 things I’m passionate about:

1. My family
2. Writing
3. Blogging
4. Being loyal

8 ÷ 2 things I say often:

1. I think I'll take a nap.

2. What should we have for dinner?

3. Can I use the computer for a few minutes?

4. Did you get any comments yet on that post?

8 ÷ 2 books I’ve read recently:

Sad to say, I'll skip this one. I don't feel bad because Linda did, too.

8 ÷ 2 things I want to do before I die:

1. Read some good novels
2. Earn more than I'm earning now
3. Have grandchildren
4. Watch them grow up
   

8 ÷ 2 songs I can listen to over and over again, and probably have:

1. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" - Judy Garland
2. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" - Judy Garland
3. "My Girl"-The Temptations
4. "In My Life" - The Beatles

8 ÷ 2 things that attract me to my friends: (I told Linda I'd steal her answers)

1. A sense of humor
2. Honesty
3. Compassion
4. The ability to accept me as I am
   

8 ÷ 2 things I learned in the last year:

1. How to blog
2. A house fire is devastating
3. Smoke inhalation takes a horrible toll on its victims
4. How attached I was to our late cat, Humphrey

I tag Odat, Ralph (bit of nepotism here) and Michael C.

More on the storm ...

I finally ventured out, camera in hand, to get the newspaper.
Our snow woman, who just seems to be popping up everywhere, watched me from the window. You can see me (below)
photographing her.

* * * * *
I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, and right now it looks like we are going to have one.

Baking to forget the weather

We're having a Nor'easter this morning. Snow, sleet, sneet, snice...all kinds of stuff going on. It isn't pretty right now. I took these photos from the front door. Who wants to go out?
The wind is howling. Brrrrrrr. A perfect day for blogging. And drinking coffee and eating breakfast that Ralph has planned.
I may venture into a baking mode and attempt this cookie mix I got the other day.
I usually end up making drop cookies. For some reason the cookie-cutter thing never works out for me.
Apologies to Queen Mimi for stealing a photo idea and just showing part of my face, but of course imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
If anyone thinks I'm obsessed with these little festive trees, well, you'd be right.

Getting into the spirit around here

Aren't we festive? No wreath, no garland, no reindeer, no Santa. But at least we have three little trees stuck in the ground in the front yard. And with the snowfall from the other day, it looks like a winter wonderland at night.
It's the thought that counts, right?

Debiting 101

Today I had a day off from work so I took my mother shopping for clothes and essentials. We went to Target, or Targe, since the sign at the brand new store already lost its second T.

She used her new debit card that draws on an account opened with insurance money she received after the fire.

The money is for replacing smoke-damaged clothes, and for buying groceries and necessities. We assume that means some Christmas presents as well. Tee hee.
Apparently the house renovations will be paid for directly by the insurance company, as far as I can determine. That project is ahead of us.
She had never used a debit card before, and needed some assistance. But we got through it.

* * *
I'm not one to wish my life away, but this has not been a very good year for us and I'm ready for it to end.
I just ho-ho-hope that 2008 is better.

Mystery photos

~ So, any guesses ?

A holiday splurge

I bought something for myself the other day at Target. Hold on to your hats...I spent almost $3.00. Not three hundred dollars, three dollars.
I was feeling creative so I got a 10-pack of fine line markers.
I'm ready for some yuletide doodling. ~*~*~
I may even post the results.

Yee-ha!