One Year

 Smudgey was the sweetest little tuxedo.  She was a feral for 13 years that I know of.  I worried over her daily and loved her as much as she let me. I could pet but not pick her up.  Feb 2021 was bitter cold for 2 weeks along with snow.  She was so small even though I made her a shelter and fed/watered I worried more for her.  After 2 days I figured she had not made but nope she showed up the next day. I  brought her food in and carried her in, made her a bed with litter box and food/water bowls right by the front door.  She must have finally wanted to come in cos she never put up a fuss, the warm house must have been too much for her to resist.  She spent most of her time upstairs on my bed. She loved to snuggle many times during the night for about 20 minutes and if you did not snuggle enough she used the claws to let you know more more more.  2 weeks before she crossed the bridge I noticed her spending a lot of time downstairs in my chair with me and Groucho.  I also noticed a drastic change in her coat, I knew it was close to time.  So a year ago she had a very rough day and that evening she did the litter box thing every couple of minutes, I knew.  I scooped her up and off to the ER vet we went.  Their take was I could either do dialysis, etc etc etc or let her go.  I was not going to put her through getting fluids a few days a week knowing it was not gonna make her better. I opted to give her back to God to watch over.  I knew it was what was best for her.  

She was a sister to Bucky and Groucho, my 3 tuxes.  I still look for her outside as she would sit on the window ledges during the day.  I miss her a lot.

Pretty in Pink

 I love geraniums, I wish I could leave them outside and they would come back.  The past couple of years they have been hard to find around here, but I got this pink one and boy is she beautiful.  I am never ready when that first freeze hits and you either bring the plants in or let them go.  Well she is not ready to go. She is in my bedroom window which faces south so she gets some direct sun in the afternoon.  She is blooming her little heart out. I hope I can keep her through the winter and set her out again next Spring. 

My grandmother had a huge red geranium that covered the end of her porch. It would also be in bloom around Christmas time. But then she lived in LA so they bloomed all year long.  

 

4 Years

 Dear Dad:  4 years ago today you went home.  I know you are happy being with your family except for Uncle Jerry, I have a feeling he will join all of you soon.  Not a day goes by my heart does not ache to be able to sit with you, have a cup of coffee and discuss the world.  I know you are in a much better place, the dementia is gone as well as the bad heart.  Someday.

Trick or Treat for Unicef

 When I was in elementary school in Carlsbad, NM, our church participated in UNICEF.  The Sunday before Halloween children were given a heavy cardboard sheet with a church on it.  My dad and I spent one evening during the week making the church, you folded the pieces up to make a church with a slot in the roof where dimes were dropped in.  When we went Trick or Treating we were to say Trick or Treat for Unicef.  Most people knew about this and would get a couple rolls of dimes to drop in the churches.  Then the next week I would take the dimes and fill in slots on another cardboard piece and then turn them into the church.  My goal was always to fill the sheet and if I did not get it full then my dad would pull out his roll of dimes and fill in my sheet.

It was fun to see if you could fill your sheet.

When I got home my dad would empty my sack, take what I did not like for himself.  Then my bag was put up on a shelf and I got one piece a day til it was all gone.  I always wanted to be in OKC for Halloween.  My dad worked for the FAA and the families stayed in an apartment complex called Parkview Village (yes it is still there but nor for the FAA).  Imagine if you will 243 units just waiting for kids to trick or treat.  The caramel apples, popcorn balls, candy.  I could easily fill a paper grocery sack.  

We had Trunk or Treat at church Sunday and had 56 kids in an hour.  So many cute costumes and all the kids were polite.  Tonight it is to in the 30's which means the kids will be all bundled up.  Too bad cos the costumes on little kids are worth the price of a bag of candy.

They're Back

 I love Juncos, they usually leave right before the Hummingbirds get here in the Spring and come back a few weeks after the Hummingbirds leave. I wish they stayed all year but alas I just have to enjoy them half the year.

Aren't they pretty?

Even Charlotte is Getting Into Halloween

 Many of you know my love for the book Charlotte's Web.  Well Charlotte and her kids have been busy at my house.  I went out back to feed the feral the other day and look what I found.  I guess there was not much for them to decorate but they found the dryer vent.

It is kind of cool huh?

Happy October

 How did we get to October already?  That means this year is almost over. 

I spied a very large garter snake in the yard Sunday afternoon, I fear he lives under the shed.  He can stay as long as he does not enter the house, but if he does well then we will have to re-locate him if I can.  

I planted marigolds in this pot, they did well but the squirrels dug them up to plant walnuts in it.  However some of the seeds said we are not done and so I have this itty bitty bloom.

The mum I got from the neighbor boys has opened up it is yuge.  Kind of looks like a brain, huh, no gray matter here though.

The tomato plant is zooming up and blooming and producing tomatoes. It was a nice plant but more plant than tomatoes, but they were good.

And my black cat Licorice comes daily, more than once a day now and eating a lot, putting on that winter weight and coat.  I think he is just going to be a small cat.  I get about 10 feet from him right now and then he backs off.  It all takes time with ferals, some never let you pet them.  Little Bit hung around for many years but only the last month of his life he leaned against me one day let me pet and love him and then a few days later he was gone.  I knew his time was near cos he looked awful, his coat was a mess and he let me pet him.  He knows I loved him and took care of him but he just never trusted me enough to get close.  

Fall Already

 How did it get to be that we hit Autumn (Fall) this week and that means DST is not far behind, i hate it.  Anyway my neighbor boys were selling mums to help with out of town costs for their baseball events.  I do not care for them, but I do love the color on this one and it is HUGE.  I can not wait til all the blooms are flushed out.

Sometimes You Just Have to Leave

 I had 3 years of my life at the place I volunteered.  Some crap went down this summer and it all turned into such a negative place that I had to leave.  I would have gone there forever until I could not anymore, but sometimes stuff happens and you find you have to let it go for your own health and sanity.

The sad part is I will not be dressing Scrappy any longer. I have my own Scrappy that I use when I make clothes for the store one.  Seems like lately Scrappy keeps getting moved and stuff ends up on her table and when I come in I have no idea where she is.  They do not seem to care, so another reason to leave.

So what do I with the house, well I will finish it and keep it for my own Scrappy. I have so many ideas for Holidays, etc, clothes, etc and I do not have to worry about people stealing stuff, yes people would steal stuff i put out.

It is time to move on and God will find me something else to do.  Meanwhile I am getting some things done around the house and enjoying being home and not worrying about whether I did something to piss off the snowflakes. 

Hermione Grace

 HG would have been 23 today.  I got her from my secretary at work who had found her under her deck. We had a horrific storm and unfortunately her mom never came back to get her.  She did not want a kitten so I took her. Had to bottle feed her for a few days and she grew into a big girl.  She could be sweet and ten she could turn on you like a cat does.

She had that Hershey Kiss nose and the little black beanie on her head, she was mostly white with some black, I should have called her Holstein after the cow breed.  

 I miss you girlfriend and someday I will be with you again.  Leave Bucky alone, granddad will hold you as much as you want as you always loved that.  

Licorice

 I have a new feral been since April 2022 since LilyBug disappeared.  She was so pretty and I wish I knew what happened to her, I was planning on bringing in her.

I named him Licorice cos he has that black shade of black licorice (and yes I do love black licorice).  Right now he stays across the yard from me and we shall how his pans out.

LilyBug: she was a sweet girl.

3 Years

 3 years ago today I lost this little fireball.  Bucky Crookshanks.  She had liver cancer and it came on so fast we did not catch it until it was too late. Not much we could have done anyway. She was 16.  She was a sister to Groucho and Smudgey.

She was so onery, did not understand the word no, and she jumped off the kitchen island and broke a bone in her foot. Did that stop her nope she would clomp around the house and smack me in the face when she got on my lap with the cast.  

 When she would hear Charles Payne voice she would run in and jump on the TV stand and watch him, she also hissed when she heard Pelosi.  

I miss her a lot and I no longer have to worry about things getting knocked off the counter.  She is in kitty heaven with her buddy Harry, those 2 were the best of buds.

I Am Done

 Do you ever have those days where you just can not take any more.  Mine started about 2 months ago. I had finally got all the vet bills paid from last year and was gonna coast along and save up some money for my Personal Property taxes at the end of the year.  Well that was not to be.

First there was the cell phone that died, then the car needed a  valve, then my almost 24 year old a/c died, then I broke a crown, and then there was the annual vet bill.  As if that was not enough.....

Took the Murano in last week for a safety inspection, she is/was 18 years old.  She did not pass in fact she failed yugely.  A whole page of things for many many many hundreds of dollars into the thousands to get her past the inspection.  They had to order some parts and when I went home I was just done.  I seriously could not take any more.  As I sat there I decided I was not going to put more money in the car at her age and that I needed to go ahead and get a new one.  I got to the point where I did not really feel safe driving her cos everything was falling apart.

I went to the dealer the next morning and got a new car.  Well we all know you not only pay for the car but all those extras like processing fee, destination fee, etc etc etc.  You are at the mercy of what is on the lot so I had to pay a little more.  And now I have car payments for the next 4 years. On top of that is a down payment and sales taxes.

Now this afternoon my new a/c is leaking, the area where the condensation comes out in the pipe, so i am waiting for the tech, this better be a free visit cos I have no more money to give.

And our pastor is gone and we have a new one, I will not get into how utterly depressed I felt Sunday knowing our pastor was gone and we have no idea what is going to happen to us>  I have a feeling I may be looking for a new church.

I just want to get in the car and drive and drive and drive and just get away from all of it.  I seriously can not take any more.  

I made ice cream today and think I will drown my sorrows in it this evening.