" Just A Suggestion"

I'd like to suggest that everyone head on over to my daugher Ginny's blog today. I'm not into advertising but she posted yesterday about nine things we can all do to make ourselves and other people smile. It's clever and insightful. I think you'll enjoy reading it.

The look on Jack's face when he saw me yesterday!

It didn't take too long this time for him to warm up to me.

I loved this photo because you can see the new tooth so well!

Nap time.

And finally I couldn't leave without a photo of baby feet! I can see my husband shaking his head at me now. I don't care, I love baby feet!

" Perks Of Being Over Fifty"

Some of you may have already seen this, but I love it so here goes.


For those of you who are over 50 and for those of you who are not, you can see what you have to look forward to in life!

1. Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
2. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
3. No one expects you to run-anywhere.
4. People call you at 9:00p.m. and ask "Did I wake you??"
5. people no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
6. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
7. Things you buy now won't wear out.
8. You can eat dinner at 4:00p.m.
9. You can live without sex but not without your glasses.
10. You get into heated arguments about pension plans.
11. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.
12. You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into a room.
13. You sing along with elevator music.
14. Your eyes won't get much worse.
15. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
16. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.
17. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.
18. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.
19. You can't remember who sent you this list.
20. And you notice that these are all in large print for your convenience.
    

" Bittersweet"

Since my Katie has been in school I have driven her to and from each day. I wake up every morning at 5:20 a.m. so that I can have some coffee, walk the dogs and wake up a little bit before I wake Katie at 6:15a.m. I need that time before I can deal face to face with anyone. Each and every morning when Katie wakes up I cook her breakfast. I've done this for her for 14 years.

After some thinking and some discussion with my husband, I decided (notice I said, that I decided) that when Katie started high school, I think she would be the right age to start getting up on her own with the aid of an actual mechanical or electrical alarm clock. As opposed to a human one! There is no reason a girl of 14 can't get up on her own and even fix herself a little breakfast. Really all I do is wake her and hand her food. And of coarse transport to and from school.

As I thought about this, and after telling Katie what I decided we should do, I started to feel a little excited at the prospect of sleeping in a little later and not having to cook breakfast everyday anymore. I mean really, she can get up on her own, fix a little food on her own, take her shower and walk 2 blocks to school on her own. My oldest child, well man child, is 31. So that means that I have been doing this mom ritual for as many years.

Today as I was sitting in my car waiting for Katie to get out of school, I was thinking how nice it will be when I don't have to leave the house at 3:20 every day. At that time I am usually starting dinner and have to stop to leave. Or wait until we get home to start cooking when we're both starving. So, it would be much more convenient not to have to leave the house.

Today as I was sitting in my car waiting for Katie to get out of school, I was thinking , and I was crying, because it will only be four and a half weeks and I won't have to pick her up anymore. I won't have to get up early for her anymore. And I won't have to cook every morning anymore. Bittersweet.

" Ginny's Coming Home!"

31 more days. In 31 more days I will get to be with my daughter again. It will only be for three days, but I'll take it. My daughter Katie will be graduating (must put box of tissue on my shopping list) the 8th grade on May 30th. So big sis is going to come to visit for the occasion.

Ginny lives in North Carolina, and we in Illinois. We only get to see each other once or twice a year if we're lucky. Usually we get to visit a little longer but this time she has no vacation days to use so it's going to be a quick visit for us. However, her little sis gets to go back to Raleigh with her for a week. What a wonderful gift for Kate! They are both very excited.

I also get to meet for the first time, her loving counterpart. I don't think that" boyfriend" sounds quite right at this point in their lives. And I am excited about that as well. I'll try to remember to keep my normal crazy self in the closet that weekend. I have a slightly toned down version for just such occasions!

Ginny has promised to help me with some of my computer issues while she's here. However, three days does not a computer genius make so don't get to excited. Trying to do the computer thing over the phone does not work for me. But I'm hoping we can fit in maybe an hour or so. By the way, did I mention that she blogs for a living? How cool is that? Actually it's a little more complicated then that but it's still cool.

I feel bad sometimes when Ginny comes to visit because she has to visit with everyone while she's here and is usually running around like crazy. This time won't be any different, so I am preparing myself for a short visit. Every time she leaves, it hurts as much as the first. But she is happy and that's what we all want for our children.

Ginny has always had, since she was born, an aura of happiness around her. When people are around her, they feel happier. I remember when she was a little girl, I was going through many difficult times. But no matter how low I was feeling, all I had to do was be with her and I would start to feel better. This is not to say that my other children aren't special in their own ways. But I truly believe that what Ginny has is a special gift from God. She just makes you feel good. And it's not just me. It happens when she's around other people as well.

One of our favorite things to do together is shop at all of the second hand stores for special treasures. We always manage to find something! I'm afraid we won't have the time this visit. I have yet to get Katie to indulge in this with me yet. She's at the stage in her life that everything has to be new, but she's quite new herself so I understand. I am fortunate enough to have a daughter-in-law that also shares this interest with me.

The last time I saw my daughter was after my first stroke last November. She came home right away to be with me and her sister. This visit will be a happier one.

I am probably rambling, but the days are swiftly going by. It's getting hard to contain the anticipation, not only for my last child's graduation, but to be able to see Ginny again.

Gloomy Monday

Tis very gloomy today. What an odd sounding word, at least it is to me as I repeat it to myself. Glue me. There was a tiny bit of rain, more later they say. I could have worked in my yard this morning but I was very gloomy as well. Not sad gloomy, just tired gloomy. So I chose to do much of nothing. And I am going to continue doing much of nothing until I pick Kate up from school. Maybe I should have titled this "Lazy Monday"! I took a photo of my neighbors tulip tree that has started to bloom. It's very beautiful I think. My husband thinks that someday it will fall on our house! How negative is that! Besides, that's what insurance is for.

It's an excellent day for a nap. Maybe I should have titled this "Nappy Monday". No that doesn't make any sense. I washed my hair today.

Maybe Tuesday will be terrific. I just hope it's not terrible or terrifying. The latter would be awful. Only time will tell.

Wednesday may be wonderful. I hope it's not worse. Whatever it will be, I hope I won't be filled with woe.

Thursday, Mmmmm, o.k. yeah.

Friday, finally I'll get to be with my Jacob for a few days!

Saturday, so much to do in the yard. Shopping perhaps?

Sunday, sitting outside for service at church. No rain please. Sunny Sunday only.

" Ruby's Story" - Part Two

Kate and I would often see our old neighbor. We'll call him Harry, because that really is his name, Harry. He lived right next door to the library, where Kate and I would visit about once a week. Usually on our way out or on our way in we would stop for a little visit with Harry and his pug Blossom. It was always an experience because Harry also had hens and roosters as well as rabbits roaming the yard. I missed watching the chickens wander my yard as I washed the dishes. I didn't miss them eating my seeds! Blossom was always happy to see us and we all, including my husband, started to grow fond of this breed of dog.

On one particular visit we were introduced to Willie, Harry's new pug. I know, I told you life is funny sometimes. Also coincidental. Remember, my old dogs' name was Willie too. Willie was a black pug and Blossom a fawn. And you probably have already concluded that they had a huge wedding and lived happily ever after! Well sort of. There was no wedding. There was however, sometime later, several beautiful, tiny pug puppies. There were black ones and fawn ones. There were girl ones and boy ones. And Katie wanted anyone!

After the puppies were born, it became more and more difficult for Kate. I think there were a few days that I avoided going to the library because those beautiful puppies were becoming too hard for Kate to resist. Harry's regular prodding for us to get another dog wasn't helping. I kept telling Kate that a new puppy is just like having a baby. There is a lot of responsibility that comes along with having one. As I tried so hard to discourage her I realized that I was also trying to discourage myself as well. By now I have gotten to know the personality of this breed. Very sweet, very happy, eager to please and those eyes. Those eyes that I once thought were U-G-L-Y, were now, in my eyes, full of every emotion that a dog could be possible of showing. Most of all love.

As you know by my blogger header, I broke down. Seeing the puppies every week, well lets just say that I still have a little girl inside of me. This is why I have five cats and two dogs. I would probably have more if I could, but a girl has to know her limitations. I have since reached mine. Ruby was born on June 25,2006. Six weeks later, we brought her home.

Homecoming.
Kate and I were well prepared. We bought a little doggy bed, collar, leash, water bowl,and food, all in anticipation of bringing our new puppy home. On one of our now once daily visits, Harry told us that we could go ahead and take her home. Kate was so excited, I was, well for lack of a better phrase, freaked out! I felt like I was being sent home from the hospital with my first child. She was so tiny. Did we have the house puppy proofed well enough? I put on a really good front as I acted excited like Kate was. In reality I was scared. I think because it had been so long since we had a baby of any species in our house. Into the car we went, with Kate ever so gently holding the new puppy. We still hadn't decided on a name, though we had a few ready to choose from. It came down to a toss up between Penny and Ruby. I chose Ruby. It had always been a name that I loved.

Ruby quickly became the center of our attention. Whenever she would eat or drink her hind end would completely leave the floor. She tried so very hard to make friends with the cats, but to this day there is only one that will go near her. Spooky. He's a lover boy. Looking back I can see that we spoiled her, but then I spoiled my children as well. Pugs are descended from Chinese royalty. I suspect Ruby somehow knows this. And while she fully believes that she is a princess and we here subjects, She couldn't be more loved than she is in this house.

Pugs are beautiful. If you don't think they are on the outside then you don't know them inside. Just ask my husband. This large man who always wanted only large dogs, I believe loves her more (If possible) then Kate and I do.

" Ruby's Story " - Part One

It occurred to me today that I've never told Ruby's story. Ruby is the beautiful pug in the blogger header above. I hate to even say this but here goes. I always thought that pugs were ugly. It was a breed I knew nothing about and didn't care to. How wrong I was.

Around four years ago I was, at the time babysitting my granddaughter Sarah. At that time my son,Frank and his wife Amy, along with their sweet daughter Sarah lived on a little hill in the country. They had neighbors to the west that had several different animals. One of them was a pudgy little pug named Bernie Mac. Don't ask. Just Bernie Mac! I first noticed Bernie Mac one day when he came running up to my car as I pulled in the driveway. I was afraid he would run in front of my car and I might not see him. I do have a heart after all and didn't want to accidentally hit him. He started doing this every time I would come out there and after awhile I knew that he was watching for me.

On nice days I would take Sarah for walks all over the yard. On every walk Bernie Mac started to follow. As I would sit and watch Sarah playing outside, Bernie Mac was very good at giving the impression that he would like a pet. That's when it started. Pugs were starting to look a little differently to me.

It's really funny how life works sometimes. About a year later a new family moved into the house next to ours. An older retired man and his wife. Very sweet people. They had a little pug named Blossom. Now here's the funny part. Blossom just so happened to be Bernie Macs sister! She was such a sweet and friendly dog, always ready to greet us with pure happiness. I am now thinking that pugs are cute.

The nice couple ended up moving to a house about a block away from ours. We could literally wave to each other ,which we often did. Our family had a dog named Willie. A very large (75 lb.) mutt. Willie passed away shortly after the couple moved away. He was very old and his health was failing him rapidly. The day came when I had to physically carry him outside to relieve himself, which he couldn't. I carried him back into the house and called my son. We had to take him to the vet. My daughter-in-law met us there and with the three of us crying we had to say goodbye. Heartbroken is the only word that comes to mind. There was nothing more that could be done. He fell into what appeared to be a peaceful sleep, which eased my mind somewhat. I am crying as I write this. He was very loved.

I'm never going to have another dog. This was repeated several times over the next year. My husband, Jake, would casually mention different types of dogs he would like to have. And Kate , well Kate was 11 at the time and and would take any animal in that might happen to show up! As time went on the two of them were starting to wear me down. Little by little I was beginning to think again of having another dog. It would ultimately be my decision, with my husband home only every other weekend and Kate being the age that she was, I knew that most of the care and responsibility would fall onto me. If we were to get another dog, this dog would be mine. I would get to choose the dog and name it as well. Yet still with all of my conditions, I didn't feel ready yet.


Willie with Kate 2001

To be continued.....

Here I Go Again

"Never say never" is a motto that I always try to live by. It's happened to me too many times. "I'm never going to do that again." and then BAM here I am doing something, again that I do not want to do.

For those of you that have read my past blogs, you will know that I hate to bake. Yes that's right, I hate to bake. I like to eat, just not bake or cook for that matter. So when I saw that our church was in need of extra cookies for our upcoming sandwich sales, a
feeling of dread came over me. There were hardly any people signed up to bake cookies. Crap. I tried walking away from the sign up table. Really I did. Crap. I hate baking! I found myself taking a step backward and picking up the pen. Diana Siebels-3 doz. I wrote. And I was so good, I didn't say "I'm never baking again", so much for motto's.


" Grandma Laverne's Potato Chip Cookies"



Soften 1 lb. of butter

Add a 1/2 of a cup of sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla. Cream together.

Add 2 cups of flour to creamed mixture.





Crush a 1/2 of a cup of potato chips.
Crush a 1/2 of a cup of nuts.

And don't be silly, of coarse I didn't use my husbands dirty hammer! I have my own hammer that I use just for baking!
Only joking folks!





Add potato chips and nuts to the bowl and mix all together.









And here you have the dough all mixed together. This is an easy recipe to mix by hand. Place teaspoonfuls of dough on cookie sheet. You can place them close together, they don't spread very much and flatten slightly with fork.



Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Don't let them get very brown. These cookies are very buttery, not overly sweet and slightly salty. Very melty in your mouthy!





I truly believe that God has a particular purpose for all of us. I try to keep myself open for a path that may not always be noticeable to me. I just hope that it doesn't involve baking! But now thinking about what Marcy would say, I guess I should feel blessed that I can still use my hands well enough to bake!

I was inspired to write about baking again after seeing Wanda baking her coffee cup cakes (which looked very interestingly good) with her little granddaughter. So thank you Wanda!

Frankie Avalon

Does anybody remember Frankie Avalon? If you are in my age group you should. He was a big heartthrob in the late 60's I believe. Time goes by faster and faster with each decade that I manage to live through, so my time line might be slightly off. Please forgive me if it is. Frankie played the leading role in all of the beach movies of the time. Funny now the only title of one that I can think off of hand is "Beach Blanket Bingo". He often co-starred with Annette Funicello (not sure on the spelling of her name).

I had a huge crush on Frankie. I remember watching all of his movies. I had my own camera at that time. It was called a "Baby Brownie". It took black and white pictures and I thought that it was the coolest thing that I owned! Anyway I loved Frankie so much. I would take pictures of him on my television screen! I would get close enough to the T.V. so that it would look like I was actually with him and you couldn't see any of the T.V. itself. Such a silly little girl. But I was in love.

My best friend way back then was named Andrea. We lived within walking distance of each other on the northwest side of the big city of Chicago. You must keep in mind, at that time (early 70's ) it was perfectly normal and fairly safe for two 13 year old girls to wander the city as long as we didn't head to far over to the south side of the city.

Many weekends of trying to find things to do, Andrea and I would find ourselves on the Lake St. El (Elevated Train) heading east to downtown Chicago where we would spend hours just walking around. What fun we had. One time we went to a theater to see "Shaft". Can you imagine one little Irish red headed girl and me, 95 lbs. of skin and bones walking into this theater filled with men and woman wearing huge afros. We really stood out among them, actually we almost glowed, but nobody seemed to care. We also always made a point to visit this one popcorn shop that sold all different flavors of popcorn and popcorn balls. And we would always wander around the beautiful department stores such as Marshall Fields.

On one particular weekend however, we decided to wander around the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Back in the day it was quite beautiful and very big. It was one of the hotels that famous stars and singers would stay at while they were in town. One time we ran into Jack Cassidy (David Cassidys father,David was another crush of mine!) walking down one of the halls with is entourage in tow. We did manage to get is autograph, but I will say that it seemed that we were a bother to him. On the particular weekend stated earlier, it was rumored that Frankie Avalon was staying at the hotel. This was too much for Andrea and I to pass up so off we went, very,very excitedly to the Hyatt with high hopes of seeing our beloved Frankie in person!

I think we walked , through, up and down each hall that we could find in search of Frankie. We were so tired. Finally one of us thought (remember we were only 13) lets ask the maids if they know where we could find him! It was not easy. Either those maids were paid very well or were very afraid of losing their jobs, whatever the case they weren't handing over any information. Then finally one of the maids took pity on us (we may have been crying,I don't remember) and she told us how to find this secret hallway that would lead to the door of a suite. Thats all she told us. She didn't say what or who we would find when we got there.

It took some searching but we found the hallway and the door at the end of it. Very, very nervously we approached the door. I don't remember who lifted their shaky little hand first but one of us managed to knock,ever so quietly on the secret door. There was a peep hole on the door. We tried looking in it (remember we were only 13). A voice from the other side of the door asked "Who is it?". We replied nervously "We're here to see Frankie!". The voice on the other side of the door replied "Go away!". As we stood there feeling foolish watching the color draining from each others faces a different voice from behind the door said "Let them in". The door opened and we were allowed by an unfamiliar man to walk into the room. Actually it was more like an apartment. Full kitchen, dining area, huge windows with a view of the downtown area and a large living area that had a very large sofa in it. The sofa was not empty. Nope. Laying on the sofa in his black stocking feet (a detail that always stuck in my head) was none other than The Frankie Avalon! I was in shock. I don't remember what he said. I don't remember what we said. I do remember that there was some small talk and we each got a personal autograph on two of the hotel directories. But the one thing that stuck in my mind was how very polite and nice he was.

We said our good byes. Then two star struck, giggly little 13 year olds walked back into the hallway and the door was closed behind us. We both looked at each other and dropped to the floor laughing and screaming hysterically. I know they must have heard us from behind the door, but there is just no controlling that kind of happiness when you are 13.

" Oh What A Beautiful Morning!"

I can hear my husband singing this song in his resonant, operatic voice. It always makes me laugh. Saturday morning was beautiful, and so I went outside to the yard around 7:30 a.m. I managed to get quite a bit of work done. Weeding,trimming and raking. All of your normal yard work. This year however it was a little trickier then usual. Jake and I built an arbor several years ago to support a climbing rose that we have. Over the winter two of the rungs had sprung out on one side. It was something that Jake had intended on fixing on one of his weekends home. Well now it's going to have to wait.



A mama Robin decided to build her nest in the broken rungs of the arbor. I took this photo from upstairs. If you look closely you can see her eggs. Needless to say it was a little tricky trying to work around the area without disturbing her. She watched me very closely and I suppose she decided that I was no threat and returned to her nest. She let me work, and I was grateful that there were no attacks. I went to give her fresh water in the bird bath and discovered that my 15 year old hose had finally bit the dust. So when my husband came home we went to purchase a nice new hose. We brought it home, hooked it up, put the sprayer on it and discovered that it too bit the dust! Isn't it funny how things work out sometimes! Well mama bird at least got some fresh water and this morning I got a new sprayer.

Profile Of A Cat # 5 - Pixie

Name : Pixie

AKA : Just Pixie

Hobbies : Socks. I love socks. I dig them out of the clothes basket, or just pick them up from wherever they are. Clean or dirty, I don't care. I like to pretend that they are kittens. I carry them all over while I meow very loudly! If they're not in a drawer I can find them!

My Best Qualities : I am very well behaved. ( Except for the sock thing.) I'm always polite. And I am always available for a pet!

What My Humans Love Most About Me : My mom human loves picking up socks off the floor from all over the house. She always sounds so excited. Something about "NO MATCHING SOCKS IN THIS HOUSE! " I don't know what this means but she sounds excited. She also loves when I sit right in front of her face while she's in bed. I have to let her know it's time for a pet.

Age : 10 Years

What Is This Tagged?

Wanda has confused me. I think she wants to play tag. What is this tag thing? Is it something that is supposed to make me feel old? I have heard only a little about it. I will try. Please forgive my computer illiteracy.

* 8 Things I Am Looking Forward To *

1. Always,my husband coming home.
2. Katie's 8th grade graduation in may.
3. My daughter,Ginny, coming home for Katie's 8th grade graduation in May.
4. Meeting Ginny's love of her life for the first time.
5. My yard being ready for summer.
6. Seeing my grandson,Jack,take his first steps.
7. Knowing that my son has quit smoking for good so that I can have more incentive to quit again.
   
8. Going to yard sales with my daughter-in-law,Amy.

* 8 Things I Did Yesterday*

1. I worked out.
2. I went to church for our Fellowship meeting.
3. I did laundry, wow!
4. I took a really nice nap.
5. I went to the library and bought some cool books at the book sale.
6. I watched Tyler Perrys "Meet The Browns".
7. I cleaned my fridge.
8. I tried to get Katie to tell me why she was such a crab.

* 8 Things I Wish I could Do *

1. I wish that my hands would still allow me to crochet like I used to.
2. I wish that I could lose 20 lbs. by May 1st.
3. I wish that I could be more spiritual than I am.
4. I wish that I could be the best mom in the world.
5. I wish that I could go to Raleigh, North Carolina.
6. I wish that I could win the lottery and pay all of my families bills .
7. I wish that I could be the best person that I can be.
8. I wish that I could rescue all of the homeless animals in the world.

* 8 Shows that I Watch On T.V. *

1. All My Children
2. Dancing With The Stars
3. Ugly Betty
4. Greys Anatomy
5. Private Practice
6. Jon And Kate Plus Eight
7. Dateline Mysteries
8. 20/20

So there you have it. Aren't I so exciting? So now I guess I am supposed to tag someone else. I don't know the rules so you know who you are. Marcy, Ginny, Katie, Eileen, and Amy. It's pitiful I know. I don't have many followers. So have mercy on me please and pass my blog on to someone else.

Time Honored Tradition

I can just feel the adrenaline flowing through my veins! Every year in my home we have a time honored tradition which really doesn't fall at any particular time. We just know when it needs to be done. Sometimes it's in mid-winter when things get a little boring,like on a snow day. More often then not however it happens in the spring. But then there's always those times when somebody has to do that one thing,usually by accident,that requires the tradition to once again be performed. I am talking about the major spill. You know what I'm talking about. Someone knocks something over in the refrigerator and voila, the major spill. Once again the time honored tradition of cleaning out the entire fridge must be performed! I am so honored to be the one, the only one, that gets to perform the duty of emptying everything out of the fridge. Now please don't think me to be a filthy person. Far from it, my family believes that I am obsessed with keeping the house clean. I do empty all of the unused containers every week and wipe off the shelves. Still there comes a time when everything most be removed and the entire monstrous appliance must be washed out. I know my family loves me because they always,always allow me the honor of this job. And I know that really, this is not a job, it's an honor!
My question to you is this. If you also are allowed the honor to perform this job in your home, do you have any special tricks or tips to make it more fun than it already is?

Profile Of A Cat # 4 - Cera

Name: Cera
AKA : Upstairs Cat / Psycho (You'd be strange to if you were named after a dinosaur.)

Hobbies : I don't need any.

My Best Qualities : I chase off all of the other felines. I don't like them anywhere around me. So I'm a loner. You got a problem with that? It's really funny cause I'm smaller then all of them and I can really scare the heck out of them! I just growl and hiss alot at them and poof their gone! Ha Ha Ha Ha ! The whole upstairs is mine and I like it that way. I even have my own box up there!

What My Humans Love most About Me : I roll all around the floor right in front of them. If they don't pet me they'll trip, He,He,He,He! My mom human says I'm her favorite, she says I'm just misunderstood. Whatever. All I know is I love being on her lap cause she lets me growl and purr at the same time. Now thats fun!

Age : 9 and 4/5th years

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung and I'm stuck in the house. My yard needs mowing. My weeds need weeding. Many plants need planting. There are boxes full of Canna bulbs sitting in my basement waiting to be placed in warm spots through out my yard. There are Hostas poking through the dirt needing to be divided. There are all sorts of beautiful flowers waiting in the local nurseries chanting quietly "Diana we're waiting.". My Clematis is in desperate need of a new trellis. Did I mention the weeds,weeds and more weeds?

It appears that there is no control over the weather. Isn't that silly? The pleasantly warmer days we have had, have been to wet to play in. Oh how I long for a dry and comfortable day to put my hands to the soil. To feel the warm sun on my back. To once again be in that very special place that transports me from reality.

Profile Of A Cat # 3- Dixie

Name : Dixie
AKA : Sneezy
Hobbies : Chewing on plastic,although this one almost killed me once. Rolling around on the floor until someone pets me. Trying to eat large appliances. I do this when my food bowl isn't full enough. It irritates my humans until they fill that thing to the top! It works try it.
My Best Qualities : I like kids. It's strange for a feline I know. The way I see it, you get your tail tugged a little, then they try to cuddle me,small price to pay ya know what I'm sayin'?
What My Humans Love most About Me: The Christmas Tree Thing.(Artificial). Like I said before, plastic, I love it. But I got really sick from tryin' to eat a tree. Had to stay in that hospital place and almost died. The doc said I should just go home because I was going to die and I wanted to be with my man human. He held me for 2 days and all that attention made me want to live again. Sad story? Then how about a treat? Now the humans only get real trees,sucks for me!
Age: 1o Years

Sunday Evening,Thinking Of Kate

What a day. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Kate has been an actual person all day. I don't know what to think. She hasn't gotten angry with me once all day. She hasn't smart mouthed me all day. I hope she's not getting sick again. I woke her at 5:15 a.m. for sunrise service. I only had to wake her once. She was happy. I was confused. She hid 80 Easter Eggs . She didn't roll her eyes. She laughed at one of my corny jokes. Not one complaint all day. The most frightening part of the whole day? She cuddled up to me once on the couch and let me kiss her on the forehead . Maybe I'm dreaming. I just finished "The Shack" this morning. You know, Is this really happening or is it all a dream?
Perhaps I am reading too much into it. Maybe she is reaching the part in her teen years when they turn back to humans again. I just don't remember the last time we had such a peaceful bonding day together. Maybe it was communion. Maybe it really did fill her with the Holy Spirit. Maybe I should just shut up and enjoy the day we had!

What A Good, Good Friday!

This Good Friday was extra special for me. It was also my birthday. The only reason I even mention this is because of Kate. Kate is 14 years old and tries so very hard, at this stage in her life, to detach herself from mommy and daddy. I understand this and know that it is normal at this stage of her teen years. I also know that she truly does love us but there are times when we just don't feel it if you know what I mean.
So I was very surprised when I woke up yesterday morning to a beautiful hand made card, and a piece of leftover confirmation cake that had "Happy Birthday Mom" written on it . When I read the card,which was really all I needed to make me cry, it instructed me to go on the computer and where to go. The video below is what she made for me for my birthday. What a great gift! Needless to say the rest of the day after that just kept getting better. Birthday greetings from my family, and taking communion for the first time with Kate was very special. So it was truly a Good, Good Friday. Happy Easter to all.

Profile Of A Cat # 2-Midnight

Name : Midnight
AKA : Old Woman
Hobbies : Back in the day I used to play fetch! I also used to love jumping very high onto tall things. I also used to steal my humans food,that was fun! I am retired now,basking in the sun has become my new hobby.
My Best Qualities : I am always the prefect lady and I always greet my humans guests,unlike the other rude felines in this home!
What My Humans Love Most About Me : I am the last of my humans original four cats still living. I know that I have a special place in their hearts.

Age : 18 years

Something New

I hope the photo of my beautiful Ruby makes you smile as it did me. My Katie took it and we thought it was perfect for the new look. I've been thinking about changing my blogger backround for some time now and Kate was feeling well enough to help me. She is so amazing to me. It took me almost an hour to pick it out and it took her about one minute to set it all up. I have no idea what HTML language is. I'm just glad that she does. Hope you like it!

Profile Of A Cat # 1- Spooky

Name: Spooky
AKA : Poopy,Loverboy
Hobbies: Laying in the sun,Eating,Hugging and Rubbing my humans,Eating.
My Best Qualities: Laying in the sun,Eating,Hugging and Rubbing my humans,Eating.
What My Humans Love Most About Me: They love the fact that I require monthly bathing and trimming because my fur is so long and lusterous. That's when they like to call me poopy. I don't know what that means. But they enjoy rubbing bubbly stuff all over me and it feels so good!
Age: 7 years

Confirmaton Day

O.K. here we go again. My second attempt to blog about Kates Confirmation. I was to frustrated with the first attempt this morning because I couldn't get the photos how I wanted them. So I scraped the whole thing. So here goes. It was a beautiful day. I know that Kate was very nervous but it didn't show right away. She was very excited before the service. I was very nervous for her. She had a lot to remember. The first photo was before the confimation. There were three confirmands and Kate went second. The first girl was very quiet spoken but did very well. When it was Kates turn I noticed that she wasn't as resonant as she was at rehursal! She only forgot a couple of things and pastor helped her out along the way. He's very good at that. Anyway I couldn't take the pictures during the service because I was crying to much. I had to give my camera to my husband who admitted that he didn't know what he was doing. So some of the pictures are a little dark! I know I couldn't have gotten up there like she did in front of the whole congregation,we were feeling very proud! Baby Jack didn't seem very excited about the whole thing. I think he found it all quiet boring! I think we were all glad that he fell asleep in the beginning of the service. He woke up at the very end. Our grandaughter Sarah was exceptionally good through the whole service as well. I was so proud of them both. Kate and the other two confirmands were first to go up for communion. Kate said she didn't like the wine! After the service was done they all lined up at the back of the church with pastor. As the congregation all passed by shaking hands and congratulating them, you could see the pride in thier faces! Afterwards my family and a couple of our members came back to the house and we had lunch and cake. What a beautiful day it was. I can't wait for Good Friday when Kate came actually take communion with me.

Who Is This Woman?

I don't know what happened. It was a morning like any other. Drank some coffee. Ate a small but substantial breakfast. Then I took off in my trusty station wagon to go and work out. I lost two inches, hurray for me! I needed a few things from the grocery store so I pulled in the parking lot. I made it through the store only spending $15.00, hurray for me!
I had a good workout this morning so I am feeling pretty good on the way home. Home,where my Kate is sick with the flu.Poor baby. Mom will make chicken soup. No I am not Jewish. I had some leftover chicken stock in the freezer and had baked a chicken the night before so it would be a quick and easy soup. As all of the ingredients were simmering nicely in the pot I started to feel strange. I found myself gravitating towards the pantry. What is happening? Everything is already in the soup! I couldn't control my hands as they swiftly pulled at the pantry doors. What is this strange place? There on the right is a rectangular plastic container with a soft , powdery,white substance in it. And another next to it, with some kind of white granular substance in it. My hands, can't stop, can't stop, moving upward, make it stop! Before you could say "Where's the vanilla?", I had all of these strange containers and utensils on my kitchen counter. It must have been the scent of the over ripened bananas. All I can remember after that was two loafs of pineapple banana bread on my counter! I don't really know how they got there. It's all to confusing. I'm not feeling to well, I think I will have to have a piece of this mystery bread. After all I did lose two inches!

Tomorrows The Big Day!

Well tomorrow is Kates' confirmation and I am sooo excited! The fact that I managed to get everything done that I wanted is exciting in it's own right. The cake took a lot of patience and praying. But I am happy that it turned out as I envisioned it. Of coarse it isn't professional but I am quite pleased with the outcome. The important thing is that Kate liked it.
I am so proud of Kate and can't wait to see her being confirmed.
I think that I will finally be able to post a picture of her!

Funky Curtains

As you can see I finished the FUNKY CURTAINS! They went upstairs in my apartment. My daughter-in-law Amy bought the fabric for me. She is so intuitive! Anyway it's one more project done before confirmation Sunday. Tonight I will be playing the part of beautician and housekeeper. Tomorrow I will once again
become a baker. Oh how I love to cook and bake! Sorry about not being able to prepare any of those gourmet meals Marcy,but as you can see I'm just to booked up right now!