Windsday

March winds and April showers.

Sounds like we've started out March just like

it's supposed to be!  The wind has been howling all day!

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Slice of Life Saturday #2

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Cat Nap(s)

Zzzzzzz.

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Random Thoughts

1. I love this picture of Marmalade.  He was watching leaves fall!
2. October is half over already!  How is this happening???
3. I traveled 45 minutes to work an auction this morning.  It was 42 degrees!  Gorgeous sunshine, some brilliant color in a few trees.  It really felt like fall! A beautiful drive through the countryside.
4. Velvet and Samantha had been missing for 8 days. :(  I had given up hope when yesterday Velvet was sleeping on the porch swing when I got home from the grocery like she had never left!  And when we got up this morning, Sam was under my desk, curled in her basket.  Miracles....both of them!
5. My babies are turning 22 on Sunday.  Boys, not cats. haha.
6. Tomorrow I'll be attending the Ribbon of Hope Luncheon in Dayton along with 700 other women.  If you happen to be attending, look for me!  I'll be sitting at the tables sponsored by Greene Memorial Hospital and Soin Medical Center. :)

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Velvet

This lady refuses to be domesticated, although she does

come inside to eat ...and sleep in bad weather.

We first met a few years ago...feral pregnant mama...

leaping into the air to catch birds for food.

And she was amazing at it, too!

I took pity on her and fed her some chicken and she stayed

and even entrusted her kittens to me.

She's had two litters here, 9 kittens total, before

I could trap her and have her spayed.

Don't even think about petting her or you'll

get the evil eye!  She does on occasion pose for

the camera, though.  I think she's beautiful!

She's had a crush on Tiger for years now.

Can't say that I blame her. ha.

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Sunshine After The Rain

While it was pouring rain last week, the cats spent most of their

time on the back porch watching rain drops and napping.

When that got boring, they amused themselves inside, playing

 relay races, leap frog or a combination of both!

When the 'moat' started to subside, it was time to go exploring.

This morning I could see that the spiders had been busy rebuilding...

And the hostas were putting out some blooms!

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This And That

1. Packages on the porch this morning waiting for the mail lady. Business has been hopping...so thankful and so fun!  Slate always helps send the boys out the door and then get the boxes out!
2. African Daisies.  New to me and so pretty!
3. Chilly this morning..only 42 degrees!  That's only 10 degrees warmer than snow!  Geesh.  But if you wear a fur coat, it's still good weather for napping on the porch swing!
4. Star improves every day!  She's curious, quiet and sweet.  She hopped up on the bathroom counter this morning and landed with a back leg straight into my coffee cup.  I'm sure it was hot enough to hurt...I had just poured it.  She hissed but seems to be ok.  I assured her it wasn't my fault! ha.  She seems to be smitten with Slate.  I don't blame her a bit.  I found her napping on the couch near him this afternoon. She's purring now, too!
5. Breakfast.  I commented to The Mister that even though this is supposed to be a terrible year for pollen, my allergies have never been better.  He mentioned that he just read about allergy sufferers getting relief by eating yogurt every day.  I started doing that about 6 months ago.  How about that?  
6. I thought this was a cool addition to my shop.  It's a page from a ladies French fashion magazine, Les Modes Parisiennes, November 1877.  Pages were engraved and printed back then...and hand tinted.  Very neat.
7. Ground cover in the back yard.
8. Tomatoes, although I'm sure they are shivering today!

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Thursday

I worked outside today.

And I had a few furry helpers. :)

The nicest thing I got crossed off my outside To Do List

was to re-do the stepping stones in the Blue Garden.

They were laying on top of the ground and I wanted

them sunken and level with the ground, looking

as if they had been there for years and years.

So, I pulled them up, dug out some dirt and got

them as level as I could.  Then I transplanted moss

from under one of our trees in between the stones.

Much better...but boy, am I dirty. haha.

I spilled dirt down my shirt, in between my toes...

Dirt even got under my nails through my garden gloves.

I planted a few more blue and white flowers, too....

forget-me-nots, columbine, alyssum, and delphinium.

And I transplanted a fern, a hosta and cut back the

spent daffodils.  I fed the hydrangea some acid, in hopes

it will keep it's blue coloring.  Hopefully it will bloom. 

I have terrible luck with that!

Garden Girl seems to approve of it all and I bet

she enjoyed the company. :)

This And That

1. Velvet knows how to spend a Friday afternoon!
2. Mr. Cardinal.  I've been watching him feed Mrs. Cardinal this week. Love is in the air.  So sweet.
3. There were a lot of spring 'firsts' this week.  No jackets, green grass, leaf buds on the trees, ...and thunderstorms, just to name a few.
4. I turned on the back porch light last night and this is what I saw. Little sick feral kitty.  I'm getting close to getting him in that carrier!  I touched his head today and got a big hiss. That's hiss...not kiss. ha.  A couple of weeks ago he didn't have the energy to hiss.  He's still sick but not as weak or starving.
5. If you like Royal Winton Chintz China, I listed a boat load of it in my shop today.  No really, a boat load! ha.

Happy Weekend!

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A Few More Homeless

It's been 3 1/2 years since I started my

 project of spaying and neutering the ferals and strays

in my neighborhood.  So far, I've taken 20 cats

 to the vet to get their shots and to get fixed since then!

I only had one new one in 2014....this handsome Slate.

But while he leads the pampered life of sleeping on faux

fur throws and leather couches, there are still a few

poor ones out there.

 I saw this one two days ago

and snapped his picture as I sat at my desk in the kitchen.

He needs a bath, some food and probably an antibiotic in his eyes.

While Slate and the others have fun romping in the snow,

they can come inside and be pampered whenever they want.

Who knows how the ferals survive, especially during this

terribly brutal winter we've had!  There wouldn't even

be any water to drink since everything is frozen.

Last night I happened to see him again, a little braver this time and

on our back porch.  He didn't run when we watched him through the

glass.  I didn't want to open the door, in case I frightened him

away.  I think he may have been wanting to spend the night 

in the chair out there with the heating pad on it!

He did peek through the cat flap as our guys peeked back!

I gave him a nice large serving of turkey breast through the

flap which he gobbled and we left him there for the night.  

Even if he doesn't decide he wants to stay, I'd love to

take him to the vet and then let him be on his way.

Maybe I should wait before naming him...it seems to

jinx them from coming back! ha.

Two more days to do an RAK!

Please come back on Friday and share!

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Every Man (Or Cat) To His Post

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Christmas Spirit

With threats from Don to come to my house in his Santa suit if I

didn't get myself in the Christmas spirit, I set that as my number one

goal today!  I had gift baskets to make and it wasn't long before I

was humming Christmas tunes!

Eating candy canes helped, too!

Since half of our house feels new with the reno last month, it didn't

feel right to pull out all the same old decorations.  And I'm in the mood

to keep things simple.  I want a few decorations but want them to

be something special.  A few things that really make a statement 

instead of lots of little things all over the house.

Since I didn't want to clutter the tree with ornaments, I

filled a large tray with them for a table centerpiece.

It makes a statement, but is low enough not to block

anyone's view across the table.

The tree didn't stay completely bare, though.

I hung my bird ornaments and crystal icicles on it.

Velvet, however, still needs a little help.

Perhaps it was when I told her that

"Not a creature was stirring...not even a mouse!"

haha.

♥

Random Thoughts

1. A flock of geese in V formation flew over the house last evening, squawking all the way! Love that.
2. We've been having those bluer than blue autumn skies so common for September in Ohio.  My favorite.  
3. I've done a few more fallish things, like buying some rusty colored mums, Honey Crisp apples and red D'Anjou pears.  And I baked my first loaf of pumpkin bread. yum.
4. My arthritis is taking it's toll on me!  Now I'm having trouble sleeping. Every time I go to get it checked the doctor says I'm too young for this!  When I see that everyone else in the waiting room is 20+ years older than me, I tend to agree!  I have another appointment next week.  My back is now bothering me more than my hands. :(
5. I also went to my regular doctor to get a spot on my back checked.  Between finding it and my appointment, I had already decided I'd opt for hats instead of wigs if I had melanoma and had to do chemo. ha.  I'm usually such an optimist, but the hair part was important and needed extra thought! Fortunately, he didn't think it was anything and didn't even want to do a biopsy.  Yay!  I'm still waiting on the blood work, which I already know will say my cholesterol is too high.  That, I can deal with. ha.
6. The boys aren't freaking out quite so bad when Slate tries to snuggle down with them when I'm putting them to bed.  Nobody is especially friendly, but they are smiling now and giggling.  When I say, "Oh, Slate loves you!  He wants to sleep with you!", they seem amused.  And when I said, "Spencer, Slate wants to lay on your tummy!" Spencer said, "No, no, no!" as he laughed.  I think that is quite an improvement!  Slate is persistent!  He loves those boys!
7. Speaking of cats, my little Grey hasn't been here in 10 days.  I'm worried!  None of the cats have ever been gone more than 5-6 days without coming back.  The ones that were gone that long never returned.  Velvet has been gone 4.  Domino had been gone 4 and came back last night, so I'm still holding out hope.
8. I enjoy looking at the Google home page and seeing the daily artwork and holding my curser over it to see the meaning.  I was surprised Sunday to see birthday wishes just for me!  How did they know? ha.  Google+, I'm guessing.

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