What Happened to Spring?

 

I’m still here!  There is certainly no danger of me posting too often.  However, I do sometimes get sidetracked by other things going on.  Maybe someday I will learn to blog more regularly!

Back to Spring.  What happened to it?  A week or two ago we had a few Spring days and I actually got some yard work done and even mowed the grass.  Our Redbud tree bloomed beautifully and I had all the windows open in the house.  Open windows always make our cats happy and me too for that matter. 

Redbud Tree on 4-19-21

Then we suddenly went back into nights below freezing and this past Tuesday we woke up to two inches of snow.  I have heard from so many friends from many different areas that have also had Spring snows this year.  My main concern is that we could go from Winter straight into Summer and miss out on those wonderful Spring days.  We’ve done that a lot here and our Summers can get really hot.  I’m not complaining though because I do love the changing of the seasons! 

Redbud Tree with snow on 4-20-21
(Sorry for the bad picture, it was taken through the window screen.)

 

Tom and I have managed to stay busy indoors.  We had a ceiling fan that stopped working and was not able to be repaired.  We have always been do-it-yourselfers so we bought a new ceiling fan with a light and decided to replace it ourselves.  We first had to take the old one down and then install the new one.  Tom is still having trouble with his balance and it is unsafe for him to do much climbing, so guess who did the work?  Yep, I did most of it myself!  I did have some help and direction from Tom but I got the old one down and the new one up mostly by myself.  Tom did get the main motor of the fan attached to the ceiling because it was too heavy for me to hold over my head.  I got all the blades attached and the light kit installed.  I was kind of proud of myself! 

Last weekend I went over to my youngest son’s house to help him put up some new drapes in two rooms.  Sean is a single guy and has never been that good with things like drapes, so I helped him out.  It was also nice to get to visit with him too.  I think I’ve done my share of home installation projects for a bit now!

That is what has been going on here recently.  I heard our weather man say next week our temps might get into the 80’s F so that could be Summer coming!  I hope everyone is well and happy.  Take care! 

Sophie & Zeus say Hi!                          

Sophie

Zeus

 

Santa Bus and a Chair for Christmas

 

Christmas is finding its way here even though I am slow at getting started on my holiday preparations.  It seems like each year there is a moment when I look at the calendar and feel a bit of a shock realizing just how soon Christmas will be upon us.  I know all too well how quickly even three weeks can speed by!

Today was Santa Bus Day for our neighborhood.  Our small town has a wonderful tradition of having Santa Claus travel each street in town to visit with the children.  Santa travels in a Christmas decorated bus and is led by a police car with the siren occasionally going to let the children know that he is almost to their house.  He gives the children small treats and they get their picture taken with him.  Usually, the kids go on the bus to see Santa but this year they have had to change that due to covid.  Santa steps off the bus and visits with the children.  I guess I am a child at heart because even though it has been many years since we’ve had little ones here, I still love to watch the Santa Bus come.  Actually, our two cats get excited about all the activity surrounding the bus coming and always run to a window to watch!

Zeus and Sophie watching the Santa Bus

Christmas came early for my husband Tom yesterday.  He has badly needed a new recliner as his old one was not working properly and was even potentially unsafe for him since he has had balance and walking problems.  Good recliners are fairly expensive and a new one was not in our budget just yet.  When I mentioned it to Chris (our son) and his wife Kristi they suggested that we all go in together to get him a chair for Christmas. They are both so sweet!  We luckily found a great sale on one the Monday after Thanksgiving and it was delivered yesterday.  Tom loves it and I feel better that this one is not going to pose a tripping risk for him as the old one did.

Tom and his new chair

We managed to get our Christmas tree up a few days ago but I still have to decorate it.  I hope to work on that this afternoon and evening.  Since we have cats, they always manage to find fun ways to enjoy the tree!  I didn’t get a picture of them in the tree this year yet but here are a few from previous years.

No, they have never knocked the tree over.  We attach it to a wide and heavy base that keeps it upright.  Once we get it decorated we do discourage them from climbing it but invariably we will catch them in it once in awhile!  

I hope everyone has a good week!

I’m Thankful for Our Cats!

 

                                                              

Sophie and Zeus

We have had a lot of ups and downs the past month or two but through it all one thing remains steady for us – our two sweet cats!  Those of you that have pets of any kind will understand my feeling I’m sure.  No matter what happens your sweet, furry family members are there for you, accept you and will never judge you.  Pure unconditional love.                                                               

When I'm at the computer Sophie holds my arm and
sleeps with her head in my hand. 

Sophie and Zeus are always near us offering love and cuddles or entertaining us with their playful antics.  If we do have to leave the house, they meet us at the door when we return.  They follow one or both of us around and generally prefer that Tom and I are in the same room.  If I’m in the back of the house on the computer and Tom is in the living room, Zeus will cry at me and try to get me to follow him back into the room with Tom.  When we are both in the same room, they will settle down to a nap nearby or in our laps or play with toys near us.  They instinctively know when we are sick or sad and they stay close and comfort us. 

Tom’s health problems have continued.  I took him to both his cardiologist and our family doctor last week.  His heart, thankfully, seems to be doing okay but he has been hit with some kind of severe dizziness problem and is very unsteady on his feet.  The doctor did not see an ear infection but gave him antibiotics in case it was too deep to be seen.  Tom did suddenly lose his hearing in one ear at the same time this started so that could be part of the problem.  He’s never had this type of vertigo situation in the past.  So, for now he has to stay in one place and try to not move around much.  I’ve been trying to take care of him and still catch up on a lot of things around the house that I have neglected.  It has not helped that I am still having trouble with the high blood pressure, but I will see the doctor Tuesday.  After that, we have to find a new family doctor as our regular one is retiring next week.  We’ve seen him for over forty years and I hate to lose him but I am happy for him to finally get a break.   

I don’t mean to just write about health problems.  Things will sort themselves out eventually I’m sure.  It’s all part of life and getting older.  But anytime we do have problems like this it always reminds me of how grateful I am to have our two cats, Sophie and Zeus!  They are always there for us.  If you have any wonderful furry family members give them a little extra love because I’m sure they are there for you in the good and the bad times.   

                                                              

They even help me when I'm sewing.

A Cloudy, Rainy Week

After some beautiful weather last week we have had a long string of dark, rainy days this week.  It is helping to make everything green so there is a bright side to it. 

I received this picture from my brother the other day.  It made me want to rearrange all my books into various sentences and phrases!  If you are really bored during this lockdown you could try this:

I resisted the temptation to play with my books and instead decided to make some cookies.  I like to bake but don't do it too often because I also like to eat what I bake!  Tom had been wanting some homemade cookies so I made a batch of oatmeal cookies.  I figured if we are going to take in extra calories it should contain something healthy - right?  In fact you might even say oatmeal cookies are a health food!  Okay, sort of healthy with all that oatmeal.

 

I did get a little sewing done this week.  I finished making a couple of masks for my youngest son, Sean.  He lives alone and, luckily, has been able to work from home since the pandemic started.  However, they are starting to open up some businesses here and some of them require masks for you to enter.

That is about all that has been going on around here recently.  These dark, rainy days seem to slow things down a bit but they are great for reading and napping.  Sophie and Zeus have taken full advantage of the napping side of things as you can see in this picture of Zeus.  He has his very own cat quilt and he loves to crawl under it for a nice long nap.

Zeus under his quilt

I promise you, our cats are not spoiled, much.  Everyone take care!

The Internet Sure Comes in Handy

I have always appreciated the many things we are able to take care of using the internet.  It saves money in reducing the amount of gas usage for the car, stamps for letters and most of all it saves the time it used to take to complete certain types of business that you can now do online.

Since many of us have suddenly found ourselves in the situation of staying home at least part, if not most of our time, we can really make use of the many advantages of the internet.

I had several things I needed to get done today and I was able to get all of them taken care of on my computer.

1. Pay Bills - I admit this is not my favorite thing to do but it must be done. It is much faster and easier to handle this online through my online bank account.  
2. Personal Property Declaration - For those of you not in the states, we have to fill this out each year for tax purposes.  Basically it states what vehicles you own.  Oh yes, Uncle Sam has to get his cut of our money for everything!  And yes, this was supposed to be done by March 1st but the deadline has been extended.  I was able to do this online.
3. 2020 Census - Every four years in the U.S. the census is taken to update the number of people in the country.  In past years it was done on a form you had to fill out and mail in or sometimes a person would even come to your door.  This year we received a letter in the mail and was able to use a number given to us online to fill out the form for our household.  Quick and easy, I didn't have to leave the house.
4. Birthday shopping - My youngest son, Sean has a birthday this month. Many stores are closed now and I didn't want to go out anyway.  I was able to order his gift online and it will be here just in time for his special day.

It was nice to be able to get all these jobs taken care of here at my computer in a fairly short amount of time.  There are many other things that most of us take care of online these days as well.  This online ability is proving so much more important now with all the restrictions due to the coronavirus.  Both my sons and my daughter-in-law are able to work from home.  Many children around the world are now or soon will be attending school at home on computers.  

In my mind there is something equally important the internet provides for us.  That is the ability to have contact with one another no matter where we live or if we leave our homes or not.  I value that contact, especially now!

And because this is a boring post with no pictures I'll add a photo of my cats when they were kittens.  Hopefully it will give a smile or two.

Zeus and Sophie

Please take care everyone! 

A Legacy – part two

After I made the small quilt for my granddaughter, I knew I had to take the leap and make a bed size quilt.  I had seen pictures of “I Spy” quilts for children and they looked like fun quilts to make.  These quilts contain a collection of colorful pictures of items that children might like.  Also, you could play a variety of “I Spy” games with these quilts.  I made two of these quilts, one for Gavin, my grandson and one for Annika, my granddaughter.  On each quilt I put two of each picture in random places so they could play match games in addition to the “I Spy” games.  While these were much larger quilts they were not quite as large as one made for an adult would be.  I was able to learn, when making these, that I could handle a larger quilt on my sewing machine!

Annika's I Spy Quilt

Gavin's I Spy Quilt

One of the next quilts I made was for my brother, Jerry.  He had been diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma (a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma).  He had been going through many different types of chemo and even a stem cell transplant.  It was important to me to make him a quilt.  He was able to use and enjoy his quilt for three years before he died.  I have always hoped he felt the love that I put into it.

Charlie's Quilt

Jerry's Quilt

   

I also made a quilt for my other brother, Charlie.  He has retired in Costa Rica now but luckily, I was able to take it to him while he still lived in Nashville.

The next quilts I made were for my son, Sean and for my other son and his wife, Chris and Kristi.

Chris and Kristi's Quilt

Sean's Quilt

                                                         

Most recently I decided to make more grown up quilts for my grandchildren Annika and Gavin.  (they are now 23 and 17)

Gavin's Quilt

Annika's Quilt

                                                                    

In between all of these I made a few wall hangings, runners and a variety of other items.

Chris and Kristi's Home Wall Hanging

Sean's Guitar Wall Hanging

With the exception of a couple of small cat quilts (yes, made for my cats!) all the
quilts I’ve made have been for loved ones.  After all, that was always my original goal.  I have not yet made one for my husband and myself.  Hopefully that will change this year as I hope to make one for us.

If you have stayed with me through both of these quilt posts - thank you!  I do realize not everyone is interested in things like this but it is part of who I am and I wanted to share that with my friends in blog land because you are all important to me! 

Oh, I also wanted to show you that I always have special helpers when I sew!

Echo, a special cat helper

Willow, another special cat helper

                                                    

         

The Gift

When I woke up this morning, I realized there was a small, stuffed, toy mouse next to me.  Not just any mouse mind you but my cat Zeus’s favorite toy, affectionately known as Mousey.  I’ve had a cold and sinus infection the past week and have been coughing a lot in the night.  This was his offering to help me feel better, and it did as it put a smile on my face and love in my heart.

Zeus and Mousey

This little mouse has a bit of history.  We adopted our cats Sophie and Zeus from Wayside Waifs, an animal rescue center, four years ago this month.  This toy came with them from the rescue center and has always been a favorite.

Sophie and Zeus were four years old this past November and are brother and sister.  Tom and I have always been cat people and when our last two cats passed, we had simply not been able to adjust to life without cats.  Tom had a dream that we adopted two cats and one was named Zeus.  He described this kitten to me and I could not get it out of my mind.  Finally, we decided to go to the rescue center and look.  Sure enough we saw a couple of eight-week-old kittens that looked just like the cat in his dream.  Yes, the rest is history.  They are most definitely part of our family.  We have had many cats and each one has a distinct personality.  These two are no different and each one is special in it’s own way.  

Sophie and Zeus

  

“A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.” – Ernest Hemingway