TRIP COMING SOON!!!

Well, I'm counting the "sleeps" till I fly to Washington to be with m
y kids  As of today, it's 26 sleeps till I get there, and 39 till I go to Jordan and Chelsea.  Very much in need of this break!!!  Here is
the last photo I have of the family.  My daughter Reenie, her husband Paul, and Eve and Ann.

Chelsea and Jordan at Christmas this past year...

SPRING!!!!!!!

What do I use as my basis to declare that Spring has sprung?  Let's see...,groundhogs are out, skunks
are out, raccoons are lurking, forsythia are blooming, daffydills survived the snow and are blooming,
tulips are almost popped, hyacinths are blooming, lilac bushes have buds...IT'S SPRING!!!!  No
the weather isn't totally stable, but it's getting there.  I always feel when the warm days out-
number the cold ones we've crossed over the line.  That is happening!  And rain, rain, rain.  So
I can officially declare that it has arrived.

Cat had his adventure in the snow, and then he did another 12- hour disappearing act, which un-
nerved me, but since then he's been very timid.  This great hunter, this feral used- to- be, is now a
total scaredy- cat.  A wuss puss so to speak.  Saturday was a very warm day.  I worked in the
studio (yes I did!) all day, with all the doors wide open.  He never ventured off the porch.  In fact
he was in the house most of the day.  I left the house door open also so he could make a choice.
He has been that way since his long day out.  He's eating, playing, and seems to be very normal,
except he won't leave the porch.  Sam's theory is that he had some type of run- in with a larger
critter that terrorized him.  This is the only thing we can figure out.  I have nothing else to go on
so it would be really stupid to go to a vet about him.  We will just wait it out.  Yes, I love him this
way.  He's way more attentive to me, and it's nice to have him around all day.  But I know this is
not who he is, so it makes me sad for him.  Sad little Remi.

I have more cleaning to do in the studio, but about 85% is finished.  I'll need to get my work

station set up for a project I'm doing for church.  I volunteered to paint Mary at the feet of Jesus

as he hangs on the cross.  I'm planning to do a simple painting, on foam board that will give the

impression but not be "painting" quality.  I'll probably do it in acrylics also.  It's for our Good Friday service at church.  I will post it when it's completed.

Well, that's it for now.  More to do online tonight.  Back later!

SPRING?????????

Woke up yesterday (Sunday) to a new 3 in. layer of snow...It was gorgeous and gone by noon.  We are hoping that was winter's last hoorah.  Today is gorgeous but in the 50's and tomorrow will be warmer.  Gives me hope!!!  The cat was finally ungrounded today.  I let him out since the snow is almost gone.  I had errands to run and when I got back he was ready to come in.  Maybe he learned his lesson..wait..he's a cat!!!  I keep forgetting that.  To be fair, he is very good at listening to me and coming when I call him.  His adventure now has him taking a cat nap.  I'm anxious for Spring but not for all the clean up work.  I noticed the tulips are still alive and may put up new buds.  Can't see the daffydills, they are still buried under the snow.  Sun doesn't hit them where they are.  Just hoping winter is over.  Seems the Spring allergies are popping up around me though.  Time for the meds.

"The Cat Came Back"

I'm singing that dumb song, "The cat came back, the very next day, the cat came back, I thought he was a gonner, but the cat came back."  Just a few minutes ago, after a very sad evening of little hope for ever seeing him again.  He just popped up at the front window.  Sam made a new path for him from the hole under the shed to the back porch.  Not sure if that helped, and I really don't need to know.  I only know he is home and safe and in his little bed sleeping. He is soooo grounded for the rest of the cold weather... Thank you God!!!

Our Remi Cat on An Adventure

Yesterday morning (Tues.) we were reeling from a 14 inch snow fall. Our cat, Remi was going from window to window crying to go out.  Usually he ventures onto the porch, sniffs the cold air, gets his feets cold and wet, and bolts back inside.  I let him do that to quiet him. Well, that backfired on me this time.  He went across the porch, off the end into the trench along the house to the front porch. There were foot prints in the snow on the porch, to the other end and off into the deep stuff.  He then made a body trench across our driveway, between the buried cars, through the large side yard to the shed.  He was a feral and was born under our shed. There was a huge ground hog living under there years back and he left his tunnel, which has been used by various critters, including our cat's family.  So, when he goes outside he sometimes goes in there.  So, Sam tracked his trench to the hole on the side of the shed base.  The cat had also dug it out more, as there was fresh dirt in the snow.  Sam called him and tried to get him out, with no luck. So, we left him for a bit and later tried to lure him with tuna and dried food, no luck.  Hours later the food was untouched.  I held out till dusk as it was
so very hard for me to walk in the deep snow.  Sam got me out there and I tried to coax him out with my normal squeaky love talk but nothing!!!  There was no sounds of any kind.  The snow made everything so still, we surely would have heard any sounds he made.  So, I had to spend the evening watching the window and checking the porches for him.  I got to bed at 1 am and was up every 2 hours all night checking.  This morning he reached the 24 hour time, and still no cat.  It's now 2:30 and no cat.  I spent the evening crying because the temps dropped to the teens, and he's never out in this more than an hour.  This morning I was sick to my stomach and still crying, but my dear friends have given me hope.  I recruited prayer for him and in the messages back, many assured me that they have had similar experiences with their tamed feral.  Being outside takes them back to their wild times and they become the great silent hunter again.  We plan to stamp down a path from the hole to the porch today when Sam gets home.  We also are putting more food into the hole, erecting a lean- to shield over it (more snow coming) and checking all the out buildings.  I'm sure he's in the hole because the other snow was undisturbed and would not have been if that fat cat had plowed through it.  Also, they are all sealed up and he couldn't have gotten in there.  I'm feeling a bit better now, and have gotten some hope in spite of temps dropping below 0 tonight.  He is a sweet, loving little guy and the thought of him suffering alone breaks my heart.  Will update tomorrow.

Memories to warm my heart!!

I was just doing some house cleaning of my photos and I came across some amazing ones of my kids and grand kids.  Enjoy them as I did...

Ann & her Uncle Jordan...crazy goobers!!!

Backing up a bit...Christmas 2016

I just wanted to post this photo of us from Christmas.  We are doing great on the weight loss and this is a first step photo.  Will be posting a more recent one soon.  We are both plodding along slowly. Of course, he's losing more and faster than me.  Men are so annoying with weight loss.  More later.

Where Is Spring???

We continue to experience this totally strange winter.  I truly can't remember ever having one quite so bi-polar as this one is.  We flip from 70's to freezing, sunny and warm and yesterday it snowed.  Today is gorgeous again and we're expecting more snow. Our flowers are up and blooming, bushes are budding and the poor things just don't know what to do.  We see critters who have come out of hibernation, such as skunks.  No ground hogs yet.  Sam noticed that our mole is back doing mound tunnels all over our side yard, so I guess he's awake.  I refuse to let myself truly enjoy the warm weather, as tomorrow it will be gone again.  So, we plod along.  I'm looking forward to a trip west
to see my kids, but that's not till late in April.  Spring will surely be here by then...or will it???
Fun to you all!!!