Shhhh

They are sleeping - really!

Sorry that I haven't posted pictures of the new kittens sooner. I counted today, and we have 28 million pictures of the new kittens. Only one of them is not cute. I will post the other 27,999,999 pictures on another day.

Paul and the kittens are really bonding - they are "brothas from anotha motha." Even though, they add more work for me, we can't imagine not having them in our lives. They are filling a baby void for me

Angel is Abbie's cat - he is white with peach points.

Little Man is my cat - he is solid black with multiple toes. I'll try to post a toe picture tomorrow. From behind, he looks like he is Batman - it really looks like he has on the batsuit - there's just something about the shape of his ears.

"Well Crap!"* times 2 or 3

*That phrase has come out of my mouth several times lately.

First, we had a big, big thunder and lightning storm - which is always a thrill for me. I just like 'em, especially if I am safe at home. I actually saw the neighbor's house get hit by lightning (but I didn't know that was what I was seeing at the time). The lightning hit their chimney and caused the brick to crumble and their electrical box got sizzled. Our power was out until 10 pm. Using candles can be fun!

While looking for our emergency supplies (most are in one location, but some were not where they were supposed to be...), we found a water leak in our downstairs bathroom, under the sink. It's been leaking for some time. Well, crap!

The next day, I discovered that my beautiful new corn was mostly laying over sideways. I stopped short as soon as I saw it, and said, "Aw, crap!" Luckily, I've saved it. I held those boys up and squished the mud down around the stalks as tight as I could. Later when they started listing to the side again, I added a rock to the bottom of the stalks. It's all good now!

Day 2 after the storm, we discovered that we couldn't get the internet going. After troubleshooting with our cable provider, Paul determined that our cable modem got zapped during the storm. We have all the computer cables and whatnot attached to a surge protector----everything except the modem cable ---that's how it got zapped but not the computer. Paul replaced the modem (and got some sort of surge protector for it) and everything is spiffy again.

Today, as I was hurrying home, I passed a motorcycle cop who "chirped me" as he passed me, did a u-turn, and pulled in behind me and started his blue lights. "Well, crap!" I said (and Abbie can confirm this). I got a ticket for going 51 in a 30. It would be almost impossible to go 30 in this area where I got the ticket. I'm pretty sure it is a speed trap. Paul just got a speeding ticket several weeks ago. I guess it was just our time. Neither of us has had a ticket in several years. It was educational for Abbie to see this process - that's my positive spin on this. Paul says the police are giving all these tickets to bankroll the rise in gas prices. Whatever. Now I am paranoid that I might get another one and have to go to an 8 hour driving school. I also did not have my current proof of insurance with me, but he didn't give me a hard time about that, thank goodness!

20 Year Reunion and Another Reunion

I---had---a---blast---at---my---reunion! I had to struggle remembering a few people's names, but I think I remembered 90% of the people. One thing that I thought was interesting: a lot of people looked even better than they did in high school. I think maturing and becoming an adult and learning more about social skills and fashion helped some people morph out of their mousey-ness. Hopefully, I can include myself in that category.
Before I arrived, I had butterflies in my stomach. It felt like the first day of school which was always my most shy day. Something about being away all summer made me worry so much about the first day....would I wear the right thing, would anyone talk to me, who would I sit next to in class.
Once I got there, I relaxed a lot because there were so many friendly people to talk to and sit with. But I still had butterflies. The one person I was hoping to see I had not seen in almost 20 years, and we had not parted amicably. But a week before the reunion, I emailed her and told her I was looking forward to seeing her, and I said I was sorry for not being a better friend.
She and her twin sister arrived late so I was out of sorts until they got there because I still wasn't sure if "it was all water under the bridge" or not.
The picture above (taken unbeknownst to me) was of our own reunion. And it was great! In some ways, it was like nothing had changed, but of course, we had a lot to catch up on. I'm not sure how often we will see each other, but I'm really pleased with the time I got to spend with her.
In my case, my closest friends from school are the ones that know my whole life story, that can finish a sentence that I start, that know all the inside jokes, that can say "remember when...." And because these people have been out of my life all these years, I've kind of had a hole; a piece of me missing. Oh, that's getting way too deep isn't it?
Too bad you can't see me better in my dress! I was having a good hair day and everything! And the shoes were smokin'!!!!!

Going to the Prom

I went to the Senior Prom in 1988 and it was my first prom. I shopped forever for a dress. Tried on many. Went to several different towns, stores, and malls. My mom finally had to drive me to Knoxville, and I found a great emerald green dress there. I loved that dress. I wore a pair of shoes that I already had. I did my own hair - long and loose with a little curl. Can't remember the earrings. No necklace. I don't think I painted my toenails or fingernails. I had a great time at the prom and danced a lot without my shoes on.
Fast forward 20 years. I am going to my 20 year reunion, and I have run myself ragged!!!! There's not enough explamation points to emphasize it. And there is not enough good things I can say about my daughter who has weathered all my shopping with no complaints. Am I grooming her?
I thought I would diet for a month or so and lose 10 pounds. Didn't happen.
But I did get rid of my grey hair this week and refreshed my highlights. I shopped at numerous stores over several days and found the perfect dress at the last store (where I didn't think I would like anything). I have looked at and tried on numerous pairs of shoes and found the perfect pair today at Sears!
I ordered a new purse but sent it back. I had something waxed (no hints). I got a pedicure today and washed my car. I borrowed a bracelet from my wonderful niece, Shanna. I'm using the same black satin evening bag I always use. I'm wearing earrings I already had. The dress needs no necklace. Oh, and before I found the perfect dress, I bought 2 other possible dresses, but returned them after I found the ONE. I am pooped and tired of all this running around.
But just so ya know - I have not gone over the top with anything. My dress was on sale for $50 (50% off with an extra 20% off). Shoes from Sears, nuff said! I needed a pedicure anyway. The hair appointment was my regularly scheduled one. And the dress is very normal - no sequins, no boof, no fluff. I'm not trying to impress anyone (except maybe Paul). I'm just hoping I can remember everyone's name!

My Garden

Drum roll..............oh, wait, I don't have any pictures to post yet. But I will give an update and post pictures after this weekend.

I planted 10-12 corn plants. I wanted to go easy on my first crop, and I know my freezer has limited space. I want to eat some fresh corn, but I want to cut most of it off the cob and freeze it for the winter. I planted 3 corn varieties. The corn plants started coming up really nice (I did some jumping up and down with gleeful cries - oh yes, I did!) and then the big bad wolf came and blew them down. Wait, wrong story. A bad man who was in a hurry cut down my corn with his weed eater. I sank to my knees and was like "WTF?!" Then I called 911 (my mom AND my sister) to get their opinions on whether I had to replant or not. My mom said yes, my sister said probably not. So I left the little sawed off stalks and planted a new corn plant right beside of it. My mom said that if both plants lived then I could just pull up the smallest, youngest plant. The big bad wolf didn't win. The corn plants lived and the new ones came up too. And since I can't kill anything (except ticks and flies), I cannot bring myself to pull up the little, new corn plants. They are all growing happily together. I love the little garden plot that Paul made for me, but I realize now that it gets more shade than we thought. I think the corn might be bigger if it were getting more sun. I'm not using any pesticide, but I have used a "miracle grow" type substance (that is actually years old and I'm not sure how effective it is).
Recently, Abbie and I took a pencil outside, and I showed Abbie what to do. She used the pencil to poke a 2 inch hole near each corn plant then she put a bean (green bean) into each hole, pushed it down and covered with soil. She loved doing this! Today, we discovered that the beans are sprouting. They will grow up the corn stalk so they will not need to be staked. This is how the Native Americans did it.
I have one tomato plant growing upside down in a cat litter pail. It is growing very well, but it needs to be watered just about everyday. I forgot to water it for a couple of days and the leaves shriveled and some of the tiny tomatoes began to wrinkle. I panicked a little, but with careful attention, the plant is back to normal.
And they all lived happily ever after. The end!
At the end of August, I will be planting a crop of beets, spinach, and carrots. I've never grown these, but I know where I am going to plant them - in a sunnier patch.

Lego Star Wars, The Complete Saga, Nintendo Wii

Tonight, Paul was playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii while I surfed the internet. I was watching him play and could tell that he was frustrated with one of the levels - he couldn't find a "blue mini kit" that was essential to completing the level.
I noticed that his character (he has many to choose from) was General Grievous. This character, as Lego people go, is creepy. He kind of looks like a skeleton droid. And, of course, he is a bad guy.
I said, "Why do you want to be THAT guy?"
He said, "Let me show you." Then he pressed a button and the dude whipped out 4 light sabers. Then he showed me his moves while working all 4 light sabers.

Updates

1. The kittens are getting along fine. Baby even tolerates them. Abbie's kitten is named Angel. I named mine Foster (long story) then changed it to Little Man (because Paul heard me call him that and he liked it). I have had a really tough time naming him. I am BIG on naming stuff (and I always give my pets real names) so the fact that I have named him Little Man is weird.
2. My vision since Lasik surgery has stabilized. I LOVE that I had the surgery done. Never take your vision for granted. I love that I can see clearly when I wake up in the morning.
3. My kitten has an upper respiratory infection. He is snotty and stuffed up. Never seen a cat/kitten with this before. He started antibiotics today. It is sad to see a kitten not be able to breathe out of it's nose.
4. Abbie is going to Bible school with a neighbor this week. She is gone for 3 hours each night.
5. Abbie is having a friend sleep over tonight.
6. I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday. I bought a pretty red daylily that I will plant soon. I also bought corn, squash, hot red pepper jelly, and half runner green beans. I tend to buy from several vendors - just to spread the money around otherwise I feel guilty (I am so weird). The last vendors I went to - none of them had teeth, the man was just putting a big chew of tobacco in as I approached, they told me where they are set up the other days of the week, they were very nice. I plan to shop with them again.
7. I have 2 sleeping kittens on my lap (looks like yin and yang).
8. I am sitting in a chair with a view of the front door, waiting for Abbie to get home (and her friend). We are going to do a craft project when they get here if I can distract them from playing with the kittens non-stop.

We are idiots

My third post today.
We spent the Fourth of July with my family at Horse Creek. My mom and stepdad were camping along with my brother and his family.
We knew that fireworks were not allowed in the park, but we brought along sparklers for the kids. But some things bring out the kid in me (sparklers, animals, ice cream trucks,...) so I had to have my share of sparkler fun too. A little later in the evening, my brother said, "You think it would be okay to light the "frog?" When you light it, it's eyes and mouth light up and glow and it shoots sparks out. That should be okay, right? What do you think, Paul?"
Paul hemmed and hawed and said he didn't know. Then I, the redneck sister, said, "Surely it would be okay." Then Paul and Craig tried to find the right spot for it so be sure no sparks were thrown on the camper canopy or trees. No one put up any resistance to lighting the "frog."
Oooooo! It's eyes and mouth did glow! It did shoot up some sparks....at first. Then it popped and banged and shot up big sparks high into the air.....then it did it some more....and some more. I knew right away that we were going to get in trouble. As soon as it finished, we all sat down and acted like civilized folks - not the kind that would shoot fireworks in a national park. About 5 minutes later, the camping attendent showed up and handed out the rules, but luckily, not a ticket. I asked my stepdad if the rules said anything about redneck sisters egging their brother on.
Last night, July 5, we shot our own fireworks at home. We live in the county and do not have restrictions on fireworks. Many neighbors shot them on the July 4th and 5th. Along with all the other cautionary blurbs on the fireworks (such as "explosive device"..."do not hold in hand"..."flameable") there should also be the following warning: "Anyone who touches this incendiary device will lose all rational, intelligent thought and will make stupid decisions and will likely act like a redneck fool."
We only bought a few fireworks, and with little knowledge, the ones I picked were the best, in my opinion. There were these things called Ladybugs - they spun around, glowed, threw sparks, and shot up high and sparked some more. There were only 3 in the box, and I wish had bought more. We had 3 neon sparklers. Cool but they smoked a lot. Paul chose some rockets that were a little better and larger than bottle rockets. However, we didn't have a proper bottle to hold them upright so sometimes they shot up in a wonky direction. I have had bad experiences with bottle rockets so Abbie and I stood inside the garage door and peeked around the corner until we were sure where the rocket was headed (hopefully not at our heads) then we would hurry outside to watch it explode in the sky. Then I pulled out a little package of Zips. There were about 6 in the pack. The description said that they spun and sparked. No big deal, right? About 2 were duds. The good ones spun really fast then made a zzzzzerrrrrmmmmm noise as they shot into the air. Paul wanted to light two at one time, but I protested saying that might cause them to spin into each other and then we wouldn't know which way they would zoom. So he lit the last 2 one at a time. Since these little guys were unpredictable, Abbie and I again hid in the garage and peeked around the corner. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I AM A WUSS!
The last Zip decided to "zip" into the garage -----past me and Abbie ---- into the house----right past the gas can ----- near the lawn mower ----right past Paul's Z ----in a location near other gaseous devices and containers. Luckily, we are alive and unburnt.

Mimosa Tree

Another post about trees and a trip down memory lane.
Mimosa trees are currently in bloom. I love these trees and would love to have one in my yard. These are plentiful by the roadsides. I'd love to just pull one up and bring it home.
My grandmother (my dad's mom) had one in her yard. Growing up, I visited her pretty much every week (that's where my dad lived when my parents divorced and he still lives in this house today-he bought it from my grandparents). I would climb this tree all the time. There was a specific spot that was particularly comfortable for lounging - where you could be off the ground and look down and around at your surroundings and watch everything going on. If my cousins were visiting, I did not like sharing my spot.
That tree is gone now - either it died of disease or got struck by lightning (I'll have to ask my dad).

Polydactyl

This is an example of what a polydactyl cat paw looks like. My new kitten has 23 toes. The back paws have 5 toes each (normally there are 4 toes on the back), one front paw has 7 toes and the other front paw has 6 toes (normally there are 4 toes on the front). My little boy has a total of seven extra toes. It is cute, but sometimes when you stare it and watch him flex his paws and extend his claws, it is a leetle bit freakish. I will post photos soon. I took some close ups of his paws, but I haven't transferred them from the camera yet.
We have had this kitten for about 24 hours, and he still doesn't have a name. I am a very picky pet namer. Paul and Abbie continually throw out names, but none of them are making the cut. By the way, he is solid black and has green eyes. Here are a few examples of names we have discussed:
Darth Meow - Paul - cute, but this is only a small maybe
Darth Kitty - Abbie - taking a cue from Paul
Devil - Paul - a big no
Red - Paul - because he is red on the inside - another big no
That's What She Said - me - trying make Paul laugh, it worked
7 Toes - Abbie
Apollo - me - because I am a big Battlestar Galactica fan
Starbuck - me - because I am a big Battlestar Galactic fan
Jury - me - a name from a favorite character from a favorite author
Shade - Paul - but he thinks that would be more appropriate for a gray cat
.....and the list goes on......
I'm taking serious name submissions so feel free to make suggestions. I'm getting lots of pressure from Paul and Abbie to name him.

Mulberries

Growing up, one of my favorite activities was picking mulberries in the summer. I don't remember if a family member introduced me to this fruit or if I just stumbled upon a tree. But I do remember that a tree was near my house (in someone else's yard). The tree was along the route I took when I walked to my best friend's house. We would stop under this tree and pick and pick and eat and eat. Our fingers would be stained as well as the bottom of my feet (I often went without shoes in the summer).
You hardly see mulberry trees. They exist, but most people don't look for them. I miss living near that tree. Another memory is that I discovered that a neighbor behind us had a mulberry tree too. The tree was very close to our backyard. How did I miss it all those years? When I finally discovered it, I climbed up the neighbor's fence and picked as many berries as I could reach. I remember stretching as far as I could and pulled the branches down so that I could gobble as many berries as possible.
Recently, I found an agricultural brochure for Greene County (where I grew up) that listed all the farms that were open to the public for various agribusiness (vegetables, llamas, goat cheese, fruit, etc). I found a listing for Middle Creek Farms - they have strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and mulberries! I called right away. Unfortunately, they don't let the public come out and pick, but they do sell the fruit fresh and in jelly form. But the man was very nice and acted like he might let me bring Abbie to pick strawberries if I turned out to be someone that could be trusted not to trample the plants. I told Abbie that she had to be on her best behavior today. This was a "try-out." I bought 5 pints of the mulberry jam (I've never had any), and we admired their large blueberry bushes.
They will let the public pick blueberries (if you get on the list) after they have fulfilled all of their commercial blueberry orders. I think we're on the list.
After that trip to their farm, my sister and I went to my dad's house. His birthday is today and he is 68! After we visited with him and cleaned his house, I went back with my sister to her house and showed her the jam that I bought. I gave her a jar, and she gave me a jar of cherry jelly that she had made. Then she said that they had a mulberry tree somewhere on their farm. I said, "Let's go!" My nieces and Abbie had never tasted a mulberry. They are much better than blackberries in my opinion. They are sweet and yummy. Not tart, there is no twang, not bitter either. Perfect! We found the tree, but we could not reach many of the branches. Luckily, a ladder was close by. Abbie enjoyed picked the berries off the limbs that we pulled down for her. I held the ladder while my tallest niece climbed up. We got about 8-10 oz of mulberries and ate them all! We plan to go back next year, maybe a week earlier.
What a find! What a trip down memory lane! Now if I just had a mulberry tree in my own yard...