from the porches

water for cats

    

Punky and Roger have found the perfect drinking faucet.  It is not the $50 cat waterer from Petco. You know.  The one with the filters you have to change and then buy more when they get clogged up with cat fur, (oh, I'd say about every two weeks).  

It is not the toilet that they love to drink from, even though I've caught them slurping out of it in the dead of night.   No.  Not either of those two easily accessible places.  These two cats love to drink from the sink at the bar behind my computer station.  This is important for these two brat cats because then they can interrupt my thoughts by wrestling behind my neck to get my attention.  Then you know who has to stop thinking, stop typing and turn the faucet on.  Thanks boys!

 Punky has that one big cloudy eye that is really eerie if you look at it the wrong way.  Sometimes it looks green in photographs.  I'm thinking maybe he has glaucoma.  And here is a warning. Be very afraid of that one pointy fang.  It's been known to puncture flesh.

    

So now we get the gum shot with the tounge and three fangs.  I think he's trying to curl his tongue, but what is that on his gum? Gross!  It's black!  Are those baby teeth?  Remind me to look in his mouth when he's sleeping tonight. 

    

And now we have an upper shot.  Fangs, teeth, tongue and gums in one fell swoop.  Wipe your mouth cat.  The water is dribbling down your chin!  His tongue reminds me of an orchid petal.  I'll check this out at Merry Jennifer's house.

    

Meanwhile Roger is patiently waiting his turn.  Look how intense he is watching Punky.  Notice the splash drop from Punky's sloppy water drinking habit.

    

Roger, what is on your nose?  It's orange.  I just realize I don't really know my boys.  I need to really study their faces better tonight while they're sleeping.    

    

Well, I'll be!  His nose is orange.  Is that really healthy in a cat?  

So now I'm off to catch up on chores after being in Gainesville for several hours.  I had lunch with Merry Jennifer and my mom (Grandmother to most folks).  Got caught up on the progress of MJ's unpacking endeavors, talked about how well Maddie did at swim lessons and how Merry Jennifer's life will be next Monday.  She has been on vacation for one month. 

flyboys

Yesterday it was way too hot to do anything other than sit and cool down.  So Truett and I watched the movie "Flyboys" on our Dish network.  This movie was about young American pilots who volunteered for the French military before the United States entered into WWI.  It brought back memories of when I was a young child and of my sister and me going to the movies on Saturday afternoon to see Roy Rogers and The Lone Ranger.  During the intermission, news reels would play showing WWII bomber planes fighting each other.  I peeked between my fingers as planes would spiral downward out of the sky or burst into flames in mid-air.   It terrified me and I would dream of fighter planes with teeth painted on them.  We had air raid drills in elementary school as well.    We crawled under tables and covered our heads with our arms.  Some of us would cry.  As a child it was hard to figure out what was going on in the world.  Still is, isn't it?

Well, we have flyboys in our own yard.  Three Ruby-throated hummingbirds chase each other away from the hummingbird feeder daily.  They are in constant air war.  Zipping.  Diving.  Circling. Chasing.  They look like tiny missles whizzing past the screened porch.  But every so often one will light on the feeder and take a drink of sweet nectar.  Seconds later the chase begins again.

    

Obviously, I am too far away  for a good photo, plus I am shooting through the porch screen wire. 

     

This photo is a tad clearer.  If you look closer you might be able to see this flyboy drinking nectar.

One summer many years ago I played around with water colors and came up with my own flyboy.  Obviously, I didn't know what color they were.

    

 So the heat index here today is 105 degrees.  I do believe the pool is my next destination after Truett gets off work.

three weeks

I have looked at my calendar and realize I have only three weeks left of summer vacation.  Yee-gads!  Why does summer vacation go so fast?   I can say, however, that this summer has been extraordinary.

I've been creating a book on www.Blurb.com of our trip to Alaska and am about ready to press the publish button as the final step in the publishing process.   After the book is published I will have a photographic record of the summer of 2008 and will not have to search through my digital photographs to remember the sights Truett and I saw on our trip.  

After viewing the digital photos last night I came across a few that I don't believe I shared on this site.

    

                       Notice the outlet above the Bridgewater Hotel sign.

    

                 Can you see the plug hanging off the rental truck we drove? 

Because the winter temperatures drop to 50 degrees below freezing in interior Alaska, residents plug their vehicles in to assure themselves that their vehicles will start. You will also find plugs in mall parking lots.  It definitely seems like a whole other world in Alaska.  One tour guide said she keeps her car engine running the whole time she is in the movie theater.   Of course I was concerned about the wasted gasoline.

    

                                 Stellar sea lions on the rocks

If you zoom in you may be able to see them clearly. 

Now I'm off to visit my mom.

getting back

What better way to get our lives back together again than by shopping at Lowes.  There was hardly any traffic on the roads and no people walking the sidewalks.  I suppose it's this heat. The weather today is hot and humid and the cicadas and crickets are humming and shrilling. A haze hovers throughout the pastures and everything seems muted. 

Today I was remembering the 70's when we had no air-conditioning and naps were essential because we were sapped of any energy.  I remember lying on my bed with the ceiling fan whirring above me and falling into deep slumbers.  Shall I say those were the good old days?  I didn't think so back then, but now I sometimes wish I could go back to those times when our children were young, when simplicity wasn't such a bad thing.

Roger and Punky have followed me around much of the day catching up on the attention they have been missing.  I just had to take photographs of Roger.

    

    

 I've bought a new book so now I intend to settle back and read, maybe nap in the chair.

nana's story

Once upon a time two little girls spent five nights together at Nana and Grandaddy's house.  When the two girls met they stared at each other and one hugged her mommy's leg and the other hugged Nana's leg. The mommy and Nana wondered if the two little girls would become friends.

Then one little girl screamed to the top of her lungs, "EEEEEEE!"  Everyone's faces froze in fear.  But that was a very good thing because it scared Happiness into the room.

Pretty soon the little girls became friends.  They played for five days.  They played "Run from the Dragon" and they chased scary witches.  They sang the ABC song and Humpty Dumpty and the older one sang the Aeriel song. "Stop it!" shouted the younger one, but the older one kept singing.  Then they sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and both little girls were very happy.

The little girls learned to share during their visit.  They shared meals of macaroni and cheese and broccoli, and of course they shared snacks.  The little girl like crackers, but the bigger girl liked cereal bars.  They even shared crayons... and best of all they shared baths.  They made their hair spiky like witches and sang and scrubbed the tub walls clean with their wash rags.  But the one thing they had trouble sharing was the color pink.

Some days the little girls went swimming in the pool.  They splashed and bounced on long noodles.  They watched clouds and birds, and once again they sang and screamed.  They learned that screaming in the pool was good, but screaming in the house was not good. 

Everyday the little girls took a long nap after watching Wonder Pets and Max and Ruby.  When the little girls took their naps the mommy and Nana collapsed in a chair or on a bed.  The mommy and Nana thought about how to make the little girls happy for the next seven hours. It gave the mommy a headache, and Nana just sat on the porch in a daze.

One afternoon Nana asked,  "Who wants to play with Play-dough?"  Both little girls jumped up and down and screamed,  "Yay!", but it was okay to scream in the house this time.  So the mommy taped wax paper on the table and brought out red, yellow, blue and green Play-dough.  The two little girls made snails and elephants and Play-dough pie.  They were very happy for one whole hour.  The mommies whispered,  "Yay!"

The last day the little girl got sick.  She layed on the floor and rubbed her tummy.  The big little girl asked,  "What's wrong?  Why isn't she playing?"  The Nana answered,  "Because she's sick."  The little girl felt better the next day, but it was time for her to leave Nana's house.  The big girl gave her a kiss good-bye.  The mommy and Nana hugged each other and the mommy said,  "Thanks for letting us stay."  Nana said,  "I loved every minute of it..and drive safely.

                                                     The End

I miss those little girls.

                  Nana

once upon a time

Here are two stories from the girls.

Maddie's story   (4 1/2 years old);

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Maddie and she had on a beautiful dress.  It was so, so, so so pretty.  And she lived in a castle.  Then a wolf came and ate her up and she died.  The End

At this point I said,  "Poor princess.  Didn't anybody come to save her from the wolf?" 

Maddie's story revised:

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Maddie and she had on a beautiful dress.  It was so so so so pretty.  And she lived in a castle.  Then a wolf came and ate her up and she died.  Then the wolf got sick and he went to the doctor and the doctor made the wolf spit her out.  The End

    

                                                       Author:  Maddie

Hadley's story  (2 1/2 years old, looking at 3 miniature bears, a plastic Indian and a clown clicker):

Once upon a time there were three bears and they were sitting on a wall.  And there was an Indian sitting on a wall.  And there was a clown sitting on the wall.  The End.

At this point I said,  "Hadley what happend after that?"

Hadley:  They fell off.  The End 

    

                                                                Author:  Hadley

And there you have it.  Two young ladies who may be famous authors one day.  The story telling elements are developing.  All it takes from adults is just a little prompting to have a narrative with a beginning, middle and end.

THE END

 

other things

Other things are happening around my house other than watching little girls play. 

    

 The crew has been working very hard in this sweltering heat and high humidity to complete a screened-in weight room/carport.  It certainly is much nicer than a prefab metal structure.

    

Even though the left side of this structure is being built as a weight room, I can forsee Truett and me sitting out there during cool weather watching winds, rains and creatures of the evening.  Clay is already saying,  "Mom, let me live there." 

"No way!"  I said, thinking there might come a time when I may just go out there to escape.  Or maybe Truett.  Or it just might be a good place for company to bed down.

    

 Of course this little cutie gets the right side of the structure all to herself.

Now here are a couple of pictures of the girls.

    

                                       Maddie at Floyd's yesterday. 

    

                                          Hadley and Maddie coloring.

But I know you haven't forgotten I have two cats.  I know you all are wondering where are they in all this playing?

    

               They are hiding from running feet and squealing little girls.

PS.  Clicking on "remove red-eye" does not remove "green eye".  Got any suggestions for me?

    

It seems today the purple Easter-egg snatching Monster has returned so there has been a lot, I mean a lot of running and squealing to ward off the monster.  Maddie wore her cat ears all day so she could protect her Easter eggs.

elvis

 I have realized over the past couple of days that playing with two sweet, beautiful girls is not just about watching and playing with them.  It is about me re-learning how to be a mommy again. A kind, patient mommy. I have wondered over the past couple of days if I could ever be a good mommy again.  Now I'm thinking maybe I could.

History:  When I had my own two children 30-35 years ago I can tell you I was a screamer.  That is simply because I was young and wanted to fulfill my dreams as well.  Now that I'm 65 (retirement age) I appreciate young mommies who are patient, soft spoken and kind.  I'm thinking it may affect my teaching style in the future.  You know, just bring it down one notch lower to a more loving, soft spoken pace.  It is really hard to break a teaching style that has taken me forty-four years to develop, thus demanding and achieving good writing scores.  I may be getting more out of this week with a toddler and a four and a-half year old than I ever expected.

We did take the girls to Floyd's Diner where we met my mother, Grandmommy, who is really the girls' great grandmother.  There they got to meet Elvis.

    

Then we came home and the girls took naps.  After that we ate cookies we got from Winn-Dixie and decided to go swimming; however, a storm came up and ruined our plans.  So the girls have played with play dough, played red light/green light and pretty soon are going to bed.  Thank you again, God.

I must show you a photograph of a really patient, kind, loving mother:  Ashley Pearl.     

Ashley is Hadley's mom and she is expecting a son in October.  She certainly is patient.  I love you Ashley.

  

mommies

Rules for relatives and friends of Mommies:

 Never never EVER call the mommies at 5:00 p.m. on the telephone and expect to get a civil conversation.  You just have to understand what it is like being a mommy all day long...everyday. I'm playing mommy to Madeline this week because she is spending the week with me and her cousin Hadley, and of course Ashley, Hadley's mommy. They are from Kentucky.

    

 Hadley is a beautiful two and one-half year old.  She likes to sing and scream.  She will just break into song or scream to the high heavens.  I finally quit jumping at the screams.  Maddie asks,  "Why is she screaming?"  I say,  "Because she's testing her voice."

Now here is Maddie, my four and one-half year old granddaughter.

 

Maddie has finally controlled her behavior and whining at four and one-half and likes to have conversation.  Her big thing is ,"Why?" (about 132 times a day). It gets pretty old trying to explain why to every question, so I end up saying,  "I don't know.  YOU tell me why." 

This is a true account of Monday with these lovely little girls:

Girls up early.  Girls eat breakfast.  Girls play in playroom.  Girls eat snacks.  It is now 9:15 a.m. so I suggest we go to the park.  "Yay!" scream the girls.  "Yay!"  scream the mommies.  So we go to the park where the girls swing and climb and slide.  "That's hot!"  the girls scream.  Yes, at 10:00 a.m. the slides are baking in the summer sun.  So we leave for the convenient store to buy more SNACKS!  "Yay!"  scream the girls.  The mommies roll their eyes.

We get home at 10:15 a.m. and the girls eat snacks.  Then they watch a "Wonder Pet" video.  I try to blog and cannot form a single solitary sentence that flows.  I feel like I've  barked all morning.  "Stop.  Come here.  Don't put that there.  How nice.  Be nice.  Would you like another snack?"

    

"Yay!"  scream the girls and then lo and behold, we glance at the clock and it's lunchtime.  "Yay!"  squeal the girls.  "Ya!" sigh the mommies.  Following lunch is a struggle to get the girls to take a nap, but they do eventually (about an hour later than they should).  Ashley is the better mommy.  She reads stories to the girls.

    

Then it is 4:00 p.m. and I'm dragging.  A little bit of,  "Mine...Me first...Share girls," and then I exclaim,  "Who wants to go swimming?"

"Yay!"  scream the girls.  "Yay!"  scream the mommies. So off to the pool we go. 

    

 When we return from the pool it is 5:30 p.m.  The girls put on dry clothes.  The mommies put on dry clothes and guess what the girls say,  "Can we have a snack?"  So we give them one cracker because we really need to feed them left-over lasagna for supper.

    

    

At last we eat our dinner and I am exhausted already.  So I decide to sit down and call my sister, Sherry.  "How's it going?"  she asks.  "Pretty good,"  I answer followed by,  "No, girls you cannot ride that tricycle through the bedroom door.  Go over there," and I point to the far end of the porch.  "I'll talk to you later, Sherry,"  I say and she knows a meaningful conversation may be forthcoming as late as Saturday.

Minutes later the girls race through my house carrying baskets piled with plastic easter eggs, screaming,  "Hurry!  The dragon will get our Easter Eggs!"  They hide under couch pillows and blankets and squeal ,"The dragon will get us!"  The chase by the purple dragon lasts a good forty-five minutes after which I say excitedly,  "Who wants to take a bath?"

"Yay!"  scream the girls.  "Yay!"  scream the mommies.  So the girls bathe together followed by a thirty minute video called,  "The Letter Factory."  Ashley (the other mommy) heads for the shower and I watch the girls.  About ten minutes into the movie, I realize I am the only one shouting out the sounds of the letters.  "Buh..Buh..Balloon!"  I throw my hands up and realize enough is enough.  The girls finish the movie and kiss good-night and fall sound asleep in their own beds.  "Yay!" shout the mommies.

    

"Yay!" shouts Truett.

 

stuck

Five things keeping me from producing a terrific post on my blog today:

1.  I'm at a loss of something to post about.

2.  I cannot keep focused to write anything.  

 3.  I cannot think of anything interesting or amusing to write about.

4.  I am in a glump because my mind feels scattered.

5.  I would feel okay about not blogging today, but some people wonder,  "Why isn't she posting?"     Therefore I feel a responsibility to those who read my site.

So now that you know that and the fact that I got something written, how about an Alaskan prickly rose?

    

    

This prickly rose bush is covered with millions of tiny sharp thorns!  They are common around Fairbanks. Athabascan Indians create beadwork of the prickly rose on clothing, moccasins, and thick leather gloves.etc. It is like their insignia for being Athabascan.