5 thing Friday - Kites, parking for Brigid, thrift shopping, books, Sugar

One day as I was sitting on the deck near sunset, I saw these three birds, obviously hunting, and swirling around above my house.  I have really been loving bird-watching back here.  I use an app that helps me identify birds by their calls.  But these birds were mostly silent.

Turns out they are Kites.

They mainly visit this area April through September.

At one point there were three of them sitting on the power lines above my backyard.  Pretty birds!  Come eat all the insects you want!  I fished my binoculars out of the hall closet so I could use them more often on the deck.  Mostly I see Bluejays, White-winged Doves, Woodpeckers, Carolina Wrens, and Cardinals.

We've had a couple of storms here that threatened hail.  So I put on my Big Girl panties, opened the garage door, folded in Brigid's rear view mirrors, and pulled her into the garage for the night.  Twice. Can I overstate how much I LOVE being able to do this?

 

Just for reference: it looked like this for years.  I will never tire of the before and after of this space.  I am most proud of myself when I see where it stands now.  I love coming out here.

I did some thrift shopping this week.  The lamp was $4, glass baking dish $3,  dress $4, framed art was $14 total (before discounts), and the books around $2 each.

I like these authors and consider them palate cleansers for the heavy hitters we have been reading in the book clubs lately.  I am very happy to have rediscovered reading for pleasure!

A little over 10 years ago we lost Sugar - she was 13 years old.  Someone recently asked me if I had a pet photo to add to the wall they are creating at work, so I sent in this one.  She was so lovely.  A quirky old lady cat, who got easily confused, and loved to scream for more wet food just after she puked what she ate.  But a sweet girl who also loved warm laps.  I won't discount owning another cat someday - but for sure I am not ready now.

Gina

5 thing Friday - Santa sack, cheeseballs, birthday boy, junk mail, Sugar

I am happy the holidays are drawing to a close.  They were fun, but also very stressful.  I am ready to wind it all down, get some projects and organizing lined up, clean my house, and get creative. 

About the only gift I got creative with was this one:  A Santa Sack filled with odds and ends for a friend from work.  I got the actual sack at The Container Store, but I could just as easily have sewn it myself.  I think I should make them for next year - they'd be cute to store things in after Christmas.

We had Cheeseball Sunday at work.  I made a French Quarter Cheeseball that was ridiculous. I took the leftovers home and it was quickly scarfed up by my peeps.  This was a definite Pinterest win!

 

We also had salami and pepperoni, dill dip, a Hawaiian style cheese ball, Cannoli Dip, veggies and crackers - all lovingly arranged under the No Food in this Area sign.  We're rebels on my shift.

 My sweet little stocking stuffer of 1998.  He turned 17 on Christmas Day. How is that possible?

He makes a fun lunch buddy.

Why do I get these magazines?  I never subscribe to them so they go directly into the trash each month, plastic wrap and all.  Seems kinda wasteful.   

 We let Sugar go the Monday after Christmas and it was the saddest thing I have had to do in a long time.  The vet and staff were so kind to us - a middle aged couple crying like babies. It was a somber end to a challenging year. We are looking forward to a clean slate New Year!

Gina

5 thing Friday - breakfast, vet, Fall decor, Coke, thankful times ahead

While trying to be more mindful of eating breakfast on my days off, here's what I enjoyed one quiet morning:

Sloppy fried eggs with a slice of cheese on toast, and coffee. A fabulous way to start the day.  I had to stop chugging the protein shakes.  I just don't think 190 calories helps my brain function well enough until lunchtime.

I took Sugar to the vet yesterday, where they tried to do a hard sell on cardiac work-up, liver enzyme tests, thyroid labs, and supportive liver meds.  No, no, no, and no.  I only brought her in to get a quick check-up and be weighed.  I spent $40 I did not budget for said cat so I am done with all that.  I will feed and care for her, but nothing more heroic is going to be done.  Plus, she was traumatized and shed about half her fur into my car.

Trying to make feel guilty over it is futile.  I'm just going to continue trying to fatten her up and let her live her natural life.  End of story.

I love the combo of blue and orange - a fresher take on Fall colors.  I set out a lot of our Fall stuff and dusted and cleaned the front rooms of the house.  Plus, I hauled the coffee table out of the garage and cleaned it up. I spent about $6, and that was on a charger for said coffee table.

 The Girl sent me proof she thinks about me from time to time. 

Come on Fall!  I'll be thankful for cooler temps and family times and holidays without knee trouble.  I promise to be more thankful and loving, too.  Hopefully, my summer of grouchy is coming to a close.

Gina

5 thing Friday - ice rags, spare room, vodka, crossstitch, Sugar

 It's been a whole week of school!  But I still have things to wrap up at the end of summer.

I signed up for this again, but this time I got smart and went to the washateria and used one of those multi-load machines. I actually wanted to sign up to do it a couple of times, even though the ice machine in the band hall was broken and I had to go a gas station to load the coolers up with ice.  Worth it for the band kids who have to practice marching on the hot blacktop.

 

Firstborn is with us for six weeks.  We literally moved The Girl out, and him in.  I'm already making plans for getting this room back on October 15th!

I said I wouldn't drink as much wine, but geez, a little vodka tonic with lime is good when it is soooo hot out! 

I got a couple things stitched from my new book.  I don't promise I won't stitch some of the naughty words.  I think it's hilarious.  I'm already planning how to frame them, or make them into pillows, etc.  I think I found my Christmas craft.

Sugar is doing much better!  I finally gave up trying to dose her with a syringe and have just been stirring the antibiotics into her wet food.  She's so excited to get canned food, she doesn't seem to notice.  Which is good, because now she needs to pack a few more pounds on.  I estimate she lost about 5 pounds - you can feel her bones when you pet her.  Time to fatten her up!

Gina

Sugar's string problem

It's been a rough few days at Camp Rustown, hence the lack of posts.  The mayhem started last Thursday morning with a loud crash that none of us could figure out the source of until Hubby went to get his shower.

Broken soap bowl in tub.  Minutes later, The Girl reported that the cat ran into her room, acting crazy, running into furniture.  And not long after that, Sugar vomited bile and about a foot long length of black embroidery floss in the front room.  I gave it a little tug, but not all of it would come out of her mouth.  Unfortunately, the piece of floss was much longer than 12 inches.  And she had swallowed the rest. 

The resulting odyssey, which included surgery and an overnight stay in a critical care facility for animals, cost us about $2200.  Money I really didn't need to spend right now with school cranking back up and car repairs on the Escape.  But it was either that, or euthanize my kitty, and I just couldn't do it.  So, on Friday evening we finally got to bring her home, made a cozy place for her to live in the bathroom, loaded her up with pain meds, and moved on to the weekend.

What else you gonna do?  

Embroidery floss must stay in a sealed container.  I really never thought she would have gotten into it, but I was expensively wrong.  I've been diligent about keeping curling ribbon out of her clutches, I just never thought my old lady cat would seek out the embroidery floss.  Moments before she got into it, she was curled up on my bed snoozing.

The vet noticed Sugar has lost a lot of weight, was dehydrated, and her white blood cell count is high.  Plus, she has a funky liver.  We will get lab results soon to find out whether all that is from an infection and we are giving her the right antibiotic.  Meanwhile, I am trying to get her to eat, so she's getting canned cat food, which she loves.  Her appetite seems to be good.

Eventually all of her fur will grow in from where she was shaved for the IV and the surgery.  And all will heal.  And I just have to hope that this was a one-time event, and we can get her back to healthy. 

(If you have a cat, hide all string!)

Gina

5 thing Friday - eggs, martini, cat, rainbow, ladies

My mother has some super laying chickens.  Some of the eggs are so big you have to worry about the chickie - OUCH.

 Remember that Bluebell slogan?  The cows think Brenham is heaven?

 Maybe chickens do, too! Or maybe they're just super spoiled and well fed.

 Jack Allens' Kitchen makes a fine Mexican Martini. We had some delish chorizo stuffed tenderloin and some barbacoa enchiladas, too.

 My kitty seems to be losing weight.  Plus, she regularly roams the kitchen looking for food bits on the floor.  She's gotten quite bold about hopping up in your face when she smells you eating something good.  And when she hears a pull tab being opened she thinks it's canned food even though I stopped serving her that over a year ago. I need to move her nap pad out of the kitchen.

On Sunday we were treated to a rainbow that went from one end of the hospital

to the other.

When we looked out of the stairwell, there it was!  looked even bigger and so vibrant.  

Mini-reunion with ladies I worked with 25 years ago.  All still beautiful and lively and fun.  How can it have been that long ago?

Gina 

5 thing Friday - happy hour, summer job, figs, a napping spot, patio

I am in favor of happy hour.  We get to leave the house and be sociable with other adults.  Plus, a good martini is not to be underrated.

 Blurry selfies notwithstanding.

Scout has a job interview with a local photography studio.  Though his forte is not portraits, he does have a working knowledge of photography as art, and that can only help him along.  I would like for him to work more hours this summer and spend less time on his computer.  Either that, or sign up for summer school.

 

The fig tree is loaded.

Apparently all it needed was monsoon-like conditions.  Hopefully I can get enough figs to make jam.  I dream of fig jam.  Every summer. This might be my lucky summer!

I gave up trying to move the futon out to the garage and Sugar was not going to stop planting herself on it.  Compromise:  lay a quilt over it and let her go for it.  Sweet dreams kitty.

The back patio is in a terrible state.  I have a list as long as my arm of things I need to get done in the inside of the house, so the outside is only going to get cleaned.  But this patchwork of deck, concrete, and pavers is making me sad.  I envision a patio with no deck rail!  It would also be great to get the fence replaced, more topsoil and grass added and some general landscaping done. It's going to take time and money, but bring on summer!

Gina

My elderly cat

Sugar is 11 now. (We think. We aren't really sure)  She's starting to become such an old lady cat. She groans.  She cries for food when her dish has food in it.  She eats lint off the floor.  And every now and then, a sound or something in the yard will spook her and she runs through the house, fat flapping.  But she is very good with her litter pan.  And we love her.

She does more laying around than anything else.  This is where I find her when I pass through the bedroom.  Since my bedroom is where she is most of the time, it gets the brunt of it when she decides to puke. 

 She is very loyal and affectionate though, so I forgive her.   And at night, she is never far from me.  She will do these sweet little purr meows and roll over for a belly pet.

 

 

When I walk out of the room, she will jump up and leave, too. If I am sitting at my desk, she will wind her self around my legs for a minute or two.  I think mainly she is hoping a treat will appear.

Then she will wander off, usually back to the furthest part of the house, and cry pitifully like she thought she was suddenly alone.

I always call her back in - I don't want her to feel afraid. 

Because she's a sweet old girl.

Gina