Cats, Get Another Hobby

I am deep in the planning stages of a socko book. Years of notes have been catalogued, dated, and otherwise made ready for the next step, the actual putting together of the book.

Apparently the sun's rays are perfect on the desk top for a lengthy and toasty siesta.

Max and Harry are not impressed when I order them to leave.

Is it possible I am stalling?

Hey, I'm Venerable

This is Aw. Steve met her on his travels in Thailand; eventually they became friends, then travel companions and now she's here with him, testing out Canadian winter. So far so good and believe me, she has been tested.
Snow, freezing rain, drifting, white-outs, the works.

There are some traditions in Thailand that vary somewhat from here and in my case, it's good to be older.

I get out of the car and she rushes to help me. I am perfectly capable but it would be shocking for me to ruffle a muscle.

Parcels--I can't carry one.Apparently it shows a shocking lack of respect. She takes them from me in case my arm collapses from the weight of a tube of toothpaste.

I recall vividly the horror on her face when I handed her a plate of food at a buffet dinner. I thought she would faint from the humiliation--that plate became my plate once I was hurriedly escorted to the most comfortable chair in the room.

Don't get the idea that she is meek and subservient--no way. she has a strong mind and sense of values.

I love this tradition and about Aw--what's not to love?

A glimmer of Summer

See these spindly little sticks in the basement light stand?

Well, these puppies are the geraniums I uprooted last fall and stashed in a dark basement corner.

Now it's time for them to strut their stuff, or at least put down some serious roots and then swing into summer action.

They take the sting out of last night's snowfall that left the deck looking,well, snowed under.


The front looks rather lovely in a sordid winter sort of way.

No matter, people, the geraniums are a hint of better days to come. We won't even think of intense heat or drought--this is my dream.

Just another ton of snow and then we'll be done with winter.

Please.

My Eden

The snow plow dumped the equivalent of several igloos on my driveway and I am marooned.

The only thing left to do is dream of past summers until I am rescued,if ever, so I'll think of the August day I moved into this house three years ago.

That first morning I didn't stop to locate the kettle in all that muddle; instead I threaded my way through a zillion packing cases until I found the sliders to the deck.

It isn't often that you have a palette as blank as this one. It was heavenly.



My daughter arrived with a car-full of plants carefully thinned out of the old garden. We concentrated on the strip closest to the barracks, er, house. I marked out the shaping of the beds and she dug them then and there.

Now it looks like this, or it will when summer comes.





No fair laughing at the bird feeder on the post. I adapted.

Hey, I Have an Idea

You know how it is on winter days.
The house-bound mind searches for ways to keep others busy, especially when one's carpenter son drops by and really doesn't need the aggravation.

"Stevie," I said-- okay I wheedled, "would you mind just chopping a little hole in this wall between the kitchen and the garage? I want a nice little cubby to store all my small appliances".

Luckily for me, Steve likes chopping holes in walls.All carpenters and firemen do.
Once he got over the idea my appliances were mouse-sized he really opened up that sucker and here he is looking out from the kitchen into the garage. it was bitterly cold outside and I assured him he was lucky to be working indoors. Sort of.

So a couple of days later I have my nice new cubby.

And Steve found himself insulating part of the garage to keep the cubby warm and under code. Then while he was here anyway, he fixed the downstairs shower and painted three rooms and one ceiling.
Tomorrow he is going to a job that pays him and he should be safe from my winter thoughts.

the Storm

We weren't hit as hard as other areas but we got our share.