Summer is here... kittens, kits, and custard pie

blueberry strawberry custard pie

It's Tuesday and I've been wanting to make a custard pie for the last few days. Decided to add some fresh blueberries and strawberries I just happen to have on hand... could have used more, but will know next time. Tasted it a few minutes ago... not quite chilled enough yet... but good! DH and I will have some for tea at 4.

Update on Rose: Rose had her staples taken out and is doing fine. In fact, she's doing great. We think she found a 10th life and is cashing in on it. She wasn't happy having to go back to the Vet's, but she did OK. They had to muzzle her as she will bite, but outside of a little growling, behaved well. They also said that they had her birthday down in the chart as June 17, 1994... and told us that she is their oldest cat client.

We've also had quite a lot of visitors to our yard lately. Here's a few pics:

mama cat and her 5 kittens

mama coon a kits

This wasn't the old coon that comes to our back door. She was there too, but this was another younger mom and her kits.

They (feral cats and raccoons) all look healthy. We do put out diatomaceous earth around the area to hopefully help them keep off fleas, etc.  And of course there's always fresh water available and a fan on the porch to lie under. And the raccoon babies play with the cat toys just like the kittens. They all love the ring with the ball inside as well as catnip mice, etc.

BTW, my daughter just sent me a iPhone message with this pic saying "I found you a shirt"...

Yep!... and I like rocks too!  Someone recently wrote a blog about what it may be to be "normal". Well, I'm not sure that any of us are. We're all a bit eccentric. Don't you think?

Tux in his happy place

Question???

This may be showing my technology ineptness, but is there a way to go to blogger and actually search for *specific sites*... like those having to do with retirement or cooking, etc.?? 

Now when I go to blogger.com, it takes me directly to my blogs and the blogs I follow.

What I would like to do is just search for *blogs about ??* Does anyone know if this is possible?

such as it is...

PBS series "Pie in the Sky"

Almost finished watching the "Pie in the Sky" PBS series on DVD. Love Henry Crabbe - the chef/detective! 

These DVD's (previous to this was the Downton Abbey series) have kept me sane when there's nothing but re-runs (for the most part) on TV lately.  Of course it has given me more time to work on my de-cluttering the computer room. I've actually gotten past the desk, bed, and small shelf and cleared 3 of the 4 high shelves on the back wall. Once this is done, I will "ENTER THE OMINOUS CLOSET" where there are probably 20 + years of paperwork and junk to go through. (I'm not a hoarder, but this closet probably comes close) 

And I'm trying to be lean and mean... throwing away or giving to charity stuff that just doesn't need to be kept anymore.

old mama coon at the kitchen door...

This is the old mama coon (who must have babies somewhere close by as she is obviously nursing) who comes by every night to our kitchen door looking for hand-outs. There is dry catfood out in the yard which she does help herself to, but she likes to get a little extra treat and will stand by the french doors with both hands on the window, cock her head to the side, and wait. Usually we give her a cookie or what-ever is available. This night I only had a slice of bread... 

There are some that say "don't feed the wild-life" and I understand their reasoning, but to be honest we've learned (after being here for 30 years) that if we feed them, they don't cause any trouble. They eat, they leave, and they don't cause any trouble or do any damage. At least this has been our experience. 

Tux in window

Tux likes to sit in the window seat and watch the front outside cats and kittens. We laugh as the inside ones watch the outside ones and vice-versa - kind of  double reality TV.  I'd call it, "Windows to another world".

2 kittens playing on branch in back... see black one behind b&w?

That about sums up my week so far. Quick update on Rose and her stitches (staples), She's been really good. We haven't had to put that awful collar on her again... so far. She has an appointment tomorrow with the Vet to check the wound and see if the staples can come out. I'm of the opinion that they probably should remain a bit longer, but we'll see. 

a day in the life...

Rose

Rose, our 22 year old cat who is tenaciously clinging to her 9th life had an unexpected accident yesterday. DH, who Rose adores (she tolerates me), decided unbeknownst to me to clip off a few remaining mats on Rose's side.  I was in another room when I suddenly heard him saying over and over again how sorry he was. 

So I went in to investigate. Apparently he had snipped a bit of her skin and had opened up about a 1/2 inch gash in her side. It wasn't bleeding... or at least not much as it really hadn't penetrated the muscle layer. But I could tell that it would need stitches, so off to the Vet we went.  Rose handled the snip fine, but the Vet visit not so much. They would have to muzzle her, clean the area, stitch or staple it, give her an antibiotic injection, and send us home with a soft collar and a large bill.  

staples

We did have to use the collar last night as she had begun to lick the area and we were afraid that she would remove the staples during the night. But she looked so pitiful with that collar. Even the other cats kept going by her to check it out. Neither of us got much sleep worrying about how miserable she must be. I checked on her once during the night and she seemed to have settled. 

not a happy camper

This morning when we got up, we removed it so she could eat and drink... and she seemed thankful. Had to put it back when she again went after the area around 10 am. But removed it again at lunch. We're watching her and will only put it back on when necessary.

That's how our Monday went. But there was also good news as this week DH sounded the "Turtle Alert". 

A few days ago we saw our first turtle sighting of the season. Not a big event in the general scheme of things, but DH and I get excited. The box turtles that live around the creek come up to eat the cat food and whatever else they can find around this time.

We generally mark them with a little spot of red nail polish so that we can tell if they've been here before or are new. This time DH saw and reported it to me, but I was in the middle of something and by the time I got there, he or she was gone. Tuesday morning the turtle was back. Again, DH saw and reported and although I got there fairly quickly, he or she was gone again. So I didn't get a picture. But it is good to know the box turtles are back.

old pic from last year

increasing data usage...?

I got a text yesterday telling me that I had already used 75% of my total data on my cell phone plan. And as much as I appreciated the notice, I was unsure of why this had happened only 2 weeks into my monthly allotment. So I called this morning and spoke to a rep.

He was very nice and while he could tell me where most data usage goes, and exactly how much I had used, he could not tell me exactly where I had used the data - as that was a privacy issue. 

After asking him several questions regarding data usage on things like Facebook, Pinterest, Google, attachments, sending pics, etc., I asked if I could simply turn off the data until my next months usage renewed (so I wouldn't get charged for going over my plan). He said that I could do that in Settings.... just go to cellular and turn the switch to "off".  So this is what I did.

I do have unlimited talk and text, but not unlimited data and can't afford to add that to our monthly bill. So we shall see if this works. It will be a long 2 weeks without being able to use some of those functions... 

.........

It's now Wednesday evening and I have to tell you that I did have to turn my cellular back on for a bit today. Since I had to meet a friend for coffee this afternoon at a place I was unfamiliar with... naturally I got lost. So I stopped the car, switched my cellular back on, went to my iPhone GPS and logged in where I was going and hit the arrow to see where I actually was... and presto! found the place fairly quickly.  Yes, we have gotten dependent on these technological advancements... even us old farts....

but I did remember to turn the cellular off again!

I'm happy to admit that there's a lot I don't know about how the Internet works (wifi vs cellular, etc.) and sometimes I'm sure those "in the know" enjoy a good laugh at my expense, but that's OK.  I'm not afraid to use the technology and if my use of it gives somebody a good laugh, I take that as a good thing. 

awake AGAIN at 4am...

...but I refuse to say I'm sick...

Here I am again... awake at 4 am! Mind too busy to sleep. Missed a graduation party yesterday and that may be part of it. I hate to miss family events. Wanted to go, but haven't felt well this week - headachy and tired. At first I thought it was just the weather. Sometimes when it rains for days, the barometric pressure causes my head to ache. But when I checked my temp Friday, I had a little fever... so I guess something else was going on besides the weather.

Anyway, I've had my tea and toast, sat with the cats a while, and decided that I might as well catch up on some of my blog reading. Thought about re-watching my recorded Stephen Hawking's program, but decided that would make my mind work overtime and I'd never get back to sleep. Have any of you watched that? Here it's on PBS every Wednesday at 8 pm. The first one was "Why are we here?" and had to do with predestination, free will, and parallel universes. It's kind of Theoretical Physics for dummies. I find that understanding how people believed/or believe in predestination, free will, and parallel universes isn't difficult when you follow the train of thought presented. But although I can see the possibility of parallel universes, I find it hard to accept their reality.

OK, onto lighter subjects...

I am still watching Harry Potter. Just finished DVD #4 "Goblet of Fire". I had to post this pic of Weasley's family house. I love this house - and talk about clutter!

Weasleys' house

Also daughter's chickens are getting a major boost in numbers! Rian (my name carrying birthday chicken) has a habit of hiding her eggs. Daughter recently found a whole batch of eggs she's been hiding that are already starting to hatch. As of yesterday morning, there were 3 new chicks. When I texted her yesterday evening to see if any more had hatched, she said that she couldn't tell as "Rian was so mean" that every time she tried to look under her, she'd peck at her! (I actually thought this was kind of funny.)

Rian and 3 baby chicks

And another thing that I wanted to mention today is that although I am on Facebook (not Twitter), I don't post on it much. I do check it to see what is going on with friends and family, print out pictures of family, etc., but feel that it's much too public a forum to do more than read. And when I do post or comment, it's generally to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Birthday" or  simply reply to a family member. But I never play the games, or get political, or ask others to share or repost... and generally don't respond when others do ask. What is your thoughts? I know that many use Facebook kind of like blogs, to communicate feelings and exchange ideas. 

New technology has given us these methods of communication and like everything else in life, their use can be either good or bad. There are no rules... besides common sense and etiquette. There are some laws that are coming into existence - such as *no texting while driving* (duh? that should fall under common sense... but ??) Etiquette would tell you to turn off your phone/silence it  when in a public place - (no one wants to hear your private conversation in a restaurant or grocery line... but ??) 

Surely the ability to have the answers to almost all our questions at our fingertips through the Internet is a marvelous thing! The ability to snap a picture and send it immediately to your friend or family member is fantastic! Having a means of communication for people who live alone and can't get out is a miracle! 

So... what's my point here? I guess it was to say that I do like and use Facebook as a different means of keeping in touch. Everyone is not comfortable with Blogs and everyone is not comfortable with Facebook or Twitter... or Linked... or even smart phones. IMO it's best to check out what's available and use what works for you... along with a little common sense and etiquette.

I sometimes think old school is better - like my preference for real books instead of e-readers -  but it's a personal preference, not an ideology that detests technology. 

And for no reason what-so-ever I'm posting a picture of our Cashmere Bouquet plant that is in bloom at the moment. DH's brother gave us some cuttings from his yard in Baton Rouge, LA years ago... and the darn thing is definitely invasive! (Pretty... but invasive!)

Cashmere Bouquet plant

Have a great week!

Oh, just got another pic from daughter. Rian now has hatched out 8 baby chicks!

Mama and her 8 baby chicks

a quiet Thursday...

Some days just don't go as planned. It's alright though... in the end. This morning I awoke feeling 'not quite up to par'.  Nothing specific... except my back ached and I had a slight headache. I tried a few stretching exercises to see if my back muscles would relax, but ended up using heat - which did give me some comfort. 

However, our plans to both walk and patrol went out the window as I didn't feel up to either. And besides that, our area is under a 'flash flood warning' - which isn't unusual as it 's been raining for days. Luckily for us, our specific area usually doesn't flood, so not too 
worried. 

Harry Potter's Hogwarts

I spent the morning watching the first Harry Potter movie on DVD, "Harry Potter and the Socceror's Stone". I've read all the books and seen all the movies, but it's been quite a while. And besides, we just finished the last of the 6 seasons of Downton's Abbey (which were given to me for Mother's Day).  I think I could watch DA over and over... don't know why, but I really enjoy it.

So after my back started feeling a little better and HP was over, I cleaned up the kitchen, arranged our 'shelter in place' things in the the middle bathroom (should we get a tornado warning), ate some lunch, and retired here to read some blogs and  write a post.

DH just stopped by, brought me a bottle of water, and said that it was almost tea time. We have a tradition since retirement of stopping whatever we're doing and having coffee/tea between 3 and 4 each day.  

BTW, have you ever heard of asparagus beans?  My SIL grows them in Bulverde, TX and my daughter says that they are very good. She sent me a picture by iPhone.

I love most vegetables... just made a chicken and broccoli quiche this week and added bacon and cheese sprinkled over the crust before adding the rest. Yum!  

And I can't remember if I mentioned in a previous post that my project for the summer was getting our bedroom painted and un-cluttering our drawers and closets. Well, we did get the bedroom painted and are well on our way to un-cuttering. However, in the mist of un-cluttering, there are 'things' all over here and yonder waiting to be sorted. So... at the moment, our un-cluttering seems to have caused more clutter.

the now blue bedroom

Oh, one other thing, have any of you out there read "Lost and Found" by Jacqueline Sheehan?  I saw this book the other day in Barnes and Noble and thought it looked interesting.

Well, best get our tea/coffee together. Happy TGIF tomorrow!