Hot already

It is only 1:45 and the temp is already 85.  Twice in the last 7 days we have had to bring the porch flowers in because the temp dropped below 40, now we have to water them every day or they wilt.  Such strange weather.

This is Mac, about 16 years old now.  He is  little scruffy these days, and he sleeps a lot,  but still likes to sleep on us, lap or no lap.

And this is BC, not a very good shot, but being black there is little to see of her if her eyes are closed.  BC stands for Bad Cat, which suits her very well.  She is 4.

Nothing much new from here, I'm doing laundry today, whoopee.  However when I fold towels they do not look like this:

This is what the stewards on the cruise ship leave when they turn down the beds in the cabin, all kinds of different animals folded up in fanciful ways.

Simple Sunday

Impossibly small knitted things

                                      Found this through a series of web blogs, don't know the actual author/artist; but isn't it cute?  What size needles they must have used...

AT&T is down and I can't check my mail.  I was afraid it was my computer glitching, until it did the same thing on the desktop 'puter.  I am using Safari here, which proves that it isn't my software or connection.  It has been two days, so if I get comments on this, it will be a while until my email is back up. Just so you know.

Bumper sticker for the day:

Gracie

This is Gracie, one of our older cats, also known as lap kitty.   She is deaf as near as we can tell, the result of a bad ear infection, but she is still a big cuddler.  I took this with my new little Nikon camera, about the size of two credit cards, it fits in my purse perfectly and takes way better photos than the cell phone camera.  Especially since I still can't figure out how to get the photos off of the cell phone.

It is 82 today, and last week we had frost and had to bring in the flowering plants I also got for Mather's Day.  I  saw the racks of plants outside of Lowes and Walmart looked all blackened and damaged.  This weather all year has been so wacky; but global warming is just a government scare tactic, right?  Yeah.

 Down to Gassaway tomorrow to see Aunt and Uncle.  Supposed to be nice, and will have less traffic than next weekend, Memorial Day holiday.  Or Veterans Day, as it used to be.

Still too early to open the pool, it takes forever for 15,000 gallons to warm up, even with a black cover over it.  We tried a little water heater one year, but it compromised the flow on the pump so much that it interfered with the filtration.  Now we just wait for the sunshine heater.

Nikon and pool, sounds like we're rich if not famous, right?  Not so.  Pool is above ground and 7 years old, and Nikon isn't the brand it used to be, in my opinion, now that everything is point-and-shoot.

In spite of the heat I am still knitting, so I won't forget whatever I have learned.  I'd hate to start over.  My next project (having finally completed the afghan) is a vest; simpler than a sweater, no sleeves.  I'll post a photo here when it is done, now that I can use my little one.  Assuming it turns out OK.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock."

Happy Mother's Day

This is Dottie, who originally had polka dots, but they have all spread and disappeared.  She is 4.

Friday ----> Saturday

I have been retired for 6+ years. but I can't shake the habit of doing all the big things on the weekend.  Laundry ( When I die I'll smell like fabric softener ), grocery shopping (thereby spending a lot of money for very little reward), haircuts, yard work, etc,  And just like when I was working, I'll fall into bed Sunday night feeling like I have been rode hard and put up wet.  So!  Time to get started.  When I get up for the day, of course, it is 5 in the morning now.

I have cut down on the Ambien (sleeping pill) to half a pill.  I wake up a lot of the time (like now) but am able to fall back to sleep promptly.  I would like to be rid of it completely, we'll see how that goes in a few weeks.

I'm waiting for the shipment of a new spice rack.  For years now I have used Tupperware spice containers, and it has completely gotten out of hand.  There are 50!! of them, and I am sure that other than a core few the spices are waaaay too old to have any flavor left.  So now I am thinking of which are actually used regularly so I can whittle it down to 16.  It's hard for me to throw stuff away!  Maybe there is a list on line somewhere.

One of our feral cats who has been hanging around for a few months apparently got in a fight and now has one eye all squinty and mattered.  I would take him (I think it is him) to the vet but he is too wild to catch.  I guess we will just hope for the best.  This is one of the reasons I keep my cats indoors, because although the outside is more interesting to a cat, the average cat only lives a few years and indoor cats live into their teens.  There are two other outside cats that adopted us several years ago, but they (spayed females) hang close all the time.  In the winter they seldom leave the garage to go any further than the front deck (the garage is heated and there is a kitty door).  I know, I am a softee when it comes to pets (and horses, who are big lawn ornaments here).  I hate when they pass away, it's like they take a piece of  your heart with them.

I found a neat pattern for a sweater vest that I am sure I can actually do.  Now to decide what yarn to use.  Did I mention my "stash" of yarn?  So many pretty colors to choose from.  Maybe some day I will get it all used up; meanwhile it looks nice all tucked away in a bookcase.  I'll post a photo here when it is done, because I know all of you (all six of you) will wait with bated breath to see this project.  But where else can I show off ?  My family says Uh Huh, which is not the reaction I am looking for.  Of course I will have it done just as the temperature hits 90 degrees.

Onwards and upwards,  I'll try to find an actual topic for my next post...

Bumper sticker for the day: "If your heart is in the right place, it's on the left."

Birds and feathers

This handsome fellow was on our bird feeder today, a red breasted grosbeak.  Often seen in early May, according to the Audubon guide, but I have never seen one.

 This one dropped by for a wee dram as well...

These are internet photos..mine aren't anything as good as these, although I am practicing.

Bumper sticker for the day: "I'm only doing it your way so I can blame you later."