Something I thought I'd never see

I am in shock.

Kitty watching

So I'm sitting at my desk, typing this, watching a cat seek shelter from the rain under the tarp a neighbor has over his woodpile. I think it might be the same cat that I watched walk through the snow. Anyway, as he walked from the shelter of the neighbor's car to the tarp I saw that he was limping badly. It looks like he has something wrong with one of his front feet. I get so angry at people who let their animals roam loose. I don't know if this is a feral cat or if he's just out for the day. It's maddening. Would anyone let their two year old child roam the streets all day? If they did, what would people say? What would people do?

He's resting now. I hate being stuck like this. If I try to go out to him he might very well run away. If I leave him there I don't know what will happen to him. Grrr.

I. groomed Miss Minnie last weekend and did a fabulous job. She is such a beautiful girl. Just beautiful. This is the pile of fur that was left.


Almost enough to make another Minnie. And here she is, her beautiful self.

Happy New Year

I didn't upload my pictures to Flickr like I mentioned but I will post a couple here from December 20th. I was feeling a little stuffy that day so I put a few drops of eucalyptus oil in some steaming hot water to help. It felt and smelled wonderful.



I also made gingerbread cookies from Susan Branch's recipe from her book, Autumn, to give to a couple of people as gifts. Initially I wasn't too impressed with the flavor as I like my gingerbread really gingery but I came around and did really like them.




We decided to give ourselves a New Year's gift and have decided to adopt Miss Minnie if PRNE gives us the OK. This is Herself enjoying the snow. She is adorable when she comes (almost literally) flying into the house from outside with what looks like a dusting of confectioner's sugar on her. Frosted Minnie!

Her "Oona" (grandmother) bought her a special pink
sweater for Christmas, which Minnie loves!

Wishing you a 2009 full of light and love.

Bright blessings,

The approach of winter

2008 has just slipped by. So fast. The current cold snap is lending a feel of winter to the air which is making me think of the end of year that much more. I. and I took a ride up to a beautiful, old cemetery today that my dear friend S. brought me to a couple of weeks ago. It's a very peaceful site, tucked back in the woods. The trees are all bare of their leaves now and the sun was streaming into the area adding light but no warmth at all.

I finally have taken a picture of Minnie. And this is Bear. He has taken to staying downstairs in the basement on occasion instead of following either of us up. He'll stay down there for hours sometimes, just waiting at the bottom of the stairs for one of us to come down and carry him up. I know it's not fear because often he'll run right up behind you. I. thinks, and I agree, that it is because he's a little jealous of the attention Minnie gets and is looking for some of his own. We're not giving in to him because we know that it would start a bad habit. Better to let him sit down there and come up on his own. The white fluffy head at the bottom of the picture belongs to Jack.

Keeping busy

Last weekend I. and I took in the Treasures from Assyria show at the Museum of Fine Arts. Excellent. When we were in London in 2004 we must have seen some of the pieces at the British Museum, their home. The MFA displayed the pieces in a larger area and that really set them off. Amazing reliefs and pieces of intricately carved stone. The pieces of writing were so small and the writing so close together we wondered at how they could have ever been legible. If you have an opportunity to catch the show, I would recommend it. My mom was very kind and agreed to stay over and watch the "kids" so we could spend the night in Boston. I chose a great hotel, if I say so myself, the Hotel Commonwealth. Another thumbs up although I would skip dining in their Great Bay restaurant and stick with Eastern Standard, also at the hotel. The service everywhere was excellent and the room was spectacular. We were right across from the famous Citgo sign.

The weekend before that we took a short walk at Mt. Wachusett and I was able to take some great pictures.

Minnie and all the other pups are doing very well. Minnie is still fighting a yeast infection in her ears and continues to develop her sweet personality. She's taken to sleeping on top of the cushion of the love seat in our front room while I. is on his computer in there.

The plant where I work is shut down next week so I get a week's vacation. I do have several appointments scheduled but am looking forward to the down time. I'm reading C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed. His writing is just beautiful. I look forward to reading other books of his.

Picture of little Minnie

There is a picture of Minnie on the PRNE webpage that I linked to in my last post but I wanted to include one here, too. (edited to add: can't find one on this computer. I'll post one soon.) We took her for a walk today. I. bought her a harness a few weeks ago but we wanted to wait until she had her stitches all removed before we tried it on her. Today was the first time we used it. She is not at all used to walking on a leash but she didn't fight it using the harness as much as she did the collar. She whined throughout the entire walk but out of excitement, I think, not fear. She's a funny one, but so sweet.

What's been going on

The fall has passed so quickly. The last time I wrote, it wasn't even Fall and now we're on the back half of October. I.'s done a great job getting the house ready for winter weather and soon enough, it will be here. It seems like with all the rain we had this summer I feel like I haven't had proper time to prepare for the coldness.

Our CSA finished up several weeks ago with more potatoes and a head of cabbage. I have three butternut squash, too. I don't know what I will ever do with three butternut squash. I would definitely sign up for the CSA next season since the produce was excellent.

The biggest news we have is Minnie. We're fostering Minnie through Poodle Rescue of New England. We picked her up on September 21st. She came from a breeder in Connecticut. She had a mammary tumor, hadn't been spayed, and her teeth were in bad shape. Fortunately the tumor was benign and she only lost two teeth during her dental cleaning. You can read more about her and the other dogs that PRNE rescued from this breeder. She's very sweet.