The Week Began with Dear, Deer Visits

Started the week Monday with a visit from Linda...
As we were preparing breakfast, a doe and two young deer appeared under the 'wild' apple tree in the flats of my backyard! By the time i got my camera, the young ones were off into the adjacent cornfield but momma deer was still enjoying her apple appetizer! Here she is:

She looks pretty healthy, doesn't she? She should be! We grow the best corn-fed deer in Michigan!

Yesterday, Wednesday, i attended a RedHat extravaganza with Jacquie and Donna and met a new friend, Betty. The event included lunch at the Horizons Center and entertainment by Three Men and a Tenor. Have you ever seen these guys? They are amazing! We laughed so hard we cried!

Somehow i still didn't get my 50 daffodil bulbs planted. Today is overcast and supposed to be rainy... and expected to continue through the weekend. Maybe i can get them in today??? ... the last 'warm' day for awhile, expected to be in the '50s... and colder tomorrow, etc.

Better get started, eh?

Thank YOU, Patti!

Photo by Patti

(The guy behind me? My boyfriend!)

September 2009 - Dow Gardens

The kittens are really gone this time... at least from my house and my deck. Gotta thank Patti for that!

We walked with Leslie at her house yesterday... a great workout!!! It's so much more fun doing it with somebody, don'tcha know? Later that day i called her about something and we discussed the 'guilty thing' about just putting those kittens out to fend for theirselves. Even though they are extremely feral, they are so tiny and innocent - about 2 months old now.

She volunteered to come over and help me get the kittens permanently out of my life. Wow! Piece o' cake!!! That girl is good! With her majorly help we got them caged... and even got a bonus cat! (So be it; they've all been coming around for a free lunch!) The second kitten was preceded by the cat... not it's mother..... so what could we do?

Patti went home with two cages - two kittens and a sleek black & orange cat. Don't know if it was one of Florence's barn full of 'adoptees' or it really belonged to somebody. He's gone now... there really IS no such thing as a free lunch, kitty.

Patti's plan - take them to animal control in the morning... but she wanted to make them more comfortable in her garage for the night.

One kitten BIT her!!!

They are feral; could it be rabid? I'm praying not. Hopefully they are out of her garage now... and the responsibility of animal control.

Call me Patti.

Awareness

Now that my oldest grandson is in Iraq i'm seeing more news about Iraq. This morning this one jumped out at me:

Iraqi police: Anbar bombings kill 14, wound dozens

Up until now i've been convincing myself that he is 'better off' in Iraq than he would be in Afghanistan. From now until he comes safely home, my life is a prayer for his well-being. I pray that the energy of his Grandpa Frank remain with him and help him make wise decisions.

When i was a freshman at Delta College, an English teacher brought up the question: What is your soul? I use the term 'energy' because i believe our souls are pure energy. Energy does not disappear. When your soul leaves your body, it remains in another form.

Go with God, James Franklin..... and do what Grandpa Frank would do!

The Wild Ones Are Outside......where they belong!

The cold, windy autumn rain ended overnight - finally! The sun is shining. There is no wind.

This morning i fed my furry family/aka/'the girls,' turned on the weekend CBS morning show, and fixed my breakfast. I had a grilled cheese with Canadian bacon... a fancier word might be something like Canadian Swiss Panini. Made it with 35 calorie/slice Aunt Millie's Whole Wheat bread, so it was even good for me! Yummy! I will make it again... and again... and maybe for breakfast, lunch, or even supper!

I sat at my 'kitchen table' to have the sandwich and morning coffee. The wild kittens sat at my feet... waiting for theirs. They are so adorable you would expect to be able to cuddle them. You can NOT cuddle them any more than you could cuddle any other, larger, baby cat... or for that matter a baby skunk! I have the scars to prove it... and if there's enough room, they run off if you get too close! So.....

...when i finished my breakfast i got out the cat food. I went over to the door near the place where i had been feeding them - near the back door. I put food in 'their' dish, opened the door, and placed the dish about 18 inches away from the door - outside!

The bravest went first; the scaredy cat followed. When they saw me approach the door, they ran off! I closed the door. They came back to their breakfast. When it is gone i will not put out more food. They are outside where they belong. The girls and i are inside where we belong. The sun is shining. Life is good!

Addendum: I learned it is not my job to 'fix' everything that needs fixing. If they survive crossing the road, they will probably move into the neighbor's barn where she feeds so many cats she can't even count them. Of course we know they will continue to reproduce!

Brief Comments... okay?

Wondering why i haven't been around here lately? For an ol' broad with 'nothing to do' i've been pretty busy, actually. Sometimes we make our own situations, don'tcha think? Like:

• ...the kittens under my deck. Was it 2 weeks ago already? I had help trying to catch the mom and remaining 2 babies. Result? Mom disappeared, never to return. Since then i've been feeding the little ones.
• They would come when i called 'kitty kitty.' They took up residence on my deck. They would sleep in the kitty carrier i put out there for them. They acted like they wanted to come in the house.
• Yesterday i invited them in and... they did! Long story short - they are wild! You have no idea what a really real feral cat is like. They sit and wait patiently to eat. They use the kitty litter. They hide where i cannot get at them when they feel under pressure. When captured in the entry room, one of them literally hit the ceiling in it's efforts to avoid me.
• Today i will attempt to lure them outside. If successful i will not feed them or in any way try to rehabilitate them.
• I promise!

Other than the kitten dilemma, life just happens... like:

• ...taking my wonderfully strong-minded mother out grocery shopping. What's that all about? ...coupons and sale items! Oh yeah... !!! Me? I'm swearing off coupons totally!!! ...unless they fall in my lap right when i need them.
• Mom & i also go out to dinner... or sometimes lunch. I have to learn about NOT eating everything on my plate.
• Some days WiiFit and i are friends; some days i walk with Leslie Sansone.
• I bought a few new electronic items... learned that when i install them and read the book, i know how to use them!!! Believe me, this is a big accomplishment!

I quit bundling... think i mentioned that last time...

• TiVo works like a charm!
• Moved my 'big' tv into my newest cozy living space but two of the channels were not high quality like they were in the other living space. Cable guy replaced that cable. Now i have a beautiful picture on all channels... Basic Plus works great! Who needs more than 70 choices for tv viewing???
• My only 'landline' is Magic Jack. Was having minor problems with it. Turns out the one phone just needs a new battery. The other - 3 phone wireless - seems to be working okay right now... again. Maybe with Charter phone gone, it will be better. After all, both services were voice over internet. That might have been part of my problem. We'll see...

Other updates...

• Spring & summer are gone in my house. Autumn accents surround me beautifully.
• Goober moved on... no more stinky male habit cleanups. This brought stability to the remaining 3 furry friends, all female, even with the temporary kitten situation.
• If it ever quits raining before the snowy season begins, i will plant the bag of daffodil bulbs i bought a few weeks ago.
• Attended a beautiful concert at a small church. Thank you, Jacquie for introducing me to the DeepRiver Choir!
• Visited Dow Gardens again... this time with Patti! What a delight! We both enjoyed every minute.

And business-wise...

• I formally protested to Medicare for not paying the bill from MMC for my knee exrays. Was told by a 'real person' that none of the denial was ever seen or touched by a human... except me of course. After they reviewed stuff from the hospital Medicare determined i do not have to pay the bill. The hospital is responsible. Get that!!! ...and do we really need more government health insurance plans?
• Just received new car insurance bill. Insurance company has a new reason to charge more as your car gets older. Remember how i told you i've been buying a few new electronics? It seems the Home Owners Insurance Company got a report from a company called ChoicePoint Services, Inc. They have determined i opened too many revolving accounts in too short a time!!! I pay all these accounts when i'm supposed to and they will be paid off before the final dates when the accrued interest would take effect! This is NOT a credit rating! It's apparently just another way for insurance companies to make you pay more and get less! Can you believe this?
• I will change my insurance company - for the house and my car - before this 'new' policy takes effect.

Don't Bundle Me...

Funny how one thinks when young, in love, and married... emphasize married. I don't think it was just that though; it was also the era of 'The Brady Bunch' and 'Father Knows Best.'

In 1955, when Frank and i married, there were men's jobs and there were women's jobs.... well, sort of. There were exceptions like my mom, who chose not to remain in a bad marriage. She chose to work as a waitress and support her own kids in a 'women's job.' During WWII she joined Rosie the Riveter, working in an automobile plant, but quit when the men came home.

Anyway, when we married, Father Knows Best was still the ideal so it was easy to allow gender to define our roles. Besides... Frank didn't like changing diapers and i didn't want to carry out the garbage! It worked.

When the time came when it appeared my only language was baby-talk, Frank suggested i get out of the house. I did. Interacting with other adults, i discovered a whole new world of excitement. I was 'my own person' as they say. All this while, we still did many things within our classic male or female roles... keeping both of us relatively happy and relatively sane in a fast changing society.

He was the tech and all around fixer upper. I was the homemaker, cook and housekeeper.

He has been gone 4 years; tomorrow is our 54th wedding anniversary. I have learned much in the past 4+ years. That is a good thing.

This week i learned why men do a task and ask questions later... if they must!

Saturday last i purchased a TiVo and a new TV. I set up the TV - piece of cake! Sunday i tackled the TiVo. Piece of cake? Not so much!

Step 1 told me to activate my service, giving a choice of phone or online. I chose phone. WRONG CHOICE! The chick on end of line said i should talk with a technician if i'm setting up using a wireless adapter (because i no longer have a telephone landline.)

The tech gave me 45 minutes of convoluted directions, including 'take the box to a neighbor with a landline to get started...' I ignored him totally. Monday i bought a wireless adapter. I followed directions in the box.

Success with NO pain! How do those guys get their jobs, anyway?

Oh! The title? Don't Bundle Me???

I cancelled the Charter Communications DVR service AND phone service. I now have basic+ cable service and internet service. Don't let them kid you. I AM saving money by NOT bundling!

Woo-Hoo!!! I DID it!

Oh yeah! I bought this little camera from Creative Labs... Vado is the brand. The cost somewhere around $130 included camera, case, two batteries, battery charger, cord and plugs for 3 different countries... yes, U.S. included. Also a connector for viewing on television sets.

Bought it on a whim and i LOVE it! We never owned a movie camera or camcorder. Couldn't afford such things, what with six daughters to feed, clothe and educate...

Bottomline: it's another sweet little toy to entertain the ol' brain cells. I uploaded it to YouTube and Facebook, as well as here! So easy, so fun. Now i need to practice taking better movies... practice editing them, etc.

Want a kitten? These three will be old enough by August 28 at the latest. (My veterinarian says 8 weeks is the right age for babies to leave their mommy.)

Meanwhile, don'tcha just LUV technology???