Reservation for Four Phuleeze...

...This is just about what it looked like around here Thursday...
Turkey going in the oven, stuffing being put together with my assistants close at hand. Demanding... uh...Sweetly offering a paw every few minutes to taste test the butter, raw turkey, turkey juice, creme cheese, green olives, gravy and just whatever I happened to be trying to do at any given moment.

A golden brown turkey... can you ask for more ? Crispy skin, juicy, and weighing in at about 14 pounds... There might be enough to last thru the weekend...
Hey- having to wait for me to vacate the kitchen chair so the oven can be observed verrrry closely... Well, that burns up a LOT of calories...Not sure what the girls thought would happen tho...
The oven door would fall off...
The roasting bird would accidentally slide out onto the floor..
Alice and Kuchi working in tandem would give mouth to beak recusitation ?
Maybe... All I noticed was that certain girls al-most got singed whiskers !!

Alice... Observing... Closely....


Kuchi... Ready for Taste Testing....

MMMnnnn... Looks Almost good enough to eat !


Of course, Babylon REFUSED to have any thing
to do with our roast turkey... If it doesn't come in
a packet and is inundated with 'gravy'... Oh Well-
She turns up her delicate pink nose !!
And in the end- Only will eat the gravy !!

I make a mean Pie too !!
Practically a Master Pastry Chef' !

So this is Alice all sleepy from her keen observations...
and of course, her three course meal !!

... Only one large missing presence of course... My good boy Osgood...
Sigh...
Thanksgiving was one of his most favor-ite days in the year... Turkey forever and the end not in sight.

...He would have had a tasty time... He is thought of so often... And still so missed...
xoxo

~ He Was A Very Good Boy ~

Him was a very good boy...

October 1st 2006 ~ August 24th 2010

I really don't have any idea how old Osgood was...
Old tho... 10, maybe 15 years old ?
Maybe...

So I count his 'Gotcha Day' as October 1st 2006.

He had been fading for a time. Just the last month or so.
Got to where he couldn't eat.
And other things I can't bear to go into right now.

So I asked Aunty H.H. and Uncle 37 if they would help me by helping him.

He went to sleep easy... Knowing that he was loved... So very Much...

Osgood, my pale creamsicle boy.

Him is out in the front yard now... Resting under the Butterfly Bush....

He is at Peace now.. Fat & fluffy & a mouth full of teeth to eat whatever he wants...

Him Was A Very Good Boy...

Augustus... Is Here ?

... Zipping right along aren't we... Already better than half way thru the year... Haven't been up to too much... same old-same old. I have been trying to get all of my Mamas genealogy drug out and categorized. Booger for punishment I am...

My Fiddy boy has gone I think. It has been about 2 1/2 weeks since he has been around. He seemed just as healthy as ever. Better actually. He has calmed down so much since he had his hoo-hahs removed. I like to think that the neighbor around the hill has moved him inside. I had heard that she called him "Tuxie" when he visited up there. I'm keeping a good thought anyway.

My neighbor across the road made a trip over east of the mountains-Yakima- about two weeks ago. On her way back she stopped and bought blueberries for just about everyone she knows.
I was the grateful recipient of a box of about five pounds. The girls loved the box of course. And I loved the blueberries ! Didn't do anything creative with them. Does rinsing with water count ? No muffins. No tarts. No cobbler or even a pie. Just having a nice rounded bowl full as a snack.
By the time the were gone I quite felt like Violet Beauregard. Only not as arrogant or blue ! Does lead one to wanting more tho. Store bought just isn't the same as field and bush ripened of course.

Kuchi is sitting on the microwave watching me. She seems determined to come over and help. Perhaps she has her own two-cents to add. She thought she almost had a blue jay the other day.

I put a screen in the door so they can see out. Get a breath of fresh air. But when she was sitting there the other day she sees a tasty morsel thru the mesh, she starts chittering... She rammed against the screen-bumped her head rather smartly and the Blue birdie flew away. Of course she then turns to me to seek solace, but I am snorting and holding in a mad chuckle. She is fine, just a bit wiser now !

Not that she would have snacked on the bird. Kuchi is not a girl who would eat bird sushi.

Have to go ... Guess who think she needs petting RIGHT NOW ? You guessed it !! All 17 delicate pounds of her... hurmphhh
xoxo ~Does this table make My Bellah look big ?~

Lightly Perspiring...

~~~My... time does fly doesn't it ? Here it is - almost the middle of JULY !!
After the all rain-all the time season, finally on the the 4th of July it started summer... Now the sun is blazing with an attempt to make up for Lost Time.
Two days in a row it was 90 and above and Today has cooled down to a mere 88 degrees...
This pudgey bunny wasn't built for this kind of heat !! So if any-one comes looking...
I'm the one sitting square in front of the fan- with my eyes squinted against the Breeze..
There is a fan going in every room except the bathroom... And each cat has their personal favorite.. Do Not Mess With THEIR windy territory !!

I have been practicing with the camera. I have stopped getting the image all lined up on the screen.. And then Putting the camera up to my eye to snap the photo...
Yes ... old habits are hard to pry loose...

The scanner has been put to good use. I've scanned quite a bit of older family photos and sent Cousins copies... makes for a lively conversation debating "What Were They Thinking !!"
Still- brings back forgotten Memories of Places and Times...
Here is a photo of my Mama... taken in the early 1940's...
She was So Gorgeous !!! Married then Widowed at 35 with One small son- My brother Henry Lester.
He passed away when only he was 25... from complications of being shot while serving aboard a helicopter in Viet-Nam.
She Married my Dad then had me in 1958.
Ain't I Cute ?She was only 58 when she died. I think you Always Miss your Mama... don't you ?

Any whoo...

My sweet neighbor-H.H- brought me a vase of flowers from her garden... Makes for a Cheery sight !!
And Now for a Gratuitous photo of one of the Girls ...
As you can see... I've also learned how to caption !!
xoxo

~HA !!!

...Lookee what I did !!!
he he...
Babby 13 feet away with her headlights on !

Alice close-up !!!
Kuchi !!!Well almost did ... by myself... practically..
Okay- had to call the Nephew, only took 5 pictures and then the battery died... but hey- not bad for the first digital pho-tog-raph-yyy...
Back of Kuchi's head !!Bwhahaha !!!
ALICE onna Blue Chair !

xoxo

---All Righty Then---

... All righty then... Apparently I am pushing forward in time. And now that I've landed here in Future world...I must take a step Back...
Please...
Yes- that sound confoundedly confusing to me too.
But that's where this Pudgey Bunny is at...
A lovely new-to-me printer and scanner arrived on my dusty doorstep. All hi-end and Dandy. So far I've managed to print 5 pages of the same page... Not really meaning too you understand. And the scanner is Humming. It is Supposed to hum- right ? But not one to ignore a challenge and get OverWhelmed... Wait, I manage to ignore stuff all the time... ummm... moving on...Then got terribly brave and with thought and consternation and cast iron butterflies careening around my toodles ( that's what I call the girls tummys. Sounds better than stomach. Or abdomen. Or gut. Or big ol' wobbly jelly belly like I have) we sallied forth and purchased a digital camera.
Gasp.
I KNOW !!!
Amazing innit ?Then never willing to leave well enough alone, I convinced My Sweet Neighbor to be on the lookout for a smaller dining room table for me. No sooner said than done. Poof ! Like magic ! So that meant my best friend since junior high Gobnart* (needless to say their names have been wildly disguised) and her Son came over to help with the move. My personal creed is to tend to fly off the handle, break everything and have periods of sobbing hysterically and wishing that I still smoked when trying to move large crusty objects around.
So her calmer head prevailed in the shifting about.
I have been needing a better dining table and that became vividly apparent when Son tipped the table onto its side. He was going to un-bolt the legs.
But... feel free to chortle... the table is tipped ...
And one leg remains solidly and firmly standing.
All by itself with not any other support.
Yes I heard you...
Get a clear mental image now...
Finished ?
So all said and done- old table out new one in. Smaller. More modern. But the legs are firmly attached. To THE table.
The girls are having the best time ... slapping wildly at each other and basically going bat-shit for the last 3 days. Gobnart and Son also moved my old computer cupboard and we made room for the printer and scanner above my computer table. Which made the girls even more places to LEAP around and up on. So far the scanner is what they argue over the most- All warm and flat.
The next day after this moving of our universe... guess what ? The microwave I've used for 15 years went snap-crackle-pop ( yes, like the cereal) and died a tragic death. So off to the local Superstore and in comes a new behemoth. All shiny stainless steel on the out side. And on the door what looks to be a chrome handle off of a 1940's refrigerator. And inside ? On the upper surface ? Well I am a bit frightened. It has a GRILL !?!?
Yep - it looks just like a stove element to me.Well, smaller of course. Can they do that ? Isn't that against the laws of Nature or something ?
So for this wobbly Pudgey Bunny-Who in her best moments is a bit intimidated by new things ( I had to watch my crock pot sit in it's box for 3 months before I could unpack it) Things have overwhelmed me a bit...
Instruction booklets to read.
Buttons to learn to be pushed.
Macro ? Saywhat ?
Do I NEED to Focus ?
Warranties to fill out.
Thingys to add to the computer.
That have to be installed to make other Thingys function.
Tranquilizers to pop.
Adjustments to a smaller table Reminders. (Remember when setting something down- make sure there is table under there. Somewhere.)
Girls to get into adjustment as they jockey for Best New Napping Spot. So many Choices ! And new Boxes to explore !
And Mama's Last Nerve to frazzle !
And as for Osgood ?
Well, he wanders out here every so often. Looks about. Taking in all the new fangled improvements. Licks parts of his anatomy. Asks if its Suppertime Yet ? And moseys back to have a nice restoring snooze on my bed.
Ahh- What a Life... WonderFull, If we don't Falter !!
Come to think- A Nap doesn't sound too bad !
Look out Osgood !
xoxod

I Think It's Here...

...By Golly and 'Gosh... I think it's finally here !!! Spring !
63 big degrees today and toasty in the sun. (Although there have been frost warnings the past few nights.) Kuchi went out and was all -Hmm, I vaguely remember this. She could have used a little pair if Kittheh Shades tho. Oh, the squinting ! Flowers are just blooming lovely. My pot of Primroses is rather ragged looking. I do wonder if they were just unwell from the get-go.
Now the bluebells are just being so colorful- all blowing in the breeze and appearing in sweeps across the yard.(Since I still don't have a digital camera, pic.s are from the web. Sigh.)
All the wild sword ferns have unfurled and look so fresh and tender green. Although I have spotted a few blackberry volunteers trying to swarm in.

The Mock Cherry and Fruit Bearing Cherry have bloomed and are almost gone. Last year there were very few cherries to gather. Usually a Spare year is followed by an Abundant one. Nothing is as good as eating sun-warmed just picked Cherries. Well maybe seeing how far you can Spit the Pits !
Other News- There has been a ... ah... ahem... a removal of sorts... Fiddler had an Hoo-Hah-ectomy. Although I"m sure he would couch it in rather more Strident Tones. Still being such a Wild Boy, getting into fights, always getting over some bite or abrasion, when a Friend offered to take him to be Noo-tered, ZIP into a crate he went !
I couldn't find a a picture of Him( I got really Organized last week. Went thru all my pictures.Put them into separate/named folders. Now I can't find anything ...) So the forlorn Little Girl and Her Kittheh will have to do.
So that's about it From Here Today. Think I will go make some Potato Salad to go with leftover Fried Chicken. As usual- I'll get the the Salad, and the Girls and Osgood will have the Chicken !

xoxo

--- etu Spring ?

::: Looks like Spring is finally creeping in. Slowly but surely. Can be Lovely and sunny then drop down to just above freezing at night.

Today we had the oddest greenish light right after sunset. If I had still been living in the Southwest, I would have sworn there was going to come up a Tornado ! And prior to that there was a 20 minuite peppering of hail bouncing off the windows...

Have gotten two pots full of Primroses out on the porch. Almost afraid to do too much more until it gets a bit more on the warm side.

But I am noticing a bit of natural promise popping its head out.

And all around my little fake Wishing Well these are blooming.

These purple beauties have popped out of containers along my gravel path.

So, I know more flowers are coming. The Creeping Myrtle is just begining and the Russian Bluebells are all stalks and beginning to bud. Now if it would Warm just enough that I could put away my fur lined house slippers !

Happy Spring Fever !!!

xoxo

>While I Was Gone<

...Been awhile... Hope I've not forgot how to do this !

Our Internet Vehicle developed a nasty case of the Dreaded "Blue Screen" of Death... So now I'm in proud possessor of a new-to-me computer. It has so many fancy bells, whistles, and modern programs... Well suffice to say I may need to go back to colouring my hair Blonde, just to avoid figuring out what everything is and what I'm supposed to do with it...

Had a Lovely Thanksgiving during this Tribulation... Had Almost 2 weeks of off and on snow.. THEN it got too cold for snow...(my electric bill shows that I now own a little bit of the Local Electric Co.)... Had a high of 14-17 degrees for days... Lows down in the single digits...

BBbrrrrr... Nice to have a lovely bunch of kitthehs to snuggle with... They all stayed glued to their Momma... Regular squishy toasty cat bed I am...

Christmas came and went... All cookies and cozy plush throws... Baskets of kittheh treats and stockings... Lovely ham and parsnip dinners... Lovely Winter Solstice, and am glad the days are a bit brighter and longer...

So- I've been watching PBS and Oh Lordy...

What can I say about Cranford ?

Is it too late to shift possessions and self and furry children ?

The village, the countryside, the fussy know-it-all neighbors.... (of which I am one...he he)...

Am I being sly in saying I want a Widows Peak Bonnet and mayhap a jaunty pheasant feather to wobble in the breeze ?

And now to wait for "Return to Cranford"... m.u.s.t. h.o.l.d. f.a.s.t.

xoxo