Fishbowl Monday

It was 5:56 a.m. on a Monday morning (this Monday morning) and Sweet Josie was upset that no one was awake yet.  (Jay has two days off before he starts a turnaround at work so he was sleeping in.)  Josie had tried to jump up on our headboard to play in the metal mini-blinds, but I threw her off the bed.  Within minutes, we heard a very loud noise and what sounded like something bouncing down the stairs.

I sat straight up in bed and said, "THE FISH!" and ran to the stairwell.  Sure enough, there was a bright orange fish on its side midway down the steps.  Jay says, "The fish is dead."  I touch it and it flips over...I grab the bowl which, amazingly enough, was still in tact and at the very bottom of the stairs.  I slide the fish in the bowl and hand it off to Jay.  Lane appeared at the top of the stairs and stood in shock.

Josie was hiding behind the recliner and appeared also in shock.  The stairs are carpeted and they were soaked.  The wall was streaked with water.  There were even drops of water at the base of the stairs on the piano.  Madolyn, who now has her bedroom in the basement directly under the stairwell, didn't even stir.

Many comments have been made that the fish bowl on the half wall may not be a good idea, but it just seemed like the best location for the fish...so we don't forget to feed him and we can actually enjoy him a little bit.  Josie even enjoyed the fish and the endless supply of fishy water.  It was going pretty well until early this morning.

We are guessing that Josie, mad after being tossed from our bed in an attempt to wake us up, went to get a drink from her fish bowl (or something) and started to fall, grabbing the edge of the fish bowl for support and pulling it over on top of her. We don't think she could have deliberately pulled the bowl off by herself as the bowl is very heavy...but who knows.  She was also very wet so the water had to have come down on top of her.  Either way, she is a naughty kitty today.

When Madolyn finally surfaced, she walked up the stairs and said, "Why is the carpet all wet?"  (Would've been funny if she had put "Todd" on the end of that.)   We had to laugh and couldn't help but say, "I don't know, Margo."  (Christmas Vacation, favorite quote.)

Fortunately for Sherlock the fish, he survived the fall and the shock.  His bowl is clean and fresh this morning too.  (That's one way to get the bowl cleaned.)  Jay starts a turnaround at work on Wednesday and will be setting his alarm for 4:30 a.m. for the next six weeks or so.  Hopefully, that will keep Sweet Josie happy and the rest of us asleep until our alarms go off.  Happy Monday morning!

God's Promises

 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:  I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.   Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.  Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”  So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”  Genesis 9:12-17 (NIV)

Funny thing, last week and weekend nearly wiped me out.  I know it was a busy time for many with a lot going on, but between Grandma passing away, my obsession with knitting, a couple late nights and Jay going back on shift work (nights), I had a lot of trouble sleeping.  I was exhausted by Sunday morning and had no intention of going to church.

Saturday night Madolyn said her friend needed a ride to church, could we take her.  Absolutely.  But my plan was to take the kids to church and come home.  I would just be lazy all morning.  There were a couple events we needed to attend Sunday afternoon, so my only hope of a little downtime was Sunday morning.

I'm the type of person who never sleeps late, I'm usually up with the sun, but Sunday morning I was cozy and warm in my bed when my cell phone started buzzing.  I normally don't take my phone to bed with me except when Jay works nights...so there it was on vibrate.  I ignored it and then decided I better check out who was calling at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning.  It was a church member needing me to teach her class because she was taking her husband to the AmbuCare (like an ER) and the other teacher (her mother) was at the hospital with her very sick husband (her father).  How could I say no to teaching her class for her because I was tired?

So Plan B was to teach the class and come home after Sunday School.  I informed the kids of this plan and off we went to get Mad's friend for church.  Mad's friend's half-sister also wanted to come so she piled in and we headed to church.

The teacher that called me told me what bible story the class was supposed to learn about, but I wouldn't have a book.  I was in luck, it was a child favorite, Noah's Ark.  I could handle this one.  I simply opened my bible to Genesis 6 and read the story, pausing to make comments, etc.  The class is a good one (my son and niece are in it...ha) and they offered insight and we had a good lesson.  I had this pit in my stomach and knew that I needed to stay for church.

I stayed for church, got home and put together something for lunch and we ALL set down at the table to eat.  It was the first time in about a month that we had sat down at the table and ate together.  We usually try to do this a few times a week, but right now our schedule and my stomach don't allow it.  (Call me selfish, I know.)

All I wanted to do was take a nap, but that didn't happen until much later in the evening.  The day worked out.  (We did skip one commitment though.)  And the very next day on my evening walk, I saw the most beautiful rainbow in the sky and it brought tears to my eyes because just the day before I was telling the kids in the Sunday School class about the significance of a rainbow and it reminding us of God's promises.

I had convinced myself that I didn't need to go to church on Sunday morning because I was too tired. Seeing that rainbow reminded me that even when I am at my weakest, God's promises never fail.  He will provide what we need to carry on, even when we are weak.

I'm certainly not glad my fellow church member was having a really rough morning with all the things going on with her family, but I am thankful that God gave her the nudge to call me and get my lazy self out of bed.  I survived Sunday and even got to see a rainbow on Monday.  And honestly, I probably wouldn't have felt such peace upon seeing that rainbow if I hadn't taught that Sunday School class.

Today I am thankful for God's promises.

Cleaning out the clutter

Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a loyal spirit within me.  Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.  Psalm 51:9-11 (NLT)

Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things.  Who is like you, God?  Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.  You will increase my honor and comfort me once more. Psalm 71:19-21 (NIV)

Earlier this summer when Jay was working hard on the back deck project, he heard a strange noise coming from the dryer vent.  Upon investigation, he found a bird's nest in there.  Thank the Lord it was found before causing a fire.

Prior to this discovery, the kids and I had been hearing a bird making all kinds of racket whenever we would be in the kitchen.  We would even go out and investigate and find nothing.  We assumed she had a nest in one of the porch lights, but Mama Bird had found an even better spot in the vent, where she was warm and protected.  I had noticed that my dryer was taking extra long to dry things and suddenly we knew why.

Jay got a broom handle or stick or something and broke the nest up and was able to get most of it out on the sidewalk.  The first time we turned the dryer on after the cleaning, it made all kinds of noise in there with the little bits and pieces flying around.

Remnants of a nest

For a while I thought there was something wrong with my dryer, and it would be time for a new one.  I was almost ready to toss it out the back door.  I'm so glad I didn't give up on it, all it is needed was a little cleaning.  It is now back in proper working order again, drying load after load of laundry.

Cleaning out the clutter applies to a lot of areas in our life.  If we let junk build up inside of us, eventually we'll stop functioning properly.  That junk can cause spiritual, emotional or physical problems.  It's nothing to be ashamed of.  It happens.  Is it time for you to clean out the clutter?

Blessed

What can I say except that I have been blessed.  I have been very fortunate to have had one very special lady for the thirty-eight years of my life until five days ago.  I was even more fortunate to have had my Grandpa K until I was in my early twenties and my Grandpa & Grandma Lynch until my early thirties.  There are people (many of whom I've talked to this week) who either never knew a grandparent or two or four, or only had them for a short time.  I know I have been blessed.

Having said that, it is still going to be very strange to not have Grandma Great around.  When I was debating whether to take the job here at the courthouse, one of the factors I considered was being close to the nursing home.  On a moment's notice, in most scenarios, I could be at the nursing home within minutes if needed.  I think that only occurred once, but I was able to go and go quickly.  

The Madolyn's

Almost every day of the workweek, I would spend half of my lunch hour at the nursing home...visiting, fixing her hair, washing her glasses, straightening pictures, retrieving her shopping list, filling the candy jar, stocking her supplies, delivering cheese and cherry tomatoes, gathering laundry, hanging laundry, hearing the latest nursing home gossip, getting her up to date on Martinsville news, delivering newspapers, calming nerves, etc.

My lunch hours will be very weird.

I remember when she first went into the nursing home how hard it was not to be able to go to her house and just visit.  On many Sunday evenings when Jay would go to work, the kids and I would head to Grandma's house to make the evening go faster.  On the way home from town on slow summer days, my car knew the way to her house for a little visit and maybe something good to eat.  During farm season, impromptu lunches were common.  The coffee was on every day at 3:00 p.m. (for my dad).  If my kids didn't want to go run errands, I could leave them at Grandma Great's for a while.  She loved that.

Eventually, it got easier to drive on past her lane.  After a while, my car didn't want to pull me down the Angling Road on my way home from town.  But I could still visit her.  My kids could still hang out with her at the nursing home during the 4-H fair or if I was at a doctor's appointment or running to Wal-Mart.  She was still nearby.

And now she is gone.

In retrospect, I'm glad that this has gone in phases.  It may have been too much to handle all at once.  And as I've said repeatedly this week, I'm fine as long as I don't talk about it. 

But we all know that Grandma and I like to talk.

In time, I will get used to the boring lunch hours.  One thing is for sure, I have been blessed.

Knitting maniac

Bamboo needles

Several months ago, I decided I needed to take up a hobby that did not require technology.  Knitting was making a return to the world, and because I had a little background in knitting, I decided that was it.  A while back, a friend got a pair of needles, a knitting book and some yarn for me, and I put it away in the closet until I had time to work on it.

So here I was a couple weeks ago with a lot of downtime on my hands.  What to do?  Ahh, yes, I will break out the bamboo needles and yarn and figure this knitting thing out.  The lady at the Yarn Studio in a nearby town told my friend to tell me to use the book and watch youtube videos to get me going and that is what I did.

What I found amazing was as soon as I watched and read a little, it all came back to me.  My Grandma Lynch was a knitting maniac.  Most of my memories of her include yarn, needles and her knitting bag. . .and lots and lots of knitted gifts.  I'm guessing I was about 12 or so when she taught me the very basics.  I didn't stick with it and now here I am relearning.

As soon as I got the hang of it, I was taken aback...I could smell, see and feel my Grandma Lynch. Everything about it brought back memories of her knitting.  I fell in love with it and am hooked.  I cannot seem to put the needles down!

I have completed a dishrag (which was a fun project) and two scarves.  I am just about done with my third scarf.  It is a more complicated pattern and I'm having to really take my time.  Today I received this text from my number one fan and BFF: "Blog Please" to which I replied "I'm knitting, sorry."  His response, "Your people want blogs not scarves."

That cracked me up!  I'm outta control.  I have knitted in 90+ degree weather at a football game.  Got lots of stares.  I teased...I was knitting an afghan, ha.  I knitted the other night at the volleyball game.  More stares.  One asked, "Are you still on the same scarf as the football game?"  Ha, no, this is a new one!

I am the type of person that can hardly sit still.  This is a great way for me to be doing something while doing nothing...so as not to waste time.  Huh?  Get it?  And now that I've learned a few tricks, I don't need technology of any kind to knit away.  I can take it wherever I go.  Sorry, family, if I'm embarrassing you!

One funny about my grandma's knitting...the time Jay got an off-white cable-knit sweater (turtleneck and all) for Christmas.  Wow, was he speechless?!  Needless to say, he has never worn it out.  I keep teasing him that I will make him one.  My favorite knitted things from grandma were the matching leg warmers (blue and white striped - Go Bluestreaks) she made for me and my Cabbage Patch Doll, Amy Ann.  They were adorable.  Also, I love the burnt orange afghan that my mom has.  Great, perfect-sized blanket that really keeps the heat in.

Lane keeps bugging me about a blanket, and I keep telling him I'll get there, but it will take a while...a long while. He also wants a pair of socks and a hat.  Now, that I can probably do in short order.  And speaking of that...I gotta go.

Does anyone out there need a scarf?

Almost done.

Labor Day labors

Here's a follow-up to our summer project out the back patio door.  Last week Jay bought four sheets of siding and put them on the house.  It looks so good.  You can barely tell they were replaced...except that those four pieces are slightly whiter :)

Right in the area by the tail is where the plants were.

Jay has cut the boards for our walkway, but they need stained and fastened down.  The Pinterest photo shows them loose, but we can't figure out how that will ever work around here.  Hank the Tank will discover their mobility and they'll be all over the yard.

We plan to sow some grass and try to get that dirt area full of thick, green grass.  I think it will look nice next Spring if it takes off.  We also have to take care of the far side of the walkway where we have some weeds growing out of control.  Jay will sow new grass there as well.

Hank is not part of the project.

On Monday, Labor Day, we worked most of the afternoon moving the plants that had been right up next to the old deck.  They need shade.  We have always thought it would like nice to have some sort of landscaping between these two small trees in the backyard by the barn.  They are very shady and the grass won't grow there anyway.  So Jay went and got a few scoops of dirt from the Quacker's and we dug and split and re-planted until we had everything where we wanted it.

A little short on materials...

Unfortunately, we were short one strip of landscape fabric and one half scoop of landscape rock to complete our new shady landscape, but we made a good dent in the project.  We transplanted one plant out front to replace an incorrigible combination of two plants that is now in the fence row.  By incorrigible, I mean that I have dug that plant up twice now trying to remove an over-crowding columbine and the columbine will not go away...so out they both went.  If you ever want something hardy, columbine is what you need!

Earlier this summer Jay watched a do-it-yourself program on TV about separating and transplanting perennials. He felt like a pro by the time we were done with this. It's really simple too, don't be afraid to just chop those roots in two.  We got the machete and Jay chopped away.  When I took these pictures Wednesday morning, the plants hadn't even had water since Monday, and they were still looking great.  I just hope it continues.

If I see the Precious out there using it as a potty, we may be in the market for Hank III...

Sweet Jo...it is not so

Sweet Josie...oh my.  I can't tell you how many times we've said those two words together...usually following something like, 'that stupid cat' or 'bad kitty.'  Somehow, Meepie has sent word down to Sweet Josie that her purpose in life is to make us miserable and regret our decision to put Meepie to sleep.  I just know it.

Our adorable little fur ball has turned into psycho attack kitty.  I cannot walk through the house without being savagely attacked at the ankles.  I have resorted to wearing long pants because of all the scratches on the backs of my legs.  She is relentless.  This loving little kitten, the one who would not leave me alone at night...licking my face and cheeks, lying on my head or across my neck...yeah, that's the one who will now jump up on the bed, sit down, put her ears up and pounce on my face.  I'm not joking.  Jay thinks it's hilarious because out of nowhere, literally, she will attack my face or any exposed flesh and hang on as if her life depended upon it.

A month ago I researched cat behavior online.  Apparently, I'm not supposed to wear long pants because it is basically enabling her bad behavior.  Hmm.  (Forget that, I'm trying to keep myself from bleeding to death.)  I should set aside time each day for 'ritualistic play' with the kitten.  Okay, I've tried this.  I'll calmly grab the sweet thang and try to play with her, using a toy or even my hand, and it always ends in bloodshed and me wanting to strangle the precious kitty.

Amazingly enough, every single night, once the lights are off in the house, Josie will jump up on the bed and find the perfect spot on or near my legs and sleep there nearly all night long. What a sweet kitty.  I guess it's a good thing that Jay and I are early risers for the most part because this little gem won't let us sleep past 6 or 6:15.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that she will get on the bed and cause a commotion until one of us gets up.  Her favorite trick is jumping up on the headboard and rustling the mini blinds.  That noise is like no other.  It is imperative that we check her food dish before bedtime because if it is running low and happens to empty during the night, she will kick her alarm into overdrive.

We have tried shutting our bedroom door to keep her out, but her persistence is never lacking.  She has discovered that jumping up and hitting the door handle over and over will also ensure a response from us. She  is like that child who wants attention and doesn't care if it's positive or negative attention.  She just wants to get her point across.

Josie's redeeming quality is her quirkiness and spunk.  She reminds us so much of Meepie when we find her in weird places or up to no good.  Below are a few pictures I've taken over the past month or so of some of her tricks.

Looks comfy, doesn't it?

Do you see me now?

I was cooking supper and one of the kids told me to try to find kitty, that she was staring right at me...sure enough, the little sneak was lounging behind the TV.








Apparently lying behind the screen didn't cut it....she immediately switched to plan B to get our attention.

We don't give her enough credit.  She's a genius.  "How do I get the humans' attention?  Ah, yes, they're always staring at that big, noisy square.  I'll try the other side."

Wish I had a picture of all of them, hidden message maybe?

Last weekend we went camping.  When we came home on Sunday morning, I noticed Hank the Tank's chew sticks all over the living room floor.  Weird.  I asked Jay if he had done it when he was home the night before feeding the animals.  No.  Then it dawned on me...Lane and his friends had been playing with Hank earlier in the week and had left the plastic bag of chew sticks on his top bunk.  We had found the sweet kitty licking one of the sticks a day or two before. After a quick search, I found the empty plastic bag on the top bunk.  Little Josie, as if to protest her lonely weekend, brought every single chew stick out of the bag and into the living room.  There were about a dozen sticks total.

No worries, we're just friends.

Her new favorite spot is right next to the fish bowl.  My coworker gave us their goldfish and Josie is in love.  She will watch that fish for hours.  Fortunately, the fish has not been attacked (that we know of).  

Not sure if I have mentioned before, but Josie, like Meep, prefers water from a glass, literally.  I have the same glass on my nightstand for Josie that I had for Meep.  Well, Josie has found bigger and better things...this fish bowl is glass and provides an endless supply of water.  Can you imagine what poor Sherlock thinks when that enormous head reaches down and her tongue comes out for a drink? Downside, the water in the fishbowl is always low...

This one has been a while (you can see how much Josie has grown).  The kids and I were gone one Saturday morning, and Jay sent me this picture.  The living room window was open and the little miss brought her treasure inside for Jay to see.  

A few weeks before this, she had brought a bird in through the window and let it loose in Lane's room.  We have an open door/window policy at our house, all of God's creatures are welcome to come inside...ahhhhh!

We're going to keep Sweet Josie around for a while, hopefully, but we welcome better behavior anytime soon.  In the meantime, I'll be wearing long pants...or I'll be in line at the blood bank.