Bye Violet

She hated being shut up in the house. She hated her "fun tunnel." And one day last week she unzipped the fun tunnel and spent a couple of carefree hours exploring the great outdoors.

It made her so happy that I opened the doggie/cat door so she could come & go during daylight hours. When it started to get dark, I would find her, bring her inside & close the cat door.

Every day she came in regularly for food and lovin'. A couple of times she was out after dark and I could hear her cavorting on the roof of the trailer. Nevertheless, when I called she came. I closed the door & she seemed content to spend the evening cuddling with me.

Last night she came in early and I closed the door early. I went out to the laundry around 7 PM and when I opened the office door to come back in, she slipped by me & was out again. By this time it was stone dark.

I went out several times during the night calling her. Nothing. I told Dan to leave the cat door open until he came to bed. Nothing. This morning, nothing. No Violet. I was brushing my teeth when Dan came in to tell me she was dead in the road. Damn that stupid f***'in cat. I loved her. Damn her.

Shameless

I almost broke my arm patting myself on the back. These are two of the most beautiful pies I've ever seen and I made them myself. Pumpkin, I've made many times and for me it's a no fail deal, but here I am at this advanced age and it's is my first ever apple pie.

I guess I never made one because I don't really care for apple pie, but Dan put in a special request for Thanksgiving so I gave it a shot. It's so pretty, it's almost a shame to cut into it. Not! I already did. Had a piece for my dinner tonight. Pretty darn tasty. Since it's only me & Dan for Thanksgiving tomorrow, there will still be plenty of pie, so I think I'll have a piece of the pumpkin for dessert. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Fun Run?

That's what it's called, but I'm not sure that Violet agrees with me.

Violet is an indoor cat who's always scheming & plotting new escape plans. She'll launch herself over the front desk at guests who, she is sure, will liberate her. We've had more than a few screams and heart-stopping when this 15lb hair ball comes flying through the air at people' heads.

My attempt to satisfy her craving for the great outdoors and all the interesting stuff out there was to provide her with a safe place to play. Hence, the Fun Run. It can be put anywhere. I can fill the attached weight bags to keep it stable on hard surfaces or use the included stakes for soft ground. The whole thing compacts into a flat carry bag about 20" square.

Today's the first day & I'm hearing a lot of whining & crying from out there on the deck. What's not to like? I'm sure if I was a cat, I'd be thrilled to be confined to a 10' mesh tunnel to nowhere, while birds, lizards, bugs and birds roam freely just out of reach.

When life gives you lemons

You see all those lemons? That's just one tree. We have two more trees & lemons coming out the butt. C'mon down here and pick some of these darn things or they're going to rot on the tree.

We keep a basketful on the front porch for folks to help themselves and Dan takes some down to the VFW, but an awful lot of them still go to waste.

Spent the day today converting the small kitchen unit into a non smoking room. We're now half & half. My goal is to be 100% non smoking. Dan's fighting me on this, but I'm determined. A couple of weeks ago we actually lost some business because we didn't have enough non smoking accomodations. On top of that, smokers burn holes in everything in the room. Who needs that aggravation? Not me.

We're going to have a couple of sloppy days due to tropical storm Ida, but I'm not complaining because this year's hurricane season pretty much didn't happen. The sun will be out by Thursday, so get your self on over here & pick some lemons!

An Exceptional Day

It was a really beautiful cool, dry morning, so I threw a sassy scarf around my neck, hoisted my new TJ Maxx bargain purse and set out for Panama City. I had no major agenda, so I hit a few of my favorite stores just to browse. Kirklands, Pier One, Bed Bath & Beyond and my new favorite World Market. What a treasure trove that place is. Picked up a few great bargains and got compliments on my excellent new purse.

Walmart was my last stop where I finished my Christmas shopping. On checking out the cashier asked me if I was having a good day. "I'm having an exceptional day," I said. I was having so much fun, I forgot to have lunch, so I parked in front of a sub shop (or what passes for one here in LA) and called DH to see if he wanted me to bring him a sub as well. "Oh yeah, great idea," he says, so I hit the lock button, hop out, slam the car door and lock my keys inside. Not that I noticed until I came back out with the sandwiches.

When I called Dan, he tried the remote with our cell phones trick, but apparently that doesn't work when you are 35 miles apart, so he closed up the motel & came to my rescue.

Apart from that little hiccup, I must say that it was indeed an exceptionally good day. I still have my totally excellent purse and I beat Dan home by almost 5 minutes. I'll bet he didn't even know we were racin'. Love that.

Cat Fence

It's been pretty darn dull around here with no business to speak of. On the up side the weather has turned from sullen and sultry to bright and crisp.

Perfect weather for cooking, so I whipped up one of our favs, a bacon and onion quiche. Now, those of you who have or have had cats know my dilemma. Where to put the thing to cool off. My Violet can get to just about every surface in the house. I usually stow things in the nuker, but hot out of the oven pie crust would get soggy in the enclosed space.

I did the only thing I could think of. My makeshift cat fence worked perfectly and the quiche, while not my best effort, was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone but the cat.