Monday, September 29, 2008

Where I find myself

o·a·sis

(ō-ā'sĭs) n. pl. o·a·ses (-sēz)

1) A fertile or green spot in a desert or wasteland, made so by the presence of water.

2) A situation or place preserved from surrounding unpleasantness; a refuge: an oasis of serenity amid chaos.

(courtesy of www.dictionary.com)

Sunday, September 28, 2008

SEPTEMBER

A month which is usually filled to overflowing with wonderful things- crispness returning to the air, perfect hiking weather, the last of the summer sun, putting the garden to bed for the winter, finishing up the last of the yard projects, cutting firewood & curling up in front of the wood stove's blazing cozieness... but not this year. September this year has been a month of foggy brains, kleenex, tylenol, orange juice & blankets on couches. I have been sick with Something for nearly a month now. Finally gave up and went to the doctor's last week only to find out that it's just a sinus & ear infection- all that for THIS?! The guys at work are hoping for a case of the bird flu, and I'm sure that it's much more related to the Plague than a simple sinus infection. At any rate, I have learned from my dear hubby these long weeks how to properly put a dinner menu together as I've watched him alternate between the "pancake & sausage", "saltines & pnut butter" and the "microwave popcorn & pudding cups" menu...poor guy is desperately ready for a wife to make dinner again!
The Doc gave me a prescription to some version of something which is reportedly capable of killing the nastiest bug in no time (though lots of time has passed & the bug still hangs on) so hopefully October can be the month of hiking, leaf raking, gardening & general battening-down-the-hatches before winter comes.

On another note, many of my friends have asked for a long time for me to post photos of our wedding. I finally found them this weekend, and will try to get some up on here soon (just in time for our second anniversary, too!).

Friday, September 26, 2008

INTRODUCTIONS

I would like to introduce you all to our little critter family...

Bongo is a Basenji/English Pointer cross. His humongous ears are his biggest asset. They make every female-anything swoon on the spot (forget peaceful walks when people are around!). He loves to dig huge holes, and be with his people (whom he adores). He is 60lbs of laughing energy, is slowly chewing our back porch to the ground, loves to run and drives Daniel crazy. He joined us in June of this year, and is approximately a year old.
Isabella the Imp came along in July. She's a Snow Bengal & comes from a succession of homes where life was not so good for her. She's probably 2 years old. She looks innocently sweet- but she opens all of the cupboards, sorts through all of the contents, steals all of the toys, and pokes at the other cats until a raging brawl occurs and threatens to tear the house apart...but she is of course above reproach in all things.
Polaris a Korat, and the Queen of our Castle. She maintains her rule with an iron paw. The only thing she is afraid of is the rabbit (go figure- but the rabbit gave her a good reason!). We got her when she was a wee 6-wk-old kitten, and named her "Polaris" after she dove into a bowl of carrots & snatched one away for her dinner, snarling & growling. Polaris means "Spirit of the Bear" and is another name for the North Star. She's now 2 years old.
Sherman was a stray found huddled in the woods at my parents. We think he's a Russian Blue, and about 1 1/2 years old. His one goal in his new life with us is to love and be loved...oh yeah, and spend as much time as possible sleeping on something soft & cozey. Life in the woods was terribly traumatic, and he never wants to go outside again. He earned the name "Sherman" because he is, as Daniel says, like a Panzer Tank...Panzer didn't quite fit, and since he's an American cat he was named after the American tank "Sherman".
Serengeti is a Bengal cat like Isabella. The breed is a direct decendant of a wild cat breed which is found in Africa/India/etc. He is special, and he is quite sure of it! Every night he "kills" his toys & brings them to our bedroom loudly proclaiming his superior hunting skills...and then he curls up on the bed & purrs contentedly for the rest of the night. He is 1 1/2 yrs old, and can jump 7' straight up. He views his greatest personal accomplishment as being the time he nearly killed the duck (ran out the door & pounced) that is twice as big as him. Well, he thinks he nearly killed the duck- really the duck just lost two feathers & some dignity.



There are several more critters that live in various corners of our home & yard, but the introductions will have to come at a later date when I have photos...

More soon!