What To Call This?

That all depends on if this works out for me. If the pictures upload and everything goes well I could call this "Yippee, A Wonderful Thursday". If not, then it will be something like "Time To Throw This !^)(&$ & ^*&=%+$@ Computer Out The Window!" Unfortunately the computer room is on the first floor, so not much destruction could be done.
So now, with out the safety of a net, I will walk the imaginary tight-rope of photo posting. Here (drum roll please) are some of the photos that match up with my last post. Oh, by the way, for those of you who hadn't noticed....the computer ate the banner photo at the top of my blog. The "dwelling place" has vanished and refuses to reload. So, what else is new!?


Nope, no photos today. Piece of **bleepin'** crap computer!

I have read all of your bogs and when I get rid of this foul mood I will post some comments. It looks like my next update with any substantial "eye candy" will be from my dad's computer in the middle of August.

Dare I??????

Dare I even try to post an update? My computer is a complete mess. It simply eats files and then pukes them out in some form of gibberish. It ate my virus protection program. Says it just doesn't exist anymore, and even if it did there's not enough memory to support it. I can hardly hold on to an Internet connection, and when I'm not working on the Internet this annoying little box pops up every 10 seconds to prompt me to connect to the Internet. We manage to get one somewhat hassle-free connection per day. Yes, one. Once I log off I can't get back on-line unless I completely shut down the computer and try again.
As for me life away from the "Box from Hell"........
My birthday Saturday ( Number 45!!) was good, no....GREAT! Really. I haven't had a birthday party since I was about 12 years old. On Friday night I decided I wanted a party. We had a cook-out at 5pm with 6 of our neighbors, two of their children and a dear friend who used to rent a room from us. Quite and eclectic bunch, but fun was had by all. I got cards and gifts from everyone! I was totally shocked. Don't get me wrong, I love presents but I was taught from a very young age to never be so rude as to ask for a gift, or so vain to actually expect a gift. I got a wonderful gift card to Outback Steakhouse, some new flowers for my garden, a crisp $50 bill and a cute jacket made of canvas fabric with cats all over it.

Here's where you would be viewing photos if I thought the darn things would up-load in less the 4 hours.

Not much stitching at all this weekend. I did kit up Mirabilia's "Mediterranean Mermaid" with all her lovely threads, beads, crystals and metallics for my friend Larisa in Russia. On Sunday we went out to the local flea market to celebrate our 21st Anniversary. It was a super day because I found all the little flea market gadgets I always search for and never find. 12 pieces of doll house furniture for $10, some creepy-cute Halloween lights--2 boxes for $3, and a stash of interesting cross-stitch fabrics of varied counts and colors. They are small pieces, but I got 27 of them for $12.

Yes, here's where more photos should be.

Elliot is slowly recovering from his itchy fur issues. I actually had to give him a bath last Wednesday. So not fun. I was really concerned for his mental state. He thrashed around so much and his little heart was pounding. It took nearly 30 minutes wrapped in a towel to calm him after the bath adventure. I have to do it all again this Wednesday, but I am seriously considering skipping it. He also has antibiotic medicine and some holistic little pellets made of Calendula.

Yup, another blank space where a photo should be.

I've worked a lot on the new dollhouse over the past 3 days. This is the one Joe found at a yard sale for $25. A huge, hulking, hardwood, 3 storey, 7 room, home-made antique. Joe added 2 storey additions on either side and now it's quite the Victorian masterpiece. It's nearly completely furnished and I worked on wallpapering it with scrapbook papers. The large master bedroom needs some hardwood flooring and a good papering and then I need to construct the roofs on the additions.

Your guessed it..............photos in this space.

Hey, it's raining! Yeah. I've been hoping for rain. Can't use the garden house because the genius plumber (Joe's friend) hooked up the outside spout to the hot water valve! It's been incredibly dry lately, but luckily way below the usual temperatures for July....like 20 degrees below the normal temperatures! The dog and cats have loved it though. And so do the chickens. Yes, chickens. Apparently the neighbors have gotten 5 Guinea (sp?) birds and they seem to like my house better then their own. The cats don't even bother them a bit. Carmella gave it a shot and then quickly realized she was out numbered. They're very pretty, although a bit 'messy' if you know what I mean. Three males and 2 females.

Photo? Photo? Someday.

Hopefully by the end of this week I can do a proper update with photos and all the bells and whistles. For those of you waiting on an e-mail from me...... yes, I'm still alive, but my computer not so much.

Independence Day Good Wishes

Flutter, dear flag, o'er the lands and the seas!

Fling out your stars and stripes to the breeze,

Righting the wrongs, dispelling all fear,

Guarding the land that we cherish so dear.

And the God of our Fathers, abiding with thee

Will bless you and trust you, o flag of the free!

-----Walter Taylor Field

Here Kitty Kitty

Tomorrow would be 17 years that Alix was with us. I miss her a lot, but I am surrounded by my other loving feline friends. I haven't talked about them or shown any photos in a while. Elliot has been a bit under the weather. He has a skin condition that causes him to develop a rash. A quick Cortizone shot at the Vet usually clears it up in about 48 hours. Last night was the first night in over a week that he didn't spend hours howling and scratching at the windows to get back outside. It seems that laying in the cool grass eased the itching a bit. He went so far as to "remove" the window screen from the living-room window on Tuesday in order to get outside. Luckily it was during the day and we fixed it right away. Lucky also that the weather has been rather cool for July and I can close the glass windows down over the screens in the living-room at night. The itching made him so restless and frantic that he has lost weight. I feed him his usual dry cat food and also some from the cans, which he has previously refused to eat until this week. He gets his daily allowance of cheese too. He loves bits of American cheese so much that we call him "Lactose Cat".

The kittens, Roy and Carmella, are really growing into full-size cats so quickly. They are still so funny to watch as the wrestle and play all day. Carmella was a bit "above the weather" last week when it was very hot. I searched for her for quite a while before I found her napping spot.

Coal and Sammy are still the best of friends. It is hard to believe that Sammy is 13 years. He is still so playful and energetic. It saddens me to think he has FIV (Feline version of HIV) but he shows no outward signs and the Vet says he could go on to a very long and normal lifespan.

Our "barn cat" Mocha comes out at sunset every night to be with us. She is still very afraid of Coal and Elliot and is relieved when I put them in for the night at 9pm. Sammy stays outside with her most nights.

The neighbor's cat, Twinsy, spends 90% of his time at our house which is fine with me. I had a black and white cat growing up at my mom and dads. I miss my old Sybil and Twinsy is now the resident black and white cat to fill that void.

And I certainly can't forget my loyal friend and exercise companion, Bud. Here's his version of "Where's Waldo" in the poison ivy vines!

As we relax over this long weekend and enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks, remember our pet friends and the fact they they often do not enjoy the fireworks as much as we do. Please be kind and keep them indoors or far away from the noise and sparks.

Everythings' Coming Up Roses.....

...and daisies

...and sedum
...and coneflower
......and even Hollyhocks!
It's a banner year for my flower beds. Just the right mix of sun, rain and moderate temperatures in the Spring has produced an abundance of flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors. I've tired for over a decade to grow Hollyhocks. The batch above I started from seed last spring and over-Wintered them with straw and what wonderful results. I want to start some black variety this year.

Lots of stitchy things to show, but more of that next time. I knew I needed to make a brief update to get back in the swing of blogging on a regular basis. Until next time I wish you "Good Cheer"!