Goodbye My Handsome Orange Kitty

It was a tough week dealing with the unexpected loss of my cat, Hobbes. He had been sick but I didn't think it was as bad as it was. I had both cats at the vet for their annual appointment and it quickly became apparent that I was going to go home with only one cat. These past few days without him have had me getting used to his absence. He was always around, more like a dog than a cat.

So, much in the vein of what I did when I lost Nik here are a few things about my kitty.

He would often sleep with a glimpse of his little pink tongue sticking out. I would occasionally put a drop of milk on it when he was sleeping to watch his reaction at the unexpected treat.

I did not sleep alone. If I said it was time for bed, he would head to bed. If I was reading, he'd always reach out a paw to touch my arm. And then he would get annoyed when I would move that arm to flip the pages. When the lights went out, he would sleep touching me. If he really missed me, he would sleep on my chest or head. It was like having a heart attack or sleeping with a big, furry hat.

Right before he'd fall asleep, he'd give one long, drawn out purr like he was shutting down.

He was not the best hunter. He once caught a bird, but it was because it pretty much flew into his mouth. His prey was the dead autumn leaves that would swirl outside my door each Fall.

He was a polydactyl cat, which gave him thumbs. He could open most doors and once opened my freezer door while I was at work. He also once broke into my neighbors kitchen in the middle of the night to eat their cat's food.

He was mostly good to Jack but occasionally he would have to be in the spot she was in and would annoy her until she left and he could have it.

Whenever I would come home, he'd meet me at the door. The minute I would sit down he'd climb in my lap, even if I was only sitting for a minute to tie my shoes.

He was the center of attention, even if there was a houseful of people here. He'd plop down into the middle of everyone with his white belly up just waiting for someone to pet him. He did have a chauvinistic streak and would forget all about me if a man was in the house (friend, neighbor, Verizon guy).

He was my tri-state kitty (MA, CT, and NY). I adopted him when he was 6 weeks old and he was loaded with fleas. Which he promptly gave to Jack. There were baths and I got many scratches to resolve that issue.

He was always there to cheer me up. No matter if I was sick, sad, angry, broken hearted, depressed or just not myself he was there to purr and purr until I felt better. He also never minded if I cried and my tears fell into his fur.

Goodbye my boy. Thank you for everything. You are sorely missed.

Do you have family in South Dakota?

Oddly when I mentioned to people that I was spending Memorial Day weekend in South Dakota, without fail the majority of the people I told asked me if I had family there. The theory being that no one clearly would go there unless they had to. It was also alarming to realize how few people actually knew that Mount Rushmore was in South Dakota. I'm not sure where people think it is.

Of course, Mount Rushmore was indeed a big draw for going to the state. It was an amazing monument and it was interesting to learn about how it was created (most of the carving was accomplished with dynamite). To see the exhibit about how it was built made you realize how difficult a job it would have been.

The Crazy Horse monument was not nearly as done as I thought. It actually isn't done at all. They have a lot of work to do but it should be amazing when they get it done finally. It's going to be an immense work. The Indian Museum of North America had some interesting exhibits.

When you are out west you can't help but think of buffalo. The Custer National Park has herds of them and they were amazing to see. They were immense animals just grazing away and also clearly shedding their heavy winter coats. They also had their cute babies. For cute in a prairie, you can't get much cuter than the prairie dogs. They were beyond adorable and with their cute little babies were fun to watch just tentatively poking their heads above ground to see what the adults were up to. They were so much fun to watch popping in and out of their burrows.

Very early on Sunday morning found us driving to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower. If you remember Close Encounters of the Third Kind, you know Devil's Tower. It was magnificent and you could definitely tell it is a spiritual place. While geologists are still not 100% sure how this unique structure formed, the Native Americas say it was formed when a giant bear was chasing several maidens. The maidens hopped on a flat rock and prayed to the Great Spirit for help. As they prayed the rock grew and the grooves on the side of the rock are from the bear's immense claws. The maidens turned into the constellation Pleiades.

We stayed in the gold mine town of Lead (pronounced like lead a horse). It is a mile high city that has an open pit gold mine. The amazing thing about the town is how fluid it is. I mean because the town is crisscossed by tunnels they occasionally have to move buildings to a different part of town. A church brick by brick, the school, a dancehall, and homes all on the move based on where the mines took them. That has to be so odd to have buildings changing locations. The mine in Lead is no longer in the gold business but is instead being used for scientific research.

Every where we hiked you were reminded to take care where you stepped lest you meet a rattlesnake!

Our last stop was the amazing Badlands. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. The landscape was otherworldly and beautiful. The landscape was interesting because parts were devoid of anything green and just clay as far as the eye could see. It was like being on another planet! Then another hike we took there were beautiful wildflowers, grass and cactus (not a combination you often see) almost like a field. We got up before the sunrise on our last day to watch the sun rise in the Badlands. It was early but definitely worth it.

Date Night at the MFA

I have indeed been a busy social butterfly and having a great time. I met someone new and we have been having a great time getting to know each other. On a recent date, I actually managed to utter probably the most random question I have ever asked a date. The question being "Do you want to see the mummy's head?" We were at an exhibit at the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) so it wasn't all together random but indeed not anything I have ever asked a date. His enthusiasm showed that the question was well received!

It's been fun sharing my world and learning about his. It's sad that both of us come to each other after being treated badly by the last people in our lives. For me I am still angry at myself for allowing a boy to treat me in such a disrespectful manner. The lying, the lack of maturity, the indecision and taking me for granted are something I will never allow to happen again. Luckily while those have left their mark, things between us are very positive. And go a long way to making the bad way each of us had been treated pale in comparison to what a good time we've been having.

Aquageddon

It was quite the week and weekend. Cambridge Science week, oil spill in the Gulf, car bomb in Times Square, unseasonably warm weather which made it feel like July instead of May, a new person in my life, and friends moving out of state. Of course this all pales against Aquageddon, which has to be the most awkward word ever. Just trying to pronounce it is like having a mouth full of marbles. The water main break that caused chaos for many communities was interesting to say the least. It made eating out a bit of challenge but was certainly not in evidence when I took this picture Friday night. I love walking over the Charles from Cambridge to Boston and the weather was perfect to do just that.

With all this going on, I managed to break a personal record by having three dates in the weekend. The record was the fact it was three dates with the same person. Another first was getting flowers on our first date. The special part was that he had the flowers delivered to the restaurant so when we walked in there they were! It was so incredibly sweet and thoughtful. He is someone who was entirely unexpected but so very much fun. Dinners, desserts, flowers, and a movie I have been dying to see kept me entertained and up way past my bedtime. It was so nice to laugh and get to know someone new. It actually feels odd not having a date with him tonight but a busy girl needs some time to herself :-) And of course date #4 is already scheduled.

On the home front, my home office renovation is in full swing. I adore my new desk and can't wait for the file cabinet to arrive (especially since I got rid of the old file cabinet last week). I have definitely taken to doing a huge Spring cleaning and purge and the efforts are starting to pay off. Life is indeed good :-)

Oh Canada

I oddly still feel like I am catching up from being in Canada. My email inbox certainly has not gotten completely cleaned out. It was a great trip and probably my favorite work trip of the series I have done this year. The people in Ontario were so friendly, the training went very well and I loved the hotel we stayed at. Of course seeing Niagara Falls was amazing. The sheer power of the water was amazing to see and I am glad I did.

Today was a delightfully sunny day. It was an utterly chaotic day at work (aren't they all) but it had some great high points. Seeing people I really enjoy and getting presents is always fun! I did get dragged into some on going drama that makes me feel like I am in a bad relationship. After dealing with a friend's bad relationship I certainly do not need a bad work relationship. I am in the middle (which oddly seems to happen often lately) and the work one is a he said-she said and I am providing IT proof of who was doing work or not. It gets to the point that you have to wonder how much effort are you going to continue to give if the person you are trying to help lies to you. Thoroughly icky but I am trying to keep myself above it. The aforementioned gift did indeed help.

Easter Sunday

My orchids seems to all be very happy right now. I've got three in bloom and two ready to go. It's really nice and the one in the photo above has definitely cheered up my bedroom.

Last week was grueling. Too many hours worked, too many stressful conversations and I was wiped by the time Friday hit. I was happy to leave work early and take the afternoon to myself. The weather was absolutely beautiful and that continued through the whole weekend. It was the perfect antidote to all the rain.

I had a completely unexpected conversation with my Mom on Saturday that took me off guard. I was fortunate to be heading out Saturday evening to see a dear friend and attend a private harp concert she was putting on. It proved to be a time of unexpected grace and comfort. It's always a nice reminder to hear from people that share your experiences. It makes the world seem a bit smaller. I left the evening feeling more at peace than I have been in a long time. It's amazing what the power of community and sound can do for you.

Aftermath

It's been such amazing weather here. I do not mean amazing in a good way. The sheer amount of rain has been unprecedented. We have become adept at detours because a road is blocked by water. Weather forecasts, instead of bringing advisories about snow totals, are chock full of rivers and when they will crest. Trees just knocked over, potholes and chunks missing out of the roads, puddles in the middle of lawns as there is nowhere for the water to go. My parents have gained a lake in their yard complete with ducks who are enjoying the new place to land. As my friend pointed out it does indeed seem to be raining ducks because they are everywhere. I did see a Great Blue heron at swollen brook on my walk this evening. At least the birds seem happy about all this water.

It was indeed a welcome respite to attend the Boston Flower show last weekend. After is was cancelled last year (thanks a lot MassHort for screwing that up), the show resumed in a new location. My usual partner, my Mom, was felled by a nasty stomach flu so I was on my own. I missed having her with me.



The flowers were beautiful and it just smelled like Spring. I did get too close to a cactus that left a few tiny, fine as hair spikes in my hand that took a lot of time with tweezers to remove. The animals made out of flowers were clever and the large aviary had doves, parakeets, pheasants and comically cute Bobwhite quails.



It does indeed feel like a hard won Spring. Winter was not too brutal here this year but it still took it's toll. It seems that more than just me is ready to put the last month behind and have a fresh start.

Travel Musings

Of course I no sooner put away my suitcases from my month on the road when my boss informs me I will be heading to Toronto next month. It just figures. So it seemed time to list some of the observations I made with my latest travels.

-Fig Newtons are lousy travel snacks. They are way too smushy and become one giant Newton in your carry on bag. They still taste good though.

-Traveling with many chargers - 6 laptop, iPhone, 4 Blackberry (AT&T and Verizon)and bluetooth headset caused many eyebrows to raise. It also garnered me surprise and much gratitude from the man at baggage claim who needed a charger.

-After staying in multiple hotels you begin to forget just what your room number is. 1401. 1605. 639. 435. They all begin to blur together. The same thing with cities. I'm in Detroit. I mean Dallas. Oh wait, where am I again?

-I never turn on the tv in a hotel room. This is partly due to me spending hardly any time there and also because I like the peace and quiet.

-I love the free toiletries but really don't need them as I have a drawer full.

-I always look at the room service menu, though I rarely order.

-I love hotels that have an iPod dock and robes. I am not happy with the ones which give you neither. Oh and mints, chocolate or tiny brownie bites on your pillow are all welcome. Making me search your cleverly designed room for where the heck the iron is hidden does not make me happy.

-When you fly out of the same terminal 3 days in a row, people at Starbucks start to recognize you.

-Boarding passes make great bookmarks.

-Hotels have started giving little pads of paper and not pens, but pencils for meetings. I love it but if you're going to give me a roomful pencils at least give me a pencil sharpener.

-Sleeping in your own bed is always so wonderful!

Whirlwind

Well this indeed has been the month of many places for me. It started with a weekend in Miami and some very welcome warm weather and time to just sit on the beach and relax. Then it was off to Fort Lauderdale and the ridiculously big hotel room. It was nice but far too big for practical purposes. Then it was a drive to Albany. Then back on plane to Charlotte ahead of the giant blizzard that clobbered DC the first time. Three hours in the car driving in the driving rain brought me to South Carolina to spend a weekend with my Grandparents. I got to catch up on some sleep, was so well fed (soup, carrot cake pancakes, the peanut butter cup brownies) and had a great time chatting with my grandparents. I had such a good time that it was so hard to say goodbye and head back to Charlotte for my meeting.

Then it was off to Dallas. This was a good trip but it was filled with more drama than the other legs of my trip. My trip to this point had me in places with unseasonably cold temperatures. Dallas took the cake with snow. Lots of snow.

It did speed up my training a bit as all of us had planes to catch. After my flight got canceled, I did manage to get on an earlier flight. The last minute decision to grab lunch for the plane proved to be so very wise as it took almost 4 hours to fly the normally 35 minute flight.

Luckily my flight home from Austin was only 20 minutes delayed. It was so nice to land and to have a weekend at home for once. I actually managed to be a bit domestic and cook. I also was able to catch up with friends and resume my social life for a bit.

My next trip was to Detroit. That flight was delayed (and I still have no idea why) which got me to town late. It was a mad rush to get things done and I finally got checked into my room at 7pm that night. And what a room. Soft jazz in the bathroom. Faux fireplace roaring on the tv. Mood lighting. Given I was holding 4 laptops and had work to do, the mood was totally lost on me. And it took me forever to find the light switch! The only other drama for Detroit was the delicious, but extremely hot, cauliflower soup that I burned the roof of my mouth with. I should have eaten that first bite more slowly but I was starving and I hadn't eaten lunch. I paid for my carelessness for the next four days.

My final trip was to Portland. I was thrilled to be spending the weekend with my friend and enjoying some warm weather for once. It was sunny and almost 60 degrees out. We had spa day and got pampered. After a month on planes, my poor skin didn't know if it was coming or going. Shopping, eating, talking until the wee hours of the morning and walking along the beach were all a nice respite from all the hard work I had been doing.

The beach was beautiful and so unlike the beaches here in New England.


My final training went well and the long lunch with my friend before I headed to the airport was a delight. We went to one of my favorite places and splurged on the side of fries with our sandwiches and dessert! We also discussed our love of the salt water taffy we had bought at the beach. It was so good but neither one of us could stop eating it!

It was such a good trip that even the grueling 4 hour flight delay home did not dampen the fun. I arrived home later than expected and to a winter storm that was dumping rain after dumping a bunch of snow. Getting back in to the swing of things was tough as my body had adjusted to being on the West coast. I did get myself caught up on sleep this weekend and am ready to head into a new month ready to go.

Fun in the Snow

I am indeed a fan of snow, but this past weekend was a bit much. It snowed for three days. Granted the accumulation wasn't as dramatic as that sounds but it still meant shoveling, brushing the car off, bundling up to go out and peeling off layers once back inside. Repeat that a few times and you've got the idea.

After having some rare time off from work, I took full advantage. I got a lot of things done and finally got to try out my new cross country ski poles. After my spectacular lack of coordination caused me to bend my poles last year, I got another pair.

They worked perfectly and it was great to be outside. The sun peeked out for a few minutes, the snow was fluffy and it felt so good to shake off the cobwebs and get a good workout in. I was very happy and had a huge smile on my face when I walked in the door. I can't wait to get back out and go again.

Goodbye 2009

It was oddly fitting that I found myself in the middle of a candlelit labyrinth this New Year's eve. My life indeed has felt rather labyrinthine this year with it's various twists and turns.

I am very happy to be staring down the last hours of this year that has found me recovering from a broken heart and shedding way too many tears. It's been a year that has sorely tested my patience (in spite of all the yoga I do)and resilience.

It finds me facing a new relationship with my Mom, who is still losing her fight with the demons haunting her. Feeling distant from her for the first time ever has been very sad and Christmas Eve was not a fun time. It helped talking to my Grandmother this week to know that I am not alone in dealing with my Mom, though sometimes I feel that way. I know there will be some difficult conversations to start off this new year, but they are needed and I will be happy to get things out in the open.

My job continues to be source of stress with a final slap in the face proving no one in my group does know or care all the hard work I do.

My love live found a lot of dates for me this year, but not any that really stuck. A few weeks ago I was facing my busy time at work and I had frankly given up going on anymore dates this year. I was pleasantly surprised to have managed to squeeze two fun dates in before the end of this year.

I find that all the drama of the last year has really helped me to define what it is that I want for the new year. It is now up to me to make these things happen. Part of the evening tonight involved writing down things to cast off for this year and then burning that piece of paper. I do enjoy that process and it really does help me let go. It was also a great time to catch up with a dear friend who is probably one of the sweetest people I know.

It's debatable if I will make it until midnight but I don't care. I am happy with the day and evening I have had and am more than ready to say goodbye to 2009.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Once again I am in the midst of a chaotic December. Work of course is so busy and when you add to that all the other holiday obligations time is short. So of course I did what anyone in this situation would do. I decided to have a party last weekend. I love to entertain and was happy to have a houseful of people. It was a bitterly cold night but my house was warm and full of conversation and laughter. The white bean soup and chili were a hit as well as the very popular bottles of wine my friends brought. Other friends brought me a lovely pair of earrings that I cannot stop wearing. I think my other earrings are getting jealous!

The party also gave me an excuse to decorate my house. Stockings were hung, tree was trimmed and it looked quite nice. I love walking into my house and smelling the tree. Puts me right in the holiday spirit.

I am tying to have the happiness from last week carry me over during this very stressful week but it's been difficult. Right now I just want to get my work project done, presents wrapped and get through Christmas with a minimum of drama. Fingers crossed!

Giving Thanks

I had started this post yesterday morning before heading out to my Mom's house. I had a list of things I was thankful for and how I love Thanksgiving (especially all that great food).

I would like to be able to say that my Thanksgiving was perfect but alas cannot. Barring the turkey and additional family members at the table, it frankly did not feel like Thanksgiving at all. Things with my Mom did not get off on the right foot and she and I never hit a stride after that. My Aunt arrived and offered another set of hands to help but things with my Mom were a bit tense. When she dropped the turkey (thankfully upright and on the oven door) my blood pressure was through the roof and patience utterly gone. And of course, I felt bad for reacting that way.

I know my Mom has her demons that she has been trying to battle. And I appreciate her efforts but am once again disappointed that things are not different. I feel foolish because I allowed myself to have the barest of hope that this time she would get her act together and come to her senses. I am currently devoid of hope.

I could not wait to get home last night and put an end to the day. I spent the evening on my couch, cat in my lap, tea in hand, magazine to read and tissues nearby. Really not how I wanted to celebrate the holiday.

I am utterly worn out. I am a strong person but really feel at the end of my rope. I feel bruised, actually more like being chewed up and spit out. I wanted to hide today and lick my wounds but I am happy that I roused myself to go and see a movie I wanted to see.

So I am trying to be grateful for what I have but am not really thankful for this feeling that I am not important to people in my life.

Weekend Dreams

I am not sure what was in the air this weekend but it seemed prime for a bevy of odd dreams. I had a dream about a wedding and my inappropriate wedding guest. As it turns out so did my Mom. The difference was that while my guest was human, my mom's guest was feline. My feline to be exact. While my cat likes people, I can assure you he would make a terrible wedding guest.

Another friend of mine was lucky enough to have me make a guest appearance in his dream. Except he got a rather rude version of me that left me feeling like I needed to apologize for the behavior of the dream me. Those who know me can vouch I am not a rude person during waking hours!

It was funny as dreams were indeed quite on my mind this week. Not the nocturnal kind per se but the kind that deal with what I want. I've got some things I am not quite happy with in my life that I need to make some decisions about. Luckily yoga this morning helped a bit and some time this week to clear my head should do the trick.

Trick or Treat

Of course when one thinks of Halloween of course it brings to mind pumpkins, black cats,candy corn, orchids. Yes, orchids at the annual orchid show at Tower Hill.

This year brought a very blustery Halloween. As night fell, the howling wind and dark was really quite spooky. The wind was also not very helpful to the wings that my costume required. I was a bee. Not a slutty bee however (given the alarming trend of women's Halloween costumes to be quite inappropriate I feel the need to clarify).

My costume started with a bright yellow t shirt that I merely needed to apply stripes to. It was easier that is sounds. Luckily I know my way around a fabric store so I was able to solve the problem after three attempts. My initial thought of using black duct tape and then ribbons and iron-on interfacing were both spectacularly unsuccessful. The winner was black fabric paint. Of course, one curious feline made her mark on my white kitchen floor by walking over the wet shirt. Luckily the prints wiped right off the floor and her paws.

If was a fun evening with a bunch of trick or treaters outside my door, antenna that did not quite prove to be so easy to drive with and wings. The wind did indeed cause an issue so I had to tuck my wings under my coat to arrive at my friend's Halloween Housewarming party. It was a fun evening with some interesting costumes and great conversation. The best line of the night from a person I had just met was "When not being a bee, what do you enjoy doing?" All in all, it was a very Happy Halloween.

By the Book

For a town that can find the majority of the riders on the subway with their noses stuck in a book, it was surprising that Boston had never had a book festival. Well, that all changed. The Boston Book Festival was a great way to spend a rainy Saturday. It took place in Copley all around the Boston Public Library. There was a great color coded chart of the various events and speakers. The best part, it was free. (There were a few ticketed events but those were identified on the chart).

The events I wanted to see was going to result in some speedy sprinting from point A to B but I had faith I could do it. I started out at the Old South Church to see the delightful John Hodgman being interviewed by Tom Perrotta. The church was packed and I was lucky to squeeze into a seat. It was a great interview with a ton of laughs. Even the oft annoying audience questions were entertaining.

I then had to sprint over to the library to attend the The Future of Reading: Books without Pages event moderated by David Pogue of the New York Times. It was insightful to see learn more about the massive book digitization project Google is undertaking. While there are now several e-book readers on the market now, I was surprised to learn that that no matter which brand of e-book reader you use, the market for material is limited to only a few providers of content. That seems to narrow the playing field a bit. While the technology is impressive to me (imagine thinking of a book, downloading it on the spot and reading it) I have issues with the DRM constraints and the fact that, as a very tactile person, I love feeling the pages beneath my fingers.

It was a long day but I managed to get a head start on my Halloween costume. It took a few stores to find just what I needed but I was ultimately successful. I credit the organizers of the book festival and truly hope this is an annual event.

Where to Begin

I once again have had quite the last few weeks. I attended a great concert that saw 2,000 people go completely silent for a completely unplugged song. There was an Oktoberfest charity event at the Sam Adams brewery. An amusing belly dancing class, a few heart to heart talks, non-stop work and yet more drama there, lack of sleep, cat still on the mend, jury duty and I was frankly at the end of my very frayed rope.

So what's a girl to do? This girl picked up the phone and called the lovely people at the Spa at Norwich Inn. I decided to ship myself off for a night away. I could not contain my excitement about going. I left on Thursday morning and had my trusty Google maps to guide me. I had been to the Spa once before with Mom but it had been awhile. I didn't think twice that perhaps Google was wrong until I ended up in Groton on the water. The Spa, being in the woods and in Norwich, was clearly not showing up correctly on Google Maps. So I got to the spa a little later than I planned. But I was thankfully not late for any of my treatments.

A scrub and body wrap, facial, pedicure, lunch, tea and scones, wine tasting and a fabulous dinner had me extremely relaxed when I finally made my way back to my giant room. The surprise of the day was how cold it was outside and the fact that it snowed! It was the perfect day to be in a robe, in front of a fire reading a book and drinking one of many cups of tea. It is always funny to see how people react to having to wear a robe all day. Do you strip down completely? Leave something on underneath? Change in front of the entire women's locker room and leave modesty behind? It was fun watching ladies wrestling with their decisions. I did not have a quandary being a regular attendee of spas and the gym.

I continued my time off with a nice dinner and catching up with a friend on Friday night and to cheer a friend on who was rowing in the Head of the Charles this weekend. It was actually not as cold Saturday as originally forecast, standing on a bridge looking out over the Charles. I do love watching to rowers. It's such an elegant sport with everyone moving in unison.

A Week Dalí Wouldn't Have Blinked At

Last week, in addition to being the absolute busiest work week, contained more surreal moments than I cared for. It was a week of horrific news with the murder of a co-worker, people who were unexpectedly there for me and those we were expectedly not. I attended two wakes and spent more time in my hometown that I have in years with more family at my Mom's for dinner than normal. It was well worth it though to spent lots of time laughing in the kitchen with the ladies of my family.

One of the wakes was for my former step-grandmother. My dad and second step-mom's divorce effectively rendered former relatives to distant stranger status overnight. It was an interesting wake where I saw people I haven't seen for years (my former step brother and sister for instance.) It was indeed weird. But I went to pay my respects to a woman who treated my brother and I kindly and made sure we were well fed.

I also worked late every night in preparation of the weekend project. Given my coworker, who was my right hand with this process, abruptly quit and left work I was indeed flying solo. Of course, we hit a snag that resulted in my getting less than 2 hours of sleep and working non-stop on Sunday. I am still out of whack with my sleep and need a weekend to catch up.

Political Discourse

The last two weeks have really taken their toll. Drama abounded and it was really too much. Luckily, I had some moments of brief reprieve at the pool. The photo of the sunflowers makes me smile, as it makes me think of sitting by the pool. And also of Nik who enjoyed grazing on that particular plant.

It was while I was visiting my Mom I go to hear the story of her drama that blew all the other drama away. We are a family of rather feisty women. Anyone who knows me will probably not be surprised by that. Well, my Mom decided to speak out against a local political issue that had the local councilor involved in what clearly was an ethics violation.

So my rational Mom decided to speak up. With her five very well thought out talking points, she called the rep. He was clearly not appreciative of my Mom's thoughts and yelled at her, hung up on her, claimed she was harassing him and called the police on her. Yes, called the police. I could understand if my Mom had been irate and yelling, but she was not.

So off to the police station my Mom went. The officer who was handling the case, told my Mom she was not the only one this rep had called the police about. Long story short, my Mom was free to exercise her freedom of speech with no arrest. And had a little field trip to the police station.

This story of course raised my ire. How dare this person pick on my Mom? I am indeed fiercely protective of those I love. I was ready to march down the street to his house and give this man a piece of my mind. Clearly he is not in the right job as a public servant who has to, shockingly, deal with the public.

What A Day

We are finally in the grip of summer here and it's wonderful. Today was a hot day and there was nothing better to do than spend the day by my Dad's pool. The pool was at a warm 80 degrees and it felt perfect. I enjoyed just floating in the water chatting with my Dad and Stepmom.

It was also a day for a variety of conversational topics. From gun safety to family drama, world events and commentary on the wide variety of the natural world we could see in the yard. From the mud wasp that almost flew into me while I was in the pool, to butterflies, bees, hummingbird moths, dragonflies, barn swallows, mourning doves and the highly poisonous monkshood plant that is ready to bloom by the pool. The flowers are usually a beautiful blue and overall it's a pretty plant that belies it's toxic nature. All of this was punctuated by the sound of apples from the ancient apple trees falling to the ground with an alarming thud. It would be advisable not to stand under that tree without a hard hat right now.