Zebadiah

This morning we had to have our 13-yr.-old kitty put to sleep. It was probably the hardest thing we've ever had to do. Zebbie didn't have any 'company manners', nor was she good with children, but she and I were quite bonded.

This afternoon I went through some of our old pictures to see her in her younger days. Because she was always so small, she could fit anywhere. You just never knew where she would be. See if you can find her in these pictures.

Good-bye, my precious pet. I'm going to miss you so much.

Family Fun

Last week, a good share of our family was able to get together. Tamara's family stayed with us for about a week. Jeff's family and Betsy's family came up for the weekend and stayed at Josh and Kate's. We had a lot of laughs. As usual, they had me laughing to tears. We have a certifiably whacky family. This is a picture of some of my daughters:

My husband and some of my sons (and one grandson):

Oh, the temptation is so great to post pictures of my adorable little grandchildren--but I will resist as long as I am able. The little munchkins had a great time decorating gingerbread men and playing together.

My philosophy has always been that kitchens are perfect for huggin' and smoochin'. Looks like my kids agree.

We played some long-dragged out games of Clue (because we weren't staying focused) Karen claims she doesn't have a good system for keeping notes, but she beat us.

Some of the guys went fishing Saturday morning and had a Murphy's Law kind of time. Needless to say, we did NOT have a fish fry for supper.

Saturday evening, the girls and I went 'shopping' at Kohl's. The girls decided to try on outfits that they would never consider buying. Hilarious!

And I'm sure you're wondering about The Snake. Here's where Kate found it--in her lotions in her massage office. Good thing she found it before she had a client.

Garden Update

The horseradish that someone swore that they had completely removed last year:

Sweet Alyssum

Final Herb Garden picture:


Tall Sunflowers



Sedum:

Another view of the sunflowers. Aren't you excited???


One of my goals this summer was to reclaim my flower bed from the weeds and grass. It's almost accomplished! Sure looks better. Yesterday I did some transplanting. Does need more mulch, though. Next year, I hope to make it pretty again. It's been a while since it's actually been beautiful. Here's hoping!

More Flowers

Perennial Sunflowers

Zinnias

Marigolds



Hopefully, the big sunflowers will be ready for a picture soon. They're really getting tall.

If I Were Not An Honest Person

That pile of black dirt across the street in the school parking lot would be transported a wheelbarrowful at a time by the light of the moon :-)

Traumatic Day

Poor Zebadiah has been having some problems lately. Among other things, her abdomen was really swelling, so we took her to the vet this morning. I was almost certain that I'd be bringing her body home to bury; sure dreaded it. The x-rays showed a large mass, and the vet thinks it's liver failure. So now Zeb is on one pill every day for the liver, and a diuretic three times a day to get rid of some of the swelling. Zebbie does not like taking pills. Neither does she like being manhandled this way so I can cram the pill down her throat--especially when her stomach is painfully swollen. The liver pill has to be taken on an empty stomach; the water pills with food, so we get to go through this 4 times a day. Oh, well, at least I have a cat that is still living and able to hiss.

She sure is a little cat. Even with all the swelling, she is only 6 lbs.

Further Adventures of THE SNAKE

Here's where The Snake surfaced most recently...under Jeff's pillow in their camper. (I stole this picture from Karen's Facebook)

My, he does get around!

My Honey Loves These

I like 'em, too. These are pickled carrots. Kind of sweet and a bit spicy. I made these few jars after I thinned the carrots yesterday. Will be making more in a couple weeks.

Fun Times

Last week, Dale and I went downstate to visit some of our family. First we went to my folks' house. After checking out the new paint and flooring in the bathroom, Mom showed me her garden. Wish I could grow green peppers like that! Things are growing well for her. Then we all went to Golden Corral and met up with Betsy and her kids for lunch. After we stuffed ourselves silly, we headed to the mall where there were some great bargains going on. My folks found a cartload of good deals. I tried several things on but wasn't happy with any of them. Then I found something I really liked--a gray hat with a black band. So I took it to the scanner to see what a great deal I could get on it. Hmmm, price not available; see attendant. Okay, I found a worker at the checkout and asked what the price was. It rang up $_.00. He said he couldn't sell it for that so he had to call and check on it. I told him I'd be more than willing to give him a dollar more than that--even pay the sales tax! No, he had to talk to the manager. No satisfactory answer, so I asked to see the manager. Well, we'd all been having a lot of laughs with this dilemma, but the manager didn't appear to have much of a sense of humor. Told me he would only take 40% of the regular price or it would be sent back to the warehouse (because the last time the price had been reduced for clearance was last January. 'Magine that! Well, those of you that know Yours Truly, know that I'm a bit of a tightwad. That manager took the fun out of the whole game so I wouldn't buy the hat. Bummer. But it did make a fun memory. :-)

After we finished shopping, we went back to my folks' while Betsy took the kids home for a nap. About suppertime, we headed out to their house and had a pleasant evening. Betsy and I started working on refurbishing her dollhouse.

We stayed overnight then Betsy and I did a bit more shopping in the morning. Dale and I then left and headed to Jeff and Karen's. Unfortunately, due to my mixing up Jeff's work schedule, we didn't get to see him. (I've been kicking myself ever since.) We did have a nice visit with Karen and the kids.

It was so nice to see 4 of our beautiful grandchildren this weekend. Wish it were safe to post pictures of the little cuties!

For those who are wondering, Betsy did try to sneak The Snake into our stuff when we were leaving, but I found it and planted it by her shrub.

Saturday was our church picnic. We were expecting the best turnout in years, judging by all those who planned to come, but the weather changed all that. It rained. The only ones who attended were the ole die-hards. Notice Josh holding the umbrella over the grill so the (frozen)hot dogs would cook.


Now notice the buns I had purchased. I really struck out this weekend, didn't I??? I made more than my share of goof-ups.

The weather cleared and we had some games. First, a pie eating contest:

And the winner was Bill Rowe!


Next we played a game something like musical chairs, only we were passing a bag around and when the music stopped, the one holding the bag had to take out something (without looking) and put it on. Here we are modelling our finds:

Still More Flowers

Phlox


Black-eyed Susans


Yarrow


Verbena, something white, and geraniums


Day Lilies


Verbena and something else


Another unknown (If you know what these are, please tell me)


One lone Bachelor's Button and some Zinnias


Another kind of lily


Bet you'll be glad when my flowers stop blooming!

The Snake Saga Continues

Kate delivered our little buddy The Snake to Betsy. Here's where she found it after Kate left.

(Photo swiped from Betsy's blog)

Now remember, Betsy, this little critter does NOT come back home with Dad and me when we visit this week!