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Feb 14: Valentine's Day
March 31: Inside the World of Cheese Class
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May 1: May Day & My Bday
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July 4: 4th of July and Kevin's Bday
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rachel at phoenixfeather.net
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May 08, 2005
Part Tigger!!
Family , Giggles

My sisters dog Simon is a freak!! And when I mention that he springs straight up into the air like Tigger, well I mean it!!!!!

10:55 PM | Comments (2)
May 03, 2005
JFK Stuck!!!
Air , Family , Travel

I'm sitting at a table in JFK; computer plugged in trying to use the sketchy free internet connection from Jet Blue, camera in lap attempting to catch something of the people in this airport without the wonderful shield I had behind the flight info tv's at LAX. *sighs* the bottoms of those boards are all filled in here, no place for the photographer to hide and photograph feet in peace.

I have much to do though. Many wonderful birthday emails to respond to, just finished de-spamming my blog. Literally thousands of photographs to sort through and a couple cards worth to download too. Blogs and photoblogs to catch up on! I really do wish I could find a hidden spot to photograph feet from.

Oh and there is much to write up about the trip, but I don't think I'll get to that right this moment. Though I will say that Kevin got home to house and Nym Sunday evening and I miss him terribly. But it was still good to travel on a bit and spend a couple days in western upstate NY with my parents and sister. But oh its good to be going home now (had to go back to JFK to get to CA - silly flights).

Oh and in true Rachel style I managed to sprain my ankle on Sunday just before we left for the airport. So now I'm all bandaged up and while feeling better am still a bit tender and rather bruised.

la la la... too many hours to sit here... la la la la la la la la la......

more later!

11:53 AM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2005
Team Kitty
Family , Giggles

There has been this BIG BLACK FLY buzzing around today. It was let in while Kevin and I were working on organizing the garage and left the door open for a while. Miss Nym has been chasing it around the house all evening in her intent silly way.

Just as we were about to go to bed I noticed the huge black fly had landed on the wall in front of us above the table. Nym was sitting there intently watching said fly and trying to figure out how she would be able to get it up so high (about my shoulder height on the wall). The fly had also been bugging Kevin today, so when I pointed it out he walked over to swat the fly and be done with it.

As he approached Nym let out a little cry of protest and as she realized that he really as going for it she cried and again walked her front legs up the cushions stacked beside the wall as if to say "no, thats MY fly!"

Kevin, being the light-hearted guy that he is, decides okay and picks up Nym and holds her over to the wall by the fly. She reaches right out and SWATS that fly good.

SHE ACTUALLY HIT IT!

Not enough to kill it, but it did feel the wrath of the kitty.

After Kevin set her down she kind of followed him around like he was her hero. He picked her up one other time just to hold her and she immediately started looking up at the walls and propping herself up in his arms as if she were getting ready to bat at something. Its the cutest thing!! Kevin is Nym's stilts!! Go Team Kitty!!

12:12 AM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2005
Puppy Saddness
Family , Love
We had bad news today. Dasy, my father's oldest and best bulldog has skin cancer. We don't know how long she has, it could be weeks or months. There is nothing we can do but make her happy and comfortable. She is a very happy dog! Happy and sweet and oh so wonderful. We will cherish what time there is left! I'm just so very sad. :(
12:27 AM | Comments (4)
January 19, 2005
Super Kitty
Air , Family

Or at least getting a lot less stressed Kitty. I've been really pleased and surprised with how well she has been doing the last few months. Especially since moving to the new house she has settled in and become pretty relaxed and tolerant. That is a lot to say for this cat.

We got her a cat sitter for while we were away for nearly a week and a half at xmas time, and while she was very needy when we got home, she didn't trow any tantrums or get "pissed at us" at all.

That alone is impressive, but she also has been getting remarks from a few people she has lived with in the past. Both Ammy and DanaMarie have mentioned she is almost a different cat.

On top of all of this, last night... Kevin had a few of his poker friends over to play a little poker. around 11pm or so there were about four other people besides Kevin and I sitting around in the game room and Nym comes downstairs. That was a little surprising, but what shocked me was that she came right over to the table, got up on Kevin's lap and then wanted to get up in the middle of the poker table.

It was amazing, she doesn't like people she doesn't know very much, and 6 people is usually way too many for her to do more than show her face at the stairs. I was really impressed. Yay for recovering kitty!!

12:19 PM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2004
She's Going To The Chapel...
Family , Love , Spirit

My little baby sister got engaged today!! Congratulations Lyndsey & Brian! I'm so happy for you both.

(btw: just so that you can look at this picture right, my sister is about 5' 7'')

07:12 PM | Comments (3)
November 21, 2004
Comes With Bed...
Family

In the finger lakes region of NY visiting my family. We arrived this evening complete with our wonderful inflatable bed!

What's better than your relatives coming to visit?

Visiting relatives who bring their own bed!!
*giggle grin*

09:14 PM | Comments (1)
October 25, 2004
Happy 50th Anniversary
Family

Happy 50th Anniversary Grandma & Grandpa!!!
I know you had a great time, Wish I could have been there!
Love you both!!!!

10:32 PM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2004
Nym's Big Day
Earth , Family

It really has been... All in one day:

1. Nym caught a mouse... and prolly lost it.

2. Nym had a cat fight. Nym's backyard was invaded by another cat... there was much screeching.

3. Nym got stuck in a tree (Post cat fight trauma)

07:38 PM | Comments (4)
Psycho Killer... I Mean Kitty!
Earth , Family

Nym has surprised me... I was sitting here doing some work when i heard a kind of screech outside. I ran outside to check and see what was going on and there I find miss Nym under the Japanese maple tree sitting there with a terrified mouse in front of her.

Now first I have to say that I didn't expect Nym would know what to do if she found a mouse. She tries to attack bugs and then doesn't know what to do... she puts a paw on it, and then picks it up and looks at it and then tries again, I'm not sure what she thinks should happen next but she eventually gets bored and walks away.

So now that she does seem to know what to do with a mouse I have a dilemma, do I let her go with her kitty instinct, or do I try and save the mouse. I make a feeble attempt to call her away and the mouse uses this to make a run for it... Nym goes after the mouse, picks him up in his mouth and carries him back. After a bit I decide to let nature run its course and as the bad mother I am I go to get the camera.

When I came back outside, she was lounging under the tree looking very proud of herself. I could not find the mouse. I don't know if that means that she should killed it and hid it, or more likely the mouse made a successful escape under the fence.

No mousey picture for the blog... oh well. Go Nym!!

05:51 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2004
The Hitchhiker's Guide is Guideless
Air , Family , Ponderances

So my grandfather had this game on big floppy disks when I was a kid. I think I must have been 11 or so. My grandpa also had a racing game but I have so never been good at racing games. I have always liked thinking games and somehow this text based game appealed to me. So eventually I would end up putting the Hitchhikers guide game in.

At 11 I had not yet read the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, but since when did something like that stop me from trying. Amazingly, even at that age I was able to figure out that I needed to take the pill in my pocket and pick up some stuff and go outside to find the bulldozer ready to kill me and my house. I do remember very distinctly never being able to make it past the bulldozer.

Oddly I never got around to reading the books until college, but I finally did and loved them. Since then I have thought back to this game a few times, but never since played it.

Today one of the blogs I read posted a link to the same game I remember from my grandpa's computer. So I sit down to try playing it again. This time I know that I need to lay down in front of the bulldozer.

Well I have tried it a couple times at this point and so far the bulldozer has just run me over again and again. I DON'T GET IT!! What the *&#@@@!*%$ am I supposed to do. So now given its been a few years since I have read the books, but still... why is it I can't get any farther then when I was 11. Grrr....

My guess is that I'm wording things incorrectly or something. Help anybody?

04:20 PM | Comments (5)
September 16, 2004
Playing With Her Mind
Air , Family , Giggles , Media

Pets are so very funny.

Last night Kevin and Athena and I watched Kill Bill. I won't spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it. However during one fight scene there is ball on a chain and it is being swung all around. The swinging is making this great wosh wosh sound that was moving through the surround sound all around us.

I love surround sound, however this was more than little Miss Nym could take. She kept running around toward each speaker, eyes toward the sky, trying desperately to figure out what it was that was making that sound.

Oh she wanted that wosh wosh thing! Eventually, driven a little crazy she gave up and walked off down the hall, head still pointed toward the ceiling. Keeping an eye out just in case.

It was the funniest thing EVER!!! I need to get a good copy of that wosh noise. Gotta love torturing your cat!

10:59 PM | Comments (1)
August 22, 2004
No Cameras At The Dinner Table
Family , Photography , Water

Anything you want to tell me feel free!!

09:09 AM | Comments (1)
August 05, 2004
My Big Brother Rex
Air , Family , Friends , Health

No, he's not really my brother, but he might as well be. He has been my best friend and big brother for about eight years now. I made mention of his accident at the end of my last post, but now I have finally talked to him and have details so I'm catching you up.

About a week ago while Rex was driving in a 45 mph zone, some one going the other direction swerved and hit him head on at 90 mph. There is speculation it was a drunk driver, but I really don't know much about this end of things yet.

The injury list has been given to me at a few different levels, and truthfully I'm a bit dazed and don't really remember it all. I know he broke both legs in several places (one I know was turned all the way sideways at one point) as well as his femur (I think thats his foot/ankle) and his right knee. There are other scrapes and things but no internal damage and for that I'm ever so thankful.

In the past week he has undergone 3 separate surgeries with a day recovery between each one. Through all of this he is still in good spirits and even though he is in a lot of pain he is being stronger and better about this than I think I could ever hope to be.

I find myself being mad at the world. Besides Rex's accident and my stomach problem (which is ever so minimal in comparison to everything else), we have had the death's of Kevin's father and grandmother in the last year, my sister has been having problems with her uterus, Kevin's cousin Steve's wife Susan had complications with her pregnancy (luckily everything turned out fine), my friend Ryan has two friends who recently lost babies though.

My friend DanaMarie's mother had some pre-cancerous growths removed from her colon and while that went well she seems to now have an infection in her diaphragm, in addition her cousin Tara has been diagnosed with cancer in her uterus. And to top it all off this weekend one of our friends Mark had a rare accident where the spark plug popped out of his car and set it on fire; even rarer was the fact that it didn't explode, he was fine. However Krissy's boyfriend Noah was not as lucky as the other day a car cut him off on his motorcycle and he was forced into the the center concrete barrier. Like Rex he is also currently in the hospital. He had surgery on his ankle and is in a lot of pain but should be going home and starting rehab possibly tomorrow.

All of this stuff has happened in the last year. About 95% of it happened in the last two or three months. Its driving me nuts, I'm pissed at the world, I'm worried about all of my friends and family, I've even been a little scared while driving.

Everyone in the world is too negative lately, there is too much bad energy floating around. I'm scared and worried, but I'm working on turning it around. I need to think good thoughts and send good energy everywhere I can. Please, if you find yourself being upset or reckless or stressed, take a moment and think about someone you love, some moment of happiness, something good and send a little good energy into the world. I know its all cheesy and stuff, but I can't take any more of these things happening, and no one else should have to either. Also send Rex and the rest of the people I've talked about here and everyone you know some good thoughts. They will all appreciate it.

I'm ending this post now, and knowing that a lot of my past posts have been sad, depressed or dismal in some way I am now making a conscious effort for my posts for the next few weeks to be upbeat and fun. Stay tuned...

12:21 PM | Comments (5)
August 04, 2004
Hospitals Hospitals Hospitals
Family , Friends , Health , Travel , Water

I'm about sick and tired of hospitals!

Kevin and I went to Vegas to visit my Mom and Dad this weekend. It was their first vacation in about 13 years and the first real one where they weren't dragging kids in tow and having to entertain them too. It was nice to be able to visit with them, also have entertainment around us, and also have the ability for them to be alone and for us to do a couple things on our own too. Overall it was just good to see them again since I hadn't seen them since Christmas.

I could have done without the trip to health center clinic though (very much like an emergency room). We got there Sunday afternoon, and by sunday evening I had a cramps in my upper abdomen, just below my ribcage, just left of the center of my torso. I ignored it, it was a dull pain and it would go away. But it didn't go away, and by 2pm the next day it was getting worse. A stronger constant pain which became sharp pains whenever I took a deep breath. I tried laying down for a while, laying on my back made the pain go almost completely away. I rolled onto my front so I could maybe sleep and found myself in horrible horrible pain.

At this point Kevin called his cousin Steve who is a doctor. I really hope he doesn't mind us bugging him. Its nice to know there is someone to talk to and get advice about whether something needs to be checked out right away or if it can wait.

Steve asked me lots of questions and in the end decided he that without examining me he couldn't figure out anything further. He didn't think it was a super emergency, but he didn't think it was nothing and wanted me checked out by someone. So we tried to find the hotel doctor, or which the Paris hotel did not have. However just behind the next-door hotel was a 24 hour health clinic. Kind of that step in between the hotel doctor and going to the ER. I was hoping that it might not take as long as a ER would, but either way it would have to do.

Sadly we were there for about three hours, 4pm till 7pm. They poked and prodded me eventually finding the spot that brought me to involuntary tears when she poked. She was pretty sure it was my stomach but mixed up this cocktail I had to drink, which would numb my stomach and she would be able to be sure that was the area of the problem. That cocktail was weird, my tongue got numb, my tonsils got numb, my throat, down the pipes and to my stomach which go very numb. When she came to poke me again it didn't hurt anymore.

My stomach already has digestion problems that we are trying to figure out, but it now has more. I have a new medicine that is supposed to help make the acids my stomach needs to break things down. That might help. There could be something wrong in the lining of my stomach. We aren't sure, Steve was happy with the immediate progress but I need to follow up with my home doctor now to figure out the rest of the specifics.

For the rest of the day my tummy was still numb. I would take a deep breath and brace for the pain and there would be none. I was a void of pain where I knew it should be and that was weird. The next day there wasn't as much numb as just the fact that I could feel that my stomach wasn't completely happy, but also not in pain. Hopefully things will get better, but it all at least allowed me to relax and have a bit more fun with my family and Kevin.

I'm back now, and I'm only holding off making my doctors appointment to find out when I might be going to florida. You see, like I said at the beginning I'm tired of hospitals and the need for them. When I arrived home last night at about 11pm, there as a voicemail from DanaMarie telling me that Rex, one of my dearest best friends, was in the hospital. He had been in a car accident, broke both his legs and his ankle and apparently there is a longer list of injuries. He has been in surgery once and is going in again soon.

I have his phone number for his hospital room, but its been busy. So I'm writing all this down. I'm anxious to find out what happened. I really want to go be with him. I know I've barely been home for the last two months and that I have lots to do here, but most of it can all wait. My friend is in the hospital, and if he wants me, I feel a strong desire to be there, at least for a day or two.

*sighs* I'm tired of hospitals.

10:43 AM | Comments (1)
July 27, 2004
Kitty Blues
Family , Love , Water

I love my kitty so very much. She is the sweetest thing. Funny, a bit dumb, sweet and playful and cuddly.

I love her but I have to give her up, and this is tearing me up.

She has a couple of behavioral issues. She doesn't like change, to be left alone too much, new people living in a house that she already lives in, or other cats. Her most frequent method of showing displeasure is peeing on beds or places of personal space. Its quite a list I know. What she needs is a stable house, one with possibly an older person who is home a lot, can pay attention to her and isn't making huge changes in their life. Or maybe just a big safe backyard and someone to put food out for her once in a while.

I talked to vets when I lived in Pittsburgh, and they told me there really wasn't much I could do but wait and maybe it would work itself out. It's been about 2 and a half years and talking to the vets today they agree with the first and think that I could try things but that they most likely wouldn't work.

Personally, with everything that has been going on in life lately I can't deal with getting my hopes up and continuing to try again. Ammy who has been gracious enough to take care of her for me for quite some time can't and shouldn't have to deal with it anymore.

I'm going to have to give up my sweet Nym and I hate that. Since she has been living at Ammy's (do to Kevin's allergies) I think that now is the time to give her up. She isn't hear everyday so I'm less attached. I still love her as much, but she isn't a part of my everyday life and while its still not easy, I think this is easier than if I started having her living with me again and then had to give her up.

If anyone knows of someone who is willing to take on a very sweet but rather difficult cat, please let me know. I'm currently making phone calls and will prolly try and deal with this today or tomorrow cause I won't be able to take dragging it out any longer.

12:20 PM | Comments (4)
July 12, 2004
On Edge
Family , Life , Water

So I'm getting my thoughts and feeling out, both bad and good. Lets start with the downside and get it over with.

Kevin's sister Susie or his mother call a little two close together or at an odd time and my blood pressure jumps up a few notches. Kevin's does too, I can see it. Sometimes it happens when the phone rings even before I know who it is. Kevin answers, everything turns out to be okay and tears run down my face. I can't help it, its a release of emotions I don't know how to deal with.

I'm on edge all the time. In the back of my mind I see any nice moment, anything that I'm enjoying, and I know it can collapse at any time. I know its supposed to be over with. The funeral is over, life should be going back to normal, and hopefully it will soon. But a year ago it was supposed to be over with as well. I guess I shouldn't expect it to be over, its life it doesn't just stop cause I'm tired.

So I'm ploughing on, but just about anything can make me jump out of my skin at this point.

10:03 PM | Comments (0)
July 09, 2004
Back In My Own Bed
Family , Life , Travel , Water

We have returned!

I am so happy to be home. I slept soundly all night last night for the first time in weeks. Between changing beds every few days and stress and worry it no wonder neither Kevin nor I has slept well. I have gotten into the habit of whenever I toss and turn between 6am and 8am that I just get up. For some of you thats not early, but I'm not a morning person. This morning however I didn't get out of bed till 11!! I'm still tired, but I feel like I have actually gotten some rest. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So what has been going on in the last week? Well here it is:

We had planned 5 day trip with 17 members of the Fox family to Kevin's Uncle Alan's house on Brown Island (Brown Island is a small island in the bay of Friday Harbor, in San Juan island off the coast of Seattle Washington). With everything going on this was a trip and a chance for a break, rest and relaxation that Kevin, Carolyn, Susie and I really needed and yet it was very hard to make the decision to go and when to go.

Go on time, leave early, go late, many plots and plans were made. Grandma Kitty was finally put on a morphine drip and went into a coma. We decided to go ahead and keep in close touch with those at home. We left on the morning of July 2nd, as we sat down for lunch Carolyn received the phone call that Grandma Kitty had passed. We were able to stay on the island since the holiday weekend postponed the funeral until July 8th.

The island was wonderful, many many pictures will be going up. Two albums from the fourth of July parade are already up; the fireworks are following in a day or so.

While on the island we went on walks, stalked deer, dragonflies and butterflies, shopped, cooked, ate, read, laid around, got on the boat, grounded the boat, visited a lavender farm and a sculpture garden, shopped, cooked, ate, read, laid around, saw the fireworks and the parade. Really just relaxed and spent time with the Fox family.

We celebrated Kevin's birthday with homemade eggs benedict in bed, which is his family's tradition, made by his mother, sister and I. We rode a scootercar, and did 4th of July things. Being away we were able to escape some of the outside issues and enjoy his birthday somewhat. I still plan to have some kind party for him sometime in the future, but I'm happy to say that in the midst of a lot of saddness and loss, a few moments of happiness were possible.

We changed our return flight and flew down to LA on Wendesday with everyone else so that we would be there for the visiting hours that evening the funeral a 1pm on Thursday.

The service was beautiful. A professional singer friend of Carolyn's sang during the service, Kevin and I made a photographic slide show set to music performed by his cousin Janice and Carolyn's Sweet Adeline group sang at the grave site as well. It was a celebration of her life with music and photographs and many friends and family around.

Kevin's Aunt Joanne remarked afterward that there weren't a lot of tears. I don't mean there were none, it just wasn't a mass of people crying. I think that most of us had already said goodbye to Grandma Kitty, she had been leaving us for a while and towards the end she wasn't really there anymore. The service was a beautiful tribute to her life, but I know I had already cried most of my tears, there weren't many left in me. I don't mean to make it sound unfeeling or uncaring, I think its just that when a death is long and drawn out the funeral is almost as much a relief that things are over as they are a celebration and closing of a beautiful life.

Anyway, I'm looking forward getting back to normal life, and sleep with many less worries. I know that the memory of Grandma Kitty will live on in the minds and hearts of many.

03:42 PM | Comments (4)
June 30, 2004
Confuzzled
Family , Health , Love , Spirit

I'm sorry I haven't been writing very much. The truth is that I don't know what to write. You know that Kevin's grandmother is ill and we have been back and forth between LA quite a bit. I don't want to go into the details because Kevin has a beautiful post he is working on writing that will explain things better than I can right now. But the short of it is that things are not going well.

Amidst all of this we are quickly approaching the one year anniversary of Kevin's fathers sudden death, only a day after Kevin's birthday.

I really don't know what to do anymore. I can't stand to watch Kevin have to go through this all. I know that I have done everything I can to help him and his family. I know that just being there I have helped Kevin. But, like with all death, I feel very helpless and useless.

I find myself frustrated with many things in life right now and I have less and less desire to be around people. I was actually relieved with Ceili dancing was canceled last night because as much as I know it might have been distracting and that people there would be supportive, I still feel like its a public place and I have to be strong and have on a good face.

I'm physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted right now, and the less times I HAVE to be strong the better. Too many tears in a public place and suddenly its a scene. I was ever so grateful to spend my evening with Ali and Krissy and Ester with chocolate and alcohol and hot tub and kitchen counters no worries about being strong. Being somewhere I felt like I could cry if I wanted to and not worry about it. Being somewhere comfortable where I didn't have to be alone.

I'm not getting stuff done either. Today I will because I need to get more pictures scanned so that Kevin and I can finish the photographic slide show of Grandma Kitty. But other that stuff directly related to what MUST be done ASAP, I find myself distracted and frustrated. The house is a disaster, I only just paid the bills for June and its nearly the end of the month, and I have many many PhoenixFeather Photography tasks on my list that I haven't really started.

I know this is normal, I know this will pass. I have been through a great deal of deaths in my life. My family is young, they married young, they had kids young (compared to my family I'm an old maid at 26) and so I got to know all but 2 of my great grandparents as well as much extended family. One of my great grandmothers is still alive (I love you Grandma Judwick), but I have been through the deaths of 5 great grandparents, 1 grandparent and a few other family members. None of them are easy, some of them are harder than others. My Great Grandpa Judwick was one of my ideals and his death only a few years ago was very hard for me.

This is different. This isn't losing someone whom I loved and whom I will have fond memories of. This is watching someone I love lose the people he loves. This is watching the pain he is going through, and that his family is going through.

When Kevin's father David died last year, I think I still barely knew Kevin. I had met his father once and talked with him on the phone and heard stories. He was a very cool man, but I didn't know him that well. Kevin and I had been dating about 6 months and really weren't incredibly serious about each other. David's death was sudden, he was only 60 and the whole thing was very very hard. I say was but I shouldn't... it still IS very hard. I give Kevin lots of credit for the way he has dealt with everything. I got to know Kevin more than I had planned to then. I'm grateful that I did, but at the same time I wish it hadn't had to have happened that way.

I'm not really sure at this point where I'm going with all of this. I feel the need to explain why writing and pictures have been slow, and will continue to be since we will be going away again very soon. It will turn around and there will be things here again.

I also feel the need to write down what I'm feeling in hopes of maybe sorting it out.

Kevin's birthday is this Sunday. I haven't gotten him anything. I talk to him every day, I stand beside him, watch him, do what I can to help. I cry inside because no matter how Kevin hides it I can see what he is feeling, how he is hurting and there is nothing else I can do that I'm not already doing to help. Neither of us sleeps well lately and sometimes when I'm awake I watch him sleep. When I'm trying not to think about what is going on, I try to think about something happy, what to get him for his birthday.

Anything I get him for this birthday just seems so trivial. I wish I could give him his birthday back.

11:56 AM | Comments (3)
April 29, 2004
Close Encounters Of The Hummy Kind
Air , Family , Photography

A Photo With A Story!!

Nym vs. Hummy

Kevin and I have been turning our backyard into a Hummyland for our little hummingbird neighbors. We see them everyday now, they are getting used to us being there and we love it!

Yesterday, after my driving test, I picked up Nym to spend the day with me. She has been getting more and more interested in the outside and since Ammy and Rick, like us, have an enclosed backyard she is allowed to spend some time in the backyard if someone is with her (she is not the brightest - she isn't even close to figuring out she can jump fences).

Yesterday she was exploring our backyard for the first time and I was following her with the camera trying to get a couple of good shots. At one point she was checking out a plant not far from the hummy tree (prolly deciding if she could eat it) when one of our male hummy's appeared to check her out and inform her she wasn't to come any closer to the tree.

I AM A BAD MOMMY!! This has been decided since when a teritorial hummingbird appears to check out my cat and give her a scare, what do I do? I take pictures!

In my defense there was a decent distance between the two of them until the last photo. The Hummingbirds have buzzed Kevin and I several times, letting us know who is boss and testing us; they have never gotten too close. I wasn't too worried that hummy would hurt Nym - or at least not without some buzzing warning. I was never worried that Nym would hurt hummy - my poor cat can't catch a slug effectively; She is good at imaginary bugs though. In any case I took this photo right before I dove in, grabbed my cat and put her inside. I think she is still pissed at me for ruining her fun.

I do love this photo though.

10:36 AM | Comments (9)
April 06, 2004
Happy Birthday Lyndsey
Family , Spirit

This is just a short little Happy Birthday message for my little sister. Lyndsey is turning 21 today!!! (I swear I don't know where the years went - I feel so old)

01:53 AM | Comments (0)
April 03, 2004
Tired Of It All!
Family , Fire , Politics

My grandma emailed recently after reading some of my blog. I wanted to share what she has to say to get an outlook on demographics other than myself. I can only see the world and the government through my eyes and experiences which only amount to just over 25 years. So without further ado here is my cool Grandma K.

Grandma K: "Of course being an old person brain washed from way back, all I really pay attention to with great interest is Democrat and Republican. I do give notice to Liberal, Green party and whatever other party is out there, but they usually don't have the $$$ backing them so they don't have the chance of a snowball in you know where. TOO bad because this country could use a
dramatic change, but unlikely to happen because of the money and good-old
boys clubs. Well needless to say, I don't feel like voting anymore
because the Middle Class people are always left holding the bag. Pretty
soon there will be no middle class , just Very rich and very poor. Just
my opinion."

I knew just how tired I was of always feeling pushed around by the government, but if I'm tired of it all, I can't imagine how tired she must be. *sighs*

11:32 AM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2004
Meet the Kids
Family , Life , Spirit


We have 4 of them... and so what if they aren't human, we still love them.

Starting with Nym, she has been my sweet little kitty for almost 3 years now. Since moving to CA she has been living around the corner from us with Ammy and Rick. We are soon going to try Kevin on some allergy medicine and hopefully be able to keep her here. For now she occasionally comes to visit. Like today!

Then there is feeder. He is the smallest, but the next oldest pet. Let me explain that feeder the fish wasn't susposed to live. We bought him and two other feeder fish for 10 cents each on the suggestion of the pet store. The idea was to get something living in our new tank and create an eco system. Because they were cheap fish, it shouldn't matter if they died. Well out of the 3 we still have Feeder (named so since we didn't want to get too attached). We waited a while before getting new fish, figuring once Feeder went, we would get started with our tank. Well feeder has decided to hang around for about a month now, and we are attached now, so he better stay for at least a little while longer.


This brings me to our newest additions, Goldie and Usta. Goldie is the smaller of the two goldfish. Usta is the larger who has a white band around her lips (Usta means lips in polish). We picked these two cause they wanted to be together. They were in two different tanks with a tank in between them. But both fish kept swimming up against the inner walls seeing each other across the tanks and trying to get to each other. Or at least this is what we tell ourselves. We have reunited them, and they are happy.

So the fish have fun swimming and Nym has fun watching them and its all a great big happy family!!


05:08 PM