an "I Can Laugh About It Now" story

Last Friday I drove to work, settled down at my desk and did work things, greeted my co-worker when she arrived, and looked when I heard her ask a little later, "Do you hear a cat crying?"  Why, no, I did not, but I did stand up by her desk, then outside, and then exclaimed, "It's coming from my car!!!"

My guess was that a kitten hitchhiked in under the hood, so I needed a place to put the kitten once I opened the hood and caught it.  I looked and looked, and eventually, I taped a large box back together that I found in the garage.  Upon popping the hood, despite my assumption, I was startled to see a kitten sitting on the engine block.  Before I could grab it, it dashed back down into the tubes and wires and out of sight. 

My coworker was equally startled to see the tiny kitten under the hood, and we guessed at what to do to coax it out.  "Here, kitty-kitty" is not the language we speak around our cats - mostly we meow at them.  That wasn't working.  I found a container of powdered coffee creamer, so mixed with water in a little bowl, it sat behind my tire.  It failed at an instantaneous reunion.  I had to get back to work.

In an e-mail I was reminded that St. Anthony helps find lost things, and he was a Franciscan, founded by the patron saint of animals.  I offered a prayer to St. Anthony to "find that kitten" - not entirely lost, but maybe.  An hour later I left for our new free lunch Friday program, and loathe to do so, I drove not knowing whether the cat had escaped unseen (my desk doesn't overlook my car) or whether it was shuddering at the heat and sounds of the engine.  Back at the office that afternoon, I popped the hood one more time and meowed for the kitten - no noise, no crying, no scuffing of paws.  No idea whether it was in there or not!

Back to work for the afternoon, and finally the hour arrived for me to return home.  Every bump (and there are a lot of them) on the highway home was jarring, and I kept an eye on the rear-view mirror for a kitten tumbling across the road, though the vision never materialized.  I pulled up to the house and took a deep breath.  I walked around to get my bag and things from the car.  Lucky and Curly, the two mamas, came over and were meowing quietly.  I encouraged them to meow a little louder in case the lost kitten somehow survived inside the workings under the hood, though I don't think they understood.

As I opened the door, I heard a howling cry of hope for rescue coming from the car.  I ran to the driver side to pop the hood, and there lodged behind the passenger headlight was a badly shaken up kitten.  It couldn't get away in that tight space, so finally I was able to yank it out by the scruff.  It darted off so fast, with neither mama following it, that I never figured out if it was Cracker or Twinkie - who look a lot a like, was born of one mama and nursed by the other.  I let out a "Praise the Lord!" and felt an amazing relief wash over me.

Sunday evening we sat out while the cats and kittens fed and then played with them.  Both Cracker and Twinkie were there and unharmed.  I am inclined to think it was Twinkie, but whichever it was, that one is still pretty tense to be held and petted.  Those darn cats - I don't even like cats.......

Favorite Time of Year

I keep hearing references to this being the favorite time of year for my family here - wood getting season!  We had a great first trip up into the mountains to cut firewood last Saturday, though I'll admit that I started the day in a bad mood - we were ready forty minutes before the rest of the crew arrived, and all I could think about was forty more minutes of sleep.

I love the smell of the pine!  And one actually fell into a cedar, and ooh baby - the smell of the cedar!  It is just so much fun to spend the day in the woods.  My brand new leather gloves were coated in pitch, as well as my overalls, my arms, and the ends of braids (not a mistake I made on Sunday with a long shirt and my braids tucked into my hat).

We ached and groused about the aches, but that's expected.  We were looking forward to camping, which didn't pan out, so after the second day, Thomas and I invited everyone over for a campfire.  We had the fixin's for s'mores, so after unloading the truck, Thomas prepared a pile of wood from the burn pile, and I filled the wheel barrow with several loads of rocks to make a fire pit.  I hosed down the chairs, hopeful that the clouds would go away, so the sun could dry the chairs and the fresh mud I made.

We had a lot of fun watching the stars, airplanes, satellites, and even a few shooting stars.  The campfire was mesmerizing...

...but don't be fooled by this soon to be four year-old.  She was more interested in hanging out inside, when the rest of us wanted to be outside.  I giggled coming out of the bathroom to the soft voice calling, "Are you in here?  Girl-Tori?  Girl-Tori - where are you?"

Going Down in Style!

We are not quite finished with the stairs, but let's dwell on what we have accomplished!  At the end of August, we pulled up the old stairs - the "treads", I believe is the proper term.  We had already prepared and cut, planed and poly-ed the new ones.  Thomas cut the ply for the risers while I painted the wall down to the steps.  Thomas installed the elbows we would use for mounting the treads, and then the real fun began.

 

Truly,  this was the easy part.  Getting our system in place took a little work, as I was gluing vertical tiles on the plywood to be mounted behind the tread.  Thomas accurately diagnosed the problem and fixed lunch.  Things proceeded much better after that.

I really like the nice smooth finish and the natural look of the wood.  The color is pretty, too.   We haven't tackled the landing and bottom steps yet...in time.  But at least we could pull up most of the plastic!  And the basement feels like a wonderful den for tv watching and puzzling.  The concrete floor stain is visible in the picture below - turned out great.

The picture above is taken from the closet - which has also been textured and painted.  Once I get some shelves up, it will fill up quick.  And I got the walls in my craft room textured and painted last week, too.  I did the same pattern as our bathroom walls - vertical stripes using a natural straw broom.  The texture reminds me of my engagement ring - rain / bark - very natural feeling.  The wall color is a 50/50 mix of some blue and green on hand.  Before it becomes a craft room, though, it will be storage for everything we still have in the trailer - the office and books, etc.

Hooray for all the progress!  Still to come - pics of the tile that I finally installed around the counters in the kitchen.  Next week it should be ready to grout!

Going through changes...

Just life changes - not menopause!!!

July was a rough month.  In part I have been struggling with some things at work, and I finally felt compelled to do something about it.  So I half-quit.  I had two jobs and gave up one.  So I am still working half-time at the church and enjoying it, but I also am half time working on the house and trailer and other projects to come.  Eventually I will get my substitute teaching application in for the schools, though I am not ready to start subbing yet.  It is a big change and means I am home two full days in the middle of the week - working on the house.

But first - we started the month of August in Portland for my 20th high school reunion.  Lots of fun - no pictures - but good times!  We also spent a good amount of time with the nephews and niece, though I failed to come home with lots of pictures.

This gem is Isaac - and he has grown up so much, right into a giggler!  I really enjoyed all the smiles and laughing, not so much soaking my shorts in baby spit-up.  

Tom and I ate some delicious seafood and hopped through a couple brewpubs.  He went to the Flugtag event with Marty, and I picked blackberries with my sister.  We got to see the Dieringer kiddos, too.  Just lots of go-go-go-go fun - the norm for our trips to see my family!

Then Tom was out of town for a week, and right off the bat, I had an opportunity to see a bunch of my "oldest" friends in Denver.  The plan for working less and two less days of driving was not to trade it in for trips to Denver every week, but it was a pretty wonderful opportunity, and I was home alone anyway.

Anna Belle and I got to have lunch (and coffee)

 Dee took a picture of Dorothy, Rudy, Betty, Fred, Nancy, David, and I on the occasion of Rudy's birthday.  And then I got a little extra hang out time with Betty, since I stayed at her place.

It was sure a treat to see everyone.  And by fluke of great timing for a text, I got to see my friend Deb as I drove out of Denver to get back to finish up my last few hours of work for the week.

I'm not sure if it's really settling into a pattern yet, but I got lots of texturing and painting in the house done, and the trailer is getting boxed up for the move into the basement when it is finished!

July 2015

July was one heck of a month!  It has been two months since I posted, and July is to blame. 

The weekend before July began, we had a flood - in the Cimarron Canyon, not at home.  But while Tom and I were working on the house, he got called away to serve as incident commander in the canyon - where the highway department was liberating the highway from the river bed and from the canyon walls - lots of water, lots of big rocks, and lots of mud.  Andres and I took a firetruck out and helped for about eight hours.  We got to see a bear, but I wasn't fast enough to catch a picture.

I worked with some kids on a float for the church, which was lots of fun.  Thomas rode the firetruck with the ladies and gent below.  And we ended the evening with some fun, food, and fireworks with the family!  Unfortunately, I woke up Sunday feverish and achy and was bedridden for a few days.

The following weekend I had already arranged for someone else to do music, so we could getaway!  We went to Albuquerque Friday evening and had a nice dinner out.  Saturday we went to the Museum of Nuclear Science - very neat!  Sunday we went to the Botanic Gardens - very cool (actually - it got a little warm), the butterfly pavilion, and the "aquarium" which was included with the admission.  We did hit Costco and pick out our basement floor colors at Home Depot, but it was all about good food and time together.

 These two turkeys were both griping at me.  

Even though Tom was the one in little Tom's face, I was the one causing him to bristle!

 The aquarium was pretty little, but it looks like they hope to expand.  

They do have an awesome tank of jellyfish - my favorite to watch!

The trip to Albuquerque was also a celebration of seven years together.  It was fun remembering that fateful evening we met on the porch.  The following week I prepped and prepped to get the basement cleared out; Friday we had everything moved out and cleaned up.  Saturday morning we taped up a barrier on the wood walls and stained away!  The concrete floor looks amazing, but before it had chance to dry, we broke away back down to Albuquerque and bought two couches.  Two in the afternoon and Tom says, "You really liked that couch, and the only reason we didn't get it was because we were in the car, right?"  So we hit the road and made it to Costco right before closing and made it back around midnight.

The next week was hectic for me at work, as the audit I had been preparing for finally arrived.  It was mostly painless, and we're in good shape.  That was great news.  And then the last weekend brought water day...the annual work day, lunch, and meeting.  Back at the tank, Tom wouldn't let anyone else in to clean, but I kept busy swatting bugs away.

Sunday we got together to celebrate Pop's and my birthdays.  It was a great way to wind down a busy month.

Wood or Silver

Last Friday Tom and I celebrated five years of wedded bliss.  We spent the beginning of the month remembering where we were five years ago - driving to Bend, checking out Crater Lake, buying salmon on the docks of the Columbia, playing golf, BBQing with friends, and then finally - saying "I do!"

Five years ago we were just settling into Miami, building a mud porch, stashing boxes away that still haven't been unpacked.  It is a great feeling to have moved again - into the house, though there are still so many things on the to do list.  Five years really flies by!

My brothers inform me that the five year anniversary "gift" is wood or, more modernly, silverware.  We got a canoe - which is neither, but technically the oars are wood.  My older brother asked is we'd named it, which we haven't, but Tom rejected the idea of "Cinco" as it sound a lot like sink-o, which is never what you want a boat to do.  We enjoyed a great paddle around the lake, stalking the frogs, watching the dragonflies, and splashing (each other and our nieces also on the water).

Here's to many more....

Miami Sound Machine

We've got a whole other kind of live music here - and it isn't the band Miami Sound Machine.

This may end up being the wettest year on record - at least in the five years I've been here.  The rain is nearly daily, though the storms dropping an inch of rain or more are only once every couple of weeks.  We haven't been able to get the upper pond low enough to  finish it, and we're about to start our sixth water run of the season!!  People are actually passing up on their water runs because they don't want any more water or don't have room in their ponds.  Meanwhile, the lake is still too high!  How bizarre!  All the storms have made for some beautiful skies...the cloud formations have been amazing, not to mention the colorful sunsets.

Planting anything is a roll of the dice, as the ground has just been so saturated.  We did get a handful of perennials planed in the circle drive - where I'm grateful for the rain, so I don't have to water by hand.  We also planted some berries and an apple tree - hopefully they take well and aren't overly wet.  And then all the seeds that ever fell and weeds that ever spread by root have taken over everything!

just a sampling out the back window - lots of sunflowers

The sound machine reference is to the kind you purchase to lull young children to sleep.  The toads and frogs and crickets and other noisy bugs have turned up the volume - or rather the volume of toads and frogs and crickets and other noisy bugs has multiplied, consequently growing louder.  The pond is full of tadpoles at various stages, and I might have accidentally watered the apple tree with a few.  The mosquitoes are most plentiful, so I'm sure the spider and bird and frog population will explode - at least I hope something starts eating them so they'll stop eating me!

 sun setting on the fields and fields of green