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Friday, November 28, 2014

Feline Friday: Gopher Hunting - Part II

It is not very often I catch Gracie gopher hunting. But, on November 8, 2014, I looked up to check up on her and spied her very interested in a small gopher hill. Fortunately for her, Abby was not around close by to disturb her for awhile. I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures.

Such intensity in her face!

Pounce!

Let me see if going around the hole will help…

Oh yes, movement…

Lunge!

Sigh.

Why can’t I get him (her)?

Dive!

Oh man, so close…

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Wordy Wednesday

Wisdom of Cats

Seek Warmth Wherever You Can Find It
(And Block It From Your Human)

The space heater is on a footstool. So, Abby could not lie on the floor in front of the “fire” and be warm. Instead, she was content to be a close as she can on the recliner. Of course, she was not happy with me disturbing her highness. Ha!

By the way, It is Thanksgiving here in the states.

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate!

Dan has this week and the following week off. So, I will not been into blogging much. I do have a couple of posts scheduled for Fridays. But, not much else. Dan also has a few weeks off in December. I am much more interested in being with him than blogging. I hope y’all will understand the lack of posts. I will post whenever I have the time and inclination to do so.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Slapdash Saturday

Friday, November 21, 2014

Feline Friday: Gopher Hunting - Part I

On October 25th, 2014, I let Abby Gail outside briefly without an harness knowing she would go directly to a particular gopher hill. I was correct. She has a one-track mind! Anyway, I decided to take some pictures as it is rare that I let her outside without her harness and leash.

She gets so intense and focused using her ears and eyes.

She begins to pounce when she sees or senses movement within the hole or tunnel.

Her whole front leg would often times disappear making me nervous due to the fact that gophers have some incredibly tough sharp claws.

She also would often bury half her face in the hole sniffing and trying to see what exactly is down there.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Wordy Wednesday {Gopher}

On October 8, 2014, I spied movement at a newly formed gopher hill and immediately panicked because Abby Gail was out there on her leash. Fortunately, I had my camera on hand and kept an eye out for Abby. I was shocked when I was able to capture several images of the gopher.

Look at those ears! Dirty filthy creature!

When Abby got too close; I grabbed her leash and kept her short until I was done taking pictures. I then filled up the hole in the ground and released Abby. However, that did not do any good due to the fact Abby is like a terrier, she can sniff out the hole and dig through the dirt to expose the hole (or tunnel) in the ground. On wet rainy days, she can get herself quite filthy (muddy) and I have to use a wet rag to "bathe" her before letting her go free inside the house.

She has yet to catch a gopher on this particular day. I just let her be a cat praying that the gopher was smart enough to stay away. She was not happy when I dragged her away to go back indoors. (After all, I cannot stay out there all the time!)

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Slapdash Saturday

  • Guide to Precut Fabrics and Common Quilting Terms

    {Free downloadable PDF for reference }

  • 19 Before and After Photos of Butterflies and Moth Transformations

  • When You Wonder if You’re Really Forgiven

    God seemed to whisper to my heart again. “All of the mistakes and failures you remember, all the secrets you run from, all the regrets and remorse… they are all gone. Every one of them has been torn from the story of your life. You are forgiven. You are accepted. You are loved.

    I realized at that moment that God loves me. He doesn’t just tolerate me. He doesn’t just put up with me because I’m a Christian and He has to. He really, truly loves me.

    So wherever you are, whatever mistake you have written in the journal of your life, know that God has ripped it from the pages.

    There’s only love.

    There’s only grace.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Rest in Peace, Chessie

June 26, 1997 - November 12, 2014

I will dig up some pictures and do a final memorial post about her. But, right now, I just can't. We tried to make her last day wonderful and I think we, for the most part, succeeded.

{yes, this is Chessie too.}

Thursday, November 6, 2014

October Recap


  • Savings

    Previous Balance 1640.00
    Week 35 (10/06)
    +82.00
    1720.00
    Week 36 (10/13)
    +84.00
    1802.00
    Week 38 (10/20)
    +86.00
    1886.00
    Week 39 (10/27)
    +88.00
    1972.00

  • Book Finishes
    • #19: My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren.

      This book is Christian fiction and romance. It currently has 4.6 stars on Amazon and 4.16 stars on Goodreads. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. The book is well written and the characters are well developed. The two main characters have disabilities – one with panic attacks that kept her trapped inside her own home and the other lost part of his leg in a tour in Iraq. Both struggle to move on with their lives and ultimately help one another out and fall in love.

      I really enjoy reading good clean romances once in a great while and this is definitely among the better ones out there as I did not put the book down unless I absolutely needed to do something else.

    • #20: The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis.

      This book is part of a series of books called The Chronicles of Narnia. And, I currently have an unabridged version of all seven books in one volume and the books are presented in the author’s preferred reading order.

      I must confess that this is the first time I have read The Magician’s Nephew. I have read quite a few other books from this series; but, never this particular book. It basically shows how the land of Narnia came into being with Aslan as its creator and how the witch became a part of that world. It is a short quick good read and really should be read first before the others. But, as with most of these books, they obviously can be read as a stand alone book. I would give it 4 stars.

    • #21: Dandelions on the Wind by Mona Hodgson.

      This novella is part of a three-in-one Omnibus called The Quilted Heart. I purchased it for dirt cheap. The novellas are of a Christian, historical and romance genre. The quilting aspect appealed to me. Of course it would! Ha! In reality, quilting was hardly touched upon. The ladies would meet regularly for a quilting bee.

      The main character of this novella is a mail-order-bride rejected by the potential groom due to the fact her eyesight was failing. She ended up working for a lady taking care of her granddaughter and chores around the farm/ranch whose mother died and childbirth and father joined the war. The father of the child returned hoping to make amends and of course, you know where it goes from here on! It is a clean quick read which I like. I would give it 4 stars.

  • Projects
    • Yard Sale: We sold the 1999 Ford Ranger right off the bat along with a pair of his and her bikes and furniture. (I kept a mountain bike I loved.) I was surprised at how fast some things sold. Some ladies came at the last minute and bought a bunch of fabrics. We sold a lot of goods and took most of the rest to Goodwill.

      I advertised the rest of the fabrics on our city’s yard sale page on facebook the next morning and immediately got responses. I ended up selling them for twice my asking price! I was amazed at how many people were interested and wanted the fabrics. The lady that bought the fabrics said that I was selling them dirt cheap and that it was well worth what she paid me for them.

      All in all, the yard sale garnered over a thousand dollars and almost all of it will go directly into the new A/C fund. It was a lot of work; but, well worth the effort. I am real pleased. And, we still have a few things we most likely will try to sell via the city's facebook yard sale page or craigslist. The nice thing about this is we can take our time with those things.

      And oh, We rearranged the den (living room) the day after the yard sale. Both of us are much happier with the result. Simplifying and decluttering our lives have made us happier AND, at the same time, helped raised funds.

  • Other
    • I had Abby out during the yard sale with harness and leash for a while. Quite a few people were fascinated by her. She was overly cautious but not fearful and, at the same time, very friendly and curious. As much as I did not want people to bother or pet her, an older child calmly approached her. Abby sniffed the child’s fingers, lifted up her head and rubbed it against the palm of the child’s hand. She (Abby) amazed both Dan and I. That was the only contact Abby had with other humans as I was very protective of both humans and Abby. I just did not want anything bad to happen. All in all, it was great experience for Abby.
    • We took a brief trip to Galveston October 29 – 31. We originally were going to stay through November 1; but, I was worried about Chessie. She currently needs to eat more than usual and she has trouble eating hard cat food. I was so glad we came home because it was obvious she lost weight.

      Anyway, I went to the Houston’s International Quilt Festival on Thursday (October 30). I had a real good time, gained some neat ideas and freebies and purchased a pattern that I could not resist. I also purchased a souvenir shirt because this is most likely the last time I will ever go to the festival.

      We also went to our former bank to finally close down an account. For some reason or another, we could not close the account long distance. The most likely reason is due to the fact that I was primary account holder and they would not let Dan handle the details for me. Note, I do not handle details on the phone due to the fact I am profoundly deaf.

      This closed a chapter of our former life in Houston. We no longer have a reason to go to Houston and Galveston. If I wish to go to the beach, Padre Island or Corpus Christi is tons closer. So, this latest trip was really a “goodbye” trip for me as I never dreamed we would not return (to Houston) when we first moved here. We are very happy and content where we are living now.