196 - Love-Hate

I don't particularly like mowing the lawn, but I admit that at the end of it all I do feel a spectacular sense of accomplishment and it looks great. That's pretty much all I did today, cuz... it takes a while.

Bo and Walter, I thought it was kind of adorable how they were sharing.

I'm trying crate training. Bo gets to be out for about 30 mins to an hour after he pees and poops and then into the crate he goes until he lets me know he needs to go potty. The last couple of days I found butt nuggets and had enough. It's been a day and a half of success so far, of course most of the day he was outside while I was mowing.

Walter trying out the crate.

He prefers to be on top of the crate, but not too far away from Bo-Bo.

So look at the lawn...

It's freshly shorn...

Eek. This is another spiny orb weaver. I think I killed his father the other day. Yes - this is a SMALLER ONE... but not... small enough... He is a rule breaker since they are supposed to come out in the evening and it is still clearly daylight out, not to mention that he is about 20x larger than a spider should ever be.

And more lawn...

Yep. More lawn. We have a lot. Ask me how I know.

Finally... 'tis done.

Back into the house we go.

The Flying Nun and me.

195 - Sloth

Today I just wasn't motivated to do much. I made a couple of halfhearted attempts and did accomplish a little bit, but mostly I was a sloth. Guess I needed a day to rest after the whirlwind of the day before.

So I sit here with a groaning puppy curled beside me and a kitten entertaining himself in a box filled with packing materials and hopefully wearing himself out, pondering tomorrow. I have a slew of things I want to accomplish, so hopefully my motivation will return and I'll exceed even that.

I may never leave the house again. We say everything is bigger in Texas, but obviously whoever said that has not seen the insects I've seen in the last couple of days. It's like The Land of the Lost out there when the sun goes down!

This is a HUGE SPIDER that was too close to the door tonight. Spiders should not be this big. Ever. And if they are, they should live on another continent. I sprayed it with wasp spray and he clambered onto the roof, probably positioning himself to spring on my head the next time I walk out the door. He is apparently a spiny orb weaver, kin to (but not nearly as cute and non-threatening as) the spiny backed orb weavers I used to think were cute at my last house. If we never meet again it will be too soon.

This is the cicada killer that was buzzing around the deck the other night. He found the front porch light this evening. I have read that unless you handle them roughly (handle them? who the hell would???) or step on them, they don't sting. GOOD. Because they are two finger joints big and could probably inflict a world of hurt if they did!

This was just a cool visual effect. I moved Bo's food and water out of his kennel where I can see when he's out of food, not just figure it out when he starts following me around. To clarify, he has been getting fed, but could probably eat more often... trying to put weight on him so I want him to eat as often as possible. Anyway, I put a carafe of water on the shelf because he drinks a lot of water and it's tiresome having to take the bowl to the sink. So... I present to you, 'Gargoyle Behind Water'. ;)

Bo in a little ball.

He gets unimaginably compact when he sleeps. Otherwise he's tall and lanky and not very graceful, but he is also sweet and snuggly with soulful eyes. Smells like Fritos until he gets a bath. Definitely kept me warm last night. As did Walter, although his footprint is much smaller. Bo's paws are huge. Walter's ears are huge. I think Walter is probably Maine Coon so he'll rival Gracie in size. He's so stubborn... I can't wait to neuter him so he'll calm down. He is obsessed with my necklace, he pounces on it every single time he sees it... which would be funny if his claws weren't so sharp.

He and Bootsie were trying to play with each other through the window this morning. Thought about putting them both in the basement and letting them get it out of their system... a reprieve for me, a reprieve for Gracie... Bo is the only one that seems to enjoy the spastic jumping ball of fur and claws. Bo and Walter play quite a bit, but Bo forgets he's big and clumsy sometimes, so inevitably Walter gets 'hurt' or scared and lets out a little yelp. Just glad they get along. Gracie is still standoffish. I think when they both calm down a little bit she'll come around. She tolerates Walter until he attacks her (to play), Bo still angers her but she did stick around a little longer this time.

Called the fence guy and left a voicemail this morning. We probably can't get a fence for 2-3 months but knowing how much it will cost will help determine that. And the willingness of the fence guy to work in the winter.

194 - Le Sigh

Time is a funny thing. When you're really excited about something it passes slowly, and when you dread something it flies by. This week was pretty much a fly-by.

This morning Mike left for Huntsville. Very familiar feeling except that I didn't have to drop him at the airport this time. As usual when he leaves for a deployment (though really, he has five weeks of training first so he hasn't quite left yet), I spend my day cleaning and organizing and keeping to myself (which isn't hard out here). So I put together some clothing and shoe racks to help us get things under control in the basement, and I've been putting things away that we brought in from the RV. The RV is empty now, so I'm just waiting on the bank to come pick it up... not that they've contacted me or anything. Surprisingly only American Express seems to be concerned that they haven't received my payment, they call about five times a day... guess that'll stop soon.

Bo is contentedly gnawing on a bone under the coffee table, and Walter is curiously observing him. They play together, but Bo is still a little rough sometimes. I didn't realize it until today, but he's only about six months old... he's going to be a big boy. He reminds me of my cousin Jeremy, so big that you forget how young he is.

The other day we stopped at the city park, I figure mom and dad will probably walk there when they come to visit. I took a few pics. I really like our little town. Fall is already on its way... some of the trees are starting to change color, mostly the yellows. This morning it was 50 degrees out and it's still pretty cool out there. It's nice to know that I'll be able to get heat in the house... hell, it's nice to know that we will have income again, it was dicey there for a while.

This amused me.

Our covered bridge.

Can't wrap my head around RBS as a resort town, but the B&B's are still nice.

Cool tree root, almost looks like a footprint.

Side view of the bridge.

Old timey fire hydrant?

Pretty flowers on the banks of the stream.

Big ass cicada killer. I don't know if they sting or not, but they are imposing.

A Walter ball.

Sweetie Pie moved on. She apparently had a beau, and her beau had a collar. After a couple of days with us not feeding them, they went on their merry way. We're going to put up a fence to keep the strays out... I want to be able to enjoy my yard and let Bo out without worrying about him wandering off (usually not a concern) or being attacked. So far our strays have been friendly, but you never know... and either way it's a pain in the ass. Two months with nothing and then we had two kittens and two dogs wander up... enough was enough.

193 - More Pics

Mmmm... ribs...

Baked Cannelloni, better than a restaurant

Sweetie Pie

Bootsie

Walter the Camo Kitten

Cuban hash

192 - Pics

Bo tried to eat the cat food. He got caught.

Bootsie peering in the window. He and Walter were playing with each other through the window earlier, it was ridiculously adorable.

Cuban hash on the stove for dinner. Tasty.

Walter taking a nap with Bo's toys. He's cutest when he's sleeping. Not so cute when I'm sleeping. He is one determined little shit, always trying to get in my face. But he purrs the whole time... hopefully he'll grow out of it.

I'm not spoiled.

We're probably going to Mammoth Caves on Monday. It's not too far away from here and we need a little fun in our lives. Other than that... not much going on other than what you already know. :)

191 - Back to the creek

We had a big outing today... that's right, back to the creek. I'm tired, so here are some pics.

190 - A night out with the girls

Normally neither Mike nor I would have plans on a Tuesd... okay, any night. Tonight I went to a doTerra team meeting and made a friend. We're in similar (but different) situations and she's fun, we had a good time on the way to and from the meeting, which is good because it was 45 mins each way. She lives about 20 mins from here and we have come up with a plan to make some sales that I think might work out well for the both of us. We hope so anyway.

Mike finally got to attend an S&R meeting, which he's still attending as I type this. So go figure, each of us had something to do on the same night. Having friends helps, and feeling like part of the community helps. We know some of our neighbors now... and there is a farm down the road that I might try to visit, maybe intern with. I'm really excited about that because not only does the food look amazing, but I could learn something.

Anyway, I came home to four animals very happy to see me. AND Bo wanted to go out when I got home so I don't think he pee'd in the basement, I think he actually waited - and that's MAJOR progress. We can't trust him in the house without us there to supervise him, not yet, but he's getting there. House training him has been a semi-successful endeavor, once a day we were having setbacks but I think we're all learning to communicate. Walter has been an A student in that respect. I showed him the litter box and he has used it from the start. His worst offense is attacking the curtains... ah kittens, Gracie did the same thing. And speaking of Gracie, she has mostly made her peace with Walter, she can walk by him without hissing, but Bo is a slightly bigger challenge because he has a tendency to bark or whimper or chase... but that too is getting better, just not as quickly. Bootsie is just Bootsie... wants to come inside, is happy for food and attention from us and Bo.

And after the first couple of days, I was right - my allergies have gone away. The first two or three days were a little rough and I started to have doubts, but yeah... gone. I'm not stuffy, I'm not sneezing... he's laying down right next to me (Walter is laying on my shoulder). I have somehow adapted to having Bo around, sometimes up in my face because he likes to give hugs and thinks he's a lapdog despite the fact that he's about five times the size of my lap already. He's finally starting to put on a bit of weight... you can still see his rib cage sometimes, he's almost shaped like a greyhound. We noticed today that when he's just standing there, they don't show anymore. We're making progress. And Mike said he scented something this morning, stopped, lifted one leg up and had his tail pointed straight out, that made Mike happy because he was hoping for a hunting buddy.

Here's the cutsie pic for the day

Got an email from my closer so the house deal is still on and moving forward. Until the paperwork is signed I'm going to be skeptical now. But also hopeful.