Cat Stories

Iz, who is 6, has a very creative mind.
One Sunday morning, while on our way to church, he began telling us a story. It involved one of our kitties and these have evolved into what I affectionately term as Cat Stories. I think it all began in response to an incident where mom and dad asked once again which child was responsible for a mysterious event in the house. Of course, no one claimed to be the guilty party and I probably said something like...."Well, I guess it all happened by itself." Iz took that and ran with it. He began relating how Missy had done this or that which eventually led to the incident in question.

Now, when I am bored or the two of us are alone somewhere or we are driving as a family in the car, I ask him to tell me a Cat Story. They end up being hysterical. They are all about the misadventures of our kitties. They play games, cook on the grill, make spaghetti. You name it, our kitties have done it!! It is especially funny to picture one of our kitties doing these things since it is very obvious that she does NOTHING but eat and sleep. Sometimes, the other kids will try to join in, but their stories are not nearly as creative or funny as Iz.

Heck with June, what about July?!?

Those of you who blog know how much of an effort it sometimes is to think of something amazing/interesting to post about consistently. Esp. when life outside the computer desk gets busier (in waves).

No, we're not giving up the blog. I'm still aprehensive about Facebook--though I don't really have a reason why. So we'll continue to do our thang in this space.

I have a post I began in May about B and my trip to Biltmore. I have a lot of pics and have been attempting to add them to the post but have failed to finish at the moment. I think I tend to write longer posts when I could probably break them up and get more out. So, Biltmore and Biltmore Garden pics are coming.

I'm also transitioning to working from home full-time (still with BofA). Much of our recent evenings have been spent painting the former girls/toy room and assembling curtains, desk, file cabinets. etc. I have a few "before" pics and plan on taking some "after" ones and posting them too. I'll be hanging shelves and getting a new chair and monitor (from the bank) next week.

So thanks for sticking with us and reading my boring post. As a reward, here's a video from Weird Al that made me smile about WDW's Jungle Cruise. (not my favorite attraction by any means--I'm a Pirates, Haunted Mansion, "old School" Tiki Room and Mr. Toad fan)

Skipper Dan

WHERE On Earth Did June Go?!?!

Hey, I bet you thought that we were swallowed by our dog!!
Nah....
We're still here. Out doggie does try to eat everything she sees, but so far, we are still here.

Not much is going on. No, I mean REALLY!!!

My garden is not doing too well. While I have about a gallon of roma tomatoes on my counter praying I will turn them into some sauce, my plants are in sad shape. I can't figure out whether it is fungus, bugs, or what. I bought some neems last week and I hope to salvage as many as I can. Two of my tomato plants are beyond hope. Out of 6 zucchini plants, I have a grand total of ONE zucchini. I do have lots of cucumbers, but I think that they are all pickling so I guess I'll have to pickle them. I have some beans, but they aren't producing well. I will never try beans again. LOL. I have two peppers working on growing. I do have watermelons the size of marbles.

The doggie is getting fatter. The vet keeps telling us to feed her more. She loves us tremendously. I had to place a frantic call to the vet when she ate a prune that dropped to the floor due to an expression of sweet brotherly love. Prunes are fine even though if you look online you will find them placed with raisins and grapes which are toxic to dogs. She also seems to have a great fondness for gluten free bread. This she snatched from her first try at counter surfing. She doesn't like angry dogs barking on tv.

The older skibums are reading Greek and Roman classics through the summer. Nat, of course, is thoroughly disgusted. Iz is working on reading, although the last two weeks were somehow lost on me.

Soooooo Proud!!!

This morning I took my oldest for some coffee. We had celebrating to do!!








She is now the proud owner of her very first driver's permit!!!!

Three cheers for my Bo!!!!
Way to go, sweetie!!!

B and Ski's Excellent Adventure: Part Two

First a puppy update: Belle's doing much better. We're walking her every hour since she's, well, let's just say she probably had a lot of IV fluids to work through her system!

!!!!!!MASSIVE SUBJECT CHANGE!!!!!!!!!

(whew) Ok, here are some pics from our mountain getaway. We stayed at the Madison Inn. Let me just say if you're looking for a great little room for under $100 near Asheville (in our case WAY under), you'd be stupid not to at least TRY this place. I was a little concerned that it was a cinderblock building when we arrived but our room, the delightful "Charleston", was decorated with lots of romantic touches that made us feel like royalty, rockstars, or a couple out of the Great Gatsby. Everyone on staff was SO nice. We were the only guests and enjoyed talking a little to one of the owners during breakfast. "I hope you're hungry!" he said and repeated to us. We were, and breakfast (included with our stay) was DELICIOUS!! (birds in a nest, delicious fried potatoes, strawberry pancakes, bacon, oj, coffee--I'm getting hungry just writing about it). Excellent food, intimate atmosphere (Sinatra on the Sirrus radio in the background) and the most beautiful girl in the world at my table. I HAD to take a few pics!

We had a chance to walk around before checkout and take some pics of the outdoor eating areas too. Fountains, waterfalls (right above our room--we thought it
was raining all night), flowers, lanterns--really cool and relaxing. I wish we had time to just hang out and read in the rocking chairs! Maybe next time!

I also wish I had the presence of mind to take more pics of Black Mountain. (again, maybe next time) I really fell in love with the place--totally unexpected. LOTS of funky shops, a bookstore, antique shop, music store, restaurants (we need to try My Father's Pizza for lunch next trip as the German restaurant was quiet, but not very good), even a few night spots. Very non-commerical. It was great!! B already mentioned Ole's Guacamole where we ate dinner our first night. I'm not much into Mexican food, but it was THE BEST Mexican restaurant I've ever eaten at--AND it was dirt cheap. I think we got out of there for a little over twenty bucks including drinks. Wow, what tasty food! I took some pics outside which are more festive than the scary looking pic on the link above. TRY IT!!

So, add Black Mountain to Blowing Rock and Topsail Island on my list of favorite places in The North State, oh, and some day I'd love to buy a home in McAdenville.

Coming soon--pics from Biltmore. Stay tuned!

Poor Old Belle....

Our sweet puppy was spayed today and was gone all day.
She is so tired and sad. She gave us some wags and we have given her some quiet gentle voices and pets. She took her pill and medicine without a complaint and although we knew she didn't want to, she obediently went outside for us before going to sleep. We all feel so bad for her. The poor thing would whine until she got some love and then she would fall asleep again. At one point, I was laying on the couch and reaching down to pet her and talking sweetly to her. She sat up, rested her head on my hand for a few moments and then laid back down on the floor to sleep.

Great product

This is a boring post and I am going to warn you ahead of time. However, recently, on the boards I visit, there have been lots of people who have been asking about clogged drains. So here is my story....

Our house has always had slow drains. I am sure that it doesn't help that my three dds and I have longer hair. A few years ago, the drains were so bad that we were buying drain cleaner once a week for our drains. Since I am so frugal and have the opinion that there MUST be a better way to do things and I was worried about the effect of that much caustic substance in my pipes, I did some research. I couldn't find anything, but about the same time I tired of buying drain cleaner, I chanced to hear someone mention the zip-it. So the next time I went to Lowes, I spent less than $3 and bought this little gizmo.

A zip-it is a long, flexible stick. It has jagged little teeth on both sides. What you do is shove this stick down your drain and then pull it back out. What you pull out is absolutely disgusting. It stinks, and it looks dreadful. But if you do this once or twice, your drains will will be clear. Since I bought this product, I have not bought a single bottle of drain cleaner. When the drains start to slow, I just get out my zip-it and we are back in business. You can even do your tubs and showers!! The only drain I don't do is my kitchen sink.

If you want to check out the website, go here. I will warn you that they have pics of the gross stuff that comes out. It is the best $2 and change I think I have ever spent!!