New Cat in Town

This is Emmy, she is my new buddy. After Allegro died I knew getting another dog was probably unwise. I work all day and my Mom at 83 isn't about to run after a puppy or take a young dog outside but I was lonesome for a pet and so here's Emmy.

It has taken her a couple of months to decided she wants to be my friend, now she feels justified in yelling at me for any indiscretion real or imagined in her kitty cat brain.

She has already gifted my Mom with the untimate gift, a dead mouse. Mom wasn't thrilled but I thought it was a nice gift.

I had forgotten the huge differences between dogs and cats ie. dogs come when you call them and cats take a message and get back to you when they want. So there has been a bit of relearning on my part. My last cat Ms. Frosty died about 4 years ago at the ripe old age of 19 so I had forgotten alot of the secret world of cats, but I'm learning.

As you can see she is all black with some wonderful green/gold eyes and she certainly can voice her feelings long and loud. She is a shelter cat and has already had her own litter of kittens and fostered several others that had been abandoned. Now she is in retirement from kitten raising at the ripe old age of 1 and a half. I'm happy to have her around and even though she dosen't let on I think she's happy to have a home with me too.

Allegro's Gone

My dog died today. He was 13 years old, my son and I got him from the pound when he wasn't quite 2 years old and he was a handfull! We named him Allegro because it sounded similar to the name he had been given but didn't mean black in another language.

Over the years things have changed in my life. When we got Allegro I had just gotten divorced and my son was in high school. Then I met a man and he moved in with us, pretty soon my son went away to college, several years later, Hans the man I was living with passed away, soon after that my son got married to a wonderful woman and just a few weeks ago they told me I was going to be a grandma.

Through all of that Allegro was there. During my "empty nest" time and the long lonely nights after Hans passed he was there, loving and accepting and wanting nothing but a little food and little fun and a treat or two.

I'll miss the click of his nails on the wood floors and the feeling of a wet nose working it's way under my hand looking for some attention.

Sure I tripped over him, cussed at him, cleaned up after his accidents ( that I think sometimes were on purpose). I hated the black dog hair that was everywhere no matter how many times I ran the vacuum but I loved him. He was my friend and my protector and the one I could tell everything to without worrying what he would think of me.

So here's to you doggie, thank you for making my life easier in the hard times and even more fun in the good times.

Something To Look Forward To

So I'm going to be a Grandma! This is the best news I've had in I can't remember when!

It seems lately I've just been going from day to day with nothing to look forward to and now I have the arrival of Baby K ! I know there's not really alot I can do now but I can sure sew!

I took Jenny and Chris to the fabric store and we bought a bunch of patterns and just one piece of fabric ( I contained myself) and I'm ready to start sewing a layette for my new Grandchild, as well as a rocker cushion for Jenny ( as soon as they decide on a nursery color). Oh and maybe some baby safe stuffed amimals in cozy fabrics. Fun, fun, fun !

This is jus the kick in the rear I needed to get off my butt and do something ! Maybe it'll lead to my doing some other things I need to do as well...you never know!

Over the Rainbow

I've never been a huge fan of that song " Somewhere Over the Rainbow". I probably heard it destroyed at too many local pageants years ago. But sometimes I wonder what would it be like to be "over the rainbow" , someplace else, living some other life than the one I have now. Some day, OK lots of days I think it would have to be better than this, especially if I could pick out what I wanted it to be. Then I realize that all of life is basically picking out what you want it to be and if you don't like it then it's time to pick out something different and make your own "over the rainbow" experience.

I don't know where I want to go or what I want to do and maybe I never will so I guess for now anyway , I better make this side of the rainbow an OK place for me to be.

Spring has Sprung

Well it was a long, cold, snowy winter. Happily it's all gone and spring is here at last.

During the winter months I had lots of time to surf the web and happily reconnect with some old friends on Facebook. I love the idea that I can sign on to a social networking sight and find old school mates, friends and relatives and reconnect.

I went to a very small church based junior college , there were on average about 120 of us all together. When there are that few people all living on a small campus, eating meals together , taking classes together, spending free time together a special bond is formed. Over the years I've managed to stay in touch with a few people but I had lost touch with many. It has been a great pleasure to "remeet" my old friends and see where their lives have taken them and to share memories of a time when life was much simpler ( even though at the time we may not have thought so). I've also reconnected with some high school class mates and some young people that I knew when they were in high school and I was helping out at the music department of their school. Again it's been a pleasure to see where their lives have taken them and to see if they ended up they way I thought they would when they were so young and talented and smart.

So, winter may have been long and irritating but it also gave me the chance to spend some time walking down memory lane, enjoying news about the present lives of my friends and hopefully the opportunity to keep in touch and not let so much time go by between chats.

Snow, Snow You Need to Go

OK I'm sick of the snow, beyond sick actually, I'm bone weary. I don't want to have to clean off my car to drive slippery roads full of crazy people to get to work just so I can clean off my car to drive slippery roads full of crazy people to get home any more!

I don't mind the snow, it's pretty and makes things seem quiet and can even be fun. But I've reached the point of waaaaaaaaaaay too much of a good thing.

My 82 year old mother seems to go slightly insane in the snow. She thinks no one should go outside, we should all stay home where it's warm and safe. Nice if you can but I can't. That dosen't stop her from calling me at work multiple times during the day to ask why "they" haven't sent us home yet. She dosen't seem to grasp the fact that if you live in NNY you actually do go out in the snow. You go to work, you shop, some folks even go out in it when they don't have to so they can ski and snowmobile....this is foreign to her and she thinks the world should share her view.

So we've had over 110 inches so far, probably more I gave up listening because it's depressing. I've had my driveway plowed 17 times at last count, but there's always tomorrow and the day after that. My mother is in a heightened state of alert constantly and I've had enough!

I need sunshine and warmth on my skin , I need to leave the house with out a coat and , hat and gloves and scarf and boots.....I need spring.

Friends Old and New

As an only child, my friends have always been more like family to me.This is especially true with the ones that have been around for most of my life. My friend Karen and I have known each other since we were 5 years old, sure there have been times ,as happens in families when we have not been happy with each other, but somehow we always manage to start where we left off, the intervening time seeming to matter less than the present and future. Then there are friends that I made in high school and later who have become part of my family even though we don't see each other as often as we'd like or talk as often as we should. These are the folks my son knows better than any "real" family members and the people he appreciates as part of his childhood and now adulthood. I didn't "inherit" my family we chose each other and I have to say we're a very interesting group.

Recently a friend of mine invited me to join Facebook, I thought why not. Well I have to say I'm very glad I did, since I joined I have reconnected with friends from college and beyond and it's been fun just to pop in and see if they've posted anything new lately and also to post what I'm up to. Who'd have thought 30 plus years ago when we graduated from high school and college that one day we could sign onto a computer and discover a friend half way across the country had just enjoyed a morning walk with her grandchildren or a friend in Jersey had just had soem medical tests. Amazing ! It may not be the same as a visit in person or a phone call but it certaily keeps us connected and I think that's very cool.

In my world my "family" is held together by something much stronger than blood, we're connected by love and respect and humor and because we want to be. How amazing and wonderful is that?