Cat Needing Therapy For Bad Habit

Tucker is our cat... he's 7 now. And he's a Maine Coon, which doesn't mean a whole lot to many people, but those who own Maines know of their idiosyncracies... and Tucker is right there in the mix. We've adapted to his need to paw his water, rather than lap at it... and his need to soak up sun on his belly, sleep in odd and bizarre locations/positions... but the kitten inside of him, has one other piece that continues to make us laugh.
He's a kleptomaniac. While he's not curled up with us in the dark of night sleeping; he's ravaging through the house trying to find something to steal, and get only as far as his food bowl, with his find. That's where he puts his prizes... in his food.
The usual suspects are his plastic milk jug ring toys, ponytail holders, rubber bands, pens and pencils. But the unusual suspects have been: C's sport watch (out of a bathroom drawer), a people thermometer (from a bedside table), highlighters (a bit big, don't you think?), pedometer, outlet plug covers (which he steals even if you're watching) and today's find, which I got a huge laugh out of, a Werther's Original candy.
S brought it home yesterday, and it was on a counter. Here's the conversation this morning.
"S, did you want to eat your Werther's?"
"Eventually, I would. Did you already have it?"
"NO..." (insert VERY LONG pause).
"Ah... well, I guess, not anymore. Nice one."

Funny how few words need to be said for us to know what EXACTLY occured.

We love Tucker. And the advantage to being the first one up in the morning, is the humor of finding SOMETHING interesting in his food bowl.

Cake Mix Cookies

Quick and Easy Recipe for You!

1 Box Cake Mix (Any flavor)
2 Eggs
1/3 C Oil

Mix well, and drop onto UNGREASED cookie sheets in 1 inch balls.
Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes (watch your oven) until cookies have cracked and are slightly brown on top.

You could ice them, I suppose... but then again... they don't always last long enough!

21st Anniversary... or "Quite Possibly the Worst Trouble of Kari and Courtney"

Come back with me to March 29, 1988... you are at Grace Lutheran Church, Round Rock... and you are sitting near the pew of Barb and Kari Roy and Patti and Courtney Luebben. It is the pew of two VERY NEWLY confirmed young ladies and their dashing mothers... and it's Good Friday worship service. Otherwise known as, "The Day the Wrath of the Mothers Came Uponeth"...
Kari and Courtney were known for a law-abiding trouble making, all within safe boundaries of getting in trouble with their mothers, but nothing so terrible that any law enforcement would be included in the punishments. But on this particular occasion, as the worship service was nearing an end... a wild hair came upon the young ladies...
The altar was stripped, the lights were dimmed, the symbolism of the closing of the tomb had occured, and the piano began playing Hymn 92 in the Lutheran Book of Worship, "Were You There," which might I add is an old African Spiritual. Which, in the Lutheran world is song rather reverently, and DEFINITELY not in the original context to which it was written. No swaying, no hands, no praying, no harmonizing... just standing still, following the tune and singing the words, AS PRINTED! We, Lutherans, do not deviate from the black ink on the page.
EXCEPT this particular Good Friday, in that third pew, in the two seats containing Kari and Courtney.
The song begins, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Oh, oh, oh, oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"
The song continues through a beautiful journey of Christ, as he is nailed to the cross, laid in the tomb and risen from the grave. Each piece of the journey taking on it's own verse and amazement.
But, as I continue to allude, this day, the song was different. Kari and Courtney belted out with grace the song, adding in motions of swaying and trembling (shaking what our Mothers gave us), and singing backup with each other and off beat "WERE YOU THERE" at the most appropriate times... times in which, we predicted, the writers of the song had originally intended.
Now... this was going along just fine, until our mothers caught us in the swaying and praying act. And it was going fine, until we found ourselves OUT OF CONTROL in laughter!!! I'm not a quiet laugher; nor do I do well to calm myself down...
(i'm one of those that's been known to fall out of a chair in laughter!)

And so... every year, on Good Friday, Kari and Courtney connect through phone, email, fax, smoke signals or whatever, to join together in singing "Were You There" with the utmost reverence and care for our favorite song (oh, and we graduated in '92, so the hymn number has always been VERY easy to remember.)

So... on this anniversary, I send my voice across the miles and across the pond to the suburbs of Amsterdam, Holland to my best friend's home and sing with a smile and a laugh, "Were You There When they crucified my Lord?" Happy Good Friday My Very Best Friend!

In Like a Lamb; Out Like a Lion

RRRRRRRR! You got it. Spring is predictable; ok, I should say that March is predictable, Spring is not. Yesterday, I took in a fantastic walk around the park with temperatures around 50 degrees. Today, we awoke to blowing snow and temperatures hovering around 30. But it's spring, it's Nebraska and it's March 31. March came in beautifully, if any of us can remember back to March 1. So, it would only make sense that it's going to go out with a bang. Why complain? The weather will level out, be more consistently gorgeous and we'll have plenty of time to enjoy it... in the meantime, hold off on your garden "To-Do" list and enjoy the serenity of doing NOTHING!
S and I had the most delightful visit with T & S last night... A lovely couple who have 4 four-legged's that they call 'kids.' 2 cats, 2 dogs (really overgrown puppies who haven't calmed down yet). And wonderfully, they live not too far from us. I think I might have found a nearby walking partner to drag outside in the great weather.
So... we've been here 6 months, hard to believe; as it's really seemed like forever; due to how quickly we acclamated to our surroundings and dove into the community. And it's been 6 years since our first date. Again, it seems like so much longer that we've been in each others lives; and yet, it's just a fraction of our time on earth... but so many years to come is the excitement that lies ahead.
This post really has very little purpose except to defend Mother Nature and everyone who's giving her a bad reputation for being so brutal after such lovely spring days... but that's what we get. And we should be prepared... our snow shovel is STILL on the front porch. Never know!

Projects

That word can bring a smile or a snarl to your face, in my family. It either implies you're on the doing end; or the 'listening' end of the project. Still unclear?
When my mother says, "Ooooh, I have a new project to do." It usually involves wood, fabric or paint. And it can EASILY involve all three. The woman is one of the most creative women I know... she can envision an idea in her head and then manage to not only put it on paper; but execute it RELATIVELY close to the original sketch. Amazing. And her ability to paint small details is much better than my 'stay in the lines' coloring that I can crank out.
So... my crafts have also been given the title of "project." And for most accounts, the title fits. My current projects include knitting, cross-stitching and playing with the Cricut machine that I was given for Christmas from S & S. It's way fun; and not only have I loved working with it to make my scrapbook look 51% professional; it's been a great way to liven up gifts and bare walls. What more fun could you have with contact paper, than writing out your favorite sayings and putting them throughout the house?
Ok... Cricut, what is it, you ask? Pronounced: Cricket www.cricut.com (or grasshopper, if you're my husband who finds it funny) is a die-cut machine which enables you to use various cartridges to cut out hundreds of shapes in sizes up to 24". You can cut fabric, paper, vinyl, chipboard, photos or who knows... possibilites are endless! It's pretty fun and rather easy to operate. It keeps you from buyings a million letter stickers for your scrapbook; or vinyl letters from companies, for home decor.
At Christmas, I used it to decorate glass bricks as well as glass ornaments. Who knows what I will have learned by next year.
So... projects ensue at the house, it keeps us all happy... I stay busy, or atleast always dreaming up something I could do with the new machine, or watching the cross-stitch take shape, stitch by stitch; and the rest of the household just stays out of the way and puts in their 2 cents, when requested.
It's a happy day for all!

Escape to Witch Mountain, aka: Johnson Lake

So... an hour and a half from Hastings is Johnson Lake. A great hidden getaway from the perils of the world... atleast from phones, computers and people who know us. S and I took off on Friday morning to the lake, to stay at my aunt/uncle's cabin for 24 hours... to get away and see what else this great state has to offer us. Plus, how often do we really go to a lake cabin in the winter? Not enough would be my answer... the solitude, the serenity of the birds flying north; and the semi-frozen lake were totally worth it.
The cabin... let me try to describe it to you... Imagine your grandparents house in the 50s... ok, so yeah, for some of us, they still have the same furniture as then... goldenrod couches that have the occasional design that's way too classic... beauty over comfort was the motto then, combined with "oak" panelling throughout the entire house... carpeted bathroom, complete with the pink tub. And the decor was a walk back in time, that you could learn a thing or two by looking at the pictures, seeing the lineage of the family, and reading amazing things. It was fantastic. Nothing flashy, just sensible, comfortable and that right at home feeling; where you expect your grandmother to appear any minute.
We took books, movies, and our sense of adventure. We never got to the movies; watched a bit of NBC TV, as that was the only station that decided to come in; and we read like mad... did some bird watching, some mid-morning napping... it's exhausting being lazy; and ate here and there. Met a few neighbors, peeked into a few houses for sale and walked the neighborhood... and dreamed of our return visit when the weather is warmer, the water is melted and ready for swimming/boating; and gleefully and well-rested, we returned to the city...
Everyone needs these places... places to just 'be.' Places that God clearly has dominion over... ok, I know it's a man-made lake; but the flocking of the birds in their migratory patterns, the ducks wandering around the lake; the squirrells running like mad; and the serenity of the sun appearing over the lakeshore in it's daily accent into the sky. It's a marvelous beauty to behold. Does it compare to Lake Michigan or many of the other great lakes we've experienced in our lives? No... but who said I was comparing?
On the "Ides of March", I hope you do not approach them with trepidation, but with excitement to find your "Witch Mountain" or whatever you call yoru escape for R&R.

It's Not About the Groceries...

About two years ago, S and I sat in our professional counselors' office; and I remember him saying very clearly, "It's not about getting the dishes washed, it's about the conversation that happens while you're washing them." I suppose I should back up a bit... I'm a bull in a china closet. That's how I attack most household chores... get them done, get them done 99% well, and 100% quickly. Speed over accuracy, for the most part; although not enough to look neglected and half-done. My favorite person in the world that I live with, S, is accuracy over speed. He's a 100% over 50% kind of guy. Methodical is how we describe it in our house. This was disconcerting to me about 2 years ago... it drove me nuts. I just wanted the chore done; and at my preferred speed. So, it was the topic at the counselor's... he wanted us to enjoy the time together standing around the sink; and not worry about the task at hand.
And so... last night, we hit the grocery store together. Honestly, I think the last time we did any major grocery shopping together was maybe the weekend we moved to Hastings. Maybe! But the shelves were empty, the fridge was bare and my husband was claiming starvation! We made our list, grabbed our reusable grocery bags and hit the road. We did arrived at the store without our list (never fear, Wife is visual!) We went through each aisle; sometimes one arriving back at the cart with an armload of stuff while one other was still staring at which canned veggies to purchase... but in an hour's time, we had successfully filled the cart to overflowing and arrived at the checkout. With only one thing missing: bagels, which was discovered this morning.
Huge thanks to a gift card from Christmas, we barely broke the bank, headed home to put everything away and poof... groceries were put away, S felt much safer in the house and I went to the computer, as I heard a mouse getting into the chips immediately! He was content. He knew the house had food, he would not starve; and we had an enjoyable evening that had nothing to do with the stress/chore of getting groceries; but rather enjoyed the time together!