time passes far too quickly ...

 I've been horribly lax on following through with my Wednesday words and story.

  I feel I may just be a little bit melancholy, although I can't pinpoint a specific reason. 

  Both kittens passing may have been the trigger.

  Last week I went to see the neurosurgeon about my neck, and thankfully, no surgery is in the future.

  Charlie spent several nights away with his other besties, and so when he came home on Sunday, he just wanted to sit and snuggle and do nothing else.  I gave no argument.

  Insomnia has been plaguing me for some reason, and I'm not sure why.  Last night ... or rather this morning ... I could not sleep until almost 4a.  It makes getting up for work at 7a difficult.  Over the weekend, I was awake for 48 straight hours and had agonizing heartburn for the last 24 after I gave in and made coffee in the middle of the night after the first 24.  I will never make that mistake again.

  The besom/broom was a project during those 48, with another over the back door.  As I tend to do when I'm in a mood, I try to craft my way out of it.  There are three other projects that I started that same weekend, and I will share photos later when I've finished them.

  My menagerie of "neighbors" continues to become even more varied.  Black bear, possum, groundhog, squirrel, rabbit, black snake ... and now my two-legged neighbor stated she saw a rather large beaver shuffle running down the road in front of my house and into the creek.  She was also the witness to the black snake in the yard while she did me the blessing of mowing my weeds.  I would have loved to see both the snake and the beaver!

  She also enlightened me on an unusual snake fact that I did not know... Copperhead snakes, which are a venomous pit viper, smell like cucumbers!  She said if I ever let Charlie out in the yard and smell cucumbers, to bring him in right away because he would probably not survive a bite by the time I got him to a vet.   Which is an unfortunate distinction for them because I love cucumbers, especially home-grown ones!  But I will not grow them now out of fear of confusing a snake for my tiny garden area.

  Trees are beginning their fall color change although the temperatures have not yet cooled significantly.  This week we have been getting the rain of tropical storms and hurricanes, currently Helene is threatening my old stomping grounds on the Florida panhandle, and I do not envy them.  Mexico Beach, devastated by Hurricane Michael in 2016, could be hit again, and at the very least suffer from a storm surge of 15+ feet.  I cannot even imagine it.

  Wherever you are while reading this ... be safe.  Hugs, Ci  💚

it was a difficult week ...

i'm running behind on my words for wednesday contribution and i hope to do double duty this week to catch up.

the kitten died very early thursday morning, and by friday afternoon his sister was fading also.  i sat with her while she crossed over.  both of them were buried together on saturday.

to distract me from it all, i painted a new barn quilt board using the house colors saturday evening.

unpacking and purging continues.  another carload of things no longer needed, wanted, or fitting into my life was taken to the goodwill.  i dare not shop in there for a while or i'd be tempted to buy something back.

today, demolition started next door, so things became loud and annoying.  i'll be living in forced shadows as i keep the shades closed on that side of the house to keep charlie from barking at them non-stop.

i may have to consider getting a fence installed at some point.  remodeling on this house took almost two years.

i could be insane at that point.  or more so.

short weekends & unexpected guests ...

Let's start with the unexpected guest at 156a Saturday morning.

 Yes.  That is a black bear.  In my backyard. Caught on camera.

He did not partake of the apples and carrots that I left out for the groundhogs, possums, and rabbits.

He did go investigate my empty birdfeeders.

I'm just grateful Charlie hadn't needed a potty break at 155a or 157a.

The feeders will remain empty, at least until there is snow on the ground for more than a day.

I'm also going to stop encouraging the other wildlife until there comes a time when winter weather might make it hard for some of them to forage.

Unpacking and purging during the week required a trip to Goodwill to drop off things that no longer fit my life.  We then went on to visit Brenda & Joey's so Charlie could spend two nights with them.

As things tend to happen ... I lost all motivation to continue unpacking and purging.  Instead, I resolved to finish an art project I had started last year.

My gallery wall of my created art pieces is coming along.

I've signed up for two classes later this month, both with instructors I've never taken a class with before.

This was another new guest.

I've seen photos of walking sticks but never one in real life.

And finally, this little man.

Rescued from an unhealthy, unsafe situation that claimed the lives of three littermates.

He is three weeks old.  My neighbor, Paris, has his sister.

He has a name that may or may not become permanent, so I will wait to share.

I want him to believe he is a mighty warrior because we are going to have several weeks of fight ahead.

long weekends ...

This handsome guy is an Io moth.  Hiding under those beautiful yellow top wings were two with stunning eyes [read more about the Io moth here].  He was by the back door this past Thursday.  Females are a brown color, and I believe that [the one I blogged about here] was one.

Morning coffee continues on the front porch.  This happy planter of succulents is the same one I created in early March [seen here on the blog].  Very happy spending the summer outside!

This is Charlie's favorite seat in the house, and his window for watching the world.

 Unpacking continues to be slow, but I did make some progress over the long weekend.  I got three tubs, and a box emptied.  I will probably make a run to Goodwill this weekend to donate some items.  It is too much of a hassle to try to sell things on Facebook, and I really don't want to play the yard sale haggle game.

I think when I get everything unpacked, sorted, purged, put away I might just have to have a warm house potluck party.

running ...

Image Source: taken by "Genius" and allowed by Val.

"Can't you drive any faster?"

"I'm already driving faster than I should in this rain.  We'll be lucky if we don't hydroplane before I get pulled for speeding!"

"Well, we're going to have to be on the run as soon as we park, or we will miss our Orient Red train."

"What I don't understand is why you signed us up for this tour with a group of people we don't even know, let along belong to any common interest clubs with.  You know I hate feeling out of place."

"Please focus on the street and just get us there safely.  We won't have to face anyone until breakfast tomorrow morning and if you really feel out of sorts, you can just stay in the carriage and order room service."

"That's an option?  I will be more than happy to do that for the entire trip!"

"You know, Arthur, the reason I booked this tour was so that our retirement years wouldn't all be spent sitting in our living room, watching the same television shows over and over again.  I want to live a little.  Experience new things.  Meet new people.  I'd be happy if we even had to sleep in a tent every night.  In fact, I think I'm going to book us on a safari in Africa when we get back from this trip."

"Leave me out of it please.  Send me a postcard or two and tell me about it when you get back.  I have no interest in sleeping in a tent.  In fact, Lois, if I'd known that your 'little' surprise trip would involve an international flight to Paris and not to see the grandkids on the other side of the country, I would never have gotten on the plane."

"No one forced you to board the plane, Arthur.  You knew where it was going, before we even got in the car to go to the airport.  I saw you looking at the tickets I had hidden in my lingerie drawer, and what did you think we were getting new passports for?  Last time I checked, California was still a part of the United States with no passports required to visit the kids.  I think you were secretly thrilled when you saw where we were going for our anniversary, and you just want to play the grumpy old man act to get everyone's sympathy.  

  Well, I'm not going to cater to your little boy tantrums any longer.  If you want to stay in the cabin the entire train trip, you certainly can.  But don't expect me to spend the entire trip in there with you.  And I won't waste my time or money on booking you on any future adventures.  You forget that you have been living on my income since you decided that you were too good to work full-time, and that we are now living primarily on my investments and inheritances over the years.  Think about that while you are sitting alone in the cabin eating breakfast in the morning!"

Arthur wisely said nothing more about the trip for the duration of the drive, but Lois didn't miss his shocked expression at her outburst.  He knew he had finally worn out his welcome after all these years and was very lucky she'd even included him on this trip.  

Joining again in Words for Wednesday which can be found this month on River's blog here.