surgery

This was my knee pre-surgery.

You can see my much faded birthmark, that I'm hoping survives.  Odd to be sentimental about a birthmark that many would have wished were removed.  I certainly got my share of sloppy eater gravy stain teasing.  But apparently my maternal grandfather (whom also had red hair when he was young) had one in the same place (which later caused me some confusion when we covered genetics in biology class).

This is post-surgery.  No stitches or staples, just an adhesive tape.  The surgery was done WITHOUT  traditional anesthesia.   Nerve blocks were done in my leg just above the knee, and one epidural injection in my spine to numb me from the waist down.  I (fortunately) don't remember much of the surgery,  except at one point I did loudly ask, "Is that a hammer?!?!?"  Yes.  Yes, it was a hammer, and a chisel.

Since I was staying in hospital on the 30th and going home on Halloween, I dressed appropriately. 

These are Calliope 's toe beans.  This was the first time I'd been away from the Littles for more than 24 hours, and they were both stuck to me like velcro when I came home.  Since then, I've had at least one cat on me at all times.

The blanket has Pedro Pascal's face all over it.  It is quite soft,  warm, and oddly comforting in a way that has nothing to do with me being a retired cougar. 

Home health physical therapy starts this week, although I've already been doing most things by myself.  I'm grateful for my neighbor, family and friends who checked on me.

remembering ...

  "Vondran?"

  "Yes, Thalion?"

  "You've been very quiet lately.  Is everything alright?"

  "Yes.  I've just been a bit overwhelmed lately with memories of my death.  I hadn't expected them to be so ... vivid."

  "I assumed you had died of old age.  Was that not the case?"

  "No, it was not.  After my mother passed away, I was lost for a while because I had never been alone.  I didn't know how to exist without her, and I made some very poor choices.  She had raised me to one day assume a throne, but when she died, so did my belief that I was an heir to anything.  I became dead inside.  Not knowing what to believe or how to exist without her guidance.

  "I began to drink, trying to drown my sorrow, and was unable to remember all that she had taught me.  To protect me, she had taught me the language of wherever we were, so that I could blend in like a native and not draw attention.  But alcohol had a way of making me forget what she had taught me.  One night, after a particularly dark episode of memories, I had offended some travelers at the inn.  A simple coined phrase that did not translate as I intended, and the next thing I knew I had been dragged into the woods and was being beaten with a cudgel."

  "Is that when you died?"

  "Not directly.  In that moment, I saw myself as she would have seen me, and I realized how ashamed she would have been that I had lost hope.  That was what killed me.  I gave up hope."

  "Vondran, I know you have some misgivings about Kael being on this journey with us.  Is it because in a previous life he was one of the men who beat you?  Is that why you don't trust him?"

[This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January. I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year. To start from the beginning, click on the Words for Wednesday 2025 label to the right and it will pull up all of the weekly posts, beginning with the most recent. To start from the beginning, continue to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page until you get to 1 January 2025, then click "Newer Posts" to read the next date. You can thank Blogger for the inability to list them by chronological order under the labels.]

This week's Words for Wednesday prompts can be found here.

heirs ...

  Far from where Alexander met his fate, the innocent wood elves continued their journey to find Queen Legodia's throne and the evil King Oom.  Thal would have to challenge him face to face in order to claim the throne and kingdom as rightfully his by birth.  

  King Oom had been expanding the kingdom, but not by conquering adjacent kingdoms in battle.  His method was to bully landowners until they signed away their land for pennies on what they paid for it; or he would take it by eminent domain even if the land had been in the same family for centuries.  Laughing as his men burnt houses and barns, he would toss a few coins to the families that had been heirs born to the land before King Oom was even a thought in his father's pocket.

  It would come as no surprise to Elder Elowin how King Oom had been growing his kingdom, but she wasn't with the four as they traveled again at the earliest hours of the day.  Vondran had been silent as the closer they came to the kingdom, the greater the risk to their lives.

  There are many on this planet we call home that would betray their closest friend or family, neighbor, town, even country for the most minor of reasons for financial gain.  Vondran knew of Kael's past and had reason to believe that if offered the right price, he would betray them all.

  Thal sensed that Vondran was concerned about Kael but couldn't pinpoint why.  It was the least of his worries for the moment because he also sensed that they were being followed.  But no matter how hard he tried to get Vondran to speak to him and tell him who it was, he'd not been able to get a response from Vondran.  He hesitated to mention it to Kael or Eldrin because he didn't want to frighten Lyri... something he needn't worry about.

  At the next break they took for a meal, it was Lyri who brought up the "shadow" that crept along in the woods parallel to their every step.

[This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January. I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year. To start from the beginning, click on the Words for Wednesday 2025 label to the right and it will pull up all of the weekly posts, beginning with the most recent. To start from the beginning, continue to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page until you get to 1 January 2025, then click "Newer Posts" to read the next date. You can thank Blogger for the inability to list them by chronological order under the labels.]

This week's Words for Wednesday prompts can be found here.

thursday...

  It's been a weird week for me, and twice I've gotten my days mixed up.  Stress, I think.  Overwhelm.  Monday was a bit of an early rise for the drive again to Hot Springs for a dental visit and more fillings.  This is the view from the office, and some of the fall colors:

  After that was done, I thought I would go to Gathright Dam and Lake Moomaw [<links] to see more of the fall colors.  Let's just say I found water, but I have no idea where I was or if it was Lake Moomaw.

  After passing the same houses more than once, with my gas gauge clicking down, I made a decision to reset Google Maps to take me home instead.  The damn lake will have to wait until another time.  I did pass by The Homestead [<link] which was absolutely massive, and not at all what I was expecting it to be since all of the signs I'd seen were brown (usually indicative of some historical, state or national park, or natural site, like a waterfall).  It's a bit over the top and in reading up on it, I'm not sure I could have afforded to look any longer than I did in passing it while driving.  The $150M restoration [<Wiki link] that was completed in 2023 needs more than my meager income to be profitable. Ouch!

  Tuesday morning was a really early wake-up to get my pre-ops done before my knee replacement surgery a week from tomorrow.  No caffeine was ingested until well after the lunch hour, so I felt in a brain fog most of the day, even after a frosty diet Pepsi.  

  That afternoon I got a copy of the Utah Sheriff's investigation into my nephew's December 2023 disappearance in Paducah, Kentucky.  It starts with January 2024 when they found the Jeep he was driving at the time he disappeared to when they found his remains on 5 October 2025.  Their case has not yet been closed, pending the final "autopsy" report, and whether or not they were able to find anything on his phone after it had been charged.

  I'm a fan of forensic shows and so the details of how his remains were found wasn't disturbing.  When I'd been told that "remains" were found, not a body, it told me he had been dead for quite some time, most likely since December 2023 since he wasn't dressed for the weather in the area the Jeep or the remains were found.  What has been most upsetting for me that last few nights are just thoughts of him dying alone and afraid.

  I had a dream not long after I found out he'd gone missing, where he came to me and said it wasn't intentional.  He hadn't planned on disappearing; he just found himself in a bad situation that he couldn't get out of.

  His remains were found about two and a half walking hours away from where the Jeep was found.  The Jeep had gotten stuck on a rock, with one of the front tires showing that it had "spun" in the dirt.  There was no snow found under it, so he had gotten stuck before the foot of snow that it was found in had fallen.  The Jeep was out of gas, so if it was late in the day, he might have stayed the night in the Jeep before setting out the next day to what he may have thought was the nearest town or gas station.  He wasn't dressed for a Utah December; he was only wearing sneakers on his feet. His remains were found near a riverbed, with his backpack found near a large log in what might have been an attempt to take shelter from the weather.  His jeans still had his wallet, ID, credit cards and money in them.

  We will always have unanswered questions about what happened, and why.  But I don't believe it was suicide, or a desire to die.  I think it just was what he said in my dream ... he found himself in over his head.

  Still ... 💔 Ci

rage...

   Fortunately for the hotel and the restaurant, Alexander and his merry band of gnolls had moved on the next morning, but the damage to the restaurant's reputation was done.  Now, 24 hours later, Alexander was meeting with gnoll chieftain in what would be the straw that broke the chieftain's less than patient back.

  "I should have known better than to think you would be able to follow my simple instructions.  How difficult is it to find the next town with a large hotel when you have all night to search for one?  Your stupidity and ignorance, and blatant disregard for my comfort just astounds me.  If you think I'm going to lower my standards and join you and your diseased looking lot by sleeping on the forest floor, you are sadly mistaken!"

  As previously mentioned, language was a barrier between Alexander and the gnolls when they first started communicating.  But with time, the chieftain had quickly picked up the English language as he, and the other gnolls, were not as stupid and ignorant as they wanted Alexander to believe.  It was to their advantage to keep him in the dark, literally and figuratively, when it came to who was the more intelligent race.

  Now, the chieftain turned his back on Alexander and began to wave his arms and yell random insults about Alexander to his army as if he were relaying to them all that Alexander had said.  The gnolls were not a shy race, and the moment was not lost to them that the anger of the human might finally mean that they would be feasting well that night.

  Ignorant to the fact that the joke was now on him, and that he was far from any city or town that could save him from his self-created destruction, Alexander stood with his hands on his hips, nodding in oblivious agreement with whatever the chieftain was saying.  Nodding that is, until he realized that the horde were surrounding him and his end was at hand.

  In another 24 hours, the gnolls were still rubbing their swollen and distended bellies, laughing amongst themselves about the stupidity and ignorance of certain arrogant humans who failed to have any regard for others.

  Giving up their pursuit of Kael, and all other wood elves, they made their way back to familiar forests, hauling behind them bones that had been stripped clean of all flesh, muscle, and tendons.  They would reassemble them when they got home as a wind chime, hanging as a warning to others who might doubt their fighting skills and strength.

  For his part, Alexander never did comprehend how they could have betrayed his trust, and to this day his ghost is rumored to haunt that portion of the woods.

[This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January. I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year. To start from the beginning, click on the Words for Wednesday 2025 label to the right and it will pull up all of the weekly posts, beginning with the most recent. To start from the beginning, continue to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page until you get to 1 January 2025, then click "Newer Posts" to read the next date. You can thank Blogger for the inability to list them by chronological order under the labels.]

This week's Words for Wednesday prompts can be found here.

brb...

 I'll be right back to continue my Words for Wednesday story (a few days late) but wanted to first get these photos uploaded from yesterday.

It was the annual Fall Foliage Festival in town, which actually won't end until tomorrow.

The Shriners sponsor it, so of course I had to try one of their World-Famous Doughnuts.

Eh, as doughnuts go it was good.  Wasn't a Krispy Kreme, but it was good.

This is a Carpenter Bee trap!!!  I never knew such things existed, and I'm super excited that it does!

They wreaked havoc on my house in the back yard over the spring and summer.

They are made by developmentally disabled adults in one of their life skills classes and sold to help support their programs [same as the bat house below].

I was thrilled that they also had bat houses for sale and can't wait to get this one put up near the front porch.

The Alleghany Highlands Arts & Craft Center where I volunteer was also having a "Back Room & Attic Treasures" sale, which I gladly supported as well.

I got a glass bird bath dish (been wanting one forever!) for just $3!

These were also from that sale, and I got the entire set for $15.  They are from the Enoch Wood's English Scenery line, also known as Woods Ware made by Wood & Sons in England.  Established in the late 18th century, I haven't been able to find much information on this particular maker's mark:

I moved my pretty colanders over to the wall by my pantry cabinet, and I'm still working on where to hang my two kitchen linen towels that were there before.

Okay... now to find the words for Wednesday...

up before the sun...

For some reason, I thought that an 8:15a dental appointment, in a city 40 minutes away would be a good thing.

And it was for these views of Falling Springs, with a blanket of fog over the valley in the background.

 The dental appointment went well.  Unexpected fillings to help protect teeth where my gums have receded from clenching my teeth too much.  More to be done next week.

I saw a thrift shop on the way that looked fun, but they weren't open today.

I may go back tomorrow just to "browse."

The drive alone is worth it.

this week...

 ...has been busy.  But not as busy as the next few will be.

The fabric arrived for the 100+ year old chair I purchased a few weeks ago, so I set about getting that project done.

The wood base for the seat looked like it was a slice from a very large tree that had separated by what were the "rings."  There was no glue between the layers that I could see or feel, and it wasn't any type of modern plywood.  I put wood glue between the layers and placed five heavy jugs of water on it to level out where age had warped the wood.  The chair will be a catch-all and not necessarily used for extra seating.  I wanted to keep the original wood because of the history and the stories the tree could tell.

Along with keeping the original wood, I also kept the natural cotton padding (top of above picture) that still had pieces of the plant in it.  The original fabric was the blue that had faded and darkened from dust, dirt and wear.  It was "tacked" to the wood with handmade steel tacks.  The burgundy striped fabric (seen on the chair in the original picture I posted on the 5th) was stapled, and those had rusted considerably.  There were no bugs in the padding, and I didn't see any reason to keep the old fabric once I used it for a template to cut the new fabric.

The print was larger than I expected, but I still love it.  I had it printed on a durable upholstery denim and purchased it from Spoonflower. [<link]

The base for my mattress arrived.  This was actually a Rodger-rigged project.  The head- and footboard are also 100ish years old, and while it came with side rails, there were no slats to rest my mattress (from a box) on, and I didn't think it would stay on the rails alone.  Box springs don't seem to be made or marketed like they once were, and this setup is actually intended to rest on the floor.  I used zip ties to secure it to the rails once it was all together.  I still feel the need to put a box or something underneath it in the center just for added support, but I'm trying to figure out what that will be.

All finished.  His Highness, Charles, gets his own pillow to sleep on, and The Queen, Gracie, will sleep on the pillow behind him.  It is the only time that Charlie tolerates her presence so close to him.

💔💔💔💔

Tuesday morning, I learned that my nephew Justin's remains had been found in Utah.  Identification was confirmed with dental records, so he likely died in December 2023 not long after he went missing.  It was not the outcome we had hoped for, but it at least gives closure to his family.  His 38th birthday would have been Sunday, and his son just turned 14 in January this year.

💔💔💔💔

If you know someone living on the edge right now, please don't wait until they disappear to try and touch base with them.  Reach out now. Ask how they are.  Listen.  Just listen.  

Should'a, could'a, would'as are the worst part of hindsight.

With hugs and love... Ci💚

not dead yet ....

   Alexander was about to order room service at the latest luxury hotel he managed to find in his journey to find Kael and the other wood elves when he decided it was high time that he actually visited the three-star Michelin ranked restaurant in this particular hotel for a change.  Room service was all well and good, but that night he was in high spirits and felt deserving of being served rather than serving himself.

  As much as he put on airs to be some sort of well-educated aristocrat, Alexander's table manners were more similar to his gnoll heritage.  Chewing with his mouth open, with food falling out, he was ignorant to the other guests of the restaurant nudging each other or requesting to be moved to another table away from him.  The maître d'hôtel saw what was happening as guests would point to him or laugh on the side and watched like a hawk to be sure that none of his waiters were mocking Alexander.

  It would be just like the inspectors who "dish out" the Michelin stars to put a honey bait of a repulsive diner to test the restaurant's staff into making a mistake that could cost them their ranking.  Distracted by the sight of Alexander eating, he didn't see one of their wealthiest and most prestigious guests arrive with a companion on each arm, and six other notably famous friends.  They stood silent, waiting for the maître d' to acknowledge them, before they saw what he was glowering at.  Their eyes widened at the spectacle Alexander was making of his meal before their host for the evening loudly exclaimed that perhaps it was time they find a new place to eat if the restaurant had lowered its standards to allow pigs to dine.

  The maître d' spun his head so quickly, they heard his neck crack, and he blushed a deep red, apologizing profusely for Alexander and offering to seat them in a private room.  But the damage was done, and the nine were already out the door, with several of the women posting to social media their disgust and disappointment as his words fell in the air.  This would be worse than an anonymous Michelin inspector, the maître d' thought as he tried to remember the last time he had to look for a job and whether or not his resume had been updated in the past two decades.

[This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January. I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year. To start from the beginning, click on the Words for Wednesday 2025 label to the right and it will pull up all of the weekly posts, beginning with the most recent. To start from the beginning, continue to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page until you get to 1 January 2025, then click "Newer Posts" to read the next date. You can thank Blogger for the inability to list them by chronological order under the labels.]

This week's Words for Wednesday prompts can be found here.

sounds before morning coffee

background noise at the beginning of the clip is the hot water warming for my coffee.

Calliope has the tiniest little girl meow, while her brother Oliver has the deeper meow.

Lucy appears at the beginning of the clip in the background and is the angry hiss and spit in the middle of the clip.

video ended when my phone dropped in the chaos.

last week...

The waterfall buffet has evolved from boho witchy ^ to Art Nouveau glam.

Tuesday after physical therapy, I had planned to go into the new art & craft shop I found the week before.

But.... I spotted some used furniture in a shop I had forgotten was on the same street and got side tracked.

Which I'm grateful for, but it also came with a hiccup which I'll explain in a moment.

First ... I got a gorgeous Art Deco period waterfall bedroom set that matches what I already have.

This footboard ^ was HEAVY and came with a matching headboard.

Four drawer tall dresser with mirror.  Handles match the cabinet that I just got a few weeks ago.

The nightstand now has a new era appropriate knob (and not this random oriental theme knob). It is now a printer stand and paper storage.  While I love the waterfall style, my current nightstand has two LARGE drawers and is wider/not as tall and suits my needs better.

This extra wide catch-all chair will be recovered with the fabric below.

My sister brought me these two paintings that had been in Mom's stuff.

They were painted by her (Mom's) grandfather (so my great-grand).

I got frames for them and now have them hung.

morning...

Sunrise coffee.

A chilly 45 degrees.

Friends, old and new.

Canadian geese, unseen in the fog,

Heading south and sounding off in formation.

A ruby-throated hummingbird buzzes by me,

Grateful I've kept feeders out for her.

Tap tap tap, and the call of a woodpecker,

I watch as it hops up and down the old,

Dead tree by the edge of the not Dry Creek.

if I were a betting man...

   Several days after their near encounter with the spotted black caped elves, Lyri noticed that Thalion had been especially quiet since leaving that part of the forest.  Finding him at the edge of a creek while she was gathering wood for their evening fire, she sat beside him.

  "Do you still hear Vondran's voice in your head or in your dreams?"

  Thal continued looking at the water, watching tadpoles in the shallows.  "No, and it is starting to worry me.  What if all of it was just my imagination, and I've put our lives in danger?"

  She put a hand on his arm to comfort him.  "It hasn't been your imagination.  Elder Elowin confirmed some of the things that he had told you before we left.  You mustn't let doubt enter your thoughts, Thal.  I know we've put a lot of pressure on you to lead us.  Perhaps we should rest another day or two here."

  Thal nodded, and Lyri left him to his thoughts and returned to where Eldrin and Kael were setting up makeshift lean-tos as they did every evening.

~*~*~

  While the elves were sleeping on the ground for their part of the journey, Alexander was choosing more modern amenities for his portion.  Five-star hotels were far and few between, but he would rather not settle for less so long as he was still able to meet with the gnoll's Chieftan each evening before he slept.

  Now, Alexander and the elves traveled by day and the gnoll's by night.  In the beginning, he had kept the same schedule as the gnolls and traveled at night.  But sleep evaded him during the day, and after a particularly bad case of influenza which took all of his physical strength and left him bedridden for a week, he realized that he could no longer drive at night.  He may have had gnoll DNA, but his body and organs were weakly human.

  His original anger and desire to destroy Kael and all the wood elves had manifested into a small, pea-sized bilirubin pigment stone, the color of pumpkin orange, in his gallbladder.  For now, its presence was only an occasional twinge in his right side that went away after three or six shots of bourbon.  But as the days passed without any sign of the elves, and Alexander's evening "nightcap" increasing in frequency during the day, there came another, as the original stone became larger.

  There was now a race within Alexander's body that his mind was thus far unaware of.  Would he die of an infection caused by the stones?  Would he die of a heart attack from the stress of the journey?  Or would the gnoll Chieftan finally have enough and make a meal of him?

  The gnolls were already placing bids for his appendages, and bets for how much longer Alexander would live....

 [This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January. I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year. To start from the beginning, click on the Words for Wednesday 2025 label to the right and it will pull up all of the weekly posts, beginning with the most recent. To start from the beginning, continue to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page until you get to 1 January 2025, then click "Newer Posts" to read the next date. You can thank Blogger for the inability to list them by chronological order under the labels.]

This week's Words for Wednesday prompts can be found here.

bits and bobs ...

 

An awesome visit with my sister and nephew last week.

I'm the short one in the middle.  😉

New "Cat TV" to entertain the Littles.

This feeder drew quite the crowd of hummingbirds.

I saw an email from the Audubon Society that they have started their winter migration south. 

Mr. Toad graced us with a visit.

There has not been much more going on in my life lately to blog or post photos of.

A very dear blogger friend of 20ish years passed away over the weekend.

It has caused me to feel quite mortal and contemplate the fragility of life.

Sue lived in Australia, and her spring was our autumn.  

I loved seeing her flowers come to life just as ours were fading away.  [<link]  

I've ordered about 60 bulbs of late winter, early spring blooming flowers to plant in the next month and will always think of her when they bloom.

See you over the rainbow, Sue.  Miss you till then... Ci💚

broken trust ...

   Several generations before that of Thal, Kael, Lyri, and Eldrin, and even before that of Vondran, there had been peace in the forests for most of each year.  There were trade and commerce between the wood elves, gnomes, and fairies.

  But at some point, a more competitive wood elf suggested that they hold an annual competition of Olympian style games to see who was really "the best" in the forest.  Naturally, each of the competitors had the full support of their villages, and it was all fun and games.  For a while, anyway.

  No one remembers the whole story of what happened, but what was passed down from generation to generation was that it was suggested one year to have feral tabby cat races down the mountain.  As one could imagine, the race didn't go as planned.  Cats, feral or domesticated, are not known for their willingness to follow commands, especially when there is something small and possibly tasty riding on their backs.

  Later, the story that was shared by the men folk around fireplaces with warm whiskey making the tales longer, was that the village of the spotted black caped clan had deliberately sabotaged the games in order to gain a trade monopoly in the forest.

  The women whispered across clotheslines that it had been the oak clans, while others insisted it was the river clans, or the mountain clans who had been responsible for the massacre.

  Regardless of who or why, the damage was done.  Darkness and distrust began to spread in the forests, and friendships between the elves, gnomes, and fairies were sharply severed.  Soon the wars would begin, kingdoms toppled, gnolls rose up from the black earth and shadows, and The Grimma was born.

 [This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January. I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year. To start from the beginning, click on the Words for Wednesday 2025 label to the right and it will pull up all of the weekly posts, beginning with the most recent. To start from the beginning, continue to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page until you get to 1 January 2025, then click "Newer Posts" to read the next date. You can thank Blogger for the inability to list them by chronological order under the labels.]

This week's Words for Wednesday prompts can be found here.

the catio... and a bookend...

 I've been remiss in my continuity of photos ...

These are the completed catio photos.  I needed something that would be above ground level for rain and stray tom cat reasons.  It was not the window I had originally intended on using, but I think it worked out better.   Most of the catios that I looked at when shopping for it, had large wire screening, maybe inch square openings.  I didn't want anything that large because of mosquitos, bees, wasps, and flies potentially getting into the catio or house.  This is a durable metal screen like what is for windows.

The Littles [the name I've given rock band members, Oliver & Calliope] have taken to it with gusto, as they have the steps I installed (see yesterday's photos).  The Girls [Gracie & Lucy, the older two cats] feel that being forced into the catio amounts to tortuous punishment, which is odd because they love being on the front porch.  They want in immediately and act like they haven't a clue how to go through the cat door, even though it is the same type of door I installed in their Cat Cave [laundry/litter box room].

\

This is the 2nd of the two bookends that I first posted on August 18th.  I tried to do a reversed freehand of the Deathly Hallows that I did before but didn't like it.  Instead, I thought a wand and Severus Snape's iconic word would be a fitting tribute to Alan Rickman.

a little of this and that ...

   I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted any pictures ...

Latest fun.  Walmart sells them already dotted; I just had to fill in the dots.

Spider bling for me.  The one I made for my friend & neighbor is below.

Got a new2me cabinet to match my other furniture.  Art Deco Waterfall style.

I suppose this makes me a crazy cat lady now.

The catio has been installed, and I added the steps today.

We all enjoyed the front porch this morning.  Charlie most of all.

The rock band members looking for more trouble.

Oliver was neutered last Tuesday, but it will be a month before he stops wanting to break things.

Gracie is contemplating her escape, while Lucy pleads deniable culpability.

Leaves are beginning to fall, and the maple I can see has orange highlights.

My succulents have been happy on the porch for the summer, but they will be moved inside at first frost.

A stray I befriended while waiting for my physical therapy appointment after dropping Oliver off for his snip snip.

Paris' spider bling.

Lucy.

Calliope.

Stay strong out there... Ci💚