SnowBall

The new baby-- SnowBall!

The poor baby was freezing cold and covered in fleas when Troy's friends rescued her. 

She had a bath and got all squeaky clean and warm.  Then met Sophie, who was very excited to greet her.

I think she is around 10 days old, as she is so tiny and very wobbly on her feet.

I'm not sure, but I have a feeling momma cat was trying to move her kitties and got startled by the neighbors dog.  Thus, abandoning her baby in their yard.

 

We went out to search for momma cat and the others, but didn't have any luck in finding them.

17 year old DustBall doesn't seem to mind the new baby.  Introductions are best done on his own terms though.  He was a very good Mother to a stray kitten, about 7 years ago.
 

In other news, Gladys has been busy decorating. She bought a Halloween village kit with her own money, most of which, she earned from the lemonade stand.

She's a happy girl!

We walked around the Pumpkin Festival Sunday afternoon.

Troy won pops for us.

The kids and I, at the same time, said-- "There's SnowBall!"!  About the little kitten with her eye's closed in the middle of the pic.  Rest assured, the lady working the booth informed me these creations are all made of synthetic fur.

My part polar bear child, Gladys, was the only one riding rides... and wearing shorts, that nut.

She had a good time.

Meanwhile, Troy kept the beat and busted out dancing to the music.

Normally he draws a crowd, but the place was virtually empty, except for the workers.  No matter, Troy was getting down with the beat.

We patronized the church food booth and shared some dessert perogies.

Then went right home to the new baby, SnowBall.

On the rare occasion no one is holding her, she sleeps in a box with a heating pad set to low, and blankets.

Her appetite is good, but the only thing she can eat right now is milk.  I feed her kitten formula from a tiny syringe. 

When she sleeps, she actually sucks on her own toes; it's the cutest thing.  :)

Westville Pumpkin Festival 2014

Howdy Folks!

Things are looking up around here. It's been a busy and fun weekend.  The little town of Westville, Indiana held their annual Pumpkin Festival this past weekend.  The Pumpkin Festival Princess was announced Friday evening.

As we all gathered under the tent, the freezing cold wind whipped in through every little crevice.  The girls were all asked to remove their coats for pictures with the press.  They froze.

The winner was announced; the cute little girl in the white dress with the orange sash is the new Pumpkin Princess. 

The next morning, it SNOWED at the Pumpkin Festival Parade.  Lucky Troy got to ride inside in the front seat of a nice warm firetruck.

I had my truck close by, which was nice, since it turned out to be a 15 minute parade with a ten minute intermission in the middle.?.  

In this pic below, Gladdie got photo-bombed by the candy she threw:

All in all, the Westville Pumpkin Festival Parade is still a favorite.  Gotta love a good small town parade.  :) 

Sunday, I got a really SWEET and PRECIOUS SURPRISE!!! Troy's friends found a little baby kitten in their yard that they brought to me!

Troy named her Snow Ball.  Partially because she arrived the day after it had just snowed and her little round body looks like a snowball.  Also, because Dust Ball needs a name sake, so now she has his last name-- Ball.  Cute ahy?

Hungry Trout

Does anyone remember pop guns?  Troy has a pop rifle. I forgot to mention in the last post that he worked security at the Barn Sale.

I think it's sweet how he is into posing for pics. That's my goof ball! :)

 

I had spent a lot of time at Mom's, and her dog, Bo, looks for Sophie every time I go over there now. 

 

 

In other news, I am still not back into the swing of things when it comes to cooking.  I've just been busy and have had my hands full with the kids.  Sooo, what is it that I eat, you ask?  Oddly, I eat about the same thing everyday for breakfast and lunch.

It's like I'm stuck in an eating routine, but at least it's a somewhat healthy one.  Oatmeal with nuts in the morning, and a pita/salad with hummus for lunch.  Supper has been a total wildcard, ranging from normal stuff like pizza (last night) to cereal.

 

That's just the way I am when stress levels are high around here.  It's nice to have a program to fall into because it's just one less thing I have to think about-- not that I mind thinking.  However, my thoughts, like usual, have been focused on fishing. 

Let me tell ya'All, I am LONG OVER DUE for some serious CREEK THERAPY.

Although I didn't have time to justify getting waders wet.  I made a brief stop at a favorite fishing location anyway.  The boxelder bugs were sunbathing and I fed a few to some hungry trout.

It was nice to see a creek full of fish.  That's a good sign.  Family is more important than even a creek full of trout. 

Grace, my oldest daughter, had another stay in the hospital, as she is having some lung/breathing issues.

Unfortunately, we have been frequenting the hospital.  I am a total germ-a-phobe, so among other reasons, hospitals are not on my list of favorite places.

FYI: Leaving a trail of hand sanitizer, I found, was a good way to quickly mark the path back to the exit.  :)

Barn Sale

Hello!  I hope everyone had a good weekend.  Mine was busy, tiring, and fun-- I had a sale with my nephew, Robbie and his wife, Janet, at there place.  

Mom, Roni, Jean and her friends also joined in.  Usually when our family has a garage sale, it's kind of like a big swapping of things between relatives, with the occasional outsider purchasing something-- like a Tupperware lid for 10 cents.

However, since I now live in a small house, I've been parting with things left and right.  And I have no plans to replace them.  The sale was a big hit both weekends and we plan to do one more before winter, as I had so much inventory, not everything got unpacked.

Gladys helped to draw people in as she practiced a gymnastic routine on the sidewalk.  :)

The kids also kept busy by selling lemonade.

Every evening of the sale I was soo tired.  This past Saturday evening, I went to visit a friend, Kristen, whom I hadn't seen in what I thought was 27 years. While I was visiting with Kristen, she told me we used to work for the state together as officers.  Shockingly, I do not remember working with her.  I want to, and I can recall other events in that time frame.  I wish I knew how to recall memories of working with her.  

After leaving Kristen's place, I got lost heading to Laporte.  Dang it-- what is happening to my memory these days?  I was on my way to see the movie, Heaven Is for Real, at the old theater (which is now a church), thanks to Pastor Mike Sutton.  He has made some positive change in the community.  The outreach movie night was a full house!

Sunday, it was back to the sale, and I was giving things away, (or trying to anyhow).

Customers flowed in and bought a considerable amount. 

If anyone so much as inquired about an item, I made sure they went home with it.  I kept expecting to see things looking empty, and that didn't happen until the very end.

Come Sunday evening, everything outside was cleared away except for a few piles left to donate.

Benny Hill & Woolly Bears

Guess What?  I'll give ya a hint-- it's something used for cooking.

I got a STOVE!!! :)  I'm also excited about about the bubble wrap-- that stuff is fun.  Pop, poppity, pop.  The house is now ready for this baby, and I'm looking forward to cooking things up!

Lately, I've not had time to cook.  I've been busy working at Mom's; getting ready for another sale.




This sale will be the last one for awhile, as I will have given away and sold almost everything I own. I actually find it quite liberating.
 

 

My brother, Robbie, is trying to adjust to his hereditary issues.  That is to say, he has a bald spot on the top of his head.  (See above pic.)  To cover up this problem he modeled a wig I have for sale. (See pic below.)

Guys, PLEASE, let this be a lesson to ya All.  If you're going bald, accept it, embrace it even, and move on.  Just don't put on a Benny Hill wig.

I personally like bald.  I mean, baldness seems genuine like-- this is who I am take it or leave it, and I admire that.  Even for women, it projects a strength of confidence, like-- I'm a fighter of cancer or I shaved my head to be unique.  Anyway, no matter who you are or what your circumstance, you're probably not going to benefit from a Benny Hill wig.

Anyone wanna buy a wig? :)  How about some raw mohair?  See, these things of my past are leaving.

While I was busy getting perfume bottles to smile for a group photo, a caterpillar came cruising by.

The Woolly Bear caterpillar, according to Dr. Curran, published in the 1956 Farmer's Almanac, is said to signify a winter's harshness.  If the brown band of the Woolly Bear covers more than 1/3 of the caterpillars body, it signifies a mild winter.  What do Ya'all think?