Cat-Dog Show

Our newest addition has made herself right at home.  Yesterday was her 4th visit to the vet in as many weeks, and I've gotta say I'm glad that part is done.  So now she's had all her shots, blood work, spay surgery, and lastly, the booster shots and stitches out.  She's gained almost a pound, but the vet said she's pretty much as big as she'll get.  At five lbs, she's a featherweight compared to Schultz's 22.

She and Schultz run through the house in manic games of chase (she started it!), and we've gotten accustomed to having our feet attacked any time we venture near the edge of the bed.  Schultz wants to play with her the way he does his outdoor foster-cat Waylon.  By chomping at ears and front feet.  Waylon takes this with a grain of salt, but Willie is still a little anxious about it.  She'll learn he won't actually bite...and even now she doesn't run away.

They both love Phil and will share his lap when he's on the computer.  And mine when I read.  They're like brother and sister when it comes to sharing--they'll do it, but they don't have to like it.

Life is really crazy right now, and due to some humongous changes over the next year, it doesn't look to get any saner in the near future.  Boredom has never been a problem at the Conwell house.  I'll post next week after the Austin Doll Show (Oct. 6) with how it all went.  Fingers crossed!

So they're off...like a herd of stampeding turtles.

I always crack up at that image, but with two six year olds and two cats and two cars packed to groaning with gear and clothes for several weeks, my daughter's family is on her way pretty much like that herd of turtles.

Their move to Travis AFB will take days and days, partly because it's a long way, and partly because they'll stop and visit with family in Arizona and then Southern California.  So Friday--Renee's graduation from her tech school--was a bittersweet day for me.  And of course I forgot to wear the waterproof mascara.

We went to her graduation, then to the River Walk here in San Antonio.  Got all their gear from the hotel and the cats.  Then we had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, and took family pictures at the Alamo.

I will miss having her so close, will miss those boys with their bright smiles and their energy.

The training was tri-service, for Army, Navy, and Air Force.  Look at the row of graduates on the right of the picture:   They sit at attention for the whole ceremony.

I love this picture! 

A nice young man at the Alamo took an Everybody In shot for us.

The boys and Granny Jan.

The boys and Pa.

Back to just Granny and Pa around here now.

Something new's been added.

Gotta get the watering done early this morning, because I have to leave for a vet appointment.  But not with the Schultz, no sirry-bob.  We have a kitten.  I know.  I resisted for years...ever since I lost my Sidney back in '05.  And it's not for lack of offers--plenty of "oh, but he needs a good hooooome!" in the intervening years.  I never really felt it enough to give up the cat-hair-less, poop-scooperless freedom of life without indoor cats.

So Monday the grand-boys and I were out in the veggie garden (they think it's cool when it's empty like that) and here comes this little squeaking, ugly tortoise shell with a freakishly long tail, headed straight for us.  I thought it was the neighbor's cat, and tired of their cats pooping in the flower beds, I pegged a pebble at her to make her go home.  But she just wouldn't spook!  Schultz finally chased her up a tree--any cat besides his foster cat is fair game.  About that time, said neighbor came out.  "No," he said, "It's not ours.  We don't have any cats w/ tails."  They only have manxes.  Who poop in flower beds.  You see why it was easy to resist up til now?

This picture makes her look big, but she's a skinny wee thing...

I figure, fine.  This tiny orphan is likely to get eaten by the pit bull mixes across the street, and starve to death if she manages to escape them, so I'll put her in a crate and take her in to the animal shelter.  We live out in the county, no dog or cat catchers out here.  So I stood at the base of the tree, looked up into her big gold eyes and called to her.  She climbed down the trunk...and into my heart.

Ridiculous, demanding little thing.  Now I have cat hair.  Now I scoop poop.  But at that minute, I knew this cat was supposed to be here, and now it's too late to do anything but love her.  Her name is Willie.  (We already have a Waylon.)  She and Schultz are in the process of agreeing to live together, and it's going surprisingly well.  I'll get a picture one of these days when they finally end up sleeping in a pile on his dog-bed.  It's inevitable.

The Fall Garden...and a garden tour.

I subscribe to Texas Gardener, which helps because the weather and such here makes gardening quite a bit different than it is way north, east, or west of us.  For example...forget it in June, July, and August, at least as far south as we are.  But we can grow our cold weather stuff all winter, so there's a trade off.


I've cleaned up the veggie garden, hauled all the dead stuff and weeds to the compost pile out back.  The hub has promised me a load of compost and a load of cedar mulch for my birthday, so if I get the ground turned this week and some seeds in the ground, it will all be ready for a top dressing of compost and some nice mulch to keep the moister in and discourage weeds.

This week I'll start some pole beans, basil (you can freeze it in zip-top bags for later), a couple of gourds (experimenting w/ growing later in the year) and a couple of winter squashes.  Tomatoes for fall and more peppers are going in this week...and of course there are flower seeds to start--the marigolds, sunflowers, etc. that make such gorgeous fall color here once we really do get cooler temps.  But most of the veggies need to wait a little while longer to plant.  I have a nice tidy chart (that's about the only thing tidy in my garden) spelling out what I want to plant, when, and where.

Today I took pictures of landscaping progress, and then it surprised me to go back to when these beds were freshly dug and rather bare.  So this is a picture heavy post, just so you know.  :~)

This is the house as it was when we bought it back in January of 2009.  Tons of white gravel--6 feet out all along the front of the house.  The gravel in the foreground was what we called "the baseball diamond".  It is finally gone now too.

Sept. 5th, 2012.  I know, winter/summer comparison is not fair, but it does show how much we've changed it...

Same thing, back of the house, Jan. 2009.  They had landscape fabric UNDER the dirt.  Nothing grew there at all.

Today, Sept. 5th, 2012.  We cut in a sliding door that first winter, and built the deck, the beds, etc.

Took a year to clear out all the white gravel and dig in some new beds...but we did it.

Did I mention that those people really loved their white gravel?  Ugh.  On the bright side, who need a gym workout when you have white gravel, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow?  This is Spring 2009, in the clearing out process.

Spring of 2010...new beds along the front...

To the left of the front porch...still working on the gravel clearing detail.

These are those same beds today, along with a much bigger apple tree.  Schultz is wondering why we're out in the heat this morning...watering the beds is already done for the day, mom!

In the back, a sky vine on the garden gate, some asparagus and the Peggy Martin roses are the only things still green in the veggie garden at the moment...but that will change soon enough.

Ready to till it up and put in some seeds!

This is Charlotte, a golden orb spider and good garden friend.  She's been my real-life tutorial for my grandsons this summer, on how a spider lives, feeds, lays her eggs, and finally dies.  She is not popular with the Fed-Ex guy or the son-in-law, because this is the front porch.  :~)

Charlotte's two egg sacks...I can't wait to meet the little ones.

For the first time, we have apples!!!

Silly view from under the messy carport behind the house...a.k.a. my "potting shed".  It's where I end up after every day's gardening chores, to put away tools and materials.  Then I head out to those chairs under the live oak to drink a glass of tea with Schultz & Waylon while we enjoy the view. 

 That's the end of the garden tour for now.  Now, back to the land of dolls.