It's a Three Ring Circus! All that's missing is the tent!

When I was growing up, we had a dog, a cat, a bird, and a goldfish. We had an aquarium for a few years, too. Then during my first marriage we had a dog.

In my current marriage (ahem), 26 years, we haven't had ANY pets. This is because of Jim's belief that animals belong outside. He grew up on a farm and that's where all the animals were kept - outside. He's unbending on this.

I feel bad that our kids didn't experience the joys of having pets growing up.

My kids are now grown and living on their own. My son lives in an apartment where no animals are allowed. He did have an aquarium for awhile.

My daughter? Well, she has 2 dogs and 3 cats. I believe we've created a monster. It's our fault that she keeps taking in strays. It's like those parents who go to the extreme and don't give their kids any sugar and as soon as the parents turn their backs what happens? The kid stuffs their face with candy bars and such.

It all started with Khan (named after Shere Khan from The Jungle Book).



Jessica was in college at the time and lived in a house on campus. She was walking to class one day, and this striped kitty, about 6 months old, followed her, like Mary and her little lamb. This, of course, just melted my daughter's heart, and she decided to keep the cat. One of Jessica's teachers was a fervent cat lover and offered to pay for the cat's shots, brought over a litter box and litter, plus cat food. She knew that Jessica was a struggling college student.

It turned out that some of her roommates were allergic to cats, so Khan couldn't stay. He moved in with Jessica's future husband, Dave, and became a "frat cat" and came and went as he pleased. That lasted only a few months till some of the frat guys said THEY were allergic to cats, too. So Khan went to live with Dave's parents until the kids finished school and had a place of their own.

Khan grew to be a big cat. At one point he weighed 19 pounds! But he was never fat. Just big in size and long. And he's prissy. Doesn't like his hair mussed. Here he is removing a speck of something that is floating in his water.



Pretty soon Luna came into the picture.



I like to call her Luna-butt. She is my favorite of the three cats. If you sit on the couch, she will sit on the back of the couch and rub all over your head. It actually feels pretty good. She has quite a personality, likes to eat all the time, and talks back to you when you talk to her.

This photo shows off a little of her quirkiness



Pretty soon Jessica and Dave bought a house and of course, Jessica wanted a dog. So they went to the local animal shelter where there was a new litter of puppies. Jessica really had her heart set on the one female dog, but she wass already taken. So they took the male dog and named him Atlas. Within the year Jessica found out that the female dog was back at the shelter. You know what happens next. Yes, they brought her home and named her Venus. So Atlas and Venus are reunited.

Atlas is totally bowed over by Venus's charms (Atlas on bottom, Venus on top)




They are usually together when they sleep, like two commas; that is, when Venus is not on top of Atlas!



The final cat, Cora, a.k.a. "Miss Gray" came along when Jessica's old boss convinced her to take in the wild cat that lived by her home.



She had named her "Miss Gray". She, herself couldn't take her in because her own cat was old and mean and would chew Miss Gray up and spit her out. So Jessica went to her boss's house and looked for the cat. She called out, "Miss Gray! Miss Gray!" but couldn't find her. All of a sudden she saw a little gray puff come running down the street. Jessica bent down on one knee and the cat ran right up into her arms. It was love at first sight.

Cora is an itty-bitty little thing, weighing in at about 6 pounds. She loves to curl up on your lap or crawl right up your chest. She is very, very friendly - especially after living on the streets for a couple of years.

Here she is going after the "mouse" on my computer.



I have to commend my daughter, for even though she has a lot of animals, she takes good care of them all, and they are all up on their shots, etc. But you can imagine that it's like a 3-ring circus at the house. Something is always going on with the animals. Cora gets along with the dogs very well, Luna ignores them, and Khan? Well - he can be a jerk and intimidate a 65 lb dog from drinking from the water dish by sitting near it. Atlas will sit nearby and whimper because he's afraid of Khan!

I love to go to my daughter's house - of course because of our grand daughter, Lily, but also because of all the animals. I get my "fix".

It's just kind of funny because Jim doesn't really care for the animals, and they all seem to congregate by him. Khan prefers males so he likes to sit on Jim's lap. When the dogs were allowed on the old furniture, one would lay on each side of Jim and rest their head on Jim's leg. I had a picture somewhere of Jim sitting on the couch with all five animals but I couldn't find it. He probably destroyed the evidence!

This is Venus pretending she's a cat looking out the windows with the other pussycats!



Feeding time!



Three cats in a row

This is a scheduled post. I am away from my computer for the weekend, giving my sore wrist and eyes a rest! I will catch up with your blogs when I get back.

It's all about ME!

In order to get to know me better, I've asked myself some questions AND answered them for your amusement.

1) What are three names that you are known by?

Pat
Patty
Patty Puff Lips (don't ask)

2) Name three jobs you've held in your illustrious career.

Sign Language Interpreter
Library Circulation Clerk

Soda Jerk*




3) Names of three pets you either grew up with or had as an adult.

Skeeter (beagle mix)
Rusty (cock-a-poo)
Goldie (goldfish)


4) Name three of your strong points.

I am loyal as all get out.
I am kind.
I am funny.


Smiley Face

5) Name three of your faults.

I am a wimp. I don't stand up for myself.
I don't sit up straight.
I'm as blind as a bat.



6) Name three things you are good at doing.

Writing
Some people think photography
Cooking



7) Name three things you are bad at doing.

Remembering*
Dieting
Math




8) Name three things you'd like to accomplish in your lifetime.

Publish a book
Drive stick without popping the clutch*
Learn to swim without being afraid



9) Name three places you would like to visit one day.

Italy/Sicily
Newfoundland/Prince Edward Island
Redwood Forest, CA


photo courtesy of Wikipedia

10) Name three places you've been to that you'd like to go back and visit again.

Chincoteague/Assateague Island, VA*
Charleston, SC
Ireland


photo courtesy of www.travel.nationalgeographic.com/

11) Name three hobbies.

Blogging
Reading
Photography



12) What are three things we don't know about you?

I'm a lover not a fighter
I have no fashion sense*
I cry easily

myspace layouts

13) Name three of your favorite flowers.

Daisies
Sunflowers
Lilacs


photo courtesy of whatdoiknow.typepad.com

14) If you husband wasn't such a stickler about "animals belong outside" AND you lived in a house, what kind of pets would you have?

Cats (2)
Dog
Lovebirds (2)



photo courtesy of www.faqs.org

15) Name three of your favorite foods.

Pizza
Lobster/crab legs
Fried chicken


Photo courtesy of www.meadowvale.co.uk


I hope this gives you a better idea of who I am and why I'm clinging so close to the edge.


Note: *means future post with more info. Stay tuned.

This is a scheduled post. I am away from my computer for the weekend, giving my sore wrist and eyes a rest! I will catch up with your blogs when I get back. Have a great weekend!

Thelma, Louise, and, um...Me?

By the time you read this, I will be going off on a little adventure. I'm hopping on a train and riding about an hour or so northwest to my sister, Linda's house. Both she, and my twin sister, Pam, will pick me up from the train station and then we will drive up to Wisconsin to spend the weekend at Linda's trailer.

First of all, I've never ridden a train by myself. Jim and I have taken the train into Chicago when we'd go down to the Art Museum or to see a play. It was an easy ride. We'd get off at the end of the line. Easy Peasy. Now I'll be riding the train by myself. I hope I don't fall asleep on the train and a) snore - because according to Jim it's a horrendous sound; and b) sleep right through my stop.

This means I'll be nervous, which in turn will cause stomach problems, which in turn leads to bathroom issues. Yeah. I have those. I'll wee in public, well, not in public, per say, but in the BATHROOM, okay maybe not on a moving train, but in a building. But if I have to do the other business? I'd rather have severe pains in my stomach than go, okay?

Anypoo, it should be a wild and wacky weekend. Okay, maybe I have high expectations. Let's just say it should be an interesting weekend. You see, my twin sister is not a camper. Never was, never will be. If you took a sample of her blood and analyzed her DNA, you'll NOT find a gene that looks like this:


She hates the heat, she is never without makeup, and she never wears shorts. One time all of us siblings were going camping at Potato Creek, in Indiana. We convinced Pam to go with us. At the time, Jim and I owned a pop-up trailer - nothing like the luxurious trailer we live in now, but it was a step up from a tent.



Everybody was tucked in for the night. Pam slept on one of the "wing" beds, and Jim and I on the other. Our kids were little at the time, so they were on the table and another bed. As you may or may not know, in a pop up trailer, when a person turns over or moves around on the "wing" bed, the whole trailer jostles.

I was jostled awake from the movement of the trailer. I laid there a moment to figure out what was going on.

Again the trailer moved.

And again.

The movement was coming from Pam's side of the trailer.

So were the swear words that she was whispering fiercely.

"Son of a bitch!"

Jump.

"F**k!"

Jump.

"Pam! What the heck is going on?" I whispered as I made my way over to her side.

"Something keeps jumping on me. Hitting me on the chest!"

I hit the switch for the small overhead light and found this looking back at us.

SHOWN ACTUAL SIZE

photo courtesy of http://magickcanoe.com/about.html

That sucker was HUGE! We both screamed. Well, as much as we could in a whisper-form. So this mother-tucker was bouncing off of my sister's chest on to the tent top and back down again. This happened a few times. I, myself, thought that she was quite brave. I would have wet my pants AND screamed bloody murder.

As it was, neither of us wanted to touch it. So I did the next best thing. I grabbed a plastic throw-away cup, quickly covered the monster, and dragged his ugly ass ACROSS the tent canvas all the way to the door. Then I swiftly opened the door and threw the cup out! I was a brave soul!

And Pam hasn't been camping since.

So, here's hoping there's no bugs (snort - Wisconsin's state bird is the mosquito!). I already looked at the weather - 80's and 90's. I'm happy. She's not.

She always makes fun of me for playing Dominoes while I'm in AZ. Linda and I play when we're in up Wisconsin. I told Pam that now we'll teach her!

She didn't sound too excited.

But I told her, "Once you play Dominoes, you don't go back."

We drive back to IL on Monday, and to culminate the whole party weekend? Monday night the three of us are seeing James Taylor and Carole King in concert. Sweet!

Tuesday I'll be back with Jim.

I hope he doesn't hurt himself kicking his heels up in the air after I board that train this morning.

"Aahhh...five WHOLE days without Pat!"

Here comes the sun!

Hallelujah! We woke up to a sunny day! AND warm temperatures. SCORE! We took advantage of the first nice day in weeks and went for a hike in nearby Starved Rock State Park. You can read about my past experiences at this park here.

I packed up our backpack with snacks and bottles of water, grabbed my camera bag, and off we went. We first stopped at the Visitor's Center to see which trails had waterfalls at this time of year. Fortunately just about all the trails led to waterfalls. We opted to drive to the farthest ones, then walk the trails to the falls.

I am an amateur photographer. I am learning all the time. I make mistakes, and try to learn from my mistakes. Today I made a whopping mistake. I should have known better. I grabbed my camera without checking it before I left home. The battery was sitting at home in the charger. I only have one. Thus I had a dead camera. Which, in turn, led to a pissed off photographer. I trudged back to the truck and put my camera away. I could have kicked myself! I would just have to make do with my cell phone camera. The pictures aren't that great, so please excuse, but they got the job done.

This is the beginning of the path.



Looks nice and smooth, yes?

But don't be fooled by that, silly child. There were obstacles like tree roots



or rocks, or even tree TRUNKS across the path.



Jim usually leads the way. I think it makes him feel "manly" forging the path and all. Plus I think he likes being Ranger Rick.

Truthfully, I watch his footwork, 'cause I am a klutz. I think I might have talked about that before, but anyway, I am EXTREMELY clumsy. I know FOR SURE that I was NOT a sure-footed mountain goat in my past life!



There are a few little creeks that we had to cross. Now I can't even walk straight on solid ground, let alone trying to balance on a fallen log across water.

Jim dances across the fallen logs like a ballerina across the stage



as I stand baffled on the other side of the creek.

He tells me exactly where to place my feet on the log so I don't fall.

"No, no," He chastises me. "This isn't a tightrope! Put your foot on a slant."

Oh.

I had a few near misses and just pictured myself falling in the stream and getting wet or covered with mud. But I survived.

This is called Council Overhang, the first area we hiked to.





Jim hiking down the path, leaving Council Overhang and going on to the next site.



Not too far down the path I spied this tree across the stream. Holy Moley! Look how high off the ground that is! I'm going to have to cross this? What is this? Survivor?



Jim reassured me that we didn't have to cross it, but demonstrated how easy it would have been by holding his walking stick out in front of him to "balance" him. Very funny.



We met this cute little fella at the next stop. His name is Buddy. He's a Rottweiler/Lab/Doberman mix. Weighs in at 120 pounds! His owner, a young woman, said he might even have some Malamute in him. He was quite tame - didn't bark or lunge at us.



Some of mother nature's works of art:

Mushrooms on a log



A huge (over 10 feet) moss-covered rock!



A dead, rotted tree artfully broken in pieces



I found another heart shaped rock. I was going to add it to my collection, but then I noticed this rock had a small hole in it. (I circled the hole.) I decided to give it to my sister, Pam, who just put her dog down. She is heartbroken. It's like a piece of her heart is missing.



One of the most phenomenal things I saw today was this maple leaf seed stuck THROUGH a leaf of a plant. That must have been some strong wind!

Top view



Side view




Weird or what?

This is Ottawa Canyon . We could hear the falls from around the bend. I circled Jim standing near the falls.



Our last stop was Kaskaskia Canyon.






I took this video with my cell phone, so again, the quality isn't that great. But you'll get the idea how loud the water was rushing out of the rock and hitting the water below. As soon as we entered the canyon, the temperature dropped at LEAST 10 degrees if not more. It would be a welcome relief on a really hot day!



We stopped for refreshments at the local ice cream shoppe in town. They had this cute wooden sculpture of ice cream cones in front of their store.



All in all, it was a good day.

I'm a material girl

Okay so here's the story. This morning I was minding my own "bidness". I just finished reading my email and I clicked over to Jim's email so it would be all set for him to read, 'cause I'm nice that way. My eye caught an email sent from my sister-in-law with the subject "dresser". Well, this piqued my curiosity, and since it was from a family member, I didn't feel like it was prying if I read it.

She was sending an email to all the siblings stating that they were downsizing and wanted to get rid of an antique dresser that once belonged to Jim's parents. If none of the siblings were interested, then she was going to open it up to the grandchildren.

Now. My husband doesn't even feel the NEED to mention this little tidbit to me.

Why?

Because he is NOT materialistic.

I, on the other hand, am.

Don't get me wrong. I don't go for fancy cars; my fingers don't drip with diamond rings, and no - I don't own any furs. But I am a sucker for family heirlooms. And having nice things for the HOME.

Granted, I don't HAVE a home right now.

But I WILL have a "someday home", God willing and the creek don't rise.

I have a storage unit filled with stuff to prove it. Silly, I know. Five years of paying for storage. I could have bought all new stuff. But I can NOT replace things that my father made for me - he died in 1995. I can NOT replace the rocking chair that I rocked my babies to sleep in.

I have boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations, photographs, books I couldn't part with, and yes, even an old dresser from when I was growing up. My sister, Linda, wrote in INK in the bottom drawer something to the effect of, "I hate the twins so much!" That right there is priceless!

Anyway, I did get rid of the majority of our stuff when we (read Jim) decided to hit the road. We gave most of our furniture to our kids. I stored my kitchen set because it was only a year old. I wanted to save my bedroom set for my "someday house" - put it in a second bedroom for guests.

There was a problem.

Jim and our son, Jason, couldn't get my dresser down the stairs.

Now, somehow the movers got it UP the stairs, but who am I to judge here?

So the two guys struggled with the dresser, it got stuck in the stairwell, Jason ran to the neighbors for help, they STILL couldn't get it down the stairs. WTF???

So my husband said, "That's it. I'll just have to CUT IT UP!"

You heard me.

So there I sat at the bottom of the stairs, crying, as Jim went to my dresser with a chain saw. (He would interrupt here and say it wasn't a chain saw but another saw.) The point is - it was very symbolic - he was ripping my heart apart, like the dresser, by getting rid of my stuff.

His side of the story? "The dresser was a piece of crap. The bottom was falling out. It had scratches on it. No big deal."

Another case of he said/she said.

If Jim had his druthers, he would have gotten rid of EVERYTHING. He said, "Why don't I just take pictures of everything, put it on the computer, and any time you are feeling melancholy, just call up the pictures and look at the stuff?"

Yep. That's my old man.

So now you know why he didn't bother telling me about the email.

I told him that I want the dresser.

"WHY?" He asked me incredulously, looking at me like I just grew two heads.

"Because - I have nothing from your parents, and I would love to have this."

"Where are we going to put this?" Asked the-glass-is-half-full-pessimist.

"In storage."

"Where in storage?"

"If it doesn't fit one of my siblings will hold it for me," I answered off the top of my head.

So Jim sent a reply to my sister-in-law. Hope we're not too late.

Now we have to figure out how to get that sucker down to us. It's in Minnesota.


Just call me Madonna.



But you won't find me wearing one of these.



At least not in public.