Thursday, May 27, 2010

Freewheeling!

Well, we finally made a leap of faith and bought our new home. It will take about 90 days to get this Eurovan up to perfect specs and then it will be shipped to us cross country. By that time we will have sold our old house and will be prepared for our journey around the country. Our "yard" will be found at all the great National Parks and Me, Gerry, and Otis will be free wheeling gypsies! The beauty of the plan is the freedom from jobs and house responsibilities and we will be living simply... exploring Nature and our inner selves, writing, journaling, photographing and doing what we love. We will be connected to family via phone and webcam so "seeing" everyone of our loved ones should not be a problem. (Baby girl and I have been practicing talking to the webcam). It reminds me of the song from South Pacific that my mom used to sing to me when I was just a baby, "Happy Talk"... "you gotta have a dream, if you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true!" I can't teach my grand-daughter to follow her dreams if I don't practice what I preach.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Playtime With Annabel




What a difference a week makes in the life of a baby. Here's baby girl sitting up against the old chair that really belongs to Otis bunny rabbit. (He gave me special permission to allow her to sit there). She has been practicing her sitting skills and on Monday she was able to sit up for more than a few minutes by herself and play (movie below). It is amazing how she is able to pick things up and shake them, put them in her mouth for a little bite (she is teething), and maintain her balance. Her little milestones come so fast as she grows and learns about her world and I don't want to miss a thing! Even Otis who can be very cantankerous at times is gentle, albeit a little cautious around his cousin. I am so very thankful that I have the time to play and record the events of my dear little grand-daughter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIs5g8BEB9M

Thursday, May 13, 2010

For the Love of Cats

Mimma



Milo

I love cats and so I can't help but brag about my grankitties. Mimi, or "Mimma" as we call her, is a sweet sultry beauty who only allows public displays of affection on her terms (when you least expect it). Mostly she enjoys sunning herself in the window and avoiding the slobber of Lily the bulldog (she is most tolerant of Lily, even though she considers herself to be far superior to such a simpleton as a dog). She will appear missing for hours after I arrive to watch my grandaughter, and just when I begin to think she doesn't care that I am there, she will gingerly walk over to me as I sit on the couch, jump into my lap and allow me to pet her. No grabbing or loud noise please, she likes the sound of her own purr and likes to be gently stroked and admired... in small doses.
Now Milo is quite another story. He is very good-natured and outgoing, albeit a bit of a nosy bird. Upon my arrival, he will jump on the kitchen table (where he knows he doesn't belong) and stare at his food dish on the windowsill where I put his and Mimma's kitty treats. He is not beneath begging, and as I approach the table to pet his head he will stretch up to my shoulders, stare into my face with that pleading look that demands those fishy little treats, and poke his nose into mine. He is really pretty gentle as he does this maneuver, considering he still has all of his claws and yet he has never once scratched me doing this. Milo needs lots of attention and gets quite annoyed if I dare to read while he is present. As soon as the book is opened he will jump into my lap and worm his way into the book so it would be impossible to read. He has also been known to muscle in when I try to feed baby girl her bottle. He doesn't even mind it when she grabs a bit of his fur, as long as he is able to join in the feeding ritual.
Both Mimma and Milo love when Granny Wen visits, not just because I give them treats and spoil them, but because they are smart enough to know a true "cat person" when they see one.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Going Back in Time




One of the best things about living in the same town that you grew up in, is the ability to back to your neighborhood stomping ground and relive those memories of childhood wonderment. We lived up the street from a woods with a stream running through it and many an afternoon was spent traipsing around looking for old artifacts, crayfish, and signs of wild life. The top photo is of "First Brook" which is a little stream that wasn't so little when you were in single digit age and had to jump over it to get into the woods that lead to the more impressive "Second Brook." Mostly we had to take our shoes and socks off and either jump from side to side if it was dry, or wade across if it was full and deep. There was always the danger of getting a soaker (wet feet with shoes and socks on) that would enrage your mother... so one had to be very careful playing here. The younger kids were content to play all afternoon at First Brook, but at about ten years of age there was a rite of passage in our neighborhood that meant you needed to master the wade or the jump over first brook and bravely walk through the woods until you came to the wide expanse of Second Brook ( as seen in the second photo). Here the water ran quickly over the smooth mud and there were patches of pebbles that would stick up and out of the water where you could literally hang out in the middle of the stream. It was a very cool thing to do on a hot day and for the most part everyone got along pretty well... with the older kids looking out for the younger ones. It was a different time back then... there was no parental supervision ( I don't think they really knew where we were) but there was never any question of safety and certainly no fear of strangers. I still love to visit First Brook and Second Brook when I take my daily bike ride... it is still so beautiful there and the memories are priceless.