I haven't blogged in a week!

I started my first week taking care of Lil' SweetE. I do Tuesday to Friday from 7am to 4.30pm. It was great fun getting to see him for so long each day. It's amazing how much he has grown since he was born & changed too!

Tomorrow he will be 3 months old, how can those 12 weeks have gone by so fast already, if I blink he will be crawling, then walking!

He's not easy to get to go to sleep, he fights with you, cries, pushes his feet into you, then goes to sleep out of sheer exhaustion. You would then expect him to sleep for at least an hour, no, not Lil' SweetE, he sleeps for 15-30 minutes. Then you hear him making noises, you creep in to check on him & he gives you a great big smile :)

He has me in awe every time I see him, those chubby legs, that sweet face, that cute smile! So these are a few pictures from the lat 12 weeks. Happy 12 weeks old Lil' SweetE :)

Sad weekend :(

It's been a sad weekend, a friend lost her manager to a brain aneurysm he was 49.

My Son lost a friend he worked with & went to lunch with every day. He was killed by a drunk driver, who pulled out in front of his motorbike, he was 25.

I believe we have to live for today, for we don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. No one knows what God has planned for us, but I know he got 2 special Angels this past weekend.

Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.
Author Unknown

Poor Bird :(

We were having our weekly conversation with our friend's in the UK via Skype this afternoon. I let out a shriek & flew out of the front door! One of the cats from across the road, had just jumped up the trunk of the tree & snatched a Red Cardinal feeding from my bird feeder.



It had been raining, but I chased the cat across the road in my now squelching socks, to see if I could save the bird. Alas it was too late, the cat had killed it. We are going out to buy a pole to hang the feeder from. I cannot let any more birds lose their lives to the cats.

My other "babies"

When Keith & I decided to let Gareth have a pet, it was a dog. We never liked cats or wanted cats. So how did I end up with 6 of them!!

Before we lost Jordan & our other dog Denver, a stray Tabby came into our lives. Gareth found her outside one night hungry & thirsty. She spent the next 2 nights under a bush by the garage door. Then made her way in via the garage, utility room, then family room!!



Tabby is such a sweet cat, we were told she was about a year old when we found her & had been spayed!! How did she go & produce a litter of 5 kittens then some months later!! lol. She had quite a menagerie too. One like herself, one tiger stripe, one siamese & two pure white with grey tails & noses!! The 2 white one's got adopted, the tiger one got adopted too, only to come back the next day as his owner had asthma!!

We ended up keeping the other 3, Tiger, Little Tabbby & Simeze.



Tiger is the biggest of all the cats & also has the nickname of the Wussy Pussy!! He is scared of loud noises & will run from anything. He loves having his tummy rubbed & was the only one to play with Harley when we took her in.



Little Tabby is not so little, she is bigger than her Mom!! She has been tested for thyroid problems & numerous others too. She is overweight, rarely eats & doesn't excercise much, unless she has her little fluffy ball! She's not that social either.



Simeze is the most vocal, she will carry a toy mouse around with her miaowing the whole time. Only when you tell her what a clever cat she is, will she stop!! She is slightly cross-eyed too, so you are never sure what she is looking at!



Harley is a stray, dumped in our local park at 6 weeks old! 2 boys found her & took her to their neighbor. She knew we had cats & brought her to us. The first night she was terrified. The only way I could get her to go to sleep, was lay her on my chest inside my dressing gown. She is terrified of storms. She would have been out in them for at least 2 days when she was dumped. I just love her, she's affectionate & will tell you everything the other cats have done when you get home!! Once she has finished tattling, she goes off!

At the time Harley was brought to us, we had just lost our last dog to old age. We have their ashes in urns in my work room. I went in & asked the dogs if they had sent Harley to me & to give a sign so I would know. Jordan used to open doors by standing on his hind legs & pushing the handle down. The next day Harley, even though she was still tiny, jumped up, landed on the door handle & opened the door to the work room. I cried, knowing the dogs had sent her to me.



Garfield is the last one we took in 3 year ago. His owners moved & left him behind. A neighbor found him injured & you guessed it, brought him to me!! We got his leg fixed & had him neutered at the same time. He loves to get on your lap, nead away with his eyes closed & purr like crazy! When he is finished kneading he curls up in your lap. I never thought I would be a cat person. The oldest, Tabby now has diabetes & needs shots twice a day. They each have their own personalities & I wouldn't be without one of them!!

Here's to looking this good!

My Mother-In-Law is quite a lady, 2 years ago she lost her husband after 69 years of marriage. He was quite a character, always making jokes & he was a wonderful husband, father & Grandfather.

I love this picture of him, he was 94 years old when he passed away.



But back to my Mother-In-Law, she has a very social calendar these days. She has a lunch club she goes to every other Tuesday, also a lunch club every Friday. She has been on numerous coach trips & has made quite a few new friends!!

Last Christmas she traveled for the first time by herself to fly out to Florida to spend Christmas with us. The following picture was taken at her Friday Lunch Club before she came out.





My Mother-In_Law never goes out without foundation on & lipstick. She always dresses smartly & makes sure her perfume is on:) I hope that by the time I reach 92 I can look this good too!!

Dropping hints!!

I have a birthday coming up at the end of the month. Hubby asked me the other day if I had any idea's of what I wanted.

I didn't at the time, but I do now!! Going over to spend time caring for Emmitt & taking pictures & video's, made me realise how cumbersome my camera is. Putting it in my purse takes up a lot of room. When we go on vacation, I need another bag just to put it in!!



My hubby is one who goes into everything, comparing, looking & seeing where the good deals are. Having given him 2 Kodak camera's I like, it might just be enough time for him to check them out.





If he doesn't think they are as good as the one I have, he will argue that point!! So at the end of the month, I will either have my new compact, go anywhere camera, or I will still be trying to push the old one in my purse!!

First video of Emmitt :)

Yesterday I was babysitting Emmitt & his big brother Rion. Rion had just settled down to watch some cartoons. I thought that was the ideal time to get some video of my Lil'SweetE, or Chunky Monkey as he is now known!!

It's not really a fountain after all!

For the last few weeks our downspout has been spouting a fountain out of it. I must say it has looked quite nice :) A neighbor even asked me if I had rigged it to do that to water my pineapples! Unfortunately I'm not that smart to think of something like that!!


I got hubby to go up the ladder & check the gutter & the top of the pipe for blockages, it was all okay.

Today we had a friend who is a handyman over. We were telling him about it, he reckoned it was blocked where the bend is. He took it apart from the top & took the bend off, it was all clear. He could then look down the pipe, he said it was full of debris!

He took the bottom off & emptied all the leaves & gunk out of it. No wonder it had been spouting water!!



It's now all back together again, but it's not really a fountain after all!

I brought a Keurig!

I can see some of you now thinking, what ever is a Keurig!! Something to wear, wash with, will it make me feel good!!

Well it's made me feel good :) It's a Single Serve Coffee/Tea/Hot Chocolate Machine!



You buy little pots, that go in the machine & make a single cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate.



I like coffee & tea, but don't always want to have a pot of coffee on the go. Invaribly it gets cold & I throw it away. I saw a good deal the other day in Sam's Club & having walked past it 3 or 4 times saying I will, then I won't, then convincing myself it was meant to be, I brought it!

I was taking care of my Grandson yesterday, got home & as Hubby was out of town, opened the box! I decided on a coffee first, it was hot & tasted oh so good! Before bed I made the hot chocolate, delicious!!

This morning I tried the English Breakfast tea, again very good. I have had 2 more coffee's since then:) It's clean, quiet & makes very good drinks.

Now when Hubby gets back tomorrow, I have to explain why I have this new coffee/tea/hot chocolate machine sitting on the counter! Wait till he tries the earl grey tea, he will be in heaven!!