Pin Cushion

My pin cushion is in the shape of a mouse. For some reason Calumet is mesmerized by this thing and was constantly trying to steal it. Not good, because it has pins in it. OK, 2 needles, but still, you see the danger. I kept it on top of my Nana's bookcase, which is about 4 feet high. Periodically, I'd come downstairs to find the pin cushion on the floor. Hmmm. Then I saw it-she did a straight jump to the top of the bookcase, covered in stuff, looking for the mouse. So, I put in on top of the fridge. When I told my mom, she said, "Poor Callie, give her the mouse". So I did, after taking the needles out. Callie is overjoyed and I find the pin cushion all over the house. Yes, Callie prefers a pin cushion to all of the cat toys!

Fun Day

My doctor told me that this weekend was supposed to be beautiful so to go out and enjoy it. I took his advice and had a very fun day today. After a stop at the post office I took a LONG drive out to a winery that I'd never been to before-Marjim Manor. As I was driving along in the middle of nowhere I saw these little signs along the road-Bakery Ahead-Cookies-Breads. I was going to stop, but before I knew it-I passed it as I saw signs in the opposite direction. Oh well, I'd stop on the way back. Eventually, a few counties later, I found The Winery at Marjim Manor. Neat place-and good wine. They have tons of varieties, some of which I sampled at Dozynki-I tried 6 others today. Some I didn't care for-but others I really enjoyed. I especially like the Starlight and 50 Windows. The really neat thing is the history of the place. You see, the manor is haunted. In fact, they're going to be on Ghost Hunters sometime soon (I have to find out when). I did hear footsteps when I was there, but that may have been an employee going upstairs. I didn't feel the cold spot or see anybody, anybody that was dead anyway. The young woman I spoke with told me they're trying to get the boss to write a book on the subject as she's collected lots of information. It's quite interesting. After buying some wine and gifts and petting one of the cats I left to return home.

Soon enough I saw those little bakery signs and pulled into a gravel driveway. Hmmm. All I could see at first was a greenhouse, no cars, but behind the greenhouse was a building with a sign saying "Open" so in I went. I saw tons of breads and pies, and pillows-yup-it was an Amish bakery. I was in luck, they had such wonderful things. Since I was going to my folks tomorrow, I got stuff for all of us. I got a small raspberry pie, pineapple tart, raspberry chocolate chip cookies, dill pickle and cheddar bread and sweet pepper, onion and cheddar bread. Since it was Saturday they also had home churned ice cream-so I had a bowl of vanilla. Delicious!

I continued the ride home and stopped at Ridge Road Station. I had heard of it, but had never been. It's a huge train, toy, candy, candle, collectible, Christmas store. This place was gigantic. I almost got lost in it! They also have the coolest train room. The train runs on 3,300 feet of track on 4 landscaped levels. Makes me want to have a train! I got some Christmas gifts and then continued on my journey.

My next stop was Hurd Orchards. A beautiful little place, but very pricey. This is not your Mom and Pop Fruit stand (of which there are tons in this area), but an elegant Victorian type place. I did splurge on some Early Summer Fruit Preserves (raspberry, strawberry, currant and cherry). I drove some more and then decided I didn't feel like cooking dinner. Instead of fast food I went to a good restaurant I hadn't been to in quite a while. There menu had changed quite a bit-but everything was still very good. I had the Chicken French and was only able to eat half-so a big doggie bag for me (sorry Barrett).

I stopped to fill up the car with gas then finally made it home. A very long, but very fun day. Now I'm doing laundry and relaxing before my Britcoms come on. Then I'll enjoy some wine and Amish bread. Yumm.

Photo Phriday - Tiger

This Amur Tiger is almost looks as if he's in someone's back yard. He's not. After going to the doctor this morning I went to the zoo. My favorite animals there, the Arctic Wolves, were sleeping and the otters, as usual were nowhere to be seen. My favorite zoo animals are wolves, otters, sea lions, giraffes and bears. What about you?

Movies

There are some movies that I can watch over and over and over again and still enjoy them. These aren't even my favorite movies. They generally don't make me think too much, yet keep me entertained. I don't know what it is about them, but they are always a pleasant diversion. So what are these continually enjoyable films? In no particular order,they are: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Birdcage, Twister, Dante's Peak, and A Christmas Story. I could watch each one and see it again the very next night. Heck, it could end and I could watch it over again right then! There are a few others I enjoy repeatedly, but these are the main ones. Do you have similar movies? What are they?

Fundraiser

I like to donate to charities when I can. I'm an annual supporter of Defenders of Wildlife, The Humane Society and a member of my local zoo. I also periodically send funds to other animal and environmental groups. I send in my check and that's about it. When I lived in Texas I volunteered at the local Humane Society shelter, but time and distance have prevented me from doing that here. That being said, I decided to join a fundraiser for the local humane society in a more physical way. I'm a participant in Barktoberfest. No, I'm not doing the race, but I will be doing the walk. I hate asking people for money-but I'll ask for the animals. If you can spare a few dollars, please consider sponsoring me. The neat thing is that they set up a website for me-so you can be far away and send money safely online. It's tax deductible and a truly worthy cause. So, check it out, and if you can, please consider making a donation! Just go to http://www.lollypop.org/Katreader Thanks so much!

Sharing the Shower

It was a beautiful day today. It was sunny with temperatures in the low seventies. The humidity was a bit higher than yesterday and I worked up a sweat during my riding lesson. However, I work up a sweat when the temperature is in the teens, so... At any rate, we had our lesson outside, it was a gorgeous day, and Harley was great. Afterward I gave him, and me, a shower. The hose in the shower stall has an adjustable head-so you can spray from a jet stream to a gentle mist. I used the shower setting for Harley and he enjoyed it. Then I stepped to the side and changed the setting to mist. I then put the hose on me. Harley saw this and sidled closer, putting his head next to mine under the mist. I wish we had a picture-he was so cute!

Gypped

Since Seneca was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism she has to take 2 pills a day. She won't just take the pills, but she's a greedy guts, so I hide the pill in food and she gobbles it down so fast she never realizes there's a pill inside. Usually I use canned cat food, the ground stuff. I just take out a smidge, put a pill in, cover it with the ground food and give it to her. It's a habit now-a habit which Calumet has noticed. Callie isn't big on treats and snacks and when Barrett and Seneca start crowding her, she'll just walk away. However, when it's pill time she's gotten in the habit of jumping onto the sink (out of Seneca's way) to get something special. I'll give her some cat food as I give Seneca the pill cat food. Callie enjoys this treat. I received some Greenies pill pockets in the mail as a free sample-so I thought I'd give that a try. Seneca came and so did Callie. I wasn't going to open a can of food-so I got a plain treat for Callie and gave her that as I gave Seneca the pill pocket. Seneca loved the pocket-but Calumet was not pleased. She licked the treat, but didn't eat it. The look she gave me, "I was gypped!"

The Betrayal

I just finished reading a very good book, The Betrayal : The Lost Life of Jesus, A Novel. It's by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. I love their stuff. They are archaeologists and bring that knowledge to their novels. This book tells 2 stories, the last days of Jesus and the story of monks who try to save the books describing the historical facts from The Church in 325 CE. The only part I didn't like was getting caught up in the story, then having to pause, find and read the end note, then continue the story. A lot of people will probably be aghast at the things told in this book, calling it heresy and lies. But the historical truth is quite different from what the bible says. I say keep an open mind and your own faith and see what you discover. I've always been interested in archeology and even subscribed a bit to Biblical Archeology Review magazine. I find it fascinating.

Dozynki

Today I went to Dozynki at Corpus Christi Church in Buffalo with my folks. Dozynki is a Polish Harvest Festival. I've been to a couple, this one wasn't so hot, although the weather was hot and we did have fun. The music was great (live Polka band, of course) and they had Polish beer (also great, although expensive), but the food wasn't good (surprising) and there were only 3 vendors-of those one only had fresh produce and one was a winery (yum, samples and good wine). I did get a t-shirt though. We met up with my dad's cousins and they made things fun too. The really depressing thing was the neighborhood. At one time it was a nice Polish neighborhood with well kept homes, close to The Terminal. Now it's more like a ghetto with abandoned, boarded up buildings, graffiti and squalor close to the abandoned terminal. Not a place you want to walk around, even in broad daylight. Sad, really.

Photo Phriday - Phountain

I love funerary art and old cemeteries. I also love fountains. What could be better than a fountain in a Victorian Cemetery? This is a cast iron Florentine fountain that was installed in Mount Hope Cemetery in 1875. Still looks pretty good!

Cars

I am so dependant on my vehicle. A lot of people have 2 cars in their family, but I only have one and if it doesn't go, I don't go. I had a plan today. I was going to the post office, then go grocery shopping, then home to put the groceries away, and off to ride Harley. That was the plan anyway. I got in my car and it did it again-took my foot off the gas and it died. I got it down the street and it started acting OK again, but I went to my mechanic's anyway. He checked it out-and it started dying on him! His first thought was that it was possessed. I almost wish that was the case, I think the price of the exorcism would have been less than that of the garage. Turns out the alternator was working only intermittently-so that needed to be replaced as well as the battery. It took awhile for the new alternator to be delivered so I had a long wait. They fixed it all up and hopefully all will be well for a long while! I was able to get to the post office and grocery store-but it was too late to visit Harley. Barrett and I went for a short walk instead then we had dinner. Another day with not as much accomplished as I wished.

Talking

Sometimes it's good to talk with someone. I went to talk with someone today. We talked from 2 PM to 5:45 PM and it seemed like it was no time at all. It's good to talk with someone who's gone through what you have. It's even better when they love animals. It's better yet when they have horses!

Frustrating

The past two mornings have been quite frustrating. I've been waiting on phone calls and not able to do much. I'm unable to make plans as I need to be available. I wish I could get ahold of people I need to when I want and then be able to plan what I need to do. Why do things have to be so complicated?

Nothin'

I don't want to do anything. I was on the phone all morning, I've been up a long time and haven't done anything. I don't want to do anything. I need to do the dishes, don't wanna. I need to make a grocery list and go shopping, don't wanna. I need to get more grub killer and treat the lawn, it's too windy and I don't wanna. I need to make some cards...don't feel like it. All this time and all I've done is pull a few weeds, can't find my clippers to deadhead some flowers. I'm too lazy to even take a nap. Sucks.