A little Christmas Mischief

Posted on December 10, 2014December 10, 2014 by Dusty Roads

There hasn’t been much to report. The install for my over the range micro wave was supposed to be Monday but it got trumped by an emergency out of heat call. Can’t really argue with that. Keeping warm in the Massachusetts winter is a bit more important than whether I warm my dinner in a microwave or in the oven.

The little tree is up but with minimal decorations since they don’t stay on the tree for long anyway.

Oh Oh Caught in the act!

But let’s act nonchalant about it. A little paw lick should cover it up.

Ahh more decorations. This is getting more interesting.

I think I’ll just settle in here and watch the pretty lights.

To my surprise, Rocky hasn’t shown any interest in the tree. He’s just glad to be spending warm days under the sun (lamp)

Who needs a warm beach?

It’s a Little Tree

Posted on December 6, 2014December 6, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The hectic pace continues around here. I no sooner got the boxes emptied out from the kitchen than I started filling them back up again from the china cabinet in the dining area.

No point painting the kitchen and not the adjoining wall. My neighbor has said he will help me move the cabinet which is really a side board and hutch.

Unfortunately for my clutter tolerance I’m not stopping there. I ordered an armoire to put next to the hutch. I’ll ditch the old beat up book case. This will give me a place to hang coats and jackets instead of over the back of a chair. One side of the armoire has shelves so I can put the things from the old book case in there. It’s mostly photography stuff anyway, not too many books. Maybe that will keep them from being constantly knocked to the floor by Mr. Rocky.

I’m still waiting for my electrician who is having some issues of his own. So by extension my kitchen is at a standstill. He says maybe Monday??? Fingers Crossed.

On the upside my heavy winter gear came from Cabela’s and it fits. I think. It’s been a long time since I’ve worn a snow suit so it feels really bulky. I’ll have to get used to it I guess. At least I’ll be warm and it’s camo no less! I’ll be able to get out in the snow and maybe get some really decent pictures instead of hibernating all winter. The insulated boots didn’t come. They are out of stock for the winter. Maybe I can wear extra wool socks in my hiking boots.

With the delays and all the boxes I decided this was not the year to upgrade my Christmas Tree. I pulled the small tree out last night and will dig out the ornaments today. I hung my wreathe on my door so at least that’s done.

It looks like I have a bit of a problem. I usually put the tree on the hope chest but that’s one of Buddy’s favorite places to snooze. As soon as I started messing around there he claimed it.

Taunton, MA, The Christmas City, had it’s tree lighting today at 5 pm. Of course it was raining but they went forward with the festivities anyway. I love that this city always goes all out for the holidays. I won’t try to get there today but maybe tomorrow evening I can take a break and get some photos to show you.

Thanks Buddy. I can see tonight will be a long night!

Another Box Down

Posted on December 4, 2014December 4, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Believe it or not I’m still emptying boxes and sorting what to put where in the kitchen. I emptied another box today. Only 2 more to go. Whew!

The new over the range microwave came today. Now I have another big box in my living room. Rocky did the inspection.

I hope I can get my electrician to come out this weekend. I’m not sure what to do with the old microwave. I won’t throw away a perfectly good one. Maybe I can find someone who would like it.

I ordered some “wall art” today to go on the soffit area of the kitchen. It says “Many have eaten here…few have died. ” If I get sick of it I can peel it off and put something new up there.

In other news, my sister and I are booked for the River Walk to French Quarter Amtrak vacation. It’s booked for October 2015 so we qualified for an early booking discount. The discount was $300.00 so I used $140.00 of it to upgrade from coach to “roomette”. It’s not a bedroom but it has seats that convert to beds in case we want to nap. Plus all 3 meals on the train is included.

We’ll fly into San Antonio and then have the rest of that day to explore. The next 2 days is all San Antonio which includes a tour.

On day 4 we have to catch the train at 6:30 am! We won’t get into New Orleans until 10 PM. so no sight seeing then but there should be some great scenery as the train travels from Texas to Louisiana. Day 5 & 6 we’ll be in New Orleans and we fly home on Day 7. How much we can explore will depend on what flight we get out.

In a previous post I mentioned that I didn’t see any singles rates. Well I asked and was told there aren’t any. If you are single and want to go on the trip you pay double! I’ve heard of singles penalties but I thought paying double was a thing of the past. Guess I was wrong. Now I’m really glad my sister agreed to come along. I’ll have good company and a fun traveling companion and it saves me $$$.

Day 2 of the Great Kitchen Makeover

Posted on November 18, 2014November 18, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I awoke to a flooded kitchen! Yup the bucket containing the drip had overflowed during the night. I grabbed a bunch of old towels and began the mop up. Right at 8 am the door bell rang and my two perky installers arrived ready for a full days work. I explained that the pail had over flowed and we pondered the problem for a bit. Then they started on their main business, the cabinets.

I went out to locate our property manager who then called in a drain specialist to address the water problem. They only made it worse so the cabinet guys came up with a plan that seemed to solve the drip. They diverted it to a higher point so it was now running downhill into the drain. After all water can’t run uphill.

The cats were underfoot all day! The noise was deafening with the sanders and hand saw. You would have thought they would have stayed hidden with all the commotion!

The plastic drapes were hung today as a lot of sawdust was being generated, They had their big shop vac running to add to the mayhem.

But I am beginning to see progress. Can’t wait til the doors go on and I can really see the new look! A lot different from those old dark cabinets.

I think the kitty cats are down for the count. Should be a quiet night!

Acne…just Acne!

Posted on August 21, 2014August 21, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Just got back from the “Cat Hospital” where the Vet examined a very squirmy Rocky.

I noticed this morning that the swelling seemed to have subsided overnight and clearly it wasn’t as tender as he let me pet him with no “melps” or aversion. Still I felt as a senior cat that it was worth following up on.

Rocky has lost a little weight ( We can only hope that Buddy is losing too. ) but no temp. Rocky also let the vet look into his mouth and under his tongue and all was good there. Under his chin, nestled in his chin hair, was a pimple.

Maybe it was an ingrown hair or maybe he scratched himself or got a bug bite, but that little pimple looked like it could have been the problem. It still looked red and sore.

She also pointed out a ring of black heads along his lower jaw line. Diagnosis: Kitty Acne! Treatment: warm compress, Strident Wipes, and an OTC antibacterial cream interspersed with lots of petting. I am also going to toss out the plastic water dishes and switch them to ceramic. I did that with the food bowls years ago when I had Little Joe because he was prone to kitty acne too.

So I guess cats and humans have something in common. Adult onset acne!

So glad that’s all it is.