Ice

School was cancelled today due to ice. I took the opportunity to take a few photos from the back deck.

A New Year

I say it every year, but I'm not sure where 2015 disappered to. I know it happened. I know I was busy and occupied, enteretained and opinioned. I also know there were great highs and great lows.

We ended the year with family night at the movies. Three generations lined up in a row to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I have to say, I was a bit nervous about how Disney would handle the film, but I really enjoyed it.

So, now 2016 has begun. Today dawned bright and cold. A visit with family friends and a snuggle with their dogs and kittens. Followed by lunch with my parents.

Happy New Year. May 2016 be awesome.

My Kitter

2000-2015

It's been a journey. Kit came to live with us on October 10, 2000. He was a stray, but well mannered. We don't know exactly what his life was like for those first four or five months, but the last fifteen years have been awesome.

On August 10, I took him to the vet to have a small bump on his chest looked at. Our wonderful vet was concerned, so she did a needle aspiration and came back to tell me the cells looked suspicious and she was sending them to the lab for analysis. Kit and I went home to wait out the weekend. On Monday, she called to tell me the lump was a cancer tumor. On Tuesday we were back at the vet for a chest x-ray and blood work. If the cancer was localized to the tumor, we could do surgery and remove it. Luck was not our ally that day.

Kit's lungs should have been a solid, black mass on the radiograph. Instead, they appeared grey and fluffy. Kit was terminal, so we came home to enjoy the end of our last summer together. Prednesone was prescribed to aid with lung function and we went on with our lives.

I was determined to make the best of the time we had. Days were spent indulging him in his favorite foods until he was no longer interested in eating. Daily walks in the yard as I watered the garden, until it was too tiring to walk down the stairs. One last camping trip over Labor Day weekend. Lots of lounging in the sun on the deck.

This went on for almost three months. On Wednesday I came home from work. He had nibbled at his breakfast, but hadn't moved from the spot I left him in that morning. I took care of some chores and he dragged himself into the kitchen before easing down onto the floor, exhausted and breathing heavily. The look he gave me said simply, "It's time". So I bundled him into his crate, made a couple calls and made one last trip to the vet.

Saying goodbye isn't easy. Our vet office is staffed with wonderful people. We were escorted to the "grief room". I don't know what else to call it, but we were given privacy and time to reminisce and love on my most amazing cat. Time to rub his ears and listen to him purr. Kit's actual passing was very quick once the drugs were administered. He was gone just before 7 pm.
And I cried buckets.

Turkeys

I've seen this flock of eight turkeys in the neighborhoot several times. They've been doing a great job of cleaning up the bugs and they like to check out the neighbor's water fountain. Tonight, when I got home from work they were in the neighbor's yard. A few minutes later they had crossed the street and were busy cleaning up the seed on the ground under the bird feeder. Kit wondered what they were doing in his yard.

 Unfortunately, they spook easily and so my only pictures are of them walking away.

Football Saturdays

Look who's playing football!

So stinkin' cute!

Southern Oregon Weekend

Labor Day weekend in Southern Oregon. We spent the weekend at Valley of the Rogue State Park so we could just relax. Of course, we found ways to entertain ourselves as well.

On Saturday, we spent the day in Jacksonville. It's such a great little town. The weather was beautiful, so we spent a few hours wandering through the shops. We even ran into some friends. And we had a wonderful lunch on the patio of the Jacksonville Inn.

Sunday, we headed into Grants Pass. We had a specific goal. Once upon a time, I lived in Brookings, Oregon and frequently enjoyed eating at Wild River Pizza. There are actually four locations, so we opted for lunch at the Grants Pass location. The pizza was excellent. And so was the beer. They were out of my usual favorite, the Kolsch, so I went with the Honey Wheat Ale. It was a good choice.

Music Festival

We made our 5th trip to the Bimart Willamette County Music Festival this year. As always we had a great time. The music was good, the weather cooled of and we got to take some much needed down time with friends and family.

Th music was pretty good too.

Jackson Mickelson

Scotty McCreery

Rascal Flatts

Dustin Lynch

Luke Bryan

Tracy Lawrence

Chris Young

The Band Perry