Oh, the DRAMA

As if having a teenage boy desperate to have the keys to a vehicle wasn't enough....

The Chuckie Channel had some technical difficulties. I noticed that Chuckie's sides were distended yesterday, and he wasn't his usual sparkling self. All he wanted to do was sit quietly on my lap. No playfulness, no orneriness; something was definitely wrong.

This morning he was the same, poor puny pussycat.

Well, there was a little improvement; his tail had gained some energy!


This afternoon he was marginally better,

and by this evening he was probably 90% of normal, even though he still looks like he swallowed a grapefruit. What a relief; even though he's the newest resident of Boulderneigh, he's purred his way firmly into my heart! (I didn't know what I was missing all those years of having a lap-averse cat....)

The dogs last night:

Are they dead, or anti-drama?

There has been lots of drama with my spinning project. I was plying merrily along when the single coming from the center of the turtle got stuck. I ended up eviscerating the ball, and everything went downhill from there. Determined not to waste any of Blake's lovely fiber, I spent hours slowly detangling and plying a bit, detangling and plying a bit; by the time I quit last night I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I did end up breaking the singles twice, but carried on and finished plying it all this morning.

Skeining it off can wait until another day.

The forecast rain never materialized. The sun peeked through this morning,

then retreated behind clouds again before returning this afternoon. I thought the colors at the front of our house were pretty on the gray days,

but the sun lit the scene up like the Vegas strip – talk about dramatic! Wouldn't it be lovely if all the drama in our lives was about beauty?

That's it for now from . . .

Dejá vu in skies and eyes

I took my parents to the airport at o'dark thirty this morning. On my way back I kept my eye on the eastern sky, because it was promising something special. Sure enough, by the time I got to Newberg the sky exploded with sunrise fireworks:

I killed some time at the grocery store then headed to the office job early. The sun had well risen by then, but looked odd – and oddly familiar. Apparently my eyes aren't burning only from tiredness; smoke from the devastating 'Camp Fire' in northern California has shrouded us just as wildfire smoke did last summer. I took this photo in Salem this afternoon while Brian took his driving test (he aced it)

and this one from our lane when we were almost home:

We're supposed to get some rain tomorrow; maybe that will scrub it out of our atmosphere. I hope so; I don't like to work my asthmatic horse in these conditions.

The weather was spectacular while my folks were here. We had lots of pretty sunrises and sunsets (the two photos above were my birthday sunrise), plus bright sunshine to illuminate the remaining fall foliage.

We kept a fire going to keep the house nice and warm while we enjoyed visiting, eating, and playing games. Saturday night after a game of Mexican train dominoes, I asked them to pose for a photo:

Such wonderful parents!

I've kept up with the Wovember photo prompts over on Instagram (I still need to post a photo for today!); handsome Blake posed for "Local" yesterday:

Finally, a brief word from the host of The Chuckie Channel – it's Tongue-Out Tuesday!

That's all for now from . . .

Election day

It dawned beautifully.

After working at home most of the morning, I headed into town with my to-do list. First and most important was to drop my ballot in the official dropbox:

Then I walked next door to deliver our property tax payment, taking a moment to appreciate this beautiful tree against the courthouse and blue sky:

At home this wee Japanese maple seems to have taken its inspiration from both the mums and the geraniums:

I'm still following the photo prompts for Wovember but haven't branched out beyond my flock and my current spinning project (now being plyed):

Pushing for pets

Mobbed!

I was gone much of the weekend, and I think I was missed. When I got home Sunday evening, Jackson claimed my lap and Chuckie was waiting when I went out to do chores:

Chuckie is a high-octane combination of playful, passionate, and predatory. Sometimes his intensity is a bit intimidating!

My folks arrive tomorrow morning for a visit, so posting may fall by the wayside for awhile. I'll catch up with you all later!

That's it for now from . . .