An Early Birthday Present

Well, Dave's birthday is just a month away, but with winter also on its way, I wanted to do something special, now. So, we went on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad from Antonito to Osier and back. This is an old narrow gauge steam engine train that has been reconditioned and runs during the summer. We left Antonito at 10 am and rode the train to Osier (arrived at 12:45) where we disembarked for lunch (which is included in the ticket price). Lunch was actually very good; we had the soup and salad and more choice so Dave and I had soup and salad and the 'more choice' for the day was a Navajo Taco, so that was great! We left Osier at 2:30pm and arrived back at Antonito about 5:15pm. Then an hour drive home. The trip was fun, but trying to walk on a train that is moving wobbly was an interesting challenge. It snowed on us a bit going up into Osier, but the color changing leaves were gorgeous to look at! Here are some pictures of the trip.

Steam Train built 1925

The car we rode in

Next blogs will be on canning and Cricket......
Till Later.

Out with the old!

Geez, I am really behind on my blogging. I will try to catch up over the next couple of days. I had to put a temporary hold on updating my kitchen due to some unexpected complications. It seems that instead of just nailing up the paneling (yes, paneling), they also glued it. So when I tried to remove the paneling I removed chunks of plaster. So much for wainscoting and paint. Having to rethink what I am going to do....Will hopefully get started again this fall/winter. In the meantime, we did replace the faucet in the kitchen. I hated that faucet, but absolutely love the new one. So here is a picture of the old one, and what the new one looks like in place!

Out with the Icky Old one!

The new one I love!

It's the little things at this point! Back later with more stories and pics.

Garden 2011

Well the garden is finally starting to take shape. But before we go there, here are some new pics of Cricket. It seems she likes the window in the Pantry because it is west facing and the afternoon sun is nice and warm. So she is inclined to take naps on the microwave in the afternoons.....Here are a few pictures.

So the following pictures are of the vegetable garden..........

3 Different kinds of Tomato's,Tomatillo's,  Jalapeno's, Chives and Green Onions

Best Girl Tomato's

From left to right...Lettuce, herbs, tomato's, Jalapeno's 

and in the back; Spinach and Cucumbers

Herbs: English Thyme, Dill and Cilantro

Lettuce

 

 

I redid the side garden; in an effort to keep the grass out....We'll see if it works.........

Flowers in the back garden.............

And finally the Front Porch!

Well, that's it for now. I am going to start renovating the kitchen, one wall at a time. So the blogs will be showing the progress! Of course there will be pics of Cricket too....Have a wonderful summer!

Happy 1st Birthday Cricket!

Today is Cricket's first birthday! Bought her some fuzzy toys and took her outside to roll around in the dirt to celebrate!

Cricket's First Birthday

 I started putting her on a harness and lead about 3 weeks ago. She always wants to go outside, but she still doesn't listen very well when you call her (of course she is a cat, and that seems to be their nature...Unless they want something!). She took to the harness and leash easily (I have heard stories about cats and harnesses), she doesn't seem to mind it, and doesn't try to get out of it. It's been awhile since I have blogged on her, so I will bring you up to date on her shenanigan's! Here are some pictures of Cricket exploring the garden on her birthday! (She hadn't seen the flowers before).

Dirt and Sunshine..This is the Life!

Dangerous Jungle Cat

 So to catch you up on the last couple of months.....

Cricket has figured doors out. She knows if she can get her claw under the door, or along the edge and pull, she can get it open (If it isn't latched). If the door is latched and she wants in or out of the room. She will stretch as tall as she can get and tap the doorknob! Heaven help us if she ever figures out the round door knobs. We do have a couple of doors that have door latches instead of knobs (I was trying to plan ahead for when we are older and possibly have arthritis), she has figured out if she can reach the top and pull down with her weight, the door might give. The only thing in our favor (at this point) is that those particular door mechanisms are on the front and back door, she hasn't figured out that she needs to be able to push down and pull back...If the front door is open (screen door closed), she will reach up and wrap her paws around the door handle and push the door open further....

On Safari

What's This?

Cricket has also learned another (not so helpful) trick. She has figured out how to open drawers that are not flush with the cabinet. Thus, I sometimes find my dresser drawer open (She can only do that because the slides are so nice and easy to operate). I also have a beautiful oak tool chest for my leather tools, that she has also figured out how to open. This wouldn't be a bad thing, if I didn't have to worry about her walking off with stuff! If she finds pens, letter openers, anything actually, that is easy enough for her to pick up and run off with, she will! Dave and I always joke that one day we are going to find her stash.

Kitty Loves Dirt!

About a month ago (or so), Cricket started talking...almost non-stop. She has lots to say and doesn't care what you are doing, she is going to let you know whatever is on her mind! Last night she was watching Bill Engvall (dvd) and chatting with us.
I keep trying to catch her (with the camera) opening doors or drawers, but up to now, have been unsuccessful. Will keep trying. Will write more about Cricket soon.


For now, Have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Take a moment to remember those who have fallen protecting our freedoms.

27th Anniversary

Thursday, 3 March 2011 is our 27th Anniversary. It is hard to believe it has been that many years. It doesn't seem that long. Geez, we must be getting old!
I was truly blessed in finding Dave, or in him finding me (maybe just in finding each other). We have had our good times and our not so good times. We have had sparks fly and exciting adventures throughout our time together. It has been a wonderful 27 years and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Actually, I was not only lucky in getting Dave, but also lucky in getting a wonderful In-Law family too. I don't think you could ask for more.
After all of these years, Dave still makes me laugh and I love spending time with him. Hoping to have at least a hundred years left with him, I look forward to the years to come.And Growing Old with him.

Happy Anniversary Honey

I Love You with all my heart

Or should I say....
I Love You
Bunches and Bunches
Buckets and Buckets
Barrels and Barrels

(Inside thing, may explain someday).....

Love to all of our Family.

8 Months old and aptly named

Cricket is 8 months old and has really grown! Though she is bigger now, she is still a bit clumsy. I worry about her falling off of her cat tree, I can only hope she gets a bit more graceful someday soon.

We had been having issues with Cricket and her water dish. She loves water (to play with, haven't tested this with a bath yet) and was constantly soaking the kitchen floor. I decided we needed a different kind of water dish, one that could satisfy her curiosity with water, and yet save my floor from constantly being wet. I found these fountain style water dishes that seemed to satisfy both sides of the water dish equation, but most of them were fairly expensive. I don't mind spending the money, if I thought it would be worth it. I finally found one that was economical and we got it and set it up. She loves it! Watching the water run down the little slide fascinates her and it is deep enough that if she splashes in it, my floor still stays dry. Here are some pics of Cricket and her water dish!

What's that noise!?

What's this?!

Ooooohhh. This is cool!

In a previous blog post I talked about Cricket's habit of tearing open bags. She moved on from her kitty treat bags to going into my pantry and opening my bags of pasta! So of course everything needs to be kitty proofed. Because we live in a very rural area, we don't have the diversity of shopping that most people have in larger cities. So we tend to have a lot of mail, UPS and Fedex packages delivered.
Most companies have moved away from using Styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap to these puffy air filled plastic pillows. This is fine, less mess to clean up, and once you pop the pillows, they don't take up much space in the trash.
Starting about a month ago, Cricket seems to be on a mission to save us from these evil pillows. When we put the box on the floor she immediately pounces on them, drags them out of the box and then attacks and pops each one. It is hilarious to watch her attack these pillows. Of course we watch to make sure she isn't ingesting anything. But if you look at the pillows, all you see are 4 to 6 punctures from her teeth. Here are some pictures of her 'good deed' in protecting us and the world from these vicious pillows!

Ah Ha! Those evil bubble pillows are back!

I must save my family from these evil things!

Mission: Rid the world of evil pillow packing!

No one is safe from these evil things!

Cricket and I are still having a few issues with her jumping up on things and breaking my nic-nacs; I have plenty of glue around, but it is battle of wills!

I mentioned in the title of this blog that she was aptly named. This is true. She chirps all of the time, and loves to talk to us. Her voice is very high pitched, and when she wants to, she can be very loud. She is so cute, we love her to death. Problem is, she knows she is cute and that we adore her. I will close this post out with some pics I took when she had just woke up from a nap. Will keep taking pics and blog again soon.
Love to all.

Stretch time

Yes?

Nap?

Nap sounds good to me

I am queen.

Cricket Antics

A new year, and a 7 and 1/2 month old kitten that can jump real high now. Have had a number of things broken from Cricket jumping up on cabinets. Good thing I have plenty of glue on hand!

We discovered that Cricket can also chew through aluminum bags that contain her kitty treats, so now they are hidden! Here are some pictures:

Mine all Mine!

Hmmmm....Chicken.

 

Breaking and Entering

I have this problem with Cricket, she makes it very difficult to clean her kitty litter box. Here's what I mean....

My box....

Feels Good!

Just Kicking Back!

The box is clean, but trying to keep her out while I am scooping is a chore! I have never seen a cat that loves to roll around in the litter like she does. Of course because of this habit, I try to keep her box "VERY" Clean!
And of course, because she rolls around in it, I end up with kitty litter in other parts of the house!

The hard part is that she is so cute, it is hard to get mad or irritated with her!
That's it for now; have a great Weekend!