What Time is It?

I can't tell you how many times I used to glance at the clock throughout my working day. It often felt like one minute took 20 minutes to pass. This week marks my third full week of retirement. Funny how things have changed. I get up and before I know it, the day is over. When evening arrives I ask myself-What did you accomplish today? What did you check off your "to-do" list?

Well, today I organized the pantry. Sounds like no big deal until I tell you my pantry is empty but the trash can is bursting at the seams. What an eye opener to discover canned goods that expired in 2010. Needless to say I didn't get around to the 6 other things I hoped to do, but at least I've saved the household from an emergency trip to a medical center.

Bogey has his own schedule. Eat, rest, play, nap, stretch, play, rest, eat, sleep. For that matter, the visiting grand-dogs follow pretty much the same routine. So far not one of them have reported any dissatisfaction with their lives to me. Are grandiose plans overrated?

Perhaps it's time to worry less about my list and more about doing what I can without sweating the little things. If a task is critical, I'll get it done. If not...well, as Scarlett O'Hara once famously said, "Tomorrow is another day".

Everything I Do

Isn't it awesome to have critters by your side when you sit at the computer to work? I swear they could be clear in the next county until the moment I'm in front of that screen.

Some choose to crawl under the desk and artfully tangle at least one dozen wires around their bodies. On an exceptional day, they're able to disconnect a few, too.

Some prefer to knock over books or sit on top of papers. Only the important ones, mind you, because nobody cares about junk.

The keyboard is another popular place for furry friends to perch. I surmise the comfort level must be exceptionally high, with an orthopedic alphabet cushioning every move.

Then we have the nose nudges. This helps create such literary masterpieces as:

We woped doqn the entere poace with spft cluthes.

Perhaps I can claim to write in code.

Critters, critters, everywhere. I guess its the nature of critter love. So thanks, guys. Thanks for demanding desiring to be part of everything I do.

Anytime we can help, Mom. Anytime...

What We Found at the River

We spent time on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning working at our small lot on the St. Francis River. Between weddings, anniversaries, graduations, birthdays, and assorted other special events, it's been a while since we've been there, and boy could we ever tell it.

Weeds of all types stood at least knee-high. The shortest walk meant a cobweb or two right in the face. Trees needed trimming. Bugs were everywhere, especially the most feared and disgusting one of all.

Yep, ticks. I bet I found at least 10 of those critters on me, and Hubby at least that many more. I found one on Indy's face and I'm afraid there may be more lurking on him. Finding ticks on a black dog is harder than hunting a cotton ball in snow. All I can do is shampoo him and wait.

Isn't it weird how fast finding a tick gives the creepy crawlies? Every little skin tickle or prickle caused me to drop whatever was in my hands and perform an immediate check. Luckily no one else was around to witness the images of pulled up shirts or dropped pants. After all, we weren't at Mardi Gras.

Ugh. I don't care how many romance novels feature vampires. In my opinion there's nothing sexy about something chomping on you for a quick meal. I wish mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and all those blood-suckers could be obliterated forever. Of course that would probably mean the extinction of some rare and beautiful bird species who can only survive on a meal of mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas.

Oh, the cruel ironies of life...

Rainy Days...

It isn't that I don't love a beautiful sun-filled weekend, but sometimes it's nice to have a rain-out. My plants were thirsty because I'm not one to get out and water. They appreciated Mother Nature correcting my negligence. I appreciated it, too.

Rainy weekends are the perfect excuse to stay inside and get things done. I actually cleaned out the refrigerator (what WERE all those science experiments?), made some edits to a story that's been sitting for a while (months), and read a good book (one of those guilty pleasure kinds). Had the sun been beaming, it would have seemed a sin to stay inside. End result? I'd be growling today about how the weekend went by so quickly without me getting a single thing accomplished.

I'm feeling good, not in small measure due to the number one favorite rainy day activity at our house...



New Tricks

Are you the type of person that embraces change, or dreads it?

I tend to be a creature of habit. Routine is comforting to me. When I know what to expect, I know how to respond. It's a comfortable way to live, though perhaps not all that exciting.

For several decades (yes, decades) I've worked at the same place, doing the same job. And for the most part, I've been happy, with absolutely no desire to look elsewhere. Over the years, I've even passed up various opportunities within my office. No point in fixing what isn't broken.

Well, starting on March 1, that's all going to change. After wrestling with the pros and cons, I took a leap of faith and interviewed for a newly created position within the office. Last week, I got the job.

My first reaction was excitement. Then I started to think about it. How long will it take to get the hang of things? What type of tasks will make up my day? Will I like what I'm doing? Oh, how thinking along those lines can start to drag you down. I began to question my decision. Perhaps I'd made a mistake. It would be so much easier to stick with my old job. I could do it in my sleep.

But then I realized that perhaps I've been sleepwalking long enough.

So my mission now is to focus on the positive. I'll be taking over much of the office grant writing responsibilities. Writing is something I enjoy. I'll be doing research and planning. Two more things that appeal to me. Some travel may be involved. Seeing a few new places doesn't sound bad either.

Adrenaline and excitement are powerful fuels. I'm beginning to percolate with ideas. Explore different options. Get ready for another chapter in my life.

And like any other old dog, I'm going to prove that I can still learn a few new tricks.

A Day at the Saint

On Saturday, Hubby and I made a run to the St. Francis. For those of you new to Critter Alley, we own a very small piece of property on that gorgeous granite bouldered river, and enjoy spending time there whenever  possible. What with the busy holiday season, and bad weather galore, it's been months since we've been able to check on things. So when the weatherman predicted Saturday as an in-between-all-the-snowstorms day, we took the opportunity to get things done at the river.

We were lucky. The temperature rose to over 32 degrees. What little snow lay on the ground (snowfall has been much lighter there) soon began to disappear.

The landscape is still dotted with many trees down from the terrible wind shears of nearly two years ago. We're slowly getting them cut and split. Santa brought Hubby a new chainsaw, and it got quite a workout. We won't run short of firewood anytime soon!

Winter dampness permeated everything. It took a little doing, but soon the first campfire of 2011 blazed warm as an old friend.

We burned leaves, brush, and scrap wood. The heavy smoky scent rolled through crisp air, reminding me of how good it feels to spend time outdoors again. Spring is one day closer.

But whether it's spring, summer, fall, or winter, the Saint always looks beautiful. Here's a few shots of her cold weather face...

As you can see, a critter or two used the snow covered frozen edge of the Saint as a pathway. It wasn't Indy. We left him behind. He's still not speaking to us.

Once daylight turned to dusk, we packed up our equipment and headed for home. Despite the stiff aches and pains of muscles that haven't been used in a while, we felt good. Spring is coming, and our day's ritual of preparation is the first step.

Lady Spring...I know she's lurking at the edges of all this cold, snow, and ice, watching and waiting to work her magic. I've missed her. How I'm looking forward to seeing that woman again!

A Contest and a Chilldown

Here's a quick heads and tails up for Critter Alley readers. Cathy C. Hall is running a contest at her blog, Cathy C's Hall of Fame.

Cathy is a Southern writer with sass, class, and a great sense of humor. If you register as one of her new followers, you're eligible to win a Barnes and Noble gift card. And who wouldn't love to have that?

Meanwhile back at the home front, my personal pet therapists have been successful. I'm feeling much better, thank you, despite the glacial conditions under which I'm working. My office is located in an enormous cinder block building that's heated and cooled by some techno geek located, I believe, somewhere in a far distant country. We've been told that the building's thermostat is definitely set at a comfortable 67 degrees.

All you have to do is walk through our office to realize somebody's thermometer has malfunctioned. Each worker is decked out in coat, muffler, hat, and gloves. (It's not easy to type with gloves, believe me). I even keep an afghan tucked around my ankles. It looks like we're working in a square igloo rather than a cubicle. I don't look for any improvement soon, because the weather is due to drop back into even more frigid temps.

One thing is for sure, dressing like Nanuck of the North definitely saves on wardrobe money. No one notices that I now wear long johns and battery operated socks rather than pantsuits and dress jackets. H'mmm. Wonder if that's a violaton of the dress code?

Storms of Summer

We've been having many days of intense heat and high humidity. Yesterday one of the "scattered showers" predicted by weather forecasters turned into a dandy storm with plenty of lightening and high winds.  Once things finally calmed down...

"Hey Mom! Take a look at this!"

Rats. Another thing to add to the weekend to-do list.

Weekend Wimp

Actor simulation of me on weekend. Trained professional. Do not try this at home.


Every Monday I count the days, waiting for the weekend to arrive. I just know I'll accomplish great things once I'm not stuck in my office.

The errands will be quickly completed. Groceries purchased and put away. Mega cooking accomplished, providing plenty of my favorite meal: Leftovers. Pet hair vacuumed and house cleaned to a pine smelling spic and span patina. Laundry washed, folded and put away.

But I won't stop there. Oh, no.

A wallpaper and painting project has lingered on for months. It's going to get finished. I'll simply love the new color, once I dust off the cans and remember what it looks like.

Meanwhile, the basement and garage are crying out for help. I'll make them look better than the "after" pictures from a decorating magazine. Perhaps I'll even take photos of the transformation. Might make a good article.

Speaking of which, I'm going to do some writing! I've got ideas just screaming to be put on paper. If I play my cards right, I can complete at least three short pieces for submission.

Oh, the things I will do, come the weekend!

Today it's Sunday. Indy snoozes at my feet. Bogey in my lap purrs louder than the clock ticking while I write these words. I'm not sure exactly what kept me from being the dynamo I'd planned to be, but it is what it is. There's only one thing left for me to do.

I'll start counting the days until next weekend.

Why I'm Late to Work

"Move? What do you mean I have to move?"

Assisted Living

I love when the peeps work on the house. It makes getting to and from my throne on the mantle so much easier!

They Fell Like Raindrops

Our driveway looked sort of like this...except worse.

About two weeks ago, a severe storm hit the Fredericktown, Missouri area. Micro-bursts of wind caused a lot of damage, including a collapsed church. Our river property is just 10 miles outside of town, but it's near the river with lots of granite around, so we thought it would be okay. On Friday, we drove down for the weekend.

We were wrong.

Traveling down Highway 72, trees were uprooted everywhere...enormous ones with huge trunks. Pines and Hickory trees were especially hard hit. Apparently the rain-saturated soil and high winds simply pushed them over. We grew more anxious the closer we got as we saw the damage.

When we arrived, we couldn't even go down the driveway. More trees were down than I could count. Two of them were across the drive. The root ball on one of them was nearly as tall as me. Trees that had grown for many years were destroyed in seconds. And to complete the picture, electricity was non-existent.

We had a group of friends joining us for the weekend, and luckily, they are wonderful people who don't simply come down to play. As soon as they got word, chain saws buzzed and the drive was swiftly cleared of debris so we could drive on it. I'm grateful for the hard work they put in...and on a holiday weekend, no less! The electric company also responded quickly (they'd been working pretty much 24/7 since the storm), especially since we only have a weekend place and not a permanent residence. As a matter of fact our neighbors reported it took 2 weeks for them to get power back, and this is their full time home!

Meanwhile, there's tons more to be done. Numerous other BIG trees were uprooted, but didn't fall to the ground because they banged into another tree and are basically being propped up as though in suspended animation. We'll have to be careful in order to avoid the domino effect as we work to get them down.

I can only imagine how scary it must have been when the storm occurred. With all the cracking and falling trees it must have sounded like a war zone and it certainly looks like one! The storm has caused a lot of grief for humans, and so much natural habitat for critters has been destroyed.

It was the awesome power of Mother Nature in action. Fortunately there were no major injuries. But there sure will be a lot of clean-up to do.

Back to Work

After the lovely extended weekend, hearing the alarm go off this morning was, to put it mildly, a jolt. I stumbled out of bed and back into my hurry-up-and-get-ready-for-the-work-day routine. Indy and Bogey always provide a helping paw by circling and weaving back and forth around my feet as I try to walk. This makes it necessary to pay close attention to what I'm doing, as their combined effort provides a somewhat treacherous path. Once fed, however, both my critters are relaxed and ready to play while I get dressed. There's no time left, but I throw the ball a few times anyway.

It doesn't hurt to be a few minutes late, does it?