The cat and other sad thoughts

Someone asked me how I am today and I said that I am melancholy. 

Well, that got a puzzled look and a little laugh.  Well I am, no matter how old fashioned that sounds.  I have been thinking about several friends who died in the past year.  Two were from my Bible Study group.  Five died in car accidents.  How hard it will be for their families this Christmas.  Today I learned that a friend's father had died.  And a woman from church is dying.

 

And my cat is 18 + years old and getting skinnier and thinner.  I took her too the vet.  I knew that she wasn't good and I really didn't expect medical intervention for an old cat.  I don't know what I expected, except maybe to know what to watch for.  She has kidney and liver degenerative disease.  The vet called this morning with the diagnosis and to discuss what we could do.  She may live a week or a month.  It was very hard to hear that all put into words.  My daughter, who lives at a college, loves that cat, so I need to consider her feelings.  She is younger than the cat!  So we have need to accept this and see how we feel about the situation after we think about it for awhile.

You Have a Choleric Temperament

You are a person of great enthusiasm - easily excited by many things. Unsatisfied by the ordinary, you are reaching for an epic, extraordinary life. You want the best. The best life. The best love. The best reputation. You posses a sharp and keen intellect. Your mind is your primary weapon. Strong willed, nothing can keep you down. Your energy can break down any wall. You're an instantly passionate person - and this passion gives you an intoxicating power over others. At your worst, you are a narcissist. Full of yourself and even proud of your faults. Stubborn and opinionated, you know what you think is right. End of discussion. A bit of a misanthrope, you often see others as weak, ignorant, and inferior.

What Temperment Are You?

You are Franklin!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
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Which Flower?

You are an Iris:

You are logical, analytical, dignified, and wise.
You are studious by nature and may prefer books
to people. You tend to be a serious person but
are capable of making others laugh with your
dry sense of humor. Friends always benefit from
your advice.

Symbolism: Over the centuries the iris has come to
symbolize faith, wisdom, hope, and promise in
love.


Which Flower are You?
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Beautiful pictures, lovely thoughts

http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com

End of Summer, Beginning of Fall

Usually a trickle, now a torrent

Minneopa Fall, Minneopa State Park, Sept. 2005. A few days after 6 - 9 inches of rain fell in the river basin.

Daytime "star"

Morning at Minneopa State Park, Sept 2005

Reflected Sky, Lake Vermilion

Ohhh, Chilly. Fall is in the air. Ice on the grass this morning. Picture taken by my friend Dave O, Lake Vermilion. Don't fall in. Just enjoy.

The Unseen

In spite of the drought we've had since the end of June, the river is higher than it was a week ago. So it was no surprise when we canoed a mile downstream and found a beaver dam about 18" high. We didn't notice any sign of recent activity last evening. But twice we heard the slap of a beaver tail and saw ripples.

We also heard the hoot of an owl, again unseen. Last week we saw a great horned own in a tree in the yard. I've been told that if they are out during the day, they are hungry.

I know that the deer are around at night, unseen by us, because my lily stems have been eaten off almost to the ground. Some of these are within a few inches of the house.

We frequently find scat of unknown animals on the sidewalk.

I heard a snort of a deer in the woods as I walked toward the house in the late afternoon. I saw nothing, even though I could hear it run away.

Last year, we often heard the yips and howls of coyotes when we were getting ready for bed.

I often wonder just what is out there. What might I see if I had night vision goggles? Tonight is a full moon. We might canoe to the beaver dam after midnight.

World Trade Center Tribute

Taken at the World Trade Center Site Oct. 2003. The cross shows hope.

Fall is around the corner/ Geese

I heard a flock of Canada geese fly over today, but I never saw them. I suppose that means that they are thinking about migrating. This is the first year that I have heard or seen geese in our area. Here is one that visited our yard in July.

Peaceful Sky

Every morning the first thing I check is the sky. I always want to know if the sun will be out and the evidence is whether the sky is blue and/or if the sun is highlighting the tops of the trees. One can't really look at the sun directly for very long, nor take a photo of it with amature photo equipment. There are so many things we have to "know" by studying other evidence.

These days, the sun is getting up later and later, so during my first look at the sky, I may see the pre-sunrise light. I also look to see evidence of the wind.

These sky pictures were taken late morning.

Baby in a Box!

My Grandson! (Before Mobility)

They ate everything!

We were gone for a week, visiting relatives. This morning, we looked out the window at the vegetable garden, which has been successful this year because we put a fence around it to keep out the deer. We couldn't see the plants very well from the window. At first we assumed that the drought had made the plants dry up. But when we went out to look, we found two big holes in the fencing. The deer had eaten all the leaves of the potatoes, beans, cosmos, beets, carrots, and pea plants still standing. They even pulled some of the carrots right out of the ground. They must have looked like tasty morsels, tastier than a yard full of grass. Of course, lots of the grass has turned brown.

Deer aren't so cute when you find all that hard work has been for nothing.

Mother and Daughter

I took this through the window, late fall '04.

Dragon in the yard.

This dead tree fell down close to the house. It had been dead so long that the bark had already fallen off. We wondered why we had never noticed the strange undulations when it was standing.

Looking Up

In preparation for the Why is the Sky Blue challenge, I've been looking up. Here is the Northern Minnesota Sky in July, 2005.

Lilies, mostly

I love growing flowers, especially those which come back by them selves. There were 12 different colors of lilies blooming in July, some of which I was able to catch on film. Two years ago, the deer ate all the buds as well as all the leaves, but this year and last, I had loads of blooms. When the sun catches the petals, they glow.

Life changed in an instant...

When I last posted on Wednesday, little did I know that life had already changed. Earlier that morning, my friend, the driver of a mini-van, crashed, which killed my friend, her daughter, and two of the daughter's friends. Another friend survived with injuries. The friends were all college students. Another friend had died in a car accident last winter.

These people were more energetic and giving that most of us could ever dream of. That sounds cliche, but how true it was. I've known the mom for about 20 years, and the kids since before they were a gleam in their parents' eyes. Our kids were in pre-school together. They played on the same teams in basketball baseball for many years.

The funeral for the mom and daughter was today, held in the school gym, and as expected, about 1300 people turned out. Tomorrow we will go to another funeral for the other two, long time boyfriend and girlfriend, also to be held at the school.

Something like this truly brings people together. If tears and hugs can heal, then healing is at least started. But the loss can't be replaced.

I may use this in my Why is the Sky Blue Challenge. I'm not up to explaining that now.

Fabric detail on Fruit of the Spirit

I added another picture to the Fruit of the Spirit post (check July 23 in archive), showing a matching pillow. The piecing design and the fabric print show a bit better.

Deer

We used to see deer only a few times each summer, but for the last four or five years, we see them several times each week, during the day, even in our yard. They have become a nuisance, eating garden plants and flowers. They are a frequent cause of car accidents. These two fawns are eating in the yard. I saw a mother with twin fawns cross the yard today. We've had to put a fence around our garden to get any produce this year.

Iris

The iris is my favorite flower. The mass of purple iris is in my garden. The single iris is the wild Blue Flag Iris, common in June along waterways.

Robins in the nest

The Robins nest in obvious spots, but they don't always manage to make a nest that is easy to photograph, like this one.

Great Grey Owl

2005. Many owls were sighted in the area during the winter, even during daylight. There may have been a shortage of food in Canada, hence their journey south. This one, fortunately, flew into our yard and stayed awhile. This mass sighting is called an "irruption of owls."

Canada Goose

2005 This was a first for this spot. Yes, same place as the other picture. I like the "water color" quality of the water.

Wildlife "at our doorstep"

The River.

The Church Members Patchwork

This was meant to be a bit on the homey/homely side. A bit off here and there, some items embellished, some hanging on by a thread. Visual metaphor.

I Won!

Well, the challenge was to make a paper pieced item from a fat quarter that was handed out last year. I won one of the three prizes! There were only three people who completed the challenge. Oh well. It was a good item to work on free motion quilting.

Animal Trip around the World

2005 Baby quilt, Trip around the world pattern, one of the "trips" contains fabric images of animals. Two babies entered the family. Two quilts, different animals.

At the Lake

Post Card 2005

You are driving me Buggy!

Post Card 2005

Post cards, Post cards 2005

I made lots of post cards. Most contained pictures of family gatherings, hence they are not posted here. These are two of the non-pictoral ones. The second one is called Easter Sunrise.

Mother Mallard

2004 Original applique design on denim shirt, in honor of a friend. A gift to her.

Buffalo Bowl, Kokopeli Bowl

2004

As it should be.....

2003 Original design, visual metaphor. Raw edged applique.
Unfortunately, the details of the original don't show well in this picture.

Carried away with the bowl craze. 2004

2004 Just a few of many bowls that I made. I like the 6 sided ones best. I've found that I can take many shapes to make the bowls. They don't have to be even or symetrical. See Kokopeli bowl, deliberatly not evenly space.

The Fish Bowl 2004

Same bowl, turned inside out.

Table Runner

Leaf Table Runner, 2003, Original design. Pieced and appliqued.

Fruit of the Spirit

Fruit of the Spirit, Fruit of the Vine. 2003 Sold at auction in 2004 for World Hunger. The Spirit is represented by wind, hence the pinwheels. The grapes and vines suggest Spirit being present in Communion.

The matching pillow also shows the Stack and Whack pattern, and you can see the grape and vine fabric a bit better.

Rooted, Reaching, Growing

Rooted, Reaching, Growing 2002 Tulips used to symbolize a mission statement for a friend.
Applique. Original design.

Nuthatches

Nuthatches 2002 Original design, applique