More to Remember

Dear Blog Friends,  I did not resume blogging as I indicated I planned to in my last post from two years ago.  Much has happened and changed since then.  We have lost several beloved pets: Scooby from Pea Ridge (2016); Sammy (October 2017); and Winston (2018).  Scooby and Winnie  left us from old age, Sammy from advanced kidney disease.  We have added some new pets: Daisy from Pea Ridge,  Cecil (more commonly known as Whezil), Wadjet, and Jack.

Most recently, we lost my dad, Daddy Bill.  Since 1982, DB lived in Pea Ridge and devoted himself to the community there including the canine community.  DB rescued and made provision for countless stray dogs abandoned in the country.  Nana and DB took BB and I on a trip every summer and we had so much fun together.  DB really loved spending time with BB on those trips.  We miss him. 

More changes are coming: BB is off to college in August, headed to LSU.

Here are some of our new additions as well as some photos remembering our much-loved family members.

Cecil (Whezil) and Wadjet enjoy a summer snooze.  Cecil was rescued from a local animal services shelter by our handyman who couldn't keep him, so we took him in July 2015.  Wadjet was literally born in a barn & was adopted from our horse barn in December 2016.

Here is our beautiful Sammy.  He became ill in the summer of 2016 and was diagnosed with kidney disease.  A special diet kept him going and feeling good right till the end.  He was only 8, but he had a wonderful life with us and he was the center of our household.  Sammy came from the SPCA of TX.

Sammy and Annie loved playing "Chewy Wars"!

Sammy a-snooze on his special "time out beddy."

On alert for treats with Annie!

Some backyard fun.  Sammy was obsessed with retrieving tennis balls, but they had to be squeaky balls & he was very choosy about which ball he wanted to play with.

Here's a Wadjet baby picture.

Like all cats I've every known, both these kitties love boxes.

Scooby AKA "Goober" on patrol.  Scooby was rescued by Nana and DB as a puppy.  They found him on their property and he was nearly starved.  Scooby had a great life in Pea Ridge where he was in charge.  Scooby slept on DB's bed every night but he liked to lounge on Nana's bed during the day.  He was very particular about his feet, and he never grabbed food out of your hand.

Scooby with Annie at Pea Ridge.  Scooby was very kind to Annie when we would visit there -- he looked after her in the woods and always waited for her to catch up.

This is Daisy working on a chewy.  She was adopted by Nana and Daddy Bill from 4 Paws of Ruston in 2017.  Daisy is energetic and a little bit greedy.  Her favorite activities are chewing rawhides and chicken chasing (she isn't allowed to do that any more!) and she likes to spend time outside with Hankie in her backyard.

Winston (better known as Winnie) had a great run of it.  He came here in January 2014 an old starving cat & we didn't think he would make it, but he rallied and lived another four happy years.  Winnie loved to sit in my lap and he also loved chicken.

Winnie liked to help.

When Sammy left us, we were devastated.   There was a hole in the house without him, so we quickly adopted another big hound that we named Jack.  Jack is 92 pounds and full of energy.  We spend lots of time at the dog park.

Annie & Jack with chewys.  

DB and BB on our trip to South Louisiana in 2014.  

DB was very amused by Whezil, who he called Harry Jr., because he looks and acts so much like their late beloved Harry Kitty.  We were glad we got to spend time with DB last Christmas.  

BB at orientation early this summer.  

Remembering Tiger and Gold Kitty

Hello dear friends!  We've been absent from our blog for a couple of years as Miss Lizzy has launched a teaching career while BB has been busy with high school.  Since our last post, we have lost two of our original Rose Jugglers, Tiger and Gold Kitty.  While Gold Kitty lived to an advanced age of almost 18 and his passing wasn't wholly unexpected, Tiger developed an inoperable tumor at age 10.  As we being blogging again, we would like to pay tribute to our sweet departed kitties:

Tiger, June 2004-May 2014 
At age 4, BB wanted a black cat so we adopted Tiger from a local cat rescue organization:
 

Tiger was an excellent study buddy -- He was indispensable to my dissertation work: 

Tiger  loved to be in his backyard: 

 

  

Our black panther:

Tiger just loved hanging out with his family -- helping to drink morning coffee:

 Gold Kitty, June 1997- March 2015
Gold Kitty came to us at 6 months old from a friend who had rescued a momma cat and litter of kittens.  He was the sweetest little soul who ever lived.  He took care of his hero Monger in his old age:

His favorite activities included eating and napping: 

Some favorite Gold Kitty pictures:

Gold Kitty's 17th birthday party -- he was super excited about his cake!

 

We miss you Tiger and GK!  You will always be remembered.  

Happy Easter! Plus some News about Scooby in Pea Ridge

Happy Easter everyone!  We had friends over after church for Easter lunch, which forced me to clean my house and get out my Easter decorations.  BB and her friend dyed Easter eggs yesterday, which the Easter Bunny hid before leaving candy.  (BB and her friend will still be doing this in college, we think!)  Susan brought chicken salad, fruit salad, and hot cross buns.  I made ham, baked beans, deviled eggs, dinner rolls, and pineapple cake.  So we had lots of good food.  I ironed a new-to-me white table cloth purchased from e-bay; it is hard to find oval table cloths. 

These eggs are not dyed -- it is their real color!  We usually buy our eggs from Jeannie, and she has now has some ameraucana chickens that lay colored eggs.  I only had two, so I filled in the egg cups with vintage wooden eggs.

For dinner, I filled the compote on the table with deviled eggs.  Here are some other of my decorations:

BB and her friend in their church finery:

Annie checks out the Easter eggs (she would probably love to eat one of these; she did manage to steal a stick of butter off the table.  We have nicknamed her "Annie Goat" because she is such a scavenger and nothing seems to make her sick.  Knock on wood.)

One last bit of news: Scooby had a terrible accident last Saturday.  He was hit by a car and broke his leg.  We are very thankful that he was not hurt worse, but Scooby will be in a splint for at least 8 weeks.  So far he is doing well, and Daddy Bill reports that he is able to get up and down the house stairs okay and can go outside on a leash.  He is almost finished with his pain meds and antibiotics.  Daddy Bill is taking Scooby to the vet tomorrow or Tuesday, so hopefully we will have an update.  Please send healing thoughts to Pea Ridge for Scooby -- everyone there is anxious for Scooby to heal quickly!  Here is Scooby about a month ago --

Quilt Show

I'm not a quilter, but at Jocebeane's suggestion, I headed over to our local quilt show this afternoon to look at the quilts on display and peruse the vendor section.  This year's theme was meant to be modern, but I have to admit, I tend to like the more traditional styles.  I was very amazed at the quilting and embroidery equipment on display -- unbelievable machinery!  Here are pictures of a few of the
quilts on display at the show.  I think they were all machine quilted, but I couldn't swear to it.

This is an applique quilt -- very intricate in design and in the quilting:

This is a small quilt of some of our national parks:

This is one of the modern ones I liked:

My very favorite quilts were actually from a vendor selling antique quilts and textiles -- they had the most beautiful things!  I especially loved the crazy quilts.  The quilting here was all hand-done and exquisite.

 

The above is actual 18th-century French toile!  Beautiful!  They had some other 18th-century French textiles as well as some English cloth made for the early 19th-century American market.

 

 Just above is the red English fabric as part of a quilt design.  I was so impressed with the quality and condition of the items in this booth!  They buy primarily in New England but also occasionally travel to France on buying trips.  So much fun to see all this!

Winston Wednesday

I'm a little late posting this as Wednesday is almost over, but I was having so much trouble with my picture downloads.  It is all sorted out now but was very frustrating!  Winston is doing well though he still has some sort of eye infection.  He has to start eye drops again and also some oral antibiotic.  GK still won't go near him and has moved in with the dogs.  Tiger and Winston have reached a detente of sorts -- most of the hissing and spitting has vanished.  Sam has stopped barking at him when he sees him in the hallway (behind the baby gate!) but Annie still barks, probably to show off for Sam.  Latest Winston photos:

With Tiger:

On my lap at the computer:

On BB's desk:

Weekend Round-up: Horse Show, Teapots, and Backyard romping

BB and Beau competed in a big Quarter Horse show this weekend, showing in western horsemanship and western pleasure.  They were meant to ride in English hunter under saddle and also compete in halter and showmanship, but BB got sick and she had to scratch the English and halter classes.  I didn't get very good pictures, but here are a few that I took.  Here they are, starting the pattern in horsemanship (you can see the three judges in the stands):

Here they are on the rail:

 

Here is a very good picture of BB and Beau taken last October -- you can see what a good horse he is:

Jocebeane has been lately scouring thrift shops and estate sales for teapots (and vintage sewing machines, but that is another story!).  I showed her the ones I have in my cupboards:

I had my yardman JM put mulch down over the dirt in the backyard so the dogs feet wouldn't get so muddy when its wet (it helps a little, but they still manage to get quite muddy).  It now looks like a full-fledged dog park in our backyard!  I wish we had nice places to walk & run like Tommy does at The Poupounette.  Here are Sammy and Annie romping about:

Finally, Winston found a hidden nap spot in the bathroom closet:

Sewing Table and Sunday Snooze-a-thon

Check out my new sewing table -- it has a recessed space so the sewing area is flush with the table.  I tried it out yesterday whilst sewing up rips in old sheets I use to protect the furniture from the animals. I love it!  Now I have to get to work on some sewing projects that got set aside the second half of last year.

Look was Jocebeane at the Whippy Curly Tails made for Annie when she first arrived.  Jocebeane has been designing and making the most wonderful quilts and is now selling her exclusive "cat mats."  I don't know how to quilt and I'm really just learning to sew.  Annie and her quilt:

Meanwhile, the weather has been cold and rainy, so GK has settled in for a long snooze from his new operation base in the den: