Holidays 2008

And Thanksgiving is done and over so onward to the December Holidays.
Thanksgiving was fun with Diana here. Our Cornish Hens (and the traditional 'trimmings') provided just enough food that we wouldn't have too many left overs since we went to St. Augustine the next day for Becky's wedding.
The wedding was beautiful and Becky was a gorgeous bride in a dress she hadn't thought would be 'her style'. We all had a lot of fun and being with 'our gang' of ladies made it all the more special. The sad note here is that grandpa, Don, who was past 91 in years and having a grand time at the wedding, suddenly passed on the Tuesday morning after the event. He was a great guy and will be missed by all.
I will probably be working a bit more at the zoo the last couple of weeks of this year since that is our 'busy, busy' time but that's OK with me.

almost Thanksgiving 2008

My downstairs room is finally finished and looks very bare with no furniture except the lone single bed. Everything else from down there went out in the trash when it was so badly destroyed by flood waters. I have not figured out what I want to use that room for so it will stay 'as is' for the time being. I love my new windows and door and without another '100 year' flood, we should stay dry for a long time.
I am enjoying my job at the zoo which is certainly easier than nursing! It doesn't pay a lot of money but is quite different and talking to the guests and kids is really fun.
I am looking forward to Diana's visit and our trip to St. Augustine to attend the wedding of Sue's youngest (Becky). With the reception being held in the winery, it should be wonderful.
The ceremony is in an old church so it will have a great romantic 'feel' to it all.

Post Tropical Storm Fay

Now that I have had the walls taken out downstairs after my 16" of water (lake overflowed into the downstairs room), I am awaiting the contractor to start remodel/reconstruction and waterproofing! I am thankful that the damage was only to that part of my house and feel quite 'lucky' compared to other folks in our area.
I am replacing the bottom couple of steps with concrete to prevent the seepage that occurs when heavy rain super saturates the dirt under the house. The waterproofing stuff will be applied there and all around the concrete block where seepage could occur. I am replacing the back sliding glass door with windows so there will be concrete on the bottom of those to seal too. The sliding glass door to the patio will become a 'french' type door. When it is all done, I will have the big problem of choosing a color to paint and then figure out what I'm really going to use that room for other than the storage in the closet. The only furniture left downstairs is the single bed which somehow survived the flood.
This project is ending the thoughts of a trip to the north this month so I will have to be content with my new room being my next birthday present to myself. I may, however, go to Georgia for a couple of days to spend the actual 'day' with my friend Sue and her husband.

Short trip to Georgia

I have returned from my short trip to Georgia (traveling with two cats certainly is easier than traveling with five!) and it was fun. I discovered the Augusta Canal -who knew there was a canal there established for the purpose of creating electricity to run mills so that Augusta would not become a ghost town and that the canal almost became a golf course in the 1990's but the people 'saved' it and it is a lovely 'green area' that is still able to allow two mills to produce fabric.
Then I toured the campus in Athens, Georgia - if only I were a young woman off to college, this would be a lovely place to study.
I then headed to Kennesaw to be with my friends and attend a 'wine themed' wedding shower. The wedding (in November) reception will be held in a winery in St. Augustine so doing a wine tasting for the shower was quite appropriate and since I wasn't driving, it was even better.

Santa Fe

Just returned from a great long weekend in Santa Fe where my friend, Diana, lives. The girls who I usually spend time with at our convention (we didn't go this year) joined us so there were five of us just having fun.
Diana took us to wonderful places including Bandolier National Park where we climbed to see the caves that the indians lived in 1000 or more years ago. We also visited the pueblo in Taos that is still occupied.
We ate and drank well and enjoyed each other's company and look forward to our next gathering.

zoo work and other

After my short trip to the west coast of Florida (a surprise 60th birthday party) and the panhandle, I am back to my schedule of 'retirement' with zoo work. In fact, with 'spring break', I have been working alot (this is my paid job there) and I am finding it very good for me as I have learned (still learning) new skills and I am sleeping very well after a day out in the air working (cash register).
Life at home has changed with only two cats making it strange but easier in some ways. Next month I will be leaving them for a few days to join my friends and play in Santa Fe and that will be hard since I haven't left them since last year. I have gotten very used to having Missy sleep next to me every night!

Cat status

As of Wednesday, we are now a two cat family. Shadow was down to just over five pounds and when she started having symptoms we couldn't fix, it was time for her to go over the Rainbow Bridge. It was not an easy thing for me after having her company for almost 18 years, but I know it was the best thing for her. Very strange for me having only two now.
Missy and Fluff seem to 'know' that something is radically different and are staying pretty close. We are going on a short trip to both the west coast of Florida and then up to visit in Crestview.