Friday, February 20, 2009

Winter and spring


The cats are having a bit of a rest.

This is what the view from the front door looked like a couple of weeks ago –


and this is what it looks like today.
Spring has sprung – or at least, I’m hoping so. We have two days’ mid-term break, so I’ve seen friends and done some gardening – so much better than working. Also I’ve taken over as editor of the church magazine, which I optimistically thought would be easy. (Hollow laugh.) Some of the things people sent me came out in funny formats or looked all right on my screen but printed with one side missing… . It’s been quite a lengthy process.

However, Mr Life is a computer whizz, thank goodness, so he’s done the technical bit and we’re just about there. Three cheers for Mr Life!

My friend J brought the catlets some chopped raw liver this morning, which her cat adores. Ours? They won’t touch it. I don’t blame them, mind you, and there would be no point in their developing a taste for it because – ugh.



Our beloved and lovely Daughter 2 is down south, visiting her actor boyfriend as he tours round small towns. All you want for your children is for them to be the most important aspects in their partners’ lives, and though I’m sure the actor boyfriend loves her, acting seems to take precedence. He sent her these beautiful tulips on Valentine’s Day. I do like the way tulips start out restrained and end up looking wild and exotic. In people, however, I go more for the steady and reliable type.
I want to go out and do some more gardening, but it’s started to drizzle. Hardly even that – it’s just a wee smirr, as we say in Scotland – just rain in the breeze. I think I’ll go out anyway. Can’t be daunted by a wee smirr. The cats, however, say that they’ll just stay in their elegant cardboard box with its shredded paper filling.



















21 comments:

  1. You are so lucky, we still have snow and it is going to right through the week end. I know we wish the best for our children and their happiness means a lot to us parents. Thank you for coming by.

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  2. The past week here has given us hints our summer is ending:-(

    I can relate to howyou feel about your daughter.

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  3. Such a stunningly green lawn! Everything here is brown.

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  4. Oh, I can almost hear the ominous music in the background of this post because the smirr turned into real honest-to-goodness rain this afternoon! Hope you didn't get too wet!

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  5. I am having a wee smirr too! and I thoroughly enjoyed being out in it.

    You must be excited to be seeing signs of spring, though I am assured that it is dumping snow in Europe. I wish i was there, skiing in it. *sigh*

    I hope beloved daughter is enjoying her trip, but I know how you feel....

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  6. Isn't it fun when you get a breath of spring? I do wish I could see your garden on a warm spring day. Our snow is all melted now and well...let's just say there's a lot of work to do out there when it gets warmer.

    I love what you said about what we want for our children -- isn't that so true? That's one thing I love about SweetiePie -- she seems to just adore our baby. I hope D2 is having a good trip and that you get a little more time in your garden this weekend!

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  7. Cats are easily pleased, one of their many lovely traits.

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  8. I hope if your spring is springing that our autumn hurries up and ..err.. falls. I've had enough summer for now.

    I did enjoy what you observed about the tulips, in that photos they really do end up wild and exotic!

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  9. I'm with the cats!Supposed to freeze here tonight!

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  10. 'A wee smirr' .... now I like that! I'm going to start using that phrase in conversation whenever possible.

    Can't believe the difference in those two photos in just two weeks .... nature is amazing.

    Hope you got some satisfying gardening done :-)

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  11. I too thought that spring might have sprung this morning but then I clamped down on that treacherous thought....here in the hills it's far too early for hopes of spring!!

    Love the cats!

    Lesley x

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  12. It's lovely seeing winter creeping away...let's hope for lots more tulips!

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  13. I suppose like eskimos having however many words for snow, Scots have many for rain and dampness!

    At least actor boyfriend has some work now anyway.

    What a relief to feel winter's on it's way out.

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  14. I love the 'wee smirr' and the collapsing tulips!

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  15. Life would be bland without the wild and exotic!

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  16. Anonymous1:23 pm

    Oh good, I'm glad that spring has sprung at last.

    My cat used to the be the same. She'd never eat "real" food - only cat food. My inlaws would bring her items from the farm, expecting her to be delighted but she'd just drag them across the kitchen floor and then abandon them amidst trails of entrails. Foul.

    I think it is probably a good thing for people to pursue their own lives. Each person in a relationship should have their own life to sustain them - not be a passenger in someone else's life. Well, that is what I think. Probably explains why I never stick with anyone very long!!! But each must choose their own eh? Don't say anything for goodness sake, will you?

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  17. Thank you for dropping by my blog! Yes, those were wild turkeys. A few years ago the numbers in eastern Ontario were very low, but they've been reintroduced rather successfully. There's someone along that stretch of road who puts feed out, which accounts for the number of hens I photographed.

    We still have at least a month and a bit of winter ahead of us, so I'm envious of your lovely green lawn. But at least we don't have as much snow as we did last year.

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  18. Your photos always speak to me. What a difference a few hours make! The green of the grass and foliage is balm to my tired eyes. We won't see that here in Victoria for a long time. Oh yes, in good years we do have lovely green stuff around our state. Not quite the English/Scottish version, but still green.
    Love the catlets curled up together! I took our single black cat Miss Topsy to the vet for her annual check up today, and came home $300 poorer. She now weighs 8.6 kilograms, or 18 lbs. to those who don't do metric. The vet said she must go on a strict diet. The first lot of food cost $36. The remaining $264 was for The Cat Wellness Plan which includes 12 months of flea and worm treatment and other sundry items guaranteed to keep her in good health. Let's hope so, for that amount of money.

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  19. Oops. Shows how tired I am! That should read a few weeks, not a few hours...Well it did seem possible to me when I looked at your photos. I mean, the snow could have melted in a few hours, couldn't it? I am not familiar with snow, so I don't know, as you may have guessed.

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  20. I could make reference to the drooping flowers & the ...no I won't.
    Looking suitably spring like.
    Glad the cats didn't like the liver, cos.... ugh!

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  21. Anonymous7:31 pm

    !!!

    I'm thinking about daughter 2 and the tulip-giver. Hmph.
    (Whatever you've done makes it much easier to comment now. Thanks!)

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