Momo Lisa

I sometimes feel guilty that I take so many pictures of my cat, Maddie.  She is a very active, very curious feline who get's around.  Last week she climbed into the cab of the truck when Vance was leaving.  He picked her up and put her on the ground.  She must have wanted to get back in, because when he closed the door, her tail was in the way.  I heard the scream from inside the house.  She's lucky it wasn't broken.  But that's who she is.  She is everywhere! And she's so photogenic!

My older cat, Momo, doesn't do much.  She may go outside for a little while, but she just sits on the front step.  When she's not sitting on the front step, she's sitting on the bed - or the couch - or the back of the chair.
I guess that's why I don't take many pictures of her.  There's no variety.

Yesterday, though, when she was sitting on the back of the chair, she caught my eye.  The light was just right, her fur was smooth, and her eyes were bright.  And she treated me to a solid 10 minutes of photography! I got some beautiful portraits of this "grande dame".  My little M̶o̶n̶a̶  Momo Lisa!

Parking for Irish Grandmas

St. Patrick's Day was always a big deal when I was young.  My dad was Polish, but my mom was very proud to be Irish.  Her maiden name was Shea!

Here is a picture of my parents' garage.

If you look on the back wall, you will see these signs.

 In their later years, my mom and dad had a lot of fun celebrating

the holiday with their friends.  My dad added a touch

of green to his beautiful white head of hair.  He always

wore his green jacket too.  My mom usually added shamrocks

to her clothing and wore a green hat.  

No doubt they had a good time!

I still have one of the signs from my parents' garage.

It is hanging on the wall of my garage.

Happy memories of my mom are triggered whenever I see it.

Today, it has a special meaning.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

"Mommy, you look like a doggie!"

In addition to taking lots of pictures when my kids were young,  I also wrote a journal for each of them.  I don't know when I found the time.  No wonder I look back and notice how tired I looked.

In my intense spring cleaning this year,  I came across the journals and opened randomly to a few pages.  It was the fall of 1994.  Adam was two and Kerry was one.  I am so glad I took the time to write because I would have forgotten most of it, lost in the business of everyday life.  It reminded me why I loved being a stay-at-home mom so much.  All of those funny, innocent, everyday childhood happenings were the fuel that got me through those sleep-deprived years!

I'd like to share a few entries!

"There was an especially humorous thing that happened at the dinner table in late September.  We were trying to teach you manners.  Once night when you were finished eating and started to get out of your seat, I told you that you should ask, "May I please be excused?"  Well, you didn't have a clue what I was talking about.  You started to laugh and said "No, I am not a goose!  You're a goose!"

"We found a ladybug on the rug in the living room one day.  You were very intrigued by it.  We put it on a white piece of paper so you could see it better.  Then I put it in your hand and it crawled around on it. We left you alone for a few minutes and you came into the kitchen wit the ladybug between your fingers (dead) and said "Beetle bug won't go". You had no idea you had to be very gentle and had squeezed it too hard when you picked it up. We took it outside to the front step and told you it had to go home.  We through it into the air and pretended it was flying home. Now you have an imaginary beetle bug on the floor in the corner of your bedroom.  One of your bedtime stalling techniques is to get the beetle bug and pass it around to everyone to hold and pet it.  You even pretended to pull a beetle bug out of your hair in the bathtub the other night!"

"In September, we went to Burlington to see Grandma and Papa.  Daddy slept upstairs with Kerry and you got to sleep downstairs with me in a big boy bed.  The first night, you waited for me to come to bed and talked my ear off for almost an hour.   Then you woke me up at 6AM with a gentle kiss on my lips.  When I opened my eyes, you said "Mommy, you look like a doggie!"  I THINK it was meant as a compliment because you love the movie 101 Dalmatians.  I hope so, anyway."

"Every afternoon while Kerry was napping, you looked forward to our special time together. You would tell me what you wanted to do - just Mommy and Adam.  Sometimes we would read books, sitting with my arm around you, snuggling together. On January 12, 1994, one of the most touching moments of motherhood to date occurred. Before I had the chance to put my arm around you and begin reading, you scooched up higher on your knees and put your arm around my shoulders. You looked at me with such a face full of love.  Then you leaned over to kiss me, but missed my lips and kissed my nose instead.  You laughed and said "We kissed noses, Mommy!".  I felt like I was your girlfriend and could just picture you on a date 15 years from now.  I love you so much!"

My Window - March 3, 2016

"I never get tired of the blue sky."  ~ Vincent Van Gogh

It looks like spring is coming, but the temperature is in the 20's and it's very breezy.  The weatherman tries to discourage me from going outside to walk my dogs, but I ignore him. It's never as bad as he makes it out to be.  The energy I derive from that hour outside changes my entire day.  

Then and Now

Last week I began a project that will probably take me 3 months to finish.  Ever since Adam was born, I have kept the negatives for every photograph I've taken until I switched to a digital camera in 2002.  The negatives are all neatly tucked into pockets of a binder.  All of my digital photos are nicely organized into folders on my computer, by year/month/event, but whenever I want a photo of my kids when they were little,  I need to go to photo albums and scan them into the computer.  

I discovered recently that my photo scanner is also capable of scanning negatives, and the negatives scan into a much better digital image than trying to scan printed photos.  So my big job this winter

is to scan my negatives and digitalize those photos that are worth keeping.

As I am scanning the baby pictures,  I am frequently struck by how much my adult kids look like their baby pictures!   I decided it would be fun to pair up a few photos to demonstrate this.  

It is really amazing.

(Sorry, Annie, but I haven't gotten to your baby pictures yet).

Then and now...

My Window - February 23, 2016

 This is the view from my front window this week.  The snow melted, but it

is now snowing again.  Spring will be here soon.

"Wherever I am, I always find myself looking out the window, wishing I were somewhere else."  ~Angelina Jolie

This quote from Angelina Jolie makes me sad for her.  She seemingly has it all, but isn't content with all she has.  It is so foreign to my way of thinking.  I am very happy with my life and value all I have.  It's nice. I remember in my younger days, always yearning for something more.  A husband, a house, a family, a bigger house, a bigger family...  All these years later, I have the house and family I love.  I am content.  Life is good.

  

My Window - February 16, 2016

 I decided to begin a weekly series featuring the view from

my front window.  Why?  

This is what I see every morning as I eat breakfast.

Each day, it never looks the same as the day before.

Some things remain steady, but these are few.

We find comfort in the steady.

We yearn for variety and change.

We delight in surprise.

And we often take for granted what we see each day.

"I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world

through a window than through a mirror.  

Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever

is behind you."  ~Bill Withers

Sisters: Can This Relationship Be Saved?

It is often assumed that everyone in a loving family will learn to get along and accept each other's differences.  Especially sisters. But we all know cases where grudges remain for far too long.  This is how it is in my family between two sisters:  Momo and Maddie.  They are my cats.

Momo is an older cat who just wants to live a peaceful life sleeping in the sun.

She is troubled by anxiety, whether it be an unknown visitor,  quick movements,

or loud noises.  She stays inside almost all day now.  She is very affectionate

to people that she trusts, and purrs loudly when petted.  I am her main person,

although she is affectionate with the whole family .

Four years ago we rescued an adorable little kitten, Maddie. 

Her personality is almost the exact opposite of Momo.  Maddie

doesn't lay around.  She plays.  She thinks.  She's busy - always.

She doesn't seem to have any fears.

From the very beginning of her time with us, 

one of her favorite sources of entertainment has been poor Momo.

Maddie hides and jumps out at Momo all the time.

This happens so often that Momo has even more anxiety.  She is 

constantly on alert for Maddie whenever she rounds a corner, and

her naps are not so peaceful anymore.  She hisses at Maddie

whenever she is within 5 feet of her.

They even fight through the window!

We keep them separate when we're not home to avoid any skirmishes 

that may arise from Maddie's boredom.  When we go away for a weekend

we even put plywood up to divide the house into two separate territories

while we are gone. 

After watching "My Cat From Hell" on Animal Planet, a show where

cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy works to help families with problem

cat situations, I decided to try one of Jackson's techniques when

two cats don't get along.  He gets them to eat near each other.

I started feeding them canned cat food at dinnertime

 and put their bowls very close together.

As one is eating, the other often looks up and sniffs the other.

Maddie even licked Momo one time!

Night after night,  for the past 2 months, they have eaten together.

They even sit near each other as they wait for their food,

sometimes going nose to nose.

And sometimes they look up at the same time too.

I am happy to report that things are beginning to change.

  Here they were both outside on the front step 

with no hissing or fighting.

Here, Momo actually felt comfortable enough 

to turn her back on Maddie.

And just the other day, they were both laying quietly 

on the couch in peace!

Don't get me wrong, there are still many times every day that I hear cat fights

or find Maddie jumping at Momo while she is sleeping.  

Everything is not perfect.  

But I think we are making progress.

Maybe these two sisters will continue to have 

more and more peaceful moments together.  

Over time,  who knows what can happen!

Maybe they will even be able to ...

That would be very nice.