The Stage in Our Front Yard

We agreed with the keeper when she said that this cherry tree across the street and the sunset in the woods was like a set for the ballet or the opera.  Too pretty.  She discovered this scene last week when the sun actually shone.

Annunciation Day at the Lake

She left us early to head out with her LEMMINGS group for a day at the Spirituality Center.
Several weeks ago she had spent the day there while it poured.  Today was much brighter.  She left stressed and she came home very peaceful.  This means we may have chicken tonight.  It's ok, we aren't Catholic.  Although we have been adopted into a Catholic home, the keeper does not force us to adopt her creed.

What is Outside

 

If the keeper had gotten her nose out of her talk preparation and had come outside, she would  have discovered that the daffodils are finally blooming, and the cherry trees have gone wild.  She would also have noticed that the crows are ripping off branched from the maple tree in the back for their nests.  She would also notice that the little brown birds are back and trilling beautiful music on the bare wisteria.

Grounded Again

We urged the keeper to add something to our blog.  She has been overly anxious and stressed trying to produce some talks and reflections for a Parish Mission she is giving. We had tried to offer her support and comfort by crawling all over her, sitting on the laptop, sitting in her notes while she wrote.  Cecil tried to be funny and amuse her by scratching up the carpet and a chair.  However, she was not amused.  So we decided to sneak out and stay out of her hair.  That did not work so well since then she had to spend precious time hunting us down. But the day was beautiful and warm and the birds were out all over.  Sigh.  So here we are, in lock up. It was worth the trip outside, though.

Happy Spring!

Finally, it's here! Now we are hoping that the weather catches up.

This means that soon the keeper will be sneezing.

Last Moon of Winter

Attention must be given to such an exquisite sight.

Tomorrow we celebrate the Spring Equinox.

Maybe now the buds will feel safe enough to blossom.

An Irish Dinner with Margaritas

No sooner had the keeper come home when she let us out in the sunshine for a bit, and got ready to leave us yet again for an Irish dinner with dear friends, whom she says are the epitome of hospitality. We just have to believe her, since we never get to go to these things.  But we were able to watch the moonrise from our window, and smell the neighbors' barbecue. We thought they might have been serving beef brisket next door.  We weren't invited there either.

St. Joseph Day Sun!

We woke up to sun this morning.  Even the keeper wanted to get out of bed.

And she did.  And she left for the day early.  We enjoyed the sun through the window.

Hope for Our Flowers

We had almost an hour of sun today.  A few bold flowers are leading the rush to spring.

Wearing of the Green

The keeper made us pose for these pictures.  The bows lasted 5 minutes.  We are getting very good at chewing bows off of each other.  She found them in a pile of drool on the floor.

The Creek in the Parking Lot

         

The keeper went to her new gym and to buy our very special food at the Lake Forest Park Town Center.  While she was shopping there was a thunderstorm, hailstorm, as well as a creek ready to flood the parking lot.  It is our feline opinon that they rent rafts to help shoppers reach their cars with the pet food intact since the parking lot takes on water quickly.

Counter Glances

Cecil likes to look everyone in the eyes.  Lately he has become a frequent visitor to a forbidden place, because he knows he can look the keeper in the eyes and communicate more meaningfully with her before she shoos him off.

A Prayer

At the Spirituality Center there is a Peace Path that drips with moss, where benches and spring flowers erupt.  A few of them were  bold enough to greet us.



At the Lake

We're back on daylight savings time again and we lost an hour of sleep last night and on top of that the keeper got us up early to feed us before she drove  to the Peace and Spirituality Center for a retreat with 30 of the Young Adults. They walked, prayed, thought, and enjoyed the misty, dripping, soggy Rain Forest environment of the lakeside, and had a great time.

Rite of Election

We are home alone a lot lately. We thought Lent was supposed to be about slowing down. Hah!
The keeper just keeps racing to meaningful events. Yesterday, she left early and came home exhausted because she was at the cathedral for most of the day.  She was in charge of the reception for the Rite of Election in Spanish.  We know why she was nervous---she feels she is out of her comfort zone when it comes to food things.  But she came home happy --her team showed up , two had significant kitchen history, others in the cleaning industry, and they stayed until the  last mop was put away.  The Archbishop even joined them in the kitchen for awhile.

Don Quichotte

" Among the attributes of God, mercy shines with more brilliancy than justice."  (Cervantes)

Armed with her new phone, the keeper left for the opera on Friday evening, and we had a
wild evening ourselves.  We chased each other all over the house and pushed a few things over.
Meanwhile the keeper was swooning over the food at Prelude, falling in love with the the horse and donkey onstage, and the music and conducting,of course.

A New Phone

Meet Paul.  The keeper told us all about him.  She decided that her Pearl (Blackberry) of Great Price had see its best days.  so she went to car Toys to buy a new 4 G Android phone.  They were on sale. At the store she met Paul, who was surprised that a person as old as she was able to use a Blackberry.  He talked her out of the Android, and suggested she buy a HTC phone, which of course was not in stock.  So we waited three days and she brought home the new phone.  She said that Paul was a s patient with her as she was with him.  He was a very earnest  young man.  She had to have her nails cut so she could use the touch screen. We are still watching her learn how to use it.  She is a little slow.

Choppy Beginnings for Lent

The keeper left us again this evening, and suggested we finish this morning's food before she got back. It was very windy outside.  branches were flying everywhere.  So were the birds.  They love this weather, though it did shake up the nest of birch twigs atop the birch tree in front. 

The keeper drove to Issaquah for a Mass in Spanish and was grateful to be on I-90 where she only had to look at the wicked chop on the Lake and not get inundated by like the drivers on 520 did.  It was fierce, she said.  And the car threatened to leave the ground several times.

No wonder our flowering shrubs are reluctant to blossom.

Rice Bowl

There is an inedible cardboard box on our dining room table.  Yes, we tested it. And, yes, the keeper is decorating with purple now.  Cecil and I tried to read the words on the paper and the box, and we think it means we will be eating less so that little girl on the box can eat something everyday. We know we have way more to eat, of much higher quality than many many millions of people throughout the world.  Perhaps we can do something to help. Cecil is offering to fast with the keeper from ice cream, and I will stop being so fussy and will finish what is in my dish rather than insist the keeeper toss it out twice a day. Maybe we can have our own Rice Bowl envelope.

And So We Begin the Journey

We finally had our dinner.  The keeper took her time coming home to us.  She went to the Cathedral to begin the Lenten journey with her community and was smudged with a healthy dose of well roasted palms--just the right consistency-- and waited in a soupline for a meal in the Cathedral Hall where she met a new lady named Vera and had some good conversations with others. The food was more tasty and filling than usual, given the day's fasting. Meanwhile back at the ranch here we were a little tired of Lent already and we were hungry. But the keeper returned  later than we expected because she ended up taking another person home to Lynnwood because the woman's son had taken her car and she had no way to go home. We tried to sympathize. Now we have eaten and we feel more compassion.

We Are So Thrilled to Start Lent

As you can tell, we are less enthusiastic about Lent than our keeper is.

But we want to let you know that we have learned to share  our sleeping space.

So maybe we don't need Lent now.  But the keeper is busy clearing the kitchen of

sugary things, and finishing up the last of the ice cream.

Cecil may have issues with the ice-cream-lessness of the season because he has become a big fan.

Daphne Comes Indoors

The daphne is almost ready to blossom and so we brought a few sprigs inside to help us believe in the coming of spring.

Back to the Garden

The keeper only worked with one group at one church today and so came home before it was dark. She took advantage of the longer sunny afternoon, and instead of going for a long and dreamed about walk, heard the earthworms calling from the garden, and ended up cleaning a few flower beds and pruning.  She seemed quite pleased with herself when she came in. She filled a whole dumpster and would have kept going but it did get dark and besides, we were hungry.
She brought up the Lenten theme again, and told us that  she felt this first garden work of the year was a great preparation and symbol for the season, which is so late this year.  In fact it was so late she started longing for the discipline of it several weeks ago.  We suggested that she could have started earlier if she felt she really needed it. 

Working Toward Harmony

Cecil and I are working out our space issues.  The keeper also helped by draping another blanket across the back of the couch.  Now we can both fit. I don't think Cecil particularly likes sharing, but we are working on this. The keeper told us that Lent is coming at last and possibly this could be our "project"  ( Whatever that means!).

Bed Snatching

I, Alice, have decided that Cecil needs to start sharing his sleeping space in the den.

He always seems surprised when he finds me there.  But I know that he will

learn to share.  I keep telling him that this used to be my space

and I should be able to use it once in awhile.  When I take it he goes wailing to the keeper and walks on the kitchen counters.  He almost slipped into the

garbage disposal the other day.

Testing the Elements

We checked on the daphne and the flowering quince. They are stilll wrapped up tight in little buds not quite ready to make their debut.

Hawai Dreaming

One of our friends just got back from Hawaii and talked about being in sun, lying on on the beach, snorkeling. We listened as our hands and paws chilled.

Lovely Monday

We have been a bit quiet this week, but the keeper has been running around like a nut.  On Monday she got to be with the new Archbishop and she was really excited to introduce the young adults to him.  She said that they waited in a long line but it was worth it.