On the Red Carpet

We were not allowed to watch the Oscars. The keeper made us watch Masterpiece Theater. But we happened to flip on the fashion commentary post Oscars and look who was on--our friend Fran Drescher.
She did not have a human date for the Elton John party, but we thought it was great that she brought her new Pomeranian.

Bird Woman

The keeper decided to focus on the birds in the backyard this year.  She hung suet from the wisteria vines right outside of our window perches so we could watch them all day.  We have dozens of little chickadees who have taken over the wisteria, while the hummingbird drains two feeders every three days.  They are so friendly that they all gather on the vines when the keeper comes outside  They know that she is a sucker for feather, claw, and fur.

Graduation Potluck

The food was incredible--tamales wrapped in banana leaves, and every possible kind of Mexican food. The keeper did not bring us any leftovers, though.

Graduation

The Parenting Class students graduated on Saturday. It was emotional, included presentations, gifts, and a wedding invitation.

Saturday Snow

We woke up the keeper early on Saturday because it snowed.  Then the phone calls started.  "Will there be class?"   By the time she left to pick up the teacher, the snow was all gone and everyone showed up, even the babysitter from Bonney Lake!

Sprouts Everywhere

The sprouts had a growth spurt this week.  The broccoli is going wild, and now the tomatoes have found their groove.  The leeks are starting to poke their little green heads out, as is the coriander. The foxgloves are getting the hang of it.  The only shy seeds we have are eggplant and columbine.  We will need a green house to babysit them all until it gets warm enough for them to go outside.

Repent and be Faithful to the Gospel

Today the opening prayer announced the Lenten "campaign"  and at the final blessing we prayed for compunction. !Aye, Dios mio! But the great season of renewal and transformation has begun. The keeper left for the cathedral while we fasted until she returned home. We think we are generally exempt from all of this.  No new hairshirts or purple bows for us.

Remembering Donna in Gratitude

Today the keeper and her former partner in pastoring preached at a funeral for a wonderful friend who had been a refuge of hospitality and kindness to them.  Her house was always open, there were lovely dinners there and out.  There were many stories not told at the funeral today which will be long remembered. As the keeper said, Donna's  heart was a mansion where God abided and where there was a special place for everyone.  She was one of the most genuine people ever, and had no room for pettiness and prejudice. She was the proverbial woman of valour. After the burial in the chilly rain, the keeper came home and worked in the garden and we were happy to hang out with her.  It seemed to be a  good decision. Now we will celebrate Mardi Gras and raise a toast to Donna.

Sprouts

While the keeper is out running around, we get to watch over all the seeds which got planted last week.  The only ones which are sprouting are the broccoli, and they are getting so tall hat the plastic tent over them is too low. The other seeds are taking their sweet time.  We think she should get a warming pad. We tried breathing on the plastic tents to help the others, but we got bored.

Heartstones and Parenting

Feline apologies for the lapse in the blog system here.  Some weeks it i impossible to bend the keeper to our will.  Last week was one of those " tell us we are so precious and beautiful, throw food at us, and leave for long periods of time" weeks. Could some one out there explain to us what goes on at "meetings"?  She seems to go to lots of them.  We don't think she is seeing other cats, but what is it that happens at meetings which is more interesting than us? She tells us that meetings help pay for our high priced food. She left early on Saturday for a parenting class which according to her was phenomenal.  It combines prayer, teaching, reflection, and sharing.
They used stones with words on them to help them pray. Cool. The water looked cool and tasty, though.

Dreams from Sick Bay

We went to bed unusually early last evening because the keeper needed to catch a bus to Olympia very early today. We all woke up at 5 am and she dragged out of bed looking and feeling sickly. Next thing we know she was calling IPJC and cancelling her spot on the bus. Next thing we knew we were all back in bed again.  She has been up, drinking water and eating.  But we all get to take a nap again. She never takes naps in the afternoon. We highly recommend it.  Now she hears others from her office building have this bug.  We are thinking Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner.

Nesting Box Cleaning Day

No valentines, but we found lots of treasures today.  The keeper cleaned out the old nesting boxes so the birds could start with clean living spaces.  We found a beautiful old nest packed into the box by the tool shed. They had even used some of our cast off fur in it!  The keeper always leaves it out for them.  We are happy to help other families.

Nest Materials

We found a use for the old bird feeder.  We quit using it after the rats decided to take over the seed and the crawl space. But it is the perfect shelter for out ball of nest material that the birds can pluck as they begin to build new nests.

Our Hummingbird

The keeper caught our hummingbird friend in flight as she headed to the feeder. Now she has four feeders, and drains them all pretty quickly. The bird food store person told the keeper that the mother has probably laid eggs the size of coffee beans and the nest is very close to the house. The bird seems to like us.

Seed Starting Day

Yes, we know all about St. Valentine's Day, and frankly no one at this house is into it.  So, the keeper decided that this was the day to start the seeds indoors.  We watched her carefully tucking in seeds for four kind of tomatoes, eggplant, leeks, coriander, pansies, columbine, and more into those little cells.Now our house looks like a greenhouse.  She used to have a little greenhouse at her Madrona house, and loved it. But we like trays of dirt inside.  She may even by warming pads to get them germinating. She said they were bettr than chocolate and cut flowers.

Sinu Rite Rocks!

For as long as she has been with the keeper Alice has struggled with sinus problems.  The keeper has tried many remedies, shots, antihistamines with her, but nothing seems to work.  While it was snowing, Alice encouraged the keeper to go online and search for other solutions. She found a homeopathic pet medicine for sinuses.  Now, she is mixing it with Alice's food and Alice, none the wiser, is gobbling it up.  We are all excited because she doesn't sound like a pig anymore, and she has lots more energy, and doesn't seem to have a headache anymore.  She is even sneaking out with me and exploring the neighborhood.  We don't know if the keeper is happy about this part of the recovery.

Upstarts

The bulbs are pushing up very quickly.  They survived the snow and are a bit restless for spring.  So are we.We are so excited that the light is returning. This means we can go out a bit longer. And maybe get away with it.

Dangerous Memories, High Hopes

The keeper spent yesterday with the parents for a class that allows them to integrate their immigrant experiences and sufferings with their hopes and their faith.  It was incredibly moving for everyone, and the class went through a box of Kleenex.  We wish that many others could hear these stories-- especially those who can  work for comprehensive immigration reform--and that is almost all of us.  We would do something if feline voices mattered more.

Sister Moon

What a night to honor little Stassi. Thank you, moon.

Moon

Tomorrow will be two years since Stassi, the moon lover, crossed the rainbow bridge. 

Thank God we have so many beautiful reminders of you, dear friend.

Horse Nuzzler

 The Olympic Four Seasons was surrounded by police cars and dogs and the mounted patrol greeted everyone at the front door.  No bomb threat, just the Police Guild Reception and Dinner to raise funds for the dogs and horses and other supplies.  The poet gave a financial gift for the upkeep of the animals.  Then, imagine this: the poet quietly approached each horse and had a long silent conversation nose to nose, head to head with each one, who nuzzled and whickered back while their human companions continued their attempt to look serious. 

Accompaniment

The keeper left us early yesterday.  She was very excited because she was going to spend the day accompanying someone she liked very much who was in town for the day.  We get to listen to her poetry every night before we sleep and we understand it! But we must say that the keeper  was VERY excited.  We understand that the poet loves dogs very much but we know she would love us too. The keeper left early and came home late.  She was quite tired but very very happy. It had been a soulful day and one which stands out over most of the other thousands of days she has lived.

Spirit in the Woods

There is a Spirit in these woods. Add some warmth, sun, a great retreat leader, incredible organic food.  She came home to us a happy camper. Great prep for her adventure with Ms. Oliver tomorrow.

Swan and Woodpecker

She stayed  in the pileated woodpecker room, and her light fixture illustrated the constellation Cygnus. We asked if there were any cat lodges and she told us there is a Mammal's Den. She has never stayed in it though. This past summer she stayed in Ichthyology, and that was all fishy.

At Birds-nest Lodge

They stayed in the Birds-nest.  In the Great Room there is a life size eagle nest hanging over the room.  There are also 500 million year old nautilus shells pressed into the sandstone fireplace.

Off to Islandwood

We thought there was an unusually energetic bit of movement on Thursday morning. Then we knew when we saw the keeper writing a note to the neighbor right next to a stack of our food cans.  She was leaving us. She does this once in awhile and we never know how long she will be gone.  Bu there were just two cans on the counter so we figured it wouldn't be for too long. We were right. she was off to Bainbridge Island to her favorite spot--Islandwood, the environmental learning center for adults and children. We hear it is elegantly beautiful and so wild pets are not allowed. She joined up the Lemmings for an overnight silent retreat.if you knew who was in the group you would question how silent it could be.

It's About Economic Justice

On Monday night the keeper left us for the Economic Justice Forum at the Cathedral.  A nice crowd, good conversation, actually, quite entertaining at times. And she got to greet people and got to know some more  parishioners. She did feed us before she left, though. She also gave Alice new medicine for the feline sinusitis.  It's homeopathic.  Purr.

Harbingers

The keeper tried to take photos in the evening.  Not such a good thing.  But the good news is that the primroses are already starting to blossom.  Maybe they just needed some ice and snow to rev them up a bit.  These primroses are very special because they were given to the keeper many years ago by a gentleman named Bill who had been brain damaged in the war.  He built flower boxes with great care and love and planted the most powerful primroses that have been blooming through three seasons for the past 7 years. A nice memory of a very lovely man who died 6 years ago.