Sleepless Night

We are looking a little groggy here because the keeper kept us up most of the night. She couldn't sleep. Was it the green tea? She was wide awake like we often are and sat in the living room amazed by the brightness of the night sky which made it seem like a late winter afternoon and which bathed all the lawn furniture and fences and railings in white light. It was very still and she sat there drinking warm milk while we watched her and wished we could share in the milk. Finally we all went to sleep at 5. Needless to say we had a very rushed morning as she clattereed around trying to get ready for her church gigs. It is Trinity Sunday, and she told us it was a mystery. And she remembered something which Paul Coutihno said about the mystery of God--not something to be discussed and pried apart like a machine, but to be pondered like koan...even moreso than the fish dwells in the water, surrounded by it, breathing it, we live in, breathe in and out God's mystery. We are swimming in God and so wrapped up in it all we can't fathom the mystery. We are not fond of swimming ourselves, so it's a little hard to wrap ourselves up in this image. She likes it, and that is good for her. We would prefer to use the idea of sleep and dreams since we are fond of that activity and we often find ourselves caught up in the dream of the cosmic cat. We hope we will all enter the mystery of sleep tonight.

Maple Leaf Chair

Lazy day for cats. Overcast. We spent the day inside since the keeper was tearing all over the eastside. But, we wanted to point out several things...there are some very ignorant young raccoons out in the neighborhood who think they can run the streets in the afternoon. They had better look out for cars. Second observation: the director's chair which the keeper forgot to bring in this past winter lost its seat in the cold. So, she started weaving a new seat and back out of the budding maple vines. They are growing well and doing a nice reupholstery job on their own. Pretty soon we will be able to sit on it again and watch the birds. And later when we are tired of green it will turn red. Very Harry Potter. The keeper told us tonight that she had finally found a place which she was able to take guests which was in the neighborhood---the LFP Bar and Grill. It just opened she said and everybody is there checking it out. And it is good.

First Peonies

Well, it is cooler and we are very happy. Alice started playing with her catnip mouse again. We are not so crabby anymore. The keeper told us about her friends' cat Penny who is really old and experiencing heart problems. She has the same vet that we do. Although we hate visiting the vet, we always come back better for having withstood the agony of the visit. We know that she will get help and feel much better too. Getting old is no fun. I should know. I am 14 this year, and in people years, that's 98! And look at me, I am still mousing and birding and climbing the fence! But it hurts sometimes.
The keeper was all excited about these feathery pink flowers. She has a huge bush of them this year. She cut the first three and put them in her mother's vase. Then she went to the neighbor's first Friday of summer party. We had to stay inside while their animals were outside. They were all very noisy--the adults, not the animals. One of the neighbors, a Canadian, had gotten his green card after spending thousands of dollars in legal fees. They had a fire which was blowing embers all over the yard. We were nervous about them setting our home on fire. Finally she came home smelling like smoke and she quietly took our dictation for this blog entry. It's nice how a little red wine can make her more docile. She also brushed us. We hope she attends every Friday party.

Yellow Heat

It was so hot! We found new hiding places in the shrubs and under the deck. I was too hot to chase birds in the laurel bushes. The keeper even sat in the shade this afternoon. After she worked out she poured a pitcher of water over her head. Then we waited under the hummingbird feeder, hoping for a breeze from their wings beating a thousand times a minute! We are grateful for the wind that picked up this evening. Tonight we will all sleep. The keeper celebrated her friend J's birthday by eating Greek food for lunch with J and W. She had a good time with them food ( she brought some chicken home) and realized that she misses the days when they all spent more time together. She came home and sat at the computer all afternoon working on grants. We left her alone.

HEAT!

What a day! For once we were grateful to be able to stay inside while the heat wilted flowers and plants. Alice threw herself on the carpet in the dining room and just lay there looking like the Queen of the Nile. When the keeper came home, I ran out, over the fence to look for birds who are living in the laurel bushes. Alice chased little butterflies. The keeper watered all of the plants and found the first roses of summer and put them in a vase. She realizes that she relied on Eloy for all of the work with the roses, and she didn't ask him any questions about it. Now she will have to learn quickly because we have at least 30 rose bushes. Wish us luck! We think we have sunflowers and hollyhocks starting to sprout up!

"After the Ecstasy the Laundry"

These hot days are very difficult for cats, especially when we can't find a breeze outside. Alice started the day climbing up on the roof of the garage, and then couldn't get down. The keeper told her to figure it out on her own. So she ended up jumping down most of the way, and ended up panting and gasping. But she recovered later. The keeper was very busy around the house today, and did laundry. The dryer is dying, and so she decided to hang all of it out on the line. As she says, there is nothing like the smell of clean laundry which has been hanging in the sun all day. Heavenly, even though it takes longer. She also got very dirty planting more seeds and plants. She loses track of time when she is out there. We hear her talking to the plants and making sure that they have 'friends" nearby, especially when they all came from the same nursery. She pointed out that the peonies are all ready to pop out and that we have ladybugs helping us.

The keeper also decided to stop buying books. She has so many that she has run out of room at home and at the beach. So she headed to the library and found all of the books she was going to order. She told us about how every summer when she was younger she would start reading books on June 1 and try to read at least 100 by the time school started again. We don't think she can do that anymore. But we think it is going to be a wonderful summer. The smell of library books and laundry on the line, mixed in with a little fragrance from the grills at night. . .

Awe

The keeper went off to work this afternoon and came home later in the evening. We had a lovely day just lounging around outside until we had to come in so she could leave. But it was hot. When she came home she couldn't stop talking about the evening sky over Redmond and Woodinville, and the layers and layers of green exploding all over with the tallest fuschia rhodies she had ever seen rolling down the hills. She said she had to stop the car at a fundamental Bible church parking lot on a hill and take photos because it was so breathtaking. She said it was hard to keep her eyes on the road. There was so much to take in. She said it was so beautiful she wasn't even hungry for dinner. Even though there is a lot of driving in her work, she says the awe and beauty of it all is an unexpected gift.