ODY, Dennis & Laurel's Visit

 This is our sweet little Ody.  He's 13 months old now and just started walking.  His parents Brandon Hatcher and Krystal are very proud of him, and so are we.

We don't get to see as much of Ody, and his parents as much as we'd like even tho they just live in the next county because of unforeseen circumstances beyond anyone's control, but maybe good fortune will strike and things will change for the better.  They are just on a different schedule.  When I'm sleeping, they are awake and visa versa.  Third shift is a bummer that can't be helped for now.

These last couple of days we've been playing cat & mouse with them.  They had cell phone and car trouble and when we were one place they were where we had been and all of us never got to see Ody and his parents.  It's hard to meet at a specific location when you can't reach them by cell phone or Messenger.   

I grew to appreciate cell phones more these last couple of days when my brother & his wife came to town for a visit.  It seemed like I was on the cell phone texting or talking letting everyone know where we were at any specific time.  We had a wonderful time with Dennis & Laurel, but now that they have gone back home it seemed like it was such a whirlwind visit.  I enjoyed every minute of their visit even tho at times Dennis and I were raising our voices at each other, and if you know my brother Dennis you would understand what I just said perfectly.  He is such a gentle soul tho and I love him with all my heart.

I'm going to do my best to post a few pictures of our visit below.  My very old laptop doesn't always want to co-operate with me.

Snowy day

 Beautiful clumps of snow...

on a frigid day.

Pictures...

Dennis aka Tomas

Here are a couple of pictures that you might like....
I know I do.

Dennis

Dennis visits Berea & leaves with a kitten...gotcha!

My brother Dennis was attending a conference in nearby North Carolina, and on his way home he stopped by for a visit. All of us were very happy to see him (in person). We email and keep in touch with him on an almost daily basis, but being able to see and hug him in person is very special to me and to the rest of the family. The kids all came over to see their Uncle Dennis and we all had a wonderful time laughing and exchanging stories. And I have to mention that we took him to Papaleno's to eat because Dennis said he loved pizza.

While Dennis was packing up his things and putting them in his van, he had a little follower who kept following him around and trying to get into his luggage. The little kitten would sit staring up at Dennis begging him to take him home with him, and you know what? It worked. Dennis drove off with Tom (who is pictured above in his favorite scandals). I think Laurel has a pair of these same scandals at home, so Tom should feel right at home at their house.

Tom is a very deceiving name for this little kitten, but I thought it was a tomcat when we gave it the name. I guess she'll get a new name once Laurel finds out she's a girl. We did tell Dennis that Tom was a girl kitty, but Dennis didn't care what the sex of the kitten was...he was taking her anyway.

Dennis will have to come back to visit us soon now, because he took our large cat carrier with him to transport Tom home. We'll be looking forward to seeing Dennis & Laurel soon....and if that's not possible we'll just have to meet Dennis halfway on his next conference trip.

This is Princess Pinky with Petey. Petey is now the only kitten remaining at our house and he was 9 weeks old yesterday. Petey looks almost exactly like its momma and is a very sweet and cuddly kitten. I'm not 100% sure if Petey is a tomcat or not, but we can pretend he is for Jimmy's sake.

Jybow is better & brother gets award...from me

I'm happy to report that Jybow, our kitty is feeling so much better this morning. She woke me up at 4:30 AM and wanted to go outside. That was the first good sign and by 8 AM she was let back into the house where she proceeded to bounce around and play with her toy mouse tossing it about. Then she went and did her usual thing which always gets a quick response from us....she raised both front paws and began to sharpen her claws on the furniture. Jimmy & I both shouted at her in unison, and she did her usual thing and turned around and looked at us and moved to a different location and did the same thing. It's a game with her to see how many times she can get our attention, and it all ends with her skirting around the bottoms of the couch, love seat and recliner pulling herself around while on her back with her front claws. Once that's done she jumps up and finds herself a nice place to take a little morning nap.

This week we are in charge of caring for my son's pets. They're off to boy scout camp for the entire week returning on Father's Day. Jimmy & I will make a daily pilgrimage out to feed & water the animals and care for their toasty tomatoes. The reason I say toasty is because the temps have been topping at nearly 100ºf nearly each day and everything is getting toasty around here. We'll water their garden if needed and I'm guessing it will need it before they come home unless we have a thunder shower or two.

When they return, the whole family will be gathering for a Father's Day cookout and that should be great fun. Matthew unfortunately has to teach a class in Lexington on Father's Day to a group of firemen and he will not be joining us at Peanut & Laura's house next Sunday.

*****

I've had this award for a couple of weeks now deciding who to give it to. It was passed on to me by Rachel of Sliding Through Life and I thank her very much for thinking of me and honoring me with this award. When I read the words on this award, I immediately thought of the one blog who possesses all of these things. It's my oldest brother's blog...Tomas (Dennis to me). We argue and discuss the many differing sides of an issue in the comment section of 'one' of his many blogs and he never gets mad at me. He leads me to articles that are modern & informative and sometimes unique. I have learned so much by reading his blog and have gotten much more into the political workings of our nation because of him. He taught me how to use & search the internet by providing me with links to many places. And I always remember his smile and the humorous side of him which sometimes makes me feel bad when I have a different opinion of something he has written on his blog, and I state so in the comment section of his post. My brother has many blogs/websites, with many true & funny stories about his life experiences and growing up and he is truly deserving of this award, and this is why I am passing it on to just him.

Dennis, I have put much thought into the passing of this award and I think you have earned this award in my book and deserve to post it proudly.
I love you,
Sandy

Happy Holiday Week

To my two brothers, one on the other side of the U.S.A. and the one in the pool, I want to wish both of them a happy holiday filled with the love of family & friends and lots of good food to eat.

Today we salute the fallen soldiers who have died serving their country and to those brave men I say, "Thank You, for a job well done!" If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here blogging freely saying whatever I want to say.

I'm wishing clear blue skies for everyone on this holiday weekend and for those that are lucky to be celebrating with family for the entire week....well most of it anyway, have fun.

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Hope you don't see any of these this week
while you are swimming in your pool.

Tom Terrific to my rescue!

I am so lucky to have such a smart brother who has come to my rescue. He has single-handedly fixed my email problem from several hundred miles away. The IT guy from India couldn't solve my email problem and told me to contact Microsoft. He should have told me to contact Tomas, or as I call him...Dennis.

Tomas Muse Stories 'n Links is where to go if you need someone to solve a computer problem for you and even if you don't have a problem just go over there and visit him.

I just love my brother so much and today he was feeling dizzy too and still found the time to help me out. He's such a sweetheart and I feel so lucky to have such a nice & caring brother. God knew what he was doing when he made him.

Thank you so much Dennis...you just don't know how much I was dreading having to call the Microsoft Corporation.

Love you,
Sandy