Here it is, 17 days after Christmas and we still have a cardboard box and a gift bag, still on the floor left over from Christmas. I wanted to buy the cats each a special Christmas toy, but Jimmy said no, that they already have enough store bought toys that they don't play with as it is. And as much as I hate to admit it...he's right.Just as soon as the house emptied out after all the Christmas hoopla the cats began jumping in and out of this box and gift bag and having a great time. I'm still waiting for them to get tired of them and go on to something else, but as I walked by them a few moments ago I snapped this picture...so today is still not the day to throw out these items that we have been tripping over on a daily basis.
The cats have managed to tear out the side of the gift bag and make themselves a side opening...probably for a quick escape when one cat blocks the main entrance don't you guess? All three of the cats take their turns hiding and jumping out at each other and it's really quite a show and keeps us amused. I think only cat lovers can probably appreciate and understand how Jimmy & I can be amused over watching the cats play.
I just went into the kitchen to peer out the window to check the outdoor thermometer. It's 50ºF and wet outside. While looking out I saw a large flock of doves foraging for seeds on the ground below the bird feeders. Our bird feeders have been another joy during these wintry gray days. Every type of bird that comes to the feeders now are coming in large flocks and it's a sight to see a flock of bright red Cardinals, especially on that one day that it snowed. They really stood out against the white snow. A couple of times I think I have spotted quail under the feeders. I do know that they live beyond the creek and in the fields behind our house, so it's very likely that they would come up to get the cracked corn and other seeds that fall from the feeders.
We had a 20º drop in temperature in the last couple of days and some very strong wind gusts. On Wednesday some large trees were blown over on our road, but other than the trees falling we didn't see where any of them caused any damage. Last night we had very strong winds & heavy rain that made our driveway look like a raging river and the lightning and thunder caused one of our cats who doesn't mind the rain at all (Jybow) to seek comfort on Jimmy's lap. Usually Jybow heads for a bed and slides up under the bedspread and stays there until she feels it's safe enough to come out again. But last night she wanted Jimmy to hold her as the thunder was extra loud & booming. Jimmy said she was trembling...poor kitty.
Yesterday they delivered more wood to the barn site during the "tornado watch" so Suzanne & I covered it up with more plastic and anchored the plastic down with 6"x 6"scrap pieces of the posts. The new barn structure is still standing today after all that wind last night and that's good. The old barn hasn't fallen yet either and that's another piece of good news because the horses would be injured if that barn fell...it's really in bad shape and hence the reason for the needed new barn.
Megan & Sharon stopped by on their way to church on Wednesday afternoon and we played Phase 10 until it was time for them to leave. We managed to talk Jimmy into playing with us and while playing Sharon came up with an idea for a 'Special Hat' with a large "L" for those to wear when they can't move forward for three hands in a row of play. Can you guess what the "L" would stand for? (Loser). Of course she was just kidding, sort of, but she might introduce her new hat design when her sister plays next with us and keep it hid until her sister fails to move forward for three hands in a row. Then she'll plop that hat right on her sister's head.
I'm still waiting for Brian and his family to come over and play some games with us. It's really lots of fun and sometimes we order pizza. I promise I won't cook! hehehe.
