Spring around the corner????

I don't pay a LOT of attention to the various varmint predictions about Spring - but I THOUGHT all gophers agreed this year that Spring was just around the corner!!  hmmmm....doesn't really feel like that today!   We have about 6 inches or so and still coming down.

We hadn't planned to go anywhere today but had to touch bases with a client who doesn't have a phone, so a quick trip into Renfrew.  Roads weren't bad - not great, but not too bad - we took our time.

New family member Allie-cat is fitting quite well - no spats or problems with other cats - I'm actually surprised (pleasantly mind you, but still surprised).  It isn't always easy introducing a mature cat to a household, but this went well.  Allie kept to herself for a few days - she found a box in a closet off the laundry room with some old mitts and touques in it and that was her "safe" spot for a while, but now she's all over the house

It appears she has NOT been spayed (I guess it was wishful thinking on our part that she might have been spayed).  We've never really had a cat this age that wasn't spayed, so a bit of a new experience.  She's VERY friendly, just looking for a "special" friend.....   Anyway, appointment made for this Monday with  Dr. Witham (who we're seeing a lot of lately) who will take care of that little problem.  

Lucy, who was just spayed last week is doing well and seems to be back to normal - she was pretty quiet for the first few days.   (imagine - two spayings within two weeks!!!!!)

Real estate is remarkably busy for this time of year - I'm happy about it - but it's not usually like this in February! We're actually juggling our schedule to keep up with showings and meeting with clients. Not complaining!!!

Some pictures I snapped today

Buddy watching the bird feeder

 

 

 

Rick replacing the suet thingy (with Nibbles in lower right corner watching)

 

 

lots of deer tonite - even more showed up after I took this picture!  They're getting quite bold too - Kris said one was peeking in the garage yesterday evening when he was late putting out the food!

 



Finally!!! a name!!

We have all finally agreed upon a name for our newest feline member.  Although I was opting for Buttons (not very original, I know), Kris came up with "Allie" - so Allie-cat, she is.  She is still adapting and learning to get along with the other cats.  Just like the other cats, she loves sitting on the back of the couch and looking out the window - but so far, if she's on the couch, no one else will join her.

We had her into the vet last week - she's about 2 years old but Dr. Witham can't tell if she has been spayed or not - hopefully she was spayed by her previous people - guess time will tell.

 

Got some snow yesterday - which didn't stop Buddy from "birding" under the feeder - sad really

 

three cats on a couch on a winters day  - Buddy, Nibbles and Lucy (Lucy's getting spayed tomorrow)

 

 

bought some deer food - happy deer tonite (we have had up to 9 at one time)

cold days!!!

Well as the weatherman promised - it`s bloody cold out!!!  And supposed to stay that way for a few days too.  I`m pretty well avoiding going out if I don`t have to.  Rick went out and showed a farm in Eganville this afternoon - I enjoyed the afternoon at home.  Pellet stove is working very well.

As mentioned in a previous post, we have picked up (so to speak) another stray cat - the one that Kris had been feeding down at the shop, moved into our garage on Thursday night.  We set up a nice heat lamp pointed down on a box for her to sleep in and she did quite well there.

But yesterday she went outside for a while and then left for parts unknown.  Rick and Kris did several walk-abouts through the bush, but no sign of her.  We thought maybe she went back to the shop.  However, Kris checked the shop around 11 last nite - no cat. 

So, we were all very concerned but not much to be done - we went to bed leaving the garage open and the heat lamp on.  Kris however, didn`t go to bed, he suited up and went for  midnight walk-about through the bush - and found her. He said she ran right to him - like she was just waiting for him to come and get her.

This morning, Rick and I decided to bring her inside (this is how it happens, you know......)  So, she`s now even MORE comfortable in the laundry room off the kitchen.  And even though we leave the door open to the rest of the house - she seems quite content to stay in there.  She`s pretty cautious around the other cats - as they are around her.  But so far no fireworks.

We`ll keep her until we can find her a good home.....I guess....she`s not going back to the shop.

She`s very quiet and sweet and friendly - I think she would suit a house with no other cats (we don`t exactly qualify)  So we`ll keep trying to find her a place.

a tail of two tabbies

Here are our two pretty tabby cats - Missy in the penthouse suite and Lucy looking up at her.  Missy had been spending more time downstairs with us since we got this basket/house - she usually lies in the lower level and I think that makes her feel secure - she's always wary of the other cats.

Weather has been COLD!!!  It was minus 27 last nite - very cold, indeed. And if you've been following my blog, you will remember I mentioned a stray cat that Kris was taking care of at his work. She just hangs out at the shop, sleeping under an old bus and Kris feeds her.   Well, last nite, we decided she couldn't be left out in this cold - so.....you can probably guess where this is going....we sent Kris down to bring her home.  sigh

For now we have set her up with a nice bed/box in the garage with a heat lamp over top which does a great job of keeping her little area very warm and let's her sort of settle in - the other cats freak her out and vice versa - so we'll take baby steps.  At least she's warm and dry and appears to be quite content.  We're in and out of the garage all the time, so she's got company too.

Meanwhile, we continue to try to find a home for her - she is an older cat, I'm sure - I'd say 5 or 6 years old - obviously someone's pet at one time - she immediately used the litter box, so she's house trained.  Very friendly! 

Tonite is supposed to be a bit warmer and then getting cold for about a week - brrrrrrr. 

....and more snow....

so - still getting quite a bit of snow - not as much as Ottawa, I guess, but more than we've had by this time of year for several years!

Had a good Christmas - Jame and Julie came out around noon and we had a nice time exchanging gifts and visting with them.  We had lots of treats and as if we didn't have more than enough, Kris brought home a huge tray of cookies and squares from a gal he works with.  We did manage to make a pretty good dint in them.  Traditional turkey dinner with Rick's home made meat pie too.  Lots of leftovers to send back with Jamie and Julie too - which hopefully they enjoyed.

We did hit a couple of stores on Boxing Day - I specifically wanted a purse at Mark's which was marked down from $39 to $16.  I also wanted to get another set of Christmas dishes - I had picked up a set of 16 at Canadian Tire just before Christmas.  I decided I liked them so much, I wanted to get 4 more place settings - but neither the Renfrew or Pembroke store had any more.  I'll try again next year or just order some through Sears as they carry them to  - much more expensive though!!!

So another Christmas in the books and soon another year gone by too - where does the time go????

christmas morning (huh...afternoon) Jamie, Rick and Julie

 

and

 

snow heavy trees on Magnesium Road

 

White Christmas and then some....

Well, we got a big dump of snow over the last couple of days - ensuring that we will, after all, have a nice white Christmas! 

We had our annual potluck lunch at the office yesterday - very nice - LOTS of good food and treats!  There was a nice taco/rice concoction that I will have to get a recipe for!  And to finish off a cranberry cheese cake!  too much food - but all very good. 

After our lunch, I drew up an offer on a house (yup, real estate still carries on) and then a quick stop at the grocery store for our turkey and a few last minute items.  Drive home was nasty with heavy snow and slushy roads - but at least most drivers were adjusting their driving accordingly - we were able to take our time.  In spite the weather and poor  road conditions, I didn't hear of any accidents, so that's good.

We woke up last night around 2:30 to discover the power had gone off.  It's funny, even asleep, we seem to be aware when the power goes off!   The pellet stove needs power to run the auger and fans, so Rick had to shut it down - but it didn't get that cold and the electricity actually came back on in a couple of hours - so not at all  an inconvenience.  When I looked at the Hydro One website it showed lots of folks without power most still during the day, so we were very lucky to only lose it for a couple of hours during the night!

Kris and Rick took turns cleaning the laneway this morning - Rick also did the laneways for a couple of neighbours.  He finds the job sooooo much easier with the Kubota tractor compared with the snow-blower he did it with for years.  I just stay inside and watch!  Here is Kris on the tractor

 

LOTS OF SNOW!!

 

LUCY HAVING A NAP IN COMFORT

 

 

 

We're still looking for someone to take the cat that Kris is looking after at the shop at his work - we'd take her but that would be #6 and I just don't think we can handle six cats.

 

 

this is her - if anyone knows of a home - she's very talkative and friendly - we'll even deliver!



 

 

decorating DONE!

We spent most of the day setting up my Christmas village, the tree in the dining room and the "main" tree in the living room.  Whew!   As usual some of the strings of lights wouldn't work so off to Canadian Tire in Pembroke for some new lights and a few other Christmas-y things.  I think we're done - except for the tidying up.

Had a great visit with our friends Pam and Terry Ellott - they came to town on Wednesday and stayed until Friday when they were off to Sudbury and then home to Elliott Lake.  It's always wonderful to see them.  Thursday evening Pam and I went out to dinner with some other gals who used to work at Timminco Metals - we do try to keep in touch with each other.

I'm now officially on Skype - nice to talk face to face with someone and its FREE too!

I'm shopping around for some hand-made Christmas cards - guess I left it a bit late - I've found several nice ones on ebay, but I doubt if they would arrive in time for me to address and mail out.  I may try some local craft stores to see if I can track some down.

I'm also trying to find a home for a friendly female cat - mostly white with black and orange spots - she's another one of my son's strays that he is feeding at his work, but he is worried for her over the winter.  We're up to 5 cats at the moment and we just don't think we can take in another, so I'm being a bit of a pest trying to find her a good home.  I've even offered to have her spayed if someone will take her in!  Hopefully somebody will step forward.

That's about all that's new - we are sort of busy this week - Rick and I are both taking some courses (we have to keep up our credits to keep our real estate licence) on Wednesday in Pembroke and a couple final inspections later in the week.  I'm showing some houses tomorroe night - so we're busy enough for this time of year, I guess.  Maybe I'll squeeze in some Christmas shopping too!