More Rain, Morning Phone Calls & A Few Changes
I woke up and saw that it had been raining again. We seem to be getting our fair share of rain. My outdoor plants love it. But it seems to make Charlie cough more.
I have noticed in the past few days driving about that the leaves are turning a brighter shad of yellow and red and are starting to drift down to the ground.
I love this stage of fall. When the multi-colored leaves have listened to the call of nature and are floating to the ground. To watch them dance in the air as a wind gust begins to blow them around.
Halloween is past, and now everyone is looking toward Thanksgiving.
Christmas decor has been in the stores on the shelves since June or July. After awhile, to me, this gets to be a bit depressing. Like we’re trying to rush time with our pocket books. I want to be in the here and now. So I just avoid looking at the brimming aisles of Christmas merchandise.
For fall I purchased one sweater pumpkin for $6 and a sack of mini pumpkins and gourds from Trader Joe’s. That was the extent of my fall decor. I was pleased with scaling things back.
Come Christmas, I shall do more of the same. I do not plan to get out my Christmas stuff and dot holiday decor all over my apartment. Ivy would have a field day with it anyway.
I’m planning on decorating perhaps the dining table and coffee table, and that may pretty much be it. Simple and less is seeming better all the time.
The pineapple sage blooms sure are pretty. In the past I have cut back the plants earlier. But this year I’m taking a more relaxed approach.
I may just wait till the first frost and see how things look. I want to be able to see the fall season on my patio as long as I can.
I like the ornamental grass plumes waving in the breeze like wheat in a field. I may have more than one ornamental grass next year. I’ve learned to put them by themselves in one pot. Then there isn’t much upkeep.
The great thing about gardening is that you learn. Year by year you learn and adapt and change and improve.
I realized yesterday that I need to update the photos on the My Apartment page to reflect all the changes I’ve made. The new dining room table, etc.
I need to get on that. I need to switch out a lot of photos.
Speaking of the dining table, the other day I was sitting at the table eating a meal and saw that the mirror on the wall was leaning out. That’s a really heavy mirror I bought at a consignment shop in Tyler, Texas. But it was obviously starting to pull the nails out of the wall.
In order to avoid disaster, I took it down and put up my cow canvas. I just love this particular cow canvas. The great thing about canvas paintings are that they are so lightweight.
This one is my favorite. I love the contrast of the light-colored cow against the dark background. It is kind of a “moody” painting.
I just called the apartment manager and talked to her about the dog in the rain situation I told you about Saturday night. She said the apartment wasn’t right behind me, that the single man still lives there at the end. Thank goodness.
But it is the unit behind my new next door neighbor. So I got it wrong. I told her they were moving in a dining table and chairs, so I just assumed they were moving in. But she said no, they’ve been there a little while.
It was dark and pouring rain as I was walking door to door, so I guess I didn’t count the units correctly.
She said it is a young couple with a baby and obviously, the dog. She was not happy that the dog was left on the patio. Much less in the cold and rain. She said she sure hope they treated the baby better. And that she would talk to him.
Goodness, why do people take in pets and then put them outside and leave them there? If they’re not taking in a pet to be part of the family, really what is the point?
I noticed yesterday that little Miss Ivy Lou has figured out how to get on top of her scratching post to explore. Which just means I need to move it away from furniture.
Charlie Ross looks on. He must think she’s some sort of acrobat as she examines everything in this apartment from different viewpoints and heights. Meanwhile he stays next to Mama.
Ivy is still carrying that red and white curtain tie around like it’s her security blanket.
I just called the vet and told him that Charlie is still coughing and doesn’t seem to be urinating much more with the diuretic. So now he told me to give it to him twice per day.
If it doesn’t get the fluid off his lungs with the second dose per day, the vet said we might have to add an additional medication.
I started reading “Tear Me Apart” over the weekend and am really intrigued with this book. What a plot!
Here is the Goodreads summary…
One moment will change their lives forever…
Competitive skier Mindy Wright is a superstar in the making until a spectacular downhill crash threatens not just her racing career but her life. During surgery, doctors discover she’s suffering from a severe form of leukemia, and a stem cell transplant is her only hope. But when her parents are tested, a frightening truth emerges. Mindy is not their daughter.
The race to save Mindy’s life means unraveling years of lies. Was she accidentally switched at birth or is there something more sinister at play? The search for the truth will tear a family apart…and someone is going to deadly extremes to protect the family’s deepest secrets.
***
I’m about 300 pages into this book, and I still can’t figure out exactly what is what with the characters and plot.
Just when I think I’ve got some of it figured out, who this person or that person is from the past whose name has not yet been unveiled, I decide I am wrong.
I am excited to see how this book ends.
Well, I have my Monday morning phone calls out of the way and given you my daily news, so I’d better get on with my day. Looks like it’s going to be rainy and overcast.
It’s been raining here for days. It’s so dreary and depressing, especially with the time change and it getting dark at 4:30 now. Love the art work in your house, especially the three canvas pieces above your table. Poor Charlie…it’s so stressful and worrisome with taking care of our older pets. My Zippo isn’t doing well. I think I’ll do a blog post about it.
Your home looks so cozy to me, Brenda!
Wow, instead of Ivy Lou her name should be Ivy Houdini! It’s amazing the spots she can get herself into. I hope Charlie gets to feeling better soon. Thanks for an interesting post.
Your cat sounds like a total . pain in the ass I miss your old blog much more intresting. Why put yourself through all that for what a
Cat. Yuck. You want your blog to earn money for you . Then stop with the stupid cat shit..
Brenda, I hope you get a good laugh, as I did, out of this comment from Kristine. LOL Very entertaining what people choose to say!
Please don’t take it seriously. Just laugh and continue on blogging just like you do each day. There are plenty of us who enjoy reading your blog on a daily basis. Just continue to write about your everyday life and whatever makes you happy. If it’s not someone else’s cup of tea, they have the choice to just move on to whatever entertains them. People never cease to surprise me!!
Like you, I’m enjoying all of the fall color this year. It normally doesn’t happen down here…we go from green trees to bare trees! We’ve had an unusual amount of rain lately, but it has brought the cooler temps, so I love it! Love the photos! Your photos are always so great! Love and hugs!
I’ve just spent the last little while reading all the delightful Ivy Lou posts! Oh, my, it must be so exciting to be Ivy, and just know that something good is always about to happen! I so enjoy your delight in her. My, what shenanigans! And the pumpkin stem, the curtain tie-back, the plastic baggie, the bug killing and playing-with and -eating.
And the paper towel stealing! My daughter has a male cat who is the same color as Ivy…..like her, he is so attentive and smart! We finally came to an agreement that anything hanging over the edge of the kitchen counter is fair game for him, be it a bag of baking soda, a towel, or a package of bacon!
Brenda, your love and kindness to your furry family members has always been a wonderful thing to read about.
Oh, and I have songs for each of mine, too!
Dear Brenda,
Even though I don’t comment every day, I always read your blog every day. Ivy is a delight to watch and she has beautiful markings. Love watching Charlie interact with Ivy and that he will let you take his picture after all these years. Your cow pictures are so neat looking and your home always looks cheerful and cozy. The book you are reading sounds very interesting. Will see if I can get it at the library. I enjoy your daily posts so much and you tell it like it is. Been reading your blog since you were in Texas and have followed you ever since. I wished I had your writing skills and your knowledge of words. You and your babies have always made my day a little brighter.
I think Ivy is Houdini reincarnated! lol Sooo funny all the antics she gets up to for her audience. lol
I hope Charlie’s cough clears up. Poor pup.
Love the cow picture…have always loved it.
Have a great week, Brenda.
I had to laugh when I saw the picture of Ivy, she is so inquisitive, when there is a will, she finds a way. Looks like Charlie thinks “What Next”..Praying that Charlie’s cough gets better, when you increase the medicine, and I’m glad your landlord will talk to the people with the dog…and tell them pets should be keep in the house…Keep our fingers crossed for that..Thanks again for the photos today, I always enjoy them so much!!!
Never a dull moment with Ivy. Hope Charlie is doing better on his water pills.
I think you should call the ASPCA on that couple with leaving the dog outside like that in the cold and rain and no shelter. That is terrible. I cannot stand when people do things like this to animals.
Have a good week.
Kris
I love the cow picture, they are such beautiful animals. Ivy is quite the busy bee isn’t she and Charlie is fascinated by her explorations. I’m so glad she is pure entertainment for the little guy. Atlanta has rain scheduled for the whole week; yuck. Enjoy your Monday afternoon with the babies and I hope Charlie’s cough improves.
Carol and Molly
xoxoxo
Ivy is trouble with a capital T! ?
That picture is too funny…smart kitten!
Charlie is thinking,”I’ll just stay on the couch so she doesn’t get me in trouble!” ?
It was suppose to be in the 50’s today, but it’s cold and damp instead. Their was frost on my windows of my car last night, when I took my dog out. He peed fast and was back on the porch trying to open the door himself b4 I could. ?
My dog gets creeped out at night, since he saw a porcupine in the summer! It’s long gone now though! Whew! It made a weird noise and smelled gross! It ate all my berries, so that berry bush will be torn out. I don’t want my dog to get quills in his face! I’m not taking any chances! ?
Have a great day Brenda with your pet babies! ??
Good afternoon to you,
It sounds like a busy morning! Ivy makes me laugh at her antics and Charlies’ face as he looks on is precious.
I hope that the dog in the other unit is not left out in the snow and cold this winter? Hopefully the manager speaking to them will set things right.
IT is a rainy day here as well and as I type this my cardinals are keeping me company eating on the table near my window.
Take care
That Ivy sure is a smart little cookie! She must entertain you to no end with her antics, what a little crackpot she is!