Psychopath Kitty

Most cats are psycho, yes, I know. For those who love cats, you may not enjoy this post. Or maybe you will recognize your own crazy feline...

Every time I go out to weed - especially in the evenings - Tae-Bo comes up for a petting. Tae-Bo is so named because he is a fighter, not a lover. Especially of kids.

Seriously scarred and mangy cat

Bonnie has been attacked simply walking through the yard. Does she look like cat prey? She is a little bird-like, with how thin she is, perhaps. Hmm.

The birdie is "perching" on the swing

Anyway, out weeding again the other evening, and Tae-Bo comes up. Lays next to me. Lays in front of me, where I'm weeding. I give him a perfunctory pat, then move him. Again and again. Finally, I decide to actually pet the bugger.

See? I am NOT asking for this.

And he nips my shoulder, catching only my shirt. Hmm. A love nip? He still doesn't move, standing directly in front of me. So I pet him again. And he attacks.

Not kidding - totally went after my entire arm, with claws drawn and fangs bared. I now have a mark that looks related to a hypodermic needle "pinch". Ouch!

This is why I am not a cat lover. Cats have to reaffirm their ownership over their people. Sometimes by ignoring them. I'm okay with that. Sometimes by attacking them. Not so much okay with that. Bonnie pointed out that if a dog attacked me like that, we would have him put down. Again, hmm. Tae-Bo is a good mouser, though. I'll give him that.

Rock Hounding

First time I heard the term "Rock Hounding" was last Thursday.

Saturday the family went out to rock hound. Basically, that means we went to the middle of nowhere to dig for geodes. Those are the cool rocks that look like a rock but have crystals inside. Ooooh. The kids were super excited. The adults just wanted out of the house.

After an hour and a half of driving, thirty minutes of that on a dirt road, we got...a flat tire. Seems our trusty minivan didn't like the dirt roads.

Although the dirt road isn't pitted or anything - it's actually quite nice

A disappointed Jack eating applesauce beside the road.

The kids were disappointed. They headed up the nearest mountain while dear old dad changed the tire. Then he joined us on the mountain. Bonnie almost made it to the top. Malena didn't get very far, due to her whining about how our day was ruined. Personally, I was glad we didn't have to dig in the heat (it was pretty warm on Saturday). And I got these beautiful pictures!

At least we broke down in a beautiful spot. And we made it home safely. Honestly, much better than staying at home for another boring day of cleaning!

Checkerboard Yard

This is not on purpose, folks...

We have decided we are not down with the dark, reddish-brown mulch with the light-colored house. There's also the slight problem of these bottom beds...there is black plastic (not permeated, just plastic) under that mulch. Whenever it rains, all the mulch ends up in a pond at the base of the yard. Such a pain to move back into the beds...again, and again, and again.

Doug had quite a bit of leftover landscaping fabric, taken from beds where I'm having groundcover do the work of landscaping fabric. So he took out the plastic from the bottom half of one bed, replaced it with fabric, and laid a new color of mulch on top. So far, so good.

You can still see the plastic in the bed in front.

Then he decided to do another bed. But not the bed next to the first one. Effectively leaving a checkerboard. So we now have a funky yard.

Continuing the whole dual-mulch idea...

The two mulch colors are now interspersed all over the yard. That'll take a lot of mulching to even out. And after we get rid of the pink concrete (supposed to look like brick but not doing it), maybe our house won't look so orange.

Oh, you may ask, what's bloomin' this week? Not anything new. Just more tulips are opening up. I say "just", but I love, love, love tulips. Each one is a separate piece of joy. Have a great week, everyone!

No Bride, a Bathroom Door Instead

A month or so ago, I mentioned that my niece is getting married. She still is, no worries there, but she is not getting married in April. But we still have made progress for our (one and only) guest for this weekend!

Fanfare: a door for the downstairs bathroom!

Lowe's has these lovely pre-hung doors, so with that and a box of shims, Doug had this up in no time.

From the inside

From the outside...in the laundry room

We still need to add trim, because you can see around the door frame. It's impossible to see most of the bathroom, though (including the toilet), so privacy is pretty good. Well, better than before. And the doorknob locks. Yay!

And when my niece does get married (looking like June now), we'll be that much closer to a decent guest area, right?

Double Digits for #2

Malena has turned 10. It's been a wild ride for her...and for us...

As a newborn, in Benson, UT

As a one-year-old, in Mahwah, NJ

Terrible two's (pretty calm, actually) in New Canaan, CT

Bonnie, Collin and Malena in East Stroudsburg, PA - almost three!

Malena, Bonnie and Collin, still in PA - now she's four

Six in Sumter, SC

Seven, still in SC

Eight, at Disneyland (we were living in Logan, UT) with Snow White, Bonnie and Collin

Nine, ice fishing in Mantua, UT

                                                               

And 10. With balloons, a silly Jack behind her, and her best friend beside her.

Ah, Malena! I'm so glad you're in our family!

Thinking, Again, on a Fence

Our neighbor, due to the horse/child/chicken incident (again, no one was injured), decided to put up a fence. And he wasted no time at all getting it done.

Doug and I actually feel pretty badly that any incident involving our chickens (and/or children) requires someone to go to such work. Doug spent Friday afternoon and most of Saturday helping him put the fence together. And, of course, doing the male bonding thing of trading insults throughout the day.

Collin even got in on it - the neighbor commented that Collin was actually much faster than Doug. Especially since Doug was caught on several occasions removing boards. Must be because he's an engineer - it has to be perfect.

We were amazed at how finished the fence makes our yard look. And we are so grateful that we only have two sides left to fence! Doug likes the cedar look (me, I don't care what it looks like, I just want the kids contained). Since he likes it so much, he's really and truly looking at doing another side of the fence. We may have this done this year after all!