The kittens

The other night I had to close my kittens out of my office as I could not get anything done on the computer. They were either sitting right in front of the screen, following the mouse/letters &/or cards or running a muck in all my "stuff" in the office that I still don't have control of. I felt bad, but as you've seen from prior posts, they do not let me get much done smack dab in front of the screen. They are leaning the "lay down" command that Kelly understood so well!

After a while I left the office to go have dinner with Tim. Dinner was over, we cleaned up and were watching TV, no kittens?! We called and they did not come, I looked in their usual sleeping places, no kittens. I could not find them, so I went upstairs and I had left the office door open. I went in the office to find my 2 sweet kittens sound asleep together on the seat of my chair. Too cute!

Life is good with Kittens in the house!

Easter 2011

My sister hit it out of the park this year for Easter. Kate has become quite the hostess with the mostest. She had the 6 of our shrinking little family over on Easter Sunday for brunch at 1pm. (Mom, Kate, Garry, Karen, Tim and I)

Her table was adorned with a mirror with crocus she had started 2 weeks prior to the event and ringed with all her eggs, both new and old. Each place had a mini bouquet spring flowers from her yard. She has Aunt Frannie's Iris dishes that make the table very special to Mom and perfect for an Easter event.







Tim and I were a little late as the beach holiday traffic hung us up. Garry went to get Mom and Karen arrived with her very pregnant 3 pound doglet. (My Smokey kitten is 6 lbs to give you an idea of how small this dog is) She is having a litter of unplanned puppies and her little mother is quite uncomfortable at this point, 4 for sure and maybe 6! She looks like a balloon with sewn on legs!

Kate made ham, yummy scalloped potatoes, cooked fresh green beans and carrots, deviled eggs and I added in the Mom broccoli salad. She borrowed my bundt cake pan and made yummy warm gooey buns! Kate had Easter baskets for the adults too. I will admit something in me is thrilled with an Easter basket. Although I had asked Tim if he wanted a basket and he said NO. So I felt off the hook. I must say I was so happy to have one to share with him. He ate all the reses peanut butter eggs and cups, but I still love him!

A lovey meal for sure. We all had a wonderful visit and were home in plenty of time to relax to get ready for the week.

Gardening, Kitten help!

HUM! How can I spend so much time in the yard and get so little done. Oh, yes. Spend too much time sitting and recovering from work I am doing. But it is good to be outside and I have a woodpecker that I love to find in the tree or on the telephone pole, silly wood pecker. I did not think telephone poles ever rotted, but he is trying very diligently to get into the top 12 inches of the one in my front yard.

Tim went to Costco today as we ready for the family of 6. Thank heaven I have an idea of what they eat. This is going to be fun, I just hope I can keep them entertained for 10 days.


The shutter people are scheduled to come for the guest room and Tim's office.


Tim has 2 tentative interviews next week! Wahoooo. I say practice practice practice till you find the perfect job for you! Interviewing is hard, and then you have to wait more.



I think my kitten is in heat again. I am just glad that means she is NOT PG! She goes on Monday for the fixin.


She has been helping me tonight on the computer. She at least will lay down for Oprah!

Mostly she sits right in front of the screen and tries to watch the mouse go. I try to make her think it's gone around the back, that only lasts as long as it takes her to walk back there and see it is not there, but I can get a lot done in that brief interlude.

I've put her outside the office.....she is making me nutso!

I think she misses Sylvester....for more than one reason. I just miss his personality!

April is wonderful

The moon this month is amazing. Actually better to me than the big hype last month. It has been a huge orange orb in the night sky lighting my way home. I've been on a work marathon, up most of the night Saturday and worked about 6 hours Sunday. Light day Monday and back on call tonight. Hopefully it will be a quiet one....but sure as I type this the phone will ring.

Tim is busy with his full time job of finding a job. We will take any and all leads to get him to his goal of a job he will enjoy and is qualified to do. Today it was one at Navy Federal. He has an interview on Tuesday next week, this from a resume sent out over a month ago. So response is slow, and we will be patient.

The daffodils are in full bloom, the grape hyacinths are here, and my red tulips are up and reminding me of my Dad every time I come in and out of the house. My cherry tree came and went far to fast this year, may be time for a dogwood out front too.

Grape Hyacinths are so cute and such happy little clumps of purple.


Daffodils and red tulips in the back ..Hi Dad!

Hostas from Mom's yard. I love these little ones.

And these are just special.

Tim and I are busy little bees getting ready for Mindy and her lovely family of 5 to be here for 10 days. I am sure I'll be totally exhausted after they are here, but will LOVE every minute of it. I, of course, have 20 things for them to do and only 10 days to do them! We'll see how far we get! Plus I am sure there are requests from them. Mostly it will be a blessing to have them here and celebrate Daniels graduation with his Master's degree from UMUC!

Sylvester has been at Moms for the past 2 weeks as Miss Smokey has gone into heat and we really do not need any unplanned kittens in this house. She is coming into her own of being quite the social puddy. She plays and loves her climbing tree and a new feather toy Tim bought her.

I am on pins and needles awaiting the arrival of Karen's unplanned puppies at her house. Her Chihuahua is due any day now with at LEAST 4 puppies, they must be as big as kittens when they are born as her "dog" is smaller than my adolescent kitten!

My office is still a clutter, I'll just have to close the door for company! That is life!

How can she be 35?

I remember the excitement with a bicentennial baby. A third for my brother and his wife. With 2 perfect boys I could not imagine who could follow such big shoes. And there she was.

Arminda Diane Kestner

A beauty, to become her Daddy's million dollar baby with her kissin' spot and her love of the 3 siblings to follow. A cherub from above and we were all in love immediately.

Pictures say a thousand words. I've found these and hope she will love seeing them as much as she knows we love her!

Happy 35th Birthday Mindy Kestner Grove, you mother of 4 yourself!

My helper Mom and puddy!

The day was perfect for a putter in my office. I've gotten 3 bags of paper OUT!
Found many things and am getting ahead of the bogged down Feng Shui going on in the office.

Mom came to help me today and she had her own little helper too! Love a good putter day.

Sylvester cannot help himself! Mom found some letters from her Dad about a house he wanted to build written to his mother when he was 12. I had them for the stamps. She was only slightly distraced reading them again. Mom helped organize my stamps and Christmas cards. All little steps toward my ultimate organized office.

My week of Saturdays AKA a week of home vacation

My week of Saturdays is already half way done and I've gotten so much done! Yea! Nothing like company coming for 10 days with 4 little ones to make you take a very different look at your home!

This week when doing my projects I usually have the help of this little fellow who is officially Sylvester but also known as: Busy, Cry baby, NO, Hey you, Love muffin and the cutest kitten in the world! He helps me type, sort, eat, and anything else he can think of to help! His favorite is to decide it is time to nap and try to nap ON me!

Then there is Miss Shy kitten who is officially Shadow, which is a good name for her, she likes to lurk in the shadows, but she is also a love when SHE wants to be and I also call her Sophie, love kitten, Belle and Sweetness. Mom thinks she does not exist, but she does, and hangs out with us quite often.

Tim is the King of list making and we are doing very well with all our goals for the week. We spent Monday at the beach doing outside yard work getting ready for Spring. The cherries are already in bloom out there and so pretty. Here we have tackled the TV room/addition which currently does not have a TV! We have been TVless for over 3 months......which would have usually prompted an immediate purchase of a new flat screen TV, but we are on hold till Tim gets a job and we have more money for such luxuries. We have 2 other tiny TV's and they work just fine. So in time, it will fill a big spot, just not yet!

In the mean time we've made a lovely place for it! SEE (below)! The empty table (which will also one day be a console) is where it will go and today we hung the pictures and put the basket shelf up and moved the plants. We hung the stained glass too!

AND we finally hung the platters we bought in 2004 on our honeymoon. LOVE to have company!

So, bring on May and Mindy and her klan! We will be ready! Now to figure out where to put the 2 futons for the 4 children to sleep on so they won't freak out by not being on the same level as their parents.........but that involves my office/clutter space. BUT I am working on that too! :)

Love a week of Saturdays.