A bird’s eye view of Wichita Falls, Tx

I am currently grandkitty sitting in Wichita Falls, Tx while my daughter and son-in-law enjoy a little downtime at their cabin in the New Mexico mountains.

Samantha is such a sweet girl and no trouble to take care of. She sleeps most of the day and entertains herself a lot, but when she wants to be brushed, given a treat etc; she meows sweetly until I comply.

Hubby and I are enjoying the break from taking care of grandsons and have been pretty lazy while here. While he’s been watching Fox News I’ve been taking advantage of not being chained to my sewing machine and enjoying
some other activities that I’ve not had time for. I’ve updated my eBay page http://www.ebay.com/usr/bittygirl51, updated my Etsy page https://www.etsy.com/shop/LindasLikes?ref=hdr_shop_menu, viewed some of the Cratsy classes I’ve signed up for http://www.craftsy.com/quilting?_ct=wberqbdql-sqjuweho&_ctp=quilting and spent some time practicing hand embroidery stitches for the Crazy Quilt that I plan to make for myself.

In addition to the above I’ve enjoyed exploring the neighborhood here…

going for morning walks…

There are some beautiful homes in the neighborhood!! The first morning I walked I was worried I’d get lost so after I had walked for about 30 min. I started my GPS on my phone to find my way back home…thinking that I would still get my 1 hour walk in…LOL..NADA! I must have walked in a complete circle because I was just around the corner from the house and was home in about 5 minutes!!

So the next day I went the opposite direction…didn’t turn as many times…hoping that I would get farther away from the house…(I like to walk at least 3 miles or an hour) and I waited until I had walked about 40 min. before I turned my GPS on…

and I was still only 8 minutes away from the house and had only walked 2.3 miles! Geez! But I saw a ton of geese at the park..and of course there were plenty of signs of the season..

After my walk yesterday, hubby and I went out and about…we ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel, checked out an Antique Mall in a town about 15 miles from here http://www.antiquemalls.com/stores/13435.aspx
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Great place! Off the beaten path and reasonable prices! Then we went to Hobby Lobby so I could pick up some fabric and a few craft supplies while hubby browsed in Hastings. Since we’d had a Cracker Barrel breakfast we decided to go the the movie and then eat a late lunch…so we went to the 12:40 matinee of “The Judge”…I highly recommend. It was right up my alley. I love “dysfunctional family” “relationship” type movies..and it was excellent.

We made a stop back at the house to check on kitty and then went to Red Lobster for dinner. Two more stops and Hancock’s and Michael’s and we back at the house in plenty of time to watch Shark Tank. Love that show!

Today it’s off to do a little more antiquing and out for a burger…

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Our lil’ ginger punkin’s naps are getting shorter!!

In an effort to give poor little Jackson a longer nap, I spent a lot of time singing to him and rocking him this week!  Rock a Bye Baby, Jesus Loves Me, & You are My Sunshine are his favorites.

A sleeping Jackson

The poor little tyke does not like taking naps in the daytime!  He is an excellent sleeper at nighttime.  In fact mommy and daddy have a hard time keeping him up until 8 pm most nights…cause he’s ready for bed!  He usually sleeps until 5:30 or 6 am…sometimes longer!  But he is sure breaking Maw Maw & Paw Paw in during the day!  I think he’s afraid he’s gonna miss something!

He’s very CURIOUS….

and he loves exploring the house and seeing what he can get into.  He’s learned to pull on the knobs of the entertainment center and open the doors and drawers.  He’s also discovered that if he closes it on those same little fingers that it hurts!!  🙂  When he gets a hold of the bottom drawer and pulls it open (it’s heavy because it’s full of CD’s) he starts pulling himself up so he can peer in it to see what’s inside!  Paw Paw and I spend a lot of time throughout the day grabbing him by the ankles and pulling him back away from the entertainment center to try and divert his attention to all the toys.  LOL

He’s learned that loud sounds comes from that big black box, and that if no one sees him right away, he can crawl back in that corner next to the sofa and make that pretty lamp that sits on a pedestal end table WIGGLE and almost fall down!! “I’m not doing nothing, Maw Maw…I’m just looking around.”

He’s such a happy, smiley boy and loves to go for rides in the stroller.  Maw Maw definately gets  her exercise when Jackson’s around.  I go for an early morning 3.5 mile walk with friends before he arrives, and then we usually go for another 2 mile walk with the stroller at some point during the day.  I’m thankful for the cooler temperatures.  (Now it’s only 80 during the day instead of 100).

Jackson loves his puppy…

Loves going to the park and swinging (if those darn mosquitos would leave him alone!)

Loves playing on the floor and reaching up at things.  He’s not trying to pull himself up yet, but he is trying to crawl.

He gets around real good by scooting, but when he tries to crawl he gets up on all four and rocks back and forth.  He’s also discovered that if he crawls into the entry way where there is NO CARPET, that if he rolls over he will bonk his little head! OUCH!

At 8 months old he’s eating three meals a day now, in addition to his bottles, but he also loves his little sippy cup!  He’s a good eater and Maw Maw loves feeding her little man!  Now, if he would just take a nap!  He is the exact opposite of his cousin, Kash.  3 yr. old Kash takes a good 2-3 hr. nap in the afternoon.  It used to be a nice break for me, when I wasn’t taking care of Jackson.  I’m afraid the days of Maw Maw getting a nap are long gone!  When Jackson first returned to us in late August he would take 30 min nap twice a day.  Now he’s down to about 10 min. 2-3 times a day.  By the time mommy arrives to pick him up at 4:30 he’s exhausted!

Needless to say we are looking forward to our little trip we will be taking to Wichita Falls, TX this next week.  We leave on Wed for some Grandkitty sitting and will return the following Tuesday.  Instead of tending to two grandsons we will be tending to one female feline named Samantha while her mommy and daddy get a little downtime in the New Mexico mountains.

 

 

 

 

I love dogs…but

Well, I went for my morning walk today as promised. I know why, now…but for some reason before leaving the house, I felt impressed to take my pool cue and my pepper spray (mace?). They are my protection from neighborhood dogs.

I love dogs and would love to have one, but my husband is allergic to pets in the house. Needless to say, I live in a “petless home”. But, I digress.

Why oh why do people let their dogs out in the morning when they have no fence around their property and allow them to run loose and unchained?

I’m also not afraid of dogs in most scenerios…but strange dogs, that I do not know? Well, that’s another story. I have a “healthy amount of caution” around strange dogs for I do not know their temeperment. It also doesn’t matter the size of that dog!

Now, I also know that most dogs will protect what they consider theirs. Whether it’s their property, their family, etc;

So, suffice it to say I was thankful this morning when a small bulldog

he looked like this, only less friendly

came running across the street and ferociously snarled, barked and charged me – that I had my protection with me. My pepper spray did not work on first try, but on the second and third try it did. He didn’t give up until I poked my “stick” at him and sprayed him a fourth time when he backed away sneezing.

My husband calls them “ankle biters”…well, my ankles would have definately been bleeding if I would have let him at me!!

They say that a good walk in the morning is a good cardiovascular work out and gets your heart pumping good. I don’t think this is what they meant.

So, Rob & Tanya if you are reading this – I need a new pepper spray/mace (I think I’ve used this one up) since this is the second time I’ve been charged by a dog in the neighborhood.

Now, do you see why I am sometimes reluctant to go for a walk in the neighborhood? Not sure what could have happened, if I had been pushing Kash in the stroller and not brought my protection with me.

Meet Samantha

caption id=”attachment_541″ align=”alignnone” width=”535″] RIP – Horse Snout[/caption]

This is Horse Snout aka “Pony”. She was my loveable, but “cattish” grandkitty. We lost her this year quite suddenly of a heart attack. My daughter and son-in-law were devastated to say the least. Although my husband and I aren’t cat lovers and never have been, we grew to love Pony. She was funny – especially so, when she “led” my husband head first right into my daughter’s sliding plate glass door. But, she was still a CAT. She was also an outdoor cat – so when we visited we seldom saw her.

The grief was so great that my daughter felt the only way for she and her husband to heal was to find a new kitty to love. Enter Samantha…

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This is in the car on the way home from being rescued. They had been told that she was very “prissy” and would not tolerate another pet in the home, especially another cat. They discovered very quickly that Samantha loved her mommy’s quilt. The one that grandma (me) made for her this past Christmas.

So, my daughter Tanya asked if I would make Samantha a mini quilt just like hers. She wasn’t sure if it was the color or the fabric or my smell on the quilt – but she didn’t want to chance it! All I heard was “make it just like mine, mom”. So, using the scraps from the quilt I made my baby girl – I made this one for my girlie grandkitty. Isn’t she the most adoreable thing you’ve ever seen?

The irony in all this …is that I love this sweet kitty as if she were my own and I haven’t even had a chance to meet her yet! Unlike Pony, she is an “inside” kitty. From all that my daughter has shared, I’m of the mindset that Samantha thinks she’s a dog, even down to walking on a leash! She’s not stuck up or as independent as most cats and loves lots to cuddle! My daughter has included me in so many of the joyful times she’s experienced since Samantha joined their family that I can’t wait to meet her!

Unfortunately, we live 5 hours apart and lead very busy lives. So although I did get to see my daughter and son-in-law just last week in Fort Worth for dinner, meeting my lovely Samantha has had to be put on hold for awhile. Here’s a parting shot of Samantha on her quilt basking in the Texas sunshine.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my entry for the “Pets on Quilts” competition. Check it out at: http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?post=1424767893&group=0&frame_type=a&blog=3387541&link=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRwcm94eS5nb29nbGUuY29tL35yL0NyYWZ0eVNld2luZ1F1aWx0aW5nL34zL1lWbVluVERMMFE0L2ktd3JhcHBlZC11cC1pbi1teS1mYXZvcml0ZS1xdWlsdC5odG1s&frame=1&click=0&user=3409577

Kittys like quilts too, ya know!