Jack

 Jack looks more scruffy/ old man now than he did then. He's around 20... and here is his life story...

Robb, our son, was managing a QT in northern Atlanta when he found a box of kittens behind the store. Only two survived.  A coworker  took one survivor and Robb took the other.

Jack lived a quiet single cat life in Atlanta until Robb was transferred to Tulsa ... where he continued to be the head of the house.

Then Robb was transferred to Belton ( Kansas City) to head the QT Kitchen facility... and decided Jack needed a companion. This was Tigger... a 7 week old orange kitten from Wayside Waifs .

When Robb was killed on I35 both cats moved into our house... a major change for all of us. 

We know Jack is coming to the end of his life. The vet  says he's doing as well as expected and while he sleeps a lot  he  still can tell Tigger off!

Another storm filled night

 We were lucky...we did have loads of thunderstorm warnings and some tornado warnings .. but all we had were thunderstorms, rain and some wind.

We did sit in front of the TV watching where the storms went and what type they were.... with some interruptions from the National Weather Service.

But the tornado watches were mostly north of the Missouri River.... we were ready to head downstairs to our "safe spot" if the sirens went off!!

Spent some time earlier in the day cutting out bears and working on an almost finished one...

Today is a sunny warm one..hot enough but not too hot. We headed out to Independence so that Bob could meet a man selling him a vintage ham radio. We sat in Quick Trip's parking late.. the man was late .. but the exchange of radio for cash finally  was completed.

On our way home we saw a sign for Vintage Bee and decided to go and take a look. It was in the basement of Queen Bee.. a place of craft booths. We toured Vintage Bee and managed to find our way out !! Not easy... but way too much used clothing for us!

Bob started our summertime lawn mowing this afternoon... front lawn... back and sides left for another time.

I spent time moving things around in my "workroom"  ... some decluttering and some readying for rug cleaning... 

Just about bedtime and Bob vacuumed first and is now cleaning the rugs. The older cat is about 20 and having way too many accidents ( vet says typical of old age) and we started  smelling CAT PEE when returning home after being gone...using special stuff in the rug cleaner... fingers crossed..

Odds and ends

 We're learning our way through the new dishwasher... cycles and efficient ways of loading. Boy is it quiet!

Our trash service took ALL the packing materials...Styrofoam and cardboard !! .. yesterday. Great to get it out of the garage..

Bob is readying his "stuff" for the "hambash" in Raytown this Saturday. This is part of his de-cluttering process. He's selling his old ham radio gear that he had collected over the last millennium... also repairing things that needed it. He's been a ham since he was in high school ( graduated hs in 1959). That's probably what led him into becoming an electrical/electronic engineer.

There's still a lot of that in his mind... I found him on his computer yesterday designing something!

The other day two of  my daughter's classes went on a field trip to the Missouri Dept of Conservation's Burr Oak which in in Blue Springs. The kids had a great time...today she went back after school with a folder full of "thank you notes" from the kids. The Burr Oak employees were stunned and delighted. They'd never received  any before.

My daughter made sure the kids followed proper writing guidelines and mentioned what they had liked best about the Burr Oak program and pictures if there was room!!  BTW.. these were 2nd and 3rd graders

The students don't write to big places such as the zoo or Science City but when someone comes to their classroom to give a program they do!!

  

Recuperation Day

I think we spent most of the day recuperating from getting the new dishwasher in place and connected...

Not that we didn't do some other things. Bob put his tools away. A door to cabinet next to the dishwasher needs to  be put back on. Bob took it off so that he could get the electrical, water and drain fittings.

It seems like every time he sat in the recliner he fell asleep and snored mightily. 

Took Jack ( gray striped elder cat) to the vet for his 6 month check up...Jack is old ( almost 20) and scruffy and sleeps a lot  but the vet says he is as expected but fine. Tonight Jack is very irritable -his shots hurt.

I read... worked on a bear.. dyed some fabric for another bear.. and cut out another bear.. Dinner was an easy peasy one - french toast, bacon and applesauce.

While Bob was at the vet I had a young man at the door. He was from Direct TV and seemed to want my neighbors on both sides. We don't have Direct TV and when he heard that he went into talking about how expensive it is. I told him we had Comcast/Xfinity and he wanted to know how much that cost. I'm sure he wanted to tell me that Direct TV was cheaper because he looked so disappointed when I told him I don't pay the bills so have no idea what it costs...picture him slowly going down our front steps and having to decide what to do next!!

 Bob is getting ready to run the dishwasher... still learning the new machine's ins and outs. 

Severe storm forecast

All of the weather news led to a very interesting day...Decided to grocery shop early just in case everyone else had the same idea!  It wasn't too bad but don't know what it was like later on.

After I put the groceries away Bob and I decided to make sure the deck  and grill were ready for the super high winds that were predicted... stacked chairs, turned tables upside down and so on.

Then we heard on Facebook that the school districts around us were closing early - lunchtime - and busing kids home. Then my teacher/daughter called to tell us her district was doing the same thing and she'd leave after the kids were on the bus..

Around 3.30 I decided to take a look at the weather channel to see what they were saying... Yes severe weather was on its way and was already  in Iowa, Wisconsin and northern Illinois.  

Then moved to the local tv stations. The weather people and their maps and radar were already on!!  Severe thunderstorms, tornado warnings, hail, heavy rain and high winds were on their way..

So prepared to go into our safe area...water, cell phones, my purse, his wallet, shoes... a sweater because the basement can be cold! By the time things had calmed down ( after 6pm) we did have thunder and lightening, sporadic heavy rain but nothing else. Some areas did have more and there was one tornado and loads of flooding...

Time to turn the tv off and have tunafish sandwiches and leftover potato salad... an easy peasy dinner  just in case! 

busy all day

 It seems like we were busy all day...first it was a trip to Target  for pills and cleaning supplies. Then to Ace Hardware to return plumbing supplies ( dishwasher stuff).

Home to work on getting the new dishwasher in  and I  washed dishes by hand...

Bob decided to paint the inside of the cabinet where the new dishwasher will go... found a new can of Kilz paint in the garage but no paint brushes. He must have left his stash of brushes at out daughter's house. So off he went to Ace again for brushes... then filled the car's gas tank and went to the library to return books and pick up more that were on hold...

Then it was time to paint...he struggled mightily on the floor ... I became his gofer...but  he managed and then figured out how to get up. Not much fun being old - Bob turns 85 on the first!

BTW both daughters think Bob should have had the dishwasher installed... but he is sure he can do it! And I don't think it was the cost...he just doesn't want to give up doing what he's always done!

In the midst of all that I chopped onions, celery and  shallots. Boiled thin skinned  potatoes for the first potato salad of the spring/summer season!! It was a success! More dishes to wash.

Bob and I have been struggling with my cell phone... something strange about storage.. It doesn't want to do things.  It is old -- 10 years old . Both daughters and a quilting friend think I should get a new one..we'll see.

 

Dishwasher..

Bob, with a little help from me, disconnected the old dishwasher and get it ready to be taken away. The new one has  arrived . Bob has a few things he wants to do before he puts the new one in place and connects the electricity and water and drain.  So dishes by hand for a bit!

This morning was gray and drab and it looked like rain... but it looks great now and the temperature has reached 81F !

The NY Times post cards are gone!!

Now the delivery men are gone.. the cats can be released and the furniture  we moved so they could bring the dishwasher in  can be put back!

Then severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches popped up on the TV....We ended up being lucky... just rain! Hail was nearby as was a tornado...