Right smart a fer piece...

It's that time of year for the Cousins to gather with the whole dang family.

We tend to "scare up" all of the usual suspects:
relatives, shirt-tail relatives, in-laws, outlaws, and people who wish they were related.

And, believe it or not, i look forward to seeing this bunch of hooligans again.

We will meet at the "home town" for visiting, card-playing, storytelling, laughing,

and for meeting new family members.

There will be taco soup waiting for us on the first night.

On Saturday afternoon, the big potluck will be spread over long tables
in the clubhouse.

One of the Cousins usually makes Grandma's recipe for "cabbage cigars".

One of the Aunts can be counted on to make the family favorite, "West Virginia green beans".

It seems like every year, someone has a new recipe to try on us.


Fried chicken, baked ham ....
fresh fruit, a colorful array of salads ...



And then ... there is a whole table just for desserts!
Ya gotta love it!

My favorite part is sitting down with my dear Aunts and Uncles.
I love to hear the remembrances of their lives.
Some of the best stories have been told to us since we were children.
I treasure the moments that i have spent with each one
of my father's brothers and sisters.
The spouses of these brothers and sisters are truly special folks, as well.
They have led interesting lives and, one might say,
that the spouses have enriched the lives of all of us.

Some folks have asked how far i have to travel to reach the family campout.
I would have to respond in the words of my great-grandma:
"It's right smart a fer piece."

But it is worth every mile to me.

Thank the Lord for Farmers and Mini Coopers

The Farmers' Market opens early on Saturday mornings

during the growing season.

My girlfriend and i spent a busy morning at the Farmers' Market.
We procured some pretty tasty-looking seasonal veggies:

small onions, just cut;
zucchini squash, just right for grilling;


baby carrots, pulled that morning;

red peppers, smelling sweet and looking shiny;
and the last cutting of the fresh asparagus.

We started the morning by planning our attack of the merchants
and their wares over an iced latte -
it being quite warm, already, at 9:30 am.

We determined that it would be prudent to hit the bakery booth early on,
since last time, we missed out on "the best stuff".

My girlfriend suggested that we tell the bakery staff, that, in the future,
they should plan to bring more of "the best stuff",
since they always run out early in the day.

We decided, however, to make it over to the booth a bit earlier on our quest
and we were prepared to push and shove other shoppers out of our way
if there appeared to be a shortage of "the best stuff".

I reminded my friend that one of our best ploys of the previous season
of the Farmers' Market was to bring along my assistant, Rory.

Rory loves to meet new people, and, let's face it, she is adorable.
While Rory and i distracted the shoppers at the head of the line,
my girlfriend quietly eased herself into the space at the counter.

Hey, i know it sounds like a dirty, rotten trick -
but you need to try this bakery's "best stuff"!
Anyway, our ploy worked, and none of the other shoppers
were even aware of what happened.

Well, we did not have Rory with us on this day,
but we were resolved to bring her next time.

We grabbed up our lattes and dashed down to the bakery counter,
where the line was short and the supply of "the best stuff" was even shorter.

We were able to snatch up a couple of our favorites,
without pushing or shoving anyone,
although one reeaaalllly slow woman reeeaaaalllly tested my patience.

With great sighs of relief, we proceeded down the row of booths,
filling our canvas bags with some of the best looking products of the early season.

My girlfriend bought some lavender plants
and i bought some homemade puppy biscuits
for the aforementioned Rory and her "homeys".
A couple of stops to say "howdy" to friends, and, we were done.

One might conclude that my girlfriend and i attend
the Farmers' Market just for the amusement of it.
But, oh no; there is a grand purpose for this particular trip to the market...


We need supplies.
We are going "Girl Camping"!
We are leaving our husbands at home to work.

We are celebrating the first days of summer -
-we will eat girl food
- we will talk girl talk
-we will drink girl drinks
-we will do whatever the girl in us wants to.

There are 3 requirements for "Girl Camping":
1. Refrigeration
2. Blender
3. Microwave

At first my girlfriend and i discussed the possibility of camping near Leavenworth.

But that seemed like too much work and a long drive.
Besides, this was the maiden voyage of the summer
and we didnt want to spend our time driving and stuff.
I know that it isnt that tough,
but we decided to stay closer to home.
Girls can do that - you know - change their minds.

We decided to camp at a lovely park on the Snake River.
We planned simple meals, simple accommodations,
simple projects, simple magazines to read,
and we planned complex, complicated, blended drinks.

Of course, alcohol is forbidden in this park,
so we decided that the rule meant that we would have to be discreet.
They didnt really mean that "we" couldnt have our blended drinks.
That would just be wrong - and mean.

We talked about going to town for an afternoon,
but once we got settled in,all we wanted to do was watch the river go by.

This park has another funny rule:
-we could park as many vehicles in our spot as could fit;
but no wheels can touch any blade of grass.
My girlfriend had driven her mini cooper to the park in case we wanted to go to town.
The rules say that if we park the mini cooper in an adjacent (empty) spot,
we have to pay to rent the space.
We could, conversely, park the mini at the complete opposite end of the park,

near the boat launch and the office.

Neither of us was inclined to take what amounted to a 50 mile hike
to park the mini and then retrieve it when we needed it.

We studied on the situation for a few minutes.
We knew that we could circumvent these inconvenient rules
if we put our heads together.
Let's just say that we have done such things
in previous and similar situations.

It didnt take very long and we came up with this plan:

We backed the trailer in as far back into the space as we could.
We carefully "eyeballed" the remaining space
and we were sure that if we parked the mini cooper
in a perpendicular position,
it would just fit on the apron of the parking strip
and would be completely off the roadway.

I stood next to the suburban and close to the open window of the mini
to give direction to my girlfriend behind the wheel.
With my judgment of distance and angle and with my girlfriend's
expertise in maneuvering her vehicle,
we were able to make good use of every available inch.

This finite parking was completely in just 3 passes.
As you can see, one could not slip a grasshopper's leg in between the 2 vehicles.

The park hostess stopped by to admire our parking capability.
She was quite impressed.
Later that day, she brought another park official by our way to marvel at the scene.

My girlfriend and i were pretty nonchalant about the whole situation.

Apparently, these people, who make these "special park rules",
are not prepared to deal with a couple of "broads" like us!
They can make all the silly rules they want;
We will find a way around the rule and it is no big deal.
They just dont know with whom they are dealing!

After all - this is Girl Camping.

"The love for all living creatures is the noblest attribute of man." ~Charles Darwin

There are a few things about people, in this world, that i will never understand.

*****************************************************

My girlfriend and i look forward to summertime.
We both have busy year-round schedules,
but, in the summer, we make time for doing things together.

We like to meet at a reasonable hour in the morning
to head out to some shop we havent been to lately;
we enjoy making a Costco stop;
we visit galleries;
we locate attractions that are new or novel;

we have lunch in places we dont often frequent;
and we scout out a winery here or there.
(There are scads of wineries we still havent visited.)

Every once in a while, we find some real treasures.

Such was the case a few days ago.
We had a great outing - we even ran some errands
that our husbands wanted us to do!

We had a nice lunch at a cute little cafe, which was new to us.
We made a quick stop at the Big R to pick up some beet pulp for the yellow pony.
Then it was time to head home.

When we reached my home, we started to transfer her treasures
from my town car, to her mini cooper.

She had just washed it and the mini was as bright and shiny
as a new nickel in the sunshine.
I remarked that it probably didnt even take 10 minutes
with a small rag to wash it.
and she probably didnt even have to move her feet -
she could just wash the whole car while standing in one place.

Washing my town car takes a little more than 10 minutes,
but only if it there is a crew of 3 or 4 teenagers tackling the job.

About that time, my girlfriend said "Shush".
"I think i hear something".

I thought, "fine - I'll be quiet about washing your smelly old car."
But then i heard something also.

It was a meow - definitely a meow.
And i thought,

"that isnt Fabio's meow - it isnt "whiny" enough."
(Yes, Fabio, i said "whiny" - you really sound that way some times!)

And the meow was definitely outside, while Fabio's domain is in the house.

I suggested that the sound came from one of our huge bushes.

Another meow and we both went over to see if we could see anything.
As we approached the bush, the cat made a big hissing sound.
I said that the cat should make up its mind - did it want us to help it or not?

My girlfriend pulled some of the branches of the bush,
but neither of us could see anything.

Not knowing what to do, we left it alone.

That night, i asked my husband, Honey Lips, to check on the cat in the morning.
Honey Lips is a good sport and he said he would.
The next morning, he did check on the bush and the cat,
but he didnt see anything or hear anything.

This is a bush that my mother planted in 1962.
In 1962, the bush was just a few sticks about 18 inches in length.
Now, it is 15 feet high and about 25 feet in diameter.
The sticks that now form the branches of the bush have grown quite tall.
The bush is much taller than my son's basketball hoop.

The branches have intertwined themselves as they grew,
to the point where they are thickly woven
and nearly impassable by anything of any size..

Late that afternoon, Honey Lips was moving sprinklers and he heard a meow.
He came into the house and said that he needed me to help him;
i was to look in as he was tearing branches out to see if i could spot the cat.

Honey Lips started clipping away at the lower branches with the pruners.
He cut a tunnel that he could crawl into to take a look.

We thought that we could see pretty far into the center of the bush,
but the cat was silent and we were not sure what direction to continue.
I suggested that we make another tunnel from the other side,
because it was so dark inside.

We went around to the other side and HL started pruning away.
He stopped and said this would take forever.
He went to the garage and the next thing i hear is the chainsaw.
He looked at me and i looked at him and i said,
"The cat appears to have been in the bush for several days -
it must be stuck or too afraid to come out.
I dont want to go to bed tonight knowing that it is stuck in there
and suffering.
Cut the bush out - do as much as you need to."

So cut, he did.

He cut on the 2nd tunnel and he went back and cut on the 1st tunnel again.

Then the cat meowed.
The sound was off to our left.
So HL started the 3rd tunnel.

I was trying to get the cat to meow again.
HL cut deeper and deeper into the bush
and i couldnt believe that we couldnt see any cat or any movement.

I went into the house and put Stella, our Yorkie-poo, on a leash.

I thought i would have HL take Stella into the tunnel to see if she could locate the cat.
Stella is a mighty hunter.
But we never actually tried that.

Just as HL stopped the chainsaw, we heard the meow again.
HL said he was afraid that he would saw the cat in half with the saw.
He reached for the pruners and crawled deep into the tunnel,
chopping away.
We had been at this for 2 and 1/2 hours!

I took Stella back into the house and got an old towel
because i just knew we had to be getting close.

Finally, HL said the words i had been waiting to hear!
"I've got him!"
I said, "Here! wrap him in this towel in case he's frightened
and tries to scratch you."

I was expecting, based on the meow, a full-grown cat.
What HL wrapped in the towel was a very small black kitten.

HL said, "No wonder we couldnt see him, he's very small and very black."

Where in the Sam Hill did this tiny thing come from?
It is a heckuva a long way from our neighbor's house (or anything else) to this bush -
how did it get there?
And how did it get stuck in this bush?

The poor thing had been in there for days.
I got some water and touched its mouth with some drops on my finger,
but it wouldnt open its mouth.
I figured that it was too frightened.

The kitten was covered in dirt, but its eyes were bright and clear.
I snuggled it into the towel and located the small kennel
that we sometimes use for the "poos", Stella and Rory.

I put the kitten in there with a bowl of water and left it in the utility room
where it wouldnt be bothered by the other pets.
I checked on the kitten before i went to bed and i saw
that it had drunk most of the water.
I fixed a small bowl of bread crumbs and milk and left it for the night.

The next morning, the dish with the milk and bread had been licked clean.
I gave it some kitten chow and some water
and it crawled out of the towel to eat and drink hungrily.
I put my hand in to pet it and, at first it stiffened, then went on with its eating.

That night, i decided to see if i could wash the dirt off,
so i put on one glove in case it tried to scratch.
I was pleasantly surprised when the kitten accepted the lukewarn water
and seemed to be soothed by it.
The kitten really enjoyed being dried off with the clean towel and i sat down to caress it.
The kitten's fur was silky and, all things considered, it appeared to be in good health.
-Except that it seemed to drag one leg and the paw on that leg"knuckled under".

This kitten started to purr as i stroked it.
It was alert, looking around the room with its ears forward.
It was perfectly content and rolled over on its back when i stroked its tummy.
It was so relaxed that it stretched its front legs out and then played with my finger.
I figured that the kitten was about 8 weeks old,
and at that age, i wasnt sure of its gender.

I ended up holding and petting the kitten for hours that night.
I finally put it back into its clean kennel, leaving it more food and water.
The next day, i had several business matters to take care of in town.
I got home in the afternoon and called the vet to see if i could
bring the kitten in on an emergency basis.
The answer was yes, so i wrapped the little tyke in a towel and drove to the vet.

The kitten was a bit frightened, but i hugged it close to me and it didnt try to get away.
The vet, Joanna, examined the kitten closely and determined it to be female.
Joanna thought the bloated tummy might be because of worms or due to food and water deprivation during her ordeal in the bush.
She watched the kitten move and noticed that it couldnt hold up its tail.
She noted the leg that was being dragged and said that the kitten
might have a pinched sciatic nerve.
And i said, "That's just like me!"

Joanna said that she couldnt tell about damage to the pelvis and leg
without an x-ray.
I asked about the cost and she said for 2 views it would be over 90 dollars.
I thought "Holy Crap!", but i agreed to it because there was no fixing it
if there was no diagnosis.

So Joanna and the assistant took the kitten and i went to the waiting room.
About 20 minutes later, Joanna called me in to look at the x-rays.

On the screen, she pointed to the leg and it showed a complete fracture.
The bones were side by side.
Joanna said, "This is the leg the kitten was trying to walk on."
I had my fist in my mouth.
Joanna continued, "There appears to be no feeling in the other leg and the tail,
because the pelvic bone is pushed up against the spine."
She said, " i can put a little pin in that fractured leg,
but the surgery to the pelvis and spinal column would have to be done in Pullman
(the vet school) and it could cost up to $3000.
If the kitten doesnt have the surgery, it soon would lose control of its bowels
and would have to be euthanized.
If the kitten has the spinal surgery, chances are that relief would be temporary
and the kitten would have to be put to sleep anyway."

I told Joanna how the kitten fought to survive and how it must have dragged itself
to safety from some remote distance.
I told her how the little tyke purred through its pain as i washed it and dried it.

Me stroking; it purring; neither the kitten nor i knew
that it had no chance for healthy, happy life.

Joanna said that the kitten's injuries were consistant with being thrown out of a moving car
and i had already guessed that someone had dumped it off on us - let's just say that it has happened many times before with many other animals.
We have spent a bundle placing these abandoned animals at the Humane Society Shelter.

As much as i wanted to give this little survivor a chance,
i couldnt let it go through all these surgeries, just to see it finally suffer some more.
Also, i dont have $3000 laying around.
Joanna thought it best to put the kitten to sleep and it broke my heart, but i agreed.

A week later and this still haunts me.
This is a long story and i wont blame any of my readers if they just skim it,
but it has been cathartic for me to write about it.
I had the kitten for just a couple of days, and got really attached to it,
but that's not why it haunts me so.
I think that the irony of the whole situation struck a deep chord in me.
A tiny little spirit with a great will to survive...
-what made it meow so loudly?
-it must have been terribly frightened, but the final meows
from the center of the bush were made so that we could locate it.

-But in the end, it didnt matter that we even found the tiny black kitten at all,
because the kitten's fate had already been sealed by people that i just dont understand.

Some "firsts" for Rodeo Princess Gracie

My Angel: My Gracie.
My little bug is growing up waaaay too fast.
At 6.5 months, she sits up by herself, she crawls, she pulls herself up, and (sniff!), she stands up!
Apparently, she doesn't need us too much any more.

On this 4th of July weekend, little Gracie experienced some pretty cool milestones.
She attended her First Parade!

Sitting in the shade in her adorable green gingham sunsuit,
Gracie saw all of the usual elements of the parade:
Firetrucks, marching bands, old cars and floats.
She stood with her Mama and Daddy, Nana and Poppie
when the large group of veterans proudly presented Old Glory.
She loved the colors, the noise, and the action.
There were many ponies pointed out to her by Mama and Nana.
There were pony carts; there were children on tiny ponies;
there was one tiny girl (not much bigger than Gracie) on a huge draft pony;
there were real Rodeo Queens and Princesses riding ponies that carried
showy bouquets of flowers behind the cantle;
there were proud vaqueros on dancing horses that shined like new glass;
there were Indians with brightly colored blankets on their ponies;
there were cowboys swinging ropes over the heads of their ponies;
and one of the cowboys threw a lasso so large that his pony was completely encircled.

But with what was little Gracie most entranced?

-The ice cream cart on the sidewalk.
-And sucking on the various parts of her stroller.

Gracie is also learning to eat food with a spoon.

After one particular episode of Nana feeding Gracie her sweet potatoes,
Nana sent Gracie's Mama (who was at work) the following text:
"Feeding your daughter solid food is like loading a wheelbarrow with frogs.
Give me 15 minutes before you try to call me back -
have to "hose off" baby, baby bib, baby chair, dining table, and me."

I am not exaggerating when i say that the kid had sweet potatoes
all over her head and body.
At bath time, Gracie's Mama was a little surprised to find
a bit of sweet potato in Gracie's ear.
This was accomplished by her turning her head to look at something every time
i got the food near her mouth.

I dont know if she actually swallowed any of her lunch that day
- there is no proof of it.
But i would hope that she could get her nutrition in the same way
that plants and flowers get their nutrition
- through osmosis.