Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Surprise, Surprise

It isn't even 7:00 pm and I believe I could fall asleep right this very minute. Buddy is already napping but she has eaten a lot of her food today and a few helpings of treats with chill pill. Hey, maybe she is slipping stuff into my food when I am gone!

With the rest of the week's forecast being sleet or ice or snow or rain and with a beautiful sunny day, I took off for parts to the north. There is a tinge of pink among the trees as red bud trees are beginning to think about spring. No wildlife was seen today but four goats who might have escaped captivity were happily munching grass pretty close to the freeway. Several ridges with a northern exposure in TN had some snow but I didn't encounter anything like that today. So, off to Johnson City and first stop is Barnes and Noble...a coupon and gift cards! I hadn't planned on going to Academy and I went onto the Kroger but Lisa P told me Academy was having a huge clearance...so, you know I had to go. Didn't really find anything but it is always a fun stop. Instead of doing the Carabba's lunch, I went to Ole Guacamole. The one by us is more of a to go place but this is a regular restaurant. Ordered the shrimp tacos and chili con queso. It was all so good and even have leftovers. I had thought about going over to Roan Mountain but time was quickly getting away and so it was back home once again. Didn't see any goats this time.

An update on Riley. Sadly, she is going back to her feral mindset. She finally has a group to run with and isn't on her own anymore. The kiddos have embraced her since their mom is hither and thither and only shows up when she is hungry. The past few nights have been cool and rainy, even the warmth and comfort of a garage cannot compete against her natural inclination. She has gone back to running away when I am bringing food etc or doing other things that aren't related to cats. I called the vet office today to relinquish the surgery scheduled in case there was a waiting list. They told me to keep trying and if by tomorrow evening she still hadn't come in, to call then. I had felt so optimistic because we had just started doing the eye squint thing which is cat language for trust. Hopefully, she will come around tomorrow but it is looking doubtful as time passes. The good news with Buddy is she let me trim her nails today both front and back paws.
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Ah, the calm before the storm...with the forecast being more like a roller coaster with the ups and downs of lots of snow...no snow....lots of ice....minimal ice...rain. Well, the rain part has held steady in all the forecasts from the various weather sources. Rain for the rest of the week and some clearing is predicted on Sunday. With the weather being so uncertain, we rescheduled book club. I had read most of the book but skipped ahead and read the last few chapters. It turned out how I expected it to and the author used a lot of words and pages for angst that could have been reduced a tad. There were some good quotes and thoughts but there were also a lot of cutesy sayings that we could have all been spared, but then I am not a cutesy kind of person.

The window at the landing of our staircase gives some of the best views of the moon and last night the scene was especially spectacular. I should have gone outside with the camera but iPhone photos from inside the warm house made more sense to me than an artistic picture of the moon. Sometimes the pics off the phone look almost as if they have been painted in water colors. This year, I have noticed the stars more than in previous years. So plentiful in the night sky with minimal light. Today and yesterday the placement of the clouds on and around the mountains have been so beautiful and well placed by the hand of God. Now it isn't a secret that I almost always appreciate the clouds and fog.

The rain has arrived and so far we should stay above freezing....  So the biggest surprise of the morning. I had put the food out for the kiddos and Riley shows up. Kind of sniffs the food and sits looking at the backdoor of the garage. So, I went out to the garage and opened the door. Didn't even call out her name, she came right to the door and scrambled inside. Talk about shocked! Gave her some treats and went into the house because, I no more thought this would happen than anything. She has been stubborn and snubbing and downright feral. Today, she has let me pet her while feeding her chill pill laced treats. I will feed her supper in a moment or two. Of course with a little chill pill for good measure. Think she is enjoying her table side view of the front yard. Glad for that window to keep her occupied. I have tried playing with her a bit, but not too interested compared to playing with the kiddos on the gravel road. Meanwhile Buddy knows that Riley is in the garage and has kept up a constant watching of the door and me. She is sound asleep upstairs, so this is a good time to fix Riley a little supper.

Riley has eaten her supper, almost all of it. Chill pill and then later she gets a snack with Proselac or however you spell it in the mixture. Just a 1/4 of a pill. She let me pet her again and hasn't run away. Yesterday, I had made the turn to accept she wouldn't come back in and to prepare my heart for that. I still don't know what road this will lead down, but I am trusting to do the right thing for her.

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