Good Comes From Delays of a Garbage Truck

 Roy caught two kittens yesterday for their field trip to the ASPCA. He is picking them up now. The cat, fix and release number diminishes each week and for this we are thankful. This is really a fun group and is second on my list of Feral Fam groups, HP's litter being my favorite. Now if we could get Cutie, that would be huge. ***update, we got a male and female in****

Yesterday was a monumental day for the contest CourtneyS and I have been playing for over ten years. I really don't know how long, but we compete for the first one to hear Merry Christmas Darling. Several years ago driving to Louisiana, I listened for MCD. Oh lots of Ray Conniff, Doris Day, Dinah Shore and Frankie, but no Carpenters. Roy and I were leaving for Sam's yesterday morning and as we got into the truck I said, this year will probably go to CourtneyS cause I'm not in the truck as much and we let the XM go on the Mustang. We were stuck behind a Waste Pro truck and no line of vision since we were at the top of a rise. Heard the chord...then Greeting cards have all been sent. Roy got my phone out for me and I called CourtneyS. She answered...noooooooooooo! It is officially Christmas now. 

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Ah Wednesday morning. Coolish and more trees are loosing leaves. Our neighbor texted this morning that an orange cat had met his demise on the road. He is not one of ours but from a colony down the road but Roy picked him up so we can give him a proper send off, although Roy said he had been dead for several hours. It is always sad but then relief overtakes because it wasn't one of ours that we claim. The orange cat is probably a distant relative. We thought that several months ago Blazey had succumbed to the road, but a couple of weeks ago, he showed up to grab a quick and I mean quick supper. He and Radley are mortal enemies but that is because of the whole tom cat thing as well as the pickings for females is slim to none. Fluff Mo dines the same way although the last few evenings both Radley and Fluff Mo have somewhat peacefully co-existed. Cha Nay Nay is trusting us a little more everyday. She came in the garage with Fido this morning. She didn't stay as long as Fido but I like that she knows we will let her out when she wants. She cannot get enough pets and scratchies from us. 

We are not considering putting up the tree this year. Willie would be too inclined to climb up every artificial limb. The decorations are ornaments my mom made for our tree a long time ago. They are cloth and I believe these too would be much too attractive to be left alone. With all the cat trees and such I don't even know if we would have room for a tree, so if I can find the little tree from two years ago, that can go up and not cause too much damage. My mom loved Christmas. She would get her tree up early every year just so she could sit nearby in a comfy chair and watch the lights. Happy, contented and if she was lucky, Kitty would take a long nap in her lap. 

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Well, I think it was seven years ago today I had bilateral knee replacements. A great decision. It came up in FB memories. It was a rough forty eight hours afterwards but once I got some blood in me and such, there was no looking back. Even the not motivated diagnosis from the hospital PT did me some good cause I got the best specialist at the rehab hospital over that missed diagnosis. I was having trouble with a floor nurse who did not want me to have that pain button machine and I have no clue why, but that got straightened out quickly once Roy came upon the scene and a call to the orthopedics' office by the pain management nurse. 

We went to TN on Friday, it is now Saturday. The trees even at the beginning of this dormant period are still spectacular. The road work isn't too bad with lanes being closed in both NC and TN. The past few days there has almost been a fragrance of spring mixed in with the favorite fragrance of fall. Almost too much for the senses. 

I have spent a lot of time this week on the lesson for Sunday. Lots of reading like always, but more contemplative. Roy has slowed down in his lessons and I think I am on the current quarterly schedule. Mark is hitting me differently than expected, just like John cause Luke hands down is my favorite. The way Mark writes, concise stories and not a lot of detail, it feels like all of the sudden we crash into Pilate and the ending of the beginning results. 

The sunrise this morning, golden. Beautiful. I best be on my way for the day.