Boy, are we tired!

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Copper's pooped! I mean he's really tired.

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This canna at the corner of my house actually has a bright orange bloom on it. My camera just can't handle that color!

My purple sage has been blooming this week. Aren't the colors just gorgeous together?

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I won the June ATC Jackpot on paperimagerydesigns Yahoo group. The designs come from the Paper Imagery Designs website. Here are the great ATC's I've received this past week. I should get some more this coming week, too.

Left: by Melissa H. Right: by Lori R.
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Left: by Wanda H. Right: by Kathy E.

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Left: by C.T. H. Right: by Angie H.
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Left: by Donna H. Right: by Tammy L.
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Left: by Eileen B. Right: by Daisy C.

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I made this altered CD for a "winged things" swap for the PID Yahoo group. The little girl is a PID design.

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Here are some ATC's I made on wood blanks for a swap of Goddesses of Myth and Mythology for the FiberArtTraders Yahoo group. The last one I will keep for myself.

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The saga of the feral cat is over! Animal Control came out and removed the offending animal at the end of a catch pole, hissing and clawing the whole way. What a relief! She had terrorized my MIL for the last few months, and had avoided every attempt to capture her. The poor animal never was socialized as a kitten, and so remained totally feral all of her life, even though she lived strictly indoors. She was not completely housetrained, and the carpets are a real mess.

This Tuesday the carpet cleaners will steam clean all the carpets and the upholstered furniture. I will take my MIL out of the house during this time. She wants to get a haircut, and then she will spend the afternoon at our house while DH supervises the cleaning at her house. She hasn't been out of her house in a few weeks, so it will be a nice change for her; she would only get anxious and upset if she stayed there.

Last weekend DH sprayed her house for bugs while I cleaned out half her kitchen cabinets. We threw away a large rolling trash bin full of expired food, some of it dating back to 1998. This weekend I finished the job; and also cleaned out her refrigerator and freezer, filling another trash bin, while DH vacuumed her carpets and chairs in preparation for the cleaners. She says she is so grateful for our hard work, but I am waiting for her to say something about us taking her stuff. This is what has happened in the past, and so much was thrown away that it is probably inevitable.

We are trying to keep her independent at least through October, when we will be gone for about a week to visit my FIL and his wife, and then attend my family reunion. My son will take care of her while we are gone. When we get back we will have to make some hard decisions for her welfare. She goes back to the neurologist in ten days to see how she has deteriorated.

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DH is hoping to get into the Master Gardener program on the 30th of this month. He enjoys working at a local nursery, even though he has to miss work about two or three days a month due to his illness. His boss is a cancer survivor, and understands his absences. There are a limited number of places in the MG program, but he plans on being there early to make sure he gets in.

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DS is still doing training for his Iraq deployment. He is excited about it, mainly for the boost it will give his Navy career. I try not to think about it too much. We haven't heard much from him or his family recently, but I trust everything is going well. My DIL is a very capable young woman and will handle his deployment with her usual aplomb.

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