Tommy, our cat can open doors

Tommy is our male kitty who really is a special one. He knows how to open the door between our kitchen and garage, and frequently "let's himself in". (See video below) We keep the door locked when needed, but other times he makes his sisters and mom happy by opening the door for them to come into the house. The other cats do not know how to open the door, and never try. He stands on the washing machine next to the door (which has a lever type handle), and stands with his two front feet on the lever handle and pushes it downward until the door pops open a crack. --sometimes he has to jump, jiggle, or push on it more than once, and he'll try until he gets it, too. Then, he jumps down to use his paws to pull the door open wide enough to dart inside triumphantly! He also has his own "blankee" which he carries inside when he is inside, and sometimes carries back out to the garage when it's time to go out for the night. Sometimes he even specifically places the blanket in "his bed" out in the garage, and proceeds to jump into his bed--clinging to his blanket.
Tommy likes to be held and will cry and whine for our attention. He is quite a little character.

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

Our lives are pretty busy with work, school, and house/garden work! So, on the weekends we like to get away and spend time outside enjoying God's amazing, fascinating and unique creations. I actually think an alligator is quite beautiful, especially when they are swimming. I wouldn't want to be attacked by one, but looking at them in their natural setting is an experience I never grow tired of. And, the sounds of frogs are interesting, and sometimes almost humourous.

We frequently take an afternoon drive to Anahuac on a Saturday. It's a great park for wildlife enthusiasts, because you are guaranteed to see at least 10 different kinds of birds --usually more than 30 different types. You are also 100% likely to see alligators, turtles, and hear frogs. Once, we saw a river otter. This past weekend we saw a crab the size of a frisbee scurrying across the bottom of the crystal clear pond waters.

The surroundings are not particularly spectacular. Nearby is farmland with newly planted fields and cows grazing. The National Wildlife Refuge is very flat with various types of marsh grasses, reeds, alligator grass, water plants, a few trees, and the really, really huge "Shoveler Pond." However, the sights and sounds of birds, alligators, and other animals make the experience absolutely amazing!

There's a network of boardwalks with benches, birding huts, and scenic overlooks. You can walk the 2 1/2 mile loop around the pond, but most people drive and stop when they see the gators or want to photograph a bird.

During our most recent visit, we drove the loop, because there was not enough time to walk it leisurely before the sun set. We saw more than 30 different types of birds, 14 alligators, and heard countless frogs (saw 2-3).We made frequent stops to get a closer look at the alligators, and parked for a while at one of the boardwalk overlooks to go exploring with our binoculars.

Our Day in the Botanical Gardens

We went to the Mercer Arboretum and Botanical Gardens about a week ago or so. The day was bright, sunny and not too hot, and not too cold! This time of year is perfect for any activity outside . . . when it's not raining. We don't mind the rain too much, because it is making all the trees, flowers, grassy fields, and our garden explode with growth and vivid colors!

Fluffy Under the Couch

One of our cats, Fluffy, likes to play under the couch once in a while. She has a special rubber band toy she bats under there with her paw. She either dives under front paws first, or rolls under belly-up. If she's upside down, she pulls her self along using the underside of the couch. She is hilarious to watch!

The tree in our front yard

We just built a little circular flower bed around one of the trees in our front yard. About a month ago we had beautiful red tulips growing in it. Now, we have just planted pink and white petunias and irises. The irises have not bloomed yet, and the petunias are just starting to grow, so I'll send photos of that later.

Top Cat

Lately, our cats have been obsessed with being on top of things. The other day, we heard some noise in the kitchen, and got up from the couch to discover what was going on in there. Sometimes the cats jump on the sink to give us the hint that they want some fresh water (even if they already have water...it's just not "purified" or to their standard of "freshness".) They are the same way about their food. If there is still food in their dish and it's meal time, then they want us to add some "fresh" food to the bowl, instead of making them eat every last crumb before we pour more food into the dish.

Well, when we went in there to check on them, we didn't see anything at first. Then we looked up, and there was Cali on top of the refrigerator. A little while later, we heard commotion again, and this time, Fluffy was on top of there! She was "fishing" magnets off the front of the fridge, somehow getting them up on top of the fridge where she sat, then pushing them off the top like a hockey puck! The crazy part was that one of our magnets is in the shape of a fish, and she was especially playing with that one.

Romeo did something unusual the other day, too. She jumped from the love seat, onto the mantel over our fire place, and then leaped across onto the top of our entertainment center! She did her leaps flawlessly, too. We have several pictures in frames on the mantel, and she managed to jump up there, walk among them, and never has knocked any of them over.

In the garage, where they stay during the day, they have figured out how to climb onto the very top of all the shelves in there. Sometimes, they sleep up on the top shelf in there. I guess they're just into being "Top Cat" lately.

Alumni Weekend at HA

Last weekend we went to my 10-year high school reunion in Tennessee. We had planned to be there on Friday afternoon in time to attend the vespers program in the evening. Our flight was delayed and we arrived three hours later than originally scheduled. Vespers was over by the time we got to the hotel, so we decided not to go to the campus until the next morning.

We woke up on Saturday morning and went to the office area for our continental breakfast. They served waffles and cereal. While eating we noticed some older folks in church clothes, so we asked if they were here for alumni weekend. They were coming back for their 60-year reunion --they were from the class of 1948. Wow!! We chatted with them while we all ate. One of the men said that when he attended the academy, the boys lived in tents. Up until Thanksgiving, tents in the middle of campus were home to the boys. He said the reason they no longer lived in the tents after Thanksgiving was because of snow --yikes! I'm not sure where they lived during the snowy months. --probably were farmed out to stay in faculty homes. It was interesting to talk to those two couples, and imagine a little about how different life was in the 40s and 50s.

We enjoyed seeing somewhere around 15 of my classmates from 1998. I also saw the girls' deans, some of the teachers, and several other familiar faces. I also saw several girls who had been campers in my cabin at summer camp when I worked as a camp counselor for 4 summers during my high school and college years. Some of them were already done with college now! --Which made me feel a little out of touch and a teensy bit old . . .
In the evening I played volleyball. Every year at alumni weekend, they have a volleyball and basketball game between the "Allstars" and "Alumni". When I was a student, I was on the "Allstar" volleyball team one year, and I remember playing the alumni! This time, it was fun to be on the alumni team, and one other classmate of mine from 1998, also a v-ball player, played. Several other classmates from other graduation years played too, so it was a lot like "old times"! The game was the most exciting part of the alumni experience for me...and we won all the games we played! I felt a little bad for the academy girls, some who I remembered as having been 7-year-old cub campers (or their younger siblings) in my cabin at camp, but it was fun to play!

After the volleyball game, Jason joined in a couple of "pick up" games of basketball with some of the alumni, current and former staff, and alumni spouses. He had wanted to play in the "Allstar" vs. Alumni basketball game as an "alumni spouse"...but they were kind of strict about only letting alumni play in that game.

We had an uneventful trip back home, and my only regret was that I should have taken more photos. It was a whirlwind of talking to people and hanging out, so I didn't get photos of most of the people I saw... only a few that I talked to, then remembered, "oh, let's take a picture!" Well, I can see most of their photos on myspace, so that makes it nice for keeping up-to-date on what everyone is up to.

Overall, it was well worth the trip! Jason had a good time meeting my friends and teachers. I have so many happy memories from the time I've lived in the dorm there, attended campmeeting as a child and teenager, and the summers worked at the youth camp nearby. I just enjoyed being in that part of the country, too! Go class of 1998!

Our Growing Garden

We decided to grow a real garden this year in our backyard. Jason built a raised area for soil by drilling holes in landscaping timbers and staking them into the ground with cut-pieces of rebar. The garden area is in the shape of a trapezoid, and has sectioned off the upper right corner of our fenced yard. Next, he ordered dirt, and they came and dumped a pile of it in our driveway. When the dirt was delivered, the neighborhood kids were on Spring Break, so they all came over to play in the dirt. They asked us if they could ride their bikes in the mound, and had lots of fun doing that! They even built jumps, and tried to catch some air off our dirt pile. As Jason worked to haul the dirt to our garden plot, the kids grew more and more sad, because their bike jump was quickly deminishing. They kept asking us if we could order some more dirt --they really loved it!

Finally, we scraped the last of the dirt off our driveway, and the rain washed the last grains away. We used hoes, rakes, and hand-tillers to prepare the soil for planting. It was so much fun to figure out where to plant the seeds, and where to transplant the roses, vincas, hydrangea bush, and pink jasmine vine. We even drew a little diagram to figure out the best use of the space. As we worked, Jason built a path in the middle, also.

We planted seven tomato bushes, one strawberry plant, and nine cabbage plants. We also planted seeds for three zucchini mounds, three squash mounds, two rows of sugar snap peas, and two mounds of cucumbers. Everything is sprouting now, and we are so excited! The tomato plants and cabbage plants have doubled in size, and the sugar snap peas are starting to vine.

I'm also planning to sprout some seeds for herbs and several varieties of flowers, but will have to work on that this weekend.

Our Aloe Plant Bloomed!

Our house has a gated courtyard at the front entrance, which I have lined with a variety of potted plants! Two pots contain some very prolific aloe plants. I have been so excited about their explosive growth! Near our church there is a home where I noticed some incredibly cool looking aloe plants. They had beautiful structure, and were just bursting out the pots they were in. I only hoped that mine would ever get to be that healthy!
We've had our aloe plants out there in the courtyard ever since we moved here two years ago, and I think they are getting pretty close to reaching the "cool" status of those plants near our church have achieved. Plus, one of my aloe plants bloomed this year! I didn't think the variety of aloe I have ever bloomed, because growing up my Mom's aloe plants never bloomed. Jason told me that they do bloom. I doubted it. Well, he was right, and yes indeed--one of our aloe plants bloomed this year!! Their blooms are little bell-shaped flowers formed on a long stalk. It took about two weeks for the flowers to fully develop, and then they only lasted about two weeks.