LUCY

I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through.

-Jules Verne

I'm so sad to say that, unknown to anyone, little Lucy had contracted FIP before she was adopted by Kathryne and had to be euthanized on October 3rd. She was only here for a short time, but what a bevy of fans she had. Kathryne is broken hearted. Please send a little zen her way. Lucy's spirit was too large to be contained on this earth.

CWS

What is CWS, you ask? Well, it stands for Compressed Work Schedule, which means I work four 9-hour days each week, one 8-hr day and then get off a day. I chose Mondays for my day off and my short day because I HATE Mondays. I can never seem to get to sleep at a decent hour on Sunday nights, which means I wake up feeling cranky and irritable and tired. I'm NOT a morning person. I hate getting up while it's still dark, having to leave my nice warm bed and go to work. But the plus side is that I LOVE having every other Monday off, having a loooong weekend every other week. And another bonus is that if I go to visit my daughter and grandkids in North Carolina, I can drive back on Monday and not have to fight the inevitable weekend traffic on I-95 coming north on Sunday. Believe me, it's not worth it. It's hard to imagine how congested it can get, but it's basically stop and go from Richmond to DC. Uggghhhh.

Also, now that I'm on CWS, I have to drive myself in to work in the morning since my van pool doesn't leave early enough. That means that I (not the morning person) have to get up by 4:30 a.m. to be at work by 6 a.m. It's a 40-minute drive, which is about the same distance and time I had to drive in when I was in North Carolina. But it's also about 2 hours earlier than I had to get up in NC. There are benefits though. I'm usually too groggy to care about the traffic going in, which is relatively light at that time of the morning. And I get to check out the big dipper and notice how beautiful the sky looks with just a hint of sunrise by the time I get to the Annex. Driving home isn't bad since I get to leave at 3:30 p.m. Traffic has picked up a little by then, but the drive along the George Washington Memorial Parkway is just gorgeous, especially this time of year. It basically follows the Potomac River, and there are always kayaks or canoes out there, not to mention the beautiful fall foliage right now. It changes daily. I have to remember to take my camera and stop at one of the scenic pullovers and take some photos before the leaves are all gone.

This is a shot of where I enter the Parkway when I leave work.


Here is a view of one of the several bridges as I see it from the road going North. It's really very beautiful.

Fall is Coming

The last few days have been beautiful -- cooler temperatures. And I swear I can smell autumn in the air. The summer has flown by. And it's dark when I get up and leave for work now. It won't be too much longer before it will be dark on the way home too. I love this time of year when everything slows down before winter sets in. The sunsets seem more brilliant and the stars brighter. Soon we'll be able to smell the wood burning in fireplaces, dress in warm flannels and soft sweatshirts, and snuggle under cozy down comforters while we sleep. The leaves on some of the trees have started to turn, but I'm really looking forward to the full display of jewel-toned leaves that sparkle in the sun. They're the fiery farewell before their slumber in the winter.

I'm So Pretty

Oh, okay, one picture. Do you think this is my best side?

Or maybe this one?


Don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful. I was born this way.

Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Down on the Farm

On Sunday, we took the kids to visit a farm that had a lot of things for young kids to do. They have two catch-and-release ponds, but alas, we didn't have a fishing pole. I thought they would have poles there to rent, but it didn't work out that way. There was a section of the farm that had animals that we got to feed and pet. The goats and sheep ate right out of our hands, and they had an adorable calf.


This goat escaped from her pen and walked around begging for handouts. She was very gentle and ate corn nicely from our hands. But she was insistent about being fed LOL!

Notice anything funny about the animals below?

There were tractor races, for lack of a better description!

I think everyone was tired out by the time we got home after an afternoon in the sun and fun. The kids went for a ride on the cow train and got to jump on a huge pillow that looked like an overstuffed ravioli. Michael found this huge plastic cow and had to check things out for himself.

Umm, hey, what's this under here?

Okay, I think you're supposed to squeeze these or something.


Oh! I didn't know anyone was watching me.

Something Tells Me It's All Happening at the Zoo

My daughter and her husband came to visit for the long weekend with their three boys, and we had a great time. We all went for a ride on the metrorail, and the boys were very excited about riding the fast train. We had to switch lines to get to the National Zoo, but it was fun to see the boys' reactions to the train. The zoo itself was okay. I'm not a big zoo fan because it's difficult for me to see some of the animals in cages. But the weather was good, if a little humid and hot. Unfortunately, some of the exhibits were closed because the zoo is going through some renovations, so we didn't get to see some of the animals. The good part is that the zoo is always free of charge to anyone who wants to visit. Some of the gardens there are beautiful.

The zoo is full of gorgeous sculptures. I couldn't resist taking some pictures of the ones that I fell in love with. This series of chimpanzee sculptures were in a little hidden garden that I just happened upon while waiting for the kids to walk through one of the animal houses. They really touched me. I think you can see why. They're life size and so life like.

Here's another sculpture of the head of a Tyrannosaurus Rex with Tyler standing by to give you an idea of how large it is.

And here are the boys playing on a bear statue. I thought it was a pig, but they told me it was a bear.


And last but not least, here's a picture of the boys headed home. . . in the arms of mom, binky in place, and all's right with the world.