It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Monday, March 31, 2014

A Look into the Past

A Trip Back In Time

When you have time to sit and relax for a minute, watch this ... it is fascinating and really wonderful.
Who would have imagined ...  we can look into the past and see these sights, these people .. enjoy ..


Sunday, March 30, 2014

The Insane Kitten

It is Sunday.
I woke for the first time in weeks, to an Empty House.
Just the kitten and me ... all alone again.
We will need a bit of time to adjust ... again.
It is raining. The last of the winters snow is melting away fast !
It had become natural, all that white snow, now things are more colorful and there is a lot of brown and green out there !

Yesterday, walking out to the mailbox, I heard the sound that is becoming typical here, Snow Geese on the way home.
Great long lines flying across the sky, in their formation, honking, honking .. you would think there was a lot of traffic up there with all that honking !
Honking to be sure that last straggler keeps up !
Honking to keep them in line, don't wander off ! keep up ! watch out for low flying planes !  we are almost home !

The deer are still having lunch and sometimes breakfast in the back yard but mostly they seem to be going across the street to the really big back garden of the neighbors .
I am looking forward  to seeing  the new fawns that  come in the Spring.
Up the hill at the farm, we have baby lambs, baby Highland cattle and one baby goat .
Baby goats are cute ... and very vocal.
You will see it when you drive by, can't miss it, really.
There are large mounds of bales of hay .. the baby goat will be on top.
This one is going to drive it's mama crazy with the climbing on everything.... she and I with the kitten, have something in common.

Speaking of kittens .. (which I do probably too much) ... she woke this am and started to look for my daughter (who has been staying here for my birthday week ) .
They had an instant rapport, no doubt due to
1 - my daughters great love for cats
2- my daughter knows just where to scratch and what to say
3- she speaks Cat .

Now the kitten is wandering the house - meowing.
It would be a sad sight if she weren't so annoying.
While she wanders and makes pitiful noises, she is knocking things off of coffee tables and scratching furniture.
She also hates closed doors.
Hates them.
Loudly.

I am considering taking a drive. It is raining.
There isn't anywhere in particular I want to go .
Odds are I will not go any farther than the considering stage.

It might be one of those Sundays where a person is better off, lolling on the sofa, listening to music, reading a good mystery ... with the company of an insane kitten.

Have a good Sunday .

             You can see it .. the Insane part ... look at that face, innocent kitten, but the eyes !!  


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Remember

Remember ... when Birthdays were one of the biggest events in your year ?
When parties and guests and what presents were the biggest topics ?
When you really felt that that day would mark a change in your life ?
You would be a year older and now able to do certain things ... walk to the store by yourself, wear lipstick, stay out later, drive, go out on a date, have your own apartment ....

Then as the years went by, it was a matter of babysitters so you can have a birthday dinner alone with your husband... be surprised when your husband tells you he is taking you Away for your birthday ... be glad that the children were old enough to stay up after 9:00 PM  when you all went out for your birthday.
Then the year came when you and your husband were able to leave a list of reminders for the pet sitter and go to Paris for your birthday.
After that, Las Vegas, London, St Maarten, NYC, Jamaica, Argentina ,they all became locations for Birthday Celebrations ..

Remembering birthdays by opening your drawer where you keep your favorite jewelry, the ring from Paris, the bracelet from the little shop in Covent Garden, the posters on the walls  from London and Paris flea markets, the memories, oh those lovely memories.

New memories are being made every day - every minute ! you really can't stop them nor do you want to. But as good as they can be in  the Present, it is lovely going back to the Past and Remembering .

Friday, March 21, 2014

Party Time

Tomorrow I pick someone up at the airport.
This is great .
Let's hope I manage to find the way to the airport .


The little family will drive up to join in my Birthday celebrations.

The kitten is excited, she gets to see the baby.
She is not that interested in the baby but she likes his toys.
And enjoys a nap on his blankets.
You know how it goes, naps are more fun on someone else's blanket.

The snow is slowly disappearing , the huge mounds are still there and might be there in June.
The Snow Geese fly over , honking and honking, so I guess if they are going home, North, it must mean Spring / Summer is on the way.
I have to say though, since this has been the Longest Winter Of My Life ... I will have to see it to believe it.

Like, when Summer arrives, I want a Team of Experts here to let me know if it is Really Summer or just Pretend Summer.

Then I might put away  the woolens, comforters, extra heaters, gloves, mittens, scarves, hats and thermals   .

But for now, there is still snow out there, to remind my Visitor that this is what you  don't  have to live with, you lucky girl.
And she will enjoy it because it is a novelty now... then she will go back home and turn up the A/C in her home.


The kitten :
 Minette is just about the sweetest little bitty kitten that I have ever had.
In fact, she is. The best.
She is tiny, I think she will always be a small cat.
She is learning to be cuddly .. without biting.
She washed me today... I have one very clean cheek and hand.
I had to make her stop when she started biting my nails.
She didn't seem worried.
Now I have to cut her nails !
We are a mutual grooming society !

She jumps up on my bed at night and purrs and cuddles.
But when I turn the light off, she thinks that means she is supposed to go exploring.
So she is still sleeping in her crate .. yesterday, she went in and took an afternoon nap. . her crate is her room.
She likes her room.
Nobody else goes in it either.
Today the vet gave us new food, Minette still has stomach issues and she is small.
I need to plump her up.

So I will not be here for a few days.
There are Good Times to be had.
Babies to hold and kiss and love.
Children to hug and kiss and love.
Birthday presents to open, birthday dinners to cook and most of all, I will remember that man that made my life so lovely and wish he were here to blow out the candles with me.
For the first time since I was 21 .. he won't be here to have some birthday cake with me.

Have a good weekend .. I will see you when the Party is over.



Friday Photo


"Never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary."

oscar wilde




Tuesday, March 18, 2014

This really is Glamorous


Some blogs are just so wonderful, so beautiful just to look at .. no thinking required, other than where can I find that ? or when can I go there ?
This is Beautiful .... really.
This is Glamorous 








I am up to my eye balls in paperwork and kittens .. well a kitten.. 
Thanks to This is Glamorous for the images.
Thanks to the kitten for losing the top to my computer mouse.


Monday, March 17, 2014

Monday Flowers

Start your day with some pretty flowers. Have a good Monday !
I will be taking a trial run to the Airport, so when the time comes , I will be able to find my way .

Sunday, March 16, 2014

What You write and what They read/hear ....



Anonymous has left a new comment on your post ..

"It makes me sad to read these two comments. I'm sorry that you think of Americans this way. Very sad."


There is apparently even more discrepancy than I realized, or some people look for offense where there is none or some people have Reading Comprehension difficulties.

I got an anonymous ( but of course) comment on my post  "Thoughts on Buenos Aires" .. posted last week.

Apparently, someone got their knickers in a twist because I did not praise Americans sufficiently, even though I am an American and decided to live in the US and that one of the wonderful, wonderful things we have here in the US is The Right To Free Speech.

I revel in my Freedom of Speech.
I roll around in it and love it.
I use it all the time.
I use it in other languages sometimes, just to be wild and crazy.
I have been known to use it with four letter words. 
I have been known to use it with four legged creatures who act like they understand me.
I totally use it with my new tiny little grandson and he is starting to use it with me.
I will continue to post on My blog and say whatever I feel like saying and as usual, I do keep in mind my readers and my Followers , most of whom I have a great affection for but please, really, if you are having a bad day, don't    go being  whiney and pissy to some poor blogger who does this out of enjoyment and not to follow someone else's rules.
Because if you care that much, go make your own blog.  





Waiting

The sun is shining, the snow is melting, the little family have gone home and Minette and I are trying to think of what to do today.

So far she has been engrossed in the birds outside the dining room doors, from the cozy softness of her little bed. (would you say she is in the cat bird seat ? )

I am always tired and sad when they leave.
I always feel that we didn't get to do much, we didn't get to say much and they didn't get to stay long enough. Prompting me to want to get on the road and find a new home, closer to the City.

My daughter will be here next week .. my birthday celebrations will kick into high gear and we are considering an adventure, the daughter and I, that might include a train or car ride to NYC .. it all depends on the weather .. sigh ..

I just have a week to go through alone, then I can enjoy being Mom and having Fun and enjoying Sleepovers  ..
I took photos of the baby, you can't see them .. but imagine a tiny little boy, tiny ... wearing a black tee shirt with  khaki  pants, just like his daddy.
Too adorable ..

I am waiting for this view



to change back to this view



Friday, March 14, 2014

Friday Photo

This is a peek at the front  guest bedroom in our home in Buenos Aires.
It was also our computer room and where Pup liked to hang out .
Outside those doors on the little balcony were pots of flowers and in the corner of one of those pots was a birds nest. Every Spring, the resident dove couple would set up the nursery and have a few babies.
I also lost quite a few plants to the dove couple on the kitchen window box. My husband would see the nest started and warn me, telling me, throw it away now so they don't lay eggs out there but I never had the heart... did you ever watch a dove couple set up house ?
Talk about partnership !
So every Spring a couple of plants were sacrificed and little bitty baby doves were born and eventually flew away. right outside those doors.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Heroes ..

Who do you know that would run straight Towards a fire ?
Who do you know that would not even stop to think about it but dash into a building that is burning ?

I have thought about this before, especially those sad months after September 11th .. the Firemen who arrived and did what they do .. they ran straight towards the fire, the devastation, the people who needed help .
They don't stop to think about it, they just do it.
In some instances, it is a happy ending kind of story .
In a lot of instances, it is not happy.

This morning in Harlem , New York, there was apparently a gas leak.
2 buildings were destroyed in the resulting explosion.
Buildings where people live and sleep and eat and take care of their families.

And fire trucks arrived and firemen ran straight in to the burning rubble and did what they do.
They saved people.

When people come around during the year and ask for money, donations made to the Emergency Services, Firemen, First Responders ... give them something . Whatever you can.
Because you can look at it like this , they might need to come to your house .. you want them to be able to..

On a side note ... remember when you were little and fire trucks drove by ?
I do. I also remember waving and the firemen waving back .. on their way to go into a burning building.
ashley gilbert photographer

Thoughts on Buenos Aires

First of all, let me say, it has been almost a year since we returned to the United States and as most of you know, it has been a turbulent and sad return.
Of course there have been joyous moments and very good memories too ... but somehow, at this stage, sadness still prevails.

But ... the adjustment to being back in the US continues...
I thought I would arrive at the Airport in NYC and just fall right in to the rhythms and way of living here.
After all, I lived here in NY/the USA  all my life, not counting Buenos Aires for 6 years.
When we arrived to live in Buenos Aires, we were walking around in a daze most of the time.
We were smiling, happy, amazed that we did it , I was and still am in awe of my husband for the research and managing of the entire thing.
Knowing what we needed, getting it, the running back and forth with the dog for his papers and sadly, selling our BMW who had taken us from New York to Florida to Oregon but , could not take that plane / or boat to Argentina.

In Argentina, we wandered the neighborhoods, sitting in cafes and parks and soaking it all in, figuring out how to ask for this and that, finding shops and then there was all the Government paperwork and getting a taxi at dawn to sit in a huge crowded Immigrations building every few months ( for 2 years !!!) until we were finally Permanent Residents.
That was a Happy Day, we did Celebrate.

Pup was the talk of the town.
No one knew what he was and "where did he come from?" and "may I take his photo?" .....
We discovered food.
Not what we expected, but we managed to find places that became favorites for years and dishes that I kinda miss now.

Pasta is good no matter where you go.
In BA we found a place that only makes pasta , fresh, homemade and so are the sauces and you just call or drop by and order it and there you have it .. Dinner.

Every 29th Day of the Month, is Gnocchi Day.
Yes, once a month there is a day dedicated to having pasta/gnocchi for lunch and or dinner.
We were very diligent about following any and all traditions and customs.

It is kind of funny, walking into a cafe at lunch time during the week and all the business men sitting and talking with their friends and every one of them has a plate of gnocchi in front of them.

No matter what the age, a bench in a park in Buenos Aires is a fabulous spot to spend time .
Morning , afternoon or evening, you can sit and enjoy watching the people, the dogs, the children, the tourists and locals all out enjoying fresh air and sunshine.
Did I mention the sun shines pretty much every single day ?
The temperatures change, it can be pretty chilly and grey in the winter but it is a short winter and you quickly forget how much you complained, when that sun comes out and windows are thrown open for fresh warm Argentine sun again.

We had our favorite places and some were because they were so dog friendly.
Which is just about anywhere in the city.
Most cafes will automatically bring out a bowl of water when you sit down at a table with your dog.
Some that became almost daily stops, had waiters who not only brought out Pup's water but were known to slip him a little scrap from the kitchen.
I have been sworn to silence, I will not tell you who or where .. Pup made me... he knew if anyone found out, his treats would suddenly disappear .
Or worse, there would be a dozen pups sitting at tables, waiting .

We rarely took a taxi .. we walked everywhere ... from one neighborhood to the next , walking miles a day.
Needless to say, this is quite an adjustment for me to be back in the US where you cannot live without a car.

Some Thursdays go by and I realize, It is Gnocchi Day ! and then I feel sad.
Some days go by and I never leave the house, never talk to anyone and I realize that this would have been virtually impossible in BA ..

Music ...
They are a musical people.
Everyone. They just love music and they Know Good Music.
There is a spectacular Opera House and some of the worlds greatest conductors and performers appear there.
We saw Zubin Meta conduct and   the Violinist, she knocked our socks off !

Watch it and enjoy the music .. there I was, not far from the stage.. can you see me ?
Zubin Mehta, Buenos Aires 


Everywhere you go there is also Tango.
Tango dancers in the park. Tango music everywhere, all the shops and some streets as you walk past stores, you can hear a variety of music coming from within ..
We went to a few Milongas with friends. As their guests which was a gift .. truly.
My preference is the newer Argentine music  , like Gotan Project or Narco Tango 

Did I mention our neighbors ?
I miss them.
I always knew they were there if we needed anything.
Even now, so far away, one of them who speaks very good English, will write to me every couple of weeks or so and check on me.
I have open invitations to visit .. I cannot at this time and I wonder, If I did ... would it be the same ?
Would I have the same feelings, being there alone ?
Would I not want to come back here ?
Would I be able to convince the children that they must pack up and come with me ?
Would Minnette enjoy Argentina ?
I bet she would.

 

Monday, March 10, 2014

Monday Madness

I would like to know why I don't see more men like this in the neighborhood.
The combination of clothing, beard, tattoos and total coolness are perfecto.

I woke too early to a kitten who wanted to play with things .. one of which was my hair.
We had a little talk about it and she left the room in a huff .. followed by noises from the kitchen.
It was too much to hope that she was making me breakfast so I went to see what was going on.
Nothing ... she sat there and looked at me with those big innocent eyes .. as if to say ... What ??

So I picked her up and brought her back to bed, where miraculously, she curled up on the pillow next to my head and fell right back to sleep - followed by me.
We got 3 more hours of sleep .. I think I can face the day now. . I know she can.

Happy Monday .. tell me about it tonight, how did it go ?
Was it all it was cracked up to be or were you better off staying in bed ?




Friday, March 7, 2014

Minette Goes to the Doctor and Other Scary Stories

Minette, a tiny bit of fluff.
She was found at just a few weeks of age, under a train trestle, in the snow and wet,  with another cat. 
The other cat was older and died shortly after being found. 
Minette, the tiny, sick and pitiful, is also Minette the strong and the brave. 
She defied the vets predictions and lived.
Lived to see me walk in the door and to grab my hand and say Take Me Home.

We have been getting along fine. 
She soothes my nerves, lifts the black cloud of sadness a bit and at least once a day, makes me laugh.

She  weighs , as of todays vet visit , 6 pounds. 
I guess I am doing something right ! she has doubled her weight since she came home with me.
Humans would not be so happy about that but she seems to be quite content.

She is getting more and more playful and is very affectionate.

The vet and assistants all seemed to love her, she was a good little girl, probably because going to a vet is something she is quite accustomed to ... poor little bit.
The vet was feeling her and looking in her ears and Minette was purring away .. you could hear her in the whole room ... 

She got vitamins and a shot .. she has stomach issues and we need for her to thrive .. not be sick anymore.

When we got home, she proceeded to pay me back for taking her to get a shot and knocked things over, played in her litter, jumped from my bed to the window , narrowly missing knocking over the lamp and she bit my finger.

I am so glad to see her feeling well enough to be such a little bitty monster.

The Vet that I took her to is The Small Animal and Equine Hospital 

It is soooo beautiful... North Chatham is horse farms and houses from the 17-1800s .. rolling hills, farms, woods and sheep and horses . 

I would not say no to living there .. even though I want to live in a city again. I am confused.

Minette still has a lingering infection from being so sick when found .. so now, hopefully she will be well soon.
She also is taking chewables to make her strong and healthy .. things she missed out on when taken from her mama too young.

So now she has me, her Other Mother and I will make sure she gets fat and strong and well.
We have years ahead of us, Minette and I.


Friday Foto



A Summer Day . Our neighborhood.
I miss BA much more than I expected to.
I have open invitations to parties and visits and I am so tempted to drop everything and Go !
I probably will not go now but a plan is in the works for the future .. If I can bring my little family with me, that would be good too. But either way, I will be going back for a visit.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

I am the Human

I'm too old for this.
No matter how old I am or was or will be ... Minette is wearing me out.

She takes cat naps, that is one of the clues to having energy ... all day and all night.

She is the size of a tea cup but she can wreck a kitchen in 3 minutes and be sitting there washing her paw and looking innocent when discovered.

She has a voice like a very small mouse with laryngitis and it can still be heard throughout the house.

She is fast .. try catching her to put her in her crate shortly after you discover the bathroom tissue ripped to shreds, the 40th time she has climbed in the window sill or the time you look at the nice glass object on the table and see that is has been moved.

She had "stomach issues" this morning so I got to wake up to pitiful kitten and messy crate.

After dealing with that, she felt great and I got to chase her around the house .

She still hasn't learned that I must MUST have at least 3 cups of coffee in a silent house without moving before I am truly awake.

So now I am having a cup of coffee and she is meowing in her crate.

I am the Human.
I win !

Until I am through posting this, then I will take her out and hold her and talk baby talk to her and wait until she takes a nap to do anything.



Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Minette in the Morning

Sometimes I wake at 5:30 or 6:00 am and for a moment I wonder Why ? Why am I awake this early ?
Then Minette walks across my head on her way to playing with the string to the shades on the window by the bed.

Sometimes I wake and it is dead quiet and I lie there and relish the peace and quiet and try to go back to sleep but the thought keeps popping up ... what woke me up ? Why is it so quiet ?
Where is Minette ?


Sometimes I don't have to look far, she is sitting precariously on the window sill, next to things that mean a lot to me.
Things that might break.

( I have put almost every thing in the house that is precious, in a closet. away from Minette ....
I have to go stand in a closet to look at things that I love and miss the sight of .)

What is it about the bookcase that appeals to her so much ?
Did I find a literary kitten ??

What is it about the back of the television that she loves so much ?
Is she interested in electronics ?

Why is it that every cat on the planet hates to walk on things like aluminum foil but Minette will walk on it and bring it to me if it falls off the counter , where I put it  ... to keep her from walking on the counter.

Why is it that she is the size of a baby squirrel but she can make an adult human run back and forth without even asking for something ?

Why is it that her voice sounds like she sucks helium every morning ?
I should have named her Squeaky.


Just when she drives me to the point of considering leaving her on the doorstep of a Kitten Orphanage she meows or starts to purr when she looks at me or washes my hair while purring.
I am her Mama.
But I do wish she would let me sleep in the morning and have my 4 cups of coffee before the kitten shenanigans begin.



Monday, March 3, 2014

Happy Monday

Monday
I am looking out the window at grey skies and ominous clouds, more snow is on the way.
Anyone looking in the window would see me .. looking a bit ominous too ... tears might be on the way.
I had so many plans and dreams before we left Argentina and now it is down to, IF ONLY it is a dry day I can drive somewhere ...
IF ONLY it doesn't snow anymore ...
IF ONLY it warms up because I know I will be bankrupted by this years fuel bill.

Minette
Kittens are a lot of work.
They need entertainment and I am so not in the mood these days for being silly and making a kitten laugh.
She does very well herself, finding things to play with ... if only they were not a bracelet I put on the dresser, a pen on the desk, the remote for the television, and why is it that this house is almost all windows and glass doors  and she needs to climb into My bedroom window where there are breakable things ?

Family
I have a very small one but what they lack in numbers, they make up in preciousness.
(is that a word ? preciousness....well, even if it wasn't, it is now)
I don't seem to see enough of them but that might just be me, the Needy One.

Birthdays
Mine is coming .. in 20 days if we are actually counting ..
My first without my husband.... in 40 years.
My first with a new grandson ..
My first with both children here with me ..
Good/Bad/Happy/Sad

Getting Along
People send sweet little notes and just ask, How are you getting along ?
I write back and thank them and say, I am doing OK ...
I guess OK is better than the black pit of depression that lurks around the corner but I hope that They are right, those that says Time helps.
I am making plans.
This keeps me from thinking about the past and the future that didn't happen and gives me some hope for better things to come.

I am going to sell my house and move as far South , near Manhattan as I can get.
Which might only be 2 hours away instead of 2 1/2 ... prices are crazy, I don't know my way around that part of the world .. we will see.

If it will just stop snowing.

Sightings
A herd of deer in the back. 7 of them !!
Deer rob bird feeders.
The birds sent a letter of complaint and now I have to go buy deer proof bird feeders.
We ( the kitten and I) saw a squirrel for the first time this winter.

Plans
Lately, plans are those things you make in the morning because if you wake up and think, today I will be going to the mall or the coffee shop and you look out the window and there is snow piling up, you get a bit disappointed.
So now I make vague plans and wait until morning to see if I will be allowed out today.
Right now it is grey and cold but no snow.
Maybe I will get the car washed, that could be exciting .. I never did it before alone .
You might read in the papers tomorrow, local resident found screaming in her car after being stuck for 12 hours being washed.

Happy Monday




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sunset in Buenos Aires

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