And the Greatest of These…is Cats

Hello. Happy Monday! I’m home.

Here’s where I’ve been, what I experienced, how I felt, and what I ate.

New York – Loved every second. Went with my daughter. Met amazing folks. I ate Octopus.
Boston – First time I’d ever been. Wonderful people. Great bookstore. Want to go back! I ate Clam Chowder.
Virginia Beach – Gorgeous area. Gracious people. Fabulous bookstore. Loved it. I ate sushi.
Pittsburgh – Met up with family there. Beautiful hotel. Lovely independence bookstore. Even lovelier people. I ate a Primanti Brothers sandwich.
Columbus – Loved being there again. Amazing city. Amazing people. Amazing store. Thank you, Columbus! I ate Goat Cheese Ravioli with Cabbage.
Indianapolis – A very quick trip/ Loved every second. Great store. Incredible, warm people. Smiled the whole time. I didn’t eat, but that just made me want to go back! I wasn’t there long enough. Only whetted my appetite. Is whetted a word?
Denver – Last stop on this chunk of the tour. Divine. Great store and staff. Beautiful babies. Love you, Denver! I ate a steak. And french fries. And mushrooms. And vegetable spring rolls. And…

I’ll stop now. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone and I loved it.

 

And now I’m home, where everything is green and the soccer balls are bouncing.

Boing…

Boing…

Boing…

VIEWER WARNING: You’re about to be subjected to a photo bomb.

Be careful. This one will freak you out.

I’m serious this time.

No, really. Get ready.

AAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKK!

My oldest child is a zombie photo bomber.

It’s time I came to terms with it.

Zombie photo-bombers can play soccer, too.

So can their little brothers.

You should have seen how far he launched that ball. It flew three miles to the south. A wild horse had to bring it back to us.

His cranium has power.

Playing ball in our backyard has always been tricky.

If it goes wayward, it’s a race to catch it before it winds up in the pond. I’ve fished more soccer balls out of the pond in my life than I care to talk about. It’s still too painful.

Oh, and speaking of the pond, guess what happened while I was gone?

It rained for a whole week.

See the level of the water over there on the far side?

When I left two weeks ago, over a foot of dry pond was visible. But now the ponds are all full again.

It’s amazing how that can happen. At the end of last summer, we were cleaning out our ponds because they were dangerously low. Going into spring, it was a little scary.

Then a few days of rain hit and suddenly they’re full again.

“I cut out my heart…but in the morning it was full again.” Name that terribly depressing movie that lays me flat for days after watching it.

I was so glad to see Kitty Kitty. He’s graceful and elegant.

What cat isn’t?

I was so happy to see him, I put a tulip on his back.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about this.

I was glad to see Yo-Yo, too.

Yo-Yo is Josh’s dog, but she’s been living at our house for a little while.

She just needed some time to explore what else is out there.

Actually, I changed dog foods right before I left and she must like it. I’ll have to get some for Josh’s house.

And now, here are some dog shaking photos to help you start your week off right.

Whew. I feel better already.

The kids and I gave Walter, Charlie, and Hooker a bath to wash off the winter and make their coats nice and shiny instead of stinky and gnarly and malodorous.

Then I took a two-hour nap.

Giving Basset Hounds a bath…well, let’s just say it’s exhausting.

Here’s what sprang to life while I was gone: parsley, sage, oregano…and rosemary.

Kitty Kitty was enjoying the scent. He was imagining how good it would be chopped and rubbed on beef.

Yum.

Everything always goes back to food, doesn’t it?

Well, food…and love.

And cats.

And the greatest of these…is cats.