Just hear those sleighbells jingling...

The outside of my house is covered in lights, the tree is up, and carols are playing on my i-pod.  Dog is lying at my feet & Cat is sleeping in his absolute favorite spot - under the tree with the presents.  He got all sorts of excited when I got the tree box out & sat beside me while I put it together.  When I took a break, he followed me into the kitchen, "meow meow meow", wouldn't shut up until I went back & finished putting the tree up.  Despite trying to relax at the moment, I can't stop my brain from making an endless list of things to get done before my family arrives next week (we're doing Christmas early).  As much as I'm looking forward to their visit, getting the house in shape for company sucks.  A magic wand would be so nice right about now!  On second thought, cleaning the old fashioned way is probably better.  If I had a magic wand, I'd probably manage to screw it up ala Mickey in the Sorcerer's Apprentice. 

Sylvester's favorite place to sleep at Christmas

Rocco

Dear Santa, I've been a very good boy this year...

Up to my eyeballs in paperwork...

My home office.  Poor thing.  It's slowly being taken over by mounds of paperwork I just can't seem to get rid of.  I'm a pack rat.  I come by it honestly.  My office has never even come close to the disasters my father & my mother have managed to create.  But it was getting close.  Getting rid of things is just not something I'm good at - I might need that 1992 Reader's Digest article -or- the vaccination record for my dog that died five years ago.  If there's a Pack Rats Anonymous out there, I need to sign up.  So I spent this weekend going through piles & boxes & more piles of paperwork (if the weather had been decent I'd have found something else to do).   I've been putting this chore off for ages!  I filled three of those big black lawn & leaf bags with shredded stuff.  Can you believe I still had all of my paycheck stubs going all the way back to 1992?????  Me neither.  But I did.  You know what the worst part is?  I still haven't gotten everything gone through.  I can't decide if I feel accomplished & satisfied that I got 3/4 of the way through that disaster -or- bummed out that there's still 1/4 of the disaster left.  Kind of a glass half-empty or half-full debate.  I guess I'm thrilled with the progress I made... until I open the office door.  So, if you ever show up at my house & the office door is shut... well, I'll give you one guess as to why.

Summer's here!

It's so beyond hot & muggy out today!  I'm spending the rest of the day inside with the a/c & ceiling fan going.  Hmmmmm... another thing I could do with all of that lawn - I've got plenty of room for a pool.  Problem is, they'd have to dynamite the backyard to get one in the ground - oh well, it's a nice thought.  I SHOULD be going through & organizing the mounds of paperwork in my office... but that isn't any fun.  Went out to water the potted plants on my deck - it's so miserable out, Rocco refused to come outside with me.  

We went to the lake earlier today, but the heat was just too much.  I suppose it would have been fine if either of us had bothered to get IN the lake, but I'm not all that fond of creepy crawlies and Rocco only likes to wade up to his ankles.  Maybe we'll go back this evening once it's cooled down a bit.  Oh yeah, I live five minutes from the lake.  Sylvester, on the other hand, is out on the deck all stretched out and basking in the sunshine.  Crazy cat!   

One of these days, if it ever cools down, I've got a ton of gardening to do.  As in digging the rest of the flowerbed that is supposed to wrap around my house but at the moment only goes across the front.  The dirt here is rocky clay, so where it's impossible to build raised beds (next to the house) I have been digging out at least a foot deep and replacing the horrible dirt with good topsoil.  It's a major undertaking, but the flowers are just beautiful.  I've got the prettiest flowerbeds on the street - seriously, I do.

So, that's a lot of what I do when I'm not working.  I garden.  I also belong to a couple of garden clubs that are active and keep busy going to meetings, potlucks, etc.  I spent a lot of time last year volunteering at an equine therapy program for handicapped children, but have cut back on time spent there due to gas prices and the fact that it's an hour long drive to get there (one way) and I have difficulty driving long distances (the whole nerve damage in my hand thing).   In the evenings, Rocco and I stroll through our neighborhood, stopping to talk to the neighbors as we pass by.  I've got some wonderful neighbors that have become good friends.  It has been one year since I moved here from California.  I'm finding I like the slower, friendlier pace of Tennessee very much.

Budget... What Budget?

I'm in soooooo much trouble!!!  And it's all my neighbors' fault.  They've been digging new flower beds and called me over to check it out.  They had some real nice sized camellias & rhododendrons along with other beautiful plants.  When I commented on their substantial investment in plants, they told me that Lowe's is having a HALF OFF CLEARANCE.  Oops!  Telling me that the Cheesecake Factory was giving away free slices all day long, as many as you want would have been less damaging (and I absolutely adore cheesecake).  But then, that's what credit cards are for - they delay the pain of instant gratification.  Unfortunately there are still consequences now - I've got to plant my new acquisitions in the ground.  WHY DID I NOT THINK OF THIS BEFORE I LOADED UP THAT CART????????  It's so beyond HOT out, the ground is nothing but a bunch of rocks, and I now have seven new plants to find homes for.  A red camellia, a purple lilac bush that will get 10 feet tall, a purple lilac tree that will get 8' tall, and four purple dwarf lilac bushes that will get 5' tall.  Anyone else get the idea that I like lilacs?  Oh, and there was so much more I wanted to get...... but they were closing and my cart was full.  I was forced to leave the jasmine, honeysuckle, rhodies, & so many more behind.  Despite the unwanted chore of making a place for them, I'm afraid I don't have the willpower necessary to stay away from Lowe's.  I'll most likely be back there on Sunday looking for more treasures, limping and sore from finding homes for the seven I brought home tonight.

The absolute COOLEST thing happened today!

I was out watering the flowers on my deck and a hummingbird chose to ignore me and drink from the feeder barely a foot away from me.  In all the years I've had feeders out & had the little guys visiting me, I've never been closer than 10 feet to one.  It was amazingly cool to see him so close!  He was half the size of my thumb, all iridescent green with a bright poppy red patch, and he had a tongue.  I didn't know that they had tongues.  I just always thought they used their beak as a straw.  But nope, he licked up a couple of spilled liquid drops off of the feeder.  Took his time eating and acted like I wasn't even there.  Definitely an experience I won't forget.