Ahhhhh refreshed!
I passed out cold at 4pm yesterday afternoon after being awake for 30-some odd hours. I barely ever stay up all night anymore due to my old age and the fact that it turns me into:
Terri ~ Bitch Extrodinaire
I was awake that long because well, i was again a re-designing fool. Actually i was finishing adding some pages to my site as all my links aren't up and running yet. This entails alot of work when you are designing the graphics as well as coding the pages, but i enjoy it ever so much! It hit about 5:30am and i figured hell, why sleep now and wake up at 5pm only to be awake all night again. It worked out well, i will now be able to go to bed at a decent time this evening.
The birds are out in full force this morning! Actually i woke for a moment around 2am and heard them. Do they ever sleep? I think not. My cats love them. They race from window to window in the house following certain birds until they take flight and then they find a new bird to "hunt." It's quite funny watching them. Sometimes i feel bad that i keep them house-bound, but when i weigh the factor of possibly losing them to death by automobile or wild animal i am satisfied with my choice.
Our house is a "rear" home. Meaning that there is a main street with a house on the front lot and ours is technically part of this address, but it sits on the backend (usually on an alley or court) thus giving it an address of "rear". My grandparents live in a "rear" home. Ours has a unique placement though. It is on a court, but the court ends in our driveway, it doesn't cross-cut through to the next block. I think that's pretty neat :)
It ends directly in front of the back of our house, our bedroom and living room windows overlook this area. The unique thing about it is that there is nothing beyond the opposite side of the court but vegetation and the creek then the next block ( which is a good distance from us). There is a path that cuts through the vegetation and leads to an elementary school which is nestled in a hillside about 3/4 of a mile from us. The neighbors kids use the path to go to school. All of the vegetation is overgrown and its quite funny to watch these children pause at the mouth of the path, as if to check for wildlife, before they race through it to come out the other side at the school.
I am not sure if who the property belongs to in this area as it spans from directly behind our home and to the east across about 6 other properties. Technically if the court continued on, it would go through this area and i'm thinking that maybe it's city property? Anyway as i've said its overgrown, some plants are obviously weeds, but there are many wildflowers and the smell is fantabulous! My whole house smells like flowers everyday, which cuts down the price of scented candles and air fresheners. Its the first thing i smell as i wake and the last before sleep. I love living here.
We have a woodchuck and the mouth of his home is about 75 feet from my garden. We discovered him upon the second day of living here. I was preparing dinner and all of a sudden the cats started making crazy sounds. I turned my head to see if they were playing with one another and i see them both side-by-side on one of the chairs looking out the east window of the kitchen. I shook my head at them and was just about to get back to my cooking when i saw him. Mind you on the east side of our home there is the vegetation, but about 10 feet (between the house and the brush) is grass and there he stood. He was nibbling on some dandelion directly beneath the window in the center of the grassy area. He is HUGE! Upon first look i thought he was a beaver, as we do have the creek behind us, it seemed logical that a beaver was in the area. I was freaked for a moment and started yelling for Matt to come quick. He paused and turned his head and looked directly at me, then scurried off into the brush. We named him Maxwell. Over the next week i kept an eye out for Max and he did not reappear until the following Sunday.
I now know his routine (some days it changes) and he is pretty reliable. I've taken to putting out some "snacks" for him in the morning which is the best time for a Maxwell sighting. I need to get my digi-cam fixed and take some snapshots to post. Maxwell rocks!
We also have 4 cats that frequently haunt the brush. One is the spitting image of Budderz, yet slightly lighter in color. We've fondly dubbed him "The Wild Clone" He is a mean looking tomcat that has obviously been in the "wild" for quite a long time.
Once when i was turning the earth to plant my garden i spotted him watching me from the brush. He was crouched down in pure hunting mode, i wondered if he thought of himself as the tiger of the neighborhood and whether or not he was deciding to eat me. I went back to my work and a few moments later heard a scuffle comign from his direction and few more moments after that i turned when the sound stopped and there he was sitting in the grass with a bird at his feet as he cleaned himself. I just watched the ritual of a catbath and after a couple of minutes he nipped the bird up and disappeared into the brush.
The other cats are more like visitors to the brush, The Wild Clone makes his home there, they are all darker of color. One is calico with black,grey, white and a reddish color. I have not named him yet. The other two are grey and black. Shadow and Midnight. Once at about 3am i heard a catfight outside, i presume it was one of the three and The Wild Clone. I never did find out who the participants were or who won for that matter. Maybe i should set up a kitty boxing ring outside and host matches...::Laughing::...I could charge admission and help feed my blogging addiction!
My mother popped online about 11am yesterday morning and immediately messaged me on MSN. I could tell she was in a panic almost immediately, as she was typing at lightening speed which is not normal for her. I designed their wedding invitations for them and she wanted me to do the wedding program now. Um did i mention she is getting married today? ..::Laughing::.. Yes procrastination runs in the family! Though my mother is a detail-driven person, somewhat of a perfectionist, and a planner extrodinaire, she often (like me) waits until the last minute to complete the project. This was another reason i opted to stay awake yesterday...to make my mothers program...I hope she got it! I emailed it to her about 2pm and Matt never woke me up to tell me that mom was on the phone, so i am thinking that all went well.
The wedding will be at The Botanical Gardens in Grapevine, Texas at 2pm. I wish i could be there, but alas i cannot, so i will be sending love, joy, and happy energy their way all day long. My sister Caitlin will also be missing the event as she lives here with me.
My mother met John online..::gasp::..yes, internet relationships CAN work! This is her third marriage and hopefully the final one. John is wonderful and i am glad she found him. We are kind of like the Brady Bunch except he does have one daughter. Three children each, my mom has 3 girls, John has 2 boys & 1 girl. Caitlin and I live in Pennsylvania. The rest of them live in Keller, Texas. My mother spent a good deal of time begging me to move back to Pennsylvania when i was living in Arizona. I moved back in June of 2002 only to have her move to Texas in June of 2003. ..::Sigh::.. I would've been closer had i stayed in Arizona! Such is life.
Congratulations Mom!
May you have the best day ever!!