It's been awhile... It was such a crazy summer, with Mom out at Wes's and the business was about as busy as we could expect.  I didn't have much time for posting, and it was really all I could do just to stay on top of taking care of my plants.  But we all got through it.  Wes is gone, and that's the hard part, but I talk to him every single day and see lots of signs that he's around me.  I was thinking how I should document some of the signs so I can go back and read them during those times of doubt... You know how things fade in your memory.

Almost exactly one month after he died, I stepped out onto the porch one cloudy morning.  Mind you, it hadn't rained at all, but I looked up and there was a rainbow.  I hadn't seen a rainbow in YEARS, and I was excited and ran back in to get my camera.  Came out and took a shot, but it I couldn't see it on the photo, so I puttered a few minutes (watering plants), hoping the sun would hit it differently so I could get a photo.  By the time I looked up again, it was gone.  About two weeks later, Aunt Judy came to visit and Merry and I went over to Mom's one night for a slumber party and stayed the night.  When we got up in the morning, there again, no rain, was a big ol' rainbow off in the west!  This one was much, much brighter and clearer, but I didn't have my camera with me.  It was beautiful and hung on for a long time.  About 2 weeks after that, I had taken some other photos and downloaded them and there was that rainbow pic from the first rainbow and not only can you see it, but there is a faint second rainbow above it!...

A few days ago, I got up (as I do pretty much every night because of my back) to doze in my chair.  My habit is to turn the TV (it's on a swivel so I can either watch it at the dining room table or at the computer) and turn on channel 65, which usually has old sitcoms.  We've never, ever watched that channel any other time - I only watch it when I go to bed, and when I sit in the chair to doze.  Well, the TV was turned, the remote on the desk, and it was already tuned to 65.  The night before, Mark & I had been watching TV with dinner (he would never watch channel 65 even if I wanted to!!), so when I went to bed, it was still facing the table, remote on the table and tuned to (I'm pretty sure) 27, because I remember we were watching Big Bang.  If I ever had any doubt that our spirit friends could do very physical things, I have no doubt now!!  He's being very ornery and I'm loving it!

Just a couple days ago, I went to work just to drop something off.  Since I was there, I checked the mouse trap.  (We're having a little issue with the buggers this year and I use a humane trap and throw them in the dumpster so they can go off to the dump and a happy life!  I know - I'm weird!!)  There was a little ol' mouse in there, chowing down on the nuts I use to bait them with.  I took him to the dumpster, rebaited the trap and put it back and took off to go to my C&S meeting.  As I got in the car and turned on the ignition, the song "Stray Cat Strut" came on at exactly the line that says "I don't bother chasing mice around"... I laughed my ass off!  Wes, you are SUCH a tease!!

I could cite of so many more that have a little less punch, but I feel him all the time - ALL the time!  

Best of all, I've come to believe he sent me my two new kitties, that I want to introduce here, since I haven't been on to talk about them yet.  It's so interesting how this happened...  Chuck, from my C&S club, e-mailed me to send out an e-mail to club members about two kittens he had that needed a good home.  He included pics - a little black kitty and a little tiger kitty.  Of course, as is true of all kitties, the pics were adorable.  I sent out the mass e-mail and e-mailed Chuck back and said how adorable they are and how at some point, I was hoping to get two sibling again, but now wasn't a good time.  I used the expense of spaying/neutering as an excuse, which IS part of it, but I wasn't really feeling quite ready for it and I guess in the back of my mind, some of my hesitation has been fear that the older cats wouldn't accept them.  When I got Sammy, the two female cats I had at that time never warmed up to her and I always felt bad about that.  Anyway, one lady came back and said her son wanted them - he lives on a farm and wanted a coupe cats that could be both pets and mousers.  I passed it on to Chuck, and he came back with a long e-mail that said he'd really prefer they not have a hard life on the farm, and if I'd take them, he would pay for them being spayed/neutered.  Wow.  I kind of felt like this was some sign that they were meant to be mine.  With some hesitation, I agreed to take them, still a little wary of the possible pitfalls - the acceptance thing, the possibility that the old cats would be pissed off and show their displeasure by peeing where they shouldn't, or the new kitties doing that and getting the old kitties started doing the same.  You know - the typical things you worry about introducing new cats to old cats.

Well, I'm happy to report it's been right at a month and all is well.  Bella came around first and now she seems to enjoy them.  She'll groom them, and she'll sometimes try to jump in to their play, though she and Pearl weren't big players and it's like she's not really sure how to do it, or maybe she's not sure if it's playing or fighting.  But she's very curious and lets them chase her.  Then Pearl came around - she can still be a little crabby with them now and then, but for the most part, she hangs close to them, will let them cuddle her (with just a BIT of objection!), and she watches them play with a lot of curiosity and sometimes a "whack" in their direction, like "Settle DOWN!"  So I'm very pleased with that part of it. 

They were completely cat box trained by the time I got them, and after about a week, when they were familiar with the whole house, I moved their box down to where the other two are.  It was interesting - at first, they wouldn't leave an area of about a dozen square feet.  It took them about 2-3 days before they started seriously venturing out.  I have a feeling they were confined to a small room, which makes sense since Chuck & Karen have 9 Dachshunds!  But now, they're zippy little things - they love the greenhouse and play in there a lot, but up and down the stairs, over the furniture, under the beds... they're EVERYwhere!  And sweet - OMG, they are SO sweet!!  Apparently, their mama disappeared when they were quite little - there were 4 of them, and Chuck & Karen had to hand feed them for a few weeks.  So they're very, very affectionate and love to be held.

Here's the black one...

Initially, I was going to call them Pooh and Tigger.  Well, Tigger has stuck but Pooh hasn't so much.  Mark wants to call him Spike, which I'm considering - it might work.  This pic makes him look bigger than he is.  They're still very small and may end up being small cats, I don't know.  I got them at 8 weeks and they seemed small.  Now their 12 weeks and though I can tell they've grown, they still seem so tiny.  But that may just be because the big cats make them SEEM small...  Anyway, Spike or Pooh is the most loving cat I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.  He comes right up on me, straight up to under my chin on my chest, turns his motor on as loud as can be, and insists I pet him.  If I stop for even a moment, he turns and rubs his face against my chin or nose, or he may even nibble just a bit.  I call him my little boyfriend...

And here's Tigger...

Now this photo gives the right impression for size.  She's quite a little ornery thing.  Not as affectionate as the little boy, but she comes up on my lap and lets me pet her and will even join Spike up on my chest sometimes.  (That won't last long as they get too big to share that space!!  LOL!)  When I get in my chair in the middle of the night, Spike comes up and sleeps on my chest and Tigger on my lap.  Sometimes, Pearl will join them...

They're wonderful.  I shudder to think that I almost passed up this opportunity.  I think about how much joy they've brought me, especially during this time that I miss Wes so much.  Which is why I think Wes had a hand in this.  Distraction is a wonderful thing - whether it's from the daily grind of our lives, or some event that makes us sad or mad or whatever...

Here's one of them together...

And on to other things!  Let's see...  Oh, the bathroom is DONE!  Well, all but done.  I still have some decorations to decide on and put up.  We have a cabinet sitting in my sunroom I've been trying to get Mark to put up - he's such a procrastinator!  Maybe I'll have to do it myself...  And the mirror will be the last thing.  I need to go pick out some trim to use, then get the mirror.  Maybe I'll do that today...  But otherwise, it's done and I LOVE it!!  It's SO awesome to take a hydro-bath.  I've been know to get up early early on a Sunday after a Sat. function and take a bath.  I enjoy it more then than right after I get home on Sat. night.  I think probably because I'm usually still hot and sweaty and a hot bath just isn't appealing at that point.  Here's a photo from one end...

I lost about a foot of my linen closet, but that's ok.  They did a great job of making it look original.  I replaced ALL the hardware, window, closet, to match the oil-rubbed bronze.  I got two glass doorknobs for the inside of the bathroom side of the doors.  Notice my over-the-tub teak shelf and three candles.  Ambiance!  (Can't get it to stop centering the text here...dang.)

From the other end.  Got a new medicine cabinet.  The other cabinet (that's in the sunroom) is going above the tub there.  I haven't decided if I like that round hanging on the wall.  It's a seashell display, but it just seems too big for the space.  I'm looking for alternatives... And here's a shot of the window...

I managed to get 5 plants hung in there.  YAY!  Feels very tropical.  It ended up costing a lot more than I anticipated, but it was worth getting it done right and relatively fast.  And I got what I wanted.  I spent a small fortune on the oil-rubbed bronze fixtures, just 'cuz I wanted that old world feel.  I considered going cheaper, but I thought this is a once in a lifetime thing, do it the way I want!  I've been holding on to the money I got when Dad passed away (in 2004) to do exactly this, and it's finally done.  THANK YOU, Dad!  (It's what I say every time I'm relaxing in the tub!)

So on to my plants!  The pubicalyx 'Pink Silver' in the GH has dropped a lot of the old leaves, so back at the pot, it looks pretty thin.  Yet it bloomed more than usual this year from the newer growth.  I think I'm going to have to whack it back and restart it.  I guess it doesn't really surprise me - it's been in that same pot for probably a dozen or more years without new soil, except an occasional top-dressing.  Around about March, I'll take it down and start a pot full of cuttings.  Maybe that one should come into the dining room and the one in the dining room go out to the GH since it has yet to bloom...

I repotted onychoides last late spring - into a hanging pot.  It just didn't seem that happy in the smaller pot anymore.  I've always been a little leary of moving it up just because archboldiana, a very similar species, never seemed too happy when I repotted it up.  So I also took some cuttings of onychoides as well.  It seemed to perk up almost right away and even put on some new growth...

Even the Dischidia I grow on the top of the soil looks better...

I'm pleased with how this repot turned out.  And the cuttings took, too, though I didn't get them marked and so they look an awful lot like macgillivrayii.  I'm going to have to do some studying to feel completely confident marking them onychoides!

Well, I'd better get my butt moving.  More soon!