Introducing Miss Annabelle McRhoads

A new little lady has joined the McRhoads pet clan - Annabelle McRhoads became part of our household on Saturday, August 12. She's a gorgeous little creature, 4 months old, grey with white underbelly and markings, little shell pink ears, and the sweetest little black triangle nose...see for yourself! And my, my, my - does she have spunk! She may weigh only about a pound, but she doesn't hesitate to speak her mind to Bustopher.

Annabelle had been surrendered to the animal shelter as a newborn and was about to be destroyed, but a foster family took her home and bottle fed her until she was ready for adoption. They had her spayed and got her inoculations started. My hat goes off to HALO and ARF and to the various pet stores who allow animal protective groups to offer adoptions in their stores. There were a number of kitties to choose from, but Annabelle seemed the best fit for Jim and me. Originally, Jim wanted a yellow kitty, but we didn't find any that were just right.

Bustopher isn't quite sure what to do about this, being the senior cat, and a male to boot. He thinks he should be the alpha cat, but Annabelle is just not accepting this as a final decision. He's trying to work things out and at least establish a friendship, but at this point, she isn't letting him near her.

Saturday night none of us got any sleep. Annabelle was excited about her new home and Bustopher was trying to figure out why she wouldn't play with him. Eventually they'll work it all out. In the meantime, Jim and Annabelle have definitely bonded. Yesterday she spent most of the afternoon curled up in the recliner beside Jim while he watched Fox News. I think the cat is a Republican. Bustopher went into the bedroom and sulked - clearly a Democrat :>) The relationship between Jim and Annabelle is cute - although I don't know how much climbing up his leg and face licking Jim's going to tolerate, especially at 3 a.m.

If they can just learn to share! The crumbled paper was given to Annabelle and she's just refusing to share - after much growling, Bustopher decided to just walk away - who wants an old crumbled up paper anyway!

We're enjoying our new kitty and hope you all get to meet her soon.

Love to all,

Corrie and Jim McRhoads

mzcorrie@frontiernet.net

jmcrhoads@frontiernet.net

Look Who's New

I just love it when we get a new pet - it's like getting a new family member. Mandy and Jesse just adopted Misty. Look how cute she is - and poor Mara - looking so forlorn. While they're probably not liking each other right now they will probably become the best of friends.

I had a dalmation (Dow Jones) once that generally didn't like cats. He had been in a fight and had gotten a big gash in his neck, which was painful and made him a little cranky and wanting to be be left alone. As it turns out, we had just gotten a little calico kitten (Henrietta)and were trying to keep the two of them separated, especially while the dog's neck healed. Henrietta, being the curious creature that kittens are, walked right up to Dow Jones and curled up right under his nose and went to sleep. Dow was so stunned he didn't do anything except go back to sleep. From that point on, they were the best of friends. When Henrietta had a litter of kittens, Dow Jones would babysit while she went to eat - no kidding - he would stand guard and nudge the kitties back into the nest until she came back. The slept together and would share each other's food. Cat and dog friendships do happen.

We've been looking kittens, but haven't made a decision about one yet. Jim wants a yellow one. I don't care as long as it's healthy and has a good personality. Bustopher has been very lonely since Dottie died, and quite frankly, he's driving me crazy. He's needy and keeps wanting me to either hold him or play with him all the time. I'm hoping he'll get over his neediness when we get another cat. When we lived in Oakley, he had lots of neighborhood cats to play with during the day and at night he had Dottie and us. Now he just has us, and we're not always home. He needs a little brother of sister.

Today we're off to the mainland to look at kitties and do a little shopping. If we find just the right kitty, we'll publish a picture.

Love to all
Corrie and Jim
mzcorrie@frontiernet.net
jmcrhoads@frontiernet.net

Cranky

Have you ever had a day where you just felt cranky for no reason you could identify? That's how I feel today. If I were 2 years old I'd have a temper tantrum just for the fun of it and then go curl up with my teddy bear and blanket.

There's no reason for my funk - the weather is good, I have interesting things to do, not a care in the world. I didn't get much sleep last night, so maybe that's the reason - I do feel exactly like a cranky child who needs a nap...so maybe that's what I should do - go take a nap :>)

Tomorrow there's a tea and fashion show at the clubhouse. Anita and I are going. Should be fun. Could be expensive, especially if I decide I have nothing to wear! Fashion shows will do that :>)

We have exercise class tonight. Jim is playing golf later today and I need to do some gardening. Some of the flowers need to be trimmed up.

The cucumber plant is producing like crazy. We've also been eating tomatoes. It probably costs more to grow stuff at home - especially when it has to be grown in pots. Just the cost of the pot and the potting soil is enough to buy a lot of produce, but there's nothing like the taste of home grown right off the vine. The fun of watching the plant grow is worth the cost.

Not much else is going on. I'm off to do a few chores and then head into the garden.

Love to all
Corrie and Jim
mzcorrie@frontiernet.net
jmcrhoads@frontiernet.net

It's been a while

since I last posted here, so I'll attempt to get caught up.

First of all, we've made good inroads into the things that needed to get done for Kathy. She's through most of her medical doctor appointments - just one left. Good news is - Kathy lost 5 lbs. Way to go Kathy! Next doctor's appointment is August 22, so there's time to lose another 5 :>) . She's had an eye examination and new glasses have been ordered and paid for and should be ready in a couple of weeks. The dental evaluation went well. Today, Monday, she's getting her car repaired (it's going to cost About $185) . Also, today, she's supposed to take a form to her San Jose dentist to get her x-rays transferred to the dental clinic in Stockton.

For those who don't know about this, the University of Pacific does low cost dental work in their teaching hospital in Stockton. There are some other locations, but this is most convenient to us. She'll get good care with the latest technology. On August 23 we will have a final evaluation, treatment plan, and budget. Delta Dental will cover $1500 of the cost and the rest must be paid by us - us meaning the collective family. On a first pass it would appear that she will need full upper dentures and partial lower ones. Our plan is to have her stay with us while the dental work is getting done, especially the dental surgeries.

We had an enjoyable visit with Debbie and Little Kathy on Saturday. We haven't had much time to just sit and visit with Debbi so we really enjoyed having that opportunity. I haven't heard any feedback on their Jelly Belly tour, but I'm sure they had a good time.

As for us, and what we've been up to - it's pretty much more of the same - Jim plays golf a couple of times a week with LeRoy next door. We visit with the neighbors on a regular basis. A week ago Sunday past we went to brunch at Ryde Hotel on the Ryde Island. It's an interesting place - it was built in 1927 at the height of art deco and has a lot of that flavor. Prohibition was a high point in the life of the hotel which explains the tunnel that runs from the hotel to the river's edge. At various times it had different lives - first as a hotel, then a boarding house, and reputedly, a bordello. About 8 years ago a couple purchased the hotel and restored it - they now rent rooms and have a very elegant Sunday brunch.

It's been fun discovering these little gems tucked away, not really known to the greater Bay Area.

We met Phyllis and Jack for dinner at Riverview Lodge in Antioch. That restaurant is truly an Antioch icon. To my knowledge it's been there since the 60s and as I understand it, long before then.

All in all, life for us has been busy, but mellow. I promise to be more diligent about keeping the blog updated.

Love to all
Corrie and Jim
mzcorrie@frontiernet.net
jmcrhoads@frontiernet.net