A storm knocked down my neighbor’s tree a few weeks ago. It took several days for contractors to clear the mess only to reveal a view of the car repair shop. It is an eyesore to me. Yet Roxie and Jean Claude don’t mind. They like sitting at the door on the back porch taking in the action.
Category Archives: Life
Can Do
Jean Claude Giving Instructions
There’s something to be said in believing that you can get the job done. Positivity brings positive results. Faith in God’s way brings solutions. Too often people are locked in cycles of complaint. I know some people who have made a career of it. They don’t want to see anything get accomplished. They enjoy complaining and seek things even the smallest things to complain about. It’s important if one is in a work environment such as that to have outside activities which take you away long enough that you don’t get immersed or overwhelmed. Earlier this week I conducted a training for some of the new leaders for tomorrow. One of the more seasoned leaders in the U.S., Congressman Elijah Cummins spoke. He talked about how we have to “encourage” ourselves and that other people, especially those with the “who do you think you are syndrome” can not stand in our way. He said in fact we teach peoople how to treat us. Roxie and Jean Claude are followers of that philosophy. They have me and CCL well trained.
Just Bag It
Jean Claude and Roxie spent the past weekend with CCL. While there they had their usual adventures. Well, Roxie didn’t jump off the second floor porch into the neighbor’s yard but Jean Claude did escape outside a couple of times. He came right back. Too hot I suppose. He also put himself inside a Kmart bag on top of CCL’s bed. He stayed there for quite some time wearing the bag like a garment , relaxing and watching the world.
I just came from one of my favorite Borders, located at 14th and F Northwest. It was once the site of Garfinkels, a famous department store in the day. Garfinkels also had a bit of notoriety. In the 1950s and 1960s once blacks were allowed in the store, black women still had to wear handkerchiefs to try on hats. Anyway, the Borders that now resides there is slated to be closed soon – a symptom of the economy I suppose. Everything in the bookstore is 30 percent to 50 percent off except for the plastic bags. You still have to pay full price for those – five cents each.
Water Management
What is the human body is about 70 percent water?? Most living things need it. Jean Claude and Roxie for sure. They drink from filtered water containers at my house and CCL’s house. Still, I have seen paw prints in the bath tub and yes, in case you were wondering, JC knows how to cut on the cold water.
JC and Roxie also like to come outside when I’m watering my garden. Roxie will often supervise. Water is also a tool in managing their outside activities. I use a squirt water bottle to get them to go into the house when they come outside. Roxie doesn’t like it all but Jean Claude can take squirting event soaking as long as you don’t him in the face.
Addendum 6/24…later that evening I let Jean Claude and Roxie outside. Roxie dashed lightening speed to the tree in my back yard and refused to come in, hiding under chairs etc. Finally had to use the squirt bottle to spray her little behind to get her in the house.
The Ultimate Couple
Spent time with my mother (and my sister, , and nephew brother the last couple of days) . Yesterday mom and I went to Target where we tried on hats. Mom bought a sassy one like one she bought on a Paris trip a couple of years ago. That Paris trip was memorable in that we met several mother-daughter couples. Still my mom and I got on each others nerves – a lot. At La Follit Restaurant on the Champs de Lysee, I was seated next to a lovely woman about my age who later told me she was Japanese. I noticed as she looked heavenward in exasperation during a discussion with her mother who was seated next to my mom facing us. Our moms were dressed alike in chic jersey knit black pants and draped black jackets. We chatted. Our mothers sat and faced us smiling demurly as the younger woman and I talked about our frustrations and how sweet they looked. Later my mom and I boarded a bus near the Eifel Tower. There seated across from us was a mother-daughter couple. I chucked quietly when I saw the daugheter reach out and give her mother’s knee a quick spank in exasperation. The daughter told me they were from Spain and sheand I were the same age. We disccused the U.S. Later that evening my mother and I took and Illumination tour – a night tour of Paris landmarks. Our driver stopped by hotel …joining us was a mother-daughter couple from Nashville. he daughter just finished graduate school and had bright hair. Their joy was infectious and they both laughed readily. Travel, the daugher noted, is best done, with your mom, You can be annoyed, fight and be honest and then laugh. So true.
Cats & All That ™ 