Chill out!

Sooooo, why a picture of my kitchen today? And why two (almost) fridges? Well, our 12 year old fridge was dying so we bought a new one. No big deal, right? Delivery & set up (including icemaker hookup) included. Yeah. So, add an 85 year old house (with 85 year old plumbing) to the mix and you have a MESS! Turns out the hookup for the old icemaker was jerry-rigged (illegal as hell) and there is no way to turn off all the water in the house so you can hook up a new one. Plumber came to no avail. Deliverymen left two fridges in the kitchen. Tomorrow the city should come out to shut off the water, the plumber should come back and hook up the icemaker, and the deliverymen should come back to haul out the old fridge. NOTHING here is ever easy.

BFFs

Today I had the privilege and pleasure of having lunch with a very old friend and her daughter. I met this friend almost 20 years ago when we moved back to Milwaukee and needed daycare for our (then) two children. Carol's daughter was just ten days older than Alie, both of them not yet 2 years old. They have been friends all this time, even though their lives have taken divergent paths, and while they have both changed, as has their friendship, they still enjoy time spent together. They are truly "BFFs".

A room with a view

Or should I say office? This is the view from my office early in the morning. The pond is frozen over and the wildlife is all laying low right now. From this window I have seen thousands of geese, ducks, deer, muskrats, a mink, herons, a fox, and many hawks. Often while on a conference call or when having a long conversation on the phone, I turn my chair around to face the window and prop my feet on the sill. From morning to evening, it is a lovely view. I really enjoy it!

Kitty

Tonight I brought my cameraphone into Alie's room while her elderly Siamese, Tiffany, was deigning to sit near her on the bed. Tiffany is beautiful, but incredibly neurotic. She's about 15 years old, and her life revolves around sleeping on Alie's or our bed (always in the top left corner, thank you, and on HER blankie), eating, drinking and using the cat pan. No such thing as "play" or any sort of undignified or unnecessary activity for this kitty. This picture really captures her very crabby yet loveable personality!

A New Year

The new year always seems so ripe with possibility, yet I refuse to drag myself into "resolutions" that I will later look back upon with regret for not having lived up to them. I have in previous years created a list of intentions, but this year I will keep those to myself. I have them, they are just not solidified yet.

One of the people in my online scrappers group got me intrigued by a concept called P365. It is simply taking one photo a day and posting it online in the group. I do intend to play along with this, but thought I might also post the photos here, kind of a daily "This Is My Life" in pictures.

Today's picture was taken in PhotoBooth on my Macbook. Connor heads back to base today, and his dog, Twinkie, seems to sense that his boy is leaving again. He's been really needy and pushy. Connor, frustrated, told him to go lay down, and instead, Twinkie climbed up on the couch with me for some cuddles and kisses. Twinkie is half Newfoundland and half Golden Retriever, weighs in at about 120, and looks a bit like a bear. Despite that, he thinks he is a lapdog. I think this shot shows a sweet side of his personality.

Happy New Year, everyone.