Monday, February 19, 2024

February 19, 2024 Monday--5am

 Good morning!

First of all, the boys wanted to show me their Valentine boxes they worked so hard on.




I loved that Liam wanted to make sure he showed me every single side of his Valentine Box.





He even had Mama make a little video to show me his secret buttons for opening and closing it--lol!
Gramma loves those little videos.  :)

The finished valentines looked like this on the front.  The name of the classmate (covered with an eraser, of course) and then their signature.  I am delighted that Ian is learning cursive!  He is really enjoying it, Leah said.  (I think Gramma needs to send him a card with a note inside--in cursive!)
The backside seals with the little flaps.
The card inside with the taped on crayon.
They can remove the card and color on it.
Ian wants to try something else next year.  (Who can blame a young man who is learning cursive, right?)  Liam might want to do the crayons again.  He's not sure.  We have a long time before next Valentine's Day.  And my studio will be available with all kinds of choices.  ;)

Well, what a week!  Leah got even worse.  Ended up in the walk-in clinic again beginning of the week.  She had a sinus infection.  Got put on antibiotics.  They had thought it was just this lingering cold/cough they all got--but Liam got worse, too.  So they all went to the walk-in clinic...I think it was Wednesday night after work.  Turned out Liam had sinus infection and an ear infection...and Dagan also had a sinus infection.  No one but Leah ever had covid, though.  Ian was okay--just the tail end of the cold/cough and nothing else.  So, three of them are on antibiotics.  Everybody is finally starting to get better.  Goodness!  They have been sick for weeks!  What a winter they've had so far.

Myself?  I have been just fine.  (knock on wood)  Just really taking it easy in low gear.  I know that by spring things will pick up and be busier and busier, so I am kind of resting up before the move.  ;)  In fact, I realized that the only pictures I took all week were of Allie--lol!  Some weeks I don't have any or almost forget her--but this week she is the star--lol!

She has enjoyed being up on her chair again.  I think she realized she could lie there and keep an eye on the birds--lol!
  

I was busy with all the usual puttering about...making food, doing laundry, dishes, bringing the trash out, wrote a couple of letters, and I even swept the patio again.  Yes...in February!  Were cold for a couple of days and now back to spring weather.  Going to be in the 40s for over a week, they predict.  Possibly low 50s!  The snowstorms have gone out to the northeastern United States.  I heard they could get near a foot of snow in places...and we have brown grass.

But Miss Allie is not used to me being up at the table here for periods of time every day.  She started to pace around and cry...a lot more..this past week.  Cats!  She doesn't really enjoy change very much--lol!  She hasn't liked me being up at the table for long periods of time, but this past week it was totally stressing her out.

You may remember back when I normally spent my days at the table and was up and about every day that both Karma and Annie would curl up in a chair with a cat bed on the top right next to my chair at the table.  Well, Allie was not keen on that idea at all.  I tried different chairs and different cat beds...no go.

Finally on Sunday I may have discovered the secret.  The sound of me scraping a chair across the floor was a problem.  She doesn't like loud noises...even more than Shy Annie!!  Would run away.  But when I picked the chair up and set it down gently...got her favorite bed with the hunk of old memory foam underneath from "her" chair...picked her up and put her in the bed...well, this time she stayed!  You can see her ears are back.  She wasn't feeling comfortable or happy...but she stayed.  
Maybe she finally figured out all her crying and drama wasn't going to get me back in my big comfy chair in the living room where she thought I belonged.  No loud scary chair scraping.  It is a comfy cat bed, after all...and she wanted to be near me.  I think she finally she gave up.  It took a good half an hour or so, but she relaxed...
...completely.  Sound asleep!  Making dream noises--lol!
Now will this be a one-off?  Who knows?  I will do the same thing each day--lifting not scraping the chair across the floor, get the comfy bed, and hope for the best.  Cats are so annoying when they pace and cry--lol!  And it is so silly!  Allie wouldn't normally even see me all day long because she'd usually be sleeping in the cat bed up on the table in the bedroom.  I guess she just can't relax to sleep in there when I have changed my routine for the first time since she came here--lol!  Got to keep an eye on her human.  Maybe once she gets used to this new routine she'll be happy to sleep all day in the bedroom again, eh?  So funny!  Cats!  They often make no sense at all.  Gotta love'em.

So, that's how the week went over here.  Hopefully McFamily will be feeling lots better now this coming week.  Already they're seeing improvements.  The plumbers are coming today!!  They think they might be able to finish in three days!?  We'd be thrilled if they can finish this week.  Keanna comes to clean on Tuesday.  I am working on the birthday cards.  The week will fly by, I expect.

What is the weather like your way?  Is it pretty normal?  Is February flying by for you, too?  In this crazy world I am glad all I have to deal with is a weirded-out cat who wants to be near me because she thinks something is wrong with me because I am not acting like she expects me to--LOL!  Hey, maybe that is why she came back to sleep more in the living room on her chair, too!  Trying to figure out why I am not acting like she has been used to.  She thought it would pass...but it hasn't...to the point she couldn't sleep and she started to pace and cry the last week when I was up at the table.  Non-stop!  Could be.  My life is getting better and her life went to h-e-double-hockey-sticks.  It is all perspective, right?  ROFL!!

Giggling up here in Fargo.  Have a great week!  Till next time...

12 comments:

DJan said...

So glad to hear you escaped the sickness that has taken over McFamily. And yes, cats can be very persnickety at times. She looks very content, though, finally. :-)

DVArtist said...

Sorry to hear the fam is not feeling well. However, those valetine boxes are fabulous. I'm thrilled that Ian is learning cursive. Here in Oregon the school board just put out that it is NOT necessary for kids to master writing, math or reading to gradutate. It baffles me that we are raising an ignorant generation. I don't care if they use a phone or PC to do things with, they need to learn the basic. Cursive has been out of the school in the NW for decades. My neices, now in their 30s, were told they didn't need it. My brother got them a tutor. My daughter works with people that have to sign their signature and initials on paper work. She tells me that most of them don't know what these are. RUF kidding me?
That is why I am so happy that Ian is learning. Life is slow here and the weather keeping us inside. Way too much rain. For you have a very nice day.

jinxxxygirl said...

Hi Rita!!
The weather here has been up and down but generally mild.. This coming week we actually see 80 degrees F !!! WHAT?! in Februarty??!! Nuts.. But you never know if that Polar Vortex is going to come down and give us another cold shot.. so not complaining.. Glad to hear you are feeling so good that your driving Allie crazy..lol We've been sick around here too... for the whole month of January and just now feeling like somewhat back to normal.. we still tire easily and cough ..mainly in the mornings.. but whew... that was a tough one.. Daughter and grandkids got antibiotics but i don't think they got any better any faster... Love the Valentine Boxes... 5yr old Granddaughter made one too.. Have a great week Rita! Hugs! deb

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

How cool are those Valentine's Day boxes only ever seen them on TV, it isn't a big deal here with children.

I think it is bloody greet Ian is learning cursive, more children should be learning it.

I hope Leah is feeling better

Miss Allie isn't alone I don't like change either

Far Side of Fifty said...

Thank for the Sympathy card, I appreciate you. It is a busy week here. Lots to organize:(

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Sad to read McFamily us still not well. The boys Valentines turned out great and their boxes are magnificent. It's good Ian is learning cursive. Some schools want to do away with it altogether.

Allie is truly the star of the week. She is a real cutie.

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day, dear friend.

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Rita. I hope that McFamily is feeling better soon. Cute pictures of the boys with their Valentines boxes. I hope that you have a good week! See you again soon.

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

My memories of valentine's day in elementary school consist of me removing the cards from a perforated sheet of paper and signing them. We then put brown paper lunch sacks on the front of each of our desks and walked around putting cards into each other's paper sack.

Jeanie said...

Our weather is way-weird! But I'll take it. Today they are threatening 50! In February (and not for the first time). It won't last but it's a respite.

Sorry about the family illness. The kids boxes are adorable, though. And I like the valentines, too.

And finally -- after decades of cat-life -- my pronouncement. Cats are weird. They are wonderful but just when you think you have one figured out -- it baffles you!

Anupama K. Mazumder said...

I love the creativity of the boxes! Such lovely children!

https://www.volatilespirits.com/

CrystalChick said...

Those Valentine boxes are so creative! They did a great job!
Glad your family is starting to feel better. Mine had some sickness too. Son since beginning of the year, sinus, coughing, then Covid, then an eye infection... finally on the mend. His wife/daughter too, but not so much. My daughter's family had various things, Covid, coughing. My husband has been coughing for a month, but ok otherwise. Really rough winter that way. Weather, not too bad though. Today it's a light rain, low 40's.
Such sweet photos, love them all!
~Mary

Janie Junebug said...

I'm awfully late getting here so I hope McFamily is all better by now. I'll look for a new post from you today with an update. I also hope the plumbers are done. You are wise in the ways of cats. Allie will probably get used to you being at the table now that you've figured out the trick of moving the chair without making noise. I remember how one of our cats would cry when my son went in his bedroom and left her in the hall. She was so in love with him and his teenage boy stinkiness. The weather here is very nice. The nights are chilly; the days are sunny and pleasant with highs around 70.

Love,
Janie