Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

Ahhhhh.... the snoring hour. It's quite a rhythmic household tonight between the thunder, subsonic snoring and raindrops on the roof. I'm watching my favorite channel, the Weather Channel, and seeing that we're in for more of the same this week.... rain. Rain, Rain, and more Rain. The only good thing? I'm not having to haul the watering can around. The roses are absolutely beautiful soaking up all this liquid sunshine.

Listening to the wind whip around the house and through our woods I can't get my mind off our new little friend. Sweetie. A stray mama kitty who has completely captured my heart. Sweetie showed up on Friday looking a bit "round" and by Sunday evening looked quite the opposite. We have scoured the woods. We have searched high and low. We have looked in the hollows of trees. We have sifted through brush piles. We have done the perimeter. We cannot find her kittens. She arrives as quietly as she leaves and is quite cunning at keeping anyone from finding her nest. She is worrying me to pieces.

Wet food, dry food, fresh water, dry cedar box with fresh towels out of the wind and rain. I have rolled out the red carpet for her. But no occupants yet. She comes and hungrily scarfs all of the food down, gets a good long cuddling and head/neck scratching, stretches out on the cool concrete of the garage floor, then .... quick as a whip, you turn your head for one second ... and she's gone. Without a trace. The cat is a master. Yoda himself would be amazed.

I was able to get her to Dr. Lutz today for a quick check and blood test (good report all around!) and back home within 35 minutes so she wouldn't be away from her babies too long. Dr. Lutz said not to worry, she must have a good hiding spot.

Still, I can't stop worrying. The driving rain, booming thunder and flashing lightning make me scared for her. She won't move her kittens if she feels they are safe, so I need to stop being an impatient control freak and let her do the protecting.

Whiskers on kittens... one of my favorite things... hope I get to see them soon.

The Virus that Started a Virus

I will be the first to admit that I have a Facebook problem. When it first came out on college campuses it was a hit. Migrating into the public sector it grew like a virus by leaps and bounds. Hmmmm. A virus. Funny to mention that as I type on my good old Dell laptop back from the repair shop with an invoice blaring the following:

22 Virus Infections Removed
924 Trojans and Spyware Items Removed
45 Hijacked Items Removed
257 Registry Errors Removed
250.2 MB Temp Files Removed
Removed Corrupted Mcafee

The expert at the computer shop explained to my husband that the majority of the mess on my computer had come through Facebook. Then to top it off as he's packing up the computer he says to my beloved... "Your wife sure does like Facebook!" Geesh. I felt like a scolded child.

My husband HATES Facebook. I get a chuckle teasing him about his Facebook page he actually registered long ago. It shows a shadowed silhouette of a man's head with the simple statement... "Bob has no friends". He refuses to participate. Its not for lack of Friend Requests, he gets them all the time, he has made the staunch decision to have unwaivering opposition to Facebook. No social networking for Mr. Donnelly. His social life is in person, never on a computer. His social networking is around a firepit with his best buddies swapping stories and doing some swilling.

Today he got his day in court.
Lydia's laptop viruses = riddled beyond recognition
Bob's laptop viruses = 0

It's irresistible for me however to sign on and see what's happening in everyone's world, to feel connected and stay in touch. Human contact. That's what it's all about. And whether you do it in person or by computer the risk is the same... you just might get a virus.