Advent Present...for Sam?

Each year, my sister sends the kids Advent presents...one present to be opened each day leading up to Christmas.  She has come up with so many clever things over the past few years, but I'm just so surprised by her thoughtfulness this year...

You can't see me, but I can see you!

She even sent a box for Sam.

Using the closet door to keep an eye on the room...bwaaahaha!

He really loves it...so, I offered to help him send a thank-you to her.

Dear Aunt Katie,

Thank you for sending me a Christmas box.  I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.  I didn't know you cared! 

Love,

Sam-I-Am

P.S.  Say "Hi" to Random Kitty for me!

Still, Sam can be a little bit selfish, don't you think?

Sam, May I have a turn?

 Not sharing with Cajun...

Come on, Sam, give me a turn...pleeease!

Not sharing with Beans...

Not sharing with anyone!

Superman Tracker Update:  After being booked on a flight to Seattle leaving LAX at 3:15 p.m. this afternoon, Superman was able to fly stand-by on a flight that left at 12:30 p.m....he's working his way home...step by step!

Finally!

Spring has finally sprung!

Look at the tulips that are filling our yard...  I asked the girl-child to take some pictures of her favorite ones because it is always neat to see what piques her interest.  Again, she didn't disappoint me.

Aren't these spectacular?  I love the contrast between the black and the red and the yellow border around the black just adds so much drama to these tulips.

I love this red and yellow one.  The blooms are smaller than some of the other tulips, but they look hand-painted...so pretty.

 This coral tulip is so unusual.  The color is deep and rich, but I don't know which batch of bulbs it came with.  Oh, well.

 
This pale pink is so demure.  You could overlook them in comparison with all the deep reds, but they're just so beautiful.  These are all in our yard, but Buttercup didn't stop there.  Nope, she headed down the street and kept snapping. 

Like many developments, the neighborhood we live in has a sign at the first street in the development.  The people who own the house with the sign don't care for the landscaping there, so the kids and I decided to take it upon ourselves to get some spring color there.  (Another neighbor has been weeding, too, so it is still a neighborhood effort.)  Last fall, the kids took a few bags of bulbs down to the sign and planted them all.  They've been waiting eagerly to see the results of their planted and finally see the payoff. 

They are just so cheerful, aren't they?

Sam doesn't seem too impressed, but then again, he's laying on fake flowers...maybe that is the problem.

Looked Out My Window This Morning...

and realized I live in a winter wonderland.

Sam isn't particularly impressed.  (I wonder if he's remember "winter" in Southern California.)

The Horror!

Last year, my sister made these little snow people for me.  I love them!  I was so happy to bring them out with my Christmas decorations...they're so cheerful and they sit beautifully on a silver pedestal with a silver "tree". 

Aren't they cute?  She felted them both...no pattern...just her imagination.  Did I mention she's super creative?  Look at that little bird the snow person is holding. 

Imagine my horror when I stumbled upon this scene a few evenings ago:

Oh, poor little snow person!  I am so sorry I didn't take better care of you.  I had no idea that my oldest cat would be the one to fall prey to your cuteness.  Oh, Sam I Am, put down the snow person!  Stop, stop!

Please forgive me.

Fertilizer Friday - We're almost through...

We're almost through here...the growing season is pretty much over. The sprinklers are off now...in fact, as I'm typing this on Thursday evening, we've enjoyed a day of rain in Eastern Washington with more rain predicted for the weekend.  Before I know it, it will be time to blow them out and just off  the water to the yard for the season.

I can't believe the first week of October is already finished.  The time seems to go so quickly.  February rolls in with its winter winds and I'm chomping at the bit to get my garden going, longing for the vibrant colors of spring and summer.  By the end of September, however, I'm tired.  I've fretted over those same vibrant flowers, worried about the health of my vegetables, and generally expended tons of mental and physical energy in caring for the outside of our home.  I secretly rejoice when the weather calls "game over".  Still, here we are in the first week of October and no hard freeze has hit.  I spent a number of hours in the yard Wednesday.  The lawn is loving the mild weather and so I'm still mowing.   I finally decided to rip out the tomato plants.  While I had roughly 100 tomatoes on the vine, the slugs were taking advantage of the weather and enjoying them at unprecedented rates.  Not only that, but we just weren't getting the weather they need to ripen.  (I did save 20+, but between black moldy looking stuff and slugs, the rest were goners.)    In the meantime, there are still interesting things to see in our yard.

The fairies seem to be moving in.  Doesn't this look like a fairy village?

These tiny little white flies come every year at this time.  They're all over the neighborhood.

Our pumpkin plant sent its vines up a tree and then crossed into another tree.  We have tiny little pumpkins in our trees!   I know they won't ripen for us this year...so sad, but I think it is so silly that they're in the tree.

Oh, and our zucchini continue to be confused...they're blooming again.

Sam is still enjoying the garden.  (Buttercup says that the plant Sam is eating is catnip, but I couldn't say...I just know it comes up everywhere!)

There you have it!  I think this is it for the Nagle5 garden this year.  We've got enough rain the forecast that I'm going to have to take advantage of the occasional sunny day to get the zucchini out of the ground...and the spring bulbs planted.  That's okay though...I'm ready to come inside for winter.

It is Fertilizer Friday (sans fertilizer!), so head over to Tootsie's to see what is going on in gardens that aren't winding down...lots of them aren't and it is wonderful to see those tropical flowers as we get ready for winter here.  (Tootsie herself is featuring some absolutely amazing photos of the Mosaiculture International Gardens in Montreal ...you'll be stunned, I promise.)

Sam-I-Am keeps busy...

Sam likes to keep busy. When he's not busy ghost writing my blog posts, he's practicing his "Dracula" impersonation.


When he's done straightening me out (and when he's happy with his impersonations), then he moves on to Buttercup. Buttercup needs a lot of help to play her online games. ("Watch that mouse, Buttercup...they can be tricky!")


As if the people haven't worn him out completely, he moves on to the dogs. "Stay, Lucy, Stay"...as you can see, he's got her trained pretty well.

It's all in a day's work and it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

Tough Life

Sam I Am misses his kitty friends, but, as you can see, he's just rolling with it all.

I don't think he cares about the rules...

Because we have three cats who all, at various times, seem to love my bed, I have put towels at the foot of the bed to protect the comforter. The cats have all learned to sleep on the towels. (Trust me, you move them often enough, they'll get the idea.) Sam I Am, I Am Sam ("Sam"), however, has always moved to the beat of a different drummer and decided the rules don't apply to him. Obviously, he's decided touching the towel is good enough.