Sweet Tea Reads

Thursday 13: Cold Water, A Hole In the Wall, and the Mess That Keeps Growing

2026-03-19T18:17:00.004-04:00

I almost didn’t write this Thursday 13 because what we have going on is basically nothing in the grand scheme of everything happening in the world right now. But I didn’t post one last week, and I don’t want to skip another week.

Most of my Thursday 13s are about whatever is going on in my little corner of the world, so I decided to go ahead and post. I just want to preface by saying I know that these are very much first-world “problems,” and that we’re still pretty fortunate. And I’ll try not to whine too much.

1. We’ve known for a while that replacing our water heater is on the horizon. It’s about 13 years old. It’s also in the crawlspace, and we’re fairly certain all of the flooding didn’t do anything good for it. So, while it was frustrating and unpleasant that the water heater finally gave out for good on Monday morning (why does everything happen Monday morning?!?), it wasn’t at all surprising.

2. Our current setup is an electric water heater and natural gas heat. We’ve wanted to change to a natural gas water heater for a while now, but it’s a fairly complicated process.

3. The “crawl” part of describing our crawlspace is extremely accurate. It’s short! The current water heater is a low-boy. That wasn’t an option for natural gas. (From what we can tell, the low-boy gas water heaters have gone on and off the market for years due to fire safety issues.) So, switching to a natural gas water heater meant moving it out from under the house.

4. After meeting with the company, we decided to go with a tankless natural gas water heater. Unfortunately, the tankless still has to be in the house due to our climate. They also have to run more gas lines and more water lines.

5. The project started yesterday morning. They told us ahead of time that we had to move some furniture and empty out one cabinet.

A box of stuff from the cabinet is on the bench in the living room.

6. Moving the furniture and emptying the cabinet already created a lot of mess and disorder. The cabinet is the biggest one in the kitchen, and it was full. The furniture is a big, bulky armoire with lots of things in and on it.

Kitchen utensils are on a bookshelf in the living room.

7. As always seems to be the case, existing lines and pipes weren’t up to code or had other problems, so the project has grown.

8. The company emptied out two more kitchen cabinets, a kitchen counter, and the bathroom cabinets. They also had to drill a hole in the kitchen wall.

Nick ziptied a piece of a cube shelf (the cubes are 13x13 to give you an idea of the size of the hole) to keep the cats from getting into the wall. If you have cats, you understand the concern!

9. So yesterday we came home to a hole in the kitchen wall, the refrigerator in the middle of the kitchen, the washing machine in the middle of the room, lots of stuff moved off of shelves, and more things outside of cabinets than in cabinets.

10. Today is looking a little better. The refrigerator and washing machine are back where they belong. And I did get to clean under and behind where the refrigerator goes without us having to move it. Tiny silver lining. Everything else is still in total disarray. And we still have the hole in the wall.

11. The company assures us that they’re still on track to finish up by tomorrow afternoon. It will be so nice to have hot water again! In the meantime, we both have access to showers at work. Another thing that I know we’re very fortunate to have. Yes, it’s inconvenient to pack up everything to shower at work, but it’s also extremely nice to have that available.

12. Our plans for the weekend are to put everything away, get the house back in order, probably some fairly major reorganization due to the space we lost by moving the water heater inside, and work on figuring out how to fix the hole in the kitchen wall. And, hopefully, to revel in the pleasure of having a nearly endless supply of hot water. With any luck, soon I’ll be posting about some of the reorganization.

13. Since it seems like most Thursday 13s involve at least one cat picture (and to keep this from turning into a total whine-fest), enjoy the latest picture of Theodore. I think he looks very majestic!

How About A Sunday Sixteen?

2026-03-08T12:12:00.000-04:00

Since I didn’t get around to posting a Thursday 13 last week, or the week before, I’ve decided to catch up with a Sunday Sixteen.

1. The weather since my last Thursday 13 has been everything from snow to highs in the 70s.

2. Fortunately, the hyacinth survived the snow, and more have sprouted.

3. The past few days have been warm. It was even warm enough for shorts yesterday!

4. I know the warm weather isn’t going to last, but I am determined to enjoy it as much as possible while we have it, so I spent a lot of time outside yesterday.

5. Since this is time change weekend, we’ll at least get to enjoy more light and longer days even when it gets cold again.

6. The daffodils have bloomed.

7. One lone tulip has sprouted. There’s no flower yet, but I’m hopeful.

8. There’s a little bit of green on the hydrangea I trimmed earlier this year.

9. The forsythia is also starting to bloom.

10. Unfortunately, there is something in the yard that gives me a terrible rash. It’s not poison ivy, oak, or sumac, but we haven’t been able to figure out what causes it. It doesn’t even happen every year. This is a rash year, though, so I’m currently sporting a calamine bandage.

11. Since we’ve never been able to determine the cause, the dermatologist just always has me double up on allergy medications and wrap it in a calamine bandage. If it gets too out of control, they’ll prescribe steroids.

12. At this point, I’m pretty good at starting to treat it before it gets too bad, and we just take care of it at home without the need for a doctor’s visit and steroids.

13. I know it’s not officially spring yet, but I’ve switched to spring-themed cards and stickers for my Chemo Angels buddies.

14. Last Sunday, we saw the play Suffs at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC. It was an excellent show, and one that I think everyone should see.

15. We had voted in the primaries just a few days before we saw it, so it was especially poignant to be reminded how much so many brave women fought and endured.

16. Finally, enjoy this picture of Theodore.

What We Can Do: Write Postcards to Restore Fair Elections in Virginia

2026-03-05T22:23:00.001-05:00

In case you haven’t heard, Virginia has a proposed Constitutional Amendment to be voted on in their April 21 special election. It’s in response to Trump’s claim that he’s “entitled” to more Republican seats.

Photo Credit Here

Governor Abigail Spanberger does an excellent job explaining it in this video. (The video is short and definitely worth watching.)

Postcards to Swing States has a postcard campaign going on now to urge people to vote yes on April 21^st. You can order the postcards in batches of 100 and are expected to mail them between April 7^th and 14^th.

I’ve signed up to send 200 of the postcards because I think having this measure in place will help safeguard the midterm elections.

Thursday 13: Much Better Weather!

2026-02-19T00:00:00.001-05:00

This week’s Thursday 13 finds me much happier about the weather.

1. We’ve had a few warm days that have been absolutely wonderful. I know it’s probably not going to last, but I am determined to enjoy the warmer days for now.

2. One of our hyacinths has even bloomed!

3. Some of the others have green shoots.

4. Some of the daffodils have been sprouting too.

5. These are in the front yard.

6. These are next to the carport.

7. I decided to try the milk jug greenhouse thing I’ve seen on Facebook. If you’re not familiar, the idea is that you clean a milk jug (or similar container), put some drain holes in the bottom, slice it almost in half so you can access the inside, and plant seeds in it. The idea is that the plastic jug serves as a greenhouse and keeps the seedlings warm enough to be outside and get an early start. It’s also supposed to eliminate the need for hardening off seedlings.

8. I’ve never tried it before, so I’m not sure if it works. It sounds like it could, though, so I decided to give it a try. If it doesn’t work, I can just use the potting soil for something else. The seeds will be the only loss. I started three of them (two different kinds of snapdragons and one zinnia) on Saturday. I’ll let you know what happens.

9. In other yard-related news, I’m still working on the trimming/pruning I can do during the cold weather. This is from about a month ago (before the first snowstorm hit.

10. Here’s the before.

11. And here’s the after. I think I made some progress.

12. A Thursday 13 doesn’t seem complete without at least one cat picture, so here’s one of Caroline.

13. And a few of Theodore.

What We Can Do: Support RAINN

2026-02-18T00:00:00.001-05:00

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen at least a few snippets of the Epstein files. You’ve probably noticed that not much has been done to punish the perpetrators or support the victims.

Photo Credit Here

There were horrific acts committed against children and young women, and it seems like most of the perpetrators are going unpunished. Unfortunately, this kind of sexual violence is rampant. If you’re anything like me, you’re feeling so much rage right now. It’s hard to know where to channel it or what to do with it.

That’s where RAINN comes in. I know that educating yourself on what grooming and sexual exploitation look like doesn’t feel like much. I know that donating to an organization working to end sexual violence doesn’t feel like much. But it’s what we as ordinary people can do, and I’d rather focus on what I can do than what I can’t do.

Per RAINN’s website, they are “the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization and operator of the National Sexual Assault Hotline, RAINN’s mission is to stop sexual violence by supporting survivors, holding perpetrators accountable, and creating safer communities.”

If you take nothing else from this post, I encourage (okay, beg) you to read about grooming here. If you’re not familiar, grooming is defined as “the deliberate act of building trust with a child, teen, or at-risk adult (such as an adult with a cognitive impairment) for the purpose of exploiting them sexually. Grooming typically starts with friendship, mentorship, or kindness that gradually turns into manipulation, control, and sexual abuse or assault.”

RAINN also provides helpful information about advocacy at the local, state, and national levels. One of their recommendations is to find and support your state’s coalition against sexual assault. They recommend a Google search with your state and keywords such as “anti-sexual assault coalition.”

For example, in North Carolina, it’s NCCASA, North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault. They work on everything from legislation to funding and staffing rape crisis centers. I’m not sure about other states, but NCCASA has a paid membership that is a great way to help support their work.

I know these are tiny things, not even a drop in the bucket, really, but it seems better than just screaming into the void.

What We Can Do: Postcards to Swing States

2026-02-11T00:00:00.001-05:00

Photo Credit Here

I like to think of myself as a “put your money where your mouth is” person. I find social media justice warriors and people who make a lot of noise but never seem to actually do anything to be extremely annoying.

I don’t care how great a writer you are; no Facebook, Blogger, Instagram, or TikTok post is going to fix what is wrong in our country right now.

Publicly declaring your stance seems like a logical first step, but I don’t think it should be the only thing we do. I never meant for my post last week to be all that I did. It was part rant and part declaration of where I stand.

I’ve spent the past week trying to decide what I’m going to do. My blog is so small, I’m not even sure it’s accurate to call it a platform, but it’s what I have, so I’m going to use it.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by how bad things are right now. I think most people are exhausted and already feel pulled in a million different directions. That can lead to paralysis and make it feel like things are so bad that it doesn’t matter if we do anything or not.

I suspect that’s how evil wins: by exhausting and demoralizing the decent people who are trying to fight for what’s good and kind.

Fortunately, there are so many people out there who haven’t given up and are continuing to fight to uphold basic human decency. The bravery and dedication of some of the people in the ICE terrorized cities is inspiring.

Not all of us are in a position to attend protests. Not everyone can be as vocal and visible in how they resist. But I firmly believe that we can all do something. To that end, I’m committing to making Wednesday the day that I share something we can do.

In all likelihood, they will be tiny, quiet things, but hopefully, that’s better than nothing.

This week, I would like to share Postcards to Swing States with you. They currently have one campaign going on, which is News Boosting Postcards. Per their website, these postcards are to “help combat disinformation and make sure voters in states with key elections in 2026 learn how harmful the Trump/GOP agenda is for them. We’ll send you free postcards, voter lists and instructions. You’ll provide the stamps and have until April to write the postcards.”

They provide the postcards (free of charge), scripts, and addresses, and you’re responsible for writing and mailing them on the appropriate date. You can order them in increments of 100, and there’s an option to choose to send them to Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, or where most needed.

I ordered 500 and chose to send them where most needed. It was very tempting to choose North Carolina since that’s where I live, but I feel like the people running this have a lot more experience than I do, and therefore, a much better idea of where they’ll do the most good.

I only recently ordered mine, so I haven’t received them yet, but I’ll keep you updated on when I get them and how it goes.

Thursday 13: A VERY Random Edition

2026-02-05T01:46:00.000-05:00

Since we’ve had so much snow, and I’ve been staying inside so much (because I HATE snow), I don’t have much for a Thursday 13 this week.

So, it seems like a good time to share a very random assortment of pictures that I’m fairly sure I haven’t posted here before.

1. Of course, I’m going to start off with a cat picture. I think Mortimer looks adorable here.

2. This was at a vacation rental that we stayed at in 2023. I think these hand mirrors are antique (or at least vintage). They were displayed on a wall in the bathroom, and I thought it was a great idea. It seemed like a fun way to display a collection without really taking up space.

3. I enjoy taking pictures of the sky, and I thought it was beautiful this particular evening.

4. I’m not sure what these little white flowers are called, but I think they’re pretty.

5. This hibiscus was at a vacation rental we stayed at in 2022.

6. This was on vacation in 2021. It was insanely humid that day, and the camera lens fogged, but I liked how it made the picture look kind of mysterious and moody.

7. Theodore loves it when we get a suitcase out of the closet.

8. So does Mortimer.

9. This was sunrise on Kiawah Island on our 2024 vacation.

10. This was the first time I successfully built a cooking fire entirely on my own after Hurricane Helene. I’m not the outdoorsy type, so it felt like a major accomplishment.

11. This was when a possum stopped by the critter corner.

12. This was one of the few beach pictures I took on vacation last year before we got sick.

13. Finally, here's a flower picture that, according to the date stamp, I took on February 29, 2024. I'm trying to remind myself that the snow will melt and spring will eventually arrive!

Are you also eagerly anticipating warmer weather?

Maybe We’re Finally Thawing Out

2026-02-02T23:21:00.001-05:00

Like most of you, we’ve had a lot of snow and ice lately. I know “a lot” is relative when it comes to snow and ice. But for here, where most of us panic at the mention of snow, and almost none of us can drive in it, what we’ve had is definitely a lot.

From the first round. It's mostly ice. There are icicles on the bird feeders.

Last weekend (January 24^th -25^th), we had some snow, a lot of ice, and freezing rain. There were widespread power outages. We were some of the fortunate ones who didn’t lose power. It flickered so much that we fully expected to lose it, but never did. Nick’s office was closed for two days, and mine switched us all to telework.

Everything was coated in ice.

We had some warming and melting, but still had ice in several places by Friday.

This past weekend (January 31^st – February 1^st), we had snow and extreme cold. I think we ended up with around six inches of snow in total. It’s a little hard to tell because of the way the wind blew it around.

From this past weekend. We had more after I took this. And there's ice from the week before underneath it in some places.

Again, we were fortunate and didn’t lose power. It did get so cold, though, that the heater wasn’t able to keep up and was running around seven degrees colder than what it was set for.

We did everything we could to keep the house warmer. We hung blankets over the blinds in the windows to help insulate the house a little more. I did some baking and made soups and chili. We had neighbors over for soup and chili both weekends.

My job has switched us all to telework again for at least the next day or two, which I’m happy about since I absolutely don’t drive in this kind of weather.

Things are beginning to thaw out.

There's still ice under some of this, so I don't trust it.

We are supposed to have highs ranging from 47 to 51 this weekend. I’m so glad! I haven’t left the house since January 23^rd, and I’m starting to go a little stir crazy. I’m looking forward to getting out.

I hate winter. I really, really hate winter. I started off in January trying to have a positive attitude about winter and trying to make the best of the cold, but at this point, I’m just over it. I’m ready for spring!

I would much rather be taking pictures of flowers than snow!

So, what about you? Are you thawing out? Ready for spring?

I Have to Say This

2026-01-27T17:13:00.000-05:00

I’ve been trying to write this post for a few days now. It’s a struggle to find the right words.

The words still aren’t right, and it’s rambly, but I have to say this.

Renee Good should still be alive.

Liam Ramos should be in preschool, not a detention center.

Alex Pretti should still be alive and caring for patients.

No one should be so terrified of being sent to a concentration camp that they cannot leave their house to go to work or the grocery store.

What’s happening in America is not okay.

If you are okay with what is happening, with mothers being murdered in the street, with children being used as bait, with ICU nurses being murdered for trying to help, then we’re not friends. Not in real life, not online, not in any way.

I’ve never considered myself a very political person. I still don’t. I would like to think I’m a decent person, though, and I cannot reconcile basic human decency with quietly ignoring what is happening.

I’m not a political blogger. I never have been. Anytime I’ve had to classify my blog, I’ve clicked “lifestyle” because it’s mainly about the things in my life, the things that are important to me. Most of those things are frivolous and silly, but they make me happy, so I share them.

But, if you are murdered by your government, you cannot drink sweet tea, you cannot rescue cats, you cannot feed groundhogs, you cannot cook for the people you love, you will not see another spring, and you will miss out on so many things you should be there for.

I am older than Renee Good and Alex Pretti were. I’ve had years more to do and write about the things that matter to me and that make me happy. And there’s still so much I want to do. All of that was stolen from them.

I don’t consider it “political” to say that it is not okay when what is essentially a masked army descends on a community and begins murdering citizens in the streets. I call that basic human empathy.

No one should live in fear because of the color of their skin or the accent they speak with.

No one should live in fear because of who they love.

No one should live in fear because of how they worship (or don’t worship).

No one should be murdered because they tried to be a good person and help their neighbors.

We are not okay. What is happening in our country is not okay.

I don’t know how we got here, and I honestly don’t know how we come back from this. But I am sure it is NOT by being silent.

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”

I’m still not a political blogger, but I’m also not going to be silent about what is happening. Silence isn’t going to fix this.

Thursday 13: My First One in 2026

2026-01-15T00:00:00.001-05:00

1. As usual, a cat picture seems like a good way to start this Thursday 13. This is a picture of my sister’s cat, Flitwick, that I took when we were there for Christmas.

2. Speaking of starting things, we started 2026 off by attending a party our friends Dennis and James hosted on New Year’s Day. They have two adorable Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs. This picture is of Magnus.

3. It would be nice if there’s any truth to the idea that what you do on January 1^st sets the tone for your year. We had a great time at the party, met a lot of nice people, spent time with adorable and sweet pets, and enjoyed some delicious food. Continuing that theme would make it a good year!

4. Another fun start to the year was doing an escape room for the first time. We went with our friends Jen and Chuck. The one we did was Clue themed (we had to figure out who, in what room, and what the weapon was, and we had an hour to do it).

5. It was the first time Nick and I did an escape room, and it was so much fun. I definitely want to do one again!

6. I’ve set my reading goals for the year on The Storygraph.

7. My 2026 reading goal is 52 books, which is basically a book per week. It seems reasonable. I didn’t quite make it last year, but I think I would have if I hadn’t worked so much overtime in December.

8. I’m technically one book behind already, but I’m very close to finishing a book and an audiobook, so I’m fairly sure I’ll catch up over the weekend.

9. Of those 52 books, I’ve set the goal for 26 of them to be audiobooks. We have a backlog of purchased audiobooks we haven’t listened to yet, and there are so many available through the Libby app. Since I have so many available and can listen to them while I do other things (I listened to an audiobook while I worked in the yard on Monday), it seems crazy not to make use of them.

10. I’ve also set the goal for 12 of the 52 books to be non-fiction. I mostly read fiction, and I don’t think that will ever change, but I would like to branch out and read a little more non-fiction. Twelve a year is basically one a month, which seems like a good goal.

11. If you’re on The Storygraph and want to be friends, my super-creative username is dlzecher.

12. We downloaded camera pictures right before we left for my sister’s for Christmas, and I came across this one of Caroline that I like. I think it shows off how pretty her face is.

13. One more cat picture seems like a great way to end this. Theodore has started tucking himself into bed sometimes, and it’s absolutely adorable.

A Cold Hour in the Yard

2026-01-12T21:28:00.000-05:00

Once Christmas is over, I am ready for winter to be over. After the Christmas lights and decorations are (mostly) put away, it’s just cold and gray. The winter blues really set in.

I know spending time outside in the sunlight, even when it’s cold, really helps, but I struggle to make myself spend time outside this time of year.

I really hate to be cold.

This year, though, to make spending time outside in the cold weather a little more pleasant, I’ve decided to focus on yard/garden chores I can do in the cold weather. It makes it seem like spring isn’t quite so far away.

It seems like there are always things to do in the yard/garden, and I want to make it as beautiful as possible. So, getting started on things now makes sense in addition to getting me outside in the sunshine (even when it’s cold).

Last week, Nick and I did a lot of pruning/trimming and general yard pick-up. I forgot to take any progress pictures.

This week, I decided to prune the hydrangea that had grown out of control. This is the ideal time of year to prune hydrangeas, anyway, so it was the perfect cold-weather yard task to tackle after work today.

Here’s the before.

I told you it had grown out of control.

I also trimmed the holly bush next to the hydrangea. It was out of control, too, and I needed space to get behind the hydrangea to get the back of it. I’m not sure if this is the right time of year to trim the holly bush, but I don’t especially like it, so I’m not really concerned. I eventually want to get rid of it and replace it with a camellia.

This was my first pile of branches to haul away. I ended up hauling away six wheelbarrows of branches.

Here’s the after.

I still need to do some more trimming, but it was getting dark, so I called it a day.

One day closer to spring!

Do you have any cold-weather projects you're working on?

Twenty-Five Things to Wrap Up 2025

2026-01-01T00:32:00.008-05:00

Since I haven’t posted in a long time, I thought a 25 Things post would be a good way to catch up and wrap up 2025. That way, I can start fresh in 2026.

1. Since I usually start this kind of post off with a cat picture, enjoy this one of Theodore cuddled up in a blanket.

2. Back in October, I wrote that I had finished up on a project with a tight deadline, and wasn’t expecting any more tight deadlines until January. I spoke too soon!

3. On December 1^st, I was told about a project with a January 3^rd deadline. Normally, this type of project would be completed over the course of six months to a year, but that wasn’t an option this time.

4. All of us working on it have worked a ton of overtime, and we’re on track to make the deadline.

5. Working that much overtime in December was a little difficult since it’s a busy time of year with holiday stuff, and I had already committed to a few things I wouldn’t have if I had known this was coming.

6. On the plus side, all of us who worked on it are going into the new year with over 100 hours of comp time.

7. It can be frustrating at times that we earn comp time instead of getting paid overtime, but I keep reminding myself that the comp time will help me retire sooner.

8. Another positive is that I get along and work really well with the other people on this project. If you’re on the phone with a coworker at 11:30 on Friday night and then again at 7:30 Saturday morning, it helps when it’s someone you have a good working relationship with.

9. Everyone else found out about the project the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but I was off that day.

10. We hosted a big Thanksgiving at our house, with a total of 15 people. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

11. As usual, I forgot to take many pictures. I took pictures of a few desserts on Wednesday night, and then forgot all about taking pictures.

12. Unfortunately, we skipped taking Thanksgiving dinner to the hospice house this year. I was over the cough, but still not back to feeling 100%, and I really didn’t have the energy to make two huge Thanksgiving dinners.

13. We’ve decided to change to taking a smaller meal there more than once a year. I’m posting that here to help hold myself accountable since it won’t be tied to a specific event, which makes it easier to forget to do.

14. Tara had a bout of pancreatitis. She and I spent most of the day before Thanksgiving at the vet’s office.

15. She was given medication, and we’ve made some changes to her food, and she seems to be doing much better now.

16. Even with all of the overtime I worked, we were still able to go to my sister and S-I-L’s (Gabby and Amy) for Christmas.

17. They let me be in charge of the Barbie tree again.

18. I always have so much fun decorating the Barbie tree.

19. We tried to do a Christmas photo shoot with our cats before we left, and managed to get these of Caroline and Theodore.

20. We also tried to do a Christmas photo shoot with some of Gabby and Amy’s cats.

21. Dobby was the most cooperative.

22. And Sota did alright.

23. The cats kept trying to eat the bows, so we had to put everything away, and we never got around to trying again with any of the other cats.

24. Even though we didn’t get Christmas photos of any of their other cats, I did get more cat pictures. This is Severus.

25. And that is it. The last couple of months of 2025 were busy, just not very exciting.

I hope you all had a great end to 2025. I’m working on catching up with everyone’s blogs, and hope to “see” you soon.

Happy New Year!

Thursday 13: Scarves, Shots, and Snow

2025-11-13T21:39:00.000-05:00

1. I’m still kind of obsessed with making V stitch scarves.

2. I finished this one for one of the neighbors.

3. And this one for another neighbor.

4. Both kids used their mom’s phone to text me to thank me for the scarves, and their texts were so sweet.

5. We had our first snow for the season on Monday and Tuesday. The higher elevations had a lot. We were fortunate enough not to get very much.

6. I know for most of you this is nothing, but it’s more than I like to see in November. It’s still technically fall!

7. Nick and I were both off on Tuesday for Veterans’ Day, so that was the day we scheduled Charlie and Mortimer’s shots and checkups. They weighed in at 24 pounds (Charlie) and 22.5 pounds (Mortimer).

8. Charlie and Mortimer are both very good at the vet and mostly just huddled together on the exam table.

9. We’re both finally starting to feel better, but are still extremely tired, so after Charlie and Mortimer’s appointment, we had a nice, chill day at home.

10. Caroline had her shots and checkup yesterday afternoon.

11. Caroline is normally NOT good at the vet. Since it was a work-from-home day for me, I was able to give her Gabapentin a few hours before her appointment. It definitely helped!

12. This was Caroline’s first vet visit where no one bled. They were able to do a full exam and even weigh her. She weighs 12.5 pounds.

13. I've already started working on another scarf that I hope to be able to show you next week.

How has your week been?

Thursday 13: Cats

2025-11-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

I’m still dealing with a pretty bad cough from the cold/sinus thing, so I don’t have much to blog about this week. But I realized I have a lot of cat pictures I haven’t shared, so this is basically a cat picture and cat video dump. Enjoy!

1. We'll start with a picture of Moritmer in the ice cream truck.

2. Here's a video of Theodore watching a squirrel in the window feeder.

3. Here's one of Caroline and Theodore playing.

4. It is nearly impossible to get all of the cats to eat their own food from their own plate, so when they do, it's a photowrothy moment.

5. Here's a video of Mortimer watching a squirrel in the window feeder.

6. Here's where Theodore likes to hang out on my work-from-home days.

7. Here's my sister's cat, Kreacher, on the couch I crocheted. I think it's holding up well.

8. Here's a video of Charlie going "fishing."

9. Here are the three kittens (Blanche, Sophia, and Fergus) that my sister and S-I-L rescued last year.

10. Here's a picture of Tara, who is usually camera-shy.

11. Here's one of Charlie in the ice cream truck.

12. Here's one of Caroline enjoying her desk bed.

13. Lastly, enjoy this video of Theodore with one of the Halloween toys.

Thursday 13: Sick of Being Sick and Some Randomness

2025-10-30T19:50:00.001-04:00

1. After my last Thursday 13, I had every intention of getting back on a somewhat regular blogging schedule. I had been sick with some kind of cold/sinus thing, but was almost completely back to normal.

2. A few days later, whatever it was came back, so I went to the doctor. I tested negative for Covid and flu. I was put on antibiotics, steroids, and cough medicine. I started feeling a lot better within a few days, and within a week, I thought I was completely over it.

3. So, we left for our planned vacation on the 22^nd.

4. We got to feed seagulls on the beach, which I absolutely love.

5. We had a couple of wonderful vacation days, but on Saturday, I started feeling really tired. We had been out late the night before at a comedy mystery show, so I wasn’t surprised to be tired.

6. By Sunday evening, I was sick. Uncontrollable cough, sore throat, etc. I opted to try the Teladoc program that’s available through my health insurance, which worked out really well. I was prescribed different antibiotics (and a longer course), cough medicine, and an inhaler. They did not think it was Covid or the flu.

7. By Monday night, Nick was also getting sick.

8. We were due to come home yesterday, the 29^th, so we basically spent from Saturday through Wednesday morning hanging out at the rental. Fortunately, the bed and couch were very comfortable, we had packed plenty of books (with plans to read on the beach), and the rental had several streaming services.

9. We left for home early yesterday morning and have spent most of our time sleeping since then. We both still feel pretty awful, but are hoping to be over whatever this is by the time we go back to work next week. I’ve been sick for the better part of a month now, and I’m sick of being sick!

10. Our awesome neighbors took care of the cats while we were gone, and sent plenty of pictures and updates. Some of the kids did their schoolwork at our house during the day, so the cats wouldn’t be lonely. Isn’t that sweet?

11. While I wasn’t sick, I crocheted another scarf. This one was for one of the neighbor girls. She seemed to like it when I gave it to her.

12. Recently, her mom told me that she still uses the purse I made her, though usually as a tote bag when she needs to take clothes or books somewhere. That made me so happy to hear!

13. I’m working on catching up with visiting all of your blogs and hope to “see” everyone soon. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween tomorrow. And if you have any tips on getting/staying well, please share them!

Thursday 13: Hi

2025-10-09T00:00:00.001-04:00

Since I haven’t blogged in almost three months, I thought a Thursday 13 would be a good way to start back and catch up.

1. Since cat pictures are always a good way to start, enjoy this one of Caroline. The bed she’s in clamps to the side of my desk, so she has a comfy place to “supervise” me on my work-from-home days.

2. Caroline has had a lot of work to supervise during my blogging break. I got assigned to help another team with a project that had a very tight deadline, so I was putting in some extra hours. We made it, though, and (fingers crossed) it should be January before I’m dealing with any more super-tight deadlines.

3. Charlie does not involve himself in my work.

4. Nick and I celebrated our 17^th wedding anniversary in September. It doesn’t seem like it has been that long!

5. Theodore turned one at the end of August.

6. It’s beginning to look and feel like Fall is really here. We’ve had highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid-40s.

7. I’ve switched to my Fall cards for my buddies with Chemo Angels and Senior Angels.

8. I’ve been crocheting again.

9. I found this tutorial and liked the way it looked, so I made one (with no plan for giving it to any particular person). I enjoyed making it, and I love the texture the stitches create. (Note: I used an H hook and a shorter starting chain for a narrower scarf.)

10. During the decluttering/organizing that we did during the spring and summer, I realized that I have A LOT of yarn I had forgotten about. I came across this green, which is our neighbor’s (Lori) favorite color. I asked Lori if she’d like a scarf in that color, and she said yes.

11. When I dropped off Lori’s scarf, I asked if anyone else would like a scarf. Fortunately, a few people said yes. I’m almost finished with a pink scarf for one of the girls. Next up is a light blue one for one of the girls, and a dark blue one for one of the boys. One of the other boys really liked the original gray one, so I gave that one to him.

12. We got the cats an ice cream truck (remember how much they loved the taco truck), which they enjoyed.

13. I’m working on catching up with visiting everyone’s blogs and hope to “see” you soon.

Thursday 13: Hi

2025-07-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

Since I haven’t blogged in quite a while, I thought a Thursday 13 would be a good way to start back.

1. Since a cat picture is always a good way to start a Thursday 13, enjoy this picture of Tara. She’s camera-shy, so I’m always happy when I’m able to get a picture of her.

2. I don’t really have a great reason for not blogging much. One of the main reasons has been that I find myself alternating between ridiculous amounts of doomscrolling and then taking myself entirely offline for a while. Also, I tend to blog about very unimportant things, and that has felt wrong lately. Recently, my friend at my work showed me where they keep all of their documentation to be here. I’m not sure what else to call it. This person legally immigrated here over 30 years ago, has multiple advanced degrees, and works for the government. (I want to be clear that I am not saying that this person’s degrees or employment status make them more worthy of not being snatched off the street and potentially sent to a concentration camp. I’m just trying to make the point that plenty of people, regardless of other factors, are living in fear simply because of their skin color. And that is not OK.) But, recently, they came to me and said, “Because I’m brown, I want to make sure someone here knows where all of these things are.” They then showed me where to look in their wallet for various forms of documentation. On one hand, I’m glad they showed me because, unfortunately, I think it’s good for someone to know. On the other hand, that is not a conversation we ever should have needed to have. I hate that they’re in a position to need to pick a person at work to have that conversation with. It’s hard to come home and write a blog post about groundhogs or flowers after something like that.

3. I don’t want to make it sound like it has just been misery that has kept me from blogging, It hasn’t. I have a very bad habit of trying to start way too many projects at once. In April, I decided to start a massive decluttering/organizing project on the whole house, sign up for the A to Z Blogging Challenge, take on a fourth Chemo Angels buddy, start the garden, continue working on our big drainage project, and work on some other projects in the yard. Some of those things have gone better than others, and some have spilled over and are still going on.

4. On the decluttering/organizing front, we have made tons of progress. This closet used to have things falling off the shelves. We didn’t keep track, but between donations and a few things that went to the dump, we got rid of probably dozens of carloads of stuff.

5. We each got rid of about half of our clothing and reorganized where and how we store a lot of things. It makes keeping up with laundry, putting away clean laundry, and getting dressed so much easier. Plus, it makes me ridiculously happy every time I see my shirts organized by style and color.

6. Theodore absolutely loves storage cubes!

7. With our neighbors’ help, we have finished one of the French drains we were working on. After this project is finished, I will be very happy if I never have to shovel gravel again!

8. We are almost finished with the second French drain. We just need to add the overflow valve and finish filling in the trench with the pipe.

9. We haven’t started on the third one yet. Between heat advisories and storms, it has been hard to do much work outside. We hoped to be able to hire someone to finish the project and do some grading work, but after the estimate, that’s off the table for a while.

10. Some parts of the garden are going better than others.

11. The Orange Chef’s Choice tomato plant is doing fairly well.

12. The Roma tomato plant is barely hanging on.

13. I’m working on catching up on visiting all of your blogs, and hope to “see” you soon.

Visitors

2025-04-25T19:36:00.001-04:00

V is one of the harder letters (at least for me) in the A to Z Challenge.

That means it's time for another critter corner video!

This one at least has V (Visits) in the title.

Umbrella

2025-04-24T20:22:00.001-04:00

Actually, it's another groundhog video! But, it's one with an umbrella, so I think it counts for my U post.

Time for More Groundhogs

2025-04-23T22:04:00.000-04:00

Since I went two days in a row without posting a groundhog video, I thought it was time for more groundhogs. That works for my T post.

So here's more of the groundhogs.

Squirrels

2025-04-22T14:07:00.002-04:00

In addition to the groundhogs and possums, we also have squirrels that like to visit our critter corner.

The squirrels also enjoy eating out of the bird feeders in the front yard.

I'm still not sure how this one got in this feeder!

Raccoons

2025-04-21T06:15:00.001-04:00

While the groundhogs are the most frequent visitors to our critter corner, we do have some other visitors, especially at night while the groundhogs are tucked into their burrows.

Here are a couple of videos of our raccoon visitors.

Q Is One of the Harder Letters

2025-04-19T23:18:00.000-04:00

Q is definitely one of the harder letters (at least for me) during the A to Z Challenge.

Since I couldn't come up with anything interesting for Q, I decided to share another groundhog video.

They're just too cute not to share!

Possums

2025-04-18T22:34:00.003-04:00

Groundhogs are definitely the most common visitors to our critter corner, but we do occasionally have other visitors, including possums.

Of Course I'm Sharing More Groundhog Videos

2025-04-17T22:49:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of groundhog videos, and they're adorable.

Of course I'm going to keep sharing them whenever I can make it work for the day's letter.

They like watermelon.

They also like tomatoes.