HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Original title, eh?  LOL  I do hope you all have a wonderful 2011.  I had fully intended to get one more post in for last year, but as my luck would have it my PC is having issues.  Even tho' I have my trusty laptop, I have been spending countless hours installing, uninstalling, researching, chatting with tech support and generally trying not to pull my lovely purple hair out over it all! 

Hopefully TODAY I can get finished with it.  I'm pretty sure that a virus or something got past my Best of the Best that Norton has to offer software.  At least that's what it acts like.  Norton did detect some serious stuff and fixed it, but even after that and multiple full system scans, the PC is still 'freezing' up and acting FUNky!  I actually decided to just forget the fact that I had only a month ago, spent about $100 renewing my Norton subscriptions for the 100dth time (as I've used Norton for years) and uninstalled it all and am trying Kaspersky on my PC and AVG on my laptop.  So far the laptop is finding AVG agreeable, but since I'm still working on the PC I can't really say about Kaspersky yet except that it did find some stuff that Norton apparently missed.  But, as we speak I am running Kaspersky's Virus Removal Tool and am anxious to see if that does the trick!!  Wish me luck. 

Man, I had all sorts of things I was gonna write about and I'll probably forget half of it.  Let's see.......

Oh yes!  Murphy is a water kitty.  I did post pictures of her playing in the trickle of water at the kitchen sink, but it has gotten worse than that!  We have to be sure to keep the toilet seat lid down and that's all I'm gonna say about that!  But now she will actually get IN the shower with us to drink and play in the water and has NO problem getting all soaking wet!  Up until a week ago, she would just get in and play in the water after one of us would get out, but now.......she just gets in with us!  Funniest damn cat I ever had!  Puss Puss wouldn't even walk on the porch after it rained.  If she got one little paw wet, she had a little kitty panic attack!  Hahaha.  That was pretty damn cute, too!

AND.........Murphy is an awesome mouser!  She loves to go out into the garage and into the crawl space under the house (which is accessed from the garage) and every time she does, she brings us a prize.  GOOD kitty!! :)

OMG!!!!!!  I am forgetting that I haven't posted since X-Mas and have not gotten to show off my gift from Chuck!  He finally got me something that I have been wanting since about 1984!  Just guessing....it's been a long ass time I've been wanting a RUBY RING!!!!!!!!!

It is SOOOO beautious! Rubys and Diamonds......yum! So, I have myself a new wedding ring and will be having my original one resized to wear on my middle finger next to the Ruby. My friend, Debbie, was instrumental in orchestrating the whole thing and I owe her my eternal gratitude. Hee hee.

MY GIRL'S ARE LOOKIN' GOOD!

Well, here's a "Horse Post" for a change.  It's been all about Murphy for awhile and no talk about my girls.  So unfair!  Chuck had some trouble with his van yesterday and we had to drop it off at the shop.  When I picked him up and brought him home, he decided to let Dixie into the outer pasture to play with her Mama, Susie.

If you recall, Dixie has Laminitis in her hooves and the poor thing has been 'quarantined' in the barn yard, on a diet of only hay and water {and her morning carrots} since July.  Partly so her hooves could heal and partly so she could lose a few hundred pounds.  We figure she's lost about 200-250 lbs and she sure is looking good!

I showed this picture to Chuck and he said that Susie was "giving me the tail"! How funny!! LOL

The did have a great time running and playing and I got a few more shots of them with my trusty iPhone before I headed to town.

 It's actually quite nice to have some pictures of them with the barn and OUR house in the background!  Usually I'm snapping shots from the yard near the house and our neighbor's house/trailers/dead vehicles, etc are the backdrop.  Ewww.  This is much better :)

It doesn't look like Chuck's X-Mas gift is going to make it in time for the big day and I'll have to wrap a picture of it for him, instead.  He won't mind, but I'd rather have it get here in time.  Mayhaps it will.  I ordered him a horse weathervane for the barn and he'll love it!   Anything to do with the horses and he's good to go. I used to dazzle him with new tools or guns, but at this age...he's pretty much got everything in those departments!  As for ME, there are no strange gifts under the tree with my name on them, but I do know that he and Deb have had their heads together a couple times the past couple weeks.  Although she and I have never had a "what do you want for X-Mas conversation", it'll be interesting to see what they came up with.  Hee hee.  We're giving Deb {Casino} money and getting her lovable Redneck Hubby a carton of smokes and a case of beer.  Neither one of them would like anything better! 

And we are also giving them a night off, so to speak.  Their boys (grandsons that they are raising) Corbin and Noah are going to spend the night with us tomorrow night.  Corbin (9) is looking forward to baking X-Mas cookies with me and Noah just wants to "hang out" with Chuckie (as the 5 year old calls him :) ) and watch westerns.  It'll be interesting.  I adore them both and Corbin often comes down to help me do stuff or to just hang out.....just the 2 of us.  He thrives on the one on one time and the attention.  Poor Deb works long hours and their time is limited.  HOWEVER....when the 2 of them are together, they are a force to reckon with, so I repeat.  It will be interesting......sigh......

SUPER MURPHY!

I am here to tell you that my new kitty is amazing!  Getting through this holiday season will be a breeze, with her around.  I mean....check it out....

 She kept an eye on me at the computer and supervised the making of a bunch of Christmas cards.

 She helped decorate the tree.

 She LOVES to help with the dishes!

 And she was a huge help with sending out the Christmas cards!!

I simply can not believe that I was ready to take her back!  I guess she tuned in to my frustration and decided to pitch in and make up for all the biting and terrorizing.  Quite honestly, I still think she has an invisible friend that she tears around the house with, but I'm cool with that.

As for the tree, she has only broken 2 ornaments.  The 1st one was no big deal.  The second one was from a set of 4 that I had bought for our 1st Christmas tree, at Bresee's Department Store about 100 years ago.  But, hey....it's only an ornament.  Besides, the really treasured ones that were my Mom's from her and Dad's early days are safely at the top of the tree!

Hubs has not made the Holiday Season nearly as pleasant as Murphy has!  He has been cranky to the max.  Part of his crankiness is due to the amount of $$ I spend on Christmas gifts.  But there are 10 grandkids!  {Our lovely 5 in Alaska that you always hear about and the 5 resulting from his 1st marriage that I rarely speak about because there just isn't that much interaction}.  Anyway, even tho' I have cut down considerably the past couple of years, it's still a reason for him to be pi$$y.  And yet!  He wants to make sure they have what they want, etc.  He just has no clue as to what things cost, unless it's sold at Lowe's or the lumber company.  Hee hee.  

Needless to say, since he's been on my case about the fact that I am out of $$ and need some, I have YET to scream at him that I spent my last $200 on a gift for HIM!!  And I have to wait 10 more days until I get the satisfaction of him feeling like a total jerk.  Damn.  But if he gets much worse, I just might take it back.  Buwahahahaha.

PROGRESS IS BEING MADE

She is still spazzy and she is still investigating EVERYthing.....again and again.  She is coming around tho', a little bit at a time.  I've been working with her and trying to "train" her to come when called and also to let me hold her longer and pet her without launching an attack on my hand.  I keep her favorite treats nearby and the only time I give her one is when she responds 'properly' :).  Seems to be working.

Chuck picked up a Christmas tree yesterday and when we were setting it up last night, she had what was her first {and hopefully last} adventure with the tree.  Chuck got it all anchored in the base while I was holding it, then he stood up to hold it while I stepped away to make sure it was straight.  Up she went, quick as a flash!  Right up the trunk and inner branches, while Chuck was holding it!!  Well, he shook the hell outta that tree and she flew out of there and ran upstairs like a shot!  Hopefully that did the trick and she'll stay out of it.  Only time will  tell.  It's a very heavy and dense, thick branches tree with a big trunk.  I don't think she'll be tipping it over, so I won't worry about that.  I just put the lights on it a few minutes ago and she is quite fascinated by the twinkling.  It might behoove me to turn the twinkle off, but I sure hate to.  My lights MUST twinkle, damn it!!

It's been kinda nice this year, to feel up to going out and about and do some Christmas shopping.  I did manage to screw it up, tho'.  I went on Thursday and got several things accomplished, then went to the Casino with Deb Thursday PM.  Went out on Friday to finish up my shopping and even after all the activity of the day before, by Friday PM I was still doing good and my back wasn't bothering me!  Saturday I thought of a few more things and off I went, but before I was finished.....bam!  My back started hurting sooo bad.  But I did manage to finish my last stop before I had to head home.   Still pretty bad today, but I am trying to decorate.  Chuck and I got all our goodies out last night and he went off to work for a few hours today and I'm supposed to be decorating.  I got the lights on the tree so far and that's it.  I better get cracking and get some more stuff on the tree, at least, before he gets home!  Oh, crap!  Here he comes now.........see ya!

Murphy is a Terrorist!

This beautiful little girl kitty i brought home to 'Save' will be the death of me!! She is a terrorist kitty, from the butt crack of dawn to lights out time. THAT is one thing for which I am very thankful. She's quiet at night. We all sleep well.

Actually, she is quiet during the day......but totally full of some sort of 'energy' that has her quite literally climbing the walls; sniffing, biting and licking EVERYthing in her path (and out of her path). The only time, during the day, that she is not on the go at top turbo speed, is when she is by one of the sliding glass doors watching leaves blow by or birds at the feeders. And that only lasts for about 10-15 minutes at a time.

Now that she is 'settled in' and 'used to us', there is no picking up or holding allowed. She will flip over and bite me while applying the use of all claws on all paws! My hands are mincemeat.....and my nose has a bit of a scab on it :(. She acts like she is eating an endless supply of catnip, but it's all hidden away and she sure as hell isn't gonna get any. You can't play with her. She won't interact with us or any of her toys, and believe me...I've tried everything I can think of.

I've been doing a lot of research, as is my habit with all things that cross my path or my mind, and I am convinced that she is/was a Feral cat. If that be the case, we can be pretty sure that she will never change. She is constantly on alert and full of nervous energy. Sometimes while I am sitting at the computer, she will come and lay at my feet. Very sweet...but if I reach down to pet her, she attacks my hand and bolts! And, no, I'm not scaring her. She sees my hand coming and I am talking to her the whole time.

Luckily, she has not been destructive. Nothing has been broken or shredded....yet. She is just incredibly hyper and very unfriendly. Not at ALL what I had in mind for a cat. Chuck says to give her time. We shall see what he says after we put up our Christmas tree that I am afraid to put up, but he insists that we must! Let's see how much time he wants to give her after the tree comes down and half of my 'family heirloom' ornaments are broken. Sigh.........

I have been trying to work on calming her, by keeping her favorite treats nearby and if she lets me pick her up and hold her for 5 seconds (heh) and pet her a bit, I try to give her a treat before she 'attacks'. Today she got 3 treats out of 6 attempts. I imagine that another cat may help, but I seriously doubt Chuck would ever go for having 2 cats. I'm really not sure how this will play out. She just might become.....a Barn Cat!

Wow, I just realized that it has been forever since my last post! I totally missed Thanksgiving and posting about sweet Emily's birthday! She turned 12 on the 27th and is so incredibly grown up!

 Here she is with her Hufflepuff scarf that she wanted ever so badly and I happily obliged :).  Xander is so cute peering over her shoulder!

Well, I'm off to start writing X-Mas cards.  Need to get some gifts wrapped and in the mail, too.  Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..............