We had another busy week. Daughter Felicity and her companion Peter visited us for a few days. The new kittens continue settling in and began to play with Elmo. Squirrels have been drinking out of our birdbath. We took in an arts and craft show. Details of all are below.

Felicity and Peter were with us for a few days. Visiting from Tulsa, Oklahoma, this was their first trip to Heart House and we were glad see them. Much talking and eating ensued during the time they were here. It was good to catch up personally with happenings in their life and show them the house. Sister Becky joined us at Heart House on Thursday, to visit with her niece and enjoy the hospitality of the visit.

Peter, me, Pam, and Felicity
Walk about was on the cool side

Pam and I had begun the week with a trip to an arts and antique fair. The event was smaller than in previous years and we didn’t buy much, although Pam came home with a tin sign to place in the kitchen. I was on the look out for kerosene lamps but did not find any this trip.

Pam checks out one of the event’s tables

The new kittens, Stirling and Vienna, continue to get comfortable in their new digs. Elmo has begun playing with them and the kittens are getting used to the dogs (and dogs to kittens). A kitten priority is finding comfortable places to sleep; both are getting that down pat.

Nap time

I am including a 1:56 video of the kittens and Elmo playing around the house. This footage is fairly typical of the activity (or sometimes lack of it) of the young and old cats. Not exciting, but typical.

The dogs have sleeping down to a science. Here are Blondie and Bru settled in for an afternoon nap.

Blondie and Bru at nap time

I have a 36 second video of a black squirrel drinking our of our bird bath. This happens on a fairly regular basis, causing us to wonder where the squirrels were getting their water before we put up the birdbath last spring. We are considering putting up a heated dish for the squirrels to use during the winter and seeing if it gets any use.

Other mundane items accomplished include a major yard clean up. Pam has cut back many of the hostas and geraniums in various flower beds but has more to do. I have been using the lawn vac, with the new hose adapter, but have run into mechanical problems with the machine which has limited its run time. I need to have everything rectified this week as we are at the height of leaf season and really need to have the equipment in top operating condition. More lawn work is on tap for the upcoming week.

Photo Archive

Photos from 1975 showing our first home, a single-wide in a Menomonie, Wisconsin, mobile home park.

’46 Plymouth outside our first home

A fall shot from ’75

“Artsy” photo of Pam and myself

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

It’s pretty clear, when young folks visit, that our retired lifestyle has become fairly uninteresting. Felicity and Peter have jobs to discuss, they have hobbies to discuss, they have future plans to discuss. Himself and I talk about house renovations and various body ailments. (I remember wondering in my past years why oldsters talk about medical stuff so much. Now I know.)

You feel like this some days

Heart House stretches and flexes to accommodate company pretty well. It will certainly be more hospitable in this regard when the upstairs bathroom is fully renovated.

Happy Trails.