Day of relaxing (December 7, 2021)

Taking our cue from Collette and TC we took a day off from going, going, going.  Mama Rainbow was adopted sometime during this week leaving the 3-month-old kittens to cuddle by themselves.  Those sillies were still nursing up until the day Rainbow left!

Sigh. This is the closet AFTER we organized things to make room for other things so there'd be room for everyone to visit.  Every closet in the house looks like this. As does the garage.  And the toolshed.  And the storage space under the house. Still so, so much to do!  Not kidding when I say we'll be spending at least a year getting the house cleared.
 

Georgie (December 6, 2021)

 I promise I'm not a crazy cat lady--yet.  But we do feed Georgie.  He frequently shows up for dinner in the late afternoon.  Some neighbors think his people moved and left him behind.  Other neighbors think he's a scammer who chows down at several houses.  He does look healthy, not starved.  Either way, we put his bowl off the porch on the sidewalk.  Otherwise he plops down beside the front door, making himself at home, caring less that Zephyr is puffed up and hissing at him.  The porch is hers! Papa's 21-year-old pickup is on the street.  My brother Charles's 65-year-old toy truck is in the foreground.

Georgie's portrait by Mya.  She used his photo as a guide. Great job, Mya!

Hanging out before Micah and Otis fly back to Portland (December 6, 2021)

The plague cats were returned to sun room isolation after the graduation get together.  So we moved the basketball hoop to the entry way.

Otis, Piper, and River on the tiniest basketball court ever.

Otis and Piper

Piper (8), Otis (13), River (10).  Look how Piper palms that ball!

Annual Mom and the boys photo.

My three sons.  Makes me think of My Three Sons, the 1960s sitcom with Fred MacMurray, who played widower Steve Douglas raising three boys.  He had a good job and live-in help, different circumstances than for most single moms, including me. I love my boys so much!

 

Celebrating Ryder's college graduation (December 5, 2021)

So proud of Ryder's 2021 graduation from Regis University, a private Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado. Accomplished all while working full time and being a very involved Dad.  What's he looking forward to now that college courses are done?  Sleep!  Brandy and Mya came over a little early to decorate for the graduation get together. 

And he was so close to being the 4.0 Man as memorialized on his graduation cake!  He thought his last course was pass/fail so didn't turn in one assignment.  Turns out it was graded because he was an online rather than in-person student.  So he graduated with something like a 3.95 GPA.  Still....

The Howells, the Roberts, and Roy celebrated with us. River, Mya, Lucy, and Piper hang out while Jim thinks.

Plague cats Mama Rainbow, Sunkist and TC had been isolated in the sun room due to their ringworm.  So before the party, I moved the kitties to the master bath and bleached every surface in the sun room so we could all use it during the get together.  I'm writing this 6 weeks later:  no report that anyone got ringworm.  Whew! 

Micah, Sarah, Kirk, Amon, Ryder, and Brandy on the deck.

Jake, Lucy, and Piper shot hoops in the sun room.

Ryder and I are both mid-life college graduates.  I graduated from UT School of Law in May 1994, at age 40, nearly 41.  Maybe life does begin at 40?  I met my landlord Tom that month in what has become the house of light and joy. I rented the room that is now Tom's space for the 2 months that I studied for and took the bar exam. Little did I know I'd stand on the very same doorstep 27 years later with my first-born, celebrating his college graduation.

Brandy and Ryder

Otis and Mya (I think) at the indoor hoop.

Deck talk with Ryder, Brandy, Piper, Tom, Micah, and Mya

 

After brunch fun (December 5, 2021)

We played the corn hole game outside the 2020 Market in the Rivery.

The Horns, Brandy, and Fox hung out while everyone else played.

Shorts, T-shirts, and a Christmas tree. Because. We're in Central Texas.

With the grands.  Note that I'm in at least 1" heels.  They're growing up and past me!

Otis, Micah, and Danny

 

Brunch with the Horns (December 5, 2021)

Everyone but Tom and Amon, who were at work, met at 2020 Market in Georgetown for brunch.  Mya and Fox both wanted to sit beside popular cousin Danny. 

Beautiful day!  So good to see the Horns again.  Danny is majoring in linguistic forensics with a projected 2022 graduation. She's moving into her first apartment this weekend with shopping at IKEA set for after brunch. Warm enough for open garage doors, also a COVID protection precaution.  Omicron variant on the horizon....
 

Beto's rally for Governor (Saturday, December 4)

We attended Beto O'Rourke's Austin kickoff campaign rally on Saturday night, meeting Brandy there.  She'd been there early to help with the VIP event.  We met Beto after the rally.  Future Texas governor?  Brandy's working hard for that future.  Thank you, Brandy!  I'll play a smaller part, writing letters maybe.  Knocking on doors and making cold calls is not me.

Just before the rally, we met Sarah Howell and a friend at the bird statue in the Square.

During the entire rally, the opposition circled the block next to Republic Square.  The sign on the bumper said the naysaying was paid for by supporters for Governor Abbott.

Biden was a target too.

 

Lunch at Amon's while he's at work (Saturday, December 4)

Everyone arrived Friday night after delays.  Apparently the pilot's seat on the plane from Portland was broken so the Portland Lewises arrived several hours late, after the seat was repaired.  As Micah said, "Couldn't he sit on a bucket?" The Asheville Lewises' plane was about 2 hours late.  Before they arrived, I picked up their food order from Walmart and put food away at their Air B&B on West St. Johns.  We all met at Amon and Fox's on Saturday for sandwiches and cookies. Amon was at work and didn't know we would be there. Micah and Otis had spent the night there.

Amon and Fox's martial arts living room was a hit!

Chin up challenge!

Next!

Reaching the bar!  Tossing the ball!

About to test how well the bar is anchored in the cross beam.

The bar stayed put and Piper was next.

Time for hide and seek, the ever-popular Nerf gun, and video games.

 Brandy's ready for Beto O'Rourke's rally at Republic Square in downtown Austin tonight.  She's one his ambassadors and will be there several hours early to help with the pre-rally VIP event, the rally, then photos after the rally.

Hours before everyone arrives (December 3, 2021)

Life must go on.  Yet another Friday lime dip for Sunkist and TC.  Mama Rainbow and Sonny are with their adopters.  Surge is with his new foster.
 

Last minute! (December 1-3, 2021)

Oh my!  Two days out. Will we ever get everything in order before everyone arrives on December 3?

Why yes!  Go us!  Miraculous change!

My office with one day to go.  Where oh where to put all the stuff???

Before: Still some space in one of the master bedroom closets.  Not any more!

Still so much to do before everyone arrives December 3! (November 27, 2021)

Only 5 days before everyone arrives and the closets and drawers throughout the house are full.  As is the tool shed.  And the garage.  And the space under the house. Too much stuff! And we've already given a ton away. Where oh where to hide all these things until we have more time to sort???  At least my study walls are painted.

Papa's still sorting through his space too.  Argh!

The kitchen on November 27.  The boxes are full of items I had to remove from the sun room aka cattery when Rainbow and her family arrived with ringworm.  The spores can live in furniture, carpets, and drapes for up to 20 months.  And ringworm is transmissible to humans. Only cleanable surfaces remain in the cattery except for kitten towels, which I wash in hot soapy water daily, and their scratching posts, which I spray with bleach water daily.  I spend about an hour every morning wiping every surface with bleach water.  A lot of surface in that 11' x 17' room! 

The kitchen on November 29, after spending 12 hours rearranging the utility room and giving away more items so all those boxes would fit.  
 

Cats again. Because they're so cute! (November 19-27, 2021)

Lime dip punk fur!  Starting November 9, the kitties get Tuesday/Friday lime dips in an effort to rid them of the ringworm fungus.  So pesky and persistent!

Sunkist's punk fur.  No gel needed.

Sunny knows how to hang out.

I wish I could speak "cat" to understand Sunny's interesting opinion.

You're gonna need a bigger box!

Surge with his prize.

Contemplative TC.

Surge likes to lie in wait in the empty litter bag then pounce on unwary siblings who mosey past.