PRECIOUS BABY ~ SAUERKRAUT ~ RANDALL PARK ~ SPRING ~ SNOW ~ SUMMER

PRECIOUS BABY

 

I think it's finally time. It has been almost 8 months now since our sweet little Precious Baby left us, and I really haven't been able to write about her on the blog because it made me sad. Even now it is still hard to do, but I figured I'd better include her in the blog since I've been going on and on about Summer so much. I certainly don't want to slight her as she was a part of our family from almost the very beginning. We got her from the Humane Society in Lumberton a little over a year after Linda and I got together. She was about 8 months old when we got her, and to be truthful I guess I should say when she got us. Because we didn't pick her out, she picked us...or rather, she picked Linda. We went to the Humane Society one Saturday just to "look" at kittens. We weren't quite ready to get one yet, but we wanted to see what they had. While I was in the "kitten" room looking at all the little tiny ones, Linda was out in the main room checking out the older kitties. There was one big walk-in cage near the front that had a couple of cat trees in it, and one cat...a beautiful calico. Linda asked the attendant to let her in that cage to check out the kitty. As soon as she got in there, the cat jumped on her shoulders and proceeded to make herself at home. The attendant went and found me and said "I think your friend has found your cat." So that's how she picked us. Her name was "Tiger" but that just wouldn't do for her as she definitely was not a tiger. We had already decided that when we did get a kitty, her name would be Precious. And so it was. We had not intended to bring home a cat, so we had no food, no litter, none of that stuff that you need with a cat. So when we got home, Linda struck out for the store and left me with Precious sitting on my shoulders (always her favorite spot). I sat on the bed and kept repeating her new name over and over to her. It didn't take her long to learn it, either.

She was with us every moment that we were home. She didn't go outside at all, so she was always there. She was there with us when we lived on 14th Street, and she often went with us down to the beach house, although sometimes we did leave her at home. She was there with us when we moved to 17th Street, and she was there with us when we moved all the way across country to Yakima. I think that is why it was so hard when she wasn't there anymore. When you are used to someone being there with you every moment you are in a certain place for almost 16 years, it is very hard to comprehend when you realize they won't be there anymore. We knew it was coming because she was 16 years old and had gotten impossibly thin, but still we weren't ready. I don't think you can ever get ready for losing someone you love. She will always be in our hearts. We had her cremated and put her ashes in a small milk glass covered dish. It seemed fitting for the sweet little Southern belle kitty that she was. So now you know how we came to get our first kitty. I will write more about her in future blogs as she was a big part of our lives.

Precious Baby, also known as Peeber

SAUERKRAUT UPDATE

 

The sauerkraut came out very good! I only let my two jars sit out on the table for 3 days, then I tasted them both and put them in the fridge. The sauerkraut will still continue to ferment and get more flavorful, just at a much slower rate in the fridge. You can actually start tasting the sauerkraut after 3 days and if it's to your liking, you can eat it then. I couldn't wait any longer than 3 days, I was wanting some sauerkraut! I liked both the plain and the regular, but I combined them both in one jar to save space in the fridge. It was so good that by Monday I had eaten about half of it. I decided to do some more only a bigger batch this time, so Tuesday I made 4 pounds of cabbage into sauerkraut. It's fermenting on the table right now. I'll be able to let it stay out longer this time because I still have half of the first batch. It sure is yummy!

The finished sauerkraut

RANDALL PARK

 

Linda and I have been walking more now that the weather has improved and the snow is all gone. On weekends we like to go to a park or the Greenway for our walk. This past Monday we went to Randall Park, as Linda had that day off. It's a nicer park than the one near our house because it has some big shade trees and a creek running beside it. And it has a duck pond. We always enjoy watching the ducks and geese around the pond. Some of them are quite comical, as the video below demonstrates.

SPRING IS COMING! 

 

While the East Coast was getting hit with winter storm Stella, we were experiencing the melting of all our snow. Linda and I were so happy to see the first signs of spring starting to peek up in these little crocuses.

Spring is on the way!

MELTING SNOW

 

Of course, all that snow melting means that it turned into water, and that water had to go somewhere. So all the rivers, streams and creeks around here are overflowing. I walked a few blocks over from our house this morning to check out the creek that runs nearby. Fortunately for us our house is on a higher elevation and is in no danger of flooding, at least not right now. Some of the roads near our house were under water last night, so it is a bit scary. Here is a short video of the creek, called Wide Hollow Creek. In it you can see where the water had gone farther up into someone's yard.

 

SUMMER GIRL

 

Just so I won't get in trouble this week for not including her, here is a picture of Summer Girl.

The spoiled brat

That's all for now, see you next week!