Eight years ago my little rascal (aka CJ) was born.  He did not arrive in his "forever" home until the week of Thanksgiving in 2009.    The pictures above are from his first week in his new home and then from now.

And he has been a rascal.  Honestly, the first two years of his life he must have thought his name was "No!" for that was what I was constantly saying to him!  We have survived and the years have flown by and now it is eight years later.  CJ and I are family.

I will never forget the little trooper that he was in the grueling 30 hour drive from California to Wisconsin!  In that drive he showed his true strong little spirit and all of its goodness.  Now he and I are settled into our new home and he is thriving.

What are we going to do today to celebrate his birthday?  Well, traditions must be kept so he will have his regular food with a couple of tablespoons of tuna water (from a can of water packed tuna) poured over it.  It is his favorite!  Dad will have a tuna salad sandwich using the tuna from the can.  

So that about sums up this celebratory day.

​E'nuff!

On Friday March 24, 2017, after completing a near 30 hour marathon drive from California to Wisconsin, Rick and I arrived at what is now my home.  Today is August 25, 2017, and five months of living here have been completed.  Those of you that have followed this blog know that there have been ups and downs along the way.

So on this anniversary of sorts, though, I can honestly say I've made it and now I am at home.  CJ, my eight year old Maine Coon cat, is thriving...and that alone makes the move and transition time worthwhile.  That reminds me...he officially turns eight this coming Sunday.  

I am getting rather good at "wasting" days...and I am pretty sure this is still part of the transition from full-time work to the next phase of my life.

This day is a cool and gray day.  CJ is already napping this morning.  I want to nap but working on my blog intrigues me more than napping.  Plus...I am doing the weekly wash.  This day will then play out as it must...

​E'nuff!

The acorns are falling from the oak trees in my yard, my Maine Coon Cat is shedding in anticipation of his winter coat, the leaves are starting to change color and all creatures outdoors are busy gathering food for winter.  Also my neighbors report that the birds of summer are already leaving us to head south.  Yet it is only the middle of August.  Quoting "Game of Thrones"...winter is coming!

Oh...and lest I forget...today in Northwestern Wisconsin at 1:06pm will be a total eclipse of the sun.

​E'nuff!

Yesterday came with cool early morning temps and a warm and sunny afternoon.  It was a good day to tackle the removal of the hedge/bushes along the front walkway.

The project was more work than anticipated.  Even with newly purchased spade...the roots on these things were deep and wide...it took two hours to clear out above six to seven feet of the hedge.  Oh...and they were loaded with thorns so by time I was done for the day my arms probably looked as if I were a heroin addict!  I have another three to four feet to do of this section.  However today's weather forecast is for a 100% chance of rain.

Maybe I will rest my aching back and muscles today.

I knew that the man...the man I call the fake president...was not qualified to lead the country.  The night he lost the national election by over 3 million votes yet "won" thru the electoral college of voter suppressed gerrymandered states, I grew very afraid.  It seems now that my fears were well founded for the fake president is a neo-Nazi.  My cousins who fought and died in the second world war...the ones who tore down the Nazi flags of Europe...must be turning in their graves at what this once great country has now become.

The violence is just starting for the neo-Nazis have been given a voice thru this fake president.  It...the violence...is going to get much worse before this is all over.  I wonder if the democratic institutions of this country will be able to withstand the corruption of this man.  His corruption covers this once great land with a horrifying stench.

Bring out the Lysol???   LOL  If only it were that easy.

May God bless us...and protect us all...

​E'nuff!

My mother's recipe for crabmeat sandwiches (she got it from her friend Leona McClimans) traveled with me from Wisconsin to California 35+ years ago.  Now I am back living in Wisconsin and last night I revisited the recipe for my Saturday night supper.  It was a splendid evening making delicious food:  crabmeat sandwiches, peanut butter cookies and tomato bisque soup...and then enjoying a Tanqueray & tonic on the deck as the sun set.

Now on this Sunday morning I am sitting here listening to the beautiful music of "Sacred Concert" on KDFC while sipping coffee.  Outside the clouds are gathering for an afternoon of rain.  And that is ok...for I have no plans but to curl up with a good book.  The book I am reading is John Connolly's The Wolf in Winter.  The book is one of his Charlie Parker series which combines a thriller with a touch of the supernatural.  I love his books.

This morning I fleetingly touched upon the memory of my last job and the workplace/environment that was there.  Toxic would be a good word to describe it.  I survived 14 years with my well-being somewhat intact.  However, I now recognize that the last few months since I retired...have been a time of healing and of "letting go."

Now I am ready to explore the passions of my life:  this blog, photography, writing, sketching and painting.  To this blog I want to add a small review section of the restaurants and bars in Northwestern Wisconsin.  There are a ton of undiscovered restaurants and bars...and dives that need to be discovered.  How I am going to do this, I am not sure but the idea is percolating along.

​E'nuff!

Last night the Canadian geese returned.  I was just getting ready to go to bed and thought I would check out the next day's weather on my computer.  As I sat here at my desk I heard a flock of Canadian geese arrive at the lake.  It was the first time I've heard their voices since this last spring.

"Can they be migrating already" I asked myself...for it is only August 8?  Is this a sign of an early and perhaps hard winter?

Regardless, their arrival signals that summer is drawing to a close.

​E'nuff.

Even though it is only the first week of August, the weather here in NW Wisconsin has been much cooler than the prior week.  Yesterday afternoon while preparing my grocery shopping list I realized that the sun coming through the living room bay window had a distinct autumnal glow.

So with autumn on my mind I made a very fall-like dinner last night.  It was pure comfort food perfect for a cool evening:  pork chops with dressing and green bean casserole.

However, this is only the beginning of August and we have the whole month of the "dog days of August" to endure.  For some reason August is not a favorite month of mine.  Even when living in California August would arrive, I would get a good case of the late summer "blahs."  Here in NW Wisconsin I am the same...the "blahs" are already here.

I wonder if the stages of adapting to retirement can be labeled?  It seems that now I am at stage #3.  The first two stages were:  #1)  Excitement  #2) the depressive stage.  Now I've emerged from those two stages and find that I am at what I would call the "lethargic stage."  I find right now that I do not have much interest in anything except for reading, watching TV, napping and cooking.

The "blahs"????

It seems to me this stage too will pass.  Until then, though, a good afternoon nap sounds just fine to me!

E'nuff!!!