Update:

Mike has posted his story of his trip to Waldorf, Maryland and his slideshow...go to Windsongs of the Heart.

Scrungy and Friends is in Transition...

I've decided that Scrungy and Friends is not going to be my main site anymore. A little while back I was trying to make Scrungy's site more for him and the characters in his books--his home base. It will remain...but not as my main site. It will be some time before I figure out what exactly to do with Scrungy's site so I'm not closing it down. I hope what you will come to visit me at Windsongs of the Heart. A site more dedicated to my writing, and not limited to just cat stories. Anywhere you choose to visit I'll get the message. But there probably won't be much activity on this site from now on.

Mike's Adventures, Neighborhood Nightlife, and the Adventures of Ragpuff, will all be posted on Windsongs of the Heart. Gretchen's site will remain and so will Mike the Mysterious, along with his Teleportal site.

When I first started blogging almost a year ago, I wanted to call my site Windsongs of the Heart and felt discouraged about it at the time. I've decided to go back to the original thought as it will be more useful for me professionally. Thanks for being fans of Scrungy and Friends, I'll keep everyone posted when he is active again.

Adventures of Ragpuff: Episode 3 - The Decision

For more Cats on Tuesday...go here.

The Adventures of Ragpuff: Episode 3:
The Decision

After Ragpuff had mercilessly been dumped in the gravel pit, rescued from certain death from dehydration and starvation by a large, round man living at the edge of the gravel pit, Ragpuff found a temporary home. He had food, water, shelter, and could explore the fields around the house at his leisure while his new companion worked all day in the gravel pit. The food was good, the company was good, and the hunting in the dust covered field-grass was good. Ragpuff should have been content, but he wasn't. In his dreams he longed to be back in his safe chair, behind his safe window, with the funny talking woman and the man who didn't talk much. Ragpuff was restless.

~~~~~~

I have forgotten how many days and nights I've been here with this wonderful, cheerful, round man, but they've been great. At dinner every night, I eat what he eats then I settle down in his lap for a good, long massage. Often he uses his back scratcher on my back like he does on his. It's a wonderful tool, this long piece of painted wood with three curved little fingers. It gets into all those ridges around my spine…all the itchy spots that plague me during the day. I know I have fleas; one can't help but get them living in such a dirt filled world as this. I even had a tick once from my many treks through the tall grass chasing down delectable little critters. The round man found it and took care of it. The fleas…well, they aren't too bad. I mean if a cat can't take a few flea bites now and again, then I guess he couldn't be all that worldly, like I am.

I think it was at the beginning of summer when I was dumped out here and found this wonderful human being. I was skinny and dirty when I first arrived, but now my fur is fully grown out, I'm very plump and I think I've even grown a few inches—I know my feet certainly have gotten bigger. I love it here. I could stay with this man forever. In fact, I think he's going to be really sad to see me go. But the days are changing and I need to move on.

The leaves on the trees are turning yellow and orange; some are starting to fall to the ground. The air feels cooler in the day and is now cold at night. I suppose I really should stay where I am. I'll be warm and safe. But I keep having these nagging dreams about my first home. And as much as I really like this man, this place, I'm lonely somehow for my funny talking woman and the man who doesn't talk much, and I've never forgotten my plan to find my way home. I could be called very foolish for making such a decision as I'm about to make, but I can't help myself. I've got to continue my journey. I need to try and find my home.

So with that decision made, I ate breakfast one last time with my good friend and gave him some really long meows, a bunch of head butts, and an extra loud rumbly purr. My way of saying goodbye. He just laughed, ruffled my fur up the way he does every morning and went out the door to his monster truck to go to work for the day. Then I left.

When I had gotten to the edge of the tall grass I looked back once more at the slightly tilted, shaggy, gray house, sitting peacefully in the shade of some rather large oak trees, then I turned my back on the place forever and darted into the field.

During all those days that the round man worked, I roamed the fields. I have become pretty adept at catching and eating my own meals. I have enough body fat stored, in fact, to last me until I find my home again. So I'm not worried about starving to death anymore. From previous jaunts through the field, I know there is a creek at the opposite edge that runs along a tree line of skinny willows and cottonwoods. I've even picked out the very tree that I'll spend my first night in.

The sun's been coming up later each day and this morning it was barely light out when I left my friend. I'll always remember him and his gentle hospitality. His wonderful backscratcher. But I have plans. I have to move on. I am going on, for as long as it takes, to find my first home.

The sun had warmed the earth pretty good by the time I got to the tree line. I took a long drink from the cool waters in the creek then climbed my intended tree. From its lofty branches I can see out over the field of grass. Off in the distances, the tops of the mountains of gravel are just barely visible. In the opposite direction I can see a black ribbon with many monster cars running up and down it. I figure that black ribbon leads to people, to houses, but I have decided it is too dangerous to follow that foul smelling track. I will follow the creek as far as I can and hope that it leads me to somewhere safe.

The trouble with being dumped out in the middle of nowhere like I was, I don't exactly have any idea where to start my journey to find home. I just know that while I was in my safe chair, behind my safe window, I watched the sun come up every morning. And since I was born in a shelter and never really got to stay long with my mother, I have no idea which way was what. At any rate, all this planning requires a lot of thought. I have gone as far as I'm going to go today.

Not only is the sun coming up later each morning, it is also going down earlier each night. Sitting in the tree, I 'm still trying to figure things out. The real question is, do I follow the sun going down, or go towards the sun coming up? If I shut my eyes really tight, maybe I'll be able to remember the things I used to see around my window when I was safe at home, and where the sun had been when I'd gotten lost and found those buildings. After some more hard thinking, I realized that the buildings I had been attracted to had the sun coming up behind them. So all I have to do now is pick a direction and stick to it. I'm pretty sure I was taken towards the setting sun that day when the lady grabbed me and threw me in that box, so I figured that maybe I ought to go towards the sun coming up. The problem is the creek. I'd like to stay near it as much as possible but it isn't running in the same direction all the time.

Well, after all that thinking, I spent the long, lonely night in the crotch of the cottonwood tree. For the longest time I missed the round man. I even thought I heard him calling me long after dark. He never gave me name, he just called me, Cat. Maybe it was all just in my head. Maybe I thought I heard his voice calling me because I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life by leaving that gentle man. I had to close my eyes tight and concentrate on my plan, or I'd give in and return to my second home in the gravel pit, and stay forever.

Shortly after opening my eyes, the sun rose up over the field and the black ribbon full of cars off in the distance. I feel pretty good about myself now, my ability to find my way home. After a quick breakfast of a few voles I'd found rummaging around the leaf litter, I took another long drink from the creek and headed along its banks in the direction of where I thought my home might be. During the day the sun was my guide. It warmed my left shoulder and flank in the morning and then my right side in the afternoon. Wherever this direction leads, it has to come to a place where people live.

Mike's Visit to Tucson Arizona and the Cat Realm

Mike's Adventures in the Desert

Mike here:

View the slideshow of all the picutres at the very end...

Oh, the fun begins again. I've taken quite a hiatus from traveling. The last time I went on an adventure was for a week in November, 2007. I had visited Yoggie in Sweden.

I came home from that trip to a chaotic household. Gretchen's Mom Bean (my Mom Bean, too, actually) was ill, our Pa Bean was ill. There had been a death in the family and My Granny Bean was very sick, too.

So it was decided that I stay home for the rest of the year. We had a pleasant Christmas, everyone was much improved by then and I just lay around resting and enjoying the season with my adopted family. I was supposed to start traveling again in January, but there were some technical difficulties to the places I was supposed to visit and more trouble with Mom Bean's heart, so I didn't actually get back out onto the cyber highway until February 21, 2008 when I transported over to spend a week with my pals in the Cat Realm who live in the desert—Tucson, Arizona.

The Cat Realm created a transporter room for me, and Gretchen, at the controls, got to send me on my way. I must say I was pretty nervous at first; I wasn't so sure Gretchen knew how to operate the control panel. But everything went fine. It was so cool, Gretchen counted backwards…3…2…1…and before I could say goodbye, this bright light enveloped me and my little red traveling bag, my melted fur began to buzz a bit, and then I was flying through the wormhole. I could feel the air getting warm as I got closer to the end of the tunnel.

Mrs. Oz, who had been appointed by the Cat Realm to be my official tour guide, had been expecting me and was outside waiting for me. I never, ever, know just exactly where I will materialize, so it was just as much a surprise to me as it was to Mrs. Oz that I popped out of thin air right in front of her face. Evidently, Mrs. Oz had been to a party the night before and had consumed quite a number of nipitini's, needless to say, she had a headache and was a little out of sorts when I startled her by the Yucca plant in her garden.

After my brain-twisting trip through the wormhole, and the different climate that I was definitely not used to, Mrs. Oz took me inside to a lovely spot in front of the cozy fireplace where I could take a nap. She built the fire just for me. She curled up beside me and napped, too. It was cool enough that I actually needed to pull out my favorite blue blanket and wrap up in it. It's supposed to be sunny and warm in Arizona, isn't it? Mrs. Oz told me that normally Tucson gets about 350 days of sunshine in a year, but it seems the sun disappeared and it turned cool just as I arrived.

There are three cats at the Cat Realm. Karl, Emil, and Mrs. Oz. Every morning they make a perimeter check around the house. Usually one of the staff, the Butler or the Maid, goes with them just in case there is a Coyote or a Bobcat lingering about. It was actually chilly outside and I had to wear one of my sweaters.

After our walk through the garden of cacti and yucca plants and palms, Mrs. Oz showed me where the outside bath tub was. It was too chilly to use it at this time of year, but it's the coolest thing—outside, surrounded by beautiful plants and art and little plastic yellow ducks everywhere. The place made me almost want to take a bath. And you all know the kind of bath I got last—in the washing machine and then the dryer…my melted fur was the result. So maybe I'll stay out of the tub for now.

Karl, Emil, and Mrs. Oz all had a good laugh remembering that their, now spirit sister, Anastasia, had once lost her glasses in the tub. Last year Anastasia went for a walk in the desert one day and never came back. I can tell by the way they talk about her that she was really special to them and that they miss her very much. I got Goosebumps…like she was nearby.

The next time we went outside it was to see the vegetable garden. I had to put on another sweater outfit because it had gotten colder. They have to keep the vegetable garden protected by fences to keep the vicious Javelina out. But the Butler had built a ladder for us and we got to visit the garden.

I have to tell you that everyone at the Cat Realm wears sunglasses. Even their big cactus wore sunglasses. I got to climb right up in the middle of this huge cactus and get my picture taken.

Because I'm fiber, stuffed with fiber, the prickly thorns don't bother me. I think it did worry Mrs. Oz, though. By-the-way, Mrs. Oz is sitting on the steps in front of their house. It's a cool house, too.

Besides the cats at the Cat Realm, there is Brody. He's a fluffhead like me, but he's a penguin from Antarctica. He wears sunglasses, too.

Karl, Emil and Mrs. Oz don't like leaving their ranch, so on my second day, when we visited the Saguaro National Park, Brody and a chap called Dicky Duck became my tour guides. Dicky Duck is a traveler, too.

First we went to the Tucson Rodeo Parade. There was so much going on that I couldn't take notes fast enough. But it was fantastic. The rodeo is all about horses. There are no motorized vehicles in the entire parade. There was a congresswoman in the parade and she let me ride on the back of her horse for a brief time. She was really nice, and it was really neat to ride on the back of a horse, a gentle swaying, up and down motion…the horses were walking very slowly. I imagine that if they had been running it would have been a very bumpy ride. The horse was all white. We didn't go to the actual rodeo. That would have been too much to do in one day. I bought some souvenirs at the parade. Two cowboy hats, a pink one and a blue one. Karl also gave me a real, authentic sombrero as a present.

On the way back we drove up a mountain to get a good view of Tucson. Wow. I made some notes as we drove over Gates Pass. There is this great view of the Baboquivair Mountains with Kitt Peak at their northern end. From our vantage point we could also see Old Tucson Studios where they say many movies, and the TV series, High Chaparral, were filmed. Brody said it's now a tourist attraction.



When we crossed over Gates Pass we drove into the Saguaro Forest. The saguaros are the largest cactus in the States. They get so high—like reaching 40 feet—and mostly just grow in southern Arizona and western Sonora. Of course, I had to have my picture taken in the giant cactus. Me, Dicky Duck, and Brody. The spines don't bother them either. Brody is a fluffhead and Dicky is plastic. It stayed pretty cloudy the whole time we were out there. Poor Dicky kept telling me the sun would definitely shine again. He said things look a lot better when the sun is out.



We stopped at the Parks Visitor's Center and I took more notes. There were lots of pictures to look at in the visitor's center. Dicky seemed quite spellbound by the pictures of the Javelina. They also had a lovely gift shop where I bought a little book about the desert for Gretchen—and some more souvenirs.

They also had this kind of hands on table that tourist could touch different things. Of course, here again, was another photo opportunity for me and Brody and Dicky. Because we are so small, we were allowed to get up on the table. There was a desert tortoise shell, a Javelina pelt, mule deer antlers, a javelin skull and a saguaro boot.

There's actually a little story about the saguaro boot. "The Gila Woodpecker uses the Saguaro, and burrows through its tough outer flesh into the body of the plant where there is plenty of moisture, and a relatively cool environment shaded from the searing desert sun. Once through the skin, the bird makes a sharp downward turn and hollows out a space for itself. A cactus, being little more than a living water container would continuously lose moisture, and be open to infection if it didn't do something to protect itself, so the Saguaro begins to exude a resinous sap around the void which the bird has made. The sap gradually solidifies to form a hard, bark-like substance around the wound, rather like a scab on animal skin, only this scab doesn't go away. The woodpecker has learned to leave the newly excavated burrow for a while in order to let the sap harden, although other birds sometimes decide to make it their own before the woodpecker returns, particularly desert owls."

It was a very educational trip to the desert. There was so much to see, so much beauty. Once we got home from our long drive, Dicky, Brody and I just had to have a nap in the furry cat bed by the window. A perfect end to a perfect day…even if the sun didn't shine.

It was Sunday Morning and bright blue skies were finally over us. I put on my western duds, my boots and sombrero that I brought along, then we headed out again on another tour. The sun is so warm here. It really makes a difference when the sun is out. Wow! Anyway, Dicky showed Brody and me a beautiful place that just takes your breath away. It juts right up out of nowhere. Big and white in the bright sun. It's called San Javier del Bac, or the white dove of the desert, but everybody just calls it "the mission." They said it took from 1783 to 1797 to get built. Four whole years. Wow! Some person, called Tohono O'odham built it under Franciscan and Spanish direction. They were working on part of it while we were there, fixing it up. I guess they are taking the old crumbling stucco off and putting on the more traditional plaster made from lime, sand and cactus mucilage. The gooey sticky slimy stuff from the inside of the cactus. Yuck. But I guess it works. We got to go inside the mission, too. Wow! There are really no words to describe how beautiful and big that place is. They had a place where you can buy special candles and light them for people who need their prayers answered. So Brody, Dicky and I bought a candle and lit for Gretchen's Mom Bean. We wanted her to have some extra help in getting well.

There were a lot of food booths for tourist outside the mission. I got to eat some traditional Indian Frybread! We met a guy at one of the food booths whose nickname was Duck. And another photo opportunity was born. The food guy, Duck, had his picture taken with Brody, Dicky Duck and me.

It was a good day and it's a good thing I had my boots and sombrero on, or I'd be sunburned. I know what you're thinking…a black fluffhead can't get sunburned. And while that is true, there is my plastic nose to consider…it could get soft and maybe melt. After we got back to the ranch we rested up for the Oscars. Later when the Oscars were on Mrs. Oz was glued to the TV set. The butler said she was just worried about an actress wearing a prettier fur than hers—and a crush on some guy actor.

We almost got in trouble later that night. We kind of had our own little After Oscar Party and we woke the maid. We had used the hearth for a makeshift stage. All the fluffheads of the Cat Realm were invited and we were having a raucous good time when the maid put the kibosh on the whole works. She said that is was in the middle of the night and we should be asleep. I was embarrassed that we had disturbed her in the dead of night. Mrs. Oz was kind of putout that our little party ended so quickly. But we had a good time while it lasted. Karl and Emil had been sleeping in the butler's place and missed the whole party.

Oh, and I want to mention how awesome the sunsets are out here…they take my breath away.

The rest of the week I just kicked back and napped with Emil and Brody in big furry cat bed. Emil gave me his red glasses to wear…don't I look just too cool? Anyway, after we rested a while, I did my interviews with Karl, Emil and Mrs. Oz. Once we had that out of the way we could have some more fun.

Friday I showed off my hats on The Cat Realm's blog. They dedicated Fashion Friday to Anastasia. They still miss her a lot. I wish I could have known her. I think we would have been friends, too.

Karl said that if I can come for another visit sometime, we'll go visit the infamous, Tombstone—you know, where they had the gunfight at the O.K. Corral! I understand there's only been a kazillion movies made about that gunfight. We might even try to get down to Nogales, Mexico and taste some wine in Nogales. Oh, I do hope I get to come back. I think I behaved myself pretty well, except maybe the After Oscars Party we threw in the middle of the night. The Cat Realm was a great host and pretty much wore me out. But I loved every minute of it. And they were kind enough to ship all my souvenirs home to Gretchen by the US Mail. Only my hats went with me through cyberspace.

Even a fluffhead knows that all good things must come to an end, sometime. I really had a great time and have made some new pals. Friday night, my new friends, Karl, Emil, Mrs. Oz, my buds Brody and Dicky came to the transport room with me to say goodbye. I gave them all hugs and thanked them over and over for such a great time, and then before I could blink I was whooshing back through the wormhole and plopped out in my very own control room that the Cat Realm built for me. Gretchen wasn't there right away. She was either off having a snack or a nap. But I didn't have to wait but a few minutes before she came and got me.

Exhausted as I was I had to tell Gretchen everything about the Cat Realm and how nice they were to me, how much fun we had and about all of my tours. She loved the new hats and though she's not keen about having things on her head or around her neck, I think I might be able to persuade her to pose with me someday, her wearing the pink one and me the blue one. The sombrero and those rattle things…hee, hee…they're all mine.

Now for my Interview with the Cat Realm—Karl, Emil, and Mrs. Oz:

Mike: How long have you lived with your bean(s)?
Karl: since October 2004
Mrs. OZ: since September 2007
Emil: since October 2007

Mike: Do you have a favorite bean?
Karl: the butler
Mrs. OZ: the maid
Emil: both

Mike: What's your favorite food?
Karl: beef
Mrs. OZ: stinky goodness
Emil: everything I can get my mouth on

Mike: What's your favorite treat?
Karl: butter
Mrs. OZ: stinky goodness
Emil: whatever they give me

Mike: Where do you like to sleep?
Karl: on the windowsill at the maid’s place, the dresser at the butler’s
Mrs. OZ: on the maid
Emil: on the bed

Mike: Do you dream? What are your dreams about?
Karl: lizards!
Mrs. OZ: to fly
Emil: food

Mike: Do you like fluffheads, you know, those crafty little creatures with fiberfill for brains?
Karl: I have a BIG dog fluffhead but I do not care for it
Mrs. OZ: couldn’t care less
Emil: sometimes I like to play with one for some seconds
ALL: but we all do like Brody!

Mike: How many fluffheads live with you and your bean?
Karl: don’t know
Mrs. OZ: don’t know either
Emil: no idea

Mike: Do you get along with your fluffheads? Really?
Karl: yes
Mrs. OZ: yes
Emil: I guess

Mike: Do have a special fluffhead friend?
Karl: Brody
Mrs. OZ: Brody
Emil: Brody

Mike: Do your fluffheads ever talk to you? Do they talk to your beans, you know, like I can transmit my thoughts to one special bean in my house?
Karl: of course, what a silly question…
Mrs. OZ: sure, why would he not?
Emil: yes, of course Brody talks to me

Mike: You have a very nice place here; tell me about your weather and your surroundings, what is it like outside your house? (Mountains, seaside, desert, woods, etc.)
Karl for all: we live in the Sonoran Desert. Outside of our house are cacti, mesquite tree, all kinds of shrubs, desert stuff. We live right on the East Side of the Tucson Mountains so we have a nice view of those. We also have lots of desert fauna: coyotes, bobcats, rattle snakes, owls, hawks on the negative side (they all prey on us), lizards, rabbits, birds, butterflies, mice, rats, spiders on the positive side (we prey on those)

Mike: Are you an inside only cat or do you get to go outside?
Karl for all: we go out after sunrise and have to be back in before sunset.

Mike: Do you keep secrets from your beans? Sometimes Gretchen and I conspire against her mom bean in the middle of the night. It really freaks her out. Do you do things like that?
Karl: no. I show them the lizards I catch – but I do keep them too by not letting the staff near me when I got one! Hahahahahahahahahaha
Mrs. OZ: no.
Emil: can’t talk about it – the staff might read this…

Mike: Have you been gifted with any hidden talents?
Karl: all my talents are out in the open.
Mrs. OZ: the staff just found out that I am a gifted hunter, in spite of my missing canines!
Emil: I can make myself invisible!

Mike: Is there anything in your house that bothers you? That you're afraid of?
Karl for all: no. If there would be we would have a talk with the staff and the thing in question would be removed.

Mike: Do you stalk and capture real live critters like mice, spiders and stuff? What kinds of critters do you stalk? Do you eat what you catch?
Karl: lizards, rats, rabbits, lizards, birds, lizards. Sometimes I eat them – sometimes I don’t.
Mrs. OZ: birds. I do not eat them, I kill them and play with them. The staff is not happy!
Emil: butterflies, lizards, rats so far. I am still honing my hunting skills!

Mike: Do you have siblings or housemates? Do you get along with them?
Karl for all: the three of us all get along fine. Emil interacts and plays with me and Mrs. OZ, Mrs. OZ and I tolerate each other but don’t really socialize.

Mike: Do you have a sweetheart?
Karl: RUIS, my wonderful fiancé RUIS! I love him very much!!!
Mrs. OZ: no.
Emil: I am not allowed. They say I am too young….

Mike: What is your most fun activity?
Karl: lizards
Mrs. OZ: laying on the maid
Emil: playing with the whirly bird toy

Adios amigos!

Slideshow of Mike's Visit to Arizona

Making Story Boards

I had to reproduce and share this article by Veda Boyd Jones a writer for The Writers Magazine. It's exactly what I do to write my novels.

"Map out your story location--

If a house figures over and over in your story, don't rely on memory for important details. Draw a floor plan. You don't have to be a licensed architect or draw every room to scale—just get the basics down. Whose bedroom is next to Andrea's? Where is the window the golf ball shattered? What's the quickest way for the murderer to get from the master bedroom to the study?

If the location of furniture and objects is important to your story, draw a room with everything in place. Refer to it instead of looking back through earlier pages to figure out if the main character puts those critical keys on the night table or on the bureau.

Of course, there is no need to stop at drawing the house. If a town layout is important to you story, draw a map. Label the major characters' homes and the location of any building your charters enter. If you use an actual town for a setting and want to use real places and streets, get a map from the chamber of commerce or on an online map site.

Use your floor plan and map as reference tools. Tack them to a bulletin board above your computer. Using these visual aids will save you time and make sure that little details are accurate."
--Veda Boyd Jones

Since the space in my apartment is quite limited, a drawing board in the living room and little useable wall space in the computer room, I've learned to use the unpolished side of white poster board for large scale maps and sites that I need to keep track of during a story. I use the foam-core board for stability so I can prop them up readily when needed. I also use the notebook size graph paper for the smaller details and keep them in the binder in which I am doing the research.

Sometimes I draw the people, or the characters such as cats…for a more visual effect. When I was writing for the Nano challenge in November I was working on a murder mystery that took place in a large camping area. I had lots of prominent and background characters that I needed to keep track of. It was fun doing all the prep work before writing the story and using the drawings and details I'd mapped out as I went along…to keep me in bounds.

So when I read this little article I was pleased to learn that I wasn't the only one doing that kind of story prep…and that I was right on tract as a writer. To add to the murder mystery's needed characters, I created a sort of casting call of actors that I thought would fit the personality of the people in my story. I did the same with the cats. I gathered pictures and pictures—way more than I needed. I printed little pictures and pinned them or taped them to my story boards as needed. It reminded me a lot of my childhood when I sat with scissors and cut out figures from magazines and pattern books—paper dolls—thus creating the people my sister and I needed for our games.

Today is Squillions Day!

Go here to see how it all started. Gretchen and I adopted our virtual Squillions on July 26, 2007.

Deedum resides on Scrungy and Friends Site, while Petunia resides on Gretchen's site.
We love our little virtual Squillions.

Sun! Maybe? and a Meme

My daughter, Paula, who was tagged by Rhonda, tagged me for this 4 Things about Me meme.

4 Things About MEME

4 Jobs I've Had:

Cake decorator, Nurses Aid, Manager of Camp-resort, Ad copy writer-freelance illustrator.

4 Movies Watched Over and Over:

Somewhere in Time, Down Periscope, High Road to China, Pirates of the Caribbean-all 3

4 Places I Have Lived:

Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Texas.

4 Shows I Watch:

Masterpiece Theater, Lost, The Closer, Pushing Daisies

4 Places I Have Been:

The Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park

4 Favorite Things to Eat:

Graham Crackers and Milk, Lemon cookies, Fried Chicken Livers, Banana Nut Bread

4 Places I Would Rather Be:
Hawaii—back in the 1960's, a little white house in the country, a cabin in the eastern mountains, Michigan

4 Things I Look Forward To This year:
Staying vertical, having steady heartbeats, planting flowers, finishing Scrungy and other books in draft.

That was fun…I'll tag Thomma Lyn and Julie and Marilyn

Silent Sunday

The Sun is Making a Comeback

The days are getting longer, the sun is trying it's best to return and I am trying my best to recover. After the Ablation they put me on Sotalol and that nearly killed me. I'm now on the medicine Amiodorone for my heart rate and it seems it is beginning to work it's so-called magic. It takes almost 4 weeks to get enough into my system to keep things under control. I've not yet had two weeks worth. So, I'm yet to be a believer, but I did feel better yesterday and I'm trying to do the same today. I have to take several naps a day, but I'm vertical again--more often than not, that is.

Thanks again for everyones prayers, the furryones purrs, and all good wishes to my regaining my health and strength. I walked out to the mailbox today and had to take my cloud pictures.

Mike is in Tucson, Arizona with The Cat Realm. Please check in on them often and see what trouble Mike is into. So far he's postured himself in a giant catus. It's a good thing he's made of fluff.

I'd say more, but it's also time to rest. Till next time...