Hello Emmy. Goodbye Apprenticeship.

Okay, so it's been a while since my last post. Luckily we don't do anything very exciting, so bringing this blog up to date can be accomplished in one posting.

First let me introduce Emmy, and tell you our cat story.

We had decided that Whitney was going to be our last cat, but after weeks of daily crying bouts and depression we decided that I cannot live a full and contented life without a kitty to love. I scoured the local adoption websites and met several of the kitties face to face. We found one at our local Humane Society and filled out the paperwork. We got the house ready, picked out her new name, and waited.... and waited.... and waited for the phone to ring. After 7 days with no word I left a message. We spent the next few days playing phone tag. They needed more info, and I gave more info, and then we waited... and waited... and waited again. I called to inquire on the status of our application and was told by a volunteer that the director was out. My application was on her desk, but she couldn't tell if I was approved or not. I asked about the cat I was trying to adopt and was told that she had been adopted by someone else.

What?!

Can you believe they let someone adopt our cat right out from under us without even giving us a heads up?! Although I was furious I had to be nice because they had what I wanted and needed... they had cats! So I asked about another cat that we met there and really liked, and could I get dibs on him? She said that most of the cats had been adopted at the Adoptathon in progress at Petsmart. They were having same day adoptions all weekend, and most of their cats had been brought there. So here we were waiting for three weeks to get approved and they were handing cats out willy nilly at that very moment! Ugh!!! It was to late to head to Petsmart that day, but we were there when they opened the next morning. There were a lot of kittens available but only a few cats. Eric made a beeline to the fattest cat they had... Emmy. The representative from the shelter (North Country Animal League) told us that Emmy had been at the shelter for 4 years. We immediately filled out an adoption application, our references were checked and in less that 20 minutes we were approved. I guess the stress of the past month had worn me down because as soon as she gave us the thumbs up I burst into tears. Right in the middle of Petsmart I started sobbing, and I don't mean those dainty tears that we see on television. I mean those loud gasping sobs that make everyone turn around and get embarrassed for you. When I tried to explain to the woman about Whitney she started crying also, and then we both started laughing (but continued to cry at the same time). She said we were the "feel good adoption of the weekend".

Our other great news is that Eric completed his courses and graduated at the top of his class. Soon he will be taking the the state test which will propel him from Apprentice Plumber to Journeyman Plumber. Here's a picture of us at the graduation ceremony. Zakary was very proud of his dad, but was not happy about having to wear "fancy clothes".

Merry Christmas

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Whitney

When my cat, Bimbo, died I was devastated by the loss of such a wonderful friend. I had no desire to adopt another pet. No cat would ever live up to the memory of Bimbo, and I felt it would be unfair to adopt a new pet that would live in his shadow always falling short in comparison.

Then I met Whitney.

I first saw her in PetSmart trying to bury a turd. She scratched the wall beside the litter box, then she scratched the floor outside the litter box, and then she scratched the air above the litter box. She didn't manage to get a single piece of litter on that turd after 15 minutes of scratching. I read her profiles. She had been brought to the Humane Society the first time when she was 2.5 years old. Her owner described her personality as "crazy". In answer to the question "Describe this cat's favorite toys or games:" Her owner wrote "tearing couch apart". Whitney was adopted despite the bad profile, however she was quickly returned to the Human Society by her second owner. A new form was added to her original profile. Her second owner described her personality as "temperamental", and hand wrote on the form "Not a children's pet - biting children in house hold - hides all the time".

She had been living in that little cage for 11 months, and I knew we had to adopt her.

Whitney's neurotic personality kept her from living in Bimbo's shadow. She never pooped in the litter box. She preferred leaving her treasures on the floor about 6 inches from her litter box. She wasn't opposed to the idea of leaving a present in the living room or your bedroom either, so we had to start keeping all the bedroom doors shut. She also liked to practice low guttural meowing around 3:30 am at the top of the stairs, so we had to start putting her in the basement while we slept. She never mastered the art of retracting her claws, so every time she jumped on your lap you were guaranteed at least 5 punctures on your thighs (hence the nickname Velcro Kitty).

Whitney was my shadow, and she followed me everywhere. She was constantly underfoot, and I tripped over her more times than I can remember. Every time I sat down she was immediately there to jump on my lap (including when I was in bathroom). On those occasions when I didn't want her on my lap she sat looking up at me with squinty eyes that were so full of love until I gave in. She drove me crazy.

Whitney started to fade away this summer, and on Monday we had to bring her to the Vet and have her put to sleep.

In her seven years with us she didn't "tear up" our couch or bite our children. Instead she captured our hearts with her humble, unconditional love, and our hearts are broken with the loss of our beloved pet.

Good bye Whitney.

We miss you and love you.

Anyone who buys zucchini from a store doesn't have friends

Visions of sweltering kitchens, exploding jars and botulism have kept me away from canning in the past, but circumstances this year convinced me to give it a try.  First, Eric found a prolific 

patch of wild black raspberries.  Second, our garden is really kicking out the summer squash and cucumbers this year (along with everyone else's), and no one wants my extra produce.  Being a frugal Sprague I decided that only thing left to do was make jam and pickles. The jam was encouragingly easy to make.  I created my "To Pickle" list while basking in the glow of the successful jam. First on my list was to tell everyone I knew (including the woman behind me in the grocery store, a

 few people at the farmer's market and the head librarian, who I don't really know but I was sure they were wondering) what I was going to make. Tell a woman over the age of 50 that you are thinking about making some pickles and you are guaranteed recipes, lots of 

advice, a canning story, or if you are lucky all three. My list grew from Bread & Butter Pickles, Refrigerator Pickles, and Sweet Relish to include Dilly Beans and Hamburger (dill) slices.  

I now have several treasured family recipes for each of these types of pickles, loads of advice, and a new steamer canner. I made the Refrigerator Pickles first

 (the easiest so far), the Dill Slices next and Mom and I made the Bread & Butter Pickles together (with her recipe).  Making pickles isn't as easy as jam, but it really is easy.

The kids start back to school in a 12 days (not that I'm counting).  They are excited, but that will end with the first assignment.  They both grew up and matured a lot this summer both in looks and in personality.  Corie spends more time in her room listening to music and has started taking an interest in her appearance.  She takes care of Zakary when I'm busy.

  She pours his milk, makes their lunch, helps him pick up his toys and find things he has misplaced.  Zakary is all little boy now.  Any trace of toddler is gone.  He picks out his own clothes, gets dressed and makes his own lunch sometimes (if you can call bread covered in peanut butter, fluff and mini marshmellows lunch) without me or Eric being right there to supervise. 

Eric's basement remodel is moving steadily along.  He has finally pulled out all the dry wall and is starting...  actually, I don't know what he is doing down there.  He say that he has revised the plan to include a pantry for the canned goods and a root cellar.  Isn't he the best?!

Just like Daddy...

Just in time for the weekend

Summer arrived just in time. We had a great weekend with my Dad and Pat. The iffy looking sky made it difficult to make outdoor plans on Saturday and Sunday (thus no flea market). We did a few of our usual things though... JoAnn's and Costco. I picked up a new quilting book, Material Obsession, at JoAnn's. When it comes to sewing books I often find that the best idea was the one on the cover, but this one is great all the way through. It is always a bonus to find patterns you like using fabric you love, and a 40% off coupon makes it that much sweeter.

The weather wasn't the only thing that cooperated. A few weeks ago in the clearance section of TJ Maxx I picked up Cat Cora's cookbook, Cooking From The Hip, and decided to put it to the test. I tried two recipes, the greek lamb and olive burgers and the Pork skewers with avocado tzatziki, and they were so good. I did switch a few ingredients... used 2 parts beef to 1 part lamb for the burgers, and threw some veggies on with the pork skewers, but as for the seasoning I didn't change a thing. The recipes were both easy and delicious, and I look forward to trying some more of them.

We spent Monday at Kill Kare State Park while poor Eric slaved away at work. The weather was perfect. Lots of wind = lots of waves, and Corie and Dad had a great time flopping in them. Corie's a real fish, and would be happy to spend every day swimming. Zakary didn't like water up until this summer, but now he is the first one in. Luckily the beach was empty when he gave a howl and announced that his "winky" got wet. In his defense the water was chilly. Pat and I spent the day collecting rocks. Why? Why not!

Tuesday was the usual cooking, cleaning and laundry. Yuck! We did get Coraline from Netlix though. I enjoyed it once while Corie enjoyed it three times in a row. I picked some wild black raspberries with the intention of making jam, but the combination of heat, humidity and chores left me feeling pretty crappy. Hopefully they will survive in the 'frige until Saturday.

SuMmERtiMe???

All I know is that it was barely over 50 degrees last night. Yikes! Despite the cool wet weather we are having a great summer. Corie and Zakary are getting spoiled rotten by all the grandparents. Three weeks ago Zakary spent a week with Grandma White and came home with new Hot Wheels and lots of stories. At the same time Corie was with Dennis' family getting the royal treatment. Two weeks ago we went down for a long weekend visit to Nana and Grandpa Sprague's. We had a great time hanging out and relaxing. Pat cooked some amazing food (I'm sure she is partially responsible for at least two of the pounds I gained). We finally got to meet the Amber's dog, Bear. He is so cute. Despite the fact that he digs up the yard, chews on everything and is still in the process of being house broken he has won the heart of my anti-dog Dad. Needless to say both of the kids want a dog now. Thanks Amber!We saw fireworks for the first time in years. It was a small but well done show. Dad and Eric got to do man things with power tools. I think that qualifies as fun for them. While on the road we stopped in Albany and did some shopping. We hit JoAnn's, Target, Lee's Market, Kim's Oriental Shoppe, and Harbor Freight. We topped off the shopping with a Chinese buffett. I mean, does it get any better?
Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Smith took the kids. I can tell by the amount of wet clothes returning home that they had a blast. Zakary was a little disappointed though. He had planned to stay with them until it snowed, because as he put it "I don't get to see Ryan (his best friend and neighbor) much in the summer". Apparently Ryan is the only reason to come home. It is always interesting to see where you rate as a parent. It's a good thing he is so cute. Eric spent the child free weekend putting up lattice, and I spent it sewing a softie that was in the new Stuffed magazine. Oh yeah, we know how to have fun!