More Cats...

There is a new kitty on our deck.  She is younger than the others, and just showed up one day.  She seems very curious about us.

This is a really bad photo because there is a screen and a dirty window between her and me.  But she looked so cute posing up there that I took it anyway.

This is another recent addition to the colony.  We call her "Two Face".  The first time I saw this face at the window it startled me a little.

We're not sure where all these kitties come from.  There must be a network out there in which they tell each other where to come for food.  We have adopted three of them, and have had thirteen of them spay/neutered.  We really depend on our next door neighbors to feed them when we go out of town.  Thank goodness we have neighbors who like cats!

Could It Be Stress?

My head has been spinning...

and my tummy has been acting up.

Today I went to the doctor.  He said it could be stress.

I have had a couple of months worrying about my mom and helping her adjust to widowhood and aging.  She has been feeling overwhelmed by probate issues and by a house that's falling apart.  I am the oldest daughter, so I have been trying my best to help.  I think the worry has been affecting me more than I realized.

I have also been dealing with issues of where and how my husband and I want to spend our retirement. One issue is money; will we have enough savings to support ourselves?  It's a common worry these days, I know.  Another issue is where we want to live.  We used to live in Philadelphia area, and we have good friends there.  We just spent a week in Mexico with them, and it makes us realize how much we would like to be close to them again. They live in a condo designed for 55 and over residents.

There is a lovely condo that is just waiting for us there, if we want to buy it.

Right now we live in a cozy little house in Kentucky.  I like the house and we are near family, but we have no friends here other than our next door neighbors.  We have a little colony of feral cats that we care for, with our neighbors' help.  I worry about what would happen to them if we should move away.  I know it sounds silly to some people, but I feel attached to them.  Also, I have found myself feeling attached to the countryside around here, and I think I could miss it.

So, do I want a quiet, rural existence with little or no social life, or do I want to move back to Philadelphia and have a busier, more lively social life?

Or, on the other hand...

I would love to live in a cottage in Hawaii. I love Hawaii; it's my favorite place in the world and I feel happiest there.  I have suggested to my husband that we sell everything and prepare to move ourselves and our four cats to Hawaii. We could live there during our sixties and seventies, and be happy in our old age.  Who knows what will happen to us in our eighties and nineties, if we live that long?

The fact that we have only a few more decades of active life left is putting me into a bit of a panic, I'm afraid.  I want to make the best of things before we find ourselves in my mom's position.  So I am feeling stress about indecision and a sense of having only so much time.  I need to stop stressing.

The Day After Thanksgiving

Yesterday we went to my sister's house, where they were putting up their Christmas tree.  Last year they had a nine-foot tree, but the lights wouldn't work.  So Todd and Sarah went to buy a new tree.  Sarah talked her father into buying a twelve-foot tree this time.  It's pretty big!

The kids were playing games:

I think Molly has her game face on...

Sarah was using Sammy as a pillow (Sammy is a very patient dog).

Well, I solved my photo storage problem by giving up and paying for more storage.  I still think it was a big rip-off, but I tried creating a whole new blog and that didn't work either.  I guess I will have to stop using those extra-large photos.

What is Picasa and Why Is It Holding My Blog Hostage?

I don't know much about Blogger.  I have just been informed that I have used all the storage space for photos.  Is storage space used by the number of photos, or by the size of the photos?  I recently began making my photos larger when I post them.  Is this the reason I am running out of space?

This message came from Picasa.  I didn't even know I had Picasa.  I thought I was using i-Photo.  They want me to pay a monthly charge to add more storage space.  I have no idea what this is about.  Does anyone out there have any insight into this?

What is Picasa anyway?  I guess I will have to go to the Apple store again!

We Gather Together...

Thanksgiving at my sister's house: 

The "boys" table:

Busy in the kitchen:

Celebrating:  (My brother-in-law, his sister, and my 15-year old niece.)

Visiting:

Meanwhile, down in the playroom:

Cousins together again:  Building legos....

Smile, Aubrey, Sarah and Michael!

Playing Wii...

Playing hockey:

Watching football (of course):

Everyone was there, three generations of family.  My niece Molly:

My niece Erin:

Erin's little boy Parker, with Uncle Mike:

Sweet Sammy (short for Samantha):

Thanksgiving Day... a little bit of color outdoors, a warm day for November.

My nieces when they were little girls:

P.S.  Joe, we missed you!

Mexican Sights

One Week in Mexico

I love blue skies and palm trees...

...and azure seas.

We went with a group of friends to Cancun.  Our friends belong to a vacation club that has resorts in the area.  We have stayed with them before and this was the best one yet!

There was an infinity pool overlooking the beach...

...and a cool swim-up bar.

It also had a cool indoor bar...

with live music every evening.

We drank a lot of wine...

and had a lot of good food.

Get a load of these desserts!  That spoon is made of sugar!

I know the desserts look small, but that's all we needed after several courses of the other great food!

We had a great time.  It was everything a vacation should be; good friends, good food, good wine, swimming, sunning and relaxing.  We have had all kinds of vacations in Mexico.  Some have been in more secluded areas with little more than a cottage with a hammock in the yard.  This one was sophisticated and luxurious.  I will post more tomorrow, of the stylish place... and even some nature and wildlife.