Meet Mouse

This is my Russian Blue/Tabby mix kitty. I adopted him from a shelter that was closing its doors and planned on putting any remaining animals to sleep. I got there five minutes after they locked the doors and pounded until they let me in. Mouse was twelve weeks old and the sweetest little thing you could ever see. He rode draped across my shoulders the 100+ miles back to my house just purring his head off. But he seldom meows - he's very quiet. And that's why I named him Mouse. He is absolutely one of the most lovable kitties you'll ever meet. The look on his face is his "Why are you taking ANOTHER picture of me?" face.

Bull frog

Taken sometime last year at UNC Botanic Gardens, Chapel Hill, NC>

Tranquil bench

I have a thing for benches and have a whole collection of photographs of them. This one is in the Japanese Arboretum at Duke Gardens in Durham, NC. It looks over a small, babbling brook that has a series of small waterfalls. To sit and listen to the water running down the creek and to the birds that fuss at me for invading their territory is one of the most relaxing activities I know of.

Boardwalk at Hunting Island, SC

This is a golden oldie. It is a scanned photo (so forgive me if the quality isn't the best) of the boardwalk out over the salt marshes at Hunting Island, SC. It was taken about '96 or '97. This is where I want my ashes spread when God takes me home. It is beautiful there and I miss it!

Bodie Island lighthouse

Outerbanks, NC. Taken Spring, 2007.

Carolina Lily

I love the way these bloom upside down. Taken at Duke Gardens back in August.

Cat bird

Taken at Duke Gardens sometime in August. He played hide-n-seek with me, but I was able to snap a couple of good shots.

Old barn

This is another picture I took on my way home from Asheville. I couldn't safely get out of the car so I had to take it through the window (notice the mirror in the bottom of the picture!). I was on 226A north of Asheville. I was impressed at how many people had dahlias blooming in such proliferation. It was a beautiful day for a drive, even if I did get lost!

Blue Ridge Mountains

I took the scenic route home from Asheville today. This is just one of the beautiful sights I witnessed. Unfortunately, I was unable to take many pictures as there weren't many places to safely pull off the road.

It was good to see Lisa (more than good!) and to visit with the friends we met out there for Asheville Pride. It is good (sort of - Lisa isn't here :( ) to be home, but I can't wait 'til the day arrives I can move to Kentucky to be with my Lisa permanently.

Bee inside water lily

Taken at Duke Gardens, sometime in August or September.

I am on my way to Asheville, NC, and Asheville Pride this afternoon. Lisa is going to be able to meet me there (YIPPEE!!!) for the weekend, but then on Sunday, we have to go back in opposite directions again (boo-hoo :( ). We're meeting up with some friends of mine from one of my support groups and we're really looking forward to it.

Because I'll be out of town, I doubt I'll be able to post my "Picture of the Day" again until Monday. Hopefully, I'll have some good fall foliage pictures to share.

Everyone have a good weekend!

Pink water Lily

Taken this past May at JC Raulston Arboretum, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.

Wrightsville Beach

Taken early morning, about 7ish, June 15, 2008.

Yawning Great Blue Heron

Taken at the duck pond at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke University, Durham, NC. This blue heron was perched on top of a wood duck box close enough to the edge of the pond I was able to get fairly close. He didn't seem to mind me being less than 10 feet from him snapping one picture after another.

Bridge over pond

Taken at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke University, Durham, NC, sometime in September.

Tiny waterfall

Taken October 4, 2008, at Umstead State Park, Raleigh, NC. Pott's Branch Trail, a beautiful, easy 1.25 mile hike, follows Pott's Branch Creek. Notice the fall leaves.

Our next door neighbors

Taken September 6, 2008, just outside Raleigh/Durham, NC. Lisa calls them the "Executive Committee."

Inside a giant water lily

Taken this summer (in August I think) at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke University, Durham, NC. Can y'all tell I love Duke Gardens?

Wet Lily

Taken at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke University, Durham, NC, sometime last month. Be sure you click on the picture to see the full effect of the water droplets on the stamens.

Egret in top of very tall tree

Taken Sunday, September 28, 2008, at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke University, Durham, NC.

Long time

Hi folks. Sorry it's been so terribly long since I updated my blog. Life, as we know it, has changed so very much. Transition is once again in the air.

As you probably know, Lisa lost her job at the vet clinic here in Raleigh on July 3. Details aren't important, but the doctor there seems to have done her best to black-ball Lisa at every turn. We actually, at one point, considered consulting an attorney since it seems that the doctor was telling potential employers some rather insulting things about Lisa.

Before that could happen, a dear friend of Lisa's who lives near her hometown in Kentucky, told Lisa about a job opening at the clinic she works for. After a telephone interview with the doctor there, Lisa was invited to go up for a face-to-face interview. We talked about it, weighed our options, and then made the arrangements for Lisa to basically move back to Kentucky. We borrowed money (thank you, dear friend!), spoke to Lisa's aunt where she is staying and Lisa left this past Saturday. Her interview was Monday at noon and she'll hear something "later this week." In the meantime, she is checking for other job openings as we do not have the money to get her back to Raleigh should this job not pan out.

So, I am working at Labcorp, at least for the time being. Once Lisa starts working up in Kentucky, she'll find a small furnished room so she won't have to stay at her aunt's house, and then she'll start looking for us a place to live. Our idealistic goal is for me to join her by the end of January, but realistically I don't expect to be up there before about Easter. A large part of my heart is in Kentucky and it is frustrating not knowing when we'll be together again.

I thought "Okay, I'll spend my quiet evenings writing." Well, that just doesn't seem to be happening. I just don't seem to have anything to say when the inspiration for me to start writing in the first place is 400 miles away. I have so many stories started and an obligation to finish one by November AND I've signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November and I have no clue what to write about. I can never remember feeling this empty before.

Thank goodness for good friends - both in real life and cyber friends - because my own kids aren't being very supportive at this time in my life. I let them know Lisa left and why and asked, no begged, them to call me once in a while to cheer me up, to give me a boost. Lisa left on Saturday - guess how many phone calls I've recieved from my "loving" children?

I had planned on going to Texas for a week in December. When Lisa left, I thought the trip would have to be cancelled. And it still might have to be - I have to be sure I have someone to dog-sit before I make any hard and fast plans. However, IF I still am able to make the trip, I seriously doubt I'll stay with the kids. Why should I? They obviously don't care about me or how I feel or the fact that the one person I love more than life itself isn't here with me right now. Why in the world would I want to stay with people like that? And since I have no place else to stay, it looks like the trip is off regardless of whether I can find a dog-sitter or not.

I saw on another blog where someone posts a picture a day that she took. I think the pictures she posts are ones she took each individual day. I thought that was so cool. Doing something like that would force me to look around everyday for something worth photographing. So, I thought I would start doing something like that. I'm going to start with posting a photo a day from my archives, but eventually, soon, I hope to post one a day I took THAT day! I would love to hear y'all's comments on the pictures.

Thanks to all of you for reading my diatribe. I'm lonely. I miss my Lisa. I miss the people I thought I raised my children to be.

Glenda