Bad Kitty

All in all, Tinkerbell is a pretty cool cat. She's the stray that we've adopted from our neighbor, who has been away for some time.

The pros:

She is extremely affectionate

No litter box

She requires minimal care and attention

The cons:

The *snacks* she brings into the basement

The undesirable *bits* leftover from said snacks left here and there

As is her custom, she meowed yesterday morning to be let upstairs. Once we saw her, we immediately noticed that the right side of her face was very swollen, and she did not want to be held and petted. We suspected an abcess of some sort, but had to wait until this morning to get her to the vet. Sure enough, she had gotten into a tussle with another animal, got bit and developed an infection. Since we weren't sure exactly when her last round of shots was, they just gave her boosters for everything and dewormed her as well. $218 later, she is on the mend, but definitely looks worse for the wear. Poor kitty.

What I've Been Up To When I Haven't Been Shovelling

I seem to have an unhealthy obsession with this driveway and all this damn snow and ice. I have been hauling groceries, luggage and pottery up the hill and forcing the kids to walk down the hill to ride to school (on those few days that they have actually gone to school). I'm not allowed to use the pickaxe, so Jay suggested the sledge hammer. It does and adequate job, but is not quite as satisfying to swing. Hopefully, the warmer temps later this week will assist me in my endeavors. Then I will gripe no more.

I wanted to post a couple of pictures from our holiday vacation. My father-in-law occasionally sings with some folks at a place called Sarge's Shack. They convinced Allison to get up in front and sing a few songs with them. She did a fine job and made her Grandpa very proud.

He's practicing on some new songs so they can sing some together the next time we visit.

Clay and Blogs: Telling a Story

Several weeks ago I was contacted by Meredith Heywood of Whynot Pottery inviting me to join an exhibit she was trying to put together about potters who are also bloggers. Please read her latest blog entry describing the journey she's been on and how the idea for this show came about.

I'm excited to be involved in this exhibit. Keep reading for updates.

Clay and Blogs: Telling a Story
Opening reception will be held at the Campbell House in Moore county
from 6-8 pm
October 1st, 2010
Exhibition comes down on November 1st, 2010

Working Harder, Not Smarter

A week after the December 18 snowstorm, Christmas Eve brought sleet and freezing rain. We decided to leave a day early to visit the in-laws in Tennessee. We thought that surely the snow and ice would be gone by the time we returned 5 days later.

We we half right. The snow on the driveway was indeed mostly gone, however the ice was now 3-4" thick in places. Jay had thrown his back out shovelling on Christmas Eve, and was still sleeping on a heating pad and swallowing handfuls of Ibuprofen. I decided to take matters into my own hands.My tool of choice was one of my favorites, and one I thought would be perfect for chipping the accumulated ice: my pickaxe. It did the trick, but after a couple of hours, my arms were so sore that I thought I'd need a straw to enjoy my New Year's Eve beverages. The pickaxe also left little chinks in the asphalt driveway, about which Jay was not pleased.

Jay is able to get the vehicles up and down the driveway, but I am not. So I threw a tantrum, insisting we park at the bottom whenever the forecast called for snow, so as not to pack down any more frozen precipitation, thus making it easier to clear and giving us a snowball's chance in Hell of ever parking at the house this winter. I got my way but am feeling pretty guilty, as Tuesday's snow never materialized, and Jay has had to walk both ways in the dark and beastly cold.

At least it's not uphill both ways.

Knoxville Arts and Culture Alliance Exhibit

The reception for the Exhibit is Friday January 8 from 5-8 pm. The weather forecast is calling for more frigid weather and snow, so chances are that I cannot make it. I'm bummed out since this is the first juried show I've entered in a very long time, and I'm pretty excited about my work these days.

If you're in Knoxville, check out the show!

The Snowy View from Our Place

This first day of Winter finds us still snowed in at the house. The sun is out, but I expect the piles of snow will take a while to melt away. Once it warms up a bit, we are headed to the bottom of the driveway to see if we can shovel a path for the truck to get out. The picture below shows the gravel part down to Highway 80 which has been clear since Saturday afternoon. We'll have to clear away the ice and snow that the snow plows left at the edge of the road.

Turn around and starting at the bottom of the driveway, we're going to have to clear much of the area in the foreground down to the gravel section. Unfortunately, this is where the wind whips through, and the drifts tend to deepen. The snow is nearly covering my "Parking Up Hill At Gallery" sign. There is no parking up the hill today.

Around the bend the truck awaits rescue from its snowy hell.

It's a long, moderately steep driveway covered by trees. It's way too much to shovel, and we're not sure how long it will take to melt enough for me to get the car out. Jay has to work, so I might be stuck at home until later in the week.

This little magnolia in the side yard seems to be the only casualty. It just couldn't bear the weight of the snow. I love magnolias, but this one was scrawny and had only a couple of blossoms each year. Perhaps this is not the climate for them. We found a bunny hole with some tracks, the only tracks we found besides Tinkerbell's. She hasn't found the bunnies yet, although she did catch a cardinal yesterday.

"I'm gonna put a bell around that cats neck. So when you hear him comin' you can grab all of your loved ones and get your lil' bunny asses runnin." from "Warning" by Keller Williams

Who Needs Chains or Snow Tires?

I know our friends in Northern Virginia are not impressed with the foot of snow we got here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, but this has been our first big snow since moving here last year. I got my holiday packages mailed off and the fridge stocked Thursday afternoon before the storm hit. I was prepared at the house, but Jay's project in Marshall necessitated him getting to work Friday and Sunday. Not to worry, snow travel is not my area of expertise.

Friday travel was impossible, but we got our 4WD truck down the hill Saturday, only to have Jay bring it nearly back to the top that afternoon. He was concerned that the snow would drift over it overnight. It was backing up nicely, and then he hit a slick, pitched part of the driveway and slid the passenger wheels right off and into a brick lightpost, which thankfully kept the sucker from rolling down the mountain. Jay is unimpressed with the 4WD capabilities of this truck and is dearly missing his Trooper.
After a fair amount of shovelling over the past 2 days and a great tug from the van (she still has a little life left in her), we unstuck the truck. The truck has a dent in the side and is completely blocking the driveway, but it's not like we're going to take the Prius of the motorcycle anywhere. Job well done, now where is my Advil and beer?

The learning curve has been pretty steep this weekend, but we're stocked with food, propane and beer. We're only missing some good friends and a good round of Hand and Foot.