Sunday, February 28, 2016

A love letter to our family pets

Hi there,
We adopted our first family pet as soon as our kiddos were old enough to participate.

In Tennessee, first came Domino when Steph and Ben were around two and four. The mother cat was a stray who gave birth to a litter in the neighbor's garage, and they were eager to farm out the kittens. We chose Domino, you can tell how his name was picked.

























Also in Tennessee, the sweet Bagheera girl came to us. I witnessed the jerk park in front of our house and throw her out of his truck. She was young, and we couldn't not feed her. Not too long after that, during a rainstorm, she gave birth to one stillborn kitten. I rushed her to the vet where she had to have an emergency c-section to deliver several others that didn't make it. She was too young and small to be having her first batch of kitchens. Throw in some shots and spading, and that vet bill was about $350 at a time when that was not in the budget. But she was well worth the investment. 













Both cats moved with us to North Carolina. Bagheera became a neighborhood celebrity, sunbathing in the driveway where anyone walking by would stop and pet her. Domino and Bagheera loved each other and lived happy long lives.












Next we adopted Mickey from a farm.

























Mickey was a terror terrier mix. I loved him dearly, but he was a handful. He didn't like other dogs or other people. He only liked me, and we were both un-trainable. After he passed, we took a break from animals. During the middle school years, we had a variety of other critters: lizards (ewwww), a hamster, and even Gilbert the turtle.

After Ben left for college, Steph was lonely and decided we had to have a new family pet while she was still in high school. So for her 17th birthday, we adopted Sully. She was a rescue and brought us the gifts of ring worm and ear mites. Again, she was worth the investment of vet bills and nursing.



















Steph left for college, and Sully became mine. And she has been my most favorite of all, just the sweetest baby. I'm sorry to say that she became sick in January, losing a lot of weight. She spent the last two weeks of her life laying in front of the gas logs, which I had turned on for her any time that I was at home. 






































I miss her so much, and the house seems especially empty now. But I've declared NO MORE PETS until I retire!



















We are so lucky to have Granddog Bear visit whenever we wish! He's the best-est ever!

xoxo Tammy 

Monday, February 22, 2016

Feeling blue

Hi there,

COUGH COUGH cough cough cough Cough Cough COUGH

That's been me the past several days. Incessant cough, lack of sleep, and all around yuck-eee feeling. I haven't left the house since Friday night. But I have every intention tomorrow to head back to my life. There has been very little energy for knitting.























One day last week I wore a splendid finished handknit to the office. That's my third Churchmouse Welted Cowl in Rowan Felted Tweed (165 Scree). I spent several minutes (okay about 15 min) before anyone else arrived taking photos of it. I didn't expect any non-knitter to mention it, but when I wore it to knitting group at lunch and no one noticed it, I was a bit bummed! But that's okay, because I know my online knitting friends will cheer!

COUGH COUGH cough cough cough Cough Cough COUGH
(it's getting better . . . )

xoxo Tammy 

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Romans 12:8

Hi there,
















This past Sunday morning while knitting in my pajamas and flipping through the channels, I happened to stop at Dr. Charles Stanley in the middle of his InTouch sermon. He sometimes has some interesting things to say, and his topic on that day was regarding how to be encouraging to others.

A long time ago, in our United Methodist adult Sunday School class in Tennessee, we took a test to find out what spiritual gifts we had to be used for the benefit of others. I recall that I had one that came through loud and clear and much more prominent than any others: I am an encourager.










I liked the list of 25 Ways to Show Encouragement shared by Dr. Stanley:

  1. Call
  2. Text
  3. Write a letter (or an email)
  4. Give a sincere compliment
  5. Pray (what would you have me pray for you about?)
  6. Fulfill a need in someone's life
  7. Give them time
  8. Point them to applicable Scripture
  9. Tell them the truth
  10. Be forgiving
  11. Love (say I love you)
  12. Be a good example
  13. Give Godly correction
  14. Listen to them
  15. Give them your full attention
  16. Be patient
  17. Cry with them
  18. Agree when it's appropriate
  19. Give a meaningful gift
  20. An affirming look
  21. Pass on helpful information
  22. Express loyalty
  23. Love those whom they love
  24. Assisting them in an area in which they feel inadequate
  25. Smile! 



















Here's a link to the sermon if you are interested.














(I accept encouragement too, especially when it involves knitting!!!)

xoxo Tammy