this and that

And another Monday rolls around.  It has been raining off and on, but nothing torrential, only about an inch in our rain gauge.  Yesterday they had issued flash flood warning for a period of time from this morning clear into tomorrow for a big chunk of Alabama.  For the sake of those still dealing with the aftermath of that last flooding, I hope it does not come to pass.   Then I guess we are plummeting down to the 30's overnight.   Considering it was 61 when I got up this morning, that is quite a drop.

My day started off around 6.  I woke up, Skyler appeared from wherever had been and looking for his treat bite and crunchies.  Next I loaded up Oscar's bowl and took it out to him.  No Oscar to be found.  I traded in the jammies, robe and slippers for some clothes and walking shoes  I suspected that he had gone back to the neighbors but I did not hear the other dogs barking or spot him outside the fencing.  I kept watching and looking for him.

About that time Robbie (the neighbor's adult son who lives in a double wide on the property with his lovely bride) calls out to me---
Robbie: Mrs. J, are you looking for Oscar?
Me:  Yes, I am.  How did you know?  (I was carrying Oscar's leash)
Robbie:  He's in the back yard with the others.  I went to put Rocky up and there he was. (Rocky stays indoors overnight but when he and Emily head to work he goes in the backyard with the other two dachshunds and a poodle mix)

So let me get this straight.  The dog escaped from one back yard only to crawl under the fence at a different back yard!  When I took him walking after that episode, this time from a different direction, I spotted where he had gotten his little happy butt out.  I tried to ram a brick into the hole and placed a milk crate in front of it till Robert can add some more deterrent, more bricks, a dirt pile or a combination therein.  Robert said with it raining, Oscar would stay in the dog house.  We have gotten two walks in in spite of the dripping.

The Calico that I started calling "Mamacita" had her babies on Saturday sometime.  When Miss Kathryn put out some cat food for her early on, she was still expecting.  When next spotted much later in the day, she had had the babies somewhere but no one knows just where.  Glynda said she had come from the direction of the nearby subdivision.   She is back to making her rounds in the neighborhood.  In fact, I had barely gotten Oscar put back in the backyard before the rain came and there she suddenly appeared.   Skyler of course, is always trying to see what is going on and I have to keep him from trying to go out and Mamacita from getting in, LOL.   Both of them intermittently meowing at me to get my attention.   ......... And that is how the day began, so different than it once was.

I got started, finally, on the Fiesta fabric quilt kit Sunday afternoon.  This is column 1 completed while column 2 is partially sewn and pinned for joining the sections, into sort of like 4 blocks.  I'll get back to it this afternoon.  Pretty simple quilt, really but fun to play with these bright and cheerful fabrics on a gloomy, damp day.

You like my "design wall"? A blank section of wall about 76 inches across, floor to ceiling, with no furniture in front of it. Nothing on the wall---yet.  I will probably hang some flannel on a rod with some command strip hooks or get a vinyl flannel backed table cloth up there or some such thing. For now, the painter tape will work  especially since I have been far from prolific in the creative department.

Other than the early morning excitement it has been a quiet day. Hope it stays that way.