...onwards & upwards

as I wait for approval of my mortgage modification...
I am in an "interesting" interval in the meantime...
a "holding pattern"of sorts...

definitely, a place I've never been before...

when I was younger, I used to take stairs 2 at a time...
never being concerned with the railing...
whether ascending or descending...

but now that I'm no longer as strong or agile...
stairs are a concern... railings, important...
and the ones before me have no railings, a steep pitch, no end in sight...



and look, just plain "scary"...

until the mortgage gets modified, [if, they accept my application...]
I have to pay the first mortgage, taxes & insurance...
which leaves about $600 to pay my utilities & gas[$250]...
food & supplies for me & the critters[$300]...
and about $50 for anything else...

so far this month, anything else has included...
vet visits, chiropractor visits, hair cut, etc...

I have never been in such a situation where there was NO fall-back position...
in the past, when money was short, there were always credit cards...
or my folks, or extra music income or some other answer...
so for me, these are un-chartered waters...

I guess God wasn't kidding when He said that He would be my only supply...

I received my car registration renewal in the mail today...
I've always just written a check & paid it right away...
or more recently, just gone online & paid it...
but I can't do that this time...

it's only $149, but I don't have any un-budgeted money...
at least until October arrives, and then things are still very tight...
but then I remembered that I'm going to earn $100 on Monday...
so now I only need to find the other $49...

and hope that the mortgage modification goes through...
and quickly too... the HUD counselor told me that 2 months is "quick"...
4 months is average and it could take as long as 6 months...
they could turn me down, but she doesn't think they will...

so in the meantime, I wait...

I can't file Chp. 13 until the mortgage is modified...
so until then, I'm receiving "hate mail" from the holder of the 2nd...
as well as the 4 credit card companies...

I say "hate mail", because the one advantage of no longer having a home phone...
is that they can't call me & try all their sleazy guilt trip tricks...
I have had enough of that to deal with already & don't need more...

when the 1st is modified, hopefully down to around $650...
[including taxes & insurance]...
and the bankruptcy court & the lawyer negotiate a monthly fee...
to be paid to the creditors each month for 3 years that I can live with...
then things will be better...

especially if I can receive Social Security benefits after October 22...
or if I can find even a small job...

of course, I'll be paying the lawyer for a while...

and I have some big bumps in the road coming up...
car registration renewal, 1st installment of property taxes...
car insurance renewal, dental insurance premium...
2nd installment of property taxes, car insurance renewal...

so this will be an interesting journey...



I really can't wait to see what He does next...

...welcome Fall !

I love Fall so today, the autumnal equinox...
I welcome its closure, its colors, its light and its darkness...
for without darkness, we never appreciate the coming of the light...

...on the cusp of the autumnal equinox

if I wasn't already aware of the impending seasonal change...
this would be a real wake-up call...
[& yes, it's from my tree...the huge one dwarfing the house...]

but since fall is my favorite season...
and I look forward to the cooler, wetter weather...
I'm always aware of Fall...

even so, this year seems special...

because even before the official demise of summer...
while warmish temps and sunny skies linger...
all around are the signs of things to come...
signs not always seen this early in this climate...



you see it in the tops of trees...
where the cool, damp evening air leaves its first marks...



and in distant bits of color...
that jump out at the eye in contrast to the summer green...
or primary color blossoms...



if you look closely, you can spot the green still lingering near the veins...
as the sycamore trees begin to turn brown & yellow...

since we had a wetter winter & cooler summer this year...
there is more, "turning"...
and less of the usual heat-driven dessication...
that provides no color, just drying up & falling off the trees...



no where is this lingering, "turning" effect more apparent...
than on the creeper...

on the ranch, it was in the trees...
and since it got watered consistently...
always put on a show of brilliant red...
this may be the first year I'll see that here...

since it's on the south[hot] side here...
and usually burns up in the late summer heat...
which we haven't had this year...

so here's hoping...

...kitty update

after the 3rd day of flagyl for her diarrhea...
Mz Fluff is cured, happy & snoozing away peacefully...



the depo shot worked very well for Piglet too...
and so she's, "out & about" again too...

and everyone's enjoying the banquet of cat food...

good times in catland...

...more decorating with plants

here are some more shots of my LR/DR as a work in progress...
[in the process of moving plants inside...
and attempting to keep them from being kitty salad bar, that is...]



this pothos seems to be thriving here...
[the old radio doesn't work anymore...can't get tubes for it...]
the kitties don't like to chew on pothos...
or the sanseveria that's been in that spot for quite a while, either...
[BTW: the oil painting,"Dried Artichokes" was re-framed a couple of years ago...
I bought it at an auction almost 40 years ago & still love looking at it...]



the split-leaf philadendron likes this spot...
so does the "money tree"...
but I have to keep an eye on how dry they get here...



this corner has the best northern & eastern light...
but is the worst for dryness as the fireplace is nearby...
& the floor furnace grate is under the table on the right...
so I have to monitor carefully during the heating season...



just to the right, next to the front door...
the fiddle-leaf ficus, a banyan root ficus, a shefflera...
as well as a couple of smaller plants...
all seem to be flourishing...



this maranantha, "cathedral windows", likes bright, indirect light...
and suffers from kitty nibbling...



speaking of "nibblers"...
Lacy takes a break from gnawing on the plant in front of her...
[some kind of dracenea...]
she's smart enough to NOT try the rubber tree...
[kitties don't like the taste of any kind of ficus sap...]



which is fortunate for the banyan root[aka ginsing] ficus...
and all the other varieties of ficus I harbor...

all this will look better when I de-clutter a bit more...
but for now, it's a work in progress...

...blessings for the kitties & Molly

one of the challenges of my current financial situation...
is providing for my furry family...

10 senior kitties & one, always hungry dog...
can ruin a budget very quickly...

so I was thrilled when Square Peg told me that some pet food...
had been given to our food pantry at the church...
[we sometimes get food from stores that go out of business...
which was the case with this pet food...]

most of the cans of cat food were dinged & dented...
but some of my herd's favorite flavors were there...



not to mention 2 large bags of quality dry food for Molly...
so I gratefully put them into my car & took them home...
[probably $10 worth of cat food, $30 worth of dry dog food...]

but that wasn't all...

the next morning at the DOK meeting as I shared that blessing with the DOK's...
one of them said that she had almost a "case" of canned cat food in her car...
her cat had just died & she was going to donate it to someone who could use it...
and could I, perhaps, use it for my kitties...

I gratefully accepted and after the meeting, we went out to move it into my car...



I couldn't believe it...

not only nearly 48 cans, but they were my kitties favorite flavors...
[the ones they're used to which won't upset their digestions...]

the kitties have been very pleased...
since these smaller cans give them more variety...
and their favorite flavors to boot...

I need to mix Molly's regular that's left with this new dry...
so she tolerates it without any problems...

of course, there's always something else...

yesterday, I had to take Mz Fluff to the vet...

the diarrhea was back & my pet pharmacy drawer was empty...

the vet's always amazed by how healthy Fluff is for 18+ years...
and he gave me some pills for her diarrhea...
["flagel"...plus some extras to have on hand...]
as well as a container of Clavamox to have for kitty sniffles season...

as we were chatting, he set the Clavamox box down on the exam table...
with the flagel tablets, cut into quarters, in an envelope on top of the box...

Mz Fluff, who is NOT afraid of the vet at all...
was not amused that she was no longer the center of attention...
AND a bit pissed-off that he always finds her 1 remaining tooth, amusing...
was sitting with her back to us, flicking the tip of her tail...

choosing her moment, she flicked the envelope with her tail...
causing it to spin around on the top of the box...
which we both saw and were amazed by...

not deigning to repeat her "trick"...
she continued to sit with her back to us...
tail flicking every now & then...

so I began telling him how she gets my attention at home...
when she wants to be petted...

first she taps my arm with her paw...
if that doesn't get the desired response...
she taps again with 1 claw extended...
if I ignore that, then she taps with all claws extended...
and closes them on my arm if I ignore her again...

that generally draws blood... AND my attention...

so being a smart guy, the vet then started petting Fluff...
not wanting to see the claw trick, up close & personal...
which was all she wanted anyway...
and after some serious, Fluff appreciation by him...
she happily went back into the carrier for the trip home...

he always gives me a "VIP" discount[this time, it was $15 off...]
which was a good thing, since I had to bring in Piglet today...
her mouth lesions had returned, but a "depo" shot always works...
and lasts for months too...

I figure that the $ I had to spend at the vets...
was about equal to the cost of the food I received...

God is good... the kitties & Molly agree...

...planning ahead

after a lifetime of being a cat staffer & gardener...
I've learned a few things...

house plants thrive during a warm weather season sojourn on my front porch...
but most need the protection of the indoors during the cold weather...

many years, I would get busy and put off the moving days...
with the needed re-potting, heavy lifting, house-cleaning...
& re-organization, not mention the window cleaning...
as well as the almost requisite, plant sulking that followed...
as they once again adjusted to being "cat salad bar"...
and I have often paid the price of frost-bitten or dried-out plants...

so I've been working on the premise that, "sooner is better", this year...



this plant, a favorite of mine, was almost dead, but came back...
then Mack started laying on it, killing some of the newest growth...
the wooden skewers have stopped that...
now if I could convince him that he shouldn't chew on it...

BTW, providing "grass", just for them to chew on, is NOT a solution...
they ignore any kind of grass grown just for them...
preferring instead a tasty fern or some other such flora...
that I don't want to see munched, clawed, nested in or peed-on...

I guess it's just,"a cat thing"...



this ficus replaces a couple that got infested with spider mites...
and finally died... it's a plain, old, sulky ficus...
the kind that flourish in "the right" place...
but drop ALL their leaves in a flash if conditions are NOT to their liking...

so it gets the tried & proven, ficus "right" spot...
lots of bright, indirect, light...
not too close to the fireplace or heater vents...
but with fresh air from the front door near by...



this one I've had for a while and just re-potted...
it has very dark green leaves and seems much more resistant to mites...
drying-out, lower light locations and leaf-drop...
I remember that it was advertised as much hardier...
so I hope it does well in front of the French door windows...
by the corner in the DR...nearest the front door...

the light isn't as bright but the ventilation is very good...



I lost my favorite "dagger leaf" ficus to Lacy's sharp little claws...
I didn't realize that she was scratching its trunk until it was a goner...
I'm staying alert with this one that has flourished on my porch...
I found it about 6 months ago for only $25...
& just couldn't resist replacing the other one...

Mz Murphy Brown seems to be eyeing it...
but is really just snooping & cruising for some attention...



here you see the LR, "in progress"...

and yes, that is the aforementioned Lacy...

snooping... and rubbing her head on the new pots...
[she likes the heavy pots & I'd much rather...
that she "marks" with her head than the "other" way...
so far, she's stayed away from the dagger-leaf ficus...

more pictures to come, as I work through the re-potting and moving-in phases...

...a walk around the block

a walk around my neighborhood at this time of the year...
gives pause for thought...

fall is on the way...

you can sense it in the angle & clarity of the light...
smell it in the dampness of the early morning air...
hear it in the honking of unseen waterfowl...
as they make their journeys, south...
and feel it in the thickening fur of the kitties...



my tomatoes are starting to ripen a bumper crop...
here, they will often set into October...
and it's not unusual to harvest the last ones just before Thanksgiving...
though to most, they speak of lingering summer...



as do Morning Glories, still showing dew drops...
after 10 AM because the sun hadn't gotten there yet...



and to me, nothing says summer more than lantanas...
we had a huge, southern-facing, bed of them on the ranch...
haven for hummingbirds, giant moths & Swallowtail butterflies...
always killed by frost, but returning every spring...
to explode with color in the hottest months...



and the summer roses...

mine weren't pruned on time or properly fed this past year...
so they haven't been too showy...
unlike these I found along my way...



and then there's the creeper...

every day, a few more red leaves...
it has me hoping for a real show this year...
especially if we can avoid an "Indian Summer"...
our overnight lows are dipping down to the low 50's already...

it won't take much to paint the entire creeper red...
so I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

...fall is on the way

the portulacas are still spashing my front steps...
with their bright summer colors...
but the stems are getting "leggy"...
and it won't be too long before they fade away...

just the other day I noticed a "turned", red leaf on the creeper...



and today... even more...

this has been a cooler summer...
following a wet winter...
so maybe this year the creeper will "turn"...
and provide a lovely fall display...
before the leaves turn crisp & fall to the ground without "turning"...

it's been a long time since I saw that...

...FINALLY, RELIEF... !!!

I was in a hurry to get to breakfast with the FFers on Saturday...
so stumbling across this sitting in front of my front door was unexpected...
[their shipping info had indicated at least another week of discomfort...
until the replacement air chamber was due to arrive...]



if you are not familiar with the product...
this is a cross section of a Sleep Comfort bed...
[mine is a single chamber queen, the one pictured is a dual chambered one...]



I had just about worn out my wireless remote...
dealing with the escalating "leak " problem...
not to mention the 9 volt batteries I've gone through...
pumping up the old bed every 30 minutes or so...
[FYI: my sleep number is 35-45, depending on how sore my joints are...]



I unzipped the pillow-top mattress pad, removed the "egg crate" foam...
and proceeded disconnect the old air chamber...
then laid out the new one[they are HEAVY!!]
connected it & activated the pump...
[this is a dual chambered bed, my single chambered queen is twice this size...]

after about 10 minutes of running the pump...
I stopped it, and lay down on the bed...
as you always have to be "on it" to set your "number" properly...
after a few more minutes, the pump turned itself off...
and I waited with "baited breath" to see if it would retain the pressure...

it did !!!

and after a couple of nights of sleeping all night without a deflation...
the pinched nerves in my back have gone away !!!

now if I could get rid of the virus that's infected me...



oh... and the worst thing about this change over...
was removing all the air from the old air chamber...
so I could fit it into the prepaid box to ship it back to Select Comfort...