Thursday's the Day We Iron Our Clothes

Wanda decided to help with the ironing. She thought it would be a good idea to practice on Little J's shirts. Only problem is, she didn't know which end was up. Lucky for her that Grandma happened upon this scene and remedied the situation. One quick spray of the steam iron and POOF Wanda makes a quick escape. Hmmmm... works better than the spray bottle.

Meanwhile, Little J just happened to find Wanda's brother yesterday. In spite of pleading, tears, screaming, kicking, dragging and a Texas sized temper tantrum, Grandpa had the sense to not allow Wilbur to come home with Little J. Good thing, or Grandma would have found another use for the iron.

Wanda Bling

Of course there are other things to do to dodge Chicago thunderstorms. Besides eating dessert with every meal (and finding that 5 pounds I lost before I left for Chicago), we shopped. A little bling here and a little bling there.

When I came home from work tonight I discovered that Wanda had found the biggest bling. Apparently she thinks my new belt is a purrfect teething ring. She has 5 lives left.

Chicago

Due to a trip to Chicago during the worst storm that happened there in years, much time was spent finding inside activities. We found this object in the Museum of Contemporary Art. Little did we know that the museum guard had plans for us when he invited us in to play...

So here we are - a part of the exhibit. We had to beg to get out. Do you think any of the other 688 red hatters in town were around to help us escape?

No Wanda You Can't Go to Chicago

Wanda and I had to have a little talk. She got all excited when she saw the big suitcase and hatboxes full of feathers. I had to break the news to her that she cannot go to Chicago with me. Not this time. I assured her that I'll be sharing her little "Wanda" beads with all my red hat friends. She tells me she will be a good kitty for Grandpa and Little J while I am gone.

I'm hoping she didn't leave any of those little flea reminders in my boas. I'd hate to share those with my friends too.

Wanda to the Rescue... or not

Little J is pleased to see that Wanda has been working on his car and hoping it will be up and running soon. We only wish that Wanda had the ability to remove our babysitters car from the bottom of our long steep driveway. We are stuck here until the tow truck guys figure out how to remove it.

Court Days and Celebrities

Court days can be particularly trying and today was no exception. But after a lot of perseverance, a bit of patience, and 7 hours sitting on a hard bench we managed to finalize the process we started several months ago. We are now official legal guardians of Little J.

What a surprise it was when we arrived home to find that Wanda took care of all the dishes that we left behind this morning in our haste to get to court.

And speaking of Wanda, it seems she might now be a bit of a celebrity. She made the news in the Red Hat Society Friday Broadcast this week and will forever reside in the RHS archives at http://www.redhatsociety.com/ RHS members can click here to see the link.

Note to Wanda: perhaps you have been granted an extra life here. So that brings you back to 6, right?

Purple Hat Day

Today would have been Micky's 68th birthday. I miss this dear friend so much. She left behind a treasure of memories, a world of wonderful friends and a true red hat spirit. Always putting others first, ready for an adventure, a willingness to try just about anything, courageous in her battles, prepared for the inevitable, she travelled the distance and her journey was an inspiration to all who knew and loved her. In red hat spirit, I wish her a happy purple hat birthday.

Dancing Naked...

In Fuzzy Red Slippers... I've been talking a lot about dancing lately. Has something to do with my line dance class. Since I sometimes have a one track mind, when I get into something it's wholeheartedly. So, speaking of dancing, I keep this book that a dear friend gave to me a while back on my nightstand. It's a wonderful collection of little quips and observations, most of them pretty darn funny. Well today, I learned to be careful about what one leaves on ones nightstand....

One of the guys in my office did a little work on the "Queens" bathroom last week. Today he came into the office reciting "Flying". I gave him one of those what's-that-all-about looks. He tilted his head with one of those sh*t eating grins that guys get and says, "it's on page 83 in Dancing Naked...in fuzzy red slippers, the one you have bookmarked." I do believe my face matched my fuzzy red slippers.

An appropriate quote I heard yesterday from my friend that I found to be a Japanese proverb... "We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."

Going now... getting slippers... closing blinds... gonna dance.

Mt Wanda

In an effort to train a bit for our Alaska voyage, we did a little hiking and exploring John Muir's history today.

Little J says, "so here is where Wanda was born." We tried to explain that Wanda was actually John Muir's daughter but Little J was more intersted in exploring the giant mountain where he insisted CatWanda once lived. It wasn't quite enough incentive to make it to the top but we did get far enough to look over the bay. Not too bad considering the day was quite warm and Grandpa is still working on his fitness levels after spending a few days in the hospital.

CatWanda stayed home where the de-fleaing process was happening. Yes, once again we bombed the house and beaded drops of Advantage smack between the shoulders of 3 disgruntled cats. My ankles already look like I have chicken pox. And, on top of that, it seems that while I was hiking up Mt Wanda, I may have brought a few renegades with me in my wool socks.

Scents and Sensibility

Caught in the act... no way can Wanda deny this one. She probably meant well, perhaps she was merely trying to cover up the litter box odor. A little eau de fig or cranberry would nicely do the trick. Fortunately she was discovered before she managed to blend the two thus saving one more life. Until early this morning.

After purposely putting Little J to bed late last night I had hoped for a nice Sunday morning sleep in. Then the faint mumblings of Elmo's World began around 6am. Drat, Little J didn't sleep in, I thought. Next thing I know a sleepy Little J is rustling beneath my covers. Elmo is still singing the alphabet at the other end of the house. Little J starts giggling. More Elmo welcomes. More giggles. "JJ, go back to your room and shut off that blasted Elmo thing. Wake me up when you see an 8 on the clock," I say.

"Not me. Wanda did it," Little J says. "Listen Gramma" Sure enough Elmo continues his worldly twang. Sure enough there is little Wanda zapping the alphabet keys, one by one. Too early for pictures but not too early to lose one more life. I think that leaves five.