Squirrelly Notes

Evening Walk

Joe and I went for a welcome walk this evening for fresh air and blood circulation.  Since Xmas day was reminiscent of the NW with cold air and rain (probably the heaviest rain we've seen in a couple months), the blue sky was a welcome sight. Joe took this picture at about 5:20. At 6:00 when we actually took our walk, the air was a crisp 45 and all the clouds were gone. Kids were out riding their new Xmas bicycles.

Joe and Ben headed to the mall this afternoon - very brave of them, and I stayed behind and cleaned up a little of the Xmas mess. Ben bought 3 shirts and Joe bought some Beatles CD's. Ben is off at work now and Joe is clacking away at his PC at the dining room table preparing for Lotusphere in Orlando next month.

The rainy Xmas day. All day. Non-stop.

Best of the NW Winter Weather in Florida

Brrrrrrrrrr - It was a ch-chilly 34 degrees here in Tampa this morning, sunny and beautiful. At 4:00pm it's 58 degrees, and I see that it's very similar back in good old Vancouver WA right now. These are the days in the NW that we all cherished - a nice change from the usual 40 degrees and raining,  and I'm feeling quite thankful for a taste of my favorite days of winter.  I'd feared that maybe it would never get below 60 here, but alas, I am delightfully wrong.

Hurricanes, good or bad?

In this morning's paper is an article claiming that the hurricanes this year may have actually done something good (that is besides giving people opportunities to stay at home and party). In addition to the spraying of pesticides to kill mosquito larvae, it is believed that the recurrent hurricane activity did it's part to help flush out the West Nile Virus potential. The number of infected victims has dropped significantly, where it was thought that the hurricanes were going to promote the problem. This is good news - yes?  I guess so, for a nasty bird virus, but for the humane society, there's another story. In a separate article (also in this morning's paper) the humane society is having a huge influx of kittens, in fact about 5 times the normal amount !! This is not usually the time of year for  kitten-making, and they're not sure exactly why this is happening. But Beth Lockwood, the executive director of the Pinellas County Animal Shelter, thinks the hurricanes are to blame! She says animals do respond to the barometric pressure and the hurricanes may have thrown off their natural cycle. WOW!!!  I guess the cats can't drink - what else is there to do?  Cats have to party too ya know :) So if you're in the Tampa area and want a new kitten, the society has a sweet deal for you. For $35 you can have any of their 461cats or kittens which includes spay or neutering, micro chipping, current vaccines, rabies license and tag.  They have also been dewormed and tested for leukemia. And what can we take from all of this? Post-hurricane season is the time to have your picnics and get a kitten. For some it could also be a good time to remodel :)

New house, new state, new blog

Hey all, welcome to the Squirrlley Notes domain. I'm starting this so that you (all of my friends and relatives) can easily keep up with me - and I know that's not easy! Life changes fast and it's hard to stay on top of everything - including emailing people, so stop by any time.