Vows, Wows, and Meows

Another week floating through space and time. We are approaching Christmas quickly. Beautiful time of year! We are pretty excited about Christmas coming, Terry and I are battling illness. He caught a cold and passed it to me. He thought he was over it in about three days, but now it's still rearing its ugly head. Me? Of course, I'm being drug along the street on my face. Or at least that is what I relate the feeling to. Ugh. Hate being sick and it seems I've been sick quite a bit in Roseburg. Not sure if my body needs to adjust to this area from Eugene/Springfield, or if it's because this is just going to be my life. 

This week I have been witness to some beautiful photos and videos of my granddaughter Jess getting married. Absolutely beautiful wedding. It was snowing and there was snow on the ground to create a winter wonderland and a gorgeous fantasy wedding. Stunning!

Happy, happy anniversary to this sweet couple. It was an amazing wedding. Snow was everywhere. It was awesome. Just enough white stuff to make it a dream Christmas wedding, but not enough to be a hassle driving to the venue or back home again. 

The lodge was decorated in Christmas glitter and even Rex the dog had a tux on for the event. It was gorgeous. But, speaking of sick, I wasn't feeling well on that day but had no idea I arrived with a nasty case of COVID. I sat through as much of the wedding as I could before Terry and I took our leave. 

The vows were special and the couple was so excited to be there. Now they have two beautiful daughters and life is good for them. I'm so happy to see my first grandchild grow into such an amazing young woman, mother, and wife. 

***

It's the same old thing going on for this weekend. Not much happening besides the sniffles, coughing, and the typical blah that goes with a cold. I did do some deliveries but took off a day or two when I just couldn't muster up energy. 

Took a drive out to Winston tonight to deliver some items to an elderly woman. It was actually fairly nice out. It was relatively warm, the sun was shining, and of course, with sunshine comes the sunset. 

After completing the delivery, I headed the Gutless Wonder toward home. The sunset was beautiful though and all of the marvelous colors around it, so I had to stop and get at least one shot. 

Well, let's go for three. 

***

Terry and me are still watching an episode or two of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction during and after dinner. Still keeping us guessing and still an amazing show. This has been our excitement during the weekdays and weekends. 

Speaking of TV, how about them Ducks? Huh? They are now champions of their conference! With a 45-37 win over Penn State, the Oregon Ducks are the reigning champs in the first year of their entrance into the Big 10 conference too. Now they are heading into the Rose Bowl where they will take on the challenge of beating their opposing team on New Year's Day weekend. Can't wait! The Ducks are on a roll this year, have worked so very hard for all they have gained, and it's been an amazing season for all. 

Photo by Ducks Wire

Coach Dan Lanning, cheerleading squad, and our Oregon Ducks football team. (Photo by CBS Sports)

The Duck ready to do more pushups after each touchdown (Photo by OPB)

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Terry's book has been released on Amazon!  If anyone is interested in purchasing a copy, please click here. 

Terry has not only written the book, but he designed the cover, edited what was written, and created his website. He would appreciate any feedback through reviews too!

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My cottage bakery is coming along. I'm learning so much. It has been a few weeks of reading, researching, and learning. I've joined all sorts of groups and have figured out what it is I would like to sell once I open. 

Making breads, fudge of various flavors, bagels, several types of cookies, and mini cakes. We can't forget the lovely mini cakes. Tasty cake flavors, baked in a rectangular foil pan with a lid for a grab-and-go idea, topped with a thick squiggle of frosting and some decorations. Dessert on the go!

Photo by The Station Bakery as an example of mini cakes. 

Some of the cookies will be sandwich cookies dipped into milk chocolate or white chocolate and decorated for the season. All sorts of surprises await you (and me) around the corner. I cannot wait to begin the process of baking and perfecting these treats. 

***

We have arrived. It's now Friday and happens to be December 13. I've never had an issue with Friday the 13th being anything besides a Friday. But here it is. I do hope I did not just jinx it by saying, "Nah, nothing has ever happened on Friday the 13th." 

Terry has his interview for the book today. We're hoping old superstitions don't rear its ugly connotations today, not for something quite that important. All of his interview, the press release, and all other book related items will be placed on his website once they are ready. Please keep your fingers crossed for Terry, you know, just to be on the safe side.  

***

A couple of weeks ago I opened my front door to two new kitties resting on the porch. They scattered once they saw me, but it was in that flash of a sighting I knew there had to be more kitty food placed in the dish outside. 

I have seen a gorgeous, sleek silverish-gray cat coming around. It has even let me stroke the dirty fur on its back, up to the tip of the tail. It would get spooked, step off the porch, but come back up in a moment while rubbing its face all over a box filled with soft material meant for them to sleep in. The cat is beautiful. I have no idea if it is a male or female as I'm not taking the chance of picking it up to look. I like my skin right where it is, thank you very much. 

Now there is a large, what I consider full grown adult sitting out there. It is a white cat with big black spots along each side. Adorable, but once again, terrified. I guess this area of Roseburg (and I'm assuming many areas in the US) has a stray cat issue. We had talked about taking Meow-Meow, the last stray we had outside, into the vet to have her fixed. When we called, we were broken hearted to find they had a long waiting list of several months away. She could have seven litters by then. 

All the adoption agencies around here are full. Mallory has a cat she would like to find a loving home for and we had Meow-Meow. We've both tried finding a place for them to go, to no avail. We have been told that people clung to all types of animals as pets during our bout with the epidemic. After COVID had cleared for the most part, places opened and we were free to move about once more. 

People who had purchased animals or were given pets to comfort them in their time of boredom were over it. Why have a dog any more if you don't have to stay home? Cats? Who wants a cat now that we can go out and visit bars or go to places that are awesome. The shelters filled with unwanted animals. Local shelters are so full they have no space for the strays roaming the streets. 

So now Fido and Princess sit, lonely and forgotten in kennels in a shelter they don't understand. What happened to playing ball or being scratched? What happened to having a fluffy bed, comfortable home, and a human who spent time with you? Shelters can be scary for animals. Consider what it would be like living in a nice home, having good food, comfortable furniture, and then you are suddenly driven to a cold prison cell with noises that scare you, and things you don't understand. You sit, lonely and afraid. 

Humans don't deserve animals. This is a plea to adopt if you can. Feed strays if you can. Love your pets and remember, they are not Christmas gifts. They are a lifetime commitment. Please help when you can!

New baby girl or boy we are feeding on the porch. Shaped a lot like Meow-Meow makes me wonder if they aren't from the same litter. 

My beautiful Meow-Meow girl. Not sure what happened to her. I got attached to her and she to me, then she disappeared. A hopeful thought leaves me to believe that she was picked up by someone and is now an indoor kitty. This is my wish. Be it a Christmas wish or a prayer in life, I just want to see all the animals safe from harm. 

***

So, it's Sunday, with nothing to do. Terry had a great idea to go to Wildlife Safari and drive around a bit. It's not raining, but it is cloudy so who knows how many animals will be stirring and how many are going to be inside. We'll see ...

We began our journey through Wildlife Safari meeting up with the turkeys. Lots of turkeys. They were running from one side of the road to the other, as in celebration Thanksgiving Day was over. Watch out little buddies. Christmas Day is around the corner!

They all looked happy and healthy as they strutted across the road gobbling to each other. I wonder what gossip they are passing around? Wanda heard Sarah was pregnant! Oh, no. That's not good since it was Frank she was seeing and Frank happens to be married to Tiffany. And the beat goes on ...

This beautiful boy was rubbing his horn on the log while the other rhino (out of the picture) was sniffing around. 

It was dinner for the large kitties. 

This one had the prized possession it had been waiting for!

Terry was snapping photos today, so we will leave you with these from our "safari." 

These two had finished lunch and were napping off and on. They were laying beside the cheetah chomping on the large rib cage. 

The wolves were out in droves today which is typically uncommon. 

Their fur sure has filled in since our last visit. The colder weather seems to have given them the natural need to cover their bodies with thick hair!

The zebras were following each other down a muddy path to the feed bucket in the shelter. 

We will end our photo shoot here as these are our main pictures we took during the visit. This time we spent more time enjoying our travels through the wildlife home instead of worrying quite as much about pictures taken. We were missing the hibernating bears, the camels, the guanacos, and I did notice the giraffes were being pampered and kept out of the rain. 

Every trip we take through Wildlife Safari, we have grown to expect different appearances by some species. Several are kept indoors during inclement weather. Others are hibernating, such as the bears. We all have to respect that fact as every beautiful creature in the park have different temperaments, varying tolerances to weather, and other natural variances to keep some of them out of sight. It's okay. Every time we travel through the park, we understand this. It's part of nature. 

So, here we are, at the end of the weekend again. The new work week begins again tomorrow. I'm finally feeling a bit better, so that means I can slowly get back into my regular routine. This makes me so happy. 

We both hope all of you have a very pleasant week as you prepare for the holidays. We wish you a week filled with love, light, and lots of joy. Miracles can happen if you believe, so keep your light shining and count those beautiful blessings! Until our next post, take care of yourselves. We do appreciate each and every one of you!

Happy Holidays from our babies!