Who you gonna call?

 Last night there was a knock at our front door.  It was just me and Valerie home and I wasn't expecting anyone.  It was dark out and I had just gotten out of the shower.  I looked at the camera and could see it was some guy.  Nope, not answering it.  He left and seconds later I got a message on our Facebook page for the light show.  It was a surprise visit from the Louisiana Ghostbusters!!  He said he could come back and he did!!!  

We got a visit from an Ectomobile! How cool is that?!  I had shared a video of  the Ghostbusters song on their page, and they decided it would be cool if someone could come crash our lightshow.  He stayed for a good 30 minutes.  Several of the neighbors noticed the flashing lights and walked over to take pictures and video.  It made our night!!!  

Happy Halloween y'all!!!  

Hurricane Zeta!

 Hurricane Zeta made landfall in Cocodrie, LA about 50 miles from us.  A category 2 storm with 110mph winds, 1 mile an hour shy of being a category 3!  That's very rare for October.  We had a couple hours of crazy winds (80 mph gusts), but thankfully everything is okay.  We didn't even lose power, but it seems to be out all around us.  I've seen lots of reports of downed powerlines, trees, roof damage, flooding, etc.  No school again today and I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow is cancelled as well.  At least Zeta was fast moving and didn't linger because it could have been much worse.  

We did lose our sign for the light show, but Clint was planning to make a new one anyway.  My witches survived!!!  I can't believe it.  The tombstones blew over and the ghost face frame is wobbly.  My neighborhood took on a lot of water towards the back and all around us, but we were high and dry.  

Now it looks like there is ANOTHER disturbance to be watched, but it isn't supposed to be a Gulf coast threat.  Craziest hurricane season ever!

I got the full story on why Valerie is quarantined:  They were playing badminton in PE.  At the end of class, Corona girl ran over and joined them standing on the opposite side of the net.  They hit the birdie back and forth a few times.  They all touched the birdie.  That's it.  All girls were wearing masks and had no actual contact and never got close to each other at all.  Now Valerie can't go to school for 14 days.  

Hurricane Zeta in Bayou Blue, LA.  10/28/2020

The street and my next door neighbor's yard

Two blocks down from us

This week....

So this week we're looking at a hurricane.  Halloween.  A blue moon.  And a time change.   *****edit below

I just don't know anymore....  Do I have to bring in my Halloween decorations AGAIN??!!!!  Just days before Halloween??  I think we may just take the witch's hats off and call it a day.  Everything is anchored down with spikes hammered into the ground, so it isn't going to be blown away.  Still.  

So done with all of this.

Here's some kitty pictures instead of more complaining!!  The two orange males have gone on their merry way to live with their families!!  I will miss them as I've grown quite attached to these little guys. I wanted to cry yesterday when Marlin left.  He was just so stinkin' cute and followed me around.  It's been really fun watching them grow and play, but they did bring lots of chaos into my house.  They are only five weeks old, but are eating pretty good and are litter trained.  I was a little unsure about sending them off so early, but both ladies work at a veterinarian clinic and said they would be fine.  The little calico is much smaller and will be with us for another week or so.  THEN mamma cat is getting fixed!!!!

**** EDITED: 1 hour later add QUARANTINE to the list for this week (or two.)  Got the call from school: Valerie is now under 'house arrest' because she was in contact with a student who tested positive for the virus.  Someone in her P.E. class that she played badminton with yesterday tested positive this morning. 

2020 again

Again.  

Halloween around here

 If you've been around a while, you know that Halloween is BIG at my house!  This year we decided to craft some new props.  

Clint made some pretty cool tombstones: 

Last year, I saw these on Facebook or somewhere and decided I wanted to make tomato cage witches.  Very easy to make!  However, they are not yard or wind friendly and have been a pain to keep secure.  The heads are gallon jugs, and they do not stay straight no matter what.  We ended up wiring them to tall ground stakes to hold them steady. The hats are secured to the jugs with heavy duty Velcro and even that comes off.  The heat from the sun seems to melt the adhesive so they do not stay on.  My initial idea was to put lights inside the hats to make them glow, but that made the head way too heavy.  The first day we set them up, we had a little bit of wind and it toppled them right over!  We had to rethink our plan and I rebuilt them without the lights in the hat.  While they make a good visual, I don't think we'll be doing witches again!!

This year there was a local Most Haunted Yard contest.  The top ten each got $25 and were published in a list.  We made the cut!  We got a cool sign and a $25 Visa gift card. 

Happy Halloween from our house to yours!!

KITTENS!

 Here's some kitty pics to brighten your Sunday.  We took them out of the nest yesterday so they can start exercising and strengthen their legs. They need get used to being around people. Mamma cat tolerated it for the most part. I'm going to have to move them inside very soon which is going to be an ordeal because Gizmo and Bella HATE outsiders.  I will have to keep them separated somehow and keep up separate food and litter boxes. Mamma is an outside cat and so I'm not sure how she will deal with being put inside or locked in a small space!  The kitties are just so small to let wander around the yard and we have raccoons, hawks, and the occasional snake around.  I really hope I can find homes for them soon. I've started asking around and posted on Facebook that they'll be ready in about 3 weeks.  I had one person ask about the solid orange one, so I'm hoping that pans out.  They are so adorable but 

The trouble with a kitten is

THAT

it eventually it becomes a 

CAT. 

      -- Ogden Nash

I really really can't handle having six cats....  

What else, 2020?

 What is this craziness??  It's October!!

I just can't even.....    Clint finished setting up our Halloween light show yesterday, so does this mean we're going to have to take it all down?!?  It's still too soon to know for sure, but all the models have it coming somewhat in our direction.  

My witches will never survive hurricane winds

WE HAVE KITTENS!!!   Deme had her babies on September 21.  There were four, but sadly now there's only three.  Unfortunately one of them (my favorite) did not make it.  I'm SO SAD!  I am not sure what happened but we found her yesterday.  She was almost 3 weeks old.  Mamma cat has moved the babies five times, and they were tucked away in a tiny corner of our shed for a few days. I made sure to check on them every day and all were doing just fine. Maybe she was sick, after all Deme wasn't well cared for.  Maybe it got too cold in the shed because kittens can't regulate their body temperature.  I've made them a bed out of a big storage tote and we will put a heating pad on low under part of it tonight.  I'm hoping Mamma cat will find this acceptable and will not move the babies again!!  (She's moved them from the tote nest twice before.)  My heart can't handle losing any of the others.   I don't have a lot of pictures because we were leaving them alone so we wouldn't make Deme more nervous and keep moving them. 

RIP little Phantom.  She was 3 -4 days old here. 
She had a half face mask like Phantom of the Opera. 

My foot seems to be doing a little bit better than it was.  I bought some thick soled wide width shoes, toe separators, toe socks, metatarsal pads, and shoe inserts.  I've been icing it several times a day, doing calf stretches, and physical therapy exercises that I found online.  It still hurts at times but I'm at least able to walk around.  I go back to the doctor next week.