Two Shades of Red - Pink for Baby Girl and Red Flag for baby cat

Mom 2B Katy went shopping for the new Princess
Granny OSHA Babe never got to dress her sons this way













Remember Little Leo #1 - from November 2006


Would Yogi Berra say that this is "deja vu" all over again in January, 2008?










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Meet Little Leo #2 - or, as he prefers to be called, "Your Highness"

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Master Closet before transformation began
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Master Closet during transformation








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Master Closet after transformation



















Leaded Glass for transom window downstairs














Francisco made this one for the transom window in the Guest Bedroom







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Uncle Joe working for his supper



For the period ending January 27, 2008

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Our grandchild who is on the way is a GIRL! For me, Baby Girl will be the first female to join this family by some way other than marriage. We couldn't have chosen better in the marriage category because our two married sons, along with their old Dad, married very well. But Baby Girl, whose scheduled arrival in late April will give both sides of her family their first grandchild, is coming in another way. I guess that storks still make it to San Antonio.

.....Mom 2B Katy (with help from Aunt Rachel and Glam Gran Dale) has already been shopping for Baby Girl. You can tell from the pictures above that Granny OSHA Babe is right in the middle. Katy, my only request is - can you find something pink for the newest princess?

.....No, Great Aunt Donna, we are not going to sponsor a "Name the Baby" Contest.


2. Now for the RED FLAG! FOR KITTY story. There is a new member of the neighbor hood. You're not going to believe this story. I have taken some literary liberties when it comes to direct quotes. They may not be exact but I bet that they are close.

Once upon a time in a land not very far from here -

. Chapter 1 - Dani, a dear friend from Mexico City days (and yes, Dani, still a dear friend even after this) goes to babysit for her grandchildren while son and daughter-in-law are out of town for the weekend.

. Chapter 2 - On Friday afternoon, Dani arrives at school to pick up Granddaughter. She notices that Granddaughter has an orange tabby kitten (RED FLAG!) with her.

. Granddaughter (who happens to be allergic to cats (RED FLAG!) probably says things like -
.....--"Isn't he cute and cuddly?" (RED FLAG!)
.....--"We can keep him outside." (RED FLAG!)
.....--"Can we take him home?" (RED FLAG!)
.....--"Pleeeeze. I'll be your best friend." (RED FLAG!)
. Granny Dani, who has several outside cats of her own (RED FLAG!) can resist neither the look in the sweet kitty's eyes (RED FLAG!) nor Granddaughter's request and loads up (RED FLAG!) Granddaughter and Kitty.

. Chapter 3 - Next day, the entourage is off to Pets' Mart (RED FLAG!) for health, food, and fashion reasons. (Did I say "Pets' Mart" or "Pet Smart"?) Multi-hundreds of $$'s later, Kitty makes out like a bandit and leaves the store nearly, but not quite, as well off as Baby Girl in item 1 above. Kitty is vaccinated, de-flea'd, wormed, collared, tagged, has a litter box (RED FLAG!), a big bag of kitty litter, a big bag of dried cat food, a case of Fancy Feast, a deluxe carrying cage, numerous kitty toys, two food bowls, two water bowls, a bag of kitty weed (aka Premium Catnip), and an appointment in early February to be "fixed." (Kitty, if you are reading the blog, this is a big RED FLAG! for you, Big Fella.) Kitty is thinking - "Is this a great country or what?!"

. Chapter 4 - Sunday, after saying goodbye to the grandchildren and Kitty, Dani returns to her own home. After Son and Daughter-in-Law return to find their daughter red-eyed (yes, the one who is allergic to cats), Son puts one and one together and calls Mom. He very graciously reflects on his love for his mother BUT (RED FLAG!) says that Kitty in their house is not a good decision and wants Mom to come get the cat (RED FLAG!). Mom (Dani) says "OK, I had planned to come back on Tuesday. I'll pick him up then" to which Son replies, "No, come get him tomorrow."

. Chapter 5 - Monday, Dani drives to Son's house to pick up Kitty before going to Bible study that OSHA Babe attends (RED FLAG!). Unsuspectingly, I'm busy working on the house. Shortly before noon, my phone rings. It's OSHA Babe. (Yes, that OB, the one who also is allergic to cats.) The conversation goes something like this OB-"Hello, darling." (RED FLAG!) "Are you home?" Bo -"Yes. Why do you ask?" OB - "Are you going to be home for the next few minutes?" Bo -"Yes. Why do you ask?" (BIGGER RED FLAG!) OB - "Dani wants to come by. She has something she wants to show you." Bo - "What is it?" OB - "Oh, you'll see when she gets there." (RED FLAG!)

. Chapter 6 - OB and Dani arrive holding Kitty. (RED FLAG!) OB - "Doesn't he look just like Little Leo? (RED FLAG!) I told Dani that you would love to have him." (RED FLAG!)

. Epilogue - Kitty is sweet, playful, litter box trained, and in the process of becoming an outside cat. He and the incumbents, resident feral girls Grey Girl and Bad Girl, are gradually adjusting to each other. At least, they haven't stalked him since Day 3 and he can walk near them without hissing and spitting. OB's eyes still get red when he gets too close but, hey, he's so cute and cuddly, we can keep him outside, can we keep him, and I'll be your best friend!!!! How could I resist (RED FLAG!)

3. Now that OB has come out of the closet as being a cat lover, let me tell you about some of the work we did around the house since last report. It does involve the Master Closet. Since our weather has been cold and wet here for the better part of two weeks, we have worked inside as much as possible. We put longleaf pine flooring down in the Master Closet. A company near San Marcos actually mills various cuts of lumber from old telephone poles, many of which were made of longleaf pine. You can see from the pictures that the flooring along with painting the window and door trim make a huge difference. OB went to the Container Store and bought Elfa shelving for most of the closets upstairs. When that gets installed, we will actually have permanent places to do minor things like hang clothes, store shoes, etc.

4. Did you notice the leaded glass panels in the pictures above? OB had the center designs from our time in Mexico and we took this opportunity to get Francisco to custom build rectangular leaded glass panels to fill in two of the transom windows that were missing their original frames. We think that these leaded glass panels will be a classy, unique touch to this old house.

5. My Uncle Joe was one of our visitors during the last two weeks. We really didn't make him work for his supper but he did pitch in and help paint the plate rack that OSHA Babe plans to hang in the kitchen.


NEXT STEPS:

1. Frank should start on the floors this coming week. We have 6 rooms left to do, including the Master Closet upstairs.

2. Hopefully, we'll get some warmer, drier weather and Charlie, the carpenter, will get back down here and we can trim out the corner where the downstairs AC unit is installed.

3. As always, there are doors to refinish and windows to scrape and paint.