TOMMY O'CRAP

As we walk along today, I must caution you to watch where your feet are and the direction you are walking because of Tommy, my beautiful, sweet, lovable , white cat. Unfortunately, he loves to weave in and out of your feet as you walk.  He is an outside cat and spends many of his days roaming the farm and the hay lofts.  I have found that he is quite the hunter/predator because he delights in leaving his prey for me as a gift.  It can usually be found immediately outside my back door that I use most frequently.

We do not know where this beautiful, lovable little white kitten came from. In the beginning the neighbor's children and grandchildren both next door and across the road named him.  He was called "Tummy Tuff" and "Snowball".  He has remained here these past five years.  It was only about six months after his arrival that he discovered his changing levels of hormones made him think he was a big, strong cat who could engage in cat warfare.

He  appeared at my back door one Spring morning as I was leaving for a meeting.  He had the appearance of having lost the fight to a much stronger male cat.  He looked so wretched that I canceled my meeting, called my 16 year-old grandson to please help me get him to the Vet. We had no cat carrier, but after using a bit of ingenuity, we managed to contain him inside a bucket that was then covered with a pillowcase.  Fortunately it was only a 10 minute drive to the Vet because he cried all the way.

He was well behaved once he was removed from the bucket and pillowcase and sat on my lap as we filled out the necessary papers for his treatment and necessary vaccines along with a sterilization  procedure which I anticipated would eventually halt his prowling night-time adventures looking for female cats.  It was during this information session at the Vet I was  asked his name, I decided he would be called "Tommy". He stayed overnight in Vet hospital and did behave for awhile afterwards.  I have to admit, whether or not he was spayed, he continues to disappear for days at a time during the mating seasons.  He has returned with a few scratches but nothing like the initiation into the feline dating games.

Tommy loves to sit against my back door that leads from the kitchen to the carport.  This is adjacent to the area where he enjoys his two to three meals a day.  I do not always expect him to be there and on more than one (many) occasions, I open the door and in my haste to exit due to appointment or other obligations I encounter Tommy staring up into my face.  My response is always "Oh Crap"! This involves, opening the door, turning off the alarm I just set, getting a container of cat food out of the closet.  I then retrace my previous steps to feed the cat, return the container to the closet, close the door, set the alarm and finally get into my car! 

I am hoping you will be understanding now of my response!  I might add that this extra time in leaving has on occasion caused me to be late for an appointment or leave something behind that I must return for.  Usually that is my phone!  Appeasement for my guilt with the name-calling is because of sweet Tommy. No matter what I say or how I address him, he still stays and is very loving to me because he is smart and knows where his main food source is!

Oh, the pondering of it all...…………………...See you next time.  
   

PASSWORDS

So glad you called and that you brought a subway for us to share on this beautiful end of October day!  What a delight to stroll around the yard, and then to share good conversation around the table as good friends are so fortunate to have.  Allow me to share my yesterday with you...….

On Sunday afternoon, my daughter called and suggested we spend time together, along with her daughter and have a late lunch, followed by a trip to Best Buy to purchase a new laptop computer for me and try to bring me up to date since my old one was outdated by eleven years.  I met them in Hickory where we did enjoy a late lunch and the trip to purchase something that would allow me to better communicate with them and to get back to writing, especially this blog.

The purchase of the laptop was selected by my daughter and granddaughter based on what Nana would use it for.  they decided that I should not spend money on the best because I would not be able to use it for all it was designed, therefore, wasted money.  They selected a mid to lower price range that would allow me to access all those areas I visit.  I was very appreciative of their help because the clerk had a heavy accent from far away, and he tried to sell me another $400 worth of attachments for the computer!  The girls kept nodding "No", Nana does not need any of that.


We wrapped up the afternoon with coffee at Barnes & Noble, then an excursion to the only open furniture shops on a major thorough-fare quite a few miles away.  My granddaughter agreed to come back to my house, spend the night and get my new computer up and running under her direct supervision and wise guidance.

After she finished her preparations for her Master's classes  the next day, she unpacked the HP computer and set to work.  As she navigated through the most-used programs I would be using, she began to ask for Passwords at which time I left the room to search for my folder that contained five sheets of passwords.  When I opened the folder she said,  "what is that ?" I might add that she had a little smile on her face.

Well, we spent a great deal of time trying to figure out which PW worked for which program because each one had from one to five passwords.  Time after time she would ask if it was this or that.  Finally, not being able to recall which one was the right one ( after she had tried all I had)  I said,  "What the Hell?" ! That should be my password! She looked at me, her aging grandmother, and we both burst into laughter and laughed until we cried.  It was a glorious moment for the two of us!  We had crossed the bridge of generational gap and were two best friends enjoying a rare moment of laughter when age and time stood still.

Fortunately for me, my super-smart granddaughter was able to change all my passwords in such a way that they are there until we have to change them again.  It is now so simple, I do not have to try to find the correct one, nor do I have to put one in.  She is a genius!

I am enjoying writing once again and love having printer access from anywhere I am located!  What a luxury!

I still say my suggestion of "Whatthehell" for a password was a novel idea, but we decided against it for a number of reasons.  It was one I would be able to remember; however, adding a punctuation mark to signify distinction from other areas would require another list.

Oh...…..the pondering of it all...…………………………….

See you next time  enjoyed the visit and the walk...………...