Plans

So we got our taxes done on Friday. One less thing to worry about getting done. It could have been worse, but it could have been better. All that matters is that it's done. We're spending most of this week gearing up to go to Galena. I'm excited as I will hopefully be getting together with one of my high school friends. It'll be a lot of fun meeting her family. The main reason we're going is to play dungeons and dragons. (Yes, we play a lot! It keeps up out of trouble.) And to see our friends, of course. Kate is recovering from surgery, so they'll need some extra help. (Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Kate!)

The binding on Jamie's quilt is a little over a quarter of the way done. (See! I'm really working on it!) I'm hoping to have it done by the time I go to visit in April. Seeing as we will be gone this weekend, I'm going to have to step it up during the week. Especially since we're going to have a visitor in about two weeks. Zara sleeps on whoevers lap is available, as long as you stay still for at least twenty minutes. She really likes all of the quilts we have. (Don't worry, Jamie. I will wash your quilt before you get it so it won't smell like kitty.)

We love our kitty.

Just a few notes on the video....Zara got herself stuck in the bag. Jason and I didn't do anything except leave it on the floor for her to play with. And, one of her mice are in the bag. You can't see it because it's pink and blends in with the writing on the bag. She also played with the bag for an hour. We love Zara very much. She provides us with hours of entertainment from playing with plastic bags to sitting in the window watching the birds. She loves wrestling with Jason. As you can see, she does not like baths. (Yes, I actually give her baths. I use good smelling hairball prevention shampoo. It makes her really soft. Besides, she looks hilarious when she's done!) She is a stinker though and we're glad we rescued her. (We got her from the multitude of outside cats Jason's parents have.)

On another note, we had gorgeous weather this weekend. Then it rained Monday. And again Monday night. And again all Tuesday morning. While it was almost 70 this weekend, it is now in the 40's and they are predicting snow on Saturday. Oh, yes...snow.

Lots of Visitors

It's finally starting to feel like spring. We had the windows open on and off during the week because of the warm weather. Zara loves it and spends a lot of her time in the window sill staring at the outside. She's fallen asleep there a couple of times. It's been really nice having open windows.

Jason's parents were in Des Moines on Friday getting his dad fitted for a new leg so they came up to have supper with us before they drove home. We took them on a tour of campus to show them all the new buildings that have been built. Zara really liked having them here. She took a lot of time sniffing their shoes. I'm pretty sure she smelled other kitties. And dogs, and cows. Zara doesn't get outside the house much.

We also had Pat, Adam, and Matt over for the weekend to play dungeons and dragons. It was a lot of fun and we laughed a lot. We even took a walk on Saturday and found out Matt doesn't walk fast. He's a laid back kind of guy, but we had to give him a hard time about it.

Over the River and Through the Woods....

My sister Jordan came over to visit us last night. She is staying the weekend because I'm supposed to help her start a t-shirt quilt. Only problem is she forgot the t-shirts she was going to use! She ran errands with me this morning and once Jason was done with work, we went to Des Moines. We had lunch with some friends of ours and went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Peterson. Don't they look cool? They fed us some really yummy corned beef and pecan pie. After supper we played a gruesome game of Aggravation. Things got very heated between Jordan and Grandpa, especially when they were the only two left.

From 70's to....Snow?

We've had a very busy week. One of the dispatchers Jason works with had to stay home for part of the week because he oldest son was having surgery. Because of this, Jason was scheduled for extra hours. Unfortunately, most of them were on Friday, which is one of his days off. After working from 7am until 1:30pm, he went to pick up our beef we were buying from Mike in Center Junction (which is between Olin and Wyoming). He then went to Maquoketa, after going to Olin to get help sorting, to give Dad his portion. Then Jason drove back to Ames and dropped off a portion to our friends Pete and Mary. He finally got home about 11. Saturday morning, he was up at 5am so he could be to work by 6. It's been a very loooong week for him. (A big THANK YOU to Jason's family for letting us purchase the beef and with the sorting and storing!)

The weather this week was pretty nice. It got up to 70 on Thursday. It was so nice, Jason and I walked outside when I got home from work. It was really nice on Friday too. Today, Sunday, it actually snowed. Along with rain, sleet, and a little bit of hail. Needless to say, it's Iowa and you never know what the weather is going to do. Even with the snow, it's begining to feel a lot like spring. The birds are back and Zara stares at them through our living room window. As you can see, she sits on the back of our couch. There are times where she forgets there is a window there and will try to pounce. She pounces into the glass and falls to the floor. She doesn't do it very much anymore, but it's still a little bit funny.

She has also figured out how to open our bathroom closet. The closet is her new favorite place to hide and take a nap. She likes to bite if you try to reach for her, so we have to bribe her with treats to get her to come out. To future visitors: Don't worry! We have towels stashed away that she can't get too, so there shouldn't be any cat hair on them.

Keep on workin'

It's been a long week. I've been battling a sinus infection and it's seems that I'm starting to lose. But I've had some hot chocolate and will head to bed early, so hopefully that will help.

Jason was really excited that the church we've been attending (First United Methodist) is starting a brass choir. It seems they need tubas. Unfortunately, they practice at 9am Saturday mornings. Jason works from 6:30 until 12:30, so he won't be able to join them now. Maybe when the students are gone, he'll have Saturdays off!

I've been working on the quilt I am making for Jamie and Ben. I'm hoping to get it finished by the end of March. Three months isn't too late for a Christmas present! Here is a picture of it, so they at least knew they were getting it and what it would look like. I'm still quilting it and having some difficulties, but it will be done soon! After the quilting is done, I just need to bind it. I don't think it takes that long to bind, but I'm usually watching a movie so it seems to go pretty fast.

We started the St. Patrick's day mini-beer tour at Old Chicago this weekend. Since I have given up alcohol for lent, Jason has graciously agreed to help drink my mini-tour so I can get the t-shirt. He's so nice! (He gave up ice cream, just in case anyone was curious. He can't wait for Easter.)