CATastrophic Situation

My dear 5 year old grandson is visiting this weekend. He's just a little sweetie - very polite (although talks constantly) and minds well. The cats are terrified of him! I brought GS home last evening - the cats have been under the bed ever since. I don't know what it is that they're hiding from, but they will not come around him. I managed to hold Patty long enough for GS to pet her. "Don't worry," he told Patty, "I'm a nice kid." Awwww! Unfortunately, Patty didn't buy it.
This afternoon we spent some chilly play time at Helmrich Park, then traveled to McDonald's to enjoy the warmth of the indoor Playland. On the way, we passed one of the tree dump sites (still massive clean-up operations continuing from December's ice storm). I snapped this pic while zooming up Riverside drive. I don' t know if the impressive size of the piled trees is really evident.... If the red line is visible in front of the tree-mountain, that is red tape advising passers-by to stay out. It's about shoulder height.
We still battle the shin splint demon. I take Alatariel to her third tapeology appointment on Monday. She goes to the Natalie Building, quite possibly the worst architecture I've ever had to look at. It's enough to give a kid nightmares. The tapeologist is going to have to give us something to work with on our own for a while. The medical bills from all my stuff plus her bone scan have all come pouring in and, frankly, we're broke for a while.

At dance lessons last week, Alatariel managed to end up standing next to the ex-friend. The ex-friend has not so much as looked Alatariel in a couple of months. After a few minutes of practice, the ex-friend moved to the end of the room! Ex can't hold a friend but she can certainly hold a grudge. Alatariel found it so amusing, she's going to stand next to the ex-friend as much as possible and see if she moves every time.
Ever heard of Just Between Friends? Apparently it's quite an event. I'm going to save my pennies and see what kind of baby granddaughter stuff I can get for a good deal. Check out the website, find a location close to you, and watch the YouTube video.
The beautiful, mild weather (with the exception of that smattering of snow we got Wednesday morning) has give us the opportunity to sit outside in the evenings and enjoy a sunset or two.

The litter of six all went to the vet Wednesday morning to have their personalities altered. For whatever reason, after they had their spay/neuter/vaccine procedures, they became hissing, growling, demon cats. Fortunatley, they seem to have rallied together under the bed.

Patty has become my sleeping buddy. She crawls under the covers, cuddles up next to me with just her head sticking out from under the blankets, and sleeps there most of the night.
Alatariel has insufferable study conditions, being forced to share with all her "brothers" and "sisters."

I finally got my copy of Office 2007! It took costcaptain six days to finally get it shipped and another week for it to get here. Gee whiz! I have three chapters to play catch up and get submitted. I see a boring week ahead....

I'm tying baby blankets tonight. I made one for GS when he was little and never finished it. It has hearts and bears on it, so I'm finishing it tonight and sending it home as a Valentine present.