Our M and J Show

I’ve been thinking a lot about our home. There are so many things that make a house (or apartment, or condo) a home. As far as the building itself goes, there are a lot of things to be grateful for in that arena.

• We have a home.
• We can afford the payments.
• It’s secure enough.
• It’s warm/cool enough.

As for the home part of the building, our home is filled with love, laughter, the smell of (Jon’s) good cooking, the sounds of his amazing piano playing, plenty of clothes and shoes and blankets to keep us warm, photographs and stories to remind us of fun trips, family and friends we don’t get to see often enough, books to keep us occupied, computers to keep us in contact with everyone, enough food to keep us nourished (or pigging out!).

We live in this home every day, keeping track of various parts of our lives, as well as others. We currently share our home with O’Kerri and she adds laughter, fun, conversation, and love. Four of our home’s permanent residents are 4 of the cutest little furballs I’ve ever seen!

Today’s gratitude goes out to the boys! (one of whom is insisting I must share the chair with him, one is under the covers on the bed, and the other 2 are cuddled together on the other office chair.)

In the photo, from … um, top to bottom: Jasper, Merlin, Tanner, Justice

In Lima, I bought a coffee mug to send to my “stepmom” (I hate that word!) in Colorado. It’s really pretty with a picture of Machu Picchu on the outside and the handle is made to feel like the stones. It’s not a piece of fine art, but it’s pretty and I wanted her to know I was thinking of her from Peru.

I hate mailing things. There’s something about putting something in a box and going to the post office that I just don’t enjoy. So I’ve put off mailing this mug.

It’s been wrapped in newspaper and in a plastic bag (i KNOW - I don’t use plastic bags at home, but in Peru, that’s what they use!!!) and sitting with several other things that I haven’t put away from the trip. This morning, I heard The Nerd (Merlin the Nerd) fussing around with plastic and when I got up to see what he was doing, he freaked out and ran - with the plastic bag handle around him. It wasn’t tight; he wasn’t in danger of suffocating or anything like that, the handle was just stuck around his furry little belly. And he ran across the hard tile floor in the house, bouncing the coffee mug along with him.

So the coffee mug is now in pieces. I can’t be mad at The Nerd because he’s a silly cat and he was just playing. I’m the moron who hadn’t sent the mug yet or put it someplace safer and out of kitty reach. So I’m annoyed with myself. I might mail it anyway just so she can see the pretty picture and know I was thinking of her. I wonder if I could glue it enough that she’d get the idea … hm. She reads this blog.

I’m sorry your mug broke before I could send it! We thought of you in Peru; I promise!!

My sister in law Misti sent me a link to this video and I almost cried; I laughed so hard. Cat yodeling is the best!! Enjoy!!

An Engineer\’s Guide to Cats