The Summer of '99 
... at our house

I have a little kitty cat here demanding attention as I try to write. When our cat Sunny was run over on Old Railroad Bed Road behind our place, one of my web customers gave me a cat he got from his daughter. She raised Egyptian Mau and Persian cats and wanted to get out of the cat business. The one we got was an Egyptian Mau. Well, it turned out that she was 'with kitten' although she was a kitten herself -- about seven months old. She gave birth to three kittens the night of May 8 in Doug's closet. One died at about 7 hours old; we have the other two.  They must have had two fathers because there is one of each type.

The mom went the way of her predecessor on Old Railroad Bed Road -- it was the first time I had left her outside alone, too. She left us her two-month old babies who I've named Pork Chop (because he was so fat when he was born he couldn't get himself off the floor) and Lamb Chop. They are 3 1/2 months old now and are so dear to me! Pork Chop is the Egyptian Mau and Lamb Chop, who I call Lambie, is a soft, fluffy Persian. They are so playful and cute and loveable.

I have good news about my weight. Since trying the low-fat diet route and gaining all the while, I went looking for a different diet. I found Protein Power at Amazon.com and it sounded very different so I got it. We both read it and started doing it and we both started losing weight. Doug was losing so fast he became concerned about it and backed off some. After about a couple of months I leveled off or plateaued -- stopped losing. About that time my niece sent me a diet they use in hospitals. At least, one they give to patients who need to lose weight in order to have an operation. You have probably seen it -- it's half a grapefruit before each meal, and basically all the meat and vegetables you want. No sugar and no flour. I started losing again at the rate of 1 to 2 pounds a week. It's slow but since February, I've lost 30 pounds and Doug has lost 25. We feel and look better and are glad to have found what works for us. 

We didn't go on any trips this summer. We put our money and planning into a home water project. Our well water had become contaminated with bacteria so we had to go onto "city" (that's Harvest, Alabama!) water.   It was a big project switching over and putting in the meter and line from the street to the house. It's a good thing we did it when we did because two weeks after the project was completed, our well gave out. At first I thought it had gone dry -- I had been watering like crazy! -- but we think now it is more likely the motor that give out. Doug is going to try to pull it up and have a look at it. You know how I like to keep my plants watered and how hot and dry it can get here!!

And that's the way it is now, too. Summer has just about brought us to our knees once again and has us begging for fall and cooler weather. I do like the change of seasons, though. They each have their special qualities that are good and their harsh qualities that keep us looking forward to the next one.

One last note:  the official 2nd annual paw-paw tree height reading brings us up to 48", 23" and 16", up from 27" and 8" last year.  And yes, we have added a third tree.