For several days now, Mooch has been visiting our front porch and sitting on the picnic table, which has been pulled in front of the window, under the shelter of the porch roof for winter. For Skye, it was love at first sight. To save my lace curtains from certain destruction, I have to pull them aside for Moochie’s visits. Skye talks to him through the window and scratches at the glass from the inside, while Moochie scratches at the glass from the outside. Screech, screech, screech. Think fingernails on a chalkboard. Then they lounge on their respective perches and gaze longingly at each other. Skye is such a flirt. And Moochie just struts his stuff and shows off how handsome he is. Unrequited love.

It's Wednesday and there I am, over at Working Stiffs again. Today's topic, why I can't say NO. And a bow to Ado Annie.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m working on revising my first draft. In other words, I’m creating my second draft. I’ve also mentioned that I’m struggling to perfect my first chapter. The bloggers and backbloggers at Working Stiffs did their best to convince me to move on, and I fully intended on doing just that. But there was one more thing I wanted to tweak. And that tweak led to another. And another. Until my head was spinning and I didn’t know what I’d written. Was I making it better? Or just different? My local Sisters in Crime chapter is planning a writing retreat in March. Editor Ramona Long will be our special presenter for the weekend. As part of the retreat, she’s offered to read and give advice on a short story or our first chapter. I knew I wanted to take advantage. Maybe that was part of why I was striving for perfection in those opening pages. Not that I expected her to gush and tell me how fabulous they were and needed no further work. No. I learned years ago that that

Mooch is not really a member of the Katz family. He belongs to my neighbors. But he’s a regular visitor these days. He’s less interested in the food than in being cuddled. Here he is leading Fleck and Pip into my basement to do a little snooping. He’s a handsome and charming guy. And he does yoga. Downward Facing Cat. Here’s a shot of everyone at chow time. That's Hissy (anyone want to guess how she got her name?) and Pip at the pan closest to the camera. And because sunshine is a rare commodity these days, I’ve thrown in a couple of shots of the fields surrounding my house.

Hubby and I are suffering from a little bit of spring fever and a lot of cabin fever. Conversations about what we'll do at our little camp in Confluence this summer and when we're going have increased in number. And then we went to the RV Show in Pittsburgh this past weekend. My thoughts and a few photos can be found over at Working Stiffs today.

I've been running about a day behind all week, so why should this be any different. Anyhow, I've been bugging my darling husband to do a new headshot of me since summer. He's a terrific photographer, but like the cobbler's children who have no shoes, I fall victim to his busy schedule. So last week, I picked up a new trinket at the camera shop. It's a wireless shutter release for the Nikon. The other evening, I decided to try it out and be my own photographer. This is the result. Do-it-yourself portraiture.

I'm at Working Stiffs today, talking about my Quest for Perfection. In other words: Revising the first chapter.

I’m not sure if they’re stuck here because of the snow or if they’ve decided to take up permanent residence, but the four members of the Katz family who returned from their last disappearing act have remained. I’ve learned a little about them, too. Three of them are girls. One is a boy. This means if they stay, we’re going to have a bunch of kittens in the spring. Oy. This is Fleck. I’ve named her because of the speck by her nose. She’s the leader of the pack and the most gregarious. She’s even proved brave enough to venture into my basement while I’m getting their food ready. Here are the other three coming to see what’s taking so long. That’s Pip in front. She’s getting big! Behind her is Little Boy. Yes, I know, the names aren’t very creative. But these are basically wild little beasts, so I’m trying to not get too attached. Anyhow, the third kitty hanging back by the barn is Hissy. Want to guess how she comes by her name? She’s the wildest of the bunch and hisses at me each and eve

This is what's left of my grandparents' farmhouse. I've posted photos of it here before, but the falling snow gives it an ever eerier feel than usual.

There are certain little unpleasant things that all cats do on occasion. Like gakking up hairballs. We love our kitties, so we grin through clenched teeth and clean up the mess. Recently, Skye has been doing a bit more gakking than usual. And not hairballs. We won’t go into details. If you are owned by a cat, you know what I mean. When these messy episodes became more and more frequent, I decided it was time for a trip to the vet. So Monday, in between several other appointments, I drove my little furbaby to our vet’s office. Forty-five minutes each way. In the snow. Okay, it’s been snowing nonstop for about six months, so that last part doesn’t mean much. After a bit of poking and prodding, it was determined that Skye’s belly wasn’t tender and there were no obvious masses. Rather than sticking her with needles (and me with a large bill) unnecessarily, we’re opting to try a few minor changes. I’m giving her antacid twice a day for a week. I clipped her claws first. Then, there’s food.

I'm back at Working Stiffs this morning with one last look back at the last looks back at 2009 that the news shows have been throwing at us. Is that the most confusing sentence ever written? Go read the piece and hopefully it will make sense.

Skye is rather fond of sharpening her claws on furniture. Oh, she loves her scratching post. She just likes to spread the wealth around. My office chair (okay, HER office chair) is a favorite target. In an attempt to deter her, I stuck two-sided sticky tape on the spot she had shredded. She has since been picking at it with her teeth, trying to peel the offending stuff OFF HER CHAIR. This photo shows her opinion of my feeble efforts. The tape has since been removed. I know when I'm beat.