Bits and Pieces

Once again, nothing too exciting to report. We have been having some nice warm weather for the past few days. It got up to 80 degrees here yesterday. I draw the line at that. Anything OVER 80 starts to be HOT. I am thrilled to see spring, but I also hope these temps are not indicative of another brutal summer. Nope, not gonna think about that just yet.

I have spent my day cleaning out some closets and getting rid of clothes we no longer wear. No matter how much I clean out, seems like there is still MORE. Where does it come from? How does stuff accumulate? And why do I still have trouble getting rid of a shirt that I haven't worn in ages? There is some strange feeling in the back of my mind that one day I may NEED it. I am trying to be more aggressive with what goes into the giveaway pile. Clothes are replaceable. Not that I would get rid of anything that we still wear, but the other stuff, the stuff that has been hiding in a closet unworn for several years....that stuff needs to go.

The enclosed courtyard is working out really well for the cats. Its been a week and so far no cat has figured out a way to escape. The only problem we are having now is that Bitty wants to go in and out all day long. She isn't inside for more than a couple of minutes before she is crying to go back out again. I know they enjoy it but hopefully the novelty will wear off so that once a day or so will be enough. I am tired of opening and closing that door.

The most exciting thing to happen this past week? I bought our plane tickets to visit Stephen and Hannia in May. Now that is something I am looking forward to. I haven't seen them since Christmas and that is just waaaayyy too long.

Beware the Ides of March

I totally forgot it was the Ides of March today until Erica sent me a text about it. My family is mocking me. You see, we rented and watched the entire series of "Rome". I feel in love with it. I enjoyed it so much that I felt a deep sense of loss when it was over. But the funny/strange part was in season 1. I KNOW Roman history. I absolutely do. I understand the Ides of March, and how it was once a holiday and later became associated with doom and foreboding due to the murder of Julius Caesar on March 15th. Knowing that you would THINK I would have been a bit more prepared for Julius Caesar to actually DIE in the series. But for some reason the whole scene traumatized me to no end. The man who played the character of Caesar was really good and very impressive and I just wanted to go on and on watching him. When the senators stabbed him mercilessly I was stunned, horrified and sad beyond belief. I almost stopped watching it, but luckily I got over it enough to finish up the series as much as there was.
Apparently the show was wildly popular. It was impeccably done, and followed history as closely as possible. It would be a fantastic way to teach history to children because you become so much more invested in what is happening when you see it played out like that. Of course, Rome has way too much sex and violence for children. The sad thing was that there were only 2 seasons because it was just way too expensive to film. The authentic costumes and sets, the hoards of people for the scenes in villages....it was a tv show spending money like an epic movie. It couldn't sustain itself. And that is a real shame.
Oh Julius Caesar, your death broke my heart......

Nothing much

Nothing much is going on around here. I wrote a ranting post about work and then thought better of it so I removed it. I was upset, and frustrated but I also know its not a good idea to post job complaints on a public forum. Thank God for the magic "delete" button, right?

Besides that we are just working and trying to get some things done here around the home front. Bruce built the cat enclosure this weekend, so all the kitties can go outside into the courtyard, enjoy the sunshine and still be safe. Its not fancy and it won't appear in an edition of Better Homes and Gardens anytime soon, but it does the trick. They spent the first day trying to figure out how to escape, but now they seem to have settled in. They watch whats going on outside of the netting, but don't seem inclined to get out. I probably won't leave them out there if nobody is at home, because 2 of the cats want back in after a short time. But when we are here around the house it gives them something new and interesting to do.

Stephen and Hannia spent the weekend in Chicago taking a belated birthday getaway. I talked to Stephen last night and he wasn't all that thrilled with it. They had a hard time figuring out the Metro because apparently they don't have it labeled or mapped out as well as New York or DC. Instead they ended up walking a whole lot and got really tired. Everything was crowded and had long lines. But then again, Stephen also said that they were hitting up the really touristy places and it might be different if they could figure out more about the city and avoid the worst of the crowds. I am sad they didn't enjoy it more but maybe they will get more time there to figure it all out. At least it was a couple of days away to see something different.

I have today off, having worked Saturday again. I have some errands to run but what I really want to do is clean out my closet. I do it twice a year, spring and fall, without fail. I am ready to put away the winter clothes and get all of my summer stuff out and ready to wear. Of course, we have only had a couple of warm days so far, so I think I am jumping the gun on this one. I probably need to wait until at least mid-April to put away all of my warm clothes. Still, being anxious to be free from dark cold days, I might at least go stash away the heavy sweaters. I don't care how chilly it is, I refuse to wear a heavy wooly thing in the spring. And in my book, if its daylight savings time then that means spring has sprung.

Hope you all have a wonderful sunny week ahead.