2010

This was a special year for us. We turned the big 6-0! In recognition of that I created scrapbooks that covered our six decades. This letter is excerpted from that life review.

On Jan 2, 2010, we had dinner with Sandy, Robert and Calvin Blackwell. On Feb 12, we celebrated Elizabeth’s 13th birthday with a Voyager theme. Cabaret was Feb 27. The theme was Hard Times, Great Tunes. I was a Rockette again and Smoot sang 'Man of Constant Sorrow' with the men.

On Mar 1, we had lunch with Ralph and Ann and talked for almost three hours! On Mar 29, we had lunch with Becca and Chad and met Chad’s parents, Trish and Charles. On Apr 16, Smoot showed the Leungs the innards of his computer. On May 1, 2010, we went to Katherine’s piano recital, had lunch and then did Free Comic Book Day.

On May 9, the combined UUCP and Valley UU choirs performed Mozart’s Requiem at UUCP. We went to the Phoenix Comic Con May 27-30 and got to see Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, Stan Lee and Wil Wheaton. Paula joined us.

On June 18, the Leungs celebrated Smoot’s birthday early. Smoot’s 60th birthday party was on June 20. I had a DVD of his 1985 and 1988 Austin City Council campaign ads and spoofs playing on the TV, a slideshow playing on my computer in the bedroom and a baby picture contest in the den, all to spread the crowd of 52 people out over the house.

On July 1, Leonard came to visit. We went to the amazing new Musical Instruments Museum. On July 17, we co-hosted a 60th birthday party in Austin with April and Jency. It was great fun getting to see so many old friends.

On Aug 4, we celebrated our 37th anniversary with Indian food. The next big event was our Siblings Dinner in Charlottesville. We hosted a 60th birthday dinner to let our siblings see each other for the first time since our wedding in 1973. We also got to see Dad in McLean.

Then it was on to Orlando for Star Wars Celebration V, Aug 12-15. It was fun seeing Trade Fed collector buddies. On my actual 60th birthday on Aug 26, we got freebies. Alan joined us on Aug 29 and again stayed in the cat-free studio.

Sep 18-Oct 4, we fostered 3 kittens, Callie, Toast & Marmalade. On Oct 9 Susan’s parents visited us. On Oct 24 we went to a play with Gary and Linda. On Nov 3, Bob gave me his garden train set. We dressed up for the UUCP auction on Nov 6. We fostered 4 more kittens – Butterscotch, Dreamsicle, Pouncer & Tigger.

We had dinner with Cheryl, Bill, Ralph & Ann on Nov 21, 2010, then breakfast with Fredi & Paul on Nov 24, We had Thanksgiving with the Leungs. On Nov 26 we met Cheryl and Ryan at Petsmart for Ryan to adopt Ninja (later changed to Lando) from PawPlacement. On Nov 28, we again went to a play with Linda and Gary, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

On Dec 2 we joined Connie & Richard, Larry & Carol, Ginny & Joe at the NAU holiday concert. On Dec 4, 2010, we went to Katherine’s piano recital and then to the Holiday Pet Expo sponsored by Tranquility Trail Animal Sanctuary.

The next day I posed with Lucienne and the calendars I’d created with her beautiful artwork. On Dec 6, Joanne and I went to the holiday Monday Musicale at the Kerr Cultural Center. Smoot and I set up the amazing garden train that Bob had given me. On Dec 11, we sent to hear Gary and Sam sing with their other choir in a holiday concert. I joined in with others from the audience in the Hallelujah Chorus.

On Dec 14, we went to a Sing-along Messiah. On Dec 18, I went to Susan’s and made candy. Later that day, Smoot and I joined in on the UUCP caroling and the party at Elise’s afterward.

On Dec 21, we had a belated birthday celebration for Jimmy, seeing the movie Tron then eating out at the Red Tomato. On Dec 22, I went to the Hallelujah Chorus Flash Mob at Fashion Square Mall with Paula, Pauline and Paula’s former student Brett. Amazingly we found Emily, Ginny and Joe. The police estimated there were around 5,000 people there for the sing-along. You can see and hear video of the event at http://www.casttv.com/video/dlxwzzb/hallelujah-chorus-at-fashion-square-december-22-2010-mp4-video. That evening at choir practice I was given gifts that included moolah and cards made by Igor.

Smoot and I sang with the UUCP choir on Christmas eve and opened our gifts on Christmas Day. We went to see Tron then checked out the Willie Wonka-esque fantasyland display at the Marriott.

On Dec 26, we had a belated Christmas celebration with the Leungs, first dinner at Outback Steakhouse then gifts at our place.

Earlier on Dec 26, we had Maurice over to look at the train set since he’s also a train enthusiast. He was impressed! Then on Dec 29, we got together with the Blackwells, showing them my train, collections and calendars then dinner at the new Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. It was a nice bookend to the year since we’d started the year with a fun holiday celebration with them.

2011

The year started with a fun visit with Smoot’s cousin, Cheryl and her husband Bill on Jan 1. On Feb 26, we sang in Cabaret at UUCP. I was a Rockette again and Smoot played a gay usher!

Tragically, Cash, shown in the front in the picture above, died on March 7. He was only 2 1/2 years old. We were devastated. He was one of the best cats we’d ever had. We’re still mourning him. On March 26 we had dinner at Connie and Richards, having won the tickets at the UUCP auction the previous fall. On April 3, I had an historical display for the 50th anniversary of our church building. On April 22, one of our foster kitties decided to climb the wall. He reminded us of Cash so we adopted him and changed his name from Yogi to Rocky because he was a fighter.

Rocky also got along with Bagheera, Cash’s brother, with our Cockatiel, Cici and with Lady Turtle. On Easter, April 24, I wanted to have a photo of me and all four foster kitties, but the basket broke and the kittens spilled out, luckily unhurt! Smoot and I had our Easter photo taken at UUCP.

On May 26, Smoot, Paula and I went to Phoenix Comic Con. I got to wear the Jedi robe that Susan had made for my 60th birthday last year. Smoot was amazed at how respectfully I was treated as a Jedi! We celebrated Smoot’s 61st birthday on June 20th, Richard’s 70th on June 29 and supper with John and Julia on July 2.

On July 3, Smoot had a belated birthday celebration with the Leungs. On July 5, we saw the haboob or giant dust storm hit the Valley. On Aug 4, we celebrated our 38th anniversary. On Aug 6, we took part in the Bowl-arama for Paw Placement, the animal rescue group I volunteer with.

On Aug 19, I had an early birthday celebration with the Leungs. On my actual birthday, Aug 26, we had a going away party for Chris at Connie and Richard’s and a cake for me. The next day we flew to WA to attend Matt and Carey’s wedding and saw Smoot’s aunt May Louise and cousin Marti. We went to Austin Sept 3-5 to attend Jency’s father, Wiley James’ funeral. We went to St. Michael’s on Sun and saw several old friends.

We also visited with Karen and Lew. We celebrated Susan’s birthday on Sept 9. Tragically, Pauline Gay died on Sept 6; her memorial service was on Oct 1. I coordinated the reception. On Oct 2, we celebrated Katherine’s b’day at Fry’s Electronics and then had supper that evening with Emily, in town for a medical conference. She liked my collections!

On Oct 14 we went for a boat ride on Tempe Town Lake to celebrate Connie’s b’day then the next day went to the Occupy Phoenix gathering with Kat and Oct 16 I had a display at UUCP for Archives and Publicity. On Oct 20 we celebrated Gary’s b’day before starting our new play series at the Herberger Theater.

On Oct 26, several of us dressed up for Halloween at choir practice. I wore my Jedi robe. On Oct 28, we hosted the bridge group that Sandy heads and on Oct 29 hosted Linda’s birthday party. On Nov 2, Carolyn and I celebrated what would have been our mothers’ 100th birthdays that month. I also compiled a history of Mother’s life and what she would have seen had she lived to 2011.

Over Nov 12-15, we went to VA for Mr. Mitchell’s memorial services. Jency joined us and we had supper with Brenda. On Nov 17, Kathleen stayed overnight with us. On Nov 20, I sang with other UU’s at Occupy Phoenix. We’d been asked to come and sing to change the feeling of the gathering from negative and angry to positive and hopeful. Several of us wore our Standing on the Side of Love t-shirts.

On Nov 24, we had 13 for a choir Thanksgiving potluck. Smoot smoked a 20-pound turkey. Ginny and Joe came with Gerald and her nephew Erik and his wife Carol. The kids’ table had Carolyn and Brad and Joyce and her daughter, Nina. Igor was at the adult table.

On Dec 1-2, we went to Flagstaff to attend the NAU Holiday Concert. We stayed in Joanne’s beautiful condo in the midst of a winter wonderland. On Dec 4, we celebrated Jimmy’s birthday with Chinese food and the movie Hugo.

On Dec 9, we went to the Hanukkah dinner at Susan and Duke’s that we’d won at the UUCP auction. On Dec 10, we went to see Susan and Sam sing in their holiday concert. I wore one of my many holiday sweaters and a light-up necklace. On Dec 11, we went to Bob and Lucienne’s to celebrate Bob’s 90th birthday.

We went caroling on Dec 17. The big group hammed it up for the photo. Our subgroup sang to Jean’s son-in-law, Tom, Margaret H and Lucienne & Bob and we all ended up at the Beatitudes. Our picture was taken at the pizza dinner after caroling in the Johnson Room next to the boxes of gifts for the Eritrean families UUCP had adopted.

Here are some pictures of our critters including Lady Turtle and one of her babies, fosters Flip, Daisy and Pooh, and poor foster Liberty, aka Libby whose face had been mutilated and who needed time to heal. By Christmas eve Libby was well enough to go to her forever family.

Also on Christmas eve, Lois and Dale had us and Sandy & Don over for dinner before the services. Then Smoot and I sang at the later service and had our picture taken. Christmas was on a Sunday. That morning Rocky checked out the ‘tree’ actually our Ficus bush. Smoot got a soft new robe.

I got a new printer/scanner from Santa and a cute t-shirt from Karen and Lew. We took our traditional pictures of our cats, Gheer and Rocky and of our foster Sammy.

After the service, UUCP had a Christmas Day potluck which we attended with Barbara and Igor and I think, Elyse and her father. That evening we went to dinner at Paula and Stan’s. Pauline had died in Sept but they wanted to continue her tradition of a family dinner. We had a belated gift exchange and ice cream with the Leungs the day after Christmas.

On Dec 28, we went to the choir party at Paula and Stan's. I wore Pauline's sweater that Paula had given me. Carolyn, Paula, Ginny, me, Lori and Sharon in Pauline's holiday sweaters and Carolyn's that Pauline would have liked.

2012

We started 2012 by going to see the beautiful lights at the Phoenix Zoo on Jan 1. On the 6th we hosted Cherilyn and Dena at the Indonesian dinner at UUCP. We saw Holly Near at Valley UU on Jan 11. On Jan 15 we caught a stray cat at UUCP; after fostering with us, Karin eventually adopted her and named her LucyLu. Jency visited Jan 19-24. We went to the Barrett-Jackson auction, the MIM, the Botanical Gardens and had dinner with the Leungs, an old friend meeting new ones.

We took part in the All-AZ UU Choral festival on Jan 28. We went to see the 3D version of Star Wars Episode 1 on Feb 10; I wore my Jedi robe. Connie played in the Chandler Symphony Centennial Concert on Feb 3. We met Kat and Francis there and sat with them. On Valentine’s Day 2012, AZ’s 100th birthday, we enjoyed the buffet at the Talking Stick resort.

We introduced Julie and Marshall to their doppelgangers, Julia and John on Feb 24. Emily and Chris Colson stayed with us Mar 6-7 on the way to the Grand Canyon. We had Mexican food, something not common in MT. Chris was amazed at my collections and menagerie and left loaded down with lemons and grapefruit. We went to a pre-season baseball game at the new Salt River fields on Mar 24 with John and Julia.

The next day we sponsored a student in Nepal through a program run by fellow UU Earle Canfield shown with us above left. On Apr 6, we got a pregnant rescued kitty. She finally gave birth to three kittens on Apr 22. We fostered the family. On Easter, Apr 8, Pat and Mary Ann Cate came through town and stopped for a short visit. They got to see my collections and turtles. Tragically, on Apr 17, our good friend Karen Gould died, a devastating loss. The photo of Karen and me above was from the HRC staff photo in 1986. On Apr 23, we visited the Hise’s new place near Prescott and got to tour the area and eat.

Smoot and I were part of the First Flush celebration at UUCP on Apr 29 when we inaugurated our new bathrooms. On May 5, we went to Katherine’s recital then later Paula joined us for Free Comic Book Day.

Cabaret was on May 12. Smoot did a magic trick in the opening number and a skit on standard English vs Yiddish. Ginny and I sang with the choir and Smoot counted the money afterward.

On May 20, Smoot was honored at UUCP for his six years of service as treasurer. Phoenix Comic-Con was May 24-27. It wasn’t as much fun as the previous year. Tommie visited on May 31 and was amazed, like everyone is, at my collections. On June 10, Bill and Joan hosted the After Cabaret party during which we all watched the DVD of the show.

Smoot got an early birthday present on June 16, a new golf bag. I’m holding the credit card I used to buy him the gift. Dena and Cherilyn came by on June 18 and had the usual response to my collections. The UUA’s General Assembly was held in Phoenix June 20-24, starting on Smoot’s birthday. Before we sang in the District Choir that evening, we had an impromptu birthday gathering at the Convention Center.

I gave him a silly Penguins of Madagascar book and a new belt. The arty photo above was pulled from the UUA video and shows Kat, far left, Kellie directing, me, Diana and Heidi. The District Assembly choir dressed in jewel-tones. Above right, Smoot and me (in my Standing on the Side of Love t-shirt) on June 22.

The GA choir, shown on June 24 was much larger than the District one. We sang some hard music and had to spend a lot of time at the conference rehearsing it. It was fun meeting new UU’s and visiting with old friends. On June 30 we had a belated birthday celebration with the Leungs. On July 20, Sandy T gave me a scarf she’d made with paw prints on it to thank me for the work I do in animal rescue.

Tucky came back to town from India and we got to see her at a party at Bonnie and Dave’s on July 21. There was a reorganization of Connie’s office on July 28 which turned out very well and gives me more room to file music in the cabinets. On Aug 8, Gail was in town to work with Smoot, Sandy, Robert and Shane on a special computer project. Two days later we drove to San Diego to do a test cruise. If I survived it, we could plan to go on a cruise to Alaska for our 40th anniversary in 2013. I did survive. We also toured the aircraft carrier Midway and got to visit with my cousin Barbara and see a tall ship.

On Aug 19 we had an early birthday celebration for me with the Leungs. Susan had made me a really kewl Yoda throw. Earlier that day Smoot had gotten the sign tiles from the old women’s bathroom! On Aug 25 we gave a Welcome Back to Choir party at our house which being the day before my birthday was also a b’day party. I had an appropriated Star Wars themed cake.

The fall choir retreat was on Sept 15; Smoot and Sandy were cut-ups! We had a combined celebration for Susan and Katherine’s birthdays on Sept 16. The Blackwells came for a work session on Oct 3 and brought Calvin who got to play with our current foster kitties. On Oct 10 we were in an accident driving home from choir practice. Our 1996 Geo Prism sustained more damage than it was worth to fix so Smoot decided we needed to get a new car, a Prius-C hatchback which we did on Oct 13. We get 70 mpg on our trip to and from church and over 50 on the highway. We’re very pleased with it.

Linda and Gary gave a party on Oct 20, his birthday. He had candles on a pumpkin pie! We celebrated Dan Robert’s 80th birthday on Oct 27 at the Pinnacle Peak Golf Club. Smoot’s golfing buddies gathered at one table. The next day I had a display for Archives and Publicity at UUCP’s Harvest of Opportunities Fair.

At the service that day we celebrated the Day of the Dead and remembered those who had died. We put photos of our parents on the altar and also the program for May Louise Mitchell Rampton’s memorial service that Smoot had attended in Chelan, WA on Oct 15. May Louise had died on Aug 19. Brian and Henry hadn’t seen my collections so on Nov 16 they came over and were of course amazed by the spectacle! We celebrated Thanksgiving with Richard and Connie at his ex-wife Bette’s home. That Friday we had R & C over for T’day leftovers.

Two days later, Nov 25 we traded our feral foster kitten, Shamu for a mother cat with six kittens, two spotted, two brown stripped, two black and white. We named the mama Patches, the kittens Cheetah, Cricket, Minnie, Muffin (in honor of our b&w Muffin), Socks and Spot. The kittens were all adopted but sadly, as of Jan 2016, Patches still didn’t have a forever home. Nov 29 was a mixed blessing. We got the sad news that Smoot had prostate cancer which will mean he had some serious decisions to make. But we also drove to Flagstaff that afternoon for the NAU Holiday Concert. Before we left, Gheer and Rocky looked so cute packed into one of the kitty beds that I had to take a picture of them.

The group at the NAU Holiday Concert included us, Connie & Richard, Jon & Nando and Larry & Carol. On Dec 1, we sang with Carolyn, Gary and Bill at the Renaissance-themed auction at UUCP and got compliments. Smoot and I won Rev Susan’s sermon, an original song by Anne Byrne, a painting by Lucienne, monthly cookies and a seat at the Hanukkah dinner given by Duke and Susan. After the auction, we changed and rushed over to the holiday party for the District 23 Democrats. On Dec 3, Richard J and I took items to the apartment for the Eritrean family we’re sponsoring.

On Dec 4, Smoot and Duke met with Moira from the UUA to talk about future plan for the UU Foundation. I tagged along. The photo above of the mama kitty and her kittens was taken on Dec 5. We’ll keep them until the kittens are old enough for surgery and adoption, just as we have the many other cats and kittens we’ve fostered, 68 total since Sept 2010. On Dec 8 we celebrated Christmas with the Leungs by joining them to choose families from the Salvation Army Angel Tree at Desert Ridge then we shopping for the items needed then having dinner and belatedly celebrating Jimmy’s Dec 4 birthday.

After the auction, we got Lucienne’s painting and hung it over our buffet. We’re very pleased with it. On Dec 14, we went to the Hanukkah dinner that Duke and Susan hosted. The next day we went caroling with other UUCP folks, including another visit to Lucienne and Bob Rusconi.

After caroling, we rushed over to Tommie and Rudolf Volkmann’s for their Christmas party. Paw Placement directors Tommie and Megan posed with us. From the party we rushed to pick up Sandy and went to the Hush concert given by the Full Circle Women’s choir for which Connie was the accompanist. The next day, as members of Unicare, Smoot and I assisted Linda and Belinda at a memorial service at UUCP. With the service and Smoot’s foundation board meeting, that meant it was a long day and a busy but fun holiday weekend. Igor Glenn was the entertainment at the Dec 19 Senior-i-tea at UUCP.

I took pictures of Gheer and Rocky on Dec 22 to be put in their stockings. We were greeters at the first Christmas eve service at UUCP then sang in the choir for the second. I had two trains set up and our fireplace DVD going for Christmas. Gheer and Rocky’s stockings are hanging with ours.

We got lots of fun gifts including the plaque set from Catherine and Gayle. Xmas afternoon we visited Paula and Stan. They gave me the N size train set of theirs that I’d lusted over for years!

We took our traditional pictures with the cats and with the basket full of foster kittens. A new Indian restaurant near us was open so we had lunch there before going to P&S.

Linda and Gary let us use their apartment complex activity room for our Wed between Xmas and New Year’s Choir Party on Dec 26. On Dec 27 and 28 we were in Tucson to tour and see the telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory.

On Sun, Dec 30, we and Ruth B were part of a play that Linda put on for the service at UUCP. We played Job’s grumpy neighbors. On New Year’s Eve we went to the Talking Stick buffet. Then we ended the year at a New Year’s Eve party at Sandy’s.

2013

The new year started with a fun party at Bill and Joan’s on Jan 1, 2013. On Jan 2, we went to a rocking hootenanny at the Beatitudes organized by Igor. Rosalyn Sage Colson joined the family on Jan 4. Emily and Chris are the proud parents. Rick came to see us on Jan 16. He wanted to visit with his brother before Smoot’s surgery. Rick went with us to the Senior-i-tea at our church, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix, during which I gave a presentation on the congregation's history.

Rick and Smoot set out early on Jan 19 to play golf with Frank and Dan. Allegra was our big foster kitty and Baby Carol and MamaKitty were two of our feral cat colony as of Jan 22.

We celebrated Jan choir birthdays on Jan 30, 2013. Smoot and Bill enjoyed the cake and I posed with Lori and Paula.. On Feb 2, we sang in the AZ Choral Festival at VUU. Emily, Chris and baby Rosalyn on Feb 3.

Smoot had surgery for prostate cancer on Feb 6, 2013 at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea. It didn't take him long to have his computer out. Luckily the hospital had wi-fi. He and his urologist, Dr. Robert Shapiro, were pleased with the result. It was laproscopic surgery with the largest cut held together with staples. Smoot was touched by the kindness of all the people who visited him in the hospital, and sent cards and gifts.

On Valentine’s Day we ate out and then took candy to the hospital staff to thank them for their kindness. Christina was his day nurse. On Feb 17, 2013, Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts spoke at UUCP’s Social Action lunch about her effort to de-kookify the Arizona legislature. Hail like snow on Feb 20.

We added another new family member when Celia Eve Ochsner was born on Sunday Feb 17, 2013. She was 7lbs 6oz, 20 1/2 inches long. Proud parents, Becca and Chad gained a new house too. Proud grandparents Madeline and Billy got to meet Celia on Mar 21. Right, Celia in her Easter bunny ears on Mar 26.

Cabaret was Feb 23. The theme was American Bandstand.

Gary being a Bass with Tenor Smoot; the men singing Fishin’ in the Dark; Charlotte and Paula.

We went to Rula Bula on Feb 24 to celebrate Elizabeth’s 16th birthday. Smoot and I won the auction the previous fall for a sermon by Rev Susan and an original song by Anne B. Our chosen theme, the number 42. Jim understood; his t-shirt says, ‘The answer is 42.’ On Feb 24, Susan and Anne both did great jobs elaborating on Douglas Adams’ idea that 42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything! And Benjie and Lynne played sci-fi music, Thus Spoke Zarathustra and the Star Trek Next Generation theme.

Catherine and Daniel came to visit our foster kittens on Mar 11, 2013. Melinda and her family came to pick fruit on Mar 14 but made time to also pet the kittens. Right, Heidi, Thomasina and Danny looking cute.

On March 24, 2013, as chair of the effort Smoot gave a stewardship talk at UUCP. Rev Susan was pleased. The kittens and I on Mar 30, the day before Easter. That afternoon Smoot and I went to the UUCP picnic.

The evening of Mar 30 we went to the Post-Cabaret party at Duke and Susan’s. We dressed in our Spring finery on Easter, Mar 31, 2013. On Apr 5, we went to the Chandler airshow. Our great nieces and nephews Ava, Celia, Nathan, and Benji at the Beall cousins reunion on Apr 7.

I was one of the organizers of Celebration Sunday, Apr 14, 2013, the culmination of UUCP’s stewardship drive. Smoot, the stewardship chair and Rev Susan were pleased with the event. Above right, the choir on Apr 21. We had grown to 40 members, almost twice the number we had when Smoot and I joined in 2004.

Jency was in town visiting Janet and came to see us on Apr 22 and 23. She shared pics from her trip to Hawaii and gave us some kewl goodies from there. She made us want to change our plans and instead of doing a cruise to Alaska for our 40th anniversary, take a trip to the Islands. We sat with Rudolf and Tommie at the Paw Placemen party on Apr 28.

Paula again joined us on Free Comic Book Day on May 4, 2013. On May 12, the combined UUCP and VUU choirs sang the Saint Francis in the Americas Mass. Emily posed with the Stanford-Colson cousins, our great nieces Natalie, Rosalyn and Kiera on May 12.

I wore one of my Star Trek shirts when we saw the new ST movie with Linda and Gary on May 18, 2013. We went to hear Connie play for the Full Circle Women's Choir that night and went out for pie afterward. Phoenix Comic Con started on May 23.

The big event was the Babylon 5 20th anniversary. All the stars shown above attended the Con except Bruce who had to cancel at the last minute. I enjoyed the professional talks the most, esp Garret Wang who was really funny and Amanda Tapping.

On May 29th Connie hosted the Music Appreciation Night. Above left, the altos and right the tenors. I was honored for my work as Cabaret helper and music librarian.

Our fosters on Jun 5, Rosalie, Edward, Emily and Bella. Our newest baby turtle, Jun 11. The adults, Jun 12.

On Jun 14, 2013, I took the kittens to the Paw Placement center at Petsmart to be adopted and came home with Cupcake and Sugar, my next fosters, two black cats, one sleek, one fluffy. I’ve fostered 80 cats since Sep 2010. We went to the newly opened Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale for Smoot’s birthday. One landed on my hand.

Smoot with his loot, including a Hawaiian themed beach bag and books, and his birthday cupcake. On Jun 22, we had Smoot’s b’day celebration with the Leungs. We drove to Prescott to attend Sharon and Jesse’s July 4th party and dressed in appropriately patriotic outfits.

We spent the night, had a nice breakfast and came back to Scottsdale the next day. My iMac died so I got a new one. (My iPhone died too as did the AC in my studio, both of which had to be replaced making this an expensive summer.) We had heavy rains in July. On July 21 we saw water flowing from the horses on the wash on Indian Bend, the first time we’d seen that. On July 26, we had supper with Brian while Karin and the girls were in the UK.

On Sat, Aug 3, 2013 we hosted our 40th anniversary party with an Hawaiian theme. Jency came back to help us. The Leungs brought us leis from Hawaii, sent to him by his sister. Bonnie painted a cute caricature of us.

On Aug 12, we flew to Austin for Fran’s memorial. It was nice to see many old St. Michael’s friends even at a sad occasion. I gave the eulogy. Fran’s brother Jackson, his new wife, Katie and daughter Rosemary attended.

On Aug 17, 2013, we helped to celebrate Susan’s graduation from Purdue with a Masters in Education. On Aug 19 we drove to San Diego for the inurnment of Fran’s ashes at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church. Franklin attended the service as did Lois and Robert Canzoneri and their daughter Ruth. They had known Fran when she worked for the church. Ruth was in Fran’s youth group.

We celebrated my birthday early on Aug 25th with the Leungs. They gave me Hawaiian soft drinks to get into the right mood for our trip. The next day, my actual birthday, I did my freebies at Denny’s, Red Robin and Five & Diner then had my cupcake.

On Sept 9, 2013, Lucienne gave us a painting she’d done of the Texas Hill Country in honor of our 40th anniversary. On Sept 13, we had supper at the Quinns with Nancy & Dave and Susan & Duke. On Sep 15, 2013, we began our 40th anniversary trip to Hawaii. We splurged and flew first class on Hawaiian Airlines. They give 1st class passengers ‘entertainment pads’ so we had a lot of things to watch during the flight. We spent 9 days on Oahu and 4 on the Big Island.

We stayed in the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel on Waikiki Beach, a place recommended by Jimmy and Susan. It’s away from the main group of hotels which you can see through the window behind Smoot, but is still on the beach. In Honolulu, we found places we’d seen on Hawaii Five O like the famous Ilikai Hotel, the location for the opening shot of Jack Lord in the original show. On Sept 16, we went to the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites and toured the very moving Battleship Arizona shrine and the Battleship Missouri.

On Tues, Sept 17, we took a bus tour of Oahu and got to see Halona Beach Cove, the famous beach where the scene in From Here to Eternity was filmed. On Sept 18, we went to the Mormon Polynesian Cultural Center and experienced a luau. On Sept 19, we toured the beautifully restored Iolani Palace.

We went to the National Military Cemetery at the Punch Bowl and found the grave of the famous journalist Ernie Pyle. On Sept 20, we saw Sandy Beach. Our tour bus guide called it the Obama Beach because that's where Obama surfed as a kid and still does when he visits. At the Koko Crater Botanical Garden we saw beautiful flowers, Plumeria and Bougainvillea.

We saw feral cats, peacocks and fat koi at the iconic Byodo-In Temple. We watched fireworks over the WWI memorial on Waikiki Beach and the moon rise over Diamond Head from the balcony of our hotel room.

On Sept 21, because we’d missed seeing it on our bus tour, we went back to Hanauma Bay and saw not only the gorgeous bay but feral cats, chickens and a mongoose. We shopped at the famous Swap Meet, drove through China Town, lunched at the Ilikai, and swam in the surf behind our hotel.

That night we walked down the beach and had our pictures taken with some very pretty birds. On Sept 22, we toured the Bishop Museum of Hawaiian and Polynesian history and on Sept 23, our last day in Oahu, the Waikiki Aquarium.

Then the evening of Sept 23, we flew to the Big Island. We stayed at the Old Hawaiian B&B in Hilo recommended by Sharon and Jesse. We visited the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, outside Hilo and had a plate lunch at the Volcano House, the only hotel in Park. The restaurant overlooks Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kilauea.

We walked through the Nahuku Lava Tube and out onto the Lua Manu Crater. We visited the Kealakomo Overlook and Picnic Area along the Chain of Craters Road. Sulfur gases have eroded the metal rails and picnic tables. There are warnings that if you have trouble breathing, you should leave the area!

We had elaborate breakfasts at the B&B. On Wed, Sept 25 we had a fruit compote. Most of the fruit was grown in the owner’s yard. We went to the Imiloah Astronomy Center in Hilo. It has a beautiful mosaic representing the Polynesian’s use of astronomy to sail to Hawaii.

We saw the Pe'epe Falls near our B&B and the Rainbow Falls. We took a helicopter flight around the island and got to sit in the front of the copter.

The helicopter isn’t allowed to fly over the Volcano Park but we did see lava fields including this cinder cone from the devastating 1983 eruption. The center photo shows the lava flow to the sea. The white line in the middle is the road that was cut off by the flow. People are already starting to rebuild houses in the area even though there aren’t any services. We had our picture taken outside our copter after the tour.

On Sept 26, we saw giant sea turtles and Akaka Falls and had a nice dinner on our last night in the Islands.

On Fri, Sept 27 we flew from Hilo back to Honolulu for our flight home. Smoot took a striking photo of Waikiki from the plane. We were tired when we got home but had thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The day after we got home we went to Katherine’s birthday party with her friends. We celebrated with her on Oct 10.

Our friend Lucienne fell and broke her back again. Smoot agreed to be her Power of Attorney for Healthcare and financial assistant. On Oct 23, 2013, we had a notary come to the hospital so she could officially sign her new will and directives. Her friends Maria, Sam and Theresa served as witnesses. Sadly, Lucienne’s husband Bob had died in Aug. On Oct 27, UUCP had their service to remember the dead. We took a montage of photos of Bob to have on the altar with the photos of our parents. That evening we went to the Arizona State Fair and toured the Star Trek Exhibition.

On Oct 29, I took a picture of our darling fosters – Porscha, Allero, Lexi and Cooper. They and their mom, Aurora had been sealed in a plastic box and dumped in a Petsmart parking lot. Some choir members dressed up early for Halloween at practice on Oct 30th. On the 31st we went to hear Connie play in the orchestra providing the soundtrack for the silent movie Nosferatu. Shown above right, Connie with composer Christopher Norby and conductor, Timothy Verville.

We joined the Leungs on Nov 2 to cheer Elizabeth and her team to victory in the state volleyball championship. We gave her a stuffed tiger, the Tesseract mascot. Lucienne’s only family member, Darryl Raymaker came to town from Calgary, Canada to check on her. We had dinner with him on Nov 12. I got a new set of foster kittens on Nov 18, Clyde and Daisy, who had an upper respiratory infection and needed regular medication before going back to the Paw Placement adoption center. On Nov 22, Julie and I put together our UUCP auction donation, a South Sea Spa Vacation bag.

On Nov 28, Smoot smoked an 18 pound turkey to take to the UUCP Thanksgiving potluck. On Sun, Dec 1, we got to visit with Fredi and Paul while they were in town for a family Thanksgiving. On Tues Dec 3 we went to the holiday party of the District 23 Democrats and were able to stay for the entire event. The other years when it was on a weekend evening we always had something else to do.

On Fri, Dec 6, we went to the holiday concert performed by the Valley Women's Ensemble. Connie played the piano, Kimberly played percussion and Anne sang in the choir. Afterward we went to Coco's for pie. The next day we attended UUCP's pirate themed auction. Because we were sponsors we got kewl pirate booty including a skull and crossbones necklace.

After the auction, we went to Tommie and Rudolf's holiday party and posed with Megan and Tyrone, the Paw Placement contingent. On Mon, Dec 9, we finally got to see Ellie and Bob's train set. What an amazing layout. Then we had a tasty supper with hysterical conversation.

On Fri, Dec 13 we had two parties back to back. The first one was at Jane's house for the neighbors. The second we hosted for the UUCP bridge group. We had 12 people playing at three tables.

On Dec 14, 2013, we attended Katherine's piano recital, then belatedly celebrated Jimmy's birthday and finally went shopping for needy families from the Salvation Army Angel Tree. That's our new holiday tradition, to give to others instead of ourselves.

On Sun, Dec 15, we went to Bill and Joan's. We had an Italian feast, got to see photos from their trip to Italy and I visited with one of their cats. On Mon, Dec 16, I returned Ariadne to Petsmart, having had her in foster since Aug 24.

Also on Dec 16, Smoot caught me in the midst of preparing paper Christmas cards. I vowed I would start sending more electronic ones! On Tues, Dec 17, we went out with Gary and Linda, first eating at Le Bistro (using the gift card Dan & Sonnie had given us for our 40th) then going to the Stillman Train Park. Linda and I wore appropriately festive holiday hats.

On Fri, Dec 20, we went to visit Lucienne and bring her some Christmas goodies. Later that evening we went to Connie and Richard's caroling party. Brad and Smoot soon gave up on the caroling and went outside to discuss the problems of the world. Carolyn and I continued singing.

On Sat, Dec 21, I got a call that Paw Placement needed a home for a foster kitten. I picked up a cute, feisty tabby girl. Her name rotated between Kia, the name she came with, Snookums, what Smoot caller her and Phebe, the name her eventual adopters gave her. Later that day the UUCP carolers split into two groups. Our group visited Lucienne, Margaret H. and JoAnne then we all met back and had a photo.

Then we went to the Beatitudes to sing and have dinner. On Sun, Dec 22, the choir gave gifts to Connie, Benjie, Marla, Diana and me.

Joanne gave me a cute Cat Carols book and a music bag ornament (that she ordered right under my nose at the Presbyterian bazaar!). After our services some of us went to Lynne's holiday concert then to supper afterward.

On Christmas eve we dropped off gifts at Paula and Stan’s and met their kitty, Weeboe. The early service at UUCP was again a pageant with a pterodactyl at the manger! We sang at the late Christmas eve service then had the traditional photo by the tree. The kitten was curious about the train around the tree.

Christmas day we opened gifts, and humiliated our cats by making them wear holiday gear. Our foster, Kia/Snookums put up with the Santa hat better than Rocky who refused. Gheer was resigned. Catherine and Gayle gave us a good-luck pineapple plaque carved by a friend of theirs in honor of our trip to Hawaii.

Then we went over to Linda and Gary's to have Christmas dinner. Linda and Charles joined us. Then later that afternoon we went by to visit Lucienne.

On Friday, Dec 27, 2013, we hosted a choir holiday potluck at our house. We had 43 people and were able to seat them all amazingly.

On Dec 28, 2013 I took some photos of our very fruitful lemon tree, and the holiday decorated fish and turtle tanks. Close-up of the turtles hearth with stockings!

On New Year's Eve we went to Mesa to see Gary and Linda's trailer home and park and have dinner with Linda and Charles again and their neighbors, Irene and Emory. A fun way to end a very eventful year!

2014

On Jan 9, we celebrated Lucienne’s 89th birthday at her new home, Pueblo Norte Retirement Center. I had created a binder full of articles on her from her arrival in the US from Belgium as a warbride in 1946. Jan 22, I was given a party to thank me for my six years as the choir’s music librarian. On Jan 25 we participated in the AZ UU Music Fest at Valley UU. I got a cute photo of me with Benjie and Connie.

On Feb 1, we attended the choir retreat, little knowing it would be Connie’s last.

On Feb 9, I presented Ginny with her birthday gifts including a family tree I’d researched for her. On Feb 10, we showed Gary’s friend Mike my collections. And on Feb 14, Smoot played golf with his Uncle Ralph.

Later on Valentine’s Day, we went out with Linda and Gary and celebrated with decadent chocolate cake. On Feb 15, we went to the Valentine’s Party at Bill & Joan’s that we’d won at the auction.

On Feb 22, we participated in Cabaret. The theme was weather. On Feb 25 we cycled and met Julie and Marshal for lunch. Mar 2, Smoot was the chair of the Stewardship Comm along with Jan, Brian, Diana and Rev Susan. (Not pictured Carey and Heidi P)

It took until Mar 6 for my Christmas gift Jedi tunic to arrive. The lightsaber had been a Christmas gift too. With Susan’s robe, my outfit was complete! On Mar 7, we joined Brad and Carolyn at the ASU future expo. On Mar 8, we hosted a potluck with Charles & Lindo and Linda & Gary.

On Mar 11, Marti, Matt, Carey and Audrey came to visit. Marti joined us at UUCP for a service and later we all ate at a sushi restaurant. On Mar 12 we attended the memorial service for Bob Rusconi at Pueblo Norte. I read the eulogy that I had written and that Lucienne’s cousin Darryl had adapted and read at Bob’s service at Arlington Cemetery in DC.

On Mar 14, Lilly, my foster gave birth to three kittens that I named Aster, Dahlia and Dandy (for dandelion). This was my second experience having a pregnant cat and then raising her kittens. I had gotten her on Feb 14. On Mar 15, we went to the UUCP picnic and on Mar 16, we went to the UUF party at Duke & Susan’s to launch the UUCP legacy program.

On Mar 20, we showed Darryl our place then ate at the sushi restaurant again. On Mar 30, I’d set up my historical posters on the church building for the Blaine Drake tour. Smoot showed the model of our planned renovation of Drake’s design. Dale took our picture on Easter, April 20. We were both in festive red.

On April 29, Maria, Sam, Michael and we moved special furniture from Lucienne’s house to her room to make it more homey. On April 30 we got to see the new carpeting at church. On Free Comic Book Day, May 3, I wore my Jedi outfit and met a surprisingly friendly Sith at the Pop Culture Museum with Paula.

We celebrated Memorial Day on May 26 with a tasty potluck at Linda & Gary’s with Charles & Lindo. On May 28, the Altos were honored at the Music Appreciation party.

Smoot and the lady Tenors at the party. Jerry and Bill were missing. The choir music librarians were honored, me as outgoing, Emily as incoming. We were all surprised and dismayed when Connie, our choir director since 1997, announced she was resigning. Right, Connie and her impressive choir on Jun 1.

Richard and Loretta Nixon were in the Valley for a family wedding and came by on June 2 to visit with us. After lunch, Loretta and I spent all afternoon talking about and sharing family history. June 5-8, Smoot, Paula and I went to the Phoenix Comic Con. We got to see Richard Dean Anderson, John Rhys-Davies, Jim Butcher, Stan Lee, Danny Glover among other famous folk.

On June 7, Bill & Joan hosted the After Cabaret party that was also a going-away for Connie. Smoot immediately found Brad to chat with. Smoot, Paula and I came from Comic Con so I was still in my Jedi outfit but had to take my robe off because it was too warm.

We celebrated Smoot’s birthday early with the Leungs on June 8. On June 14 we celebrated Frank and Beverly’s 50th anniversary with Dan and Sonnie and Smoot’s 64th on June 20

On July 3, we went to and cooked at the barbecue at UUCP. On July 4th we celebrated the holiday by being treated to lunch by Linda and Gary who had just returned from their month in St. Maarten. (We had watered their plants while they were gone.) Then later that afternoon, we celebrated again with milkshakes with Julie, Marshal, Bill and Dean. (I had flags for everyone.)

We had two big trips in July. July 16-21 we attended our first UU Musicians Network conference in San Diego. UUCP had the largest delegation of any congregation. It was a fun and interesting experience, but the organization is clearly and appropriately really aimed at music professionals. We missed having Connie with us.

Our second trip was to the East Coast the next week, July 23-29 . Madeline & Billy were celebrating their 70th birthdays and 50th anniversary so the family gathered. We took advantage of the occasion and first visited Rick & Marilyn in Virginia Beach, VA. Then we drove to Federalsburg, MD for the three days of 70/50 celebrating. Almost all of my immediate family were there (missing Rusty and Steve) and we got to meet a great niece and nephew we’d not yet met. I’d brought toys and gave Celia a stuffed AZ cactus.

We gave Benji a stuffed AZ coyote. He was so cute. He obviously didn’t know who these people were talking to him but greeted Great Uncle Smoot with great formality while Denise and Ben explained who we were. I had brought plastic Red-eared slider turtles for Ava and Nate. They commemorated the visit Bev and the kids had made to our house in 2007 when they seemed so fascinated by my turtles. Unfortunately they didn’t remember the visit but they were sweet to take the turtles anyway.

The family gathered for a picture at the 70/50 barbecue on Friday night. Cousin Barbara had flown from CA to be with us. It was almost a miracle that the celebration took place at all. On July 2, Becca had shared the news that Billy had had a major heart attack and was in the hospital. He made an amazing recovery and was able to attend all the events and even gave us a tour of his town and Mayor’s office. Right, the three sisters.

On July 27, we drove from Federalsburg to Annandale, VA to visit Suzanne and Rob. Over the week we got to see all our siblings. We flew back on July 29 with what was supposed to be a short stopover in Chicago but ended up having a five hour wait because of mechanical problems, a frustrating way to end a fun trip. We had fostered a big orange kitty in June and Smoot said if he wasn’t adopted by the time we got back from our trips, we would take him. He wasn’t so on July 31 we added Jack to our furry family through Paw Placement, the animal rescue group I volunteer with.

We celebrated our 41st anniversary at the Talking Stick Casino buffet. This was much lower-key than our 40th celebration and trip. We had lunch with Ellie and Bob on Aug 25, the day before my birthday. Ellie had a cake for me. My actual birthday was also election day. I always take a bowl of candy for the workers and they let me make a big deal out of depositing my mail-in ballot in the special box.

As we were leaving the polling place, we ran into our (sadly) former neighbors, Marilyn and Maurice. As usual, I ate my way through my b’day with a freebie breakfast at Denny’s, then a free hamburger and sundae at Red Robin and finally cake and ice cream at home.

On Aug 30, we had a joint birthday celebration for me and Susan at the indoor glow-in-the-dark putt-putt golf. As we expected, Smoot did the best with five holes-in-one. But I was next with four which included the hard loop-the-loop hole. Then we went to lunch. Susan enjoyed the silly card I’d made for her and we enjoyed another tasty meal.

On Sept 5 we had lunch with Richard and Connie. Smoot got to wear Richard’s hat! On Sept 6 there was a Welcome Back to Choir party at Duke & Susan’s. The August birthday folks, me, Diana, Peter and Duke celebrated with a cake.

The choir for the water ceremony on Sept 7. Benjie is now our choir director and Mary our accompanist. Our sung request for rain the previous day was answered by flooding on Sept 8!

On Sept 13, Benjie led his first choir retreat where we sang through the music we’d perform the rest of the year. On Sept 20 we helped celebrate Brian’s 50th.

On Sept 25, Darryl was back in town and we treated him to dinner at Flemings. On Sept 28, we celebrated Katherine’s birthday. On Oct 4, we went to the Armenian Festival and saw this lady dressed in traditional attire.

That afternoon we joined a group of choir folks to visit Connie after the death of her father in Ohio. On Oct 10, we got to hear Benjie and his Bad Cactus Band at the Botanical Gardens. On Oct 11, our cats, Rocky, Gheer and Jack, posed for a photo together.

We added a beautiful new leaf to the family tree with Greta Love Ochsner was born on Nov 16. Her big sister, Celia was delighted as were her parents, Becca and Chad. On Nov 23, we went to see the Walking With Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular. It was amazing how life-like the dinosaurs were. We celebrated Thanksgiving at the UUCP Potluck. We broke the record for high temperatures; it was 87 degrees that day.

The first week of Dec, Smoot went to Austin for business and on Dec 2 went to a basketball game with Alfred. According to Alfred the photo above left shows from right to left, "a Rogues' Gallery of Austin politicos: Bill Emory, Smoot Carl-Mitchell, Mark McCulloch, and Karl-Thomas Musselman." On Dec 5, we went to the Democratic District 23 holiday party. Then on Dec 6, we did our Angel Tree shopping with the Leungs. Their exchange student at the time, Daniel, and Susan’s mom, Fran were also with us.

Then we went to the Oink restaurant for lunch and a belated celebration of Jimmy’s birthday. Birding in Central Park was the theme. On Dec 7, we sang at the service then took part in the Bonanza themed auction at UUCP, dressed in appropriate cowboy attire.

We had lunch with our Sunday Lunch Bunch, sadly minus Kristina. That evening we went to a holiday party at Jane’s with our new neighbors, Bob and Lee. On Dec 12, we went to the holiday concert of the Valley Women’s Ensemble. Connie is their pianist.

Afterward we went out for pie and hot chocolate with Connie, Richard, Ellie, Sandy T, Sandy W, and Don. On Dec 13, we went caroling with other folks from UUCP.

We had our picture taken with Lucienne. We attended both services on Christmas eve including the early service pageant.

We sang at the second, then had our picture taken. We had set up one of my train sets with some village buildings among other decorations.

On Christmas we opened presents and took a selfie. Then we had lunch with Lucienne at Pueblo Norte

That night we had supper at Linda and Gary's with Eric and Joan. We gave both Linda & Gary and Eric & Joan the fireplace/carols DVD.

On Dec 26 we went on a free if chilly tour of the cactus gardens at the Phoenician resort.

On Dec 27 we celebrated Dave's birthday with Nancy, their daughter Jessie, the Quinns and Plattner-Morris.

On Sunday, Dec 28 we went to the carols sing-along at Connie and Richard's. The crowd filled their house.

On Dec 29, 2014, we added still another leaf to our family tree when Iris Grace Colson was born, six weeks early!, to Emily and Chris. That same day, Dec 29 we went to the Marvel Experience. It was fun but really more for kids. On New Year's Eve we went to a neighborhood party.

Then we had supper at Linda and Gary's in Mesa with their neighbors and Charles and Lindo. A fun way to end an eventful year.

Our Pets and Fosters 2014

The pets we’ve had the longest are Mr Turtle and Lady Turtle, Red-eared slider turtles. We got him in 1995 so he’ll be 20 in 2015. We’ve had her since 1998. They’ve produced many offspring. The photo above right shows four females, Lady Turtle, center, and her daughters, Bimbo, Bonsai and Teena. They live in a small pond outdoors.

We currently have six baby RES turtles in our bathtub. We adopted Cici, our Cockatiel in 2001 from one of Smoot’s work colleagues who was moving out of state.

We adopted black Bagheera, or Gheer, in Sept 2008, orange and white Rocky in 2011 and big orange Jack in July 2014, all rescues. Our fish tank, decorated for the holidays, is now filled with Mollies and two Catfish.

Our Foster Cats in 2014

Snookums/Kia; Lilly and her kittens; Me with the kittens on their way to Petsmart

I foster cats for Paw Placement Animal Rescue in Scottsdale and have since 2010. On Dec 21, 2013 we got a foster kitten who was rescued from euthanasia at the Humane Society. Smoot started calling her Snookums but she was later named Kia. She was with us in Jan 2014 and stayed with us until on Feb 1 when she went to the Paw Placement adoption center at the Petsmart at 90th and Shea in Scottsdale. On Feb 10, I got pregnant Lilly. On Mar 14 she had three kittens. Since she was named for a flower I named the kittens for flowers too – Aster, black Dahlia and boy Dandy (short for dandelion). Lilly went to Petsmart on May 11 and the kittens on May 24.

Suzette and Jack

On Mar 12, while Lilly was in the bathroom awaiting her babies, I got Suzette. She was sick and needed time to be medicated and heal. I took her back to Petsmart on Mar 19. On May 7, I got Jack. His owner had died in her 40s and had left money to PP to find homes for her 11 cats, one of whom was Jack. Room opened up at the center and I took him to Petsmart on Tues Jun 5. He went into a short term foster with a man who comes to the Valley every year and fosters a cat. Seemingly he stayed under the bed the whole time. The man left and Jack went back to Petsmart and wasn't happy in a condo. We decided to adopt him and on July 31, I picked him up from the center and he was ours, a failed foster!

Jack’s calendar page. T-bone on the bird cage. The golf kittens – Bogey, Putter and Divot.

Jack made the Paw Placement 2015 calendar. On June 5, we got T-bone. He had an URI and needed medical leave from the center. He was a sweet black kitten about 4 months old. He got a full round of medicine but then collapsed and had to go to the vet who thought he had hurt his leg. He got another round of a different antibiotic and in a couple of days was back to his bouncing off the wall self. He went back to Petsmart on June 28. Right after bringing T-bone home I was asked if I could take a set of kittens that had been captured at a golf course. I ended up getting them the same day I got T-bone, June 5th. I decided to give them golf names since they were found on a course. The feisty male was named Bogey but was also known as Hellcat! The sweetest and most adventurous was a gray male we named Putter, center in the photo above. The third was a gray/brown tabby female we named Divot. I took them to Petsmart on July 10.

Sugar & Spice and Gizmo & Tigger. Photos by Laura Flannigan from the PP website

On Aug 1, I got four adult cats, sadly all returns by previous adopters - Sugar & Spice and Gizmo & Tigger. On Aug 18, I took Gizmo, Tigger and Sugar back to Petsmart for facetime. On Aug 23, I took Spice in and there was an older lady there ready to adopt her and Sugar.

Tessa looking scary and Tessa looking sweet. Right, Boo from the PP website.

On Aug 23, the same day I took Spice in to the center, I got Tessa. She's a pretty black cat with a white spot on her chest. She was very snarly and hissy, but slowly got slightly more friendly. She is still with us and may be for a while. I don’t know how adoptable she is. Smoot calls her the museum cat – look but don’t touch! On Sept 16, I picked up Boo from the center. He had an URI and needed medicine and foster time to recover. I took him back to the center on Sept 25.

Tamalina and Trina

That same day, Sept 25, I got a call that a cat needed to be picked up from the Four Peaks vet. Her owner had died and the woman’s family had thrown her two cats outside to fend for themselves. A neighbor fed them until one, the male got hurt. She contacted Paw Placement and we rescued the cats. Sadly, the male had to be put down, but the female, Tamalina needed to be fostered. I picked her up on Sept 30 and had her until Nov 29. On Oct 28, I went with Tommie to pick up the four cats that church members Johanna and Deb were surrendering. Trina, a Siamese mix went to the center on Nov 8 and ended up in the 2015 PP calendar.

Birdie, Gypsy and Star

The other ‘Church Cats’ are Birdie, a sweet female who chirps like a bird; Gypsy, another female so ugly she’s cute; and Star a big, black and white bruiser boy. They will be with us for a while. Birdie will probably be the next foster to go to the center because she’s so pretty and adoptable.

I’ve had 22 foster cats during 2014. Almost all have been adopted except the ones we still have at home and Divot, Gizmo and Tigger. I hope they will all find forever homes in the new year.