Dead Birds and Bare Feet

Yuck.

Today Esther's cat Paisley made her first kill and presented a gift to us. Esther let Paisley and Acacia (my cat) out this morning to begin their life of playing in the yard. I have been observing Paisley perfecting her hunting skills recently. I have even observed her teaching Acacia the art of stalking prey :). Anyway this morning Paisley was outside for a while, then came to the backdoor meowing. We let her in, she brushed against Esther's leg, then went back to the door and Meowed. (Pais is an exceptionally smart cat and uses her actions to communicate). So, we went to the back door to see what was up. Lying right outside the door was a baby bird that Paisley has caught and brought to us as a present.
We congratulated her and told her that she did a job well done... even though we were a bit sad about the baby bird that was on our stoop. We let her bask in the glory of her hunt and then went outside to see how our plant are doing. when we went back into the house Esther picked up the bird and placed it in a bucket to deal with later.
A few minutes later Paisley was at the door again, Meowing and presenting her gift again. She was quite proud of her first capture. So esther decided to leave the bird there for a little while and pamper Paisley's obvious pride issues. Unfortunately Esther did not inform me of this decision and when I went outside to fine my flipflops (I was clearly barefoot), I cupped the tiny dead animal in the arch of my newly washed barefoot. My scream of clear shock and discussted-ness made Esther (who was in the bathroom at the time) inform me via shout that she had let Paisly put the bird back and to watch out for it......
too late.
I was mortified...
It reminded me of the time when I was a kid and my gold-fish jumped out of its bowl as I was walking by... again barefoot... and killed it. Dead. They both squished under my step. What a gross feeling!!!!
Yuck!

Corn Bread Festival

A partook in a cultural experience today. I went to the Corn Bread Festival in South Pittsburg Tennessee :) And an experience it was. Some highlights are:

1. I rode a Ferris wheel (sp?) for the first time in my life. Dave rode with me and tried to tip the bucket and we got in trouble, but it was still fun.

2. I drank three slushies. It was soo hot, and they were so refreshing... and half price refills. Unfortunately I forgot about the half price refills until after I had thrown my cup away. I did go to get it back out of the trash can... looked around, and then decided I better not. A kind friend gave me theirs :)

3. I payed $2.00 to sample 9 differant types of cornbread... I realized afterward that I still dont really care for cornbread. Even if it is made with gritts, cherries, cheese, peppers, cream cheese, and whatever other varieties I tried. Mom, of all of those cornbreads I think I like yours the best.

4. I got a tan

5. It was a good excuse to hang out with some friends and do something out of the norm.

So, if anyone is up for a cultural experiance... come to chattanooga at the end of April and I'll take you to the cornbread festival. you can get "chicken on a stick" (Dave's favorite), Sweet Potatoe Fries (my favorite), funnel cake, bloomin onions, and oh.. did I mention, Cornbread. Ill even take you to ride the Ferris Wheel.

Funny Story

Often times there is a policeman at the Bilo that I generally shop at. They hang out there, check stuff out... make sure no one is stealing anything. Although, they did miss the one time I accidentally stole a salad dressing packet. But, That is another story.
My story begins two nights ago when I went to Bilo to purchase some much needed groceries. Generally two police officers rotate, one I like, the other is awkward and likes to flirt with the girls who come through, so I try to avoid him. Unfortunately my grocery run was at approximately 10:00 on a Friday night. (yes, no cracks about how un-cool I am that I am grocery shopping on a well known date night). Needless to say, I was one of the only people in the store, and quite possibly the only female under the age of 60. I soon became prey to the "over-eager to make conversation with any female under the age of 95" policeman. He came to "bag my groceries" and make small talk. Thankfully my cashier was a big burly black man who seemed to sympathize with my situation and make small talk instead. phew. However, after having the policeman inspect the types of things that I was buying, i was able to take my groceries and head to the DVD vending machine (again, no wise cracks about renting a movie to watch by myself on a friday night, while I eat the box of oranges that I bought) At this point, the policeman made his way over to where I was again, and began to play with my keys even though they were securely places on my cart, a mere two feet away from me. Again, taking interest in what I was up to. at this point I made to brilliant move to call my sister Meg, so that I at least had an excuse to ignore him, after all, I WAS on the phone. I made small talk with Meg, I am sure she was wondering why I was calling her and asking her about her thoughts on the weather :) I discover that there are absolutely no movies that i want to rent so I get my grocery cart and head out of the store. As I am still on the phone, and making my way out, I pass the policeman and unfortunately run directly into a motorized cart. thankfully no one was driving this cart, however it made a loud enough bang for everyone in the store to here, and look my direction. The police officer laughs and remarks, "that's what happens when you talk on the phone and drive". I laugh, move on.... and run my cart into the metal detector one foot from my freedom outside...

Note to self.... never grocery shop on a friday night!!

Essy at the Playground!

Thought that this was really really cute. It was her first time on a swing :)