Here in Central Virginia, most of this past Saturday was grey, misty, and wet. Periods of light rain were interspersed with much heavier downpours. When we crossed the Rivanna River at Free Bridge, the water was running brown, swift and high. Rivulets grooved along the edges of Route 20 ran swift as well. With temperatures in the low to mid 40s, not a great day to be out in the open. We wondered how the yard cats were doing. Early in the morning I spotted the white and gold running toward the back shed (known as “the cow barn” by the former owner), and shortly after she went through the open door. A few minutes later she appeared in the shed’s upper window. Later in the day she was still there, and I had the impression, looking through the window of my second floor study, that there was someone with her. Sure enough, a bit later the gold and white kitty was no longer in view, but the fluffy gray Persian had taken her place. Looking closely, she is visible in the upper window of the shed in this photo. It felt heart-warming to know these two of the semi-ferals, at least, had found a place to shelter.
Gary and I went to a local estate sale in the rain. The owner’s loved and used possessions – furniture, pots and pans, dishes, knick-knacks, plants, Christmas décor, were on offer. There is something touching about estate sales. One wonders about the owners. Are they moving? Downsizing? No longer in need of possessions? Yet what a nice opportunity for their things to find new homes, things touched with meaning in light of their previous lives. At Saturday’s sale, we bought four handsome dining room chairs, said to be mahogany, similar in style to the ones we already had (also acquired from a combination of yard and estate sales), but of better quality and with handsome tapestry seat covers. One was an armchair. Four handsome wooden chairs for $90. Certainly couldn’t beat the price. Which of course is another of the things that makes estate sales so much fun.
I also got two handmade crocheted potholders with rose motifs, at $1 each. They will look nice hanging on a hook on one of my kitchen cabinets.
And Gary purchased a set of lacquered Japanese Kokeshi boxes. We are not sure what they were initially intended to hold, but they look sweet on a shelf in our living room.
After the estate sale we went to Pets Plus to buy cat food, litter, and suet for the birds. The rain coming down quite steadily at this point, we were in no particular hurry, and spent some time looking at the fish, the birds, and even a snake in a snug glass enclosure.
Decades ago, when we were younger and our kids were younger too, we kept fish. Sometimes goldfish, sometimes tropicals. My favorites were the bright red and blue Betas, which of course had to be kept apart to avoid havoc. Thinking of them brought to mind a blue Beta passed down by our oldest son to our daughter, who carried it back and forth to college with her in a mayonnaise jar with holes punched in the jar top. That Beta lasted several years, a good long time for a Beta.
And the birds brought to mind a parakeet that Gary’s paternal grandparents used to keep in a cage hanging on a stand in their kitchen. A pleasant sight in a warm and pleasant spot.
Sunday, as if to make up for the grey rainy Saturday that preceded it, dawned bright and sunny. The ground was saturated from all that rain, but in the afternoon, after church and lunch, we managed to do some yardwork , picking up branches that had fallen from our maples over the last month or two, and re-raking some of the front yard that had accumulated quite a lot of fallen leaves, despite the raking done in October and November. Our indoor cats, Sheena and Treena, enjoyed the sunny weather and spent more time on the screen porch than they had for awhile. When they decided to come in, they watched our efforts in the yard from their perch on the living room windowsill. All in all, a very pleasant weekend.
Sunday, as if to make up for the grey rainy Saturday that preceded it, dawned bright and sunny. The ground was saturated from all that rain, but in the afternoon, after church and lunch, we managed to do some yardwork , picking up branches that had fallen from our maples over the last month or two, and re-raking some of the front yard that had accumulated quite a lot of fallen leaves, despite the raking done in October and November. Our indoor cats, Sheena and Treena, enjoyed the sunny weather and spent more time on the screen porch than they had for awhile. When they decided to come in, they watched our efforts in the yard from their perch on the living room windowsill. All in all, a very pleasant weekend.