Pate's "Mimi" and the Dustin Pedroia baseball

Tuesday night Ranger Pate brought his mom “Mimi” over to meet us. I’m embarrassed to admit, that now that I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I never got her name… only “Mimi”. She was really excited to hear that I am a Mimi too. My mimikid - Taylor happened to call me while we were cooking dinner, she was looking for her first school fundraiser pledge from me (she's in kindergarten). As the evening went on it made me smile to hear Pate's mom refer to him as “Pat”. We only know him as Pate so it's odd to hear him called Pat. I remember that my mother never accepted my changing the spelling of the name she had given me…

Pate's Mimi flew up to Oregon from Winters, CA to spend the week visiting with Pate and his brother Tim. It was a delight to finally meet her. She is a charming eclectic city gal doing remarkably well at 80 and still living and traveling on her own.

We had a very enjoyable evening with bbq’d steaks and an avocado salad. Pate brought a yummy cherry cobbler for dessert. Paul joined us also. Who took the picture you ask??? I have a time delay button on my camera. This is one of like 6 pictures. They were all good sports to keep smiling.

My #15 Dustin Pedroia surprise

Those of you who know me well, know that I'm a huge Boston Red Sox fan. Being raised on Cape Cod, it was in my genes... I remember my mother going to bed every game night with a transistor radio under her pillow. When I was in school cable wasn't an option, and there weren't many baseball games that were televised on TV. But the few that were, I can still hear my mother yelling at the TV and the Sox coaching staff.

The last couple of years I have been especially excited about Jacoby Ellsbury, from podunk Madras Oregon who went through the Red Sox farm system. Last year Jacoby was called up and I started listening to the Sox games on the internet. Pate stopped by one time while I was either watching a game on TV or listening, and in my excitement a conversation came up about Jacoby... and he told me that he was interested to watch Red Sox rookie #15, Dustin Pedroia, since he knew Dustin's family in CA. Pedroia had a really rough start in April 2007, but got the bugs out and began shining in May and never slowed down... as the season progressed, when ever Dustin had great game, I'd let Pate know about it... and soon enough I was a Pedroia fan too. It was amazing watching these two rookies make such a difference in this historic team. Then they were in the Playoffs and the World Series, with both Ellsbury and Pedroia as integral players in each game. With these young fire crackers astounding us each game, the Sox won the 2007 World Series and Dustin Pedroia was named Rookie of the Year.

So it turns out that Pate's mom knows Dustin's grandmother real well... they are neighbors in Winters, CA. I think I also remember Pate saying that he went to school with Debbie, Dustin's mom. Anyway, Pate cooked up a surprise for me and had his mom shop for and find an official MBL baseball (made in the USA, she said this wasn't an easy feat, as most of them she found were made in China), she gave it to Dustin's grandmother, who to carried it back to Boston a few weeks ago to have Dustin sign it just for me at the Red Sox home opener at Fenway Park. How cool is this !!! I am so honored to have the momento. I smiled and thought of Velma, (my mother) when I saw that he signed it "to Cindy" and his autograph and #15.

Thanks Pate and Mimi !!!! I love it and will treasure it !!!!

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Janey Kitty

Many years ago in Burns, like 1993, I got a feisty little Manx kitten from Todd and Debbie Titus, who were living at the Sand Hill feedlot. At the time I was living at the first place on Hutchenson Rd., 11 miles SE of Burns near Lawen. At the end of 1994, we made a deal to sell our place, and Eric and I would move into “the barn” (80 ac down the road, with an apartment built inside a barn) which came with two huge feral tom cats. One of my best friends, Cindi, had lost her pet cat tragically, and she had vowed to never ever have another… With my impending move, I talked her into adopting Janey, since I was afraid the feral tom cats at the barn would either kill her or run her off.

Janey has spent most of her life as a barn cat, with occasional in-house privileges over the years. Janey has her own little quirks, like she adored my 88 Honda Civic and as soon as I would arrive home, she’d immediately hop on the bumper and walk up the middle of the hood and sit in front of my windshield meoyowling at me to get out. And when she heard my voice she would meoyowl and come to rub my legs. After I gave her to Cindi, every time I visited (which was often) she'd always came running for the Honda as soon as I parked, hop on the bumper and deliberately walk up the hood and sit in front of the windshield. If she wasn't there when I arrived, by the time I left she was sure to have left her paw prints, if she wasn't still sitting there on the car. It was as if she wanted to leave her little paw prints on the car, her own signature. Funny she never did do that to any of my pick ups, just that red Honda Civic. When Cindi moved to PDX in 2000, Janey moved too. After the advent of cell phones, Cindi would put the phone down for Janey and I to merowl at each other... For the past few years Janey had been living with Cindi’s horse James at her sister’s rural Corbett place that just sold… long story short, since she was going to have to move Janey, Cindi thought Ansel might enjoy having a pet cat of his own to hang out with him and call his own. (since I have Lucy)

So last weekend when I picked up the truck, I also picked up Janey from Cindi and brought her to Bend to give to Ansel.

When I started out, she was in a small cat carrier, and she cried and cried... when I got to I-5, I stopped and put her in Lucy's big crate thinking that would be more comfortable for her, but she yowled non stop and I made it about 15 miles and pulled over and let her out of the crate all together and gave her the free run of the pickup… and then she became a very nice traveling companion. (I had left Lucy in Bend)

When we got to Bend… she immediately bonded with Ansel and he with her. When I asked him what he thought of her, he said "she's a darling, she's a very sweet barn cat". He said that smiling, because I had insisted before I went to get her that she was not a house cat, she was a barn cat. She has made herself at home.
Although she hates Lucy… and I’m sure she thinks it’s an insult that she has to put up with another puppy. Lucy isn’t exactly thrilled with Janey’s arrival either, as it means more outside kennel time and inside crate time for her. Pre-Janey she had the run of the place, except at bed time she went in the crate. I've been trying to give Janey some space to adjust to the new surroundings by keeping Lucy out of her hair. The picture below is their first meeting, and Janey has just boxed Lucy's ears back, and poor Lucy thinks she just encountered the Tasmanian Devil and doesn't dare move. They both stayed in the position for about 5 minutes, Lucy is stiff as a board, with every muscle tensed and her nails dug in the couch. Lucy is sporting a muzzle just for insurance.
Janey is 15 years old, but you’d never know it, she is very spry and must be on her 7th or 8th life. She has a very unique personality and talks a lot and tells you about every thing. For a barn cat… she certainly has made herself at home inside. ;-) (referring to my declaration to Ansel that she would be a barn cat)