hello my friends

Oh I'm missing you all so much... sometimes life just takes over and things take a back seat to others. Life is finally settling a bit so I am taking ME time and this is one of the very best things I can do for me. So sit back and relax, this might be a long post!!
1 Mr P has come and gone. He's working away so often that his time at home is invaluable. But fighting a cold means he's not up for as many adventures and so I work while he recovers.
2 Izzy and Kesler are happy kidlets these days it seems. They are both involved in school and are thriving. Kesler is in a program called Strong Start. This introduces children to organized play and structure. He has a designated Behavioural Interventionist who work with him to connect and communicate. And I'm happy to say he's making exceptional progress and aping words but every now and then he using it in context and that gets him great accolades and cheering. Izzy is in kindergarten and also has a worker with her. She is a lively girl and the days can be long for her but she's a trooper and doing great too.
3 Miss Tula scared the daylights out of me the other day. She brought in a LIVE vole. It's a creature that is like a mole but smaller and like a mouse but bigger. And of course she let it go inside the house. Needless to say, I can scream, and scream loud!!!
4 Izzy and her mom play with makeup and paints. I think Izzy will be an amazing leopard don't you?
5 Kesler is learning to read. He's recognizing the letters and when they're put together he can read, cat, dog, pig.
6 My business consumes a big part of my day now. I'm enjoying a few days of respite but then back to it.
7 As I do some fall cleaning up outside, I find 2 black widow spiders and a giant brown recluse!!! Although the easiest thing to do is to get a spray can of raid I think it's healthier to find a natural, organic solution. Please feel free to share yours here! Thanks in advance.

alone, kuma,yuki, and wrap me up

1 I walk alone along the 5km stretch of beach enjoying the companionship of myself and concentrate on each step. I count each step over and over in a type of mantra until I am done and there is no more to count, no steps to walk and my mind is still.
2 Kuma is having fun in the newly cut backyard. He has accumulated an assortment of sticks and likes to chew on them so I get him some rawhide bones to chew on instead. I think he's alternating now and I'm wondering if he's going to end up burying some of them for later.
2a Yuki the Siamese cat finds this new bone chewing fascinating. He watches for a bit them decides to stalk the dog. He sits in the pounce position for a bit then suddenly jumps out at the dog who calmly turns his back on the cat.
3 It works, skinny wraps are all the rage and I decide to try it too. I do a long bath and then after I am air dried I put on the wrap and let it do it's magic. I rarely do these sorts of things but curiosity has gotten the better of me. I've take measurements and photos so we will see if this really does work! I'm not sure I'll ever post before and after photos, so you'll just have to take my word for it.