Trick or Treat

Our Skunkitty gifted us with 8 lovely kittens a week before Ike. The only positive thing I can say this time is that she really picked a beautiful donor. Six of the kittens are very Siamese with blue eyes. The other two look like her...long haired black..but this time the tip of each tail has a spash of white. :)

We're opening the kitty adoption agency this week! Reserve yours today!

Have you Seen Enough Yet?

This is a narrated video, probably most relevant to those that know the area...

My New Beachfront View....Post Hurricane Ike

Best Cat on the Planet

Snickers (the only cat I claim)..is like no other.....what a sweetie...

too much

Sometimes it's just toooo good....

Check this out. What was to what is...

Crystal Beach Hurricane Damage

As many of you know, my family has been anchored in Crystal Beach. I've owned property there since 1993, and my parents and brother relocated there soon in early 2001.

Our saga began on Friday at 2:00, when I got a phone call from a beach house neighbor that Doug had fallen 14 feet off a ladder as he was finishing putting up the storm boards over the windows at our beach house. He was taken by ambulance to UTMB, where after many tests, it was determined that he was able to be released. He's still immobile, but in one piece. Because Doug was now enroute to the hospital, my Yukon remained in Crystal Beach. We did have a friend come and get the car and move it to High Island, but we have yet to hear from that friend about his well being, let alone whether my Yukon made it through the storm surge. We're still waiting on that one.

Click here for images of what once was, use the BACK button to navigate back to the blog.

Doug and Sandee's House

Mike's House (my brother)

Mom and Dad's House (the only one standing)

More later as we get updates.

Two for One SALE!!

This weekend, I moved the three girls downstairs to a bigger bedroom. So, consequently, there is still stuff everywhere between the old upstairs bedroom and the new downstairs bedroom. This morning I was in the old room looking for clothes that were scattered from hither to yon...picked up a few off the floor by the closet and proceeded to walk into another room....until I heard "MEOW....MEOW..." No...it was more like "MEW, MEW...". Regardless, Skunkitty had once again gifted me with 6 more kittens that I don't want! And....she was JUST Pregnant and gave birth at the beginning of June. The moral of this story is...the DAY AFTER you give the last kitten away? Get the cat to the vet!

Way Cool...right?

I've been trying to keep up with whether other people are reading and or responding to this blog....

And according to sources, one should search on Google for the name of your blog, as well as search Technorati to see what comes up.

Good news! We're international...but according to Techorati? My Blog Rank is 4,571,198. Wow...4,571,198. According to Technorati there are 15.5 million active blogs...so numerically speaking? I'm ahead of 10,928, 802 others!!

Miss Texas 2020

There are times in my life, when I've run across someone that I know in my heart is destined for great things. Sometimes I'm not sure how I know that, but I just do.

This week while at the beach, I had one such occasion. I met Miss Texas 2020. Mind you, right now she's only 6, but in 12 more years, she'll be doing the beauty pagent wave, mark my words.

I know this because behind the guise of being 6, she was really practicing how she would answer the interview questions posed to her by the panel of judges.

Taylor was visiting the beach for the day with her family last week, and once she spotted Kylee, she merrily jaunted the small distance between their "camp" and ours, proclaiming, "My mama says I only have 30 minutes to play with you..." and, I responded that that would be fine. Here's where the amazement starts, and you really can't get the full gist in print, therefore, please click on the links to the audio.

After alerting me to her alotted time limit, she said,

Wow. Ok. In the next breath, she'd told us exactly where she lived, and invited us all to her birthday party. In the course of the thirty minute period, she went back and forth several times, the final time bringing back her "purse" for lack of a better word. After this trip she said:,


Out of the mouths of 6 year olds. However, Taylor lived up to her orations. She proceded to pull out her makeup and lovingly apply it to Kylee's face. I know..I know...make up, especially lip gloss can carry germs, but...I couldn't break the spell of one special six year old ministering to my oft mute Kylee.

I'm sure I could tell you the rest of Taylor's entire life story here, but suffice it to say, she impressed me. Wise beyond her years, Taylor approached something and someone she was unfamiliar with, and embraced it for all it was worth.

Each time I go to the beach, I'll be on the lookout for Miss Texas 2020. It was the best 30 minutes I've spent in conversation in a great while.

Persistence

Here's a 5 picture story..hopefully telling what happened to the skunks...

Solving the Skunk Dilemma

Ok...what do you do when a mama skunk and 4 babies have invaded your space?

Here's what the Internet says...
1. Moth balls will do the trick but they're a known carcenogen so don't put them where you can smell them.
2. Rags soaked in fox urine.
3. Light...constant light

After researching this, and trying the mothballs...(since I couldn't locate any fox urine), I can scientifically tell you that skunks could care less about my $15.00 worth of cancer causing moth balls.

So...on to the local bar to ask the locals about what I should do. Here's my choices there:
1. Harvest the babies...they're worth $500 each on the open market as pets..Get Rich!
2. Shoot the sucker, but be ready for a mighty big stink.
3. Go look in the Sand Castle subdivision for Perry. He's the one waving the whole chicken over his head lookin' for gators. He'd probably be willin' to catch the skunk.

No...none of these were viable options...I might have gone the gator catching route but couldn't find anyone swinging chickens over their head.

All I want is for her to relocate. Just take the babies and head on into the culvert system where we know that the skunks exist and we deal with that.

So, I scatter more moth balls, and what does Mama Skunk do? Laughs at me, as I awake to a whole NEW burrow she'd created during the night. Not only did she create another foot high mound, but she'd gone through the yard and dug up fist sized holes looking for grubs while she was at it.

So...we cover up the other two holes she'd dug...scattered what was left of our ineffective moth balls and turn on the hose aimed at the new burrow.

I must say, for as many times as she's been deluged with water, she sure has handled it well. She retrieved all four skunk babies, and this time carried all four of them two houses away. All the while I watched...and waited and thought to myself...whew! At least they're not next to me anymore.

I decided to go on with my day...got the kids and went to the beach. When I returned from the beach, I was sitting down under the house...just a mere 5 or 6 yards away from the skunk burrow, when what did I see???? MAMA SKUNK!!

At this point I'm open for suggestions...just none that involve fox urine or swinging chickens!

New Beach Neighbors

So...what happens when your 13 year old laments..."I'm bored?" And Mom says....lets put water in that new critter hole..and see what comes out!" Just your run of the mill typical beach drama...

Wainwright Photo Stream

The Boys' got Talent

Con-Man and Brother participated in a talent show today. We created a video to show the "raw" talent. They rocked out to "We Will Rock You".

The Ugarook (bearded seal)

It was cold yesterday and I was still in bed. Asleep. Dreaming. You know, warm cozy in bed asleep, dreaming, when my Grandma comes and pulls the covers off and says excitedly “Eddie’s dad Jim caught an ugarook [a bearded seal]! Come out of bed I want you to take pictures. Tell me when he starts cutting it.” By the time I’m out the door Eddie’s there outside swinging. “Hey JDn [that’s my nickname JD- n] come swing?” I love Eskimo accents they’re so cool I wish I had one. I’m jealous because Eddie has one and he’s just a kid. I wanted one ever since I found out there even was such a thing.“Sure.” I made my way over to his house across the street when this “glassily” odor about makes my eyes water. I turned around to see Eddie’s dad start cutting the ugarook. I took pictures of the ugarook and Eddie. Later on my favorite dog, Rosco, comes walking to us with her master. The horribly bad part about Rosco is that she’s blind in her right eye! Why? Because someone went up to her and shot her with a Beebee gun?! Soon they left and Grandma’s over and Jim has the guts out with what looks like there is a squid inside. The closer you got the stronger the smell. After 2 days he has it almost done all he needs now is to get the blubber off the ugarook skin. He already has the meat outside at the back of the house to dry and turn into beef Jerky (ugarook jerky).

Nalukatuk #2

Today was basically the same thing (as Monday’s Nalukatuk) but after the blanket toss and the candy we had Eskimo dancing. It was amazingly the same thing, the women would bob up and down by bending their knees and move their arms like they’re swimming, and the men would stomp their feet to the beat of the drums, and move their arms. The drums were made of seal skin for the surface wood formed in a circle for the seal skin to hold on to. And for the drum sticks they use a thin stick with duck tape on the top and bottom of the stick so it won’t split in two. They hit that and sing in Eskimo while the men and women go to a specific area and dance. The purpose of dancing is to show how brave you are. Grandma says the men love to do that.

Yesterday was the Nulukatuk

A Nalukatuk is the celebration of catching whales. You go to a specific place and you pray, then people sing. Then people serve duck soup, bread, and Eskimo donuts. Then the people throw candy for the little kids.

After that, it gets boring because you’re just supposed to sit there until they all run out of food. (I knew I should have brought my I-pod.) We sat on wood with a tarp that kept the wind from us, which made my white pants become brownish gray. We decided to come back for the blanket toss. We all came back at 7 but the blanket wasn’t up yet so all the little kids came in and out of the tarp. Then the blanket was up then down then up then down again. Then finally it was up, up to your eyes I would say. It was awesome.

Old people would get on it with bags filled with candy and rip a hole in it and send the candy flying. Me and everyone would scavenge to the ground for the candy. After about 5 times of that anyone was able to go on.

I was the 4th to go on. I went the highest. It was hard to go back down because the blanket was doing the worm and you were supposed to balance on it and go back up. I only did it 3 times. Then we went home. There’s another one tomorrow I’m gonna do Eskimo dancing too. Talk to ya then. Layni

What Do Mom's Know...Here's the REAL Story

You’ll never believe what I’m about to tell you so please write back immediately. Ok, ok yesterday I saw a real live polar bear! I’m tell in ya it was amazing I was walking with my friends when a guy drove up to us and said ‘There’s a POLAR BEAR on beach at the ice! Before I could think of what to do next my friends were running there. By then my grandma and grandpa were walking this way. I screamed ‘THERE’S A POLAR BEAR ON THE BEACH ICE, COME QUICK!’ With that all I heard was the pounding of my feet on the gravel and my heart. It was awesome me and my friends went down to the water to get a closer look. We skipped rocks and screamed so the bear would come our way. After that a guy in a truck cussed us out for trying to get the polar bears attention. Quote: ‘You CRAZY the polar bear is faster than you get off the beach before it comes after you!’ End quote. Grandma got a few pictures I hope the internet works so Grandma can send some pictures that’s all for now bye.

I Almost got Chased by a Polar Bear!

The big news this morning is that a polar bear was spotted on the beach eating leftovers from whale butchering. So, what did we do? Headed for the beach....however, before my friends and I could get there, we were screamed at by an angry man in a pick up truck. He told us NOT to go down there, that the polar bear could run WAY faster than we could. So...we never got to see the polar bear. And now I know, when looking for bears...... don't. They run FAST.

(posted by mom for Layni)