Kitty Cat Woes

Puzzled as to what this might be? I'll save you the time and trouble of guessing. These are cat prints on my car, a very common occurrence here. By the way, we don't own a cat.

This particular morning the cat prints are visible from one end of the car to the other....

Yep, across the trunk, up the back window, over the top of the car, down the front window and across the hood were cat prints...
Luckily cat prints were all we found. We have friends here with cat prints as well as some very distinct scratches on their new car. These same friends have issues with a neighbor's cat that "sprays" practically everything in their back yard. How nice is that?

We're not sure if there is one particular cat roosting under our carport on top of our car. There are many wild cats that roam the area, but there's also one domestic cat with a collar that comes to visit on a regular basis. So far we've refrained from setting up surveillance cameras to find the guilty party responsible for cat prints on our vehicle, but the minute we find scratches, we may find ourselves out shopping for the necessary equipment to make that happen.

You know, I like animals... I really do! I just don't like them on my car, or prefer them making nasty messes around my house. If that's mean and particular, so be it. If you don't mind cat spray at your house, that's certainly your prerogative, but I seriously don't care for that, nor do my poor friends. I believe I can speak for them in saying that they'd prefer your kitty spray at your house, not theirs. Some things aren't meant to be shared with neighbors, and I believe cat spraying falls into that category.

Although we currently do not own any pets, we've been pet owners in the past, and will be again one day. We would never go out of our way to provoke, taunt or injure an animal. Cruelty to animals is not our game. Please know that and take me at my word. I assure you, your sweet, precious Fluffy is in no danger at my house. No matter how many times we find cat prints on our car, we would never take any kind of action against the culprit, but that doesn't mean we don't think about it. *wink

Interjections!

Do you remember Schoolhouse Rock!? For those of you who are scratching your heads and wondering what on earth I'm talking about, allow me to clue you in...

Schoolhouse Rock! is a series of animated musical educational mini-films that used to air during the Saturday morning cartoons in the 70s and 80s. There were a myriad of topics covered including grammar, science, economics, history, math and even politics.

We've been seeing Schoolhouse Rock! here from time to time and the boys have gotten a big kick out of it. They can't believe my hubby and I are familiar with the songs. It's funny how the lyrics came back to us after so many years.

Here's the latest Schoolhouse Rock! mini-film we've seen. (Remember to stop my music on the sidebar before clicking on the video below or you'll just hear a whole lot of racket and be really irritated with me.) Let me know if you remember seeing this on TV. Did you sing along? By the way, I'm sorry if this song is now in your head for the next 24-48 hours.

Land Mine

Can you guess what's pictured here?
How about here?
And here?
Yep, you guessed correctly each time... DOGGIE DOO!

Why am I showing you photos of dog poop? I just wanted to give you an idea of the land mine through which we frequently navigate to and from Spanish class five days a week. Lovely, ain't it? There are lots of things to love about Spain, but this certainly fails to impress me. I don't understand why people don't use pooper scoopers here. I'm sorry, but there simply isn't one single solitary good reason anyone could give me that would excuse dog poop on the sidewalk... NOT ONE!

The Trouble Tree

I received the following in an email this week, and I believe it came at a great time for me. Everything is fine, but occasionally I need to be reminded of what's important and who's in charge. So thanks to the person who sent this my way... it was a blessing. Maybe it'll be a blessing to you as well...

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching tips of the branches with both hands.

When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

“Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.

"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

I don’t know who first told this story – no one seems to know – but he or she must have been a very wise person. Putting boundaries around our problems is a really good idea – it prevents our difficulties from spilling over onto other people (especially loved ones), who can’t do anything about our problems. Why burden them if they can’t help us?

So, plant yourself a trouble tree outside your front door -- or a potted trouble plant, if you live in an apartment – and use it whenever you come home.

Be grateful that you have loved ones to go home to, even if your loved one is simply your beloved dog or cherished cat or prized goldfish.

And when you pick up your troubles on the way out each morning, be grateful that they’re not as heavy as they were the night before.

A nosotros nos gusta conducir nuestro coche en España!

Translation = We like driving our car in Spain!

I know I really like driving our car in Spain. In case you hadn't noticed in photos from previous posts, the streets are quite narrow and parking is a challenge, even in the larger parking lots. Some vehicles, such as our beloved Yukon XL, just aren't conducive to navigating around the local towns, thus we purchased a smaller vehicle a few months ago so that we could eliminate that problem.

We didn't have our hearts set on any particular type of car, however, there was one that caught our eye. It was available, it was surprisingly roomy (We're tall, so we have to have leg room!), it was a pretty good deal, we were able to communicate with the English-speaking salesperson (Very important!) and we really had fun on the test drive, so... we bought it!

Allow me to introduce you to our car...... a 2007 BMW 335xi, a dealer demo never previously owned.
Do I know how to operate the many gadgets on our car? Heavens no! Will I learn how to operate them? Probably not. But do I like driving this car? You know it!

This car is incredibly comfortable. Hello! It has heated seats! Whoever thought to install heated seats in a car was a genious, I tell you! I love the fact that I can navigate the narrow streets and park almost anywhere (There are still places I won't attempt to park here!). It's a smooth ride and I like that it's a standard because our boys will be learning to drive in the not-so-distant future and I think it's important to learn how to drive a stick shift. Our car is also a good-looking piece of machinery, which is also nice. Oh yeah, just one more minor detail... This car has some POWER! Of course we can't open 'er up on base, but when we get 'er off base where it's legal, we're not letting any grass grow under us.

I'm thinking of naming the car because I like it so much. Since "el coche" (the car) is considered a "masculine" noun in Spanish, I suppose I need to think of an appropriate masculine name. Although it's not a Spanish-made vehicle, I'm leaning toward a Spanish name because we live in Spain. Any ideas?

MAF = Mission Aviation Fellowship

Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory because of Your love and faithfulness.”

This scripture is the intensely expressed desire and vision of our friends Dave and Vanessa Peters. This very special couple is training to become Christian missionaries through Mission Aviation Fellowship. Admittedly I was not aware of this mission prior to our friends' involvement, but have since learned more about what MAF does.
Here's the MAF mission statement....

"Our passion is to see individuals, communities, and nations transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We promote this transformation by positioning Christ-centered staff in strategic locations worldwide utilizing aviation, communications, learning technologies, other appropriate technologies and related services. In accomplishing our mission, we collaborate with churches, subsidiaries, partners, and networks."

More impressive info regarding MAF...

"In its global efforts to overcome barriers, MAF operates the world's largest fleet of private aircraft used for the public good.

In fiscal year 2008, the MAF fleet of 55 aircraft executed 36,831 flights, logged 2.7million miles, transported 120,343 passengers, and delivered 10.3 million pounds of cargo all on 1,700 rough, unimproved dirt and grass airstrips as well as waterways.

These flights support Christian workers, evangelists, teachers, medical personnel, as well as relief and development workers. MAF planes haul food, seed, and livestock; transport the sick and injured; deliver doctors, medicine, and relief supplies; and carry the materials for a better life to people who need it most-people others cannot reach."

Here's the entire Peters Family. We met these folks when we were stationed together in Dover, DE. Dave has served his country as an Air Force pilot and Vanessa as a military spouse before answering the call to serve with MAF. Now Dave, Vanessa and their children are all preparing for their first missionary assignment. They have yet to find out the precise location of their assignment, but they do know it will be somewhere in Indonesia.

I'm simply in awe. I think it takes very unique, special people to answer God's call in such a profound way. I'm honored to know this family and I very much look forward to hearing more about their experiences as new missionaries.

If you would like to know more about MAF, you can visit the website here. If you would specifically like to know more about the Peters Family, click here.

Should you feel led, please pray for the Peters Family as they continue to seek God's will and spread His word.

Did you hear me? Did you hear me?

We were getting ready to leave the house on Friday morning for Spanish class when a base worker arrived to do some painting outside. My husband answered the door while I hurriedly finished putting on my face in the bathroom. I overheard the entire conversation, which was short and sweet, but a conversation nonetheless.

Basically the workman and my husband exchanged greetings and then the workman told my husband what he was here to do. My husband explained that we were going to school and pointed out the areas that needed painting.

The workman went to get his supplies and my husband rushed back to the bathroom, wide-eyed and excited.

He said, "Did you hear me? Did you hear me? I said a whole sentence and he understood me!"

You totally had to be there, but let me tell you, my hubby was so cute! He was so proud of his newly acquired Spanish language skills. Yep, we're actually learning and it's paying off already.