If You Clean It

A nephew I haven't seen in ten years and his wife (it's been forever since I've seen her) are coming to visit for the day tomorrow, and Larry and his family are also arriving for the weekend.  If you clean it, they will come!  Even the wind got into the spirit and blew the leaves off the deck for me the other night.  The almond tree is in full blossom now, decorating the yard with a bouquet of pale pink flowers.  That's a good thing, because the rest of the place is still in the winter doldrums and not a splash of color anywhere else. 

The temperature is still dropping to freezing at night.  Frank came in fairly early in the evening to lay by the fire, and I called and called for Pearl with no result.  She had not appeared by my bedtime and I almost turned out the lights to call it a day.  Knowing how cold it was going to get, I decided, on the off chance, to put on my hat with the lights and walk out to the feed barn.  Sure enough, she had slipped in unseen when I got the chickens' nighttime snack, and there she was, eyes glowing green in the light and yowling, "I'm here!  I'm in here!"  As soon as I opened the door, she muttered, "It's about time!," and raced me to the front door.  She's not a cat to hold a grudge, and said a proper thank you once inside, replete with ankle rubs and loud purring.

Unfortunately, it's Frank and Pearl who are keeping my nephew from a longer visit.  He has severe cat allergies.  If this wonderful weather we've been having holds, we can stay outside on the deck to catch up on news.  He's just come back from a lengthy job in Africa.  (And I will have just come back from the barn.)  It will be nice to have the cousins here together.  I'm so glad I dusted.