Saturday, August 23, 2014

Burnie Here


Hi, it's me, Burnie.  I know it's been a while, but I couldn't write last week.  I had a little accident.

One night, at bedtime, I tried to climb into bed.  You know I'm getting old and I can't always jump into bed.  Well, this night, I put both feet with claws out onto the quilt covering the bed.  Guess what.  Both feet got stuck.

I meowed and meowed and mom ignored me.  After I cried for quite a while, she looked and saw me hanging from the quilt.  She figured out how to free me.  She apologized for ignoring me.  She said that she thought I was sitting in front of the shower meowing. That's something I like to do, I don't know why, but I do.

My front paws hurt for a while so I couldn't type.  I tried typing with my back paws, but that doesn't work, I fell over.

I'm feeling better now.  I missed all of you, hope you missed me.

Sunday, August 10, 2014



Hi there, Crash here.  Sorry I'm a day late.  I kept trying to remind mom that it was my turn to write, but she didn't listen to me.  She was too busy unpacking and organizing from her last trip.  She went to visit someone named George Washington.  He wasn't there, but his house was so she wandered through it and all the property.  I don't think she wants to buy it, at least I hope not.  I wasn't too happy with her last move.

I like it here, but the ride here was awful.  Burnie was meowing the whole time, so I tried singing to quiet him.  It didn't work, so I went to sleep.  But then I woke up and got car sick so, when we got to the house, mom let us out of our carriers and said this is the last place we'll ever live in.  The only time we will leave is when we die.  I'm not too crazy about that idea, dying.

Everything else here is good.  Mom stocked the closet with our favorite foods and she even bought us some new dry food, but no new toys.  Last week I dug my lobster out of the toy box and had some fun with it.  There's nothing like an oldie but a goodie.

Life is good.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Five Down, 39 to Go

I blame President Harry Truman for this.  About eight years ago, I was driving through Independence, MO and saw a sign for President Truman's library.  I had the time, so I decided to stop and tour it.  That started it.  I have now decided to visit every presidential home/library.  This was my fifth home or library, the others being Truman, JFK, Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower.

 

I just returned from Mt. Vernon, the home of our first president, George Washington.  The home is nicely furnished with mostly original furnishings.  It was an interesting tour.  I learned a few things that were new to me.  I did not know that Pres. Washington was more than a plantation owner.  He was one of the first Virginia farmers to switch from growing tobacco to wheat.  He also experimented with composting and crop rotation.

The grounds are quite large.  I did a lot of walking.  I saw the stable area where they had a carriage similar to one Washington might have used.


 The horses were gone from the stable, but their essence remains.  I saw the outbuildings - kitchen, laundry room, cobbler's workspace, blacksmith's area, etc. 


There is an area for the graves of the president and his wife and other members of the family.  Near these sites, there is a memorial for the slaves who lived and worked there.  They are also working on this area to survey the actual graves of the slaves.  The slaves who belonged to Washington were freed when he died.



There is a learning center and museum on the grounds.  The learning center has three theaters that show films about different times in Washington's life, including one about Martha, their meeting and life together.  There I learned that when he died, Martha locked their bedroom door and never returned to that room.

One of the other theaters gave us the revolutionary experience.  It centered on that winter at Valley Forge and the crossing of the Delaware.  We got the full effect of the cannon firing that shook the seats and sent smoke coming up from the floor.  We also got "snowed" on.  That was very interesting.

Also available, although separate from the control of the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Association, is a short boat ride on the Potomac.  It was a very relaxing and refreshing ride.  This last photo shows the mansion from the river.


I should add that Mt. Vernon is not a national part, it is completely under the auspices of the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Association which was founded in 1854 to purchase the mansion and 200 acres of adjoining land from Washington's great-great nephew who could not afford to maintain the estate.  They immediately started shoring up the buildings, but stopped during the Civil War.  After the war they started furnishing the house with some Washington-owned pieces and an assortment of 18th century objects.  The association relies on admission and sale of souveniers and private donations and does not take any federal monies.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip and recommend it to anyone with any interest in the beginnings of our country, or even to just get a look at how people lived in those days.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Hi there, Burnie here.  I know it's been quite a while since either Crash or I had a chance to write to you.  You see, mom bought us this really neat scratchy loungy chair thing and neither of us wants to give it up to the other.  So, we don't want to take the time to write.  Sorry.

Mom went away for a while this week.  She took one of her geographical explorations.  I'm sure she'll let you know all about it.  While she was away, Jeanne our friend came by and took care of us.  She's so good to me, she gives me scratches and I purr so loud.  This time, I was on my loungy chair, on my back and she gave me my scratches.  It was so good, I rolled over and fell off my chair.  But don't worry, I'm OK, it's not too high off the floor.

Well, when mom finally came home, Crash and I just ignored her.  We couldn't hold out too long because she fed us, and you know how much we like our food.  After we had eaten, Crash yelled and yelled at mom.  I think she got the message and won't leave us again any time soon.

Well, there's not much else going on here.  It's a cloudy, lazy day and I have to rush back to my chair.

Talk to you soon.