$$$$$

Last fall Arkansas finally got it going on regarding the lottery! It has been year after year that this issue has been attempted, but always got knocked out. To date, Arkansans can now play: Mega Millions, Power Ball, Pick 3 (one of my favorites!), and scratch offs. I don't know why it took so long, we've had horse racing for eons. I've been to Nevada a couple of times, but never Las Vegas. Someday I will. Now if only this state would allow casinos, hoping for it! Right now, I occasionally will go to Tunica, Mississippi to play slot machines.

In the photos above, one of our foster kittens, Athena, is attempting to cast a cat spell on my tickets. I promised her lots of toys and catnip for winning tickets! I usually get tickets and check them every week or so. Pick 3 has been my luckiest game so far. I've won twice on that. Pick 3 started in December for us. Now, I am waiting for an actual "Arkansas" lottery. My take on it is this is pretty much a rural state, still got the Bible Belt in force, not a big population in the state. That means that the odds will be pretty good for us degenerates that want to buy tickets. I think the next game on the agenda is Pick 4. We just got Mega Millions this month. Eventually, we will get the state lottery as well. No target date for that yet.

Athena, bring me luck!!

Winter wonderland!

Ok, everybody forgive me, I can't help myself....I love the snow!!! These are some pictures I snapped this morning. When I got up, it was barely light outside, but lo and behold, the ground was a beautiful pristine white! The miracle is ... no freezing rain or ice...that is to be tonight when the melted refreezes. Supposed to get a little more snow tonight as well. In recent history, it has been very rare that central Arkansas receives snowfall. We have the freezing rain and ice storms. But this was glorious snow...only snow. Some of the flakes were about the size of a 50 cent piece. This was not predicted either. I think we will have gotten around 6 inches in my area. Usually, the snow comes from Oklahoma and stays in the northern part of Arkansas, rarely ever in the central part. Little Rock is usually on the dividing line. This would have been so perfect for Christmas. This recent Christmas produced flooding in central arkansas. It was really hideous for some of the people here.

Anyway....let it snow, let it snow.................let it snow!

The Miracle of Sox

These two pictures are of an amazing cat. His name is Sox and he is definitely a super cat! Maybe a little background will explain why he is so amazing.....

My dad spends a lot of time in his garage. He doesn't work on cars, or build things, or do whatever is usually done in a garage....those days are long gone. These days he relaxes with an adult beverage and enjoys fine cigars. Since my parents have retired, Mom is finally getting to do a lot of renovations and changes to her house that she has been wanting to do for a long time. One of the rules is - no smoking - in the house; hence, dad's new room, lounge. It is quite a set up...refrigerator, heater, a/c, flat screen, comfortable chair, and lots of friends.

Since dad began spending time out there, he has had many visitors of the four legged variety. Rabbits, racoons, cats and dogs. Sometimes even a snake. Sox was just one of about 4 cats that started hanging out with dad a few years ago. And other cats started coming to hang out. Some came and went. And Sox brought one friend over who became one of my cats (Meanie). Anyway, nobody knows how old Sox is, but I guess he is about 652 years old. We all knew the cats that came to visit dad and gave them names. He even had a little girl cat (Picasso) come in to visit that had her kittens in "the lounge" last year. Mom and dad already had 3 indoor cats, but they adopted 2 of Picasso's kittens.) Anyway, whoever comes to visit and stays, gets spayed and neutered. Sox was already neutered. One day (I have 2 brothers and one is still at home, he has cerebral palsy), both my brothers went out for a "walk," Paul in his wheel chair and David pushing him. They saw Sox collapsed in a neighbor's yard. They brought him back to the house, and I thought Sox was going to die. (He would leave periodically for days at a time) He was skinny and barely conscious. My sister and I took him and got him fixed up and he is an indoor kitty now. He was suffering from hyperthyroidism and I believe he was just about to go into organ failure. During the years Sox would hang out with my dad, he had been taken to the vet because:

he got hit by a car,

he got mauled by dogs, and

he got mauled by a racoon.

I must say at this point for clarification...Sox had a home, but they never took care of him. Mom and dad had always got him patched up at the vets, and he would hang out till he got better and then go get into somemore trouble. On one vet visit, we also found out that he has also been shot. BB's showed up on an x-ray. The vet said it must have happened a long time ago. And, none of us realized this, but through all this time and the fights and injuries, Sox had been declawed by the nutcases that used to have him. He is one heck of a cat!

These days, he enjoys napping, eating, napping, and eating. He is still skinny and we have to adjust his thyroid med often, he is quite content to finally be an indoor kitty. We have had him at my sister's house for almost 3 years now. The pictures are of Sox in his own "lounge" and the other is him sending greetings to you.