As I mentioned in one of my recent comments, my husband and I just returned from visiting my mother in Colorado Springs. I have to say, that the trips up there have changed so much that whenever I go there, it’s as if I’m visiting for the first time.

While our son and daughter were growing up, we made yearly trips out to Colorado to visit our children’s grandfather, grandmother, uncle, and Aspen. [We actually visited through two Aspens! Aspen was – or in this case I should say “were” – my father’s beloved Cocker Spaniel(s).] We are now visiting just my mother, my brother, her Spaniel, and all three of the rotating 24/7 health care providers who are assigned to my mother.

Yes, our visits are quite different from those times when we would sit out on my parent’s patio, gazing up at Pike’s Peak, eating some of the best Chicago Dogs (ever!) from a little hotdog stand in Manitou Springs. Gone are the days of cog railway rides up Pike’s Peak and all of us going to Cripple Creek to ride the narrow gauge railroad and watch the melodrama. You know what they say about time passing >>> and it certainly has!

Now that my mother goes to bed so doggone early, and since our bedroom there doesn’t have a TV (the health care providers sleep in the guest bedroom with a TV), my husband and I have found that our Kindles have come in mighty handy! I had been reading seasonal/holiday mysteries, most by authors I had never read before, but decided that I would stop reading those in lieu of reading one of my favorite authors: Monica Ferris.

I knew that at the end of the days, I would be in need of a book that would hold my attention and I also knew that I would find comfort in visiting the “friends” I have made who inhabit the Crewel World needlecraft shop. I knew I would want to sort of be transported to a fictional town, where Betsy would be sleuthing and my favorite character of the series, Godwin, would be teaching new-to-needlecraft people the ins and outs of the how to knit/crochet or needlepoint.

Now that we are back in San Antonio, I just bought my next Monica Ferris Kindle Cozy Mystery book (my mom doesn’t have WiFi) for another time when I am in need of immersing myself with Betsy and Godwin – fictional friends with whom I enjoy passing time.

Is there an author who you always want to take on a vacation with you? If so, could you tell us why you absolutely need this author’s characters, setting, and/or mysteries to accompany you?

(I should warn you that this entry has nothing to do with Cozy Mysteries. )

Those of you who have been with me for a while might remember that my computer desk used to be upstairs. When our 16+ year old puppy (Sprite) got to an age where she could no longer maneuver the steps, I had my husband and son bring my computer downstairs and put it in our guest bedroom. Sprite could no longer jump onto the beds, but she did enjoy laying on them. She had spent her entire life following me everywhere, so I decided that it would be nice for her to be able to lay on the spare bed >>> right by my computer chair. Sprite seemed to enjoy being a girl of leisure while still being able to keep an eye on me.

After Sprite left us, rather than move my computer upstairs again I had them move my computer out to the kitchen. (It sure is more convenient on clothes-washing day!) But for some incredible reason I had them place my computer toward the wall. I thought it would look awkward/clumsy to have it in front of one of the windows. So, every time I wanted to look outside I would have to turn 125°.

It took me a while, but I finally wised-up and had them move my computer in front of the window, so I can enjoy the back yard: watching the birds jostling for the most advantageous perches at the feeders and also watching as the squirrels jumped up on the large bird bath. We even had outdoor cats using our bird bath. It was a lot of fun.

Until…

We had a squirrel chew a hole into our roof and take up residence in our attic. Thank goodness it was a male squirrel, as having a nest up there would have been awful. Apparently his “apartment” was between the walls, since he didn’t venture into the rest of the attic. It was time to get all of our yard’s squirrels to pack up and move to other areas in our neighborhood. I got rid of the big seed bird feeders and changed to the little feeders with tiny little thistle seeds for the Goldfinches. I missed having the bigger birds in our yard when we changed to the Goldfinch seeds, however we soon found that we couldn’t even have those types of feeders. Those pesky squirrels loved scrounging around on the ground for the thistle that the Goldfinches had dropped. In the mean time, we had our fourth repair done to our roof that those doggone squirrels caused.

Now I have a Hummingbird feeder that I enjoy watching during the months they’re in town, and a hanging bird bath, which the squirrels don’t have access to. I feel like a real mean-y but enough is enough! I would love to be able to have the birds back in the yard, but we simply can’t have any more squirrels. They do too much damage to our house.

Do you have any visiting outdoor animals >>> either the good kind like little hummingbirds or the bad kind like squirrels who chew through your wooden walls? If you had a problem animal, how did you solve your problem?