Great Grandma Redfearn



From Left to right:  Grandma Collum, Great Grandma Redfearn, my dad.
My older sister is in the blue and I'm in the pink shirt.
Photo is from my Great Grandma's house.

The past few weeks I've been typing up my Great Grandma Redfearn's history. She was pressured by the family to have a few things about her life written up so us great grandkids could read them. I'll be putting them up on my blog in a little while.

My great-grandmother has always been one of my heroes. As a little child I remember those visits to her little house in Hudson, IA with fondness. Hers was a place full of old things, things I didn't understand; some of the things frightened me and some were endlessly fascinating. And she was a pack-rat so there was a lot of things in her little house.

Three sentence story

Here's the new week's writing challenge at Terrible Minds. The challenge is to write a three sentence story, so I wrote the below and posted it on his webpage, but wanted to have it up here on the blog just for fun.

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I dug my hands inch by inch into the water starved dirt around me and felt the earth itself cry for water, but eons of tears had evaporated before they even reached the parched ground.
I kept digging, day after day, month by month, until I was a husk of flesh as dry as the earth above me And I reached the water far below the surface.
I dropped my cracked and dry body into the water and felt the water shudder in surprise and realize it's mistake in thinking earth and water could ever be separated, and as the water rushed up the hole I'd made I knew I'd saved millions.

Binx the lil'man

Binx shortly after we got him. He's so tiny!

Binx, our newest kitty, is finally growing into his eyes. He was a tiny cat when we got him (or rather he got us, see the Meet the Cats post) all malnourished and a kitten still and boy he needed to put on some comfie eating pounds. His eyes were too big which gave him a cross-eyed look, which didn't help because he kind of stared at us a lot when he came inside, it was cute but made him look like a silly lil'man.

Well, bags of cat food later he's gotten quite the tummy and it quite the farter. He could clear a room with his stinky poos and his toots, but he loves his food. It looked really funny when he was so tiny because he had this huge bulging tubby gut poking out of a tiny kitten body. Well now he's getting the big cat body and it is matching his tubby bellah a lot better.

The perfect brew - Flash Fiction

Another 100 word story for Terrible Minds Flash Fiction challenge.  The challenge is to make a 100 word story using 3 of the following 5 words: Enzyme. Ivy. Bishop. Blister. Lollipop.
I feel like I cheated using Ivy as a name, so I used Enzyme, Blister and Lollipop.  It's slightly macabre, appropriate for Halloween coming up.

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"Don't!" Mother said, pulling the chubby hand from the stove, "you'll blister! No lollipops today, my little Ivy. We're making something special." She smiled wide at Ivy.
It was a face only Mother could love; lumpy skin, a hint of a moustache over thick lips.
"Food?" asked the grossly fat child.
"Yes, darling, and enzymes. To make you beautiful." He mother smiled wide and soaked a loaf of bread with the cloudy liquid and threw the bread into a huge stainless steel vat. Ivy crawled in, eager for food.
A month later Mother poured a perfectly brewed dark beer from the vat and smiled as she drank. "Ivy’s Special Brew. Halloween edition.”

My strange cat Ara

My name is Ara, I will stalk you.

The other night Ara started doing something pretty strange. Now, Ara is our eldest cat, she's 13 and allowed her bouts of insanity.

I have this basket next to the bed where I put my chapstick, nail clipper, flashlight, batteries, cell phone that I use as my alarm clock, body spray for when the kitties go poopoo and it stinks to high heaven, and eye-mask. It's a full little basket. It's a pretty generic little basket, but it keeps my area next to the bed nice and tidy. Well as tidy as it can be with my c-pap hoses flying all over... Anyway.

Hubby the editor

Last night while trying to explain my story idea to my husband he told me my story was boring. And unlike the first time he told me and I got very quiet-rage-y this I trusted him. I thought back on what I'd written lately and how my story had gone and besides a few minor scenes that were pretty good... the rest of it was pretty crappy. Boring, really, like he said. With no point. And I'd told him what I'd been doing with my story and he did a great job of being an editor and told me I had to stop fixating on a character and start telling a bloody story.

A tribute to dads

The below post isn't supposed to be political or anything. It's more just something I have observed in my little corner of the world. If anything, it shows the world's getting better about being equal, even if that means sometimes the muck gets spread evenly along with the good stuff.

So the other day I was in Walmart and saw something that made me pause for a second or two. I saw a 30 something pregnant woman come in wearing clothes a 13 year old would wear, chatting loudly on her cell phone and just being obnoxious. Pretty typical for Walmart, if you ask me. But behind here was the father (or boyfriend) carrying their first kid in his arms while the little girl slept.

Say Hello to our kitties!

Cats. We have cats. Eight of them to be exact. Now I know, eight cats you say, you must be a crazy cat lady! But there's having eight well adjusted cats and there's have too many cats to take care of. We take very good care of our eight and they're all healthy and happy.

They each have strange full names, subject to change at any time. They are our family and I wrote a little blurb on each (with pictures!) of them because they are each so different from each other.

In order of the date they joined my family:

Ara -

Ara complaining, as usual

Full name: Arakins Gozer Jones
Nicknames: The Dirty One, Steve
Title: Chaos God
Sex: Female
Age: 15
Type: Long hair calico
Personality: Yowling. I've had Ara since high school. She's got a mean streak a mile wide and doesn't care if you are being gentle, she'll howl at you as if you were killing her sometimes. But she's my little Ara baby and I love her and she runs to me as if getting pettin's was life or death. She is our only declawed cat, and she uses her voice in lieu of claws when the other cats bug her. She also is our only long hair and gets a summer shave, so half the year she's a pretend short-hair.
Likes: Catnip (she does the catnip worm dance), Pettings, but only on the chin or ears, Laying on a warm lap for hours
Dislikes: Anything else

Smokey being the Captain of the desk

Smokey - 2/1/03 - 8/23/13 Rest in Peace

Full name: Smokey James Hawley
Nicknames: Captian Smokey of the S.S.R Motorboat,
Title: Thunder God
Sex: Male
Age: 10
Type: Dark brown tabby/tortoiseshell
Personality: He's the dominate male and knows it. Hubby has been with Smokey since birth and the two have a very close bond. He deals with me, but he goes crazy for his daddy. Every night he's sleeping on hubby's pillow... or hubby's head. The two could snuggle for hours and I have never met a cat with such a strong bond with anyone. To the other cats he's the policeman. When he walks into the room all the others stop their bickering and don't look him in the eye.
Likes: Daddy, Burgers and fries, Cheese crackers
Dislikes: Catnip, Having his tail touched

Kendall being cute

Kendall -
Full name: Weinekendall Drinkwise Boozewalker
Nicknames: Kendall, The Great Kendallfini, Wizrobe
Title: Wind God
Sex: Female
Age: 10
Type: Orange tabby
Personality: She's called Whiny for a reason, she can be a loud one. She's from the same litter as Smokey. She's skittish and shy until she's higher than you or you're on the bed, then she's demanding for pettings and chin skritches. She whines loudly when you stop petting her. Out of the females Vivi or she would be the dominate females, and the two cats do not get along. She's a sweety, but don't be the cat that bugs her, she puts that loud voice to good use along with a swift left jab.
Likes: Clothes baskets, Being higher than you, Only lettuce from Subway
Dislikes: Vivi, New people

Vivi -

Vivi is not impressed

Full name: Norstein Dolph Vivler
Nicknames: Vivipoofer, Woopster
Title: Nightmare God
Sex: Female
Age: 6
Type: Black short-hair
Personality: Spitfire. She was mostly a kitten when hubby's sister found Vivi outside and took her in. We took Vivi shortly after that and she was nearly feral. One of our biggest fighters, we are convinced if a burglar comes they will be destroyed by Vivi. When she's not being aggressive, she goes absolutely crazy for pettings, to the point where she will play Godzilla-cat with everything between her and your fingers. Oh, and if she gets mad and we pick her up she goes "woop woop woop!" It's really cute.
Likes: Destruction, Her hobo-box (any cardboard box she can pounce out of), Fake mice, she will play fetch and tear out their innards and she knows them as her "babies", Feet and shoes
Dislikes: Kendall, Hates having her tail touched

Max -

Max loves sleeping weirdly

Full name: Maximomo Dudley Trouble
Nicknames: Maxipoofer, Moocow, Jeffrey, Dudley Moo-Right
Title: Gooshy Food God
Sex: Male
Age: 8
Type: Moo-cow, short haired
Personality: The most laid back cat ever in the history of ever. He's really big too, and it's not all just fat, he's got some serious muscle under his furry belly. He's like that large uncle that's really good with children because he lets them wrestle all over him and only moves if the wrestling gets out of hand. But the kids know they've crossed the line when he gets up and they all secretly fear he'll sit on them to get them to behave. He's taken over being the father figure to the kitten Binx and will sit on top of Binx just to lick Binx into submission. Oh, and he used to be an alley cat, so he eats cat food like there's no tomorrow.
Likes: Stinky shoes to lay on, Bird watching, Sleeping and eating
Dislikes: Having his belly rubbed like it's a guitar, Being ambushed

Cheri -

Cheri licking a book, yum?

Full name: Cherish Ralph Macchio
Nicknames: Cher-bear, Ralphinator
Title: Messenger of the Gods
Sex: Female
Age: 11
Type: Red tortoiseshell
Personality: Jumpy and skittish, but friendly. I got Cheri as a Christmas present to hubby the year we moved into our house and she's been a treat ever since. She's easily the most curious and most skittish cat. She'll approach something new with determination, then jump three feet high when it's not what she expects. She also loves to endlessly lick cardboard, sticky tape, books, anything paper. I have to hide new books from her or she'll lick them until the edges are soaking. When she meows, it sounds like she's saying "Ralph!" and we ask her to say Ralph to the point where she thinks that's her name.
Likes: Cardboard, books and Game Informers, Ear scratches, Clawing at your fingers till she gets her pettin's, Rays of sunlight
Dislikes: Sudden loud noises, Well, sudden anything

Binx: -

Binx eating, his favorite thing

Full name: Binxton Budrick Hardcastle
Nicknames: Binxybear, Binxereffic, Binxton
Title: Foul Oder Diety
Sex: Male
Age: 2
Type: Black short-hair
Personality: Affectionate and a terror of the farts combined. Binx is a stray we picked up outside the house. One night he just ran up to me and begged for food, then collapsed in hubby's arms after he'd eaten. He's rambuxious. He attacks the other cat's tails and is constantly trying to get Max to play with him. He also eats. A lot. And then he farts. A lot. They'd strip varnish off a footlocker. But when you get him to settle down and pet his chin he becomes a oozing purring kitty who clearly missed pettings all his short life and can't believe how lucky he is to get picked up by two really nice people. He has put on the pounds since we got him and now he's a good 15 pounds. A hefty cat, he'll ooze all over you when you pick him up and pet him. He's a lovable fellow.
Likes: Other cat's tails, Food, Being a kitten, Farting
Dislikes: Empty food bowls, Febreze

Gordon -
Full name: Sir Reginald Gordon Budanski

Gordon getting used to being inside

Nickname: Gordanski, Gary, George, Buddy

Title: The Reginald
Sex: Male
Age: 2
Type: Tomcat
Personality: He's a former stray we picked up after he came to our home. He's got a temper and fishy breath. He wants to go outside all the time, but he's indoors all the time because we're getting him used to being inside. Though he hates to admit it, we know he likes it inside where he gets food and pettings. He loves pettings. Gordon used to be hateful about getting them, but now he loves to settle in our laps and get a good snuggle, as long as none of the other cats can see him, that is. He's got to be a tough alley cat around them.
Likes: Cuddling, Gooshy food, Windows
Dislikes: Vacuums, The bed

100 words on revenge

This week's Friday Flash Fiction is to write a 100 word story about revenge. Terrible Minds.com So here's my contribution. 

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"Luke!  I am your father!"
"What?" I exclaimed.  I leveled the gun I’d snuck past security at him. "I’m not Luke!"
"You’re not? You look just like him."
"I don't look anything like that dweeb! Besides, Luke Ozzel knows who his dad is.  You killed his father, so he hired me to kill you.” I explained.
“Oh,” he paused, “Wrong Luke. Admiral Ozzel came out of lightspeed wrong. I had every right to crush him.”
"Luke had every right to hire me to kill you," I pointed out. "Goodbye Darth Vader."
I shot, but he crushed my throat first.  I died instead. So much for revenge.

THE END