The Dawning of the Age of Asparagus

The Friday after Thanksgiving, we had plans to visit my husband's father's widow for our holiday meal. The only thing we needed to bring along, she said, was asparagus, which we had bought at the grocery store over the weekend.

You may not know this about me, but I adore asparagus. It was a thing I had never eaten until I met my husband. He loved it. And so I tried it with lots of butter. Ooh boy. And then with butter, bacon, and parmesan cheese: EVEN BETTER!!!!

Also, I am a photographer of ridiculous things. (OK, THAT you already knew.) So the minute we bought the asparagus, I was making plans to do something silly with it for the blip-friends. So please enjoy this little photo shoot, which I threw together just before we left for the holiday meal: Tiny Tiger and crew, and the dawning of the age of asparagus!

And now I have some very, very HAPPY news to share. Let's start with the sad beginnings. On Sunday night, I saw a posting on our local neighborhood Facebook group from the owners of Stryker, the little gray kitty (LGK) who visits us. Stryker had been missing for several days, and they asked neighbors to keep an eye out for him.

We had not seen Stryker since last Wednesday. When I came home from work that day, I took a picture of my husband sitting on the porch with Stryker in his lap. The little kitty loves to go visiting and he adores my husband. I often find them together, like two peas in a pod.

So you can only imagine how upset my husband was. He was heartbroken. The instant I shared the news with him, on Sunday night, he ran outside into our yard with a flashlight and began searching. He checked the garage, he checked the shed, he looked all around.

There was no news by Monday, and he continued the search through our entire property and up and down several of the roads around us. Nothing. No sign of the little gray kitty. He asked me to let the owners know we would be happy to help post flyers and do whatever else needed to be done to bring their kitty home.

So the next day found him canvassing the neighborhood, talking to neighbors on several streets, hanging flyers everywhere we could think of. "I'm just afraid he's a goner," my husband said, broken-hearted. "We're not done looking yet," I replied.

So we kept looking. We worried. We cried. The owner put several postings on Facebook, which I shared and reshared. I put up my own photos and shared them everywhere. We needed to keep working to bring the little guy home!

Friday morning, I woke up and checked Facebook. There was a note from the owners saying that there was a Thanksgiving miracle! Someone had contacted them Thursday evening: they thought they had found Stryker, and the owner was going to go get him on Friday morning!

So that morning, I got my husband up, and I couldn't decide whether to tell him the news or not until it was confirmed. He had slept poorly, he said. He woke up early and cried for the poor little missing kitty, his dear friend. "Honey," I said, touching his shoulder; "They think they've found him! This morning she's bringing him home!" Oh, it was so worth it to see the look on his face!

We got up and around that morning, and got ready to leave to go visit family. I was on tenterhooks, as they say. I was SO afraid that they would discover that it wasn't really Stryker. I was holding my breath, fearing further heartache. And so we waited. And waited. Before noon, we had to go. There was no final word yet.

So during our family visit, my mind was elsewhere. I was hoping and praying for good news when we got home. All I could think about was the missing kitty. I hoped and prayed some more: Dear God, PLEASE let it be him!

On the drive home, my husband and I talked about the kitty. Where had he gone? How had he stayed away for so long? And finally, my husband said to me with a sigh, "If it's BAD news on the computer when we get home, please don't tell me until tomorrow. Just let me believe for a little while longer."

And so I was holding my breath around 5 pm, as I got home and turned the computer on, and opened up Facebook. There was the news! IT WAS HIM! STRYKER HAD COME HOME!  Stryker's mama posted a photo of him in her car, safe and happy, being transported home. And we all rejoiced. Yes, we did! It was a Thanksgiving miracle, indeed.

Now, I have TWO soundtrack songs for this day. The first one is the one you probably guessed I'd use, based on the title of this blip. :-) It's the 5th Dimension, with The Age of Aquarius.

But the second one is for the little gray kitty, Stryker, brought home via a Thanksgiving miracle. That song is Bryan Adams, Sting, and Rod Stewart, with All for Love. For we are grateful, you see: sometimes, if you're very, very fortunate, love WILL bring you home.  <3

P.S. For the asparagus fans, here are a few more silly asparagus blips:
Can't See the (Asparagus) Forest for the Trees
And Peace to All Creatures on Earth
A Christmas Stocking for Mini Bunzini