and, folks, i mean that literally! ok...i have known "a time or three" when God has stepped in to keep tommy and me safe...usually on a road trip...to see friends far away...a ferret show...the symposium...family...whatever...He has "arranged" for us to be late...or make a wrong turn....something you are usually mad about at the time...right?...that ever happen to any of you? ...THEN...when you get back where you are supposed to be... or up to where you would have been had you left on time...there is this horrendous accident that you just missed...or some such that you may have been right in the middle of...if not for His delay... i always stop and say a prayer right then...thanking Him... well, yesterday [tuesday for those on the FML since this will be a day later for you]...anyway...things conspired to keep me from my usual nap in the afternoon... i had an afghan i HAD to finish...so i made myself sit in the living room...facing the big window....crocheting... my sis was coming over to pick something up....again...i had to be in the living room... we visited...i crocheted... Something made me look up...at the window....i thought it was a kitten... running acroos on the windowsill.... but NO!!!!..THAT IS A FERRET!!!! i screamed at my sis... but MY ferrets can not get out!!! no one else around here has ferrets that i know of !!!! so we both jump up and go outside to look...she was faster than me...got to the porch...and asked "Who is this?" i looked..."IT'S SANDY !!!" again...i yelled...i was full in PANIC MODE... she grabbed her...i called my husband and YELLED that sandy had gotten out...and YELLED at him some more...poor tommy was at work...i was in FULL PANIC MODE...now that Sandy was safe....go figure! anyway...we went out to look to see HOW she could have gotten out...i did not see a way on the inside right off... tommy had worked on winter-proofing their window the day before...the piece he put over the window was loose...came undone... now...this is not exactly an easy window to get to...[on the outside...only by ladder...yes..this is the first floor we are talking about...] first she had to climb the radiator...THEN climb up the large window a/c unit there...then grab on to the plastic covering the inside of the window...which admittedly was not secure enough...[BAD tommy!] ...but she evidently got that, pulled herself up... climbed in BEHIND it and pushed the 'protective' piece of wood that was over the window on the outside...and then out on to the large a/c unit...and from there...jumped to the ground...oh...say...8-10 feet down?...sigh...luckily...we still have plenty of grass to soften that fall... i have NO idea how long she was outside...i never even knew she was gone...now that i think BACK on the day...i do not remember her begging tommy every 5 minutes to pick her up... so...now i have to go count heads...did anyone go on this adventure with her? can someone else be missing???? 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-hmmmm...aren't there 8 in here? let's try that again...1-2-3-4-5-6-7----8 there you are! WHEW!!!!! all there... ok...so all safe and accounted for... my sis found a piece of hard plastic and i screwed it over the inside of the window...not big enough to cover the whole window...my windows are 5 1/2 - 6 feet tall...but enough to foil our little excape artist... another amazing part of this...is God kept her safe...for however long she was out there....be it 5 minutes or 3 hours.... IF she had gone to the back of the house and into the neighbors yard... 2 big dogs... IF she had crossed our small side yard to the empty house next door... the basement windows are broken out and at ground level...she could have gotten in there and we might never find her...she would not have been able to get back out... IF she had gone into our own basement...well..we won't go there either... the other neighbors have a female pit bull that runs loose quite often...i saw her out just monday afternoon...loose...IF...thank you, again, God!!! but somehow...she went around front...up the front steps...into the porch and up on the couch thing...and then UP ONTO THE WINDOW SILL... walking across it in front of the window...for me to see her... now...i have been making myself sick about this afghan not being done... it is way late...the lady is being very patient with me...BUT IF IT HAD BEEN DONE...IF i had not had to rip out 2 rounds of the trim 'cause i was not happy with it...I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SITTING THERE at that time of day in the living room facing the window that sandy walked across...i would have been upstairs reading or napping.... again...for the thousandth time since finding Sandy yesterday afternoon... THANK YOU, GOD!!!! i did not even know she had gotten out...i guess she wanted to show off her new luxurious winter coat...who know.... all i know is she is back...safe and sound...and thanking God for it... a grateful.... kat -- KAT JUST PLAIN KAT KITYKAT *REEEEEEEEER* http://ferretlover97.terrabox.com "Blizzard" products......profits to go to SOS http://www.cafepress.com/KatParsons http://www.cafepress.com/KatParsons2 http://www.cafepress.com/katparsons3 SOS Christmas Raffle IS OVER!!! The Spring one starts Feb. 1st, 2009 http://www.supportourshelters.org/SOS-raffle.html **"Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!" **Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. ... Leave the rest up to God. [Posted in FML 6179]