Random Thoughts

Oreo

Just a little over a week ago, when we still had snow,

I took this picture while sitting at my desk in the kitchen.

Maybe sitting in the tree beside the feeder was a

'hidden in plain sight' idea for catching a bird. :)

This week, we celebrated the lovely Lauren's birthday.

As usual, Spencer stole the show helping us sing

and Harry stole the show blowing out the candles

in his very unique way. :)

Taylor, Spencer, Harry and Alex

I needed some new photos of the boys for a

graduation open house invitation.  Next month

one graduates from college and the other three

from high school!  Hard to believe!

We're just going to have one big celebration!

We did a little photo shoot this week.

So much easier than hiring a photographer

or me trying to take a group photo.

You all know how those turn out!  haha.

At least they are all smiling! 

I was pleased...it doesn't get any better than these.

Are you having a nice weekend?

We're still watching basketball! 
Hard not to pull for Louisville after their
inspiring win last week! :)

♥

Monday Miscellaneous

A little bit of what happened at the zoo today...

1.  Watched The Mister on live TV on the news at noon.
He's part of Rotary International and they were plugging a
community event.

2.  Made up an Easter centerpiece for the dining room table.
Pretty, huh...that's a succulent named Kalanchoe.
It jumped into my shopping cart so I brought it home. :)

3.  Managed the men and pets on a snow day.  I hear
10 inches total fell in our area.  Not sure we have that much, though.

4.  Made a Garbage Omelette, which basically is everything
you want to throw in, you do!  So there was a potato browned
in onion and garlic, ham, mushrooms, cheese and cilantro.  yum.
And I guess they are really scrambled eggs, but I call
it an omelette.

5.  Filled the feeders.  Look at that snow cap!

We also need to announce the winner of the spring giveaway!!

Here's how the winner was chosen...

I'm so happy for you, Laurie!

Can't wait to send these sweet singing birds up to

Canada for your nest in the sky!

Email me your address, won't you?

My email is elizabethbrockatattdotnet.

Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone who joined in!

♥

The Weekend, Enjoying the Little Things

Sleeping late, then a leisurely hour drinking coffee in bed. 

Then some of us napped during the day. :)

Cinnamon Pear Pecan Pancakes with homemade syrup and soft butter.

One perfect feather under the bird cage. 

 Blue and grey, my two favorite colors!

Foggy, winding back roads on my way to meet a girl friend for coffee.

Spencer, enjoying more than one sucker at a time.

Recuperating mama and kittens, including Smoke here.  

This photo is for you, Laurie, since you asked about them!

 Everyone is doing well!  The girls take a little longer to

bounce back, but it's been a week already and they are fine.

I made a new batch of suet and watched Mr. Wren enjoy it.  He even 

brought a date, so he must think it's pretty good!  Thanks again,

Martha, for that recipe.  It's easy and they love it!

 Frigid temps (teens, Fahrenheit) but sun streaming

in the windows made it a beautiful weekend.  Lovely sunsets

were the final touch!

♥

Russian Tea Cakes

The last couple of days have been busy!

But I did manage to have some fun in the kitchen

baking another Christmas cookie and getting it

in the freezer.

Russian tea cakes are like snowballs made of shortbread.

They are a favorite at our house!

  I watched birds around the feeder as I mixed up the dough.  

I love the pine needle shadow on his back!

While Oreo was climbing trees, I formed the balls with an ice cream scoop.

Then I cut them in half with a knife and reshaped them a little.

This makes a little smaller cookie.  And since I'm filling cookie

platters for gifts, this smaller size is nicer.

I use parchment on my cookie sheets.

  I know a lot of bakers have switched to Silpat sheets, but what's the point?  You have to wash those!

I like not having to wash my cookie sheets!

After they have baked and cooled, roll them in powdered sugar.

Freeze or eat.  Or catch Jack watching from outside. :)

Isn't Jack getting to be a big boy?  He's such a big boy

that he got to have that snip-snip job done on Saturday.

He's resting this weekend and recovering nicely.

I found fishy in the water dish today, so he's back

to his old antics. :)

Russian Tea Cakes

1/2 c powdered sugar

1 c softened butter

2 t vanilla extract

Blend these three things well in mixer.

Then add ~

2 c flour

1 c finely chopped pecans

1/4 t salt

Mix gently on med speed.

Form balls, bake 325 for 15-20 minutes.

Light golden in color.

After cooling, roll in powdered sugar.

♥

Today's Awards

The Funnest Thing ~ giving Cement Bunny a bath.

The Most Beautiful Thing ~ Blue Jay in my Crab Apple tree.

The Cutest Thing ~ Cement Bunny decked out for

 Thanksgiving, wearing a glass beaded wreath.

The Newest Thing ~ A Nuthatch!

The Most Colorful Thing ~ crab apples against a blue sky.

The Most Photogenic Thing ~ Oreo napping in the living room chair.

The Sweetest Thing ~ Alex in a rare moment without

his headset, giving me a big smile.

The Snuggliest Thing ~ Oreo and Marmalade.

Oreo really has the diva look down, doesn't she?

The Yummiest Thing ~ warm potato and green bean salad

with bacon, onion and a vinaigrette dressing.

The Most Musical Thing ~ Mrs. Parakeet, who sang all

day long.  Must have been the sunshine! 

What did you notice around you today?

♥

What I Did Wednesday #30

1. Cut up a watermelon.
2. Watched Jack sleeping on my desk, on top of my purse.
3. I guess you could say he was sacked out on my "Sak". :)
4. Folded laundry.
5. Did some organizing in the kitchen.
6. Cleaned out my purse...the one nobody was laying on!
7. Sliced up some ripe peaches.
8. Watched Socks climb a tree outside the kitchen window.
9. Re-potted my little jade plant.
10. Found Oreo under the china cabinet.
11. Made more sweet breads with zucchini. They were so good last week I had to make more!  This one has a pecan/chocolate streusel topping.
12. Cut corn and filled bags for the freezer.
13. This bread has lemon zest and blueberries added to the zucchini. 
14. Had to laugh at this sight.  Is it the hair and mouth that belong to the cloud eyes, I saw a few days ago?  Now I just need the nose to come by! ha.
15. Watched a Red Admiral butterfly in the yard.

The boys were so quiet today I had to go check on them a few

times to make sure they weren't up to something sneaky! ha.

All in all, a very nice Wednesday.

I hope you had a wonderful day, too!

♥ 

What I Did Wednesday #29 WITH A LATE UPDATE!

1. Watered the flowers in the pots outside.
2. Made out the grocery list. (Spencer came up later and added 'DVDs' to the last column, using my pen.  :)
3. Watched Mr. Cardinal in the feeder.
4. Checked the garden for anything ready to pick.
5. Filled a bag and a box of unwanted items for the thrift store.
6. Enjoyed the morning light on my desk.
7. Watched the light turn to dark clouds, lightning, and eventually rain.  Much needed but only about 15 minutes worth.  We need days of it!
8. Added some cheery stickers to my freshly painted toes.
9. Watched rain drops dancing in the pool.
10. You know my yummy Banana Toffee Crunch Muffins?  I mixed up the batter and put it in a greased tube pan.  Baked for 1 hour.  Yum. Easier than muffins, too.  I think I'll be making it this way from now on!
11. Caught Oreo in the cupboards.
12. Watered the inside plants.

I also cleaned Nugget's cage and the parakeets' cage,

did 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the bathrooms,

vacuumed, cleaned the litter box and ran on the treadmill.

Oh, and made dinner and did the dishes.

But some things aren't as fun to photograph. haha.

I hope your day was lovely, too!

Have you thought of photographing your day?

It makes even the ordinary seem extraordinary.

♥

And!!!! We interrupt this Wednesday to show you what some one in town

 dropped off to me this evening.  A frightened, starved little boy kitten they

found wandering around.  I guess they thought Mrs. Doolittle would take him in at the zoo. ha ha. 

 Well, she was right.  How could I refuse?

I even had a little bag of kitten chow.  How convenient!

He's exhausted, can't you tell?  Aww.

No name yet.  Hmmm....

Friday Randomness

1. Isn't she a beauty?  This is mama cat to the second litter that adopted us (Socks, Charcoal, Grey, Oreo and Domino).  She had a new litter last month but comes alone to eat.  Any day now, I'm expecting to see those new kitties!  I need to name her.  Any ideas?  I also need to catch her and have her neutered!  She's not friendly, though. :)
2. Spring bulbs were half price when I was shopping this week.  Blue and pink Delphiniums will be beautiful, don't you think?  I really wanted Foxglove but couldn't find any.  I planted them today, along with the rest of my garden....zucchini, cucumber, and lettuces have joined the green peppers, tomatoes and strawberries.
3. Can't stop snacking on cherries!
4. Sat on the front porch today after my chores were done.  This little house has never had any inhabitants.  Hmm.  I wonder why not?  It's the perfect size for a wren! 
5. This jet flew over while I sat outside.  Double contrails!  It only looked like a speck until I zoomed in on it!  Not a cloud in the sky today.
6. Enjoyed the blooms.
7. Speaking of tomatoes!
8. Grey...caught mid-yawn...but I think she looks like she's laughing!

♥

Saturday

Some of us puttered around the house and yard getting things done.

Others napped in the flower beds!

I think it's time I stopped labeling the cat posts as "Stray Kitten Stories", don't you?
From now on we'll just go with their names.
I don't think they're going anywhere!

♥

What I Did Wednesday #26

1. Was put on hold this morning while on the phone and as I sat at my desk I thought my little window sill tree needed a bird.  So I drew a tiny one, colored it and glued a stray parakeet feather to it's tail. lol!  How cute!  Now, is that multi-tasking, recycling...or both? (or maybe it's just crazy?)  :)
2. Walked around in the backyard, and saw the strawberries are coming along!
3. Had a few little garden helpers with me. Five to be exact! ha.  This one is Oreo.
4. Cleaned out the utensil drawer in the kitchen.  Ran everything through the dishwasher, wiped out the drawer and reorganized it.  Better!
5. Did the same for the silverware drawer.  How do all those crumbs get in the bottom?  It's like someone ate a piece of toast over the open drawer!  Vacuumed out the empty drawer, sharpened the knives and reorganized.  MUCH better. ha.
6. Noted how beautiful the sun was shining on a bowl of strawberries in the kitchen sink.
7. The yellow iris is looking very beautiful!
8. I had rescued some vintage tea cups from the auction trash last week.  They didn't have saucers, so I washed them up and decided to use them as scoops in my canisters.  They measure about 1 cup, so that works very well!
9. Had to laugh at this....an unusual feeding time inside.  Almost all the cats nibbled on some deli ham.  And don't worry...I mopped the floor when they were done. lol.
10. Found Nugget napping in a quiet corner.  Brushed him (he's shedding something awful!) and watched him enjoy some pansies and dandelions from the yard.
11. Made a chicken and veggie pie for supper.  Scratch crust, sauce made with cream.  Yum.  Perfect comfort food.  And the best part...it's big enough for leftovers tomorrow! :)  It must have been really good because I caught Alex licking his plate. hahaha.

Did you have a good day?

What did you do?

♥

Random Thoughts

Remember the beautiful Red Admiral butterfly?  Well, I was outside in the garden picking some kale for Nugget (it came back on it's own!) and saw Marmalade catch and eat poor vanessa atalanta!  But the good news is that since then I've seen 3 more in the yard, so I guess the whole family is here. I was wondering why my photos always looked in focus on the wings but blurry on the butterfly's body.  Well, this shot explains it!  Look how fuzzy they are!  I guess it was in focus after all!  Believe it or not, I took this sitting at my desk, through the window

 yesterday!  My favorite part are is the action blur under the wing on the right side.

  Nice of him to pose, huh!?

One night this week, about 11:45 P.M., we are closing up the house for the night and The Mister went to the back door to make sure it was locked.  He happened to turn on the outside light and look out on the back porch at the cats.  Socks (pictured above with Oreo) was standing there in distress.  He was soaked in wet grey paint. (not ours!)  It was as if all but his head and back had been dipped in it!  Fortunately, it was fresh and wet, so I brought him inside and gave him a bath in the kitchen sink.  We had to change the water a couple of times but it washed out easily.  And he was so good!  I was expecting a fight and lots of scratches but he was very compliant.  I think he knew he was needing some help.  I'm so glad we found him before that paint dried!

  I'm not sure what we would have done then!  And I still don't know where he went!

I wish I had opened this can of  carrots when I was doing the letter C for the A to Z Challenge! haha. 
 That would have been really helpful!  Or maybe the C is for crazy? 

 Because that is just how life is at the zoo!  Not that I needed a carrot to tell me that, though. ha.

Anything crazy happen to you this week?

♥

O is for Op. Post-Op, that is.

"O" could have been for orthodontist, since I did have an appointment today.

But how boring is that?  I waited 25 minutes in the waiting room, had a 15 minute appointment, got 5 new sets of Invisaligns and came home!   I thought kitty post-op would be much more fun!

And the photographs certainly are more fun to look at. lol.  Hope you aren't tired of kitty photos!  I promise this will be it for a little while at least!  Everyone is doing very well.

Lots of catnaps, drinks and eating.  The weather has been

wonderful for lounging in the sun and sleeping.

Charcoal, watching a butterfly.

The girls, Grey and Oreo, with Bleeding Hearts and Crab Apple blossoms.

Marmalade and the lovely Redbuds

 And Domino, who's ears picked up the sound of the

camera's shutter even though I was 25 feet away!

Would you believe Marmy is the only one of these cats I've touched?  Of course, he's from

the original litter and they are all friendly.  I have made progress, though, in that they all will come inside and eat from my hand.    Their wild mothers taught them well to be distant.

At least they didn't run off and don't seem to be holding a grudge against that scary vet trip!

I'm doing the A to Z Challenge for the month of April!

We're celebrating the letter "O" all day Tuesday the 16th.

♥



Saturday Showers and Second Cat Clinic Trip

Today was constant April showers!

Cool, wet, and grey.

The flowering trees have peaked and the blooms will soon  give way to lush green leaves.

Today was also cat clinic day! I successfully rounded up the remaining 5 kittens

and took them in for their neuter/spaying appointments.   I let out a little cheer when I got that

last one in a cage. ha ha.   I have to say that my little cats looked quiet tame and

sweet next to the big brut tom cats that were in line all around us.  Whoa!

There were some unhappy mangy cats in those traps!  But we all survived and they

 are here at home now, under the dining room table.

 Mission accomplished!  Nine cats done in all.

It would still be great to catch the two moms, though.  One just had a new litter and one

is pregnant!  So they are my next goal.  And two more tom cats who are seen occasionally. Haven't seen the kittens yet as she still has them in hiding.  Something tells me they will all eventually end up on my back porch. And then we'll start phase three of clinic runs.

Here's what I'm eating as I type up this post.

I baked a blackberry strawberry crisp this afternoon.

What a lovely way to end the day!

So how is your weekend coming along?

♥