A Commercial For Me

This afternoon I was looking out on the back porch at some of the stray kittens playing out there.

The pregnant mother cat came and was eating.

The TV was on behind me and this commercial caught my attention.

Oh, now that is TOO funny.

But I am trying to control the population!  Really!

And I'm not adopting them.  They are adopting me!

At least I already have Directv.

♥

Random Thoughts

1. My Christmas Cactus is blooming!  Yes, it's a couple of months late.  Better late than never though, right? 
2. I worked an auction today.  We were in a smaller room with a big crowd so my view for any photographs was obscured.  Lots of vintage animated toys.  I wish I had a front row seat just to be able to see them up close!  Many went for over $100.  Someone had a really cool collection! No trash to look through, so auction day didn't earn a blog post of it's own. :)
3. One funny thing that happened around here was watching Alex with a chocolate glazed yeast doughnut.  He doesn't like chocolate so I didn't expect him to be interested, but he opened the box and took one.  He smelled it and then ate little bites around the sides, avoiding the chocolate on top.  Then he turned the donut upside down and nibbled the bottom off of it.  I showed him how to scrape the chocolate off with a knife, but also informed him that he was throwing out the best part! ;)  I really should have taken a picture!
4. I saw the mother (of the four original kittens) feral cat crossing the back yard this week.  She looks to be pregnant. :(  All of this work getting the nine kittens spayed and neutered and it's discouraging to think that the daddy tomcat and two mothers are still out there and probably impossible to catch.  But at least I'm getting done what I can.  The next clinic date is March 10th.  I've reserved 5 spots...yes, I am the optimistic type. ha.
5. Speaking of feral cats...  One of the younger kittens was sleeping up high in our crab apple tree this week.  He (or she...not sure about this one) slept about 30 minutes.   He was completely stretched out on a limb and enjoying the sun.  Hilarious!  I took photos but he was covered in too many branches to make a good picture.
6. The Mister worked from home today.  And I worked out. ha.  Very unusual to say the least.  The best part was that he made dinner...AND did the dishes.  Whoa.  I really should check and see if he has a fever. lol.
7. One of my favorite meals to eat out is Brio's Butternut Squash and Chicken Risotto.  I found the recipe online and made it earlier this week.  Yum.  It's not something you can whip up in 30 minutes, but certainly worth a little extra time in the kitchen.  This was also my first attempt at risotto from scratch...and it was not difficult at all!  I'll post pictures and the recipe tomorrow.

♥

Kitten Update

The kittens are now five months old and mom has decided that

her job is done. She scarcely comes around any more and

when she does, she is not willing to share food or let the

kittens nurse on her any longer. She hisses and bats them

on the head! When she comes by it is only to eat and leave.

My goal of domesticating her failed miserably. lol. I got to

touch her a couple of times and was promptly admonished.

Tiger remains the most affectionate and friendly. He's happy to sit in my lap, trot along beside me in the garden and is constantly trying to come inside.

**********

Marmalade will tolerate being held and petted but you have to catch him and hold him down to do it. He purrs very loudly but doesn't seek that kind of attention. And did you notice that Marmy almost has a milk mustache, too?

**********

Mustache has been the little rebel. He's grown up faster than the other three and was determined to run with mom. For the past few weeks he has followed after her and wasn't seen for days at a time. I assumed she was giving hunting lessons. This past week he came back, looking a little ragged. See the abrasions around his eyes? He looks like he tried to wedge his face into a small space and scraped himself up and lost his eyebrows in the process. Mom didn't seem happy to have him around and they had a few tussles on the back porch. He was skittish and not as friendly as before. After a few days of food, affectionate petting and telling him life is SO much better here with me, he has decided to stay. :)

**********

And last is little Whiskers. She's such a tiny girl! But she can hold her own wrestling with her brothers and is a spitfire. Can't pet her yet but she loves to play ..with her claws out, I may add. She does watch with interest as Tiger sits on my lap, so maybe she will come around in time.

click to enlarge

This is one of my favorite things to see in the morning. All four kittens sleeping in the wicker chair, waiting for breakfast. And yes, before anyone asks, they are welcome to stay as long as they wish. But they will need a trip to the vet eventually. :) And they have to be tame enough to pick up and pet, you know? Ugh. Hate to see that vet bill! Maybe they'll give me a good deal? Presently, I'm just happy Mustache has decided that a cushy life is so much better thanbeing a wild tom cat always on the run. :)

♥

Random Thoughts

Indiana Melon

1. Feeling so much better today after 5 days of a flu bug. Actually didn't feel worn out after just getting dressed like I have been. Nice.
2. Nothing sweeter than an Indiana Melon. Being a Hoosier by birth, I appreciate it even more. Too bad all cantaloupes can't taste that good! The best part was that all three boys ate a nice sized serving with dinner and loved it.
3. Cutest part of my day last week was one of our regular auction customers, who can be quite cantankerous at times, stayed to chat with me a while after he checked out. Seems he has won the world wide Iron Man or some kind of weight lifting competition for his age bracket for many years. He's 79 years old! He last competed 2 years ago but has stopped to care for his ailing wife. He even wanted me to feel his biceps. LOL. How could I refuse? Cute.
4. The garden tomatoes are finally turning ripe here. We are enjoying our burgers and BLT's and this morning I picked enough jalapenos to make salsa. Yum.
5. Mother cat is seen less and less here. She finally has weaned her kittens after 5 months! I think I got to touch her 3 times. Not pet. Just touch. Each time she batted my hand with her paw. Not a mean strike with claws, but just an "I know you're nice, but you still aren't allowed to touch me" kind of smack. The four kittens seem happy to stay close for now. Marmalade and Whiskers will barely tolerate a touch, while Mustache and Tiger are very affectionate.
6. I've taken away Spencer's beloved cheese. I know, mean mother I am. It's his favorite snack, mostly eaten at bedtime. But it's gotten out of hand! I allow 8-10 slices but he sneaks and takes more...up to 30+ more slices! At 70 calories a slice, that's a whopping 2100 calorie snack! Sometimes he eats so much he gets sick on it. Ugh. I've tried hiding it in the refrigerator but he always finds it. It took on another unpleasant dimension during the 2 day red dye craze (see my sidebar) as he not only took way too many slices, but had to smear it into a paste on the table before eating it. That was the last straw for me and I announced I wasn't buying any more. He is overweight anyway ~ a high-fat-protein-eating, computer-surfing teen. He's looking mopey around bedtime and forlornly looks into the refrigerator every night. He still gets his 1/3 can of reduced fat Pringles before bed and I've been offering grapes in place of the cheese. Not the same, I know, but I think he'll live. It's tough being the mom. Sigh. :)

I hope your day was wonderful!

Happy new week!

♥

What I Did Wednesday #5

click to enlarge

1. Sat on the porch swing
2. Listened to the wind chimes
3. Ate a bowl of sweet, juicy peaches
4. Took Alex with me to the grocery.
5. Drove by a beautiful old barn.
6. Stopped at our favorite sweet corn farm.
7. Waiting for geese to cross the road.
8. Made chocolate zucchini bread. Recipe will post on Saturday.
9. Sampled chocolate zucchini bread. Mmmm!
10. Picked some veggies in the rain.
11. Watched kittens chase my wet footprints.
12. Dusted pictures hanging along the staircase.
13. Found Nugget keeping cool on the air conditioning vent in our bedroom.
14. Laughed with Harry who tried to say "A-choo!" It was more like "A-boo!"
15. Filled up the parakeets' seed jar.
16. Did a few loads of laundry.
17. Counted 5 sleeping cats.
18. Found green beans hidden in a kitchen drawer.

It was a busy, beautiful day!

Hope your day went well, too!

♥

How Do You Sleep?

Arms over your head?

Head upside down? Ready to run at a moment's notice?

yes, Brian... we remember your poem!

Legs hanging off the side of the bed? Under the stars? In a big pile? This may sound weird to some, but it's perfectly normal with our triplets. ha. While still sitting up in your chair? A-hem, Silver! And just so others know, he's fallen asleep while having email conversations with me! Yes, it has given me a complex that my emails are boring! haha! If you have insomnia, just send me a note. I'll see what I can do! lol. Or maybe you have a 'family bed'? Any parents out there ever done this with their little kids? The kids sleep great...the parents? Not so much! HA. And yes, they sleep like this...sideways with their toes digging into your side! Come to think of it, our cats used to do this exact same thing! Or how about sleeping with your feet stretched up beside your head?

Well, however you do it, I hope it's restful!

♥

This is how mothers sleep when they still do night time baby feedings.

Like you're flying?

Tiger looks like "the cat jumped over the moon" here!

Snuggled with someone that licks your ears?

Human or pet?

Kitten Update

First there were four, then there was three, then only

two! A week ago, little Whiskers went missing! After

she didn't show up after a few days I figured someone

took her or something ate her. :( Then Marmalade went

missing! I figured the same thing happened to him and for

2 days I just had Tiger and Mustache to play with.

Then yesterday morning, I looked out the kitchen window and Marmalade comes across the neighbor's yard! I went out on the porch and called him and he came...bringing Whiskers along with him! Wow~ I never thought I'd see either of them again! They ran to the violet patch under the crab apple tree where mom and the other two were sleeping. Mom was obviously surprised to see them and they greeted each other with licks and meows. Then the two starving kittens settled down for some milk, tails up in excitement.

Happy to be back together! Don't miss Tiger...his face blends into the tree! I'm always amazed at how photogenic mom is. She actually looks so scrawny and thin. She will sit beside me but still won't let me touch her. She's content to nap while I play with the kittens, though, so I guess she trusts me that much. I wonder if Marmalade went searching for Whiskers. Marmalade, being gone only two days was very thirsty but otherwise fine. Whiskers, who was gone a full week, was very thin, starved and dehydrated. See how much smaller she is? Everyone grew the week she was gone. Even the size of her head is so much smaller than the other's! I'll see if I can fatten her up so she's the same size as her twin again! Last night it was fun watching them all play together! And this morning I found them like this, still asleep.

Now that I can get closer to them, I've discovered that they are all males except for Whiskers! What do you know...a little girl to keep me company! At least she won't want to share my makeup or borrow my shoes! ha.

♥

Kitten Update

Meet Dad. I've only seen him around a few times. The first time was

last fall. He was following Mama around like he thought she was cute.

He wasn't an obnoxious tom cat like I expected, though. He was

very sweet and gentle to Mama and just laid there watching her eat.

Once, when he moved slowly in for a bite she batted him on the nose

and he backed off. LOL. She is eating for 5 after all!

You can see where the kittens get their white paws and markings!

Marmalade. Tiger.

Mustache.

Whiskers.

Family meeting. They look like they got in trouble!

Uh Oh, are they in time out?

Dinner is served.

Whiskers stayed with Mom on the porch while I sat and watched

through the screen door. He did run a few times but came

back to finish eating. He looked scared but a little

curious this time, too.

And Mama Cat will come when I call her.

All five are eating kitten chow but I see her bring in a catch several

times a day. Fresh meat must taste better then dry cat food. ha.

♥

And Then There Were Four

Hope you don't mind a kitten update!

Mother Cat will still come and eat on the back porch

but won't let me get closer than 2 feet. She did, however,

let me stay on the porch as she ate today. Before, she

wouldn't come to the food until I went inside.

So I had coffee in the porch swing as she ate with

one eye still on me, of course! ha.

You remember this cute orange marmalade one?

Kim...this one would love to live in Cleveland!

If you're serious, let's try to get it to you some time!

Adorable grey tiger just couldn't be any cuter! Little Milk Mustache is still sporting those white whiskers! Then I had to do a double take. This one isn't Milk Mustache! No 'stache at all! There's a fourth kitty! Socks would be a cute name! Pretty adorable, I'd say! Taylor wants to keep all of them. Um, no. I have five men. I don't need five cats. :)

♥

I Think I've Been Adopted!

Two summers ago this little tortoiseshell cat was a

stray kitten who we would find sleeping on the

top step of our pool ladder! Last summer she amused me

with her hunting skills as I watched her leap from her

hiding place in a shrub and catch a sparrow mid air under

the bird feeder! Recently I saw her trot along outside my

kitchen window with a large grackle in her mouth!

Her sides were wide and she was obviously

carrying a litter of kittens, soon to be born.

This week, while it has been warm enough to have the

back door open, she's come up to the screen.

I don't know if she smells dinner cooking or Nugget!

I think the torrential thunderstorms have hampered her

chances of catching dinner for herself. And she's obviously

so hungry as she's nursing her babies. I broke down

and gave her some meat yesterday.

Those sweet eyes were looking at me ALL day from this spot. How could I resist?

She won't let me touch her but she did come take the meat

from me and she posed nicely for a few pictures. I especially

like the tip of her tail. One of her hind legs

is orange like that, too.

So, if she's lived in our back yard for 2 years, do you think

she's officially adopted us? Actually, I think since I fed her

she has officially adopted us. lol.

So, any ideas for a name? I've seen two of the kittens. One is a calico with lots

of white and the other is a grey tiger stripe with a

white chin. Adorable! If you live near me and

want a kitten they could use a good home.

Nugget would appreciate them all leaving. ha.

♥