Photo 365 #86

November 1, 2014October 29, 20142 Comments

Shadow is such a sweet kitty. I wish we could have him inside (stupid allergies).

“I can jump that…”

“Oh, yeah, this is the life.”

Kitty paws!

Occasionally he (and the others) are allowed into my office for cuddles and petting, but they don’t get any further (although Socks tried to escape into the dining room Tuesday afternoon). Tuesday evening, though, Shadow came in for cockle burr removal therapy. Poor thing had a bunch of cockle burrs stuck in his tail. I tried just pulling them out, but that wasn’t working real well, so then I resorted to the brush. But pulling turned out to be more effective, so I ended up pulling the rest of them out and then brushing the remaining few stickers from his tail.

This is the biggest reason why we didn’t want a long-hair kitty when we embarked on the Great Kitten Hunt over the summer, but Shadow is such a sweet, lovey guy that I can’t imagine not having him (even if he is relegated to the great outdoors). Still, I miss the days when I had lap kitties. 🙂

Photo 365 #84

October 30, 2014October 29, 20142 Comments

I walked in the living room a couple nights ago and found Cinnamon Batman sitting quietly with his as-yet-unnamed sidekick. They were watching Scooby Doo, Thumper’s favorite show.

2014-10-21 18.34.03

This is proof that they can sit nicely together in the same space. It’s also proof that Thumper needs a bit more practice at dressing himself, given that his shirt is on inside out.

Oh, well – he’s happy with his style, so who am I to complain?

Photo 365 #82

October 28, 2014October 27, 20144 Comments

The photo ops on Saturday lasted into the evening with a beautiful sunset (for a pretty morning shot, check out my Instagram feed). I was getting supper ready when I noticed that the trees on the western edge of our yard looked almost like they were on fire, so I headed out with my trusty phone camera and snapped some pictures.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Surprisingly, the boys behaved while I was outside capturing the sunset. As a matter of fact, the only bad thing that happened was that I ended up with some puncture marks on my tummy, thanks to Miss Opal. Apparently, she thought I was the perfect cat tree because she climbed me more than once and my thin T-shirt was no match for her tiny kitty claws.

Oh, well – she’s too cute to stay mad at for long. 🙂

Photo 365 #81

October 27, 2014Leave a comment

Saturday was an absolutely glorious day, and I just couldn’t resist spending time in my yard taking pictures. The sky was bluer than blue, the sun was shining bright, and my trees finally figured out that they owed me a little color before Winter claims their remaining leaves.

These are two of my favorite leafy shots, though there were several others. I hope your weekend was just as beautiful as mine!

Photo 365 #80

October 26, 2014October 24, 2014Leave a comment

It’s taken a while, but we’re finally unpacking some more of the boxes from when we moved, including the ones containing our Nintendo and the games that go with it. Well, the Nintendo emulator, anyway – our actual Nintendo was apparently damaged during our move.

Anyway, Seymour, Bubbles, and I enjoyed a rousing game of Duck Hunt the other night, much to Thumper’s amusement. I’m still not sure which was more entertaining – the game or Thumper’s reaction to it. He was absolutely enthralled, and the only thing that got him to stop shouting, “He got him!” or, “He missed him!” was when we turned the game off and sent him to bed.

It was pretty hilarious.

What are some of your favorite video games?

Photo 365 #78: Recipe time!

October 24, 2014October 22, 201412 Comments

The other night I whipped out one of my mom’s old recipes for supper. I hadn’t made it in ages, and it just sounded good. Something about this time of year makes me long for childhood classics: hearty soups, savory casseroles, and the like.

The title on the top of the recipe card is “Help for Hamburger,” but growing up, we never called it that. We called it what it was – Hamburger and Rice.

I can hear it now – what’s so comforting about something so bland?

Well, dear readers, this dish is anything BUT bland. Check it out:

hamburgerrice Help for Hamburger (aka Hamburger and Rice)

1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbs. onion flakes
2 1/2 c. minute rice
3 1/3 c. water
1/4 c. soy sauce
Salt to taste

Brown hamburger together with onion flakes; drain. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil together 10-15 minutes.

It’s simple, warm, filling, and delicious. I doubled the recipe and ended up with lots of leftovers, but that’s okay with me. 🙂

What are some of your favorite childhood recipes?

Photo 365 #77

October 23, 2014October 22, 20149 Comments

There was another beautiful sunrise yesterday morning:

fallsunrise

Normally I’m not up early enough to see things like this, but when the sun doesn’t come up till after 7:00 a.m., which is roughly when I have to be out of bed if I have any hope of making it to work on time, that makes it a little easier. And with colors this beautiful, I should perhaps try to make it a habit to rise a bit earlier so I can catch more of them. 🙂

What’s your favorite part of rising early?

Photo 365 #71

October 17, 20142 Comments

Yep, it’s another beautiful sunset. Last night’s sunset was magnificent; I could have watched it all night.

fuchsiasunset

But this morning it was followed by an equally magnificent sunrise, which my hurried picture didn’t do justice:

fallsunrise

The sun must be rising a little later, because it was dark when I woke up this morning. I don’t like waking up before the sun because it’s awfully hard to leave my warm, cozy bed behind for the chilly darkness of early morn.

Photo Friday: Endings!

October 17, 20146 Comments

endcorn Who doesn’t love endings? Well, okay, if it’s the end of a fantastic book, or if it’s the end of a particularly beloved character (still bitter), or if a relationship is ending, then I don’t like them. As the great Jane Austen once said, “If a book is well-written, I always find it too short.”

But today’s ending is more in tune with the circle of life. While it’s true that a circle really has no beginning and has no ending, life does (which makes “the circle of life” something of an oxymoron, doesn’t it?), and now that we’re well into fall, you can see endings everywhere.

Over the summer, my aunt took a picture of the kids standing in front of the corn that grows at the edge of our yard. She wanted me to get another picture of the boys in front of the corn this fall, but I kept putting it off, and the weather recently didn’t help.

I came home from work one day and discovered that…

Photo 365 #69

October 15, 2014October 15, 201416 Comments

Apparently, the front step has become the place to go for kitty pictures. Every morning, the boys dart outside and capture the kitties, usually Opal and sometimes Socks, too. Then it’s off to the front step, with shouts of, “Mommy, you should take my picture! Mommy, take a picture!”

Of course, when we get home in the evenings, it’s the same story – they dash out of the car, grab a kitty, and run off to pose for a picture. Opal seems to have resigned herself to the boys manhandling her, but Socks and Shadow are usually less than thrilled with these forced modeling sessions.

Still, they make some darn cute pictures. 🙂