Would Anyone Like A Piece Of Cake?

The mermaid is the work of artist Renae Taylor. I cut out that picture from Fairie Magazine a few months ago, pasted it on posterboard, cut it out again and put clear plastic over it. Then I punched a small hole in the top, threaded a ribbon through and hung the picture from a kitchen cabinet handle. It hangs over the coffee maker. :) I would love to order an actual print from the artist someday.
The mermaid needs her coffee to cause mayhem. Cricket prefers her stinky goodness and crunchies in the morning before she begins a long day of shredding furniture, playing with toys, and napping.
I'm sorry if my blue mood is bumming you out. I don't mean to be a big ball of sad. Warm weather is slow in coming here and even though I love summer I'm dreading the month of June. Tookie went to the Bridge on June 4 last year. I'm just not ready to face the fact that I haven't had my kitty for a year. You all would have loved her. Oh, she was the best! So good natured, really smart and talkative. Please don't think I love my other 3 kitties any less. I love them very much. But, Tookie and I were just so close. I think that cat understood me better than anyone else. It's hard to lose someone like that.
Keeping busy is helping a little. Yesterday I baked a chocolate cake and my husband and I went to the bookstore and out to dinner while my daughter went to movie night at her friend's house. You would think that with all the baking that I do I would weigh 300 pounds. Actually, I'm fairly petite, thanks to RA. Not that an auto immune disease is a recommended way to lose weight mind you, but it does affect my appetite and the low grade fevers I get raise my metabolism. No, I'm not skinny and I really need to tone up! I like baking though. It's creative and the end result makes everybody happy.
Oh, a couple of nights ago there was a f1 tornado west of us in a small county. It moved east through a few more miles before it fizzled out. There was some damage, but no body was hurt. Michigan has 3 seasons; winter, road construction, and severe weather. Sigh.... I need more coffee...

Keeping Busy While Kitties Nap

Yesterday we went out and about for a while and ended up at Target. I was looking for that really cool jungle gym that Cecil's Mommy found, but no luck. I did take advantage of their sale on plastic storage boxes though. Today I packed up CD's ,Tapes, Crafting stuff, and flashlights and odds and ends. Each in their own special boxes. I still have clutter around the house! I think I need more boxes...
This week I want to get some more inside stuff done. It's supposed to be kind of rainy anyway, so it's a good time for spring cleaning. Maybe I'll do some baking too. The kitties are all being sleepyheads. Cricket snoopervised while I put things away in the storage boxes. She jumped in the larger one and for just a brief moment she looked like she might have been thinking of using it for "you know what" ! I said her name and she jumped out and gave me The Look. I'm wondering if she did that just to tease me. She's such a stinker sometimes. :)
Well, soon I'll be off to the store again. I still need to get batteries and we are nearly out of dishwasher soap. And of course I must get more Stinky Goodness.

Bloom - Casey Stratton

Casey is an amazing singer/songwriter from West Michigan. I have seen him in concert twice. This song pretty much leaves me a teary mess, but his voice is angelic. I will post others sometime.

Miss Personality

Hello. Cricket here. Momma's camera needs new batteries and she is in a grumpy mood, so I'm giving you an encore picture of me and blogging on her behalf. She said she has nothing new to tell and she feels blah and boring. I have no idea what that is like because I'm young, pretty and full of energy. Too bad Momma isn't a cat huh? She is enjoying the warmer weather, but she is frustrated because when ever she starts yard work her fingers start to hurt, then they stiffen up. Thank goodness she can still pop open a can of Stinky Goodness! Why must beans work so much? It's a puzzle to me. The past few nights I have been sleeping on the end of the bed and not on Momma's tummy. I don't know why, I guess I just wanted a change. This seems to make her sad, but I'm not trying to make her sad. I'm just being a cat. Personally, I think she's being too sensitive. She tends to be that way.
Well, it's almost 11:00 pm here and my tummy is on a schedule. Time to act cute to get her attention and then trot into the kitchen. See you later. Find something interesting (naughty) to do! Purrs.

Just Hanging Around The House

Cody takes hanging around very seriously. He reminds me of a bat, sleeping (almost) upside down like that. Oh, no sign of Batly yet.
I decided to take some random pictures of some neat things in the house. That hinge is made of brass and is original to the house which was built in 1891. It was covered in layers of paint. We removed as many doorknobs and hinges as we could and dunked them in paint stripper. After the paint was removed and they were polished, my husband put a coat of varnish over them so they wouldn't tarnish. Our house isn't a super fancy Victorian because it was built by a working/middle class family. But, it does have some pretty touches here and there.
My daughter painted that picture for me for Halloween. I love the show Bewitched and I told her that as a little girl I pretended to be Samantha and I named my dolls after characters on the show. :) She saw a picture similar to this in a magazine and painted this for me. Now, my hair is auburn, but I'm not as lithe and beguiling as this pretty witch. But, I love this picture and I think my daughter is very talented. When I framed it, she seemed a little embarrassed but I think she was secretly pleased that I hung it in the living room.
I'm hoping for a quiet weekend. I have to grocery shop. (Yuck!) If it's warm enough I'd like to go for a walk. I just need my body to cooperate. I was stubborn yesterday and changed litter boxes and hauled a vacuum around even though my back was hurting. But, you know, sometimes you have to get things done, because if you don't do it it won't happen. (Even scoopable litter has to be dumped eventually, eew!) .
I hope Spring is finally here and the sun finds you all!

Cricket On A Wednesday

"To understand a cat, you must realize that he has his own gifts
his own viewpoint, even his own morality."

~Lilian Jackson Braun~


Take Cricket for example. She has absolutely no guilt about lounging in the afternoon sun. And why should she? She looks fabulous while doing it. :)

Lost, One Toy Bat. (And My Mind)

I'm finally posting. Yay! I'm finally coming out of a pain medication stupor. I had a really bad flare in my ribcage yesterday. All the cartilage on my right side was inflamed. Ouch! I'm a bit better today. At least now I can sit upright. :)
See the rubber bat on the chair? That is Batly. He belongs to Cricket. He started out as a Halloween party favor that my daughter came home with a few years ago. Then Cricket discovered him and started carrying him around in her mouth. We tied a black ribbon around him so we could make him fly for her. If you do it just right, Batly really looks like he's flying! When she carries him around, sometimes Cricket will stop, put him on the floor and start meowing in a very plaintive manner as if she wants us to come see.
Well, this picture was taken a few weeks ago. Now we can't find Batly. We think Cricket hid him somewhere, but so far we haven't been able to figure out where. This old house has a lot of good hiding places for a kitty to hide toys. I know he's on of her favorite toys and I worry that she misses him. But, if she hid him then she must know where he is, right? Maybe if we find him she won't feel the need to be so aggressive with Cody when they play. Nah, I think it's just in Cricket's nature to play rough, still it would be nice to find Batly.
Tomorrow I have to go to the dentist so I hope I'm more mobile. At least I get to lie down for a while. ;) Oh Mother Nature play a really mean April Fools joke today. Yes, we had snow flurries. Fortunately , they didn't stick, so I guess her mood wasn't too bad. I hope no one had any bad joke played on them today. Some times it's fun, but I'm not really into April Fools Day. Besides, there's no candy involved! =^..^=