3 Boys and a Girl

Oliver and Earnest are the resident cats.

Tigra and Bunkie came to play at Thanksgivingtime. 

Even though they met a few years ago when Tigra and Bunkie were 3 months old, they were a bit wary of each other at first.  However, they did provide mutal entertainment.  There's nothing like something new going on to captivate a cat! 

They bonded over all the cool toys provided like these wonderful little branches.  (Do you know how difficult it is to photograph a black cat who is constantly in motion?!)  Here Edward Bunk is intent upon capturing the stick. 

The red puff ball is momentarily forgotten as the waving stick comes into view.

=^..^=      =^..^=         =^..^=      

We gave them catnip, special treats (like tuna), and even made them toys out of rectangles of old sweater sewn together and filled with catnip. 

=^..^=         =^..^=         =^..^=

The 5½ days that Tigra and Bunkie were visiting were so much fun.  After they left, the resident cats spent their day in recovery!

They lay in the glorious sun resting and napping.

Alphabe-Thursday is so much fun!  Round 6 has barely begun.  This week our letter is "B."  I hope you can find all the Bs in this post.  Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!

photos by me © 2012

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

HOME OR THANKFUL 

I am thankful for many, many things, for I've been richly blessed in my life.  
Waldorf salad is a dish we serve only at Thanksgiving.  This salad was a Thanksgiving tradition in my family when I was growing up and I've carried it on through the years.  It reminds me of times past and of people no longer with us.  I am thankful that my children and their significant others were gathered 'round this Thanksgiving and that we had so much fun together.


IN THE KITCHEN 

My daughter and I cooked up a storm!  literally!  We made a variety of truffles, sticky buns, nut cookies (above), and pastel cream wafers.  This was, of course, in addition to the amazing amount of dishes made for the Thanksgiving feast itself-- cooked by me, my daughter, and my daughter's boyfriend.  I should add here that my son cooked us a delicious Mexican feast Sunday night.

 

COUPLE 

kitties who came to play--Tigra and Bunkie, my daughter's kitties, had quite an adventurous time with places to explore and resident cats to contend with.  I made all 4 cats catnip toys--pieces of sweater stuffed completely with catnip.  Oh the flipping and flopping!  the chewing and kicking!  These were the most fun ever!  We found that they all liked playing with small branches, too.  Who knew?!  



BUBBLES 

Shingleback sparkling shiraz from Mclaren Vale.   mmmm!  This was imbibed while making some of the above cookies.


TREES

My husband, daughter, and I visited the Cincinnati Art Museum on Saturday.  I liked these lit-up trees against the frosted backdrop of bare-branched trees and the reflection in the mirrored panel on the right.  The inside trees glow with warmth and cheer in contrast to their surroundings.  serenity.

This is a very fun meme hostessed by Ashley Sisk in which 5 prompts are given and one must then take a photo to illustrate each one.  Come see how others have interpreted these words HERE!  You have till Tuesday, November 27 at midnight EST to join in.
Next week's words are: 

1. Missing
2. Numbers
3. Purple
4. Music
5. Bracelet

photos by me © 2012    all rights reserved

Apple Chips

a simple recipe and oh so good!

My friend Rachel made these delicious chips and shared the recipe with me.

Ingredients
1 apple, tart is best.  I used a Granny Smith.
2 T powdered sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t ginger

 

Process
Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Mix together powdered sugar, cinnamon, and ginger.
Sift half of the powdered sugar mixture evenly onto the paper.  (I used a small strainer and a spoon as my sifter.)
Mandolin the apple.  This makes very thin slices.
Place the apple slices onto the sugared paper.  
Sift the rest of the sugar mixture onto the apples.
Bake at 200 degrees for approximately 2 hours.   

The longer they're cooked, the crispier they will be.  Less cooking and they will be more leathery.

Dear Ms.Jenny, I LOVE Alphabe-Thursday!  Thank you so much for hostessing this awesome meme AND visiting EVERY single post!
So begins Round 6 in which we start with the Letter "A."  This is my offering as well as "Alphabet Soup."  Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!

photos by me © 2012

The End: Alphabet Soup

The end of yet another odyssey with Alphabe-Thursday has been reached!  What a challenge it had been at times to come up with a creative post for the current letter of the alphabet!    I've enjoyed this journey with you, my readers and fellow Alphabe-Thursdayers, sharing our posts and lives.   Thanks, Jenny!
(You can click on any of the following links to go to that post.)

A  Albuquerque a few photos

B  Black Bean Salsa a recipe

C  cats are cute Oliver, Earnest, Huck, Bunkie, Tigra

 

D  derriere  

E  eat some of the edibles growing in my garden

F  Fireworks and Flags 
Independence Day--July 4th--is almost here!  Time to celebrate!

G  glorious blooms and bee guides

H  Meet Huck the farm cat

I  searching for some inspiration

J  journeys Ophir Pass, Colorado; Logan Pass, Montana; St. Maartin, NA

K  The Difficult Art of Kitty Portraiture featuring Oliver and Earnest

L  Lakes Chilhuly glass; Mono Lake, California;  Lower Grinnell Lake, Montana

M  macro

N  Nests

O  Oliver

P  peaks (Banff National Park, Canada)

Q  quiet Mistaya Lake, Banff

R  Rivers (and rocks) scenes from Canadian National Parks

S  signs

T  Ten Ts

U  umbrage (unusual usage)

V  View my backyard

W  Water

X  xanthic

Y  young

Z  zoom

THE END

LINKS:

POST  another Alphabet Soup
POST   last Alphabet Soup

Dear Ms.Jenny, I LOVE Alphabe-Thursday!  Thank you so much for hostessing this awesome meme AND visiting EVERY single post!
So begins Round 6 in which we start with the Letter "A."  This is my offering, "Alphabet Soup."  Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!

photos by me © 2007-2012, mostly 2012 

zoom

What an awesome car!  Notice the name on the tire cover.  Peggy Sue drove into a gas station and hopped out of her car.  She was dressed in colors to match--yep, pink and white with a black purse and accessories.  Unfortunately, I felt it would be rude to try to snap a photo of her.
(This photo was taken while I was on vacation in Canada in early September.)

It's a 1955 Ford Crown Victoria identified for me by my neighbor David Snyder of CarArt, a wonderful artist who paints vintage cars!   

I'm linking up with my favorite teacher, Ms Jenny Matlock, as we work our way through the alphabet.  Please do go visit the other students, for you never know what gems you may find--humor, poignancy, information, visions of far away places, stuff you've never even dreamed of!  Check it out HERE.  You may even wish to join in yourself!  This week our letter is "Z." 
Oh how I hope Ms Jenny teaches another round of Alphabe-Thursday!  UPDATE:  and she is!  starting next week!  Thanks, Ms Jenny!

photos by me © 2012    all rights reserved

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

NATURE 

Whimsically (or so it seems), we're having temperatures in the high 60s today.  This is a portion of the Little Miami River that I travel past often.  Because of the light today, scenery is somewhat muted.  I think this gives an overall serene feel. 


VINTAGE/RETRO 

I was looking for something vintage to photograph and found this nut chopper that once belonged to my mother. 


WHIMSICAL

I was having fun taking photos in the car wash today.  (Everyone does this, right?!)  I think the pattern created by water on glass with trees and bushes in the background is whimsical.


COOKING 

We got a brand spanking new stove yesterday!  woo hoo!  I had to try it out.  Here I'm making sauce to top noodles. 


WEEK'S BEST 

Who knows if this is the best photograph I took all week.  It is, however, a favorite, being as it's of a very special kitty--Oliver.  

This is a very fun meme hostessed by Ashley Sisk in which 5 prompts are given and one must then take a photo to illustrate each one.  Come see how others have interpreted these words HERE!  You have till Tuesday, November 13 at midnight EST to join in.

Next week's words are: 

1. Vision
2. Strong
3. Buttons
4. Map
5. Favorite Fruit

I've never stated this before, but 99% of the photos I have posted on my blog are straight out of the camera!
photos by me © 2012    all rights reserved