Feline Friday with Rory

Rory, Daughter's kitty, is different than any cat I've known! She's spunky, goofy, and full of personality, and she's surely one of the sweetest furbabies around. Rory is a purr-fect example of why rescue kitties make wonderful companions!

Although she lives in Texas, I get pictures and videos of Rory all the time and they never fail to brighten my day! Here she is checking out the little Trick or Treat bag I sent along for her in a Halloween box. Look at that face! She seemed to like the treats that were inside. :)

 

 Although she's got very common brown tabby markings (just like Tinsel and cats all over the world), she is unique in her own right. Many tabbies have green eyes but hers are a beautiful gold. As you can see in the photo below, her feet are absolutely huge! She uses them to do some serious jumping. And her tail has an unexpected little kink in the tip. Although I know it is there, it always surprises me when I pet her!

 

 Rory's favorite viewing spot is this window sill. Luckily, it's just the right width for a kitty! From here, she can survey all comings and goings and watch for Daughter to come home. When she pulls into the parking lot, Rory can be seen at the window! Awww!

 

And of course, Rory loves her outfits. I've never had a kitty who would tolerate wearing clothes for very long -- let alone enjoy it! This came as a complete surprise to us when Daughter bought a Christmas t-shirt for Rory last year to do a quick photo shoot. To our surprise, the shirt seemed to relax her and she wore it all afternoon!

 

Now Rory has several outfits! Rory's a very active kitty so at bedtime, Daughter puts her in a t-shirt, sweater, or dress, and Rory settles down. It's like a Thundershirt, but for a fraction of the cost! :)

 Best of all, Rory brings joy to Daughter's life ever single day, and that makes this mama very happy! We love you, Rory!

 jp

Bedroom Update: Budget Closet Overhaul

As part of our current bedroom update, we desperately needed to clear out and freshen up the master bedroom closet. The closet is actually off of the master bathroom, so we probably could have tackled it at the time we remodeled the bathroom but truthfully, that might have put me right over the edge. So we sealed off the closet with plastic and entered in and out of it for months via a little slit in the sheeting. 

View into one part of the closet:

View from the closet into the bathroom:

 During the bathroom project, as one might expect, dust managed to filter into the closet (not that it was dust-free to begin with...). Following the bathroom project, I cleaned out the closet as best I could, knowing it was on the list for a major freshening up -- new paint, new carpet, better hangers, etc. This will be a low-cost overhaul, but I'm anticipating that small changes will make a BIG improvement in this space!

Saturday was the big day. First, I cleared out all the contents of the closet (which I won't scare you with here). Trust me, it was like going on a journey to the center of the earth. Have you ever read this book? Yeah, it was just like that.

 This is just the luggage that came out of the closet. 

POP QUIZ: How many people live in this house?

ANSWER: TWO! 

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: Considering that we hardly ever travel -- and when we do, we never even check luggage -- HOW MUCH LUGGAGE DO TWO PEOPLE NEED? (Not a trick question!)

ANSWER: Not this much! 

I kid you not, the amount of stuff in this closet boggled the mind.

  Once I could see what I was dealing with, it was pretty bad. Notice the sad state of the carpet, which will be replaced -- and not a moment too soon.

On the plus side, the space is large and there's a nice amount of shelving (wire shelves are not my favorite, but a complete closet makeover is not in the budget). Unfortunately, the space has been filled with a lot of stuff that we don't need so it looked a lot smaller than it actually is.

 When I could finally see the walls, they weren't a pretty sight. After 22 years in this house, the walls of the closet had somehow taken a beating, I guess from hangers, shoes, suitcases, and the like. I was embarrassed that they looked this bad -- but in my defense, I couldn't even see them with all the stuff in there!

Spouse went to buy paint, then I set to work taping everything off. He will paint the baseboard at a later time, so I didn't worry about that.

I was closely supervised during this entire process...

After taping, I used a roller to paint the entire closet. I could not believe what a HUGE -- I repeat, HUGE -- difference a simple coat of white paint made. Other than falling off the step stool and nearly impaling myself on a wire shelf, the painting process went smoothly and only took a few hours.

 The pictures certainly don't reflect the vast improvement!

Once Spouse paints the trim, it will be even better. And when the new carpet arrives, life will be good. In the meantime, our task is to SORT THROUGH EVERYTHING and bring back only the items that we need and use. Everything else will be donated. 

Stay tuned for pictures of the completed closet!

jp

Feline Friday: Fall Fashions

It's Feline Friday, which makes it a PURR-fect time for a Fall Fashion preview!

Tinsel's new $2 clearance t-shirt fit her nicely....

 

...that is, until she tried to stand up. Because she actually couldn't stand up.

 This particular shirt apparently runs a bit smaller than marked. Instead of walking upright, Tinsel sort of SLINKED around the floor.

 Aerial view:

 

Naturally, Lily immediately took to taunting her. 

Yur waring a t-shurt! Yur waring a t-shurt!

 The too-small t-shirt was shipped off to Texas, where Rory tried it on for size. Oops, it's a little too small for her, too!

  Tinsel's next clearance t-shirt was much roomier -- actually a bit too large!

 Tinsel didn't seem to love it, but at least she could walk around a bit more comfortably. Everything appeared to be going swimmingly until Tinsel appeared back in the kitchen "naked", having removed her shirt and DROPPED IT IN THE LITTERBOX. 

Next stop: Lily! The shirt fit her quite nicely -- even a little snugly (ahem).

 

But she was still able to maneuver around in it.

Heck, she could even eat dinner in it, with (a little) room to spare!

Lily tolerated the shirt pretty well. She watched a bit of TV whilst sporting it.

This new fall fashion is a keeper!

 

Bedroom Update: Painting Done

 I am pleased to report that the painting in the bedroom is officially done! We started this bedroom project back in March (I think), so it's good to have the most time-consuming steps finally finished.

Last week the contractor/carpenter replaced the trim around the windows.

 Then the painter came over and surveyed the job. We decided to have him repaint the crown molding and the baseboards since they still had original paint and were definitely showing their age.

 I'm so happy with how it turned out. The newly painted trim is so much fresher now and really highlights the windows.

Of course, it looks super bright in the bedroom because we have no blinds, which is a slight inconvenience. But I can wave to the neighbors from bed, which is something new. :)

The paint on the crown molding and baseboard had slightly yellowed and just looked tired. I'm glad we decided to have it painted.

After we order the carpet, it should arrive in about one month. In addition to carpeting this room, we'll be carpeting the closet (yikes...I have to unload and paint it first!) and two other bedrooms. We've picked out the blinds and once they're ordered, they should arrive in just a few days.

We are on the home stretch with this project. YAY for getting things done!

jp

Feline Friday

 While the contractor has been here this week, the girls have been hanging out in the basement. They're used to it (and trust me, they're not roughing it!) but they still like having access to the bedroom after the work day ends. 

After I let them back in the space, I immediately found Lily plotting how to get the treats out of the drawer of my nightstand. (Don't mind all the sawdust!) 

Tinsel was not impressed with Lily's antics. Listen in:

 Lily: Tinsul, I can dooo it! Giz me a minutt!

Okai, I no da treetz are in here! I use my sooper nose to smell dem!

Okai, now I just need to open dis drawer!

Tinsel: She's so annoying.

 Lily: I ALMOST GOT IT! I'm goeen in for da treetz! Hang on Tinsul!

Tinsel: Could she be any more irritating? Just ask Mom for treats, Lily. That would be much easier.

 Lily: No no no...I can do it!

Tinsel: This has become tiresome.

 

 Lily: MOM, can we haz sum treets?

 Of course, baby girl...since you asked so nicely! :)

jp