Feline Friday: Happy Gotcha Day, Rory!

This week marks four years since Rory came to live with our daughter. In that time, it's hard to believe how much joy this little creature has brought to our lives!

 

Rory was found on a street in Tyler, Texas, not far from where our daughter's boyfriend lived. She was taken in by a rescue group and named April, since that was the month when she was found. April spent several months waiting for her forever home. When Bailey started looking for a kitty in August of 2015, April's foster mom took her to visit the large and well-equipped backyard garage that housed several kitties waiting for homes. While our daughter originally planned to meet a different kitty, it was April who stole her heart. She jumped on Bailey's shoulder as if to say, PICK ME! And of course, she did! 😻

 After observing her for a few days, it seemed that a new, spunkier name was in order, so April became Rory, a name that suits her purr-fectly!  

Within days of her adoption, it became apparent that Rory had some type of digestive issue. The culprit turned out to be a very unusual parasite, not often seen in that part of Texas. We have no idea how Rory came in contact with it but after a series of tests, the vet figured out exactly what it was and how to treat it. Rory responded immediately to the medication and began to put on weight. It was then that we could see how very thin she had been!

From the day she was adopted, Rory has shown herself to be a spunky, energetic, and quirky kitty. She's got her own little daily routine, which includes opening all cupboards and drawers and carrying toys throughout the apartment while meowing loudly enough for the entire building to hear.  

 

But one of her sweetest habits is how she sleeps, and I've read this is common for rescued kitties once they feel safe. When she falls asleep, she goes totally limp like a wet noodle. She relaxes completely now that she's in a safe space with her Meowmy.

 Happy Gotcha Day, Rory! 💖
We love you and are so happy you came into our lives!

Feline Friday: It's All About the Ranch!

What's the deal with cats (or at least MY cats) and RANCH DRESSING? Sweet Tinsel, who is no longer with us, was absolutely OBSESSED with Ranch. Lily is even more crazed for it. The minute the bottle comes out of the fridge (which isn't very often), she comes running.

Now I'm not advocating Ranch for kitties. Quite the opposite, in fact. Kitties should never be given onions and Ranch contains onion POWDER, which is close enough for me. So Lily only gets a tiny taste off of my finger.

Just don't make the rookie mistake of turning your back when there's Ranch in the room!

There's just something about Ranch dressing! 😀

 How about you? Are your kitties obsessed with Ranch? Leave a comment!

Happy Feline Friday!

jp

Feline Friday: Twisted...Sisters?

 If you're lucky enough to have a kitties in your life, you know that they can strike some silly poses! Lily has her own repertoire of weird and uncomfortable-looking positions. This somewhat blurry picture from a few years ago shows her TWISTED position pretty well! Notice how her back half is pointed one direction while her front half is going the other way!

She does this quite often, although I can never seem to catch a decent picture of it. It happens when she's facing one direction, usually engaged in personal hygiene 😸 and suddenly hears or sees something important. She turns the front of her body to see what's happening but somehow forgets to bring the back half with her. It's always hilarious! 

  
Well, it turns out that Lily does not have the lock on this particular kitty pose! Just this week, Cousin Rory in Texas offered up her very own version of this same position, and I'd say she's got it down pat!

 

We love these twisted...sisters!

Happy Feline Friday!
jp

Craft Room Tour!

Hi, guys! It's an exciting day here as I've lurched forward into modern life: I got a selfie stick! Just for the record, I am not planning to take any selfies but I thought it might be fun for filming videos whilst walking around -- without quite so much jiggling!

So to test it out, I took a quick tour of my craft room. Aside from the one part where I went sideways (sorry about that!),  it was pretty easy to use! Ahhh, modern conveniences!

With this newfangled gadget, I hope to do a few more videos. Stay tuned and meanwhile, enjoy a quick tour around the craft room!

Thanks for watching!
jp

Feline Friday with Rory

Poor Rory had a rough Wednesday this week! Workers were replacing the roof on the apartment building where she lives, and the noise sent her into a state of alarm!

In fact, when her meowmy got home from work, Rory was nowhere to be found. She had somehow squeezed her "ample" body under the couch. We're still scratching our heads on that magic trick!

The roofing continued through the evening but since her meowmy was there to protect her, Rory eventually emerged from her Super Secret Hiding Spot. Her meowmy caught her long enough to slip a shirt on her, which always makes her feel a little more secure.

And of course, it helped to sit on Meowmy's lap for awhile, too. 💖

It's OK, sweetheart. The roofers are gone now!

 

 Rory wishes you a Happy -- and QUIET -- Feline Friday!

jp

Scrapbooking: Re-Grouping Just a Bit

I feel like I'm still in the recovery mode after focusing pretty intently on my family history albums for the past few months. I am really happy with the progress I've made, but I kind of need a break from it!

This week, I took a bit of time and re-organized my materials for the family history albums, splitting them into two boxes, one for each side of my family. That way when I get back to it, everything will be in some semblance of order. In doing that, I came across my 2011 box of materials, so that was a good clue as to where I left off with my chronological scrapbooking!

I've also spent a few days this week just sorting through pictures. Some of my photo boxes contain duplicates I brought home from my parents' house, many of which have already been scrapbooked. So I've been going back through older albums to confirm that and, as a result, I've been able to toss a LOT of photos that are not needed. That is a good feeling!

I also went through a box of my parents' vacation photos. I took a "first pass" through this box and got rid of a lot of the scenery photos, keeping just a few for context. These photos have been sitting since I lost my dad in 2013 and I noticed that it was thankfully much easier today to go through them than it was back then. The box is now just half full instead of overflowing, which will make it much easier later to choose just a few to keep in my family albums.

So now I'm going to jump back into my 2011 scrapbooking and see how quickly I can wrap that up. It appears that I'm about midway through the year, although that may not be accurate as not all the photos are printed. As I work on these years, I have to station myself at the computer where all the photos are stored and compare them to the scrapbooks so I can find events that haven't yet been finished. Then I upload those photos to Walgreens and print them as I accumulate a decent number.

 Have I mentioned that I keep my calendars from years past? I have pretty much all of my calendars going back as far as high school. (I know...it's super nerdy!) These calendars have been so helpful when scrapbooking those past years. As soon as I start working on a new year of scrapbooking, I grab that year's calendar which gives me a good framework for beginning.

 

After spending time in the world of heritage photos, it's back to modern day scrapbooking! I'm actually looking forward to working with brighter colors and people/events that are familiar to me. So I will set aside my family history detective cap for the time being!

Thanks for following along on this somewhat epic (at least for me) scrapbooking catch-up project! I sincerely hope you find some inspiration in these posts. With dedication and focus, it truly IS possible to finish up those incomplete albums!

jp

Feline Friday

We've been thoroughly enjoying all the critters who have visited our yard this summer! We've had deer (they're welcome as long as they dine elsewhere!), a racoon family, ground squirrels (we call them squinnies), bunnies, and birds aplenty. 

While Tinsel used to love looking outside at nature, Lily has never been too interested. But that seems to be changing this summer. With her cat tree positioned at the window, she has a perfect view of all comings and goings!

She's been especially captivated by the baby bunnies who seem to have taken up residence in the garden. As of right now, they're not eating enough to be destructive so they're welcome to stay!

And finally, after changing to a different bird food, we now have small birds coming to the window feeder! We specifically hoped to attract the Eastern goldfinches (the state bird of Iowa) which hang out on the nearby coneflower. Now they're coming to the feeder with some regularity!

Their visits may come to a halt, though, because Lily has not been extending a friendly welcome! If she sees a bird at the window, she jumps up and SMACKS the glass with her paw. Soon she'll have terrorized them all!

Still, with all the activity in the garden, it's a challenge for Lily to keep her eyes open for long. :)

Hopefully our feathered friends will make a beeline for the feeder during naptime!

Happy Feline Friday!

jp and Lily