Lily spent some time getting organized this week.
I usually keep extra toilet paper in this drawer, but Lily decided it would be better for kitties!
Of course, now we'll have to find another place for the toilet paper! 😃
It's so good to be organized!
Or these?
MOM...they're everywhere.
So...indeed they are! I have now learned that blankies with animals sewn to them are a THING. The Feliway blankie is NOT a promotional item but a cat version of this type of blankie.
Who knew?
Regardless of its purpose, Lily
absolutely loves her purple blankie and uses it all the
time. I now call it her "weighted blankie" when she's sleeping
comfortably under it.
Now if only it were a tiny bit bigger!😻
It's not even the weekend yet, but it already looks like someone partied a little too hard!
Happy Feline Friday to all the coool cats and kittens!
Awhile back, I posted about the updates we've been making to our house in the laundry room and guest bathroom. Those changes were welcome and, especially in the laundry room, long overdue.
But the biggest change we've made was to the kitchen. Back in June, we had our cabinets, woodwork, and walls painted. We knew it was way too much to even consider doing ourselves so we hired it done. This process was a little more disruptive than I'd anticipated but I love how everything turned out. If you're considering doing a similar kitchen project, read on!
This is a BEFORE picture of the kitchen with our golden oak cabinets and olive walls. A few years back, we replaced the original white counter tops with black Formica solid surface which we decided to keep. In addition, we've been replacing our all-white appliances with stainless steel. The goals for this project were:
1) Paint the cabinets and woodwork
2) Paint the walls
3) Replace a few windows with rotted sills
4) Add a backsplash
Here is the AFTER with the changes done. It's hard to overstate how much lighter and brighter the kitchen is with these changes.
To prepare for a kitchen update like this one, it was necessary to unload all the cabinets. This is no small task, especially when they are as ridiculously full as ours. But it made for a good opportunity to sort through stuff and I vowed to put back ONLY the items that we need in the space. Everything else was donated or stored.
Lily and I worked on this task for a couple of days.
Everything that came out of the cupboards went into the dining room for sorting. For the most part, our cabinets are filled with dishes, pots and pans, and utensils. Once everything was out of the cupboards I covered it all over with sheets in anticipation of the dust -- and also just to conceal the mess!
Meanwhile, we picked out backsplash tile to match our cabinet paint color. Since our contractor was available, we had him go ahead and install it. I have wanted a backsplash for years but had been hesitant to take the plunge. I absolutely love how it turned out and wish we had done it years ago!
Next, the painters came to set up for the project. I guess I was mentally unprepared for the amount of kraft paper and plastic that would be installed. This part of the project took a solid three days! During this time, the crew also removed all the cabinet doors and drawers to take them to the shop to be painted.
Lily was a good "snoop-ervisor" throughout this project. In spite of the fact that cats tend to get stressed when their routine is upset, she did quite well with the kitchen being torn up for a bit. She loved being able to go into cabinets at will!
Once the taping was done, the crew sprayed the cabinets in place. We had a darker color (same as the upstairs bathroom vanity) sprayed onto the island. I initially wanted to do all the lower cabinets in that same color and I still think that would have been nice.
After the cabinets were done, it took another week or so to get the doors back from the shop. Meanwhile I sorted through everything and tried to "curate" the items I put back into the cupboards. I will say that sorting process was long overdue.
The walls remained olive for awhile before we could get the painters scheduled again. I really loved how the olive color looked with the new cabinet color.
But alas, it was time for a change. The walls were painted with a neutral taupe, the same as in the laundry room and upstairs bathroom. Although I loved the olive color, the taupe is much more restful.
I never would have predicted we'd undertake this kind of kitchen update but I'm really glad we did. I have really enjoyed our "new" old kitchen!
While making dinner one night this week, Lily appeared on the chair.
Her Cheese Detector had indicated shredded mozzarella was in the house and she was determined not to miss out!
Happy Feline Friday to our friends!
Hope your weekend is filled with a treat as tasty as shredded mozzarella cheese!
Last Friday, a big snowstorm hit us, just as the weather folks predicted. It took a long time to move through and in its wake, left us 11 inches of snow!
I might be in the minority, but I always say that if the weather folks predict a snowstorm, there'd better be one! I love a good snowstorm.
In the morning, it looked like a winter wonderland in our back yard! Now keep in mind that I do NOT like driving on slick roads and I do NOT like being cold. But I do think the snow looks pretty, at least at first -- until it gets all dirty!
Spouse especially doesn't like the snow because it falls to him to clear it! The snowblower got a workout this time around. Shoutout to Spouse for doing a great job clearing the driveway and sidewalks after this storm and all the snowstorms through the years!
All cats have their little quirks, and Lily certainly has her share! One thing she LOVES to do is lick her blankies. I've observed that this happens after she gobbles and throws up her food, so I've concluded she is basically getting that icky taste off of her tongue! EWWW!
But the truth is that I've caught her licking something else as well...SPOUSE'S T-SHIRTS! She'll lick his shirts any time she saunters into our bedroom closet. She bypasses my shirts and heads straight to his!
Little does he know that his t-shirts have been freshly washed by Lily! 😸
Anyone lucky enough to live with a kitty knows there is one cardinal rule:
Do NOT be late with breakfast!
If I'm not in the kitchen by the correct hour, Lily performs increasingly annoying antics to rouse me. This sometimes involves pushing larger and larger items off the nightstand until I respond.
Lately, she will sit on the nightstand and reach her paw out to smack my face. It always works! And sometimes she'll climb over to my pillow and look directly down on me. Also hard to ignore! If I'm lucky, she uses her sharp claws to style my hair. Always a stylish look to start my day!
Needless to say, her tactics work. Breakfast is served immediately! 😍
Sometime over the past weekend, it occurred to me that I completely MISSED last week's Feline Friday post! I can't remember that happening in a very, very long time. I totally spaced it off because our daughter and fiance were visiting for Christmas and there was just WAY TOO MUCH fun happening!
It had been two full years since they'd been home and let me tell you, that is MUCH, MUCH too long. Of course, we've seen them during that time but there's just something about having your child home that does a mama's heart good.
So Santa made an extra long stop at our house this year and he even brought a few goodies for Lily! Her stocking reads "nice" on one side and "naughty" on the other. Obviously, Santa believes she has been a nice girl!
She was happy to see that Santa left her two cans of delicious pate food AND an extra large bag of Temptations! She promptly sat down on her stocking so that nobody else would take those very special treats!
Can we all take a moment and celebrate the extreme cuteness of Lily's feets? When she sits like a little lady, the white part almost lines up purr-fectly! She's a treasure!
What special feature does your kitty have? Take a picture (or 10!) of it!
Happy Feline Friday!
Janet
Awhile back, maybe two or even three years ago, I bought four sizes of Clover pom pom makers at JoAnn. At the time, I was inspired to make all kinds of pom pom crafts. And Bailey had started knitting up a storm so I decided to buy her a set, too, because knitted caps and such look cute with pom poms.
Fast forward to this year: I FINALLY got around to making a pom pom garland! I can't even remember what I initially wanted to make with my pom pom makers, but this project ended up being just the ticket! It was easy to make and, even though I was skeptical at many points along the way, I love how it turned out. I think it could be used for various holidays throughout the year.
Because I knew we would be having a long drive to Texas for Thanksgiving, I decided that I'd make pom poms as we drove along. Unlike reading or staring at my phone, this seemed like something I could do to feel productive whilst still carrying on conversation. And other than the yarn fibers which made Spouse sneeze, it was a good task to do in the car!
I did learn that you need a certain weight (thickness?) of yarn to make a decent pom pom. Thin yarn makes feeble-looking pom poms. At JoAnn, most of the yarn is a Size 4 (indicated on the package), so that's what I bought. This size worked great.
So we headed off to Texas, me with my ginormous yarn skeins on the floor next to me. Luckily, the skeins were already wound to pull from the center. If you pull yarn from the outside, the skein will be tumbling all over the place.
I know you can make your own pom pom template with cardboard but seriously, these pom pom makers are just the best! Take a look at a video HERE.
I started out with the medium size pom pom maker and made quite a number of white and cream pom poms before we even hit Missouri!
In no time at all, I was producing pom poms right and left!
After I made a few medium size pom poms, I made the same number of small ones. The smaller ones were super fast to create.
Before you use your pom poms, you'll want to trim off the bits of yarn that are a little longer than the others, just to give a neater appearance.
Once we were back home, it was time to create my garland. To string the pom poms, I used a craft floss (I could have used yarn since I have plenty!) and a darning needle. It was easy to string them onto the floss and just move them to the proper position. I ended up having to make several more to fill up my garland.
Eventually I had enough to make a long chain. Again, the balls can be easily moved along and positioned where you want them without much slippage.
Next, I positioned the pom pom garland by taping the ends in a similar way to the top of the mantel. Instead of four loops, I decided on three. This step was a little fiddly as I had to get the correct number of pom poms in each loop and make sure they were spaced evenly.
For the garland, I think using a thicker thread or yarn might have been better because those larger pom poms are a bit heavy and they tend to distort the loops a little. But in the end, I just left it as is.
I'm glad I finally got around to using the pom pom makers. The pom pom garland was a fun way to do something a little different with my Christmas decor. Now to come up with a few more pom pom projects to use up all of my yarn!
