Thursday, December 30, 2010

WCC

My younger sister is bossy. She tells me to start a blog. She tells me I need to post. She tells me what I need to post about. She thinks I am neglecting the third and final fur baby in our household.

Sorry, kiddo, the problem is not neglect, but lack of a decent photo. Your brother-in-law did come through, though, by emailing me several hundred pictures to wade through. Just don’t make fun of my photography skills…there are limits to my talents!

Hello, Dolly!
(aka WCC, so named by none other than the aforementioned bossy sister)














This little girl was discovered on our wood pile one cold, rainy February morning in southern Oregon. (Actually, our female cat discovered her first and was none too thrilled with her presence.) She was a tiny little thing with a lame paw and a grateful purr. She was hungry and wet and oh so sweet. Our daughter, who was 6 years old at the time, fell instantly in love with her. So did I, but I had no intention of keeping her. I honestly believed that there was a sweet child somewhere in our neighborhood missing their kitty cat. I put up signs, checked with the kids and parents at school, animal shelters, the vet…no leads.

She remained an outside kitty until it became obvious that the “special operation” was necessary. I certainly couldn’t allow her to recuperate outside, could I?

The rest is history.

Miss Dolly charms her way through life with her cherubic face, fluffy coat, and a purr that can be heard across the room. 

Dolly purrs.
She purrs when you talk to her.
She purrs when you feed her.
She purrs when you simply touch her on the head.

Dolly is all cat.
Dolly has short legs.
Dolly has a bulls-eye on her belly.
Dolly is an extraordinary huntress. Birds and mice fear her, but she specializes in moles.
Dolly loves to warm her belly in the sun.
Dolly loves her girl; and her girl loves her.
















Dolly hates going to the vet.
Dolly hates having her picture taken.
Dolly hates Sassy.
Dolly hates tablecloths.















Dolly is a living, breathing, purring stuffed animal…squishy and warm and snuggly.

WCC?
World’s Cutest Cat.
(my pictures don't do her justice)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Trouble in Paradise


I crossed the line, and now my home is in turmoil.
I apologized...several times. 
Really, I did.
But he’s a sensitive soul, and his feelings are easily hurt.
I reach out to touch him.
He shrugs me off.
He won’t look at me.
He keeps staring at the wall.
He slept elsewhere last night. 
I don’t know where, but it wasn’t with me.
This morning he was sullen and refused to utter a single word.
He picked at his breakfast.
It’s all my fault.
He is getting old, and he isn’t as fastidious about his hygiene as he used to be.
I tried to help him out.
But he felt insulted and attacked.
I hope some day he can forgive me for….


washing his face.

Kitty boy has issues.






Saturday, December 11, 2010

The Pastry Blender Mystery - Solved

I just received a call from my sister about the Pampered Chef Pastry Blender referenced in my previous post. Apparently, it is the bees knees at mushing avocados for guacamole.

Guacamole is a culinary gift...go make some!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Totally Mundane, But Enough To Blow Your Skirt Up

I believe we are a wasteful, lazy society. We spend far too much money on over-packaged, over-priced convenience items. And it really scorches my behind that most of these types of products are merely gimmicks aimed at children. At the top of my list are bottled water, juice boxes, Lunchables, and the numerous other cutesy tootsey food items that could be easily duplicated in reusable containers for half the price. I could rant for a long time about trash flotillas in the ocean and the general demise of our planet due to this wastefulness, but that’s not really what this post is about.

There are certain mundane items, which certainly fall under the category of convenience, but are so wonderful they make us want to kiss the feet of those people who brought them into our lives.

I polled my sisters, daughter and a friend for their favorites, and this is what we came up with.

First and foremost…Rotisserie chicken! Regardless of whether you’re going to just eat the chicken as is or if you’re planning on using it in a recipe or salad, half the work is done and you have half the mess. Most of the time these perfectly seasoned little devils are less expensive than a raw roaster from the meat case.

Other food items…Reames Frozen Egg Noodles, Pillsbury Pie Crusts, and single-cup mac and cheese. Again, half the work, half the mess, totally delicious.

More for the kitchen…the Hand Chopper. This little dealie-o makes quick work of chopping everything from eggs to veggies to nuts, cuts down on nasty slicing accidents, and is great for taking out aggression.  There is also the Tupperware Vegetable Brush. Seriously, this thing will practically peel a potato. One of my sisters, obviously not the one who recommended the Pillsbury Pie Crusts, also loves her Pampered Chef Pastry blender, but did not tell me exactly why it is so special.

If you kill or grow your own food apparently those vacuum seal bag thingies are an absolute necessity.

Next up…Flushable Wipes! I don’t think anyone wants me to go into detail on this one. Just suffice it to say that they are worth their weight in gold. I know one of my sisters wishes that a certain friend of her son used these…I will say no more.

Along that line…Pre-moistened Make-up Remover Cloths. These little gems make quick work of an otherwise wet and messy job. No more leaning over the sink, water dripping down your arms and onto the floor, fumbling for a towel. You don’t even have to hoist your butt from the couch. Cuts down on laundry, too.

Speaking of hygiene…Pre-loaded Toothbrushes. I was especially grateful for this little gadget after an unplanned overnight stay at my mother’s house. I’m sure everyone else was, too.

Which leads us to…those handy dandy Flossing Picks. Much, much better than trying to fit both your hands in your mouth as you do with regular floss. And very convenient to have when you’ve eaten something green and leafy for lunch.

Dawn Dishwashing Liquid makes the list for all purpose cleaning…in addition to dishwashing, it’s a great spot remover for laundry, excellent for cleaning cat yak out of carpet and oil from unfortunate animals caught in yet another of mankind’s screw ups. Dawn Direct Foam is really, really good at removing stuck on food, too…don’t know how it works or why it works better than regular dish washing liquid, but it does.

A Tide Stain Stick is a great purse item for those times when you end up wearing your lunch, and you don’t want to go back to work looking like a total slob.

Wired Ribbon is one of my personal favorites…let’s face it, comparatively speaking, there are very few “bow aficionados” in the world (my mother is one of them), so wired ribbon keeps the rest of us from looking like dumb asses when a bow is called for.

Other praise worthy items include mascara - because, really, it does have the ability to make or break your day; long skirts - this was on my daughter’s list for the ultimate in comfort dressing, but she’s got the legs and skinny butt to pull them off; she also feels that it’s absolutely necessary to have nail clippers on your key chain (not just for your nails) and Peachy-O’s in your pantry (apparently they can turn a bad day into a decent day); finally, the older we get the more we need a needle threader!

So there’s the list…let’s give the go-getters and thinkers of the world a round of applause for giving us these totally unnecessary necessary products!