Post 1499: Not worth the effort!

Andy is cool. “Someone” (you know who) just walked by and Andy barely reacted.

Yeah, that’s “his” tail in the lower left hand corner of the photo.

Dougy says “whew!” He managed to avoid confrontation when he breached Andy’s recliner arm air space!

=(^+^)=

A note about advertisements and the future of this blog:

I recently had to upgrade to the Business plan on WordPress, a jump from $99.95 to $299.95 a year.

With that jump, made because I could no longer upload photos on the lower plan, the possibility that I might not be able to continue this blog became real. I am a retiree and the Business plan fee is pretty steep for a blog that wasn’t begun to make money!

I chose to try advertisements for the potential of some income to offset the $299.95 annual WordPress fee. I suspect it won’t bring in sufficient money to pay that fee, maybe even reduce my expense in any significant way, but I am trying it out.

Keep this in mind, please: I DO NOT HAVE ANY SAY ABOUT THE ADVERTISEMENTS YOU SEE.

So far, I’ve only seen WordPress house advertisements and advertisements for cameras when I open my blog. I suspect you will see advertisements that reflect your on-line purchases or products you’ve looked up on the Internet.

If you find the advertisements obnoxious, remember this: I am close to shutting this blog down because of the cost to me. As long as it is fun for you and me, I will make an effort to continue it, but…!

Post 1498: Dougy blocks the way…

IMG_20170830_015235

“Hey Dougy! Move, won’t you?”

IMG_20170830_015430

“Step over me, please!”

Post 1497: “Kitty food time, boys!”

IMG_20170828_135439

I had to hand carry sleepy boy Andy to the kitty food place, but Dougy was waiting for us. “Where’s the kitty food?!” I like to have both kitties there before I put the food out because one of them (Andy) is notorious for eating both kitty’s portions if Dougy is slow to arrive.

IMG_20170828_135450

Woo hoo! That’s Dougy planning to be first at the dinner plate for a change.

IMG_20170828_135457

Nom~nom~nom! Dougy chows down.

IMG_20170828_135501

Andy isn’t awake yet, and it takes a little time before his stomach catches up with the clock. Not to worry. He eventually eats his share of the kitty food. Dougy left it alone because he isn’t a little piggy like his brother when it comes to wet food and kitty treats!

Post 1496: lakeside daytrip

Andy guessed right. I was getting ready to leave for the best part of the day, so he acted up…up on the table, specifically!

The little rascal got into the crackers. Not for the crackers, mind you, but for the crinkly packaging. I watched to see what he would do, and he started to pull the tube of crackers out of the box, intending to take it somewhere he could work on the crinkly packaging. I put a stop to that! Dougy watched from the dining room cat tree. (Good kitty!)

The main concern when I plan a day away is that the kitty boys have plenty of food and water. Their main concern is that the human be home in time to set out wet food for the kitties.

My friend Craig and I left the kitty boys and took to the road. Thanks to July and August rain storms, this is a sunflower year! The crowds visiting Alliance for the total eclipse were spared the normal dried out look this time of year and treated to this beautiful carpet of sunflowers everywhere! Craig and I enjoyed the ride down to our friend’s lovely lakeside home.

We classmates of the AHS class of ’66 had a salad lunch, a pleasant relaxed fellowship sharing thoughts, time, and laughs together. We’ve lost four classmates in the past year, and have resolved to keep in touch better, get together regularly because – and while – we can.

Craig left early since he had a three hour or so drive back home, but the rest of us went out to the patio and enjoyed the cool breeze, the pleasant lakeside setting, and snacks. Carol and I terrorized each other and our classmates taking photos. (The four below are her contribution to the record.)

I didn’t get home till hours after the kitty boys are used to getting their wet food. Were they waiting at the door? And how! Andy (I think) let out a howl of protest as I walked in the door: “How dare you make us wait for our kitty food!!”

I fixed the kitty food, two kitty boys trailing me each step of the way. I gave them half a can instead of a third to make up for the breach of “The Standard Expected Time The Human Must Be Available To Feed The Kitties”. We (the kitties) were not amused!

Post 1495: OH or AW?

Whether you pronounce it scohnes or scawns , nothing tops a scone better than home-made jam.

Thanks to my friend Deborah, I happened to have three home-made jams to top the scones I made with lemon zest and sour cream. Man are they fluffy and light!

I prepared a plate with the three smallest scones, added fresh butter, and a quantity of each jam.

I started with the peach-hot pepper jam, which I’d opened the day the package of jams arrived, then worked clockwise around the plate.

peach-hot pepper jam

Peach-hot pepper – a perfect match with the buttery-sour creaminess of the scones! Yum! It’s tastier now than last time, thanks to time to age in the container.

blueberry-ginger jam

Blueberry-ginger – I could eat this one all day! Not too sweet, just a nice burst of ginger.

rhubarb-ginger jam

Rhubarb-ginger – Deborah got this one exactly right to my tastes. Not too sweet, nice astringency, tartness worthy of the rhubarb herb.

I liked them all! None was too sweet, all let the fruit or herb shine through, something most commercial jams fail to do by being too dang sweet.

=(^+^)=

Yeah, this is a cat blog. I know. So here are the stars of this blog, Andy and Dougy:

sexy Andy!

Dougy in “dreamy boy” pose

Post 1494: “Caturday’s for chilling,” purrs Andy!

Andy’s chilling! There’s a ceiling fan above this spot, a fact not lost on Andy.

IMG_20170825_084731

What!? What!? What!? Dougy just sauntered by.

Oh well, “Caturday’s for chilling,” purrs Andy! He lets the affront pass.

Post 1493: “Kitties don’t like peanut butter toast with strawberry-rhubarb jam!”

The kitty boys had their kitty food, then watch me make my breakfast.

“You never know, today might be the day Doug (the human one) makes something we wee kitties like!” Dougy tells his brother, Andy.

IMG_20170825_011720 (1)

I seriously doubt peanut butter toast with strawberry-rhubarb jam comes up on the “Favorite Foods of Kitty Boys Who’ve Already Eaten” list, but Andy and Dougy watch me eat, closely.

“Maybe the blueberry yoghurt is for us,” Andy meows.

I patiently explain to Andy blueberry yoghurt, too, is off the kitty food list.

The two brothers absorb the scene of human food slipping down the gullet of Doug (the human one).

Yum~yum~smack~yum! Doug clearly enjoys his breakfast, if those disgusting noises are any indication! (“What a piggy,” the kitty boys think, “but not like our buddy **Bacon the Vietnamese pot belly piggy. He’s nice!”)

“Life is unfair, even if kitty boys won’t like peanut butter toast with strawberry-rhubarb jam! How do you know unless you let us try it?” both kitty boys hiss.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained! A low light candid snap of Andy caught running off after sneaking a sniff – maybe a taste? – of what remains of my breakfast on the dirty plate.

No, you still don’t like peanut butter toast with strawberry-rhubarb jam, Andrew!

=(^+^)=

**Bacon is a real piggy and his blog is fun to read. The kitty boys got interviewed once by Bacon, something they enjoyed doing.

Here’s where to find Bacon: https://piglove.wordpress.com/

Post 1492: special Columbus edition…NOT!

IMG_20170821_061242 (1)

Dougy’s sleeping on his ottoman. Andy has an unfulfilled urge…!

Don’t do it Andy! Bad kitty!

IMG_20170821_061224

Andy sees a target so big, so fluffy, so close…. “Grrr! I’m gonna do it!”

IMG_20170821_061422

Quicker than a smart phone shutter, Andy bops Dougy on the tail! The chase is on!

=(^+^)=

(See. I told you this post had nothing to do with Columbus. Please notice how different these kitties look in different light. They are the same color. Andy was in the dark, and Dougy was in the light.)

Post 1491: the eclipse was…AMAZING!!!

Dougy was under-whelmed by the hubbub leading up to The Event. What is an eclipse to a kitty boy but another reason to take a nap?

Andy, on the other hand, was out in the dining room watching me clear the mess off the table so I could write a check and have a clean space for my friend Craig and me to eat lunch after the eclipse.

Being a snoopy boy, Andy joined me on the table. Who knows? Maybe there’s another lost new kitty toy up there! He sees something of interest, you bet. Something in a plastic bag, one of Andy’s bad vices. I have to dispose of plastic bags as soon as possible or he will…

…try to nibble them.

IMG_20170821_081824

Of course, once I disposed of the bag (the glasses had to be set aside, too, before Andy chewed on them…), I had to give Andy a little loving to take his mind off the plastic bag!

And what of the eclipse? I took no photos because I knew a million better would be taken by people with proper tools. It was amazing! Please read my account to a friend in the page at the top labelled “The Eclipse”

Post 1490: Serendipity!

Andy knows better, but doesn’t care. The dining room table is a wonderful place to explore! Of course, in the process, he knocked things around.

I tried to straighten things up a little and stumbled on a big, wonderful kitty surprise! No, not a hairball, but a…

…Neko replacement toy in its original packing, a virgin toy! Andy got excited, of course, so we had a sweet little play session. Dougy came around for some, too!

猫