What?

Always a little wary of taking photos of people's homes but I had to risk it to capture the expression on this watch-cat. He/she had a wonderful vantage point onto the neighborhood street from its regal tuffet. No denying the expression.

Below is my very own watch-cat in her many moods. . .only seen between naps.

See more important critters at Camera Critters, a great way to start the week. Thanks to Misty Dawn for her clever MeMe.

for a song

If you know me you know that in my world blue is a good thing. Lately I've been remiss in posting additions to my pitcher collection from my travels and especially since I've adopted some delightful blue ones. The top left solid blue pitcher matches a 1950's stoneware coffee pot I have [50 cents] and two matching cups I bought for a quarter each at a yard sale. Then there's a unique antique milk glass pitcher I found during my milk glass craze [its over now, or at least until I laid eyes on the pink variety. . .] bottom right from another antique shop coveted because of the blue cornflowers. Bottom left my latest prize in my favorite turquoise color, made in Japan and nabbed for 60 cents at a thrift store.Speaking of blue, I retrieved this photo I took in Chicago of the most charming cat who would laze on a garden fence and pose for me whenever I walked by on my way home each day. I have yet to see such blue eyes on a cat like this guy had. He makes his debut on Misty Dawn's meme, Camera Critters this weekend.

And my gift to you as we celebrate the coming weekend; give him a listen!

Amazed?

I'm not sure if this really could be considered trespassing, but on a walk one day last week I caught this guy watching out the window and zoomed in as close as possible. What a dear fluffy creature and what a life to be a cat!

See more Camera Critters here. And as I read somewhere, 'Have the courage to still be amazed.'

I rest my case and my cash!

So, in spite of this recessionary period we're in, I'm feeling benevolent toward my little cat Bean. She has only one scratching post made for that purpose to her name. However, that doesn't mean she's above sharpening her claws on other random pieces of furniture. This causes Dave to threaten to have her declawed which in turn drives me crazyer. She is a tall American Tabby and has to stoop to use her assigned post. Long story short, I paid $6 for this little gadget which promised that cats love it and it will save my furniture. Even Erica's cat, who is a bit, shall we say, s.i.m.p.l.e. loves hers and uses it religiously.

Not so, Beanhead.

There is, incidently, no way of talking about cats that enables one to come off as a sane person.

Dan Greenberg

Happy Friday anyway!

Fave Things for Thursday

Thursday arrives and with it comes Favorite Things Thursday, my friend Blue's meme. (Time seems to fly for me in the autumn). I know I'm in good company when I saw that I am an \in-ˈve-t(ə-)rət\ yard sale shopper. Around here they are referred to as garage sales or just simply 'sale.' Either way, my car seems to detect their signs several yards ahead and all I have to do is make the turn. Usually I don't have much cash with me but what there is ready to burn a hole in my pocket by week's end. Also indigenous to Minnesota are sales sometimes on Wednesday and Thursday as well as the weekend. So the fun begins, and today was no exception. Sometimes I only come away with a $.50 paperback I've wanted to read, a bag of apples or tomatoes. These are a few of my finds recently. The blue sugar & creamer set was being sold by a lady in her sixties who was cleaning out her cupboards and I was happy to give them a good home. They are blue, after all! On a walk to the post office I bought the green watering can for a song because of its lovely shape and a frog and dragonflies embossed on its front. The plate was a find on one of our motorcycle jaunts at a thrift store. These state plates are ubiquitous, I know, but I've never found one from my home state of Idaho. It has Mountain Bluebird and Syringa patterns. If you can enlarge this photo you will better see the cat in this framed print I bought today for $1. It is a rather haphazardly mounted page from a railroad calendar and the lady who sold it said she remembered these calendar prints from her youth many years before. It is marked Peake - Chessie for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. Here's what I learned about 'Peake':

In 1934, the first "Chessie" calendar was produced, with 40,000 copies distributed. Advertisements featuring Chessie appeared in most national magazines as well. Her popularity grew, as did her family. She got two look-alike kittens in 1935, and a mate, "Peake" (from the railroad name as well - Chesapeake = "Chessie-Peake"), in 1937. Soon Chessie, "America's Sleepheart," was the talk of the railroad world, and propelled C&O to the top ranks of rail advertising. You can read more about Chessie here.

I feel very fortunate to have seen this in a box of frames. Maybe Chessie was waiting for me?
Visit the amazing Blue for more bloggers' favorite things. She might inspire you to play along too!

Butterscotch Belly plans her escape route

Ever since we left our house in Chicago and moved into an apartment in Minnesota, Bean, aka Butterscotch Belly, has been trying to get back to her bed atop a bookcase in Erica's room downstairs. She's pretty convinced that it is through the front door, out into the hallway of the apartment, past the Coke machine. . .

Lately I've seen her peering out the sliding door toward the open road. So, will she go north to Duluth then into Canada or will she cross the Mississippi into Wisconsin? She has a small but highly developed brain and can leap tall buildings in a single bound, so, who knows. Right now she's resting up for the trip. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, see more Camera Critters and the folks who love them.

A cat called what?

Today's ABC letter is 'M' and boy do I have an 'M' this time!

'M,' as in Maine Coon Cat. The cat in my photos is named Squirrel and belongs to my daughter Audrey. She and Squirrel stayed with us for several months and we fell in love with this fetching and rascally cat. Maine Coons are noted as intelligent and resourceful. So true.

First of all: her name. Squirrel was rescued from some neglectful owners by a guy named Pickle. He named her Squirrel because of her big, fluffy tail. [I don't invent these names, I just report them!] I might have named her Whiskers for the l-o-n-g ones she has.

At our house she started and ended each day with a rousing game of volleyball with her favorite sparkly ball. She'd jump on a table and wait for some poor, unsuspecting chump to throw the ball while she batted it back. Said pitcher then bent over and threw it again. Back and forth and eventually it became evident that the real workout was had by the pitcher. When I first met her she was trying to walk off with Scrabble pieces when no one was looking. She stole food whenever she could, including things too big to carry off like fried chicken or sweet rolls. Embarrassingly funny. Her favorite heist was eyeglasses. She'd rip them off, then leave them somewhere the owner would never expect to search. My glasses will forever have little Squirrel teeth marks on the sides.

We don't see this fluffball very much but even Dave, who maintains a stanch ambivalence toward cats, likes to reminisce about how she would sleep on the back of his desk chair whenever he was at the computer. I remember how she carried her sparkly ball around the house hanging from one tooth.

Maine Coon Cats, gotta love 'em!

Stop by Mrs Nesbitt's place for more 'M' words. You'll be glad you did.

word.l.e.s.s. Wednesday