The cat’s behind

Dear G-Mail,

This morning as I was happily reading my email, my cat Mitchell sat on the keyboard. I suppose he did not mean to actually sit ON the keyboard but being rather, erm, gifted in the posterior end, his “end” inadvertantly pressed some kind of magic combination of keys and turned the gmail font into an unreadable, microscopic page. It was kind of funny, in  a way when you think about it, a cat’s rumpus causing a whole page to change. It was funny until I could not figure out how to change it back. No other page was affected, just gmail. His rump is very skilled in gmail targeting, I guess.

Now, I am not complaining that Mitchell is big boned. He just is. Nothing to poke fun at. He is just pleasingly plump. Just a few pounds above the mean. Which is normally not a problem.

But if the cat’s behinds of the world all join force, think of the havoc on gmail. I cross my fingers that you have thought of this evil problem on your own. I’m sure you have run into it in testing.

Anyway, an exhaustive search led me to the cure (ctrl,+, in case you have a large posteriored cat).

Sincerely,

gmail user with bad vision

~~~

She is NOT talking about me, is she??

Not dead

I have always wanted to grow my own vegetables. To me, there is nothing in the world like fresh veggies. But new this year? I have accepted the fact that:
1. I don’t like to grow vegetables
2. I don’t have the room to grow veg
and
3. I don’t have the sun to grow them properly.
So I’ve decided to throw myself into growing the flowering plants that I love so much. Lilacs, peonies, iris, tulips, hydrangeas and more hydrangeas! That’s what I am about this year! I am embracing the flower lover within.
But I will be purchasing plenty of fresh veggies from my favorite local farmstand, don’t worry. There might even be a bit of veg begging from my favorite organic gardener, we’ll see.

I love this time of year

In other news:

I hope you are sitting down. I am knitting a sock. I have been sick as of late, a horrible cold and I’m not saying that is the reason but…it has been a while.

knitting a sock. Not such an uncommon event. Unless you are ME.

Actual sock knitting:

Yarn: Sundara Autumn seasons, colorway Roasted Persimmon over green papaya.

Pattern: the wonderful Jane’s Hedgerow pattern. (That is a ravelry link. If you are not a member, I’ll send you another link. Just ask)

CSI (Cats, shoes and iris)

I don't pee on the floor anymore! Mom says that is progress

Myron

I still chase Myron. But I'm quite the love bug, or so Mom says!

Mitchell

~~~~

New shoes:

Comfy, cute and perfect for summer!

~~~~
And Iris, blooming in my yard!

A good year to be an iris

~~~

And cupcake talk to boot!
I decided to make Martha Stewart’s Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream icing. Notice the picture at the link. The cupcakes were a small disaster. Not a huge disaster, but one that went on a different path than I expected. They were not very pretty and not very cupcakey. But more like a cake with fruit. Delicious in their own right. But not a cupcake in the traditional sense.

The buttercream frosting? I am telling you that it was so beautiful and so delicious it would make you weep. I kid you not. It was the best frosting I had ever made.  A bit labor intensive but worth it. And then? I put the strawberries in the mixing bowl. Holy frosting, Batman! I have never seen something change texture so fast as that. It went from a masterpiece to something that needed to go as quickly as possible to the trash can, curdled and awful looking. I shut the mixer off and gazed, disbelieving into the bowl. Disgusted, I left it there for a little while. I went back a while later and tried to whip it more.
No dice. It was beyond saving. I guess it was just the healthy eating gods trying to convince me that frosting is evil. Check mate, then.

I may write to Martha and seek her advice on that one. (I wonder if she’d answer me?)

But more importantly? I have stewed enough about my lack of cake making skills that I am now thinking of enrolling in the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts Techniques of Baking series.

Take that, frosting!

Kitties get mail

A text message from Bethany:

The cats got mail and Mitchell loves the smell of it!

I laughed so hard I thought I’d split a seam! Kitties waited until I got home to open it up.

I suspected who it was from, I was right. Crazy Auntie Cookie. She’s a cat lady way deep down inside, I have a feeling.

It's not a bomb, Mom

Smells so good!

I am in Loooooveeeee

OPEN ITTTTTT!

Myron says "Thank You, Auntie Cookie!"

Mitchell says "Mmmmffrrrrrmmmfff", which I believe to be "Thank you, Auntie Cookie"!!

Thank YOU, Cookie. You made the day of 2 fuzzy ones.

~~~~

Stash Sale.
I’ll be adding more over the next couple of days.

A word from Mitchell

Has my mom been telling horror stories about me? Chasing Myron? Pfft. Not me! Look at how sweet I am!

You believe me, right?

I’m glad I got the chance to straighten this out with us this morning. Let’s not mention this to my mom, k?

Do you hear what I hear? Cat fights, that is.

Things I have learned:

~Mitchell likes to eat houseplants. Of course, I have no idea which, if any of mine are poisonous.

~Myron makes chirping noises quite like a bird, which is ironic but cute as hell

~Mitchell has a head tilt from a previous untreated injury/ear infection (they are not sure which)  that makes his incredibly cute and inquisitive looking

~Mitchell is the biggest slob when eating. Food gets everywhere and I mean everywhere in the kitchen. He is also a slob in the litter box.

~Myron is not a slob at all

~They can play for hours

~But I am very concerned because all of a sudden, they are fighting a lot. And I mean, all out, screaming, hissing, fur standing on end, rolling around and swatting. Fighting. In the kitchen, in the living room, in the hall, in the bathroom on the stairs. Fighting.
Can’t we just all get along?
I have asked them why, if they could get along living in a small cage, do they have to start fighting with each other in a big house? There’s lots of room for everyone! No answers. I just get that head tilt questioning look that Mitchell gives out so well.

~But the odd thing?

Dinner time

They don’t fight over the food.

Just everything else.

Any thoughts? Any advice from you multiple catters out there? Help this newbie out?

~~~

Because we are having our first big snowstorm, timed perfect for a Friday night at home, here is today’s Christmas Carol!

Let. It. Snow~

Honey, we’re home!

I have a new home

Where's my brother, Mitchell?

I miss Fig desperately. My home feels cold and empty. Even filled with people as it is.
Bethany and I visited the Northeast Animal Shelter and came home with the cutest cats. Plural. 2 cats. Myron and Mitchell. Myron is the one you see above. Mitchell is an orange cat. They are 9 months old. They lived in a house with a lot of cats. They both seem sweet. I’m not so sure right now as one is under the bed and one is under a table sitting on a game.

Poor things.

I hope they come out soon.

Sorry, no Christmas carol for today. I’ll put an extra one in tomorrow. I’m all excited and nervous about who came for dinner. (cats, in case you missed it)