Cat

Although she really isn't one any longer, I will probably always call Samoa a kitten (I called her predecessor "baby kitty" for 16 years).  Her first birthday is Monday.  I can't believe she's a full grown cat already.  I remember picking her up & stopping on the way home at Petco to get her a collar with a bell.  She was so tiny, we wanted to be able to find her, I guess.  That's not a problem, though.  She doesn't hide & is so terrible at stalking (she seems to think that simply crouching makes her invisible) so I took the collar off yesterday (it was getting a tad small anyway).  So, my girl is all grown up & doesn't need her bell anymore.  Here she is right after we brought her home & put the collar on.

I love the pink with skull-and-crossbones collar but I think Sammy is enjoying the unobstructed neck scratches even more.

Sunday

Just got back from taking the pups to the dog park, which we try to do at least once a weekend.  Fortunately, the pond has thawed & Kaycee was able to get her swim fix.  Unfortunately, that means we have a damp & dirty dog.  But, she's happy & both dogs are now asleep on their beds.  Sleepy pups are so cute!  Here's me with Bella & Kaycee at the park.

And after...

I woke Bella up taking the picture.  She was snoring seconds before this.  She's a cutie but man, can she snore!

Back to it

I finally started work on my next quilt project.  It is actually two quilts, one for each of my cousin's two super sweet kids.  Sarah likes horses & her favorite color is blue.  Finding fabric for hers was a cinch, and I even steered clear of stereotypically "girly" flowery prints. Feminine, maybe, but only one could really be called floral.

I'm really in love with these patterns & excited to see how it all comes together.  I just hope Sarah likes them as much as I do.  

Isaac likes Star Wars, the Clone Wars cartoon series.  Yeah... nothing at the fabric stores.  So, I found a twin sheet set & am going to cut that up.  Isaac's favorite color is also blue so I want to find different fabrics (so its not all matchy with his sister's), in the blue family, that have a touch more masculine theme.  This, I've found, is not that easy.  

I don't want just solid colors but I also don't want cutesy theme fabric with tractors or cowboys or robots (those are easy to find, incidentally) just cool, basic theme-free patterns.  This is my quest and I shall succeed (hopefully without too much plaid)!

Brilliant!

For some reason, I wanted beanie-weenie today, yet I had none of the ingredients.  This prompted me to wonder if there's a restaurant where I can get beanie-weenie.  Then, I thought I could open a restaurant with all kinds of comfort food and stuff you had when you were a kid & crave sometimes.  But my restaurant wouldn't be all hoity-toity & try to make a fancy version of beanie weenie. I wouldn't be putting weird ingredients in it and making you feel uncool because you've never heard of the South American tribe who's women have grown the beans for 12 generations in soil rich with diamonds that blah blah blah.  Nope.  We'd just open a can of beans, cut up the dogs & heat it up.  And it would be delicious.

Yeah, so, I made breaded flounder & steamed veggies for dinner.  Tasty... but I still want beanie weenie.

And here's some non sequitur cuteness:

Sick

I've been off the grid for a few days now because I've been sick.  Not totally sure on a diagnosis, I just know I've slept a lot and felt like shit while conscious.  So I've missed 2 days of work, which I really didn't want to do, and still don't feel 100% again. 

Now I'm trying to get to sleep and I'm suddenly feeling super anxious and jittery.  Xanax hasn't kicked in yet, hoping it helps.  Why am I anxious? Wish I knew.

So... a few bad days for Candy, fingers crossed for brighter days very soon.

St. Patty's

I am not even one little bit Irish.  I love Irish food, I enjoy an Irish accent (although Scottish is my fave) and I would like to someday visit Ireland but I can't claim any Irish heritage.  I am German, Polish & Norwegian but, unfortunately, there don't seem to be any holidays in the US to celebrate any of those by wearing a pre-specified color.  Ah well, I wore green anyway.

Clean freak

My hubby is in St. Louis until Sunday morning & I've been using the solitude as an opportunity to clean the house like crazy.  I cleaned the kitchen first & am quite proud of how clean it has stayed.  The red curtain you see in the pic hides our laundry area which is also pretty darn clean now.

I'd like you to take note of my tea kettle.  I cannot express how much I love it.  I'm odd, I know.

On a completely unrelated subject, I have had good luck with store brand foods.  I am in love with Safeway Select pasta sauces, for example.  Tonight, I tried Target's Archer Farms risotto.  I'm no risotto expert, but it was mighty tasty.  

I paired it with some grilled flounder fillets & felt a little fancy while I ate it.