Merry Christmas from the Kitties!

Wearing Santa Hat

Flash in Santa Hat

Little Christmas Tree

Etsy Items Celebrating the Beautiful Cat Contour

Pecan Brittle

Pecan Brittle

One of the advantages of living in this area is an abundance of affordable pecans!

Camellia Water for Cats

Cats wait months to once again enjoy the taste of camellia water.

A Box of Plaquemines Parish Citrus

Plaquemines Parish Citrus

We received a box of citrus from Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.  The fruit is incredibly sweet and delicious!

Etsy Napoleonic Bee Items

Free or Very Cheap Cat Toys

Ado hides in a bag.

Sophie in Easter bag and grass.

Paper Bags

Orlan in a box.

Boxes

Ado hides in a box.

Sophie loves wrapping paper and ribbons.

Sophie loves strings.

Sophie and her favorite crinkle ribbon.

Ribbons and Strings from Presents

Plastic Easter Eggs

Ponytail Holders and Scrunchies

Ping-Pong Balls

Corks and Plastic Bottle Tops

Old Balled Together Socks

One day when we moved furniture, we uncovered Sophie's nest of all of her favorite little things.  There were ponytail holders and scrunchies she had stolen off bathroom counters, acorns from the Thanksgiving cornucopia, and sweet gumballs carried in from outside.

Orlan has stolen a pair of balled together socks out of a stack of freshly folded clothes.  Of course, when he was about 9 months old, he stole a whole loaf of French bread off the kitchen counter and carried it through the kitchen and across the entire length of a large 1970s ranch style living and dining room onto the first step of the stairs in the foyer.

Choco Chip Choco Flax Cooooookies

choco chip choco flax cookies

The flax adds nuttiness and a nice chew.

the kitten and the bee

Etsy Bee Motif Items for December

Etsy Cat Motif Gift Items

Stuffed Mirlitons

Stuffed Mirliton

©2011 D. Moss

©2011 D. Moss

Last night I made stuffed mirlitons (chayote in the grocery store) for the first time.  They turned out incredibly delicious!
Now, I just need to talk my brother-in-law into growing them . . .  They are pretty expensive in the grocery stores here, but grow like weeds in New Orleans.

Uptown New Orleans Cat

Uptown New Orleans Cat

©2011 D. Moss

Little Miss Sophie

Cat of the woodlands
Cat disguised as leaves, earth, and twigs

Raised as an infant with squirrels

She hides nuts and tiny balls and hair-ties

Raised by raccoons until she was weaned

She washes her paws and her strings
Leaving strings in her water-bowl so that they'll be cleaned

A scratch across her nose,

She was shoved and pushed from their nest
Crying and crying she landed on our back doorstep

Such beautiful, sweet eyes the color of an exotic sea

She made her way into the home of humans
And decided she was pleased

Here she remains the princess of all

The camouflaged and beautiful woodland cat
Who is adored by all

Dreams of Commodore

Commodore 2006

Dreamt of Commodore this morning.  He was beautiful again with his thick winter ruff and hair fluffed out for the cold morning air.  He came to me and I petted him and could hear his loud purr once again.

Falling Leaves

The leaves are steadily falling now.  I watched out the window as a flurry of them drifted past, spiraling down.  From a distance, the bright orange ones were indistinguishable from the orange butterflies I often see in my garden.
Orlan rediscovered the joy of playing in leaves, today. 
I was inside and heard the distinct sound of Flash, my father's cat, screaming.  I ran outside to find Orlan attempting to engage Flash in play in the huge collection of leaves beneath the viburnum, which marks the property line.  As I lifted a branch to see what was going on, I was surprised at how expansive the area beneath the viburnum had become.  It did look like a great place to hang out, perhaps even to fight over.  Flash and Orlan separated on my appearance and admonishments.  Then, as Flash tried to walk around to the back of the house, Orlan couldn't resist and made a kitten like hop to catch her.  So, I hopped towards him, and he went running and hopping all the way around the house, up the stairs to the deck, through the rungs of the kitchen chair I had propping up the backdoor (an incredible feat for a cat his size, who isn't exactly known for agility), and through the kitchen, purple bedroom, and into the suite bathroom.
Orlan just wants the other cats to play with him.  But, they all think he is weird, giant, and frightening.  When he catches them, all he does is give them these silky, soft bear-hugs.  Flash starts screaming  before he lays a paw on her.  If he comes within a foot of her, she starts growling or screaming.

Cat Andiron in Meridian, Mississippi

Storybook Characters and Wistlestops

Last Saturday, I attended the Whistlestop Weekend in Meridian, Mississippi.  It was at the old Soulé

machine works factory.  I was amazed at all of the storybook characters come to life that I encountered on this trip.  There is one person in particular that I just can't erase the image of from my mind.  She was a lady advocating for Geography lessons in the schools of Mississippi.  She had eyes that were too small for her face - really too small for her face.  I know this sounds strange, but it is not something I commonly see.  She was wearing a blue hat with a small net, partial veil.  Would that be '40s?  And a dark, royal blue dress to match.  Perhaps, she was trying to look international.  But, I just kept thinking, I've seen her in a cartoon before.  Maybe, one of those odd ones from the U.K.  She could have been a toad.  She could have been the sister of the mean administrator from the Harry Potter books. 
I also noticed father and son who definitely had Hobbit in them. Their proportions were uniquely short and stout.
It was an odd festival.  There were a few different loosely related focuses:  Steam engines; calliopes and various accordions; a few random antique cars; antique tractors; and blacksmithing and former craft industries of the local area.

I was little disappointed that the steam engines were running for the sake of running but not actually doing anything.  I once went to the truck crops festival, and a man there had a steam engine processing sorghum and selling sorghum syrup.  I had a sample of the syrup, and it was delisioso!  At another event, there was an engine being used to make flour.  My mother and I were compelled to buy flour.  Of course, I also bought it because I had never seen red wheat before and found that intriguing.  Unfortunately, the muffins I made with the flour were not discernibly red when they came out of the oven.
To the designers out there, you would have had field day buying up the old industrial light fixtures and artifacts, if they were for sale . . .

Mold for the Keys to the Castle

Man Andiron

Cat Andiron

Owl Andiron