CHRISTMAS CAT TREE

There was a mystery gift and it wasn't under the Christmas tree. Rather it was sequestered in behind the tv and covered over with a blue blanket ~ its hasty wrapping paper. When, what to my wondrous eyes should appear...

A brand new cat tree for the cats to enjoy! Me too, actually, because now they won't be on every other surface in the house and since they lost their last cat tree this past spring, they've been wanting one back. 
My husband made this tree from bits of rough hewn wood he found round the dairy. When, I don't know and when he got it into the house and down the stairs into the basement where I rarely go, I don't know and he isn't telling...
But I've been asking for one for a-g-e-s to keep the cats off other kitchen surfaces that they've claimed as their own and out from under my feet.

four cats in a tree

 

After putting it in the kitchen for the time being its become the most popular place in the house! Come January it will go in the living room front window.

This is the only way Molly and Sassy will share - 1. when they can't see each other and 2. when they are on different tiers.

The morning's entertainment on Boxing Day 2012;

For once Molly isn't hitting Winston and she can't see Blackie, so he's safe.
Of course, there's a story here, the grey cat on the highest tier is a little female; the one beside is a male...

Since she was fixed she's gained weight and  attitudes toward every cat that used to beat her up. 

So guess what?

Winston and the Grey male sharing the cat tree on Boxing Day morning.

Pretty much, you guessed it; she will take after any cat now...

Barn cats sharing a homemade cat tree

Happy Christmas to Everyone, including you're pets!

Prosperity, Family and Good Friends are all very welcome in the New Year ~ 2013

Catspaw

TIS' THE SEASON ~~~

Tis the season to wish everyone happiness and the holiday spirit. Gladness, sharing and entertaining with friends and family, exchanging gifts that are unknown to you and surprises coming out of brightly wrapped packages... but I'm reminded that not everyone has these things.

As the day ends on Prince Edward Island, my husband is at work on the dairy doing the second milking of the cows while I am alone in the house; the owner and his son are with their families...

There is just the two of us and we spent the holiday alone watching cartoons of Scrooge and indulging in the chips and pop while the ham, potatoes and carrots cooked for dinner. A few gifts I bought for him and for myself, and wrapped myself, are still under the tree unopened. I know what all of them are - 

No family to share with but he did surprise me with a gift I had no idea that he made for me and smuggled into the basement, where I rarely go...

Not everyone necessarily welcomes this time of year.

 

Catspaw

AS A MATTER OF INTEREST... ~~~***~~~

I was a busy little bee on Doomsday, just past. 

I left early to do my round of banking and errands, which included a tad of shopping ~ last minute essentials.... 

Once home, I scanned some pictures and edited them for use in future blogs, then made a nice lunch for my husband when he came in at noon. Played door person for the rather constant parade of cats, mine and the dairy cats, in and out of the house all day.

After that I was on FB for awhile and took one phone call from an acquaintance of my husbands. 

Late PM I started making the dough for Banana Cinnamon Buns and put the dough to rise in the oven with the light turned on. I doubled the amount of filling...

Double the amount of filling for maximum sweetness

This is an easy recipe using a nice batter dough that always turns out nice and uses up over-ripe bananas so they don't have to be thrown out.

Started supper round 6:30 pm as Merrill rarely gets in before 7:20; by the time he got in I was ready to roll the dough out, fill and cut it for its second rising. 

The guys cutting logs for wood burners and loading the truck. Note the amount of snow we have....

Watched the third movie of Harry Potter with supper ~~ while Merrill went to bed, I was up until well after 10 pm baking my buns!

Still, no end-of-the-world came or went... it was a quiet day, more or less. 

Woke today to wind and rain! No snow for Christmas! Ok by me.  

And that ~*~ was my Doomsday!

Catspaw       

GOOD MORNING DEAR READERS, WELCOME TO THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER

This time last year we had to shovel the snow away from the door just to be able to leave the house! 
Today there's just a slight covering of snow and its warm and calling for rain on Saturday. My cats want to be outside despite the snow.

Of course, there's always that 'one' who refuses to set paw outside and wants the door to stay open just so she can enjoy the sunshine from the dry environment of the porch. Right, Molly?

Then Again...

Maybe its better to just sit in a sunny, warm window and 'look' at the wintry day outside.

Today is very special. Its the Winter Solstice, its four days before Christmas and its Doomsday all rolled into one! Now, if that ain't special, I don't know what is. The tree is decorated, the gifts are waiting and the 25th is coming - for me and my family, anyway. For 95% of the rest of the world, who knows. OH, YES, the Mayans do.

See you all here tomorrow... Hope that guy has another use for his Ark! No life savings are left....
Hmmm, there's a topic of conversation ~ what did you spend your time doing on doomsday?


Have a GRREEAT DOOMSDAY!!!

Catspaw

~~~HELP ! DOOMSDAY IS COMING !~~~

Personally, I don't put any stock whatsoever in any prediction performed by man. Least of all an Ancient, long dead and violent civilization that would have given Hitler a run for his money!  That's just a given. When you're Bible tells you that 'Not even the Angels in Heaven know when the end of the world is'... I take that to mean Only the Lord himself has this information. This is HIS business, not ours.

Yet, Christian professing people around the globe are blowing their life savings to build an Ark???

This monstrosity has a looong way to go before the end of the world next Friday!!!

How the Lord must shake His head at us!

I can imagine Him asking 'why do I bother'.

 I mean, people.... he hasn't even gotten the plumbing in yet!!! 

?!How long has he been building this thing?!

This one rather confuses me, if the world is coming to an end, why do you need fuel in your car? Where exactly, do you think your going to drive to?

Do tell, how is toilet paper and instant noodles going to help????

Can you imagine the sales this Department store is making - two weeks before Christmas yet! 

Its like celebrating Christmas twice!

Course, its not all good news for every store on the planet ~ food panic buying has resulted in food price surges round the globe.

Thank you VERY MUCH! 

Like food isn't expensive enough on Prince Edward Island, Canada!

And its not limited to our side of the world either...

Then there's this...

Uhmmm, if radiation is going to engulf the globe in a week's time, tell me; how are these going to help?  Uh, this question is open to everybody, by the way

   What I would not give to own a store right now! It wouldn't matter what I sold.

Pretty much says it all...

 

 Personally, my husband and I plan to sleep through it, depending of course on what time of day or night its supposed to happen........... 

You'd think the Mayan's could at least given the time of day! Jeez

Just so you know, I will be blogging on December 22, 2012; after the end of the world. What do you think my topic will be?

Catspaw

OH CHRISTMAS TREE ~ OK, WHERE ARE THE LIGHTS ALREADY!!

Yikes! look at the date!

Spent a goodly portion of yesterday surging through the spare room in a major hunt for the three separate parts of the tree stand and pole, which, miraculously, I found to my GREAT JOY and HAPPINESS. Course, then I had to reorganize and tidy the room I just tore apart...

Oky~dorky, so I got the tree put together; its one of those pre-decorated artificial trees we bought two years ago. It had the most horrendous plain red and gold balls on it and three sets of boring white lights. Well, when I finally got the tree set up I had to adjust all the branches only to discover that the lights had such a strangle hold on the tree that I could not, for the life of me, get them off short of taking the scissors to them. 

My first decoration for 2012

 I thought you might not take me seriously.

Yep, I started on a side and cut all the lights off! Took me two hours and I still hadn't gotten it all.

You can see this caused my artificial tree to shed.

 

The cats thought it was great fun, Winston is trying to get the jump on Emerald; usually NOT a good idea, while the grey cat on the sofa sleeps on...

 Winny and Emmy were perturbed when I stuffed all the light pieces into a bag to toss out! 

After the excitement was over these three decided to take a break from the hard work of watching me and playing in the mess it made. 

My hubby adjusted the tree stand right after he got home.

                                                                                        

Now, to the business of 'my' lights and decorations!

Happy Christmas Everyone

Catspaw

??? HOW'S WINTER TREATING YOU ???

2012 Winter on Prince Edward Island, Canada so far...

This was the scene on the morning of December 10th, 2012; there are 4 cats in this picture and none were impressed with Mother Nature's indecision!

Same day, a few hours later. I brightened the pic above and ...

left this one the way the great outdoors 'really' looked.

Then it rained all night!

Imagine waking to this scene this morning...

 It looks like Spring!

 and the sun is out and about;

Blacky, taking in the 'new' scenery... from the inside.

Ain't it amazing what a ton of overnight rain can do for an inch and a half of fresh snow.

Its up in the air, literally, whether this island will see a green or white Christmas this year.

Catspaw   

The More Unusual, The Better ~ I Say!

Its Christmas baking time AGAIN!  Question:  Are you going for the old favorites and the traditional baked wonders from your kitchen or this year, would you like to try something more festive and different?

How 'bout making some Bark!  Yes, you heard right, I did say BARK!!

Ok, so I'm crusin' the web and I come across a curious thing called Candy Cane Bark, sounds interesting so far; I check it out and find a recipe that is ~~ completely confusing!!! 
Its on the Better Homes and Gardens site and coming from the US where they have different names for chocolate, apparently. I mean, 'chopped chocolate-flavor candy coating' and 'chopped vanilla-flavor candy coating' when what is meant is chocolate chips and white chocolate chips is just.... shake your head, you know what I mean!?

Officially a 'Candy Coating' is a general term used for a variety of products like white chocolate, almond bark, confectioner's or ??summer coating?? Seriously! I would have been scratching my head for months over that one. Its usually available to purchase in 1 or 2 pound packages or in blocks in places like the Bulk Store. I am assuming it can also be dipping chocolate pieces. Its a special type of chocolate because it doesn't involve 'tempering', a process used to prevent real chocolate from developing speckles and grey streaks as it hardens.

Well, after I got that one figured out I went to take a look at the recipes and the different varieties of Bark make for a very simple and very pretty Christmas treat, ornament, showpiece and snack. 

Examples:
   Candy Cane Bark!
  Candy Crunch White Bark!

  Santa's Delight Peppermint Bark

  Lemon Drop Bark!

THE OFFICIAL VERSION -- Candy coating is a general term used for a variety of products. It's sometimes called white chocolate, almond bark, confectioner's coating, or summer coating and is available in 2-pound packages and in blocks or round disks wherever candy-making supplies are sold. The coating comes in vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch flavors.It's used for candy dipping because it doesn't require "tempering," which is a process candy makers use to prevent real chocolate from developing speckles or gray streaks as it hardens.

THE OFFICIAL VERSION -- Candy coating is a general term used for a variety of products. It's sometimes called white chocolate, almond bark, confectioner's coating, or summer coating and is available in 2-pound packages and in blocks or round disks wherever candy-making supplies are sold. The coating comes in vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch flavors.It's used for candy dipping because it doesn't require "tempering," which is a process candy makers use to prevent real chocolate from developing speckles or gray streaks as it hardens.

If I may; 

Candy Cane Bark      Recipe from

"A wonderful Christmas gift from the kitchen, this chocolate and peppermint candy is simply delicious. For easy cleanup, line the baking sheet with foil." (quote)

Servings: Makes 1-1/4 pounds.

Prep Time: 25 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

Related Categories: Candy, Chocolate Candy, Christmas Candy

• 6  ounces chopped chocolate-flavor candy coating (Chocolate chips or dipping chocolate)
• 3  ounces chopped milk chocolate bar
• 6  ounces chopped vanilla-flavor candy coating (White Chocolate chips or dipping chocolate)
• 3  ounces chopped white chocolate baking squares
• 1/4  cup crushed peppermint candy canes

Line a large baking sheet with foil. In a small, heavy saucepan melt chocolate-flavor candy coating and milk chocolate bar stirring over low heat until smooth. Pour onto baking sheet and spread into a 10x8-inch rectangle; set aside.

In another small, heavy saucepan, melt vanilla-flavor candy coating and white chocolate baking squares, stirring over low heat until smooth.

Slowly pour white mixture over chocolate mixture on baking sheet. With a thin spatula swirl white mixture into chocolate mixture. Shake baking sheet gently for even thickness.

Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Chill 30 minutes or until firm. Use foil to lift candy from baking sheet; break candy into pieces. Makes 1-1/4 pounds. 

To Store

Layer pieces between waxed paper in an airtight container and cover. Store in refrigerator up to 3 days. Serve at room temperature. 

If you're wondering what this will do to your diet:

Nutrition information ~~ Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet Per serving: Calories 55, Total Fat 3 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 2 mg, Carbohydrate 6 g, Fiber 0 g, Protein 1 g. Daily Values: Vitamin C 0%, Calcium 0%, Iron 0%. (quote)

I will post the other recipes soon. Tis the Season to enjoy or at least the month until January's new diet starts! 

Catspaw

The Value and Importance of Adopting Rescue Cats - Part 2

Sasha's story:

Sasha, rescued in the street from an on-rushing car

'Here is Sasha. He just loves everyone. He is 2 years old now, neutered and has all his shots up to-date. I call him my Christmas Surprise because I was on my way downtown 2 years ago when I heard a kitten screaming just ahead of me. To my horror I saw this tiny kitten, no more than 5 weeks old, in the middle of the street just as a car drove right over him. I quickly ran over to this terrified little kitten thinking that I better rush him to the vet when he gazed up at me with those big saucer eyes and seemed to say: I’m lost, please take me home?

As I looked him over to make sure he was ok I realized I had something of a problem. I already had Xena and I wasn’t looking to get another cat. But then again, Xena was just turning one year old at the time and she did seem quite lonely when I had to go out. There was no one in sight and it was getting dark and very cold. I had a choice to make. My heart wouldn’t let me just toss this helpless kitten aside in a snow bank where he would freeze to death or land back on the road and get squashed by a car for sure or a dog may get a hold of him or someone may find him and be cruel.

But as I was holding this tiny kitten in my arms he started to purr and crawl inside my coat where it was warm. Suddenly it came to me that it was Christmas Eve!! All my life, growing up as a child, I had always wished for my very own kitten in a basket with a big red bow, just for me! Never got it. I realized then that if I had not gone downtown that night, I would have never found this kitten and the outcome for Sasha would have terrible – he would not have survived and would have died a hideous death. But I brought him home and in a few days Xena accepted him and now they have bonded.

But all I can say is: an Angel must have been watching over this tiny, helpless kitten that night and brought me there to save him and bring him home on Christmas Eve --- of all nights! Sasha found a home that night.

Hey, who says: miracles never happen and a child’s wish was fulfilled!'

Next is Maya's story

Catspaw

 

Aspects Of An Anniversary

What do you do for your anniversary?   Somehow Merrill and I started going out for an anniversary dinner to a favorite or new restaurant. We started this due to our finances; like everyone we have bills that eat up our paychecks and debt to pay down so it seemed like the most sensible thing to do. Remember, I'm not talking McDonald's here; nice place but even Timmie's is an improvement on a special occasion. Before we moved to Prince Edward Island two years ago; its been two years, eight months the end of May, coming up but am I counting??  Anyway, since we moved here from our beloved Alberta where we had a favorite place we'd go that this island sorely lacks. There is no replacing a good Buffet!  There is one here but once was enough at the price they charge for what you get in return.


The first aspect is how you chose to celebrate your anniversary and since anything goes within reason, there are no set rules. From dinner out, a movie, a night on the town, dancing, a weekend getaway if you can afford it, exchanging gifts. Maybe you can farm out the kids to a neighbor or grandparents... Better yet, get them to clean the house while your gone!

If you're like me, kinda like with Christmas, you plan for it well ahead of time. To that end here is one thing that I do to make it more special. Say you have some spare cash (HA!) excuse the laugh, I'm still working on that part. 
Ok, so you know those gift cards you see in every store that is allowed to carry them, every time I can afford it I invest in one, from my favorite stores of course, I purchase. Then I tuck them safely away and more often than not, forget they exist. Then something comes up and I go on a hunt for them. I try to do this, once every month and for a sizable amount like 50 bucks to make it worthwhile as, lets face it, $10 even $25 just doesn't count for much anymore. But, I have to say that when it comes from a friend or family member, it is very much appreciate.

Are you a coupon clipper?  I've become one but, I go online to my favorite stores and new stores that I find and get my coupons that way. Always making sure that its a worthwhile item, at least something I'd actually buy and the expiration date is not too close to hand. Sometimes one can come across a good spa deal or gym promotion if one is keeping an eye out. Sounds ridiculous ~~ a coupon to get the vehicle fixed for half price will mean a great deal to hubby!  A free hair cut and style will literally make a new woman out of the Mrs's, especially around Spring ~~ the time when we get antsy and run after any change that presents itself. 

If nothing else, hand your spouse a gift card and send them shopping!  No worry ~ no guilt, you've had it paid for months ago and you where lucky to find it again!!  Might as well use it, its money already spent anyway. Remember when you actually enjoyed such things before you got in the habit of counting the pennies in your purse??

Enjoy, guilt free!


Catspaw