Find Elmo... no, find the feline in the pic!

Find Elmo! No... Find the feline in the tree!

I've always liked this picture. Thought I would share it with you. There's a feral cat up in that tree. Can you find it?

I also wanted to share a video of the little feral Siamese looking kittens in our yard. But I'm not sure how to upload it. Going to try...
So far, no luck.

So here is a pic of 2 of my daughter's 3 dogs. Moose is the Great Dane on the left and Willow is a rescued lab mix on the right. Willow is up in age, Moose is 3.

DH and I had dinner with some old friends this week. The guys grilled outside while my friend and I sat with our feet in the pool and talked. As hot as its been around here, it really wasn't too bad that evening. They have lots of trees around their pool and there was a breeze.  Later we had dessert and coffee inside... and talked some more.  It was great fun spending time with them. DH and I are not very social... meaning we don't do a lot of socializing - parties, clubs, travel, etc. So when we do get together with old friends, it means a lot.

And another dear friend took me out to lunch for my birthday yesterday. We went to Whiskey Cake... and it was really fun. I tried to put some pictures here, but it didn't work, but you can google Whiskey Cake Kitchen and Bar and see pictures. It is an interesting place. Everything they use there is fresh and local.  She and I split a bacon cheeseburger with home-made chips and a side order of fried green tomatoes with a dipping sauce. It was fabulous. Also we had coffee and split a whiskey cake that is covered with some sort of whiskey caramel sauce... with a cup of freshly whipped heavy cream on the side. Delicious!

I guess this is my post for the day. Reading a good book by Rhys Bowen. Think I'll go and make myself a cup of tea and pick up where I left off last night. 

Have a great weekend!

Cats... you gotta love 'em

Backyard ferals

Our backyard sometimes looks like a wildlife refuge... which I guess it is.  In these 2 pics, there are 2 mama cats and their assorted kittens... all black... so hard to distinguish (altho DH does do so and has names for certain ones).  Due to lack of rain our grass looks pitiful, but in the spring when everything is green and lush, you only see little black heads pop out here and there in the long grass. It's funny! Kind of like one of those games where you pop the critter on the head with a mallet when the head pops up? Little black heads pop up everywhere!

This is Tux with a new toy we bought the inside cats. I saw something similar on Deb's "Just Cats" blog.  The cats really seem to like it... especially Tux. 

This is Julie and (if you look closely between her paws) her toy mouse. She loves hitting, tossing, and grabbing it out of the air.

This is her "... I dare you to touch my mouse" face.

We were supposed to have company this past weekend, but unexpected things came up and it was cancelled. We were all disappointed, but we plan to get together again in October for a family wedding, so it will all work out. But... I did stuff artichokes in advance as well as making a peach custard pie... However,  DH was happy enough to eat both on his own.

I know I haven't blogged in a while. Lots going on... and haven't been feeling *up to par*.  Went to the doctor's last Friday and am feeling a bit better. They're going to run some tests... (always fun, yes?). 

Well, there's not a lot of *content* in this post, but at least it shows that I'm still around. Fall classes start next week, and I have to say that I've gotten a bit lazy over the summer.  It's nice not to have to be up and dressed and be somewhere for a certain time. But... I do like working with the clay, so I plan to continue. And even though I haven't been *up and out* a lot , we did get some things accomplished... like a thorough house cleaning, went through tons of old pictures - sorting them out to give to other family members, and DH and I cleaned out the closets... giving away about 6 large boxes of clothes we no longer use. So we weren't totally lazy.

I bought this magazine last week at Central Market and it has some really good recipes in it (I hardly ever buy magazines). The fried green tomatoes on the front cover caught my eye... as I love fried green tomatoes, but have never attempted to make them myself (true be known, I don't *fry* much of anything). But... my SIL made them at her place not too long ago.. and they were delicious.