the giraffe life

Mr. G and I are amused by our cats all the time. And sometimes, we just look at each other and shake our heads because their antics make that much sense. But Monkey in particular seems to copy every strange thing she sees another cat doing. This spring's been a blustery one (the word blustery always reminds me of Winnie the Pooh) and after our front mat was blown into the bushes two days in a row, we brought it inside to wait for calmer weather.  Dottie was immediately drawn to it and happily scratched it and lounged on it for a bit.  When she was done, Monkey had to follow with an inspection of her own. Dottie loves bags - so does Monkey. Oh, Capone likes to sleep on the back of this couch ? Monkey'll do the same. Dottie loves to relax on my yoga mat. Monkey gave it whirl too. Here's one of her original ideas. Play with the bathmat by putting both paws underneath! Hmm. Do your pets copy each other? 

You should follow Renee - she rocks!   I hope you enjoy the holiday! Mr. G and I have a few days off and we're starting the celebration tonight with a walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the lights followed by a bottle of wine ( Moscato of course, because I like my wine super sweet). 

She hopped right in when I opened it to put away laundry. linking up for wordless Wednesday

We unexpectedly adopted another feline friend last week. It all started when Mr. G dropped  Capone  off at the vet (to have a tooth removed) and commented on a cute kitten riding around on the vet's shoulders. As it turns out, the kitten was abandoned in a parking lot, picked up a few parasites and some burns, and then was dropped off at the vet's office. She was waiting for a good home.  Mr. G and I discussed it at length, but really it came down to this - we wanted to help, and we were in the position to do it. So we brought her home. She's been a joy. Very affectionate and curious. Keeping us entertained with all her antics. We love her already. So why the name Monkey? Several things . . she likes to climb (just on people so far), she greets us with a little squeaking noise that reminds me of monkeys, and her favorite blanket is covered with - you guessed it - monkeys.  I'd love to hear how you name pets. 

Dottie has been known to sleep in some unusual places  but she continues to surprise me! We found her in the tiny space next to the TV receiver last week: linking up for wordless Wednesday

The title says it all. This is what happens when I sit outside for too long. Thankfully we have a cat-proof pet screen so she didn't mess anything up with her antics. I'm actually impressed by her climbing - it took a few tries, but she can go up and down quite well now. linking up for wordless Wednesday And I promise, no animal pictures in Friday's post!

I put our white chair cushion outside this weekend while the weather was nice to get some sun (I've heard it helps disinfect and deodorize fabrics). But then a surprise rain shower moved in so I brought the cushion inside and left it on the couch in hopes that the rain would pass. It didn't, but Capone sure enjoyed the new sleep spot (I was surprised he didn't fall off - it must've felt like sleeping on the side of a mountain or something).  Dottie played it safe and slept in my lap on the couch. linking up for wordless Wednesday

As I was driving home from work last week, I saw something weird in the road. At the last second (as I was about to pass it), I realized it was an upside down turtle. So I pulled over and ran out to pick it up. Since I didn't know which side of the road the turtle wanted to be on (and I didn't want him to have to brave another crossing if I picked the wrong side), I took him with me. He rode home on my lunch box lid. And met Dottie. Clearly the highlight of this turtle's year. Then I took the turtle outside and put him by the body of water (is it a pond? is it a swamp?) behind my house. He thought about it for a minute, then charged in and disappeared below the water. Awesome! Have you had any recent encounters with the wild ones?

We use wool dryer balls in the dryer to speed up the process a bit and hopefully save a little energy. (I prefer to dry stuff in the sun - weather permitting - but since I live in a humid place, there are times when things start to mold before they are dry. And sometimes I'm just lazy.)  So as I was folding laundry the other day, one of the wool balls fell out of a pant leg and Dottie immediately pounced on it. Before I could even react, she had knocked the ball down the stairs and was intent on killing it. After laughing at her silliness for a few minutes, I took a couple of pictures . .  She's also been caught attacking an octopus and onion . Nothing like a goofy kitty cat to melt my heart :) What do your cats like to play with?

I keep a big pile of blankets out all winter so Mr. G and I can layer up as needed when we're on the couch. Dottie enjoys sleeping on my lap, so she'll crawl under the blankets when she lays with me. And this is what happened when she was finished with snuggling. I love those eyes! linking up for wordless Wednesday

Definitely not what I was expecting to see in the garage . . . linking up for wordless Wednesday

As you may have guessed, Dottie loves the sun. :) She somehow  jumped up there   and  moved   the shade out of the way . linking up for wordless Wednesday

I hope you unwrap something you like today! You can see Dottie did ;)

My family always makes cookies for Christmas. It's one of my favorite traditions. This year, we ended up baking 5 batches of cookies - peanut butter, chewy chocolate chip , Black-Eyed Susans, oatmeal (minus the raisins), and chocolate chip . While that's certainly not setting any world records, we had fun without the stress (which is what happens when we try to make 12 batches in one day). My ever-present inspector I thought I'd share one of my favorite cookie recipes - Black-Eyed Susans (I also love  the plant ). They're made with peanut butter and chocolate so this is just the perfect recipe for me. They'd be great for spring parties too. Aren't they adorable?! Black-Eyed Susan Cookies • 1 stick melted butter (1/2 cup) • 1/2 cup sugar • 1/2 cup brown sugar • 1 egg • 1 1/2 tablespoons warm water • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1 cup creamy peanut butter • 1 1/2 cups flour • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • chocola...

Hubby and I decided to skip the large Christmas tree this year in favor of this little Charlie Brown tree. But it wasn't safe in the living room, and as it turns out, it's not safe on top of the fridge either . .  I've heard comments are being eaten at an alarming rate - sorry! Mine are disappearing too. The only browser I've found that allows commenting is Safari. I'm working on it!  linking up for wordless Wednesday

Dottie apparently wanted to help us make spinach dip - I only turned for a second! haha linking up for Wordless Wednesday

Despite having access to a cushy cat bed, Dottie prefers to sleep on a shopping bag . .  Anyone else have a cat who sleeps in strange places?

Ever walk into a room and notice a plastic bag moving by itself? It happened to me last week . .  linking up for Wordless Wednesday

I don't think the octopus is going to make it through the night! Wordless Wednesday link up

linking up for Wordless Wednesday