The Holiday Crunch

The Trailblazer is back but only the heat is working.  The air had to be disabled.  It was seizing up and will cost between $700.00 to $800.00 to fix.  That won't get done right now.  We at least have heat for the Winter months.

I've started my Christmas shopping.  I always dread the buying gifts part of Christmas.  I'm afraid that no one will like what I bought for them.  The only part I do like is buying for the cats and dogs.  For the cats, a little catnip goes a long way.  For Homer...the small furry catnip mice are perfect.  He loves them.  The only problem is that he plays with one and then the next morning it's floating in the water bowl.  He's almost as bad as a raccoon.  He has to wash everything.  Even when he gets ahold of something I have cut off a package to open it...it's in the water after a bit of play.  One of his worst habits is reaching under the oven or fridge and scraping out dust bunnies after I've washed the kitchen floor.  I'm never sure if he is trying to tell me that it needed cleaning or he is looking for a mouse he lost. 
Fina likes a little bling.  If I can find something that has rhinestones on it for around her neck, she's happy.  The rest just get balls and catnip.  They all get new collars too.

Speaking of Christmas....we have another recipe that we like to fix for Christmas dinner once in awhile.  It's carrot pudding. It's a steamed pudding and tastes really good.  I'll post it next time I blog again.  I'll also try to get a picture of the children's Christmas stockings hung on the mantle in December to show you they all have a stocking.  I have to get one for Sugar since she's the newest adoptee.

Good Night From Muttzncatz's Place

I'm still here...They haven't beaten me down yet

Sorry......I've been busy with dentist,  doctor and vet appointments all through October.  I'm still not done.   I'll be doing doctor and dentist appointments all through January.  Amos and Hunter have been to the vet several times.  Hunter had a Urinary infection which he must have had for a very long time since he decided to urinate on the carpet in front of me to show he was sick.  There was blood in it.  He just finished a two week round of antibiotics.  He had lost weight and had a dull look in his eyes.  He is now pretty well back to normal and is eating like a little piggy.  Amos, we have determined, must have a growth in his nose.  We have tried every antibiotic we can find and the infection keeps coming back.  We can't afford to have a cat scan on him (at his age) I think we need to just make him comfortable.  I hate to think about saying good bye to another fur child but I know we don't have too long.  The hard part is that Hunter is actually older than Amos.  Though neither one is young...like older than 13 years........It's still too short of a life for my animals.  My cats usually last close to 20 years.  Anyway...I don't want to think about that now.

Thanksgiving is coming very fast.  I shopped  today for all the goodies to cook on Thursday.  I'm not looking forward to all the work but I sure am anxious to see my grand daughter and her significant other Randi.  Misty assured me she would be here for Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Then there's Christmas.....
Oh Lord!  More worry about what to get for everyone and lots of work to do both in decorating the house and yard and then cooking the meal again.

I have my husband's family gifts bought. Now a couple of gift cards and I'm done with buying.  Well maybe not...I still have to get my husband a big fat gift.  It's so hard to buy for someone who hates everything you get for him.  I can even purchase something he said he wanted and he would never use what ever it was because I gave it to him.  I swear I'm not making this up!  Well enough of that.......

I'm hoping for Snow close to Christmas this year.  I love the Christmas lights with snow all around them.  I'm not crazy about the new LED lights though.  They aren't as bright and showy as the old ones.  My husband is going to put them up tomorrow morning I think.  That means this week I will have to put up the huge wreath on the front of the house and the lights, ornaments and topper on the Blue Spruce in the front yard.  Oh, I almost forgot....the air-blown Snowman on the side yard too.  I never got out all the decorations last year so I think I'll start early this year.  I always feel guilty when I don't put them all out.  I don't feel guilty however.....when it's time to put things away because it's a lot faster without all the extra stuff.

I went out to lunch with an old friend of mine last week and we had the best time.  She gave me some advice about our current flea problem.  She uses Cedar chips in her dog run and it keeps the fleas to a dull roar.  I think after the holidays we need to do the same thing.  Our two girls are both California girls and DO NOT like to go potty in the muddy dog run.  It's bad enough that we have made them come to a colder and wetter climate....but now we expect them to use a muddy bog instead of soft green (dry) grass?????  How uncivilized!  I'm hoping that the cedar chips or shavings will entice them into using the dog run again.
Have a pleasant one today
Good Night From Muttzncatz's Place's

Hidden In The Computer Room

Tonight I'm hidden in the computer room away from the fur kids.  I'm knitting mittens for a Christmas present.  You know cats and yarn, right?  Not one of these felines can resist the soft slowly moving trail of yarn from the ball to the needles.  The Computer room is my office/craft room.  I do knitting, crochet, cross stitch, beading, polymer clay art, watercolor and acrylic painting in this room.  There are double glass doors into the room so the kids can still see me.  On Occasion,  Paddy will stand up and scratch on the door to try and get my attention. ( I have a water bottle that does a lovely stream of spray for misbehaving kitties)

I don't have much time left for making gifts so I have to cut this short and get with it.

Turkey Hangover

Leftovers are wonderful if you're tired of cooking every night. The very best part is...... the cats sleep soundly after a few pieces of Turkey. There haven't even been any major disputes since they were served Turkey for a couple of nights. We have eight male cats (neutered) so there is usually some sort of fighting going on for the alpha position. So far the crown belongs to Paddington with Lamont challenging his credentials.

Homer is looking forward to Christmas for the Prime Rib dinner we cook. We have mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, parsnips, Watergate salad, horseradish sauce, rolls, a green veggie and dessert. We celebrate on Christmas eve every year. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas this year... think we have a chance?

I have to get back to my knitting. I have mittens and a sweater to finish before Christmas. The sweater is for Cherry. It's red, off white and black. She'll look so spiffy in it!

More pictures to come.......I'll try and get pictures of their live theater. (the birdy toes and squirrel tales)

Christmas is headed our way

It's time to drag out all the decorations for Christmas. I have a collection of Snowmen that are coming out first. The cats don't bother anything but the Christmas tree. I shouldn't say cats, it's only Homer that likes to climb the limbs and sleep in the tree. I can't understand why he likes that so much since it's an artificial tree and is super scratchy. It makes my arms break out just putting it together. So far he hasn't broken anything but I'm not holding my breath. I'm going to put it up soon and leave it untrimmed to see if he is still fascinated by it. Pray for my tree...please!

The weather here is still fairly frigid. I bought Cherry (dog) a couple of new sweaters to keep her warm. She has figured out how to squirm out of them. The first sweater I bought her was a small which is tight on her now. This time I bought her medium and she takes it off at will. Is there no happy medium here? No pun intended *snicker*

Yesterday was kind of a bust. I cooked a huge meal and nobody ate much. My son Jeff, and his son AJ came after they had gone to Jeff's dad's house for Thanksgiving. They weren't hungry. My husband Ed, had to get up early so didn't want to eat heavy. Next year there will be no Thanksgiving dinner here. I'm happy that Jeff is finally bonding with his dad so I don't want to whine and stop them from the progress they are making. On the other hand...I'm tired of cooking for three days and throwing away food. Little chef and I worked very hard on that meal.
The cats and dog certainly do enjoy all that Turkey though.

I'm not a black Friday shopper I guess. Today was the day to catch a bargin and I tried to go to Target to see if I could score some icicle lights at a good price. I wanted the kind that actually look like an icicle but have lights in them. There were no parking spaces so I went home. I like shopping online for whatever I need. I can't bear to think about driving around and around looking for a place to park. Then if you get in the store you have to deal with rude people. Thank God for the Internet!