Warm and windy and over 80 degrees!

4-legged Marquette.

Own-rooted Marquette.

(My brother was named after Mommy's favorite GRAPE!)

One-of-a-kind Bengal!

I guess it was a busy day for Mommies today at the farm. They met with Rex who is almost done with his plumbing and electrical work, ate lunch with Barbara and Denny, checked on the vines, tried out Denny's Mantis gas cultivator, hauled rocks, worked with black raspberries, tried Mommy Bonnie's laptop with air card in Barbara and Denny's underground home (it didn't work well), checked on a nest of robins (3 eggs in the nest), watched Rex remove a huge piece of concrete from the end of the driveway that everyone was having to avoid when they pulled in and out...and just all sorts of things!

We cats stayed home and stayed on the window ledges all day, enjoying the warm air and watching everything going on in and across the commons. Soon we will be on the window ledge in the cottage and that will be soooo cool. Mommies hope to clean tomorrow and even move some things into the cottage next week so they can start staying the weekends. I won't like that. The dogs will get to go, but we cats will probably have to stay home. Bummer! But soon we will all be living at the farm. That will be nice, and my brother and I will finally be home where we were born.

Today Mommy opened the front door so we could walk out on the porch. I didn't even go near the door. Marquette went up to the door but not out. Tacumwah, of course, had to go out on the porch, but she did not stay long.

Mommy has to work on the farm blog now. Lots of photos of her busy day. Be sure to catch up on it!

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

A picture is worth a thousand words....

Miss Becky sent Gennie another treat! She LOVES Miss Becky!

Eating some of Miss Becky's treat.

Even Mommy doesn't look good when viewed from behind!

15 pound cat

13 pound cat

Well, this is embarrassing. I guess the photo says it all. Maybe I should consider a diet. Mommies are becoming concerned about my weight. Every time I gain half a pound Mommy says that I absolutely cannot gain another ounce. Then, of course, I do. But now I am 15 pounds and I don't want my mommies to be sad and worry about me. Maybe I should cut back.

Miss Becky sent Gennie a really good peanut butter granola bar. Mommy had a couple of bites and then put the rest of it in a baggie for Gennie. It will last her quite a few days because she is only allowed a small piece every day along with her fresh fruit. (Gennie doesn't seem to have a weight problem.) Gennie says a big thank-you to Miss Becky!

It is a beautiful day here. Many of our windows are open and the ceiling fan in the living room is rotating. What a great Friday night! I think Mommies will watch TV. Mommy is going to read a book too.

Mommy was on her way out the door yesterday to go to the farm to work and check on a turkey buzzard that was trapped in a corn crib (see blossomridgefarm blog). She had her arms full of everything she wanted to take to the farm. At the last second she glanced back into the kitchen and there was Marquette staring at her. She looked at him and decided she didn't want to go to the farm...she wanted to stay home with us. She got in the car anyway and drove to the store to buy some lemon biscotti and some food for Lucy that Grandma can't buy in Logansport any more and then came home, put everything away, and spent the day with us. We were very happy, and so was she!

Movie review: Yesterday Mommy watched Milk. Now you need to know that Mommy does not like Sean Penn's politics and was not really looking forward to watching this movie. The clips she saw did not interest her that much. But Grandma had watched this movie with her sister and liked it, and Mommy knew she would be watching it by herself. So yesterday she put it in the player. Mommy lived through this period of history and was familiar with Harvey Milk and the murders in San Francisco...not to mention the infamous Twinkie Defense! From almost the opening scene in the movie Mommy was hooked. The acting, editing, writing...everything about this movie was excellent, and Mommy says Sean Penn deserved his Oscar.

Mommy cried a lot during this movie, mostly because she understood it so well. It made her sad. It made her angry. It made her want to be more active in this civil rights issue. Mommy says four down and forty-six to go, and we, in our family, know exactly what she means. I know you want to live long enough, Mommy, to see the Supreme Court take this decision away from the states and act on this civil rights issue once and for all, and I hope you do. I hope I am around when it happens, because I want to celebrate with you.

Mommy and Grandma give this movie two thumbs up and recommend it for mature audiences.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

Gennie is an Indian Ringneck Parakeet

Gennie and Mommy

Some people at the library wanted to see how big Gennie is, so Mommy had Mommy Bonnie take a photo of Gennie with her in the photo so people could get an idea of her size. Gennie's tail is verrry long and she has some beautiful teal tail feathers. From beak to tail ringnecks are about 16" long. They live 25-30 years with some living 50 years! They come in lots of different colors. If you want to see some of the colors, go to:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=indian+ringneck+parakeet&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=eJ3vScHvI6C0NarIsQE&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title

Mommies went to the cottage today but only to see the work Rex had been doing. He told Mommy Bonnie he would be done with his work the end of this week, so Mommies went to Huntington and scheduled the final inspection on the cottage for a week from tomorrow. Then they hope to clean and begin to move some things in. They are also working in the vineyard, so they are very busy. Mommy Bonnie had the day off because Mommies were supposed to meet Mommy's brothers, their wives, and Grandma in Wabash for dinner but Grandma has been sick and the dinner was postponed. Mommy Bonnie kept her day off and they made the trip to Huntington and went grocery shopping.

Tomorrow Mommy may return to the cottage to work. For an update on the cottage, read the farm blog. Lots going on there...too much to write about. And this is MY blog anyway. It is bad enough that I have to include book and movie reviews!

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

No more eggs : (

Gennie eating a treat from Miss Becky!

Mommy finally had to remove Gennie's eggs from her cage. She did it at the rate of one egg every 2 days. The last egg was removed on Saturday and Gennie's cage was cleaned. She was not happy and kept looking for her eggs. Even today she is still nesting in the back of her cage where she kept her eggs. Mommy feels sad but Gennie is doing okay. She has been eating half of a granola bar that Mommy brought home from work that Miss Becky gave her and told her to share with Gennie.

Book review: Lisa Scottoline's Look Again. At first Mommy expected too much since this was supposed to be Lisa's "best novel to date." The book was a little too slow for Mommy who also predicted the ending. Overall, though not Lisa's best (Mommy's opinion), Mommy did enjoy the book. Mommy is still trying to finish Devil's Corner which she had to renew yet again, and is trying a new author (for her) Jude Deveraux, and her latest book Lavender Morning.

Mommy's favorite topic these days is Susan Boyle and her unbelievable audition for Britain's Got Talent. Mommy can't get enough of Susan and her singing and will be purchasing her first album.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

A beautiful Spring day!

Tacumwah on my bed. This is the bed in the master bedroom

where I stayed for several weeks when I was first adopted.

My brother on the antique blanket chest.

Mommy had the day off today but she spent the day working outside at the farm. It was a beautiful day and she opened a window for us when she got home. She got to visit with friends, Denny and Barbara, and met a new neighbor, Liz, the daughter of her neighbor, June.

It is very sad, but Mommy has been removing Gennie's eggs from her cage. Gennie has been taking very good care of her eggs. The two that Mommy has removed have been very warm from Gennie incubating them. Gennie has one egg left and Mommy will remove it and clean Gennie's cage on Saturday. Mommy almost cries when she removes an egg. No one expected Gennie to be such a good Mommy to her eggs because last year she didn't have any idea what to do with her egg!

We want to wish Grandma a very speedy recovery from a cold! Get well, Grandma! I am sure Lucy is taking care of you!

~There is no such things as a FREE kitten!~

I coulda been a contender!

I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody,

instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it.

And introducing Eva Marie Saint.

One word says it all...

...Brando!

Help me get on my feet.

As Mommy likes to quote, "Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.*" The same can be said for a good movie. And Mommy has read both good and bad books recently as well as watched both good and bad movies.

After watching Changeling, Mommy watched the new Nicholas Cage movie, Knowing. Hoping for great things since Roger Ebert had given this movie 4 stars, Mommy was very disappointed. She fidgeted, took cellphone photos of us cats, and kept looking at the clock hoping the movie would soon end. A waste of 2 hours of her life and a thumbs down for Knowing. Two stars tops from Mommy.

Today was a better day. After having to renew On the Waterfront, Mommy finally got to watch it today. Since the old classics have been released on DVD, Mommy has watched Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The African Queen, and today, On the Waterfront. Mommy has yet to be disappointed with any of these movies, and 1954's Best Picture was no exception. Wonderful performances from Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger and Lee J. Cobb. Treat yourself to a classic movie. All of these movies are available at the Georgetown Library.

Mommy got the new Lisa Scottoline book, Look Again, on Monday. She is still having trouble finishing Scottoline's Devil's Corner, but will get it done after Look Again. James Patterson says this new book is Scottoline's best novel ever. Mommy isn't so certain. She is a third of the way through it and is able to put it down, not the best of recommendations.

In the meantime, Mommy read John Grisham's The Associate. She kept waiting for it to get better so kept at it. She hoped for a good surprise ending. She was not to be satisfied on either count. Her advice...pass on this Grisham novel.

*From The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

~There is no such things as a FREE kitten!~

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....

Gizmo up close and personal.

It is beautiful out today...sunny and warm, and maybe a tad windy. Mommy did stay home and did some housework and watched a movie and read a little.

The movie Mommy watched was Doubt with Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. Grandma had already seen this movie twice with her sister. Both Mommy and Grandma give this movie a thumbs up and a PG-13 rating. It is from the Pulitizer Prize- and Tony-winning play by the same name. The screenplay was written and the movie directed by the playwright, John Patrick Shanley. And when it was all said and done, Mommy was left with - you guessed it - doubt!

We would be remiss if we did not congratulate Mommy Bonnie today. It is the 30th anniversary of her employment with Cooper Industries. We are very proud of you, Mommy Bonnie! What a wonderful career you have had!

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

There is no such thing as a day off!

Up close and personal with Little Bear.

What do you mean this is NOT my bed?

Mommy had the day off yesterday but we never saw her. She left for The Farm about 9:15 and didn't return until about 5:30. She smelled bad from burning all day. She promised that today she would stay home with us because she has to work at the library both Friday and Saturday. After dinner she took Gizmo into bed with her so we didn't get to see her in the evening either until she woke up at midnight and couldn't sleep. Tacumwah is asleep on "our" chair, I am asleep on the floor next to the glider, and Marquette, suck-up that he is, is asleep on Mommy's lap and chest.

In a few hours Mommy will be making lattes, doing laundry, and getting on with her day. She hopes to watch a movie, read, and take it easy today.

We want to send a big CONGRATS to KJ for getting his CDL! Great job!

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

Leftover turkey

Little Bear

Tacumwah on chair we have destroyed.
Chair will not be going to the cottage with us.

Blogger napping on dining room table.

My brother (L) and Tacumwah.

Mommy is still talking about that wild turkey! She has it on her computer desktop as wallpaper and called up this blog at work yesterday and made everyone at the library look at it!

Mommies went to the farm today. Mommy Bonnie worked inside in the utility room and Mommy worked outside all day hauling limbs and trees to the south side of the property where she and Denny will burn them at a later date. KJ showed up after school and cut down the last few trees on the north side of the driveway. Mommies left a couple on that north side that may come down at a later date depending on how they do. Mommy has only a half hour of hauling left to do that she will try to get done tomorrow before it rains.

Mommy's grandson, Derek, and his band, won The Battle of the Bands at Warsaw High School this week. Click here for the newspaper article. Mommy said she could understand some of the lyrics this year, and she felt the band had improved. Derek and his girlfriend, Melissa, may visit Mommy at the farm Sunday.

http://www.timesuniononline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=224&ArticleID=39379

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

Let's talk turkey....

Wild turkey (click to enlarge)

Lucy on the keyboard

Lucy on the bed

Mommy got back from her sleepover in Logansport a little while ago. On the way home she spied a wild turkey along a busy highway and pulled over to take the photo at the top of this blog. Mommy loves wild turkeys and has seen them often in Miami County, which is where she saw this one. She passed it on the highway and turned around and went back so she could snap a photo. The turkey wasn't very cooperative, but Mommy got the photo anyway.

Mommy and Grandma grilled salmon this week and compared Chilean salmon with wild Pacific salmon and preferred the Chilean salmon though both were good. They had baked potato and asparagus and a light, fruity Niagara wine with their meal. A light lemon layer cake was a perfect dessert.

Conrad and Sharon called and then stopped by for a short visit and Conrad hung a really neat Christmas gift that Sharon had made for Grandma. It had photos on it of Grandma and Grandpa, their parents, the three children (including Mommy) and their spouses/partners, and the names of the grandchildren and great-grands. Lucy had her picture on it too. Mommy can't do it justice in print so she may have to take a photo of it.

Mommy changed her mind many times about which movie to watch and finally decided on Changeling. It is based on a true story about corruption in the LAPD during the 1920s and involved the disappearance of a young boy and how the investigation to find him was handled. The movie spanned the years 1928-1935. Both Mommy and Grandma gave this movie two enthusiastic thumbs up and recommend it for mature audiences. Mommy thought the movie deserved to be nominated for Best Picture and that the performances were excellent. Clint Eastwood directed, produced and wrote the musical score for the movie which starred Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich.

For our book review this week we will talk about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Mommy considers this book a "must read." She puts it on the list of the top ten books she has ever read and recommends it for anyone who can read at that level. She can't say enough about this book and recommends it to most everyone she sees at the library. Put it on your list. This would be a GREAT book club book.

On the other hand, Mommy has been having lots of trouble with a Lisa Scottoline book, Devil's Corner. Usually Mommy likes a good Scottoline book. During the time Mommy has had this book checked out two books with long waiting lists have come in for her and she has had to put the Scottoline book aside, so maybe that has something to do with her difficulty in staying focused with this book. She will make a final proclamation when she is done with the book, but right now she doesn't think it is one of Lisa's better novels.

The wine from Williams-Selyem Winery in California arrived on Tuesday and Mommies are excited. There were six bottles of 3 different Pinot Noirs. Mommies will open a bottle to have with the first meal they cook at the cottage after moving in, hopefully the end of this month or early May. Mommy Bonnie is thinking steak. And when Mommy Bonnie says steak, she means fillet mignon, pan seared, with a wine reduction sauce.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~