Branson Spring Break

This year's Spring Break found us in Branson!  My husband and I aren't much into country music shows, so we spent the week doing other things.

Near Springfield, MO there's a drive-through cave!  We were early enough to get a private tour with the driver.  It was GREAT!!!  We got some amazing pictures, and I bought a Himalayan Salt Lamp that is set up on a timer.  SO cool!  We love big rocks anyway.... above or below ground!  If you get a chance to go to Fantastic Caverns, take it!!  It has some interesting, unique history.

 The other place we went to was the National Tiger Sanctuary.  I'll say it now... I'M IN LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!!
I mean, I love kitties... and I love BIG kitties....  this tour was fantastic!
This is Harry.  When we got home, I did a(n) NTS adoption, and adopted Harry!  I'll do this every year from now on.  Maybe I'll pick another cat - maybe one of the lions - or just stay with Harry.

He was charming when we were on our tour, and I fell in love with that really big kitty!!!!!
He pouted!  It was super cute!
I've asked permission to add one of the videos we took... waiting for permission.

AND I got permission from NTS!  Here's our video of Harry, and Judah the Lion.  Harry is charming. :)

Here's a very SHORT but adorable video we took of Judah - he's definitely a comedian!

The animals' stories can break your heart, but they are so very well taken care of... we are definitely going back!

Thank You for a Lovely, Thoughtful Gift

Monday morning, March 17th, 2014, I had to put my beloved Hankie to sleep.  He was given to me in August 1999 by a teacher friend, and was my constant companion the last 14 years.  It was a terribly difficult decision, and I miss him more than you can imagine.

There's a video I posted on YouTube of Hankie calling me Mama - he never did that to anyone else.  I miss my Hankie very much.

 My dear friend Melissa came over a few days later and brought me a wonderful gift of an angel holding a kitty.

I made this card to thank her for such thoughtful gift. 

Two Babies!

Just had to take a picture of 2 of my kitties.

Witchy Poo Pics Selection of 2010 to 2012

Yesterday, while at our latest New Catalog Stamp Event, I had a request from two of the girls to show more pictures of Witchy Poo (Poopie) here....  they thought he was under represented.. SO, here goes! :)

This a pic from the day I got Witchy Poo from Sandra's niece - Hankie is used to seeing new kitties around, but he doesn't always like it!  I love this picture!  Shows such a difference between a 6 week old kitten, and an 11 year old Hankie!

Here's the other kitty Sandy getting introduced to Witchy Poo for the first time...  Sandy ran away from him for the first week!  It was pretty funny.  He's such a scaredy cat!

This pic shows how teeny-tiny he was!!  Just fit in the palm of my hand. 

Since I spend so much time in my craft room, I introduced the new baby to my work desk.  He still likes to explore and isn't too hard on my crafts, but every once in awhile, I find a stray sponge on the floor....  guess he found a toy. :) 

This pic is from our first Christmas putting up the tree.  He was 2 at this time... and as far as we know, he didn't climb in the tree.  You can see the other two sitting under the tree - he likes to join them too... all kitties under the tree!

This is one of Poopie's favorite perches - loves to sit on top of my paper rack!  He's pretty good at NOT knocking things off.... which is a little surprising.

Here they are.... 3 kitties hangin' out - and my husband's feet too! 

Sometimes, Sandy and Poopie will share the top perch on the kitty tower.  Sometimes.  The box of Kleenex was put up there to discourage him from perching there.  It works sometimes. :)

This is one of his favorite perches - on the back of my recliner.  Have to watch out though... he gets out that whippy tail, and will smack you HARD upside the head!  That's not so much fun! :)

Witchy Poo - quite a study in contrasts this kitty is... he's just about to turn 3.  He's so sweet and affectionate and loves to cuddle... BUT he'll chase the other two relentlessly and sometimes we find tufts of fur on the carpet from some of their "play" encounters. 

He also wags his tail like a dog!  It's really unusual, and freaks out my friend Dee a little - most kitties are angry when they wag their tails as a sign to leave them alone, but he does it when he's happy!  He doesn't growl much, and makes all kinds of cute meow-y noises.

My husband says he's too smart for his own good, and we are sure he's smarter than my other two kitties.

OK Sandra and Robin!!  Here are some Poopie pictures!!  Leave a comment or two! :) :)

Talk to you soon.

2 Silly Kitties!

I've been working in my craft room a lot lately on some projects that I can't quite post.... BUT I did take these pictures!

This is usually how the kitties hang out...  sometimes "Poopie" hops in with Sandy on the top level.

 Sandy at the top, Hankie in the middle, and Witchy Poo (Poopie) on the back of my recliner. 


These are the pictures I took of the 2 silly kitties!  Hankie just won't open his eyes... too smart, I guess because he doesn't want to get shot in the eyes with the flash.  He's a good cuddler, and very talkative!

 Here's a Poopie... he sure looks like a devil cat with those shiny eyes, but he's very sweet, and will beg and bother you incessantly for treats!  He's a good cuddler too!  A very sweet kitty.

Hope you've enjoyed my quick kitty post! :)



Please leave a comment. Thanks so much!

Happy 2013 to All!

 Here are some pictures I took of the Christmas candy and cookies I made for our house and as gifts for some of our neighbors.  If I haven't already said it, we have wonderful neighbors, and even though it's very busy, and we don't get to chat as much as we like, I like to show them a little appreciation at the end of each year.

In early December, I took a class on how to use fondant.  What an eye-opener!  There are a few more things to learn, but the class was so overloaded, I left pretty angry.  BUT I did learn quite a few things, so I was able to make my cookies prettier than last year. :)  One thing I realized, I didn't take any pictures of the Christmas tree cut-outs.  They turned out so cute, too.  Next year for sure!

These are the Butterscotch Gingerbread men I make, I also use this dough to cut out Gingerbread houses to decorate with the Royal Icing and sugar candy.

Even though the candy canes are sugar cookies, I used some mint extract to attach the fondant, so they have a nice minty, candy-cane flavor.

I thought some of these mittens turned out really cute.  These are the delicious sugar cookies I make with the orange oil and orange zest.  My husband asked me, "So you bought the oranges just to use the outside?"  We actually did eat the oranges.

One of the girls from work gave me some spritz cookies, so I decided if I had the time, I would make a batch and get out my Pampered Chef cookie press.  I got the dough recipe off Food Network, and it worked like a dream!

Here is the candy I made in addition to the cookies - Haystacks (my all-time absolute favorite next to Mom's angelfood), meringue cookies, and fudge.

 Here you can see a Poopie!  He's a good kitchen helper - he sits and watches to make sure everything turns out right, and is a good companion.  He does love to sit on the chairs while we're in here!

These are a small sample of the cookies and candy selection I made for Christmas 2012.


Please leave a comment. Thanks so much!

My Little Halloween Kitty

It's really difficult to get good pictures of my little black kitty...  not SO little anymore, but he is the youngest, and the baby. :)  

He was sitting there watching me finish up a Halloween card, and was so content instead of running around chasing the other two like he does, so I took the opportunity to get a good picture of my little Poopie.

 Who would have thought that a black kitty could be so very very sweet.  He might not be a long haired furry baby like my other two, but he is a GREAT cuddler! 




Your comments are treasured!

Halloween Kitty! Meow, Meow, MEEOOOOOOWWWWW

My Mother-In-Law is all of a sudden really crazy for anything Halloween - doesn't matter what time of year it is, she is always looking for Halloween items - trinkets, Kitties, etc.  You name it! :)

I saw this stamp in the new catalog, and put it right on my list.  In addition to loving kitties myself, I knew I'd use this for a super-cute card somehow, someway.

I was looking around online, and saw a version of this card, and knew I'd CASE it!

The kitty was stamped on white cardstock, embossed with black powder and heated, and then LIGHTLY - very very lightly, sponged to get the background color.  I tried stamping on gray, and then embossing, but the color was much too dark for my liking.

The background is white cardstock as well, but sponged!!!  Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, and Rich Razzleberry make that amazing evening sunset color.  I also used the new framelits for the Happy Halloween banner, and Martha Stewart's fence border punch for a kitty perch.

Your comments are always appreciated!

 ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

WAY WAY TOO CUTE!!!!!!!

I just had to post this! It's way too cute!
**Can't understand a word they're saying, but who needs words when there's kitties???
Enjoy!!



Your comments are always appreciated!~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

What a Silly Kitty!!

This is Sandy. He's also known as Sandy Panda around the house just because he's so cute...

One evening, I was sitting at the dining room table doing some paperwork, and he just decided he had to join me. He just sat there for about 10 minutes....didn't try to come up on the table at all... I'm pretty sure he was waiting to be served some food. :) LOL

Silly Kitty!!

He's the kitty that disappears when people come over... can't be found anywhere... big chicken!! So since he won't be sociable... he gets his picture here, so you can see my Sandy. :)



Your comments are always appreciated!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

"Hankie, the Hamburger Beggar"

So my husband decided he wanted hamburgers from McDonald's instead of Fuddruckers (as I suggested earlier).... so he made a quick burger run, and we sat down to watch the newest Harry Potter movie.

Hank smelled the food, and just HAD to investigate!

"Hamburgers are bad for kitties!"


Hank wasn't dissuaded so quickly!!! He was really ready to pounce for a bite of my husband's burger!!!

"HEY! I told you! Hamburgers are BAD for kitties!!"

and finally, Hankie gave up... poor kitty!



Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

They MUST Have Been Cold!

So I just have to show off my very cute, adorable, 'mostly' cuddly kitties.

It's not really so strange to find Hank and Sandy curled up together, now that Sandy's a bit older, and they've worked out their pecking order, it's not really so strange.


BUT!!! To find the baby (Witchy Poo) curled up with the two older kitties... now, it MUST have been pretty cold to find them doing that!! Especially since Hank just screams... very loudly when the baby gets near him!


Notice the very smart Hankie keeps his eyes closed when the camera flashes so he doesn't get 'shot' in the eyes... the other two dumb bunnies haven't figured that out yet.

But I do love them!!!!!

What kitties I have!! :)

That Witchy Poo is a cuddler!! He cuddles up with me, Hankie (when he's not screaming, hissing, or growling at the baby), Sandy, and even my husband. He's a good cuddle baby!


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Baby Kitten Pictures!!! **and 2 older, unhappy SPOILED kitties!

So as many of you know, I have 2 orange kitties... Hank, who's 11 and is more 'red' of the two, and Sandy who is just 3 years old, and was named for his color... also known as Sandy Panda, and many other variations of that silly name I gave him.

SO, I got a phone call from one of my Stamp Club members - we had talked about getting another cat since 3 is a good number for us to have, and I wanted a long-haired black cat this time. Wednesday morning, I got a call wondering if I could take two rescues. I wasn't looking for two cats, but I took them to save them from being put-down the next morning.

One of the two kittens, who I got a picture of, but will not post didn't survive the night, but the other one is doing very well!

His name is: WitchyPoo, Sir Rambunctious - since he's all black, and my husband things he's pretty active for such a little thing!!

So, this kitten is learning the ways around the house, sleeping a lot, and making the other two big kitties VERY upset.

Here you can see the baby eating, and Hankie investigating... what a difference in size! I forget how big my kitties are, since they are always my babies (to me)!!


Here's Hankie with the baby again, doing more checking!!


Here's the baby discovering the sun for the first time... and he laid there for quite awhile! You can see the shadow of our hummingbird feeder, and the baby chased it on the carpet for a little while.


Sandy is NOT adjusting well to being the middle child now.. LOL He's been hissing, but when the little one comes near.. he RUNS away FAST! It's WAY too funny!! Here's this big Panda, and he's scared of the little sweet kitty!

Sandy seems to have forgotten how he used to chase Hank all around. Hank used to get on top of the rocking chair, 'cause Sandy was so small, he couldn't get to him there, and Hankie would be safe!


I thought this picture was just WAY too cute not to share.


Hankie has just not been happy with this new addition, though he's a little more accustomed to having new family members. He had to get used to Sandy coming into the family.

I found him like this.... TRYING to hide under the sofa.... all I saw was this big kitty's hind-end... "Silly Hankie!"


with only his head under the sofa! They are low enough to the ground that the bigger kitties can't get under the new furniture... so that's all that fit.. his head! LOL



Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

My Cat Hank says Mama!

Here he is! I finally got him on video saying Mama!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Too Cold for Kitties!

There are a few Carolina Wrens that like to tease Sandy when he's sitting in the mini-kitty tower.. and he just gets way too intent on pouncing. It's a darn good thing he knows there's a window!

Hank just got too bored, and decided to take a nap, but there's Sandy scoping out those birds!!

Gotta LOVE the kitties!!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.