Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all, it's me, Maggie!  We had so much this week that made us feel absolutely wonderful; I can't wait to show you!  Let's get to it!

You probably can guess one thing we have a lot of this week that's making me serene:

SNOW! I love to play in it and chomp on it and walk in it!

Short walks only still, but that is enough to make me happy! And apparently doing "snow dolphins" (leaping up and down through the deepest snow available) is a no-no right now, but I do not remember hearing my surgeon or my senior student mention that. Not specifically, anyway.

Another thing that made me really feel good on that walk was this -- guess who was beside me?

"The kid sure looks happy, doesn't she, Cam?"
"I'm so glad she's home, Zimmie!"

Zimmie and Cameron!!!  I love it when we're all together!

This morning, Mom took Zimmie and Cammie for a walk, and just as they were arriving home, Dad brought me out so we could go on another one as a whole family! Look at how happy that made me:

"Yea!!!"

"Let's go, everyone!"

I know I'm the youngest, but I like to take the lead! I'm a natural born leader!  I mean, I am the Prime Minister!

"She may be the Prime Minister, but I'm the Queen!  ...right, Mom?"

Here are some shots on the way home:

Dad and me

Other things that made us all feel serene this week include these:

Yes, homemade soft pretzels! We didn't get any, but we got some nice quality family time keeping Mom company while she made them! Oh. And for some reason this made her feel real serene, too:

Me - all rolled up like a pretzel!

I'm more of a honey bun, but you get the idea!

I hope you have a serene Sunday, everyone!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

The Saturday PhotoHunt - Intricate!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  I thought I'd tackle the challenge for this week's PhotoHunt - intricate.  When I saw our assignment,  I knew exactly what we should have Mom photograph!

"Let's go, Mom!"

Let's head downstairs!

You might be thinking, "Ah! Downstairs to the Studio!  One of your mom's quilts or bags!"  Many of those would sure fit the challenge, but I wanted to show you something extra special that we haven't shown you before!

I had Mom place it gently on the stairs so we could all take a look:

"Here it is!"

It's our dad's dad's Ukrainian shirt! It has an intricate pattern of cross stitch and embroidery on it - take a closer look:

Intricate design on our dad's dad's Vyshyvanka (Вишива́нка) 

For more information on traditional Ukrainian embroidery, please click here and here.

"It's perfect, don't you think?"

That's what we thought of when we heard the word "intricate" - or in this case, "складний"!

Cammie!

PS: For more on The Saturday PhotoHunt, please click here! Join in the fun!

Photo Finish Friday

Hello, everyone, it's me, Cammie!  Since Maggie told you all about getting her surgery, Zim and I thought we should show you how things went for us while she was gone.  In keeping with Photo Finish Friday, we'll say it with photos!

To say we missed Maggie would be an understatement!  Mom tried to keep us busy:

"Are you doing OK, Cam?"
"Sigh.  I miss my puppy."

... but our hearts just weren't into anything.

"Sigh."

Mom offered me all my favorite toys while she did some sewing, but I just wasn't interested.  I wasn't the only one missing sweet Maggie, though ...

Zim kept looking for her - going from door to window to staring at Mom.

"Mag-a-roo???"

Tuesday morning, we were concerned when Mom and Dad left at the start of the snowstorm, but then... they brought our puppy home!!!

"You're not really going to keep her in the crate, are you?"
"You're not really going to keep her in the hoodie are you?"

Apparently, Zim has way too much experience wearing the cone of shame -- I mean the hoodie (click here), and our combined Sad Eyes Look/Harp Seal Look convinced Mom to let the little one out of both the crate and the hoodie.

I helped keep watch over her

I was so happy - and I know Maggie was, too!

❤ ❤ ❤ 

Needless to say, so was Mom!  (So were Zim and Dad, but they were off-camera.)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Cammie!

Thankful Thursday

Greetings to all, it's me, Maggie!  As I mentioned on Tuesday, I had my "big girl" operation.  I went in bright and early Monday morning and was allowed to come home Tuesday morning.  Mom and Dad were extra-anxious to get me -- not just because everyone missed me, but because we were expecting a big snow storm!  Here's what it looked like on their way to the Veterinary Health Center at Kansas State University!

First, they drove past the stadium where the Wildcats play:

I'm pretty sure there weren't any Cats there, wild or otherwise.

Then they drove down the road to the vet school:

Don't worry, Mom wasn't driving, Dad was.  Mom was taking pictures and praying the storm would hold off until we got home.

I was all set when they got there! And so now... I'm supposed to stay calm and not run and jump and play and stuff for two whole weeks. That's right - with over a foot of snow on the ground! That's asking an awful lot of me, but I'm trying very hard!

I did have to go outside to go potty while the snow was still falling:

"This is so lovely!"

"Don't worry, Mom.  I'm just looking for the right spot ... "

"BOOM!"

OK, OK, so I did a little bit of playing!  I was calm, though!

Yesterday, Mom took me on a 5-10 minute walk.  That's allowed, as long as I'm not running and jumping and stuff.  I was going a bit stir crazy and needed a short outing.

It was a tad breezy.  Can you see my fur fluffing in the wind in the photo above?

"I have no idea why my face is covered in snow."

"Almost home!"

It did me a lot of good to get out and walk just a tiny bit.  

I thought we should go again about 5 minutes later.

"Please, Mom?!?  I ... um ... really need to go potty.  Yeah, that's it."

She's being really hardcore about following all the post-op rules.  She said it's only because she loves me and wants me to heal up really well.  I can accept that.  Besides, I was a bit out of gas.

"Zzzz..."

OK, totally out of gas.  For a few minutes, anyway.

"So much snow out there..."

We're all very thankful to everyone at the vet school for taking such great care of me and for their kind, caring demeanors!  And we're also quite thankful the storm held off (for the most part) until we got home!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie!

PMQs, Session Two

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie, here with another session of PMQs - Questions to the Prime Minister.  I know it's Tuesday, and last week I did this on Monday, and usually these Questions are conducted on Wednesdays ...

"Is anyone else's head spinning?"

... but I was gone all day yesterday.  I'll explain more about that shortly.

Our first question comes from that genius of a man-cat, one of my mentors, Teddy Westlife!  He wrote, "Last week, I sat on the dining table in mum's spot and then took a nap. Have you done that yet, and did you see the photo my mum posted on Facebook about it?"

Oh, Mr. Westlife! How I long to be on top of tables or the counter!

"Leave the kitchen, Mom.  Leave the kitchen!"

But alas, they keep such close tabs on me here that I've only managed to snag a couple bites off dad's plate when Mom turns her back on me. I long for the day I can lull my mom into trusting me - then I'll be all set for a real treat!

As per the photo your mum posted to FaceBook -- do you mean this one?

My mentor, Teddy Westlife
Photo used with permission

Of course you do!  You look SO cool up there, Mr. Westlife!  And comfy, too.  How I long to follow in your footsteps!  (By the way, Zim said Auntie Trace must have been really proud of you or she wouldn't have posted that pic on FB!!!  It's awesome.)

I haven't tried to lay on the table yet - and you know we have that silly "No Sibes Allowed On The Furniture" rule here.  Yes, we're allowed on the bed, but that's it.  As you know, one of my other mentors is my brilliant brother Zim!  As his student, I have done this:

"What?  Zim was keeping an eye on me.  I'm fine."

That's right - the Sitzbank! Please click here for background info.  This pleases Zimmie greatly!

I'm not the only one who has been seeing just how firm my mom is about that silly rule. Downstairs in the Studio, there is a wicker loveseat that looks really so very comfy. I'm usually busy running around playing when we go down there, but Cammie ... well, a picture's worth a thousand words, right?

"Oooooh, nice!"

Ha roo roo roo!!! Go, Aunt Cammie!!! (For the record, she said she was channeling our great sister Stormy who was also not allowed on that loveseat. Please click here for a great Ao4 flashback! It made our mom smile when Cam got up there, so I'm thinking we're close to tossing the rule out the window!)

Our kit-cat friends over at the Beaded Tail wanted to know, "Do you all have the same sleep schedule or is your mom up every four hours? Oh wait, maybe it's just that one of us wakes mom up every four hours!" Angel and Isabella, I thought I'd have Drill SGT Zim answer this one! Over to you, Zimmie!

"Ha roo!"

Thanks, kid. I mean Madam Prime Minister.  I can assure you, we let our parents sleep clean through until morning!  Granted my idea of morning might be earlier than some would prefer -- like 3 or 4 a.m. -- but hey!  I'm named after a Drill Sergeant!  Getting up early is part of who I am!

I'm very pleased to report that the Prime Minister is also an early riser, thanks to me. She waits until I get up, then insists on coming out on early morning patrol with me. Cammie likes to wait an hour or more, then gets up and wants out. After that and a quick snack, the girls usually try to grab some more sack time. Me?  I hang out with Dad, then catch cat naps throughout the day - as evidenced above.

So the short answer to your question, beautiful kit-cat girls, is we don't wake them up every four hours, but we do make sure they get a nice, early start to the day!  Back over to Maggie!

Thank you, Zimmie. ...

... here I am!

Our last question comes to us from Pip, Smidgen, Minnie, Hollie. Their query is, "Do you have an off switch?" Hmm. Cammie said this might be one of those rhetorical questions, but we thought it might be a good idea to answer it anyway. Remember earlier I mentioned that I wasn't here all day yesterday? I spent the night at the Veterinary Health Center at Kansas State University -- AKA our vets! I had my big girl operation and now ...

"Zzzz..."
Can you see my pink tummy?

... I'm pretty wiped out. It does look like someone hit my "off button", and Mom said that since she's supposed to keep me calm (no running, no jumping, no playing Crazed River Otter Games) for two weeks, she REALLY wishes she knew where it was! Sorry, Mom. I have one, but I'm not telling anyone where it is!

That's a wrap for this week's PMQs. If you have any questions for us, please leave it in the comments or zip us an email! Thanks for reading!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

2! 4! 6! 8!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Zim!  So there I was the other day, taking Mom outside, when Dad pulled up in the SUV.  He opened the back hatch up and started unloading something; I sauntered over to see what was going on.

"Whatcha got there, Dad?"

His vehicle was packed to the gills with insulation!  Interesting!

"Good insulation can cut back on energy costs -
and help the house be warmer in Winter and cooler in Summer!"

It looked to me like Dad had quite the project on his hands.  I thought I should help.

"Yep.  R-13.  Good choice, Dad!  OK, then.  My work here's done."

I wouldn't want to overdo.  I did cheer him on, though, with a poem I wrote just for the occasion.  It went like this:  

2!  4!  6!  8!  Dad is gonna insulate!
2!  4!  6!  8!  Who do we appreciate?
Dad!  Dad!  Dad!   Ha roooo!

It was pretty special.  Remember - I'm a member of the Working Breed group.  I'm trained for this kind of thing.

Play bows,

Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all, it's me, Maggie, here with Serene Scenery Sunday!  We went through the countless photos Mom took this week and picked out the ones we thought would help you feel nice and relaxed.  Ready to take a look?

I did some exploring in the backyard this week:

It was very fun!

Zimmie and Cammie went on a very serene walk together:

"Eyes right, Cam!"

I wanted to go with them, but Mom said, "Not on this one." Since I got to go on an earlier walk with them and then run around in the yard before they went, I was OK with it.

"Ah!  Nice and peaceful, huh, Cam?"
"I love walking with you, Zimmie!"

Cam and Zimmie said it would have been more fun if I'd been there, but they made the most of it and were able to spot a couple cool things for Mom.

Here's a Robin, all puffed up, trying to stay warm:

I wish I'd been there - I'll bet a bunch of that fruit was smooshed up under the tree! Zim and I could have snarfed it down together!

They also saw this nest:

It looks like somebirdie used some Sibe fluff as a nest liner!  That made Mom smile.

Doing lots of this over the course of the past week made me serene:

That's Mom, handing me my toy.  I like running around the yard with it.

We also played a bit of Siberian Fetch - here's a shot of that:

"Wheeeee!"

Yes, that's my toy in the grass behind me.  In Siberian Fetch, the biped throws the toy, then you zoom, zoom, zoom past it a few times.  It's great fun!  Mom really likes it because she gets more exercise running after the toy instead of just throwing it.

All that zooming around made me do something else that made Mom feel serene:

I have no idea why that makes her so serene!

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!  And whether it's a walk with a special friend, running & playing, seeing a special birdie, or taking a nap - remember to soak up the serenity around you!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

The Saturday PhotoHunt - Bridges!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, back with another entry for the Saturday PhotoHunt.  This week's challenge took us to one of my very favorite places - can you guess where?

That's right - to the Kansas Ocean! It's a tad frozen, but hey! It's still a great place to explore!

Mom and I walked and walked until we got here:

"BINGO!"

That's right - to the Transoceanic Bridge! It's perfect!  This week's word is:

Bridges!

What could be better than our favorite bridge?!!?  Let's cross back over!

"Looks like the tide's out, Mom."

The tide was pretty low (and frozen). During high tide, the water flows right under the bridge - and under the road to one of the major tributaries. Want to go over and have a look over there? Let's go!

"Gorgeous!"

Looks pretty frozen over there, too. That's Little Kitten Creek.

Little Kitten Creek

Beautiful, isn't it?

That's our look at our favorite bridge!  Thanks for coming along on our PhotoHunt!

Play bows,
Zim

PS: For more on The Saturday PhotoHunt, please click here! Join in the fun!