What made you smile today?

Bird-watching,   Me...
                                                  Chickadee

Mourning dove

and the girls.

Little things that brighten the early hours.

Hope she never starts flingin' my pottery.

Adding pretty plates to match my cups.

&

Enjoying my company.

Annie 

1 lb. lighter. :)

What made you smile today?

I'm joining Sandi at http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.ca/ for No Place Like Home

hugs, Deb

A+ from Dr. Ann

Annie

I've been beating myself up wondering if there was anything we could have done different regarding Sierra's diagnosed disease. Both vets were unable to put a finger on what may have caused bone cancer in her jaw. Was it the food, vaccines, or is it genetic? Her teeth were good and the possibility of  infection was ruled out. We fed her Wellness chicken soft with Performatrin Chicken dry. She ate very little dry and lived mostly on soft food and a bit of meat cut up from our dinner. She loved beef, chicken, fish and she always looked forward to her little bit of milk in the morning just since we moved to the mouse-house. I suppose since she was an indoor/outdoor cat that she may have feasted on a little critter or two. I never liked to think about that.
But cancer is cancer and I'll never really know what caused it.

It's all about keeping my two cats as healthy as can be. Annie has just been to the vet for a thorough check-up. All is good with my little Peach. She has lost a whole pound since this time last year and that's a good thing. Her new food, Royal Canin Digest has been keeping her healthy. And, she loves it. So, she's happy, too.
Her eye is not a concern at this time. Her coat looked good and she got an A+ from Dr. Ann even though she did her best to make the examination difficult by rolling into a ball that resembled a lovely french loaf.
I came home very happy.

This was the very first time Audrey had EVER been left alone in four years. I worried that she would realize we had left, look for us or her mom and then panic. No telling what would happen then. :-(
Well, when we returned she had emptied out the toy box and placed them all over the mouse-house. They were piled high in the kitchen and Kane's blanket was covered.
She met us at the top of the stairs and not a thing was flung at us so I presume she was happy at our return. I'm guessing she did panic just a bit and threw toys around in her fit of despair. OR...she just partied awhile. She's not talkin'.

Sierra - taken two years ago. She was looking at our Christmas table tree thinking it wasn't even worth her energy to climb. :)

Wishing you a peaceful evening.
hugs, Deb

The cold makes for busyness.

The mouse-house kitchen corner has become a suet-making factory. I made enough for two weeks and a bit left over for the freezer. They will LOVE this. Last year when I put this out they snubbed the commercial cakes and devoured the home-made ones. I think I made a lot of friends at the feeders with these little cakes of deliciousness.

You can get very creative making these cakes. I had some stale nuts in my baking cupboard so I threw them in. A small amt. of flax seed was taking up space in the cupboard so that went in, too.

                                                       Chickadee-dee-dee-dee-dee

I bet I'll have pretty feathers scattered about at the feeders for all my hard work.....ok, maybe not.
But...I know they are happy little birds.

                                                            Downy woodpecker

Annie is busy, too, grooming her toes.

Audrey just noticed the camera.

And all this bird feeding has made me hungry.

A hot cup of tea and a blueberry muffin sounds about right.

If you would like to make the suet cakes

the recipe is on the previous post.

Be prepared for an invasion. :)

&

one last thing

Sierra - still waiting for the mailman. 2011

Joining Home Sweet Home at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.ca/

Enjoy your day.

hugs, Deb

As we move on...

            First off ..."Good-bye 2015."
                   
It's been a year of ups and too many heartbreaking downs so I am glad to bid you, "farewell".
I have written on my chalkboard "Here's to a better year."
 And I mean it.

 I do find beauty and little miracles around me if I look hard enough. And I do look.

We are now in a winter wonderland and the new snow is quite beautiful to see. I love to look at the fields where snow has fallen and not a track or foot-print in sight. It looks so peaceful and serene. A fresh start.

The feeders have been a place of fit and furry lately. And, a place to calm one's soul. I can barely keep up with the numbers of birds that need food. I also put out suet for them and go through blocks of it a week. So, it's time to make my own.
                                      Bird Suet
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup lard
2 c corn meal
1 c flour
1/3 c sugar
2 c rolled oats
peanuts and seeds

Line muffin tins with plastic wrap. Pop pan in freezer. Pop in bags when frozen.

They prefer this suet to the commercial brands.
"Thank you to my friend, Susan at http://readymadecosmos.blogspot.ca/ for the recipe."

How these birds give me comfort just watching them fill their little bellies with nuts and seed.
                                                       (Chickadee)

(Red-breasted Nuthatch)

And this face...I don't just smile at this face, I laugh. She is so delightful to be around; always into something and prancing around demanding attention. She is either giving me the stink-eye or whipping things off the kitchen counter. That's right...she's a little hellian. But, she.makes.my.day.
I hug her a lot whether she likes it or not.

"I don't like it."

And Annie...how I love this cat. She has got me through the last few days just being herself.

She likes the Himalayan salt lamp. And the birdies. She's a master at cuddlin' and keeping you warm and cozy.

Sharing the heater on Kane's blanket.

Of course, Audrey hogs it.

I want to share this photo with you. Sierra loved to greet our mailman every morning without fail at our older home. She would wait on this bench and when he'd arrive he would give her a hug and get a big kiss in return. Yep...she was a little floozy.
Everyone knew this about her and found it endearing.

Oh, I have hundreds of favorite memories of this loved cat. I'll be showing them off in the days ahead. :) 
Thank you again for your thoughtfulness, your kind words and your love.

So...let's go 2016. I'm good and ready.

hugs, Deb

Missing our tabby girl

I have spent many an hour looking out the mouse house dining-corner window at the beauty of my surroundings. I know I am a very lucky lady to live where I do and love it so much. The tall, bare maples that are so familiar to me, with a back-drop of beautiful fir trees covered in snow all helps to calm the soul.

And so does this little one.

For some odd reason she is letting me photograph her today. She's not perturbed...this is her face.

Annie is very clingy the last few days. More so than usual.

These two little cats are feeling a bit lost. I wish I could explain to them why they are missing their little friend.  But, I can't. I just hold them closer, hug them more and keep them busy.

I stayed up late last night to put together this post. I still sit here in disbelief that Sierra has left us.

Our beautiful Sierra is terribly missed by all of us. The retired-guy took this one hard as she was 'special'. He has shed  tears over her as we both feel she was too young to go.

Sierra was a bit of a loner but always willing to share a space with another cat if they so wanted. She was an affectionate cat with us; a cuddler.  She was a lover of the out-doors but never left the property at our old home or here. She would join us as we gardened and did work around the property but was very well supervised by both of us. She loved to hide in the flowers at the old pump and supervise from her familiar little bench. She loved to follow us like a little dog might.

Wasn't she magnificent.

Her favorite spot all summer.

If you have followed me for awhile you will remember that she was stolen 17 months ago off our front porch at our older home. It was a terrible 25 hours for our family. But with the help of our local police and the internet, she was returned to us quickly and unharmed. From that day on she was only outside under supervision. Little did we know then that she would be leaving us forever in less than two years.

I will always be thankful that she was brought home to us and that we were here to help her when she needed us the most. Cancer took our little tabby girl but she will always, always live on in our hearts.

Oh God, we will never understand why she left us so quickly.

We know that our Kane will look after her now.

Rest in Peace, Cee Cee.

Thank you to those who have left such kind & thoughtful comments.

hugs, Deb

I must tell you...

we have had to face another heart-break. Over the last month I have been unable to write about our struggle with Sierra's health. The lump on her jaw was diagnosed by two vets as oral cancer. This was after we had her on antibiotics for 20 days thinking that it was an infection in her gums possibly from a tooth; a tooth that would need to be extracted. But her teeth were fine. When the antibiotics did not improve the swelling, our new vet said "it's most likely osteosarcoma, bone cancer.  I see it all the time in cats."
It was devastating news.

We took Sierra to our vet of 25 years where we used to live; a vet who knew Sierra all her life, and after a thorough examination we got the same diagnosis. We were told that the cancer probably started 6 months ago and only now showed up in the form of a lump on the jaw bone. She was very upset to have to tell us that there was nothing she could do.

With our vets guidance, we kept her comfortable over Christmas as she was still eating and drinking but the cancer grew quickly.

We said good-bye to our sweet girl on New Year's eve.

I'll be back to write a proper tribute to our beautiful little tabby when I can face looking at photos of her.
I just can't believe that she's gone.

I know that you all will feel sad for us, and I thank you for that, but I ask that you do not leave a comment at this time. I just could not bare to read them.

Love, Deb