Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that everyone has a wonderful time today for Thanksgiving.
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China Cat and Willow wanted me to post this recipe
for all of the cats out there. They hope that all of you get Thanksgiving Treats!

PhotoHunt Theme: Bird(s)

"Bird(s)" is the theme this week.
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When we went to Lake Tahoe with my parents in September 2008 my husband and I drove around the lake. On the far side of the lake we stopped at Gar Woods Grill & Pier for lunch. Since it was so beautiful out, we ate outside on the deck. A few tables away from us I saw a little bird land looking for crumbs on the table. At first I thought that it had it's right leg tucked up like a flamingo. But it turned out to only have a left leg. It stood on the table for about 5 minutes, just looking around and then it flew away. ~~~~~ ~~~~~
As always, you can find more of Tnchick's Photohunters here!
And here photohunt
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Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

It's almost Thanksgiving
and here is a wonderful dessert
that is delicious and very easy to make!

Ode to China Cat

This is what the poem says:

Felis Cattus, is your taxonomic nomenclature
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by Nature?
Your visual, olfactory and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.

I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur, to demonstrate affection.

A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents.
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.

Oh China Cat, the complex levels of behavior you display
Connote a fairly well developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, China, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.

(adapted from Ode to Spot by Lieutenant Commander Data)

Dona Nobis Pacem

60 Miles, 3 Days, 1 Cause

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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One of the ladies from the Cat Blogosphere is walking sixty miles in three days in San Francisco and you can read about her Journey to San Francisco here. I made this picture for her showing how proud her cat, Jeter Harris, is of what she is doing to fight breast cancer.~~~~~
Check out all the Weekend Cat Events
~~~~~
Weekend Cat Blogging #226
is being hosted by Diamond Emerald Eyes
at Diamond's Lair
~~~~~
Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos - Edition 108
is being hosted by Sam & Mr. Tigger
at Life From a Cat's Perspective
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The Carnival of the Cats #290
is being hosted by Luna
at Catsynth

Photohunt Theme: Orange

"ORANGE" is the theme this week.
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I love going to the zoo and my favorite area at the St. Louis Zoo is Big Cat Country. There are six Amur Tigers (one mother and her five tiger cubs) and it is so much fun to watch them play in their pond. Their ORANGE and black stripes are so striking!
China Cat likes to think that she is a Big Cat but at possibly six pounds she is really a small ORANGE tabby cat.
Last Halloween Willow enjoyed sitting in my front window Halloween tableau. Of course, ORANGE is a major featured color in any Halloween decorating!
As always, you can find more of Tnchick's Photohunters here!
And here photohunt
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WCB: In Honor of Sher

Weekend Cat Blogging is at Paulchen's Food Blog this weekend
and here is a picture of China Cat and Willow out in the screened-in porch
being cute little catloafs!
I am making Sher's recipe for Roasted Green Beans, Tomatoes and Onions. My daughter and her husband have a good sized plot in their backyard for growing vegetables. I think that her husband has already enlarged the plot three times! When we were out there visiting, they gave us some green beans that they had grown. Looking through Sher's recipes I thought this one was perfect to make, as I had the green beans and also had some tomatoes from our backyard. I had hoped to use some of our oregano that is in a pot out front but it's not big enough so I used dried oregano. The roasted vegetables smelled wonderful - and tasted great!
~~~~~

Roasted Green Beans, Tomatoes and Onions
adapted from Sher's Recipe at What Did You Eat?

2 lb. green beans, trimmed
1 large white onion, chopped
3 large tomatoes, chopped
4 tsp. minced fresh oregano or 2 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
capers

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit.

To prepare the green beans, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt and the green beans. Cook the green bean until they turn bright green and are just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Timing depends on the age and size of the beans. Drain the beans and plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Combine the chopped onion and tomatoes in a heavy large baking dish. Add the green beans and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables and toss to coat. Cover with aluminum foil and roast until the beans are tender-crisp, about 20 minutes. Uncover the dish and continue roasting until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes more (for a total roasting time of 35 to 40 minutes). Stir the beans 3 or 4 times during roasting. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Transfer the bean mixture to a serving bowl or platter and serve hot or at room temperature, with capers sprinkled on top.

It's time Weekend Cat Events
~~~~~
The Friday Ark is at The Modulator
~~~~~
Weekend Cat Blogging #215 is being hosted by Othello
at Paulchen's Food Blog - In Honor of Sher
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Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos Edition 106
is being hosted by Mom Robyn and the Hotties
~~~~~
The Carnival of the Cats #278
is being hosted by Mr. Tigger at The M-Cats Club

Photohunt Theme: Rock(s)

"ROCK(S)" is the theme this week.
~~~~~
In September of 2008 my husband and I went to meet my parents at Lake Tahoe. We took a tour of the lake which took us to Emerald Bay, on the west shore of the lake. The only island in Lake Tahoe is located in Emerald Bay and is called Fannette Island. It is an upthrust of granite (aka ROCK) that rises up 150 feet above the water. It has not always been called Fannette Island. Among it's other names from the past are Coquette, Baranoff, Dead Man's Island, Hermit's and Emerald Isle.
~~~~~
Geologists say that Emerald Bay was gouged out by glaciers thousands of years ago. The Island supposedly is a resistant rib of granite ROCK that was overridden by the glacial ice.
~~~~~
Vikingsholm was the summer home built on the shore of Emerald Bay, west of Fannette Island. Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight bought the property and the island in 1928 for $250,000. Before construction started Mrs. Knight and her architect went over to Scandinavia for ideas. Construction had to stop at the first snowfall in the winter of 1928 and started up again in the spring of 1929. Two hundred workers were brought in to hand hew the timbers, carve intricate designs, hand plane wood for the interior walls and forge hinges and latches. The granite (aka ROCK) for the foundation and walls was quarried from behind the house.
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The ROCK structure on top of the Island that looks like a miniature castle is the "Tea House" which was built sometime between 1928 and 1929 while the main home, Vikingsholm, was being constructed. The owner, Mrs. Knight, would take guests over to the Island by motorboat. There was a small fireplace in the corner and a large oak table and four oak chairs sat in the center of the 16 by 16 foot room. Over the years the Tea House had been vandalized and now only the stone shell remains. The island is closed from February 1st to June 15th. If we go back to Emerald Bay I would love to go up to see the Tea House and take a tour of Vikingsholm!I got my information from California State Parks website:
Fannette Island
Vikingsholm
~~~~~
As always, you can find more of Tnchick's Photohunters here!
And here photohunt
~~~~~

Wordless Wednesday Almost...

PhotoHunt Theme: Creamy

"CREAMY" is the theme this week.
~~~~~
I immediately thought of food for the CREAMY theme this week. So I found four pictures of CREAMY food that I have enjoyed over the past few years!
~~~~~
Sher's Hummus is a wonderfully CREAMY appetizer. She was a very interesting and funny food blogger who suddenly passed away last July 20th of a heart attack. I have made quite a few of her recipes from her blog called "What DId You Eat?"
For my main meal I would have the Crab Chili Rellano from the Speedboat Bar in Lake Tahoe. It was Dungeness Crab in a Diablo Sauce with Avocado, Salsa and Lime Sour CREAM. It was deliciously CREAMY with all the sauce and sour CREAM!
This Coconut CREAM Pie was made for my DH's birthday.
It was very CREAMY, indeed!
And finally, how about some Bailey's Irish CREAM
and some very CREAMY Cannoli
As always, you can find more of Tnchick's Photohunters here!
And here photohunt
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Photohunt Theme: Walking

"WALKING" is the theme this week.
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I went to Target a few weeks ago and found this Canada Goose, all by itself, WALKING around the parking lot.
Before that I went to visit our zoo and found the Mama Tiger and one of her five baby tigers WALKING around on the ledge.
Almost every Mardi Gras we go to the Beggin' Strips Barkus Dog Parade. It's fun because there are so many dogs all dressed up for Mardi Gras WALKING in their parade!
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As always, you can find more of Tnchick's Photohunters here!
And here photohunt
~~~~~

Happy May Day

Happy May Day!
~~~~~
I took a picture of this gorgeous rose at the Missouri Botanical Garden. I thought that the colors in this digital kit showed it off beautifully!
It's also Willow's Gotcha Day today.
I found her at the Humane Society five years ago and look how much she has grown!

Seen at the Zoo

Lemurs at the St. Louis Zoo

Weekend Cat Blogging with Kara

Kara is one of my daughter's two cats. She has the most beautiful green eyes and, as you can see, gorgeous long fur. She is usually rather shy and stays in the bedroom. Two weeks ago my daughter had her first baby so I have been spending more time over at her house. Kara has gotten used to me now so I was able to get quite a few pictures of her, when I was not taking pictures of my new grandson!Kara found this sunspot in the baby's room!
And here's a close-up so you can see those beautiful green eyes!
Here are the Weekend Cat Events:
~~~~~
Weekend Cat Blogging #203 is being hosted by Salome
over at Paulchen's Food Blog
~~~~~
Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos - Edition 94
is being hosted by Mr. Tigger
over at The M-Cats Club
~~~~~
Carnival of the Cats #267
is over at Mind of Mog

Photohunt Theme: Protect(ion)

"PROTECT(ION)" is the theme this week.
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I decided to feature some plants that I took pictures of at my parent's house last Fall. Cactus plants definitely have very sharp spikes and needles to PROTECT themselves. I don't know what their real names are but this first one was always called Mr. Prickley. When my daughter was little my mother called him Mr. Prickley so my DD wouldn't touch him! My DD has her very own Mr. Prickley, which I believe might be the grandson of the original one. These little cactus-type plants have sharp spikes all over them for PROTECTION.
These cactus plants are needle sharp
and so are very well PROTECTED!
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As always, you can find more of Tnchick's Photohunters here!
And here photohunt
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PhotoHunt Theme: Purple (and 1 Triangle Picture)

"PURPLE" is the theme this week.
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China Cat loves Temptations.
Dairy flavor is one of her favorites and it is packaged in a PURPLE bag.There is a pizza place near us called Chuck E. Cheese. All of my nephews like going there because there are lots of games for kids to play. The Chuck E. Cheese Mouse has on a PURPLE hat and t-shirt and there is PURPLE on the front of the building.Little PURPLE flowers at Shaw's Nature Reserve.Thies Nursery has a Farmer's Market where we like to go buy fruit and vegetables in the Summer. They also sell a lot of plants and flowers. I took a picture of these PURPLE plants and if the sign wasn't there, I wouldn't know what they were!When we visited my parents last fall
I found the same plants in Mom's garden!
So besides being a PURPLE plant, there were little PURPLE flowers!
Mom's garden also had this gorgeous PURPLE flower.
Mom knows gardening and has the green thumb,
which I don't at all,
so I don't even know what kind of plant this is...Lots of PURPLE flowers were in front of the Country Club
that my mother-in-law belongs to and so I had to take a picture!Last week the Photohunt featured the word TRIANGLE.
Our first grandson was born on April 8th and by April 11th
I was still enjoying visiting with our grandbaby.
So, here is my TRIANGLE picture of Willow's ears!
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As always, you can find more of Tnchick's Photohunters here!
And here photohunt
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