We Have It So Tough by Spunky, Manny and Abby (Writers Workshop)

Just so you know, we all like living with Karen and Gerard very much. The perks and good times far outweigh these few complaints mentioned below. The only reason we brought them up was to participate in Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop prompt: A day in the life of your pets...how bad do they have it?

Riding on the Stuffed Turtle, Zippy

Spunky Doodle says my life is tough because:

 

·         I have to wait to be fed last and then I have to work to get my food out of the little Kong.

·         Manny sometimes chases me and it’s a constant battle for me to make sure he knows I am the boss around here.

·         Our humans remove me when I am comfortably lying on the new living room chair.

·         I get blamed for everything that goes wrong around here.

·         Gerard always yells at me to get away if I try to read with him at the table.

(If you missed the video of me having fun before Karen left for work, I hope you will watch it:  Fun Before Work by Spunky Doodle)

 

I'm waiting for my breakfast!

Manny says my life is tough because:

 

·         I can’t go outside on the porch anymore.  My other house used to have a high porch that I could lay out on in the sun.  I miss that sometimes.

·         Sometimes I am tricked into going in the pet taxi and then find myself at the vet!

·         I hate being picked up and sometimes Karen gets it in her head to do that.  It really makes me mad!

·         When I go to bed next to Karen’s legs, she’ll sometimes move them and disturb my sleep or Gerard will pull at the covers and flip me off!

·         When I get all comfy lying on Karen watching TV with her on the couch, she gets up only to lie down again on the bed.  Why can’t we just sleep on the couch together all night?

(If you missed the video about how good I am, hope you will watch it:  My Good Boy, Manny )

 

Starting on a Walk . . . finally!

Abby says my life is ruff because:

 

·         I do a lot of waiting around for my humans—they are gone a lot and won’t let me outside without them at the end of my leash.

·         I do not have any other dogs to play with and the cats won’t let me play with them.  They run away if I try.

·         I am not allowed to curl up on the new living room chairs even though they are very comfy.

·         My humans wake me up at 4:30 a.m.!  How silly is that?

·         Karen put up cardboard around all the litter boxes so I can’t get my cat poop treats anymore.  See:  Litterbox Fences Solve Poop Problem

(Woof, Woof! I have a video too I hope you will watch:  Why Is Abby So Excited?)

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12 Things I’ve Done That You Probably Haven’t (writers workshop)

This week I modified Mama Kat's Writers Workshop prompt a bit.  It was to list 22 things we have done but as you can see, I’ve changed it to just 12 things I’ve done that I doubt you have ever done.

I'm in the back--King's Island

1. I Rode an elephant (at King's Island).  (A Long Drive Out of My Comfort Zone)


2. I Rode a camel (at the Cleveland zoo).


3. I’ve taught grades 3-12 in Sunday School over the years and did some camp counseling at two different camp grounds (AWANA Scholarship camp and Beulah Beach) during some of my vacations..





Our AWANA Grand Prix race with track that my dad built.

4. I’ve held all of the following positions in AWANA clubs:  Commander, Director, Secretary and Leader and earned the Citation Award for completing all the books.  (Harry's Most Fun Project--The AWANA Grand Prix)


5. I wrote and self-published two books:  My Funny Dad, Harry and Abby Finds a Good Home.


6. I participated in a small group Bible study that met at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings for four years (yes, I'm a morning person).



7. During my teens, I was on a Bible Quiz team and as an adult I coached several teams.  We quizzed against other Christian and Missionary Alliance churches.


8. I took a Creative Movement class at Malone College and learned to square dance.  It was fun!





9. I wore a baseball cap and tennis shoes with my wedding dress (not at the wedding though).


10. I got rid of our stove and now do not have one in our kitchen, just a microwave.  (Living With No Stove--A Good Decision)





Reading at the zoo

11. I’ve read 85 books so far this year and over 586 in my lifetime.  (Who keeps track of how many books they read?  Avid book loves on Shelfari, that's who.  It's a great website for book lovers!)


12. I put my pizza in the cupboard instead of the refrigerator . . . not once, but twice! (Foolish Things:  Where Does the Pizza Go?)

So, am I right or have you done some of these too?  What have you done that I probably haven’t?

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My Top 10 fall fashion favorites (Writers Workshop)

Naturally, fall means football for us so I look forward to wearing my team sweatshirts and jackets. But you will be happy to know, I also have a few non-sports related items mixed in. The Winnie the Pooh Jacket was one of the best gifts I got from Gerard before we were married. In fact all these items were gifts from my husband, Gerard, except for two: one was from my cats (which Gerard did buy for them to give to me) and one from my mom. Can you guess which one was from my mom?



Ohio State Jacket with cap
Winnie the Pooh Jacket with cap
Cribbs Browns Jersey
White Browns Jersey
Doggie Football fall sweatshirt
Browns Hoodie
Brown Cat Fleece Jacket
Ohio State Hoodie
Browns Jacket with cap
Colorful Fall Leaves Sweetest Day Sweatshirt

This is in response to Mama Kat's Writers Workshop prompt: "Your Top 10 Fall Fashion Favorites." (I'm behind a week on my prompt here, but oh well.)


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Our Favorite Childhood Recipes (Writer's Workshop)

I LOVED it when my mom would make Chef Boy-R-Dee pizza and then add tuna fish on top. When she baked it in the oven, the tuna would get a little brown. Boy was it good! So far I haven’t found any pizza place that uses tuna fish for a topping. It’s an Arlettaz original.  I tried adding tuna on take-out pizza but it just wasn't as good as mom's.

Gerard's favorite was ketchup sandwiches. That's right, very simple; two slices of bread with just ketchup on them. Did you ever try this?  It's good!

Do you have a favorite childhood recipe to share?

This post is in response to Mama Kat's Writers Workshop prompt: to share a favorite childhood recipe.

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Bringing In a New Cat--FooFee a/k/a Manny (Writer's Workshop)

Thursday, May 15, 2008: Heard About Foofee



Turn your volume up so you can hear Manny.
Well, it's been 4 1/2 months since our cat, Moe, died and we still miss him terribly. I think our other cat misses him too, but can't be sure about that. I asked Spunky Doodle if she'd like another cat friend, but she won't say one way or the other. I've been praying about whether we should get another cat or not and decided not unless the perfect cat showed up. I was thinking about a cat about Spunky's age, a Tabby, with front paws delawed like her.

I got an email from a friend of mine the other day and guess what! She is giving away her friendly, male neutered Tabby with front paws declawed to a good home. It's just what I thought I'd like and am going to meet him tomorrow night. His name is Foofee. Things are going smoothly now with Spunky Doodle following us around like a dog and sleeping on the bed with me. My husband is leery about the idea. I am very optimistic though, because Spunky took so well to Moe. She just wanted to play. The other cat who is coming from a one-cat household may not want to be with another cat though. We'll see. Time will tell.

I may take Spunky Doodle along with me to meet Foofee. (We also may change that name.)

Friday, May 16, 2008: Met Foofee

Gerard and I went to meet Foofee were amazed at how friendly he was! He greeted us in the living room when we first came and never left. He let us pet him the WHOLE TIME and even rub a sock to get his scent on it to take back for Spunky Doodle to sniff. I hope he likes our home. We'll be bringing him home tomorrow.

Saturday, May 17, 2008: Bringing Home Foofee

Today's the day we bring in Foofee, but we've already decided to change his name to Manny (since we got him in May and he'll be staying in Gerard's "man cave" room upstairs during the adjustment period). Getting him into the carrier was no easy task, but once he was on the way, he was very quiet. He has his own private "safe room" for now. I spent a little time with him but mostly let him be by himself and relax and explore at his own pace.

When I went in to check on him later, he was lying near the door with his paws curled around him in front of him looking scared. Then after awhile, I checked again and he was laying next to the carrier in the corner. He had quite a scary, bad day. Hopefully things will improve for him.

Sunday, May 18, 2008: Relief!
This morning I went in with him around 5:45 and he was out of the corner and up on the desk looking out the window. I approached very slowly, gave him new water, checked his litter box (still not used) and then sat down and read out loud so he would get used to my voice. I didn't want to spook him. I noticed we had been in the carrier during the night because the towel was crumpled up--that's a good sign. I'd like for him to get used to that carrier.

After about 30 minutes, I brushed him a little bit. He didn't seem to mind. Then I pet him gently on and off for about 15 minutes. So far I've been successful at keeping Spunky out but found her right outside his door this morning. She's curious, of course. But not growling or hissing . . . yet.
After church, he was back in the corner behind the carrier again and didn't come out while I was in there. I left and popped in about 10 minutes later, and saw he had moved to check out the bottom built-in shelf. I felt better.

Monday, May 19, 2008: Finally Ate A Little
This morning I was encouraged to see he used his litter box for the first time since we brought him in. He hissed at me though when I went to brush him and he also hissed at Gerard. The good news is he started to eat some during the night.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008: Some Progress
We're finally showing a little progress. I saw he was in the carrier again during the night because the towel was a bit crumpled. Manny moved around the room this morning with me in it. He started walking toward me when I was laying on the floor on the opposite side of the room. I started getting excited, thinking he was coming to me, but no, he went around to the side of his litter box and hopped up on it and then up to the desk.

He was laying nice on the desk and I started to brush him but he hissed so I quit that. I touched him with one finger and he didn't hiss that time. When I moved his food dish up next to him and backed off, he looked at it and I thought he would eat some more, but he didn't. Then he jumped back off and down to his corner, so I left and will go back in to read the paper. He stayed in his hiding corner all the while I read the paper, but he watched.  When Gerard got home from work, he found Manny hiding under the tall dresser! It's really low to the floor, but at least he's finally exploring the room.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008: Hiding Under the Dresser
When I went up this morning, Manny was STILL under the dresser. He did eat some during the night though and used his litter box. I took out the bottom drawer so I could pet him easier. He jumped out right away so maybe it was hard for him to get out from under there and that's why he stayed so long. Who knows?
I was happy to see he was on the desk by the window when I came home and stayed there even with me in the room without going to the corner or under anything. He's finally beginning to come around.

Thursday, May 22, 2008: Hissed But Pet Him Anyway
This morning I was soo pleased to see the one side of his dish practically empty! Thank God he's eating!!! He was up on the desk when I went in this morning and let me pet him a little, even though he hissed some. My friend at Kitten Krazy told me I should still pet him even if he hisses because otherwise he gets his way and I'll never be able to pet him. He'll just keep doing it. I am optimistic now. I also noticed that he moved the sock I left with him that had Spunky's scent on it. At least he acknowledged it. I rubbed another sock on him, he actually let me, to get his scent on it for Spunky. When I gave it to Spunky, she hissed! That's a good thing because it confirmed his scent was on it.

(See Spunky Doodle's blog at http://karen.pnn.com/ for her view on this and Manny's perspective too--Cat Corner Section.)

I linked this old post up to Mama Kat's Writers' Workshop this week because it answers the prompt: "Tell how your pet became a member of your family."