Without Kids

August 1 is International Childfree Day.

Love my nieces and nephews, and grand/great nieces and nephews...and their pets!

Am in total admiration of folks raising children.

The Hubby and I chose to not reproduce.

The above is all in good fun, y'all!

For Caturday, we have a pensive Henry close-up, artified with Prisma's Hot Tea filter.

Click on the image to enjoy a jigsaw puzzle.

Let's Hop!

Round On The Ends

 Am on a short vacation to visit family in Ohio, and while packing I remembered how many wonderful things I've done on past visits to the state south of us.

Ohio and Michigan once fought a battle: The Toledo War.

The outcome: Michigan gave up Toledo, gained the Upper Peninsula

Here is a selection of photos of past good times had in Ohio:

Items found at the Feline Historical Museum
Alliance, Ohio in March, 2019

Me and Red
Ohio State Reformatory, used in the film "The Shawshank Redemption"
Mansfield, Ohio in July, 2015

Always finding cats!
Gallipolis, Ohio in July, 2012

Rhinoceros
Toledo Zoo, in October, 2019

National Museum of the US Air Force
Dayton, Ohio, in August 2010

Let's Hop!

The Windy City

A visit to Chicago during a beautiful weekend.

I roamed about, and snapped a few images.

Designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, the Chicago Public Library’s building – today home to the Chicago Cultural Center – was completed in 1897.

The Beach at Sainte-Adresse, by Claude Monet
1867
The Art Institute of Chicago

The Marina City complex was designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg and completed in 1968.
Known as The Corncob Buildings, this is my artsy angle.

Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper
1942
The Art Institute of Chicago

Lion, one of a pair of outdoor 1893 bronze sculptures by Edward Kemeys
The Art Institute of Chicago

Yes, this was the only feline I managed to find!

Beyond thankful to my family who included me in their travels, both last weekend and a couple of weeks ago when on the westside of Michigan.

Witnessing the gorgeous weddings of my two nephews were gifts of unimaginable value.

Let's Hop!

What Makes Us Smile

 Today is Thanksgiving Day in America.

While the pandemic has changed our world, The Hubby and I are thankful for many things:

• Manny and Chili Bruce are a joy, and Sweetie makes our hearts sing!
• We've been married a long time, and no serious damage to either of us.
• We have family members with whom we are in frequent contact via interwebs, phone, and mail.
• I am gainfully employed, and working remotely, which suits us well.
• We have library cards with which we indulge our every reading whim.
• Friends, who've known us (and can tell the stories) from our youths, blogging and cat-loving friends, and brand new friends just met...we are grateful for every one!

And...

Bittersweetly, we have always been happy to have had Celestial Paddy O'Malley in our lives.

 The sheer joy of his purrsonality, his beautiful eyes, that goofy roly poly body, and his love remains in our hearts.

😻Wishing all a wonderful day, and consider yourselves hugged by us!😻

Let's Hop!

Click on the badge above to visit Brian's Home Blog!

Thank you all!

Thank you all for the kind Gotchaversary comments

for Manny and Chili Bruce!

💕💞💕

Instead of staying home and celebrating with them, however, my mother, sister, and I traveled to visit another sister (and I have one more...and two brothers...) in a far northern suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio.  My niece and two nephews visited for some family hilarity, and major chin wagging.

I'll post more about this mini-vacation later, but I HAD to show off this adorable statue that I found in a terrific shop in Lebanon, Ohio.  

IT'S MANNY AND CHILI BRUCE!

Close up on the cat heads; one is licking the other!

Seriously, do you see why I couldn't pass it up?!?

My two housepanthers could have been the statue models!

So, it's a Happy Gotchaversary gift for ME!

Thankful Thursday: Wand Toy

Tomorrow, I see my hand surgeon.  Most likely, my pins will come out.  Just typing that makes me squirm… however many people have told me it's no big deal, including the surgeon!

Adjusting to only using my right hand has been interesting. Doorknobs have been the worst! Eating a sandwich one-handed can be a challenge also.  Hooking one's brassiere, and pulling on or off clothes, is almost a comedy.

I am thankful for all of the assistance that I've received from The Hubby especially, and coworkers, and family members.  Everyone has bolstered my emotions, when I was frustrated, feeling blue, or when I tried to do too much!  Turns out, many folks have similar stories to mine, about their hand or fingers, a toe or ankle, knees, elbows, shoulders, etc.  Knowing that I am in such company, I feel slightly less squirmy…and I vow to face the un-pinning with good humor!

And, you know how to play with a wand cat toy?

Manny and I played 'catch the ribbon', while he luxuriated
in a commonly seen box!

I had a Neko Flies toy in my right hand, for Chili Bruce, and the tie-died fabric wand toy stuck into my splint and bandages for Manny!  It worked!

P.S.  I corrected my post from yesterday.  I came across Chuck's photo from a year ago, and he looked so handsome!  I miss him, and am joyful that we brought two Chuck look-alikes into our home; Da Boyz are a delight, even as they tear up the place.  Thank you for your kind comments.

Let's HOP!

Kit Kat From Japan

My nephew treated the family for Thanksgiving this Thursday: Matcha Green Tea flavored chocolate Kit Kat bars, from Japan!

Actual product box

Sweet!

They taste like white chocolate to me; sweet, but really no discernable green tea taste.  But how fun! 

Kit Kats are popular in Japan, due to their name being close to "Kitto Katsu' in Japanese.  So, Kit Kat bars are considered a kind of lucky charm, supposedly.

Um...who wouldn't want to munch a yummy chocolate candy bar, and wouldn't you feel lucky to be eating one?

And I feel VERY lucky to have my family and friends, both in person and online.  You all are the best!

Vacation Travels: Columbus, Georgia...with one cat

We visited with my cousin, who is also my godfather.  He and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and a swell time was had by all!  Congratulations again, J & N!  They have two grown children (my second cousins with spousal units) whom I met for the first time in person.  Here are some photos of their property:

Lovely scenery

The Lake

While not enjoying the company of our extended family, a band of us broke out for a trip to the local museum, and man oh man, what a beautiful place!  The Columbus Museum not only had wonderful local history displays and gorgeous artwork, there was also a garden surrounding the place!

"Boat Installation" by Dale Chihuly

Native American History

Martha and George Washington Portraits

"Rehearsal" by John Koch

Cat Close up of "The Rehearsal"
This is the 'one cat' of my entire trip

Garden pathway

I love statues in a garden!

We also visited downtown Columbus, Georgia, and sat on the bank of the Chattahoochee River, where folks used the rapids to practice their white-water rafting skills.

Zip Line, from Georgia to Alabama!

Chattahoochee River

Rafters

Old warehouses updated to modern office and living spaces

On the way back to Atlanta for our return flight to Detroit, we visited Warm Springs, Georgia, made famous by our four-time President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who built a cottage that he named 'The Little White House'.  Being a polio victim, the warm water gave buoyancy to the body, allowing exercise for paralysed limbs, and a sense of camaraderie with fellow patients.

One of several autos adapted so FDR could
drive himself using his hands 

Actual porch furniture that FDR used while
at The Little White House

The artist, Elizabeth Shoumatoff, started this portrait
of FDR on April 12, 1945, when he collapsed
and died later that day.  She never finished it.

A negative pressure ventilator, commonly called an iron lung.
Some polio victims lost muscle control, including the ability to breathe.
These ugly but life-saving devices did that for the person, by
inflating and deflating their lungs until they had built up
enough strength again.

As an aside, my father contracted Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, as a boy. Thankfully for millions of people afterward, a working vaccine was first administered in 1950, and later other vaccines were developed, but polio still has no cure.  My father died from complications of lung cancer in 2004, which was probably in part due to damage his body sustained as a child with this disease.  My father really didn't enjoy having pets as I and my siblings children grew up, however, Angel and Chuck were growing inside their mother when my father passed, so they are my living link to him.  I like to think that he would have enjoyed their company when he visited our home, because after all, they are his grand-cats!