December 1st.

Hello everyone,

Well here it is the first of December and midnight yesterday was the deadline to submit a piece for the Nov/Dec. - Challenge over at Mind Wide Open. Gail gave us the picture you see above on the first of November and the word prompt was time. Then she gave us a whole month to do it this time instead of 7 days. I'm sure some people may have liked the extended time - but me - well, I'm a procrastinator at heart. I really had to keep myself motivated and make sure not to push it so far down the schedule, that I failed to complete it.

So without further ado - here is my entry in all its pink prettiness. I'm happy with how it turned out. What do you think?


Please head over to MWO at check out all the wonderful entries, and do make sure you vote for your favorite.


Hugs,
Penny

Purrfurmance Review

Hey everyone,

It is me, Genghis and I just had to share with you some very troubling facts. You see my friends over at Jan's Funny Farm told me about this purrfurmance review that should be done for quality control of this blog. On my! Oh my! As much as I love Pellie if I had filled in this evaluation, I am afraid she would have failed miserably.
I mean right from the get go she gets two swats. - She doesn't post to this blog daily for her own maximum exposure much less mine.
I would be stretching to give her two paws for taking a few wonderful pictures of me, cuz its really not her photography skills but my overwhelming cuteness that makes the pictures great.
As for the posts I do make - I am the only great mind behind the imaginative, well written post.

As for Pawticipation of fun blog events - the only party Pellie joined was a Hallow & Screams one and there was so many scary, loud noises that I chose not to be a part of such an event - so there again she would be getting two swats; she should have made it more Genghis friendly and lower the volume on the rattling chains and stuff.

I feel it is for the best, to not turn one in this year -as it would humiliate her. But she really needs to get her act in gear and improve over the next year or I may just may go and develop some not so nice behaviors.

Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.


Purrs,
Genghis

Festival of Trees

A Fairy Tree

Hello Everyone,

The Thanksgiving meal is but a fond memory and family has returned home to return to life a usual for one hectic month - till we gather once more and celebrate the gift of Love.

Over this Thanksgiving weekend Sir Knight and I did observe one tradition we have grown to love.
Here in the Quad Cities as we are called; we have a yearly festival put on by the Quad City Art and it called the Festival of Trees. If you like Christmas and the thrill of seeing finely decked out trees you too would love this event. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite tree and scenes with you.

Putting on the Ritz, in black and white

A Harry Potter Christmas

Frosty the Snowman stands next to a tree full of elephants

Elvis is having a Blue Christmas - oops guess not his tree is quite merry & bright

a fireplace scape with silver and gold, so cozy

Christmas under the Big Top

WXMS Radio station turning out the hits -the elf DJ must be on break

A tree of stuffed animals which they donate to different hospitals, police, firemen and ambulance services.

Hope you enjoyed the tour - I'm not the best photographer -but I hope they were good enough to get you into the Christmas spirit. Now I need to put on some Christmas music and gather my supplies for one of my Christmas Crafting projects and get busy or I fear I'll never be done in time.

Hugs,
Penny

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello Everyone,
Sure wish Pellie had a picture of a Thanksgiving Cat - but she doesn't so I thought I'd post this one - cuz it kind of makes me think of Pellie when I look at it.

We have finished our very wonderful meal and all the boys are now enthralled in the game - while the girls are nodding off for a peaceful nap.

So I Genghis Khat have a few minutes to do a post on this blog thingy. The folks all talked about what they were thankful for as they ate - so I had to run off and think about that for a bit.

What am I thankful for? Well! I am thankful that Pellie and Sir Knight rescued me from the shelter and give me should a nice forever home; since I've been here I have not known hunger, thirst or real dangers. I have many soft bed that provide me with numerous place to enjoy peaceful sleep. Now today, with all the family over - I am thankful I didn't get trampled under foot. When your just used to two pair of feet around - it is surprising how much space 8 extra pairs take up and man oh man some of these guys have big feet. As the old saying goes" I have been as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs". But now everyone is settled down and all I just have to do is choose a nice lap to cozy up on and catch a few winks.

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoyed your turkey as much as I did.


Happy Napping!

Purrs,
Genghis

Thanksgiving Blessing to Each and Every One of You.

Hello everyone.

As we will be spending Thanksgiving with the family - there are many preparations that will keep us pretty busy tomorrow - house to finish cleaning, pies to make, etc. so I doubt we will be getting on the computer much.

One thing I am so very thankful for this Thanksgiving is all my friends, the new and the old - the ones who visit my blog regularly and those who stop by once in awhile. All of you have brightened my days and blessed my heart with your friendship. Thank You.

God bless all of you and your wonderful families


Hugs,
Penny & Sir Knight

Purrs,
Genghis Khat

Sullen Saturday

Hello everyone,

What a sad state my life must be in right now - when the most exciting thing I have to post about - is that I just got a new one of these. I do love its snazzy neon color.

To make matters worse and add insult to injury - an older couple in their 70's probably, who were checking out in the next lane over were laughing at me. No I am not just paranoid -and they were laughing at something else. The Lady turned around looked me in the eye and told me to just wear wash and dry items like the rest of the world; all the while both husband and wife are laughing at me.

Well I just can't do that - I am old school I even iron my jeans and my T-tops. I don't happen to like the unmade bed look that many others rally round - but to each his own I say - so because I still iron shouldn't make me a target for someone else's scorn and laughter.

Where have people's christian charity and manners gone?

When I was sent this in an e-mail - other than thinking it was a bit tongue in cheek I never gave it much credence till today and now I too am in mourning.

The Death Of Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. Common Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a real beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust his wife, Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility, his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers: I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.


Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Hugs,
Penny

Weird Wednesday

Hello Everyone,

In light of my recent Bread Making class I took - I wanted to do a post for Homemade Bread Day, November 17th, but I was in bed most of the day with a beastly headache - so I missed it. Since today is only the 18th, I decided I'd go ahead and post about it any way. Above you see the cover page to the little cook book we were given on our last day of class, It contained all the recipes we made over the three days we had class.
The class itself was kind of a disaster as the teacher was always unprepared and tried to teach us more things than there was time for in each class. Her favorite quote was "I thrive in chaos" -
She really didn't care that most of us students don't thrive on chaos and like things a little more organized. I did glean a few good tips, so I feel that all was not lost.
Above is a recipe for the bread doves we made - my doves turned out much better than my cornucopia so I thought I'd share them with you. I plan to make some for Thanksgiving. Also on this page is a recipe for play dough. Hope you enjoy.


I went to a couple of Garage sales and an Estate sale within the last two weeks I thought I'd share all my finds with you.

A large assortment of used cards - some books from the 1940's and 1950's, an old unmatched salt shaker and a couple of small decorative bottles.


Here I got many old Child Life magazines from the early 1950's and some other magazines From the late 1940's. I also got these two little girl dresses for $1.00/pair what a deal. I also got a large stash of vintage flowers and butterflies.

Aren't those dresses just the cutest, thing you ever saw.

On a side note I just wanted to say that Genghis has adjusted better than we could have hoped to his night time exile to the basement. He goes down about 1:30 am when Sir Knight heads to bed and is usually let back upstairs about 9:00am when I wake up (some days its even earlier); And he gets plenty of hugs, pets and rubs through the day - so he knows he is loved. As for me once I got over my bout with the flu, I seem to be doing a little better fibromyalgia wise with more sleep.

I know this post has been kind of all over the place - but I did warn you it was weird wednesday.


Hugs,
Penny

Veterans Day Reverie

Hello Everyone,

Just a short post to offer to all the veterans a very big thank you from the bottom of our hearts.


They Did Their ShareOn Veteran’s Day we honor
Soldiers who protect our nation.
For their service as our warriors,
They deserve our admiration.Some of them were drafted;
Some were volunteers;
For some it was just yesterday;
For some it’s been many years;In the jungle or the desert,
On land or on the sea,
They did whatever was assigned
To produce a victory.Some came back; some didn’t.
They defended us everywhere.
Some saw combat; some rode a desk;
All of them did their share.No matter what the duty,
For low pay and little glory,
These soldiers gave up normal lives,
For duties mundane and gory.Let every veteran be honored;
Don’t let politics get in the way.
Without them, freedom would have died;
What they did, we can’t repay.We owe so much to them,
Who kept us safe from terror,
So when we see a uniform,
Let’s say "thank you" to every wearer.By Joanna Fuchs

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. . . . President John Fitgerald Kennedy

Hugs,
Penny

A Birthday Bash

Hello everyone,
It's a bright beautiful morning and a perfect day for a Birthday Party. Who's birthday is it ? Well it's not mine or Genghis's and its not Sir Knight's; but he is one of the reasons we celebrate it every year. Ok, I won't leave you in suspense any longer. Today, November 10th, is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

My Little Cherished Teddie above as well as the Marine pin are my everyday reminders of these brave men and the brotherhood they share with their fellow Marines. My Dad was a member of that brotherhood, having served his country with them during WWII as well as Korea; and my Dear Sir Knight also is a part of this brotherhood having served his country with them in Vietnam.
It has been a privilege and an honor to know both these men.

This is my Dad all dressed up and standing proud in His Dress Blues.

This is my Dad and his favorite girl doing the town in Chicago, while he was stationed at Navy Pier. Yep, when the war was over he came back and married her and she is of course my mother.
The Little Bear and Mug are Sir Knights and my souvenirs from when we attended the Marine Corps Ball (Birthday Party), a week after we got married.

No Pictures of Sir Knight in Uniform you ask? Well no, unfortunately there aren't any. You see with Veitnam being such an unpopular war - and all - there was no hero's welcome for the returning warriors back then. People didn't send out nice care packages with golf games or all kinds of Christmas cards and stuff to our boys overseas - the only boxes I remember being collected for them was for soap, (SOS - send over soap) pretty exciting stuff, huh. The war was unpopular, so they took it out on the boys who were just doing their duty to God and Country. Heck the Veterans of Foreign wars even refused to let them join when they got home - because Vietnam wasn't a true war.

The draft dodgers got more sympathy from the American people than our returning soldier. - go figure

Sir Knight disposed of all his pictures and momentos in the circular file, moved on with his life, and tried to forget about the whole mess.


Our wish to all the Marines, past and present, who uphold the finest traditions of the Corps... Happy Birthday.

Hugs,
Penny

Good afternoon to one and all,

Well Halloween 2009 is just a pleasant memory. As I carefully take down all the decorations I remember all the fun we had planning our spooktackular blog party and all the wonderful visitors we had that day and how we appreciated each and every comment left for us. What fun that was. We have even started talking about how we might be decorating for next years gala.

Genghis may have hid for most of the party but he really got into the arrival of each and every trick or treater, checking them and their costumes out and giving his headbut seal of approval and demanding to be petted. He is such a social butterfly - he just loves when company is coming - more people to love and adore him (I guess). Win their hearts he does - though not in a pushy way but by being responsive at the right time when they are ready to lavish him with attention.

Here in the midwest it was time to set our clocks back, for daylight savings time has ended and we move into those darker days of late fall and then winter. It would have been better if I could have enjoyed the extra hour of sleep but Genghis is still running on the old time and woke me up at 4:15am as usually even if the clock differed with him.

Today Sir Knight is busy putting a door up on the way into the basement. It is an awkward little area right by the back door with two doors getting in each others way. We took that door down years ago when we moved in here for convenience as well as astetics. Now however, with Genghis's proclivity for early morning rising and his attitude of "when I'm up, everyone should be up" we feel a real need to once again have a door there so Genghis can stay in the basement apartment till we are awake and moving then he can come up and join us. I know this sounds terrible and it really does break my heart a bit but I have enough problems with insomnia and do not function well on only 2 or 3 hours of sleep each night. Sir Knight sleeps through most things - but even his sleep has been cut short as of late and we can't have him falling asleep on his job.
(He works second shift and doest get home till after midnight, then an hour or so to relax before hitting the bed. So 4:15am is a terrible time to have to rise and shine).

I keep telling my self that since our basement is a nice finished basement that it shouldn't be too hard on Genghis - but I know he will be lonely - just hope and pray that he doesn't cry and caterwaul all night - I know my determination and resolve would evaporate if he did.

Well I need to do a couple loads of laundry so I best bring this to a close.

Hugs,
Penny