Fluffs and Peridot

Claude has been especially fluffy and good-natured lately.

She's been following us around, wanting snuggles.  It's rather nice after 7 years or so of her really not wanting that much to do with us.

She even sits on my desk while I'm working . . . 

Light-as-air little fluffy paws!

Allistair likes to sleep near his favorite toys

(this is Wanda the whale).

 I wuv that widdle pink nosey!

My walks in the morning are getting cooler and darker.

I love it!

At Target, I saw this glass . . .

Free attached mustache, in case you were searching for one!

Greg put up our "alligator" wall-hanging from his sweet Grandma.

Looks great again!

And Juvy had some time inside the other day and spent it looking out the front window because it was windy and leaves were blowing around.

I love how her little snout is sort of square.

And a little purchase for me . . . 

Sadly, I broke the little bow ring I've been wearing on my right hand for a year and a half when it got caught on the door jamb while I was feeding Juvy.  It was so delicate that it was wrenched out of shape and I haven't been able to bend it back so that it is comfortable again.

Eventually I plan to have a jeweler rework a beautiful opal (my birthstone) and diamond ring that used to be my Mom's.  It's not a good size for any of my fingers and I would like to adjust it a little.  But since the only good jeweler I know is in Minnesota (a friend of my parents'), and since I don't want to do this long-distance, I am waiting on that for now.  Eventually, when I find someone good down here (through hearsay, probably - anyone know a good independent jeweler in the Chandler, Arizona area?), I'll submit all my old/unwearable gold for recycling.  That sweet little bow ring will be part of that recycled bunch!  Or, of course, if the apocalypse comes, I can trade my gold for food and water (or ammo).  

So I went on the search for something else that I can wear on that finger and came up with this in my price range, size, and taste.  It's a little peridot in a beautiful setting with a pretty detailed band.  

Just what I was looking for!

All About The Cats

If you don't want to see any fluffiness today, perhaps you should mosey along . . .

but if you DO want some fluffiness in your day, you're in the right place!

I have been working quite a bit this week at the (cluttered) desk in my office, and quite frequently I have at least one cat on the desk.

Allistair helped me make the bed

(by getting in the way, presumably to slow me down so I wouldn't overextend myself!):

"Ha!  I have captured this huge prey!"

Claude drooped her fuzzy widdle pawsies over the end of the bed!

and then settled in for a long nap.

"Sleeeeeeeeepy . . . "

She has beautiful fuzzy paws!

"Please go and let me sleep."

Happy Friday!

Autumn Sneaks In

The weather has been slooooowly cooling down, and we've been able to open the windows for a little cross-breeze the past few mornings.

This morning we even had a burst of rain around six thirty!

This time of year, we open our sliding glass door and a window in my office and let the air flow all the way through the house.

Allistair isn't sure he likes the breeze . . . 

Stephen is very happy to be able to sit in the bathroom window and smell the beautiful fall smells.

The bougainvillea in the background add some color.

Greg had a very weird work schedule lately, thanks to a factory merge that meant he needed to work overnight, and the cats definitely noticed that he wasn't around as much.

Stephen made sure to let him know by bringing the fetch stick to DADDY even though Mommy was the one throwing it over and over and even though Daddy was unwinding by playing the guitar . . . 

Yesterday on the way to church, it was very cloudy and we got a little dribble of rain, too.

Saturday, Greg's Mom visited for a few hours, and of course we had to go to Hobby Lobby, where we discovered they have a Bob Ross painting course sometimes!

Everyone loves Bob Ross!

Here we are:

Greg's Mom has lost tons of weight and is lookin' great!

Lately, we've had a new visitor to our birdfeeder!

I heard lots of noise out there and opened the blinds to find just this little guy:

It's a Lovebird, a type of PARROT!

He didn't seem to want to eat the seed, but he didn't want anyone else to, either.

Apparently, Lovebirds live in the flaps in the trunks of palm trees

as if they're little apartments.

They are adorable and very smart.

He kept looking at me sideways and acting like he wanted me to come outside so we could have a discussion.  Perhaps he would prefer some different food at the buffet?

Perhaps he would like to engage in a debate about the purpose of existence?

We also love this little bird, an Abert's Towhee.

He makes a very high-pitched "peep!" sound, and he's unique because of the backwards digging motion he does to dig up seeds in the rocks.

And he has the cutest little bandit mask!!!

Of course, for every wonderful desert animal that we love, there's one that's not as loveable . . . 

I made yet another version of "nice cream" - pumpkin!

Four bananas, as usual, plus cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

Plus pumpkin puree.

Plus soy milk and maple syrup.

With little bitty chocolate chips on top!

Num!

It was one of the best ones yet (though I think I say that about each new version I create . . . )

Now that's it's getting cooler, I want something warm in the morning for breakfast, and I've been having cream of buckwheat with raisins.  It's yummy and filling and keeps me satisfied for a long time.

Allistair adopted this Amazon box and moved right in with all his favorite toys.

When Daddy was sleeping during the day, Claude was very upset because she wasn't able to sleep on the bed in the master bedroom the way she normally does.  Now that things are back to normal, she can have her spot back and she's happy again (well, as happy as she gets . . . she's sort of grumpy overall).

Juvy is happy, too, but she's pretty much always happy if she's getting some food and lots of snuggles.

She's a very good-natured cat.

Allistair is also pretty easy to please.

And he often looks like he's smiling, even in his sleep!

The 1:1 Team schedule has gotten ironed out a bit more and I've been able to sit with Greg in service again - hooray!

Here's what I wore last week:

dress: Connected Apparel
jacket: Tulle

hair: crazy spirals waiting to droop out as the day progresses!

Have a wonderful Monday!