By Sun and Candlelight

Feline Friday ~ Keeping Warm!

Happy (Feline) Friday, everyone! Here's our Oliver keeping warm in his special spot behind the loveseat, snuggled up next the to heater ...

Just a note - my Advent Tea post will be delayed until the weekend. Impending snow has switched our plans around - we're celebrating Earlybird's and my Dad's birthday tonight instead of tomorrow - so I'm off to bake a chocolate cake!

But I'll see you all here again very soon ... ❤

Hello, and Happy Friday!

(Flashback) Feline Friday!

One of my favorite photographs of "the boys," it was taken when they were very young. And it was recently chosen to appear on a local feline rescue group's annual thank you card!

:)

My friends, I'm sorry to have been MIA for so long ... it's been a very long week of illness here but we finally are on the mend. It was just a cold/cough virus - though a particularly nasty one that felt very much like flu. We were all down and out (even the baby) for a while!

But I'm quite glad to say we are over the worst of it and feeling better every day. Little Bear and Earlybird, who had both been waking throughout the nights (coughing), actually slept very well last night and straight until 6:45 a.m.! What a blessing is truly good sleep! Lots of fluids through the day and extra vitamin C, too.

I have a post in the works answering some of the questions that came up about the housekeeping calendar and I will get that up hopefully this weekend. (I am still loving the calendar but not surprisingly those cards didn't do much for me last week!) I also thought it might be fun to share what my cards next week say ... to give you an idea of how the cards play out in a given week.

So please stay tuned, and as always, thanks for stopping by (and for your patience!). Are any of you celebrating Super Pi Day tomorrow? We'll be having homemade pizza pies for our supper, and perhaps a fruit pie for dessert! :)

Enjoy your Friday, my friends ... see you here again very soon!

Friday Felines ~ Soaking up that Sun

The Winter Solstice arrives on Sunday, roundabouts 6:03 p.m. ... and with it comes the Sun! (or the return thereof!) Yes, there will be a little more sunlight each and every day until the June solstice - so soak up those rays like my Archie is doing above! They feel extra warm (even if it's just psychological) at this time of year!

Enjoy your weekend, my friends ... :)

❤

Friday Felines - Ever Vigilant

Watching the birds (and chipmunks) on the deck, a favorite pastime.

:)

Happy Friday, my friends! 

Friday Felines: Cat-in-a-Box

So, Archie heard "cats in boxes" is some kind of internet thing ...

(Archie's always got his paw on the pulse of things.)

:)

How are your felines (or canines) doing these days? Both Archie and Ollie are doing well - reporting to the vet in a few weeks for their annual checkup. They are so funny around Little Bear, especially now that toddlerhood is upon us and LB is on the (constant) move. Ollie is more cautious and gives the baby wide berth, but Archie ... not so much. Let's just say I spend half my day keeping those two apart - it's like they're magnets, lol! LB constantly goes for Archie (a quick pull of the tail or a little fist-ful of fur) but Archie just refuses to move for anyone, let alone some loud little upright bald cat. For now we're working on teaching LB to be "gentle" with the kitties and keeping a close eye. The very sweet thing is though, both cats take turns sleeping outside the baby's door - during naps and at night. They are very protective of him, and when he's crying they come looking for me. :)

*❤*

Well my friends, I hope you all have a nice weekend - thanks for stopping by. I'll see you here again very soon!

 

Friday Felines ...

Observed through the breakfast nook window this morning ...

Now what are those cats up to?

Hmm, they look pretty intent ... pretty serious about something ...

Oh yes, I see ...

And now so does the chipmunk!

:)

Happy Friday, my friends!

Feline Friday & a Gentle Reminder ...

This is Oliver, who has been enjoying the cat gym now that the sunroom is open and relatively "warm" again. I get the feeling he thinks he's a much smaller cat than he actually is, lol ...

Well, my friends, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ... and if I may mention a gentle reminder ... if you'd like to share a photo of your kitchen for Monday's "Kitchen Chat" post, please send it to me asap (but hopefully by Sunday evening at the latest), at ...

bysunandcandlelight AT comcast DOT net

I am thrilled to have several submissions already, so please join us if you can ... a picture of your kitchen - or a corner or spot you enjoy - would be wonderful to see! But either way, I hope you will join us on Monday to talk about our next topic, which is "kitchen style." I think it will be a really fun conversation!

And on that note, I now must get back to scrubbing my countertops.

:)

See you all again very soon!

Friday Felines Follow-Up

I swear I didn't set this up!... but how funny that the cats struck this pose today ... right after we pointed out they've been spending so much time apart! It was like they got "the memo," lol. So of course, I had to take their photo ...

Well, I hope you all had a nice day ... I was hoping to have my library tour posted, but alas, I had very few "free" minutes to spare on my laptop today ... so I will work on it over the weekend and post once it's done. You know me, there are a lot of photos - and I do tend to get wordy - so it's taking some piecing together. Oh, and remember - the next Kitchen Chat topic is "menu planning" so please give that some thought, and join me for a little "coffee and conversation" on Monday ... I need to reassess my own family-food strategies ... they've gotten quite rusty.

Enjoy your weekend, my friends ... see you here again very soon!

Friday Felines

Sylvia reminded me I have not shown a picture of our cats together in some time! I think they like to spread out more these days - Oliver (in chair seat) tends to spend the day upstairs in the bedrooms, while Archie (on the back of the chair) favors a warm spot in the dining room. (So much so, I set up a blanket and bin there for him.) Archie's the more social of the two, so he ends up in more pictures ... but I happened to notice them both curled up together last night in the library, so I snapped a quick shot!

They are both doing well, and enjoying our new home ... and the baby, from afar - they're getting fairly alarmed that he is now getting big and becoming quite mobile! All my "babies" are growing fast - Archie and Ollie will be three in April!

:)

Well, I hope you all have a nice Friday ... I'll be in touch again later today.

Blessings, my friends!

Friday Felines: Happy Birthday, Archie and Ollie!

Our two little fellas have turned two!

Their birthday was yesterday (April 11th), which also happens to be National Pet Day (how neat) ... so of course I have to post a picture or two.

:)

Hard to believe they were once this small ...

(August 13, 2011)

We also celebrate their adoption day which is in August, but according to their records, they were born - in a back alley, part of a litter of nine - on April 11th. Their mother was missing and the whole litter was taken in, fostered and put up for adoption through a local feline rescue operation. We're very grateful to have found them ...

And we just love these two so much!

Now, if you are cat lovers like us, here is a link to the numerous posts I've done on our Archie (Archibald Fred, left) and Ollie (Oliver James, right):

>> My Kitties archive. <<

Do you have any pets? Of the furred, feathered, or scaled kind? Would you call yourself a cat person or a dog person? Maybe neither or both?

Well, enjoy your Friday, my friends ... and here's to a happy weekend!

*❤*

Feline Friday by Crackerjack (& a Few Easter Recipes)

"Archie, Center of the Universe"

:)

While I'm here (resting in my reading corner, working in my Easter folder) I thought I'd share a couple of neat recipes I found online today:

Italian Easter Bread

Salted Caramel Easter Popcorn

DIY Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

Special holiday meals are full of flavor, memories and love -  but as much as we enjoy our familiar favorites, it's always fun to try something new. You never know what might become a new family tradition! Are you trying any new recipes this Easter?

Enjoy your weekend, my friends!

*❤*

Friday Felines: Nesting ❤

 As Winter grows near, I like to "set the stage" for cold day comfort. One of the ways I do this is to place freshly laundered and neatly folded fleecy blankets someplace in the family room - ideally near the fireplace, and close to favored seating. 

Well, as you can see, Archie is taking advantage of the blankets himself!

"You put these here for me, right?"

The fireplace-end of the sectional has been my favorite spot to "nest" lately. I can be close to Earlybird (couch-schooling is all the rage, don't you know?), and I keep a basket of books and mags (for him and me) close at hand. I/we have the tv to watch, as well as the birds at the window feeders ... and should the mood strike - which it often does these days - I can nap at a moment's notice. ;)

Are you feeling the urge to "nest" lately? Where is your favorite place to "hunker down" when the days grow dark, and the weather turns cold?

❤

Hope you're all having a nice day!

Friday Felines ~ by the Boys

Archie, making himself comfortable on the dining table, under the quilted runner.

(Taken by Bookworm)

Oliver, hanging out on the deacon's bench.

(Taken by Crackerjack)

>>^.^<<

What are your pets getting up to these days? :)

Our church does a "blessing of the pets" for the Feast of St. Francis - which is a lovely idea, really - but I think we'll opt out this year. For one thing, our cats would not be pleased with the impromptu car ride (nor the caged carriers) but for another, they're both vulnerable to upper respiratory infections so I don't want to risk the exposure - or their wrath, lol!

I hope you all have a nice weekend ... see you here again very soon!

❤

Friday Felines

It's been a while since I shared photos of my kitties, so here they are ...

Archie on top, Oliver on bottom. "Admiring" the birds from the windows.

:)

We're actually taking Archie in to the vet this morning because he's been sneezing since Wednesday night, so we assume he has a cold. (Both cats have had colds before.) The poor guy ... he loathes visiting the vets! And we have the nicest vet ever ... but that means nada to Archie, lol.

Also, I may be a bit MIA over the next couple of days - I'm taking Benadryl for an allergic reaction and it's completely knocking me out! I'm not sure what I'm reacting to (possibly pepper) but my immune system goes wacky like this sometimes. I just have to wait it out and keep things calmed with the med, even if it puts me to sleep!

So let me say now, I hope you all have a nice weekend. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones ... 

I'll see you here again very soon!

❤

Friday Felines

Why yes, it is another picture of Archie ... basking in the sun ... lying on top of Earlybird's trains.

If nothing else, he's a creature of habit.

:)

Friday Felines

:)

Friday Felines & Other Fun Things ... :D

All together now:

Awwww ...

Why yes, we did put those boxes under that bench, just for you guys. Why else would those boxes be there?

This picture just cracks me up: Archie laying on top of Earlybird's stuff - backpack, sneakers and hat. He has a thing about being smack dab in the middle of things ...

Ollie, meanwhile, likes to curl up somewhere out of the way - for instance, in the basement windows:

*

Today we had our last Book Group meeting of the year (June's title: A Wrinkle in Time). Bookworm gave the moms a break and led the kids' discussion this month (he's going to do this next year, too). After the meeting ended, my friend Jenney and I took the kids out for ice cream ...

A Beautiful Spring Friday - a great day to enjoy ice cream with friends. :) And while we were there we were visited by a red-winged blackbird.  

Later, back at home, we spotted this cool little moth(?) in the clover patch.

And I'm very happy to report the lavender is blooming!

*

Friday is desk day ...

 ❤ I'm a little in love with my desk. ❤

And guess what this is?

It's Crackerjack's new Lego Store Lego set!

He got this "exclusive set" last Saturday at the grand opening of a local Lego Store. It wasn't free, but you would get it for free if you spent $30 - which CJ was fully prepared to do. He and Bookworm had been saving money for some Lord of the Rings sets, so all in all, it was a pretty big day in this Lego neighborhood. :)

*

Well, my friends, I hope you've all had a nice Friday. Boy, did that week fly by fast! And now another weekend is upon us ...do you have any special plans? Bookworm is taking the SAT again tomorrow (prayers are much appreciated!) and Crackerjack's team (tied for 1st place) has its final regular game of the season. Also, my "little" brother turns 40 (40!) this Monday so we'll be having a special little dinner for him on Sunday.

Lots of nice things to look forward to ...

See you all again very soon!

Friday Felines ...

Does this window seat make my butt look big?

Sorry - I know that's a bit fresh - but the boys and I just laughed ourselves silly over this picture! Archie is a very slim cat actually, but this angle makes him look ... shall we say, rather disproportionate.

Lol.

Seriously though, we just learned that Oliver is "borderline" overweight. Apparently we were supposed to stop feeding them "kitten formula" after six months. They are now over a year and we're still giving them the same kind of dry food - which is very rich and fattening. Kittens need those extra calories and fat, but not so much full grown cats. Oops!

Here's Ollie on his way to the vets the other day:

Not a happy boy, no.

We brought him in because he had been scratching at his right ear for a week or more, and we figured it needed to be looked at. As it turned out, he has a yeast overgrowth in that ear, which thankfully is nothing serious, but needs to be treated with medicated drops twice a day for 10 days. He's not so much a fan of the ear drops - but he's good about it.

(And in case you were wondering, he weighs 13.44 lbs!)

So we have our work cut out for us, switching the boys over to an adult formula dry food, and helping Ollie trim down. He's not as naturally active as Archie, but Ollie does love to play. So Crackerjack has taken this on as his personal mission to get Oliver moving as often as he can.

>^.^<

Well, my friends, I hope you all have a GREAT Friday! I'll be back again very soon!

More Friday Felines!

(Because I have a few minutes to spare, and because this cat is just so darn cute.)

So it seems Archie has developed an affinity for sneakers. He'll give any shoes a good once-over (the best ones have just come in from outside), but he especially loves big stinky sneakers.

I.e. big stinky sneakers that have recently been worn by big stinky feet.

The gray gunboats are Bookworm's "work" sneakers. And they smell especially "fine" after yard work. They're his favorites.

The smaller black Keds in the middle - those are mine.

Not much to sniff at, but they are fun to sit in.

 What are you lookin' at?

Go away, I'm busy.

:)

May the Fourth be with You!

Happy Star Wars Day, my friends!

Well, it's no secret we're big Star Wars fans here (we have three boys, it was a pretty sure bet), but somehow I forgot about this neat "holiday!" (File-folder failure, lol.) Now, if I had remembered, and planned ahead, I would have made (or made Bill make) these pancakes. As it is, I have the younger two dressed in Star Wars shirts, and Bookworm found this Clone Wars Season 5 preview online. (Note: I haven't watched it myself, so it might not be "safe viewing" for younger children.) Another thought ... we might watch Star Wars tonight with the boys. One of the six movies anyway. What's your favorite of the Star Wars movies? I'd have to say mine The Empire Strikes Back. I liked that one even better than the first!

And while I'm here, and since it's Friday, how about a quick "Friday Felines?"

This is Archie's new favorite hang out - inside Crackerjack's school tote.

(As soon as got the picture, I disentangled the bag handles from his neck!)

I am also working on a file folder post follow-up, because there have been some great comments and questions left for me! I will do my best to get that up as soon as possible. If not later today (which is looking pretty busy at the moment) then certainly sometime this weekend.

Oh! And while I think of it ... our Bookworm will be taking the SAT exam tomorrow, and I would love for you to think of him and remember him in your prayers. He's been working very hard to prepare, and he's quite excited! I'm excited too - though I'm a little overwhelmed to think my firstborn is at this stage of life! - but I know he'll do his best. 

Thank you so much everyone - for your visit, for your support and encouragement. I hope you all have a Fantastic Friday! 

See you here again very soon ...

:)