Happy 4th of July, All!

Please not that the grass is finally mowed. It took six hours.

Toivo's Kitchen Perch

Is it the flowers? or the squirrels? or the bunnies? or the birds? or the butterflies?

Squirrel Still Life

While Dad and I were talking today, I noticed a squirrel in the trees - not at all unusual, of course, except that this squirrel stayed absolutely still for at least 15 minutes. I mentioned it to Dad, he says that squirrels do sleep along limbs like that.

Lady Butters Up the Mailman

Lady sprints to the front every time she hears the mail truck pull up. The Mail Carrier is also a Treat Carrier and Lady wiggles and waits in anticipation, watching as he approaches, house to house, from a few blocks away.

A Good Time Was Had By All

Dear Alex,

Thank you for coming to visit while your Dad was in Iowa. I had a great week with you, getting to know the young man you are so quickly becoming. You have a sweet generous spirit. I really appreciate how you take such good care of Lady, how you keep Toivo entertained, how you 'go along' even when some times, you'd rather not. Plus it was fun teaching you how to make salad dressing. So I'll forgive you for beating me at Cat-opoly and (some times) Chickenfoot! Next time we're together, we'll do the 12s and then take a late-night walk around the neighborhood!

I love you, Alex!

A Big Bear Hug to You,

Auntie Al

The Wicked Mulch Is Dead

It took us nearly all day but we killed the mulch pile, finally! Alex was a really hard worker today, shoveling and hauling, spreading and flattening. And the front yard looks so good now, all neat and tidy. And no mulch pile in the driveway!

Cat Tails

Toivo got more attention from Alex than anyone, ever! Mostly, she chased a string on a pole with Alex's hand at the far end, all over the house, up and down, over and around: a great cat game.

And here she says 'Thank you, Alex!' by getting all close and cuddly.

A Zoo Day

It was an amazing day at the zoo. Because the weather was cool, all the animals were out and active. Here we're watching two of the Asian elephants, the new baby Jade who was just born in February is around the corner.



Alex got one of the grizzly bears on his phone, they were SO close!



Here, everyone was wishing for fishin' poles! That's some catfish!

After walking around, we met Mz Ann and Stefanie for a Zoo Boogie concert, then came home for leftover pizza and salad ... and more chickenfoot!

Alex & Lady Are Buddies

Alex and Lady are real buds this week. Both are getting A+s for behavior and taking good care of each other.

It's Not About the Food

... even if, for breakfast, we did have a lot of fun making omelets in a bag, it worked perfectly and the omelets were quite tasty. But you see the Cat-Opoly? We played a mad round (with more Chickenfoot outside where it was a last beautiful cool evening), only giving up at 10pm when it was too much work to figure out how many "litter boxes" (houses) to sell back and how many "cats" (properties) to mortgage for Alex to pay $1200 in rent. Very fun.

We also made great headway on the gumballs, though it did take Alex an hour to get the first half bucket, one gumball at a time, thrown from four feet away. But he's newly inspired: the neighbor says he pays $20 a bucket and so he's done the math and figures he'll make a lot of money, enough to be able to afford a big house and a couple of kids. Cool!

Tuesday: "The Park" & Chickenfoot!

We can't remember why Alex turned but no matter. We have great memories of our Tuesday together -- oh no! our last Tuesday this trip. We took a long walk with Lady at Forest Park, learning all about the 1904 World's Fair and the luxury of a shady spot with a breeze, even on a rare 80 degree June day. We caught an outside table at the Boathouse (where dogs are allowed again, who'd think they wouldn't be ...) and ate pizza and salad. Later we came home and played chickenfoot until dark, our second day. Alex ended up with about 500 points, Auntie Al with 300 -- but after 10 of 12 rounds Auntie Al only had 15 points so Alex really truly had a chance to win out in the end, if only there'd been one or two more rounds. The big news of the day: Alex really truly does like beets!

Summer Is Made for Shortcake

Alex experiences the first "real" shortcake he remembers -- though his mother says he's had it before, with blueberries, so a very patriotic red, white and blue. He declares the biscuits "perfect" and asks for another, later. And Alex is famous online, too!

Lady does crumb patrol, not missing a single crumb!

Summer Haircuts Are Great

Look how happy both Alex and Lady are -- Alex with his just-for-summer handsome haircut, Lady getting a good brushing that noticeably lightened her black coat. And see the waste basket? It was nearly full ...

Squirrely Girl

Mom let me up on the sofa -- just this once -- so I could watch the squirrel snatching up leftover bird seed on the patio. Some times, I held myself so still that my body just quivered. Other times I got down onto the floor but lifted myself up -- like a circus dog -- on both back legs to see out the window.

Animals Return

One of Toivo's favorite window spots, especially in spring's morning sunshine ... includes perfect sightline of the squirrels and chipmunk that forage in the next door garden.

To My Sister

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday, Dear Sister, Happy Birthday to You


Happy Day!

Kitchen Sentry

Toivo: "With all the cooking that goes on in this kitchen, I shouldn't have to beg for breakfast and supper!"

Happy Tails Hangover

Too tuckered to move ... when Lady's back from Happy Tails, the 'kennel' (more like the Puppy Playland) where she stays when I'm away, she is happy to be home but dog-tired (now we know where that comes from!) for a day or two.

Feline Fotogenics

Day after day, Toivo puts herself into completely photogenic environments. Here, she's even cuddled upside the lightbox I use for food photography, napkin and all.




And here, stretched out in the sun on the rugs put down to prevent Lady from slipping on the wood floors while recovering from surgery, her ears profiled in shadow.

And here, again in the sun, this time in the dark shadow/bright light near the cat door to the basement in the kitchen. (Yes, Lady's rugs are everywhere.)

And here, behind the curtain, watching the squirrels and other critters in the back yard, again, it's the profile that fascinates me. (sorry, can't figure out exactly how to format these ...)

The Big Chill

It was a long few days, starting with sleet and ice on Thursday night, then losing power some time during the night.














Still, there was no disputing the beauty of the snow, here from the back window ...









... and also in the front.











The big horizontal limb on the cherry tree reached to the ground, cracking at the trunk. I'm sorry to lose it but am glad the fence and the Japanese maple are okay.






Several limbs broke off the sweet gum on the west side too.