Thankful Thursday - Thanksgiving Edition

I would like to start out by wishing everyone a happy thanksgiving.  Since the internet is global I know that not everyone who reads this is celebrating, but there is never a bad time to give thanks, so hopefully you will take a moment to remember to be thankful for something.

What I am thankful for is you. Yes, you, the you who would sit and read a cat blog. You who would right a cat blog. You who comment and tell me my kittens are cute, and complement me on the amazing job I do with kittens and call me names that make me blush like a blessing or an angel.  Fostering and volunteering at the shelter puts me in touch with the worst of humanity when it comes to animals.. I see things and hear things that make my toes curl and just make me hate people.. Being reminded daily that there are people who do not see what I do as a waste or stupid helps me do what I do.. so yes, every day you show up and comment you are making a difference in a kitten's life.. It may seem trivial, but trust me there are days when I am pretty sure I can't go on save for the fact that I know there are cat people out there..

So..

Thank you!!

and I'm also thankful for the following..

Jack

Muffin

Eli

Twee (aka Tweedle)

Kit (aka Daddy's Girl)

Fleurp

Skippy

The boys,
because seriously.. they are awesome.. 

The Fluffkits..
who all came out to eat when I was laying right next to the food dish

and a husband who sees value in spending time rubbing a Jack Belly.. 

I have a very full weekend ahead of me, hopefully I'll have time to share with you all before Monday, but I'm not going to stress over it if I don't..

Mine..

What's this?

I like it.. it smells fun, it is fun, it is mine

Whatcha doin?

Back off, 

this is so mine.. 

new toy

I stopped by the shelter hoping they had finally restocked their scoopable litter (no luck) and while I was there I nabbed a new toy to see if I could get the girls to interact with me a bit more.

It was a no go with Evelyn.  Miss Lady Frida Floofface however was intrigued.

I just want to sing the "I'm a supermodel" every time I see this last photo.

I did get her to walk over my leg :)   I think they were a little freaked out because I did a little cleaning before I settled down for play time..

While at the shelter I checked in on Elsa and Jackson.  Ella went home - the staff member said she didn't even have to spend the night on the adoption floor!  she ended up going home with another kitten about her age which makes me happy.  Elsa is currently in an adoption room so she isn't locked in a cage which is great.  I had a feeling she wouldn't mind other cats as company, but it is one of those things that you don't know for certain until it happens (and I wasn't testing my theory on The Crew) and she seemed pretty OK with it all.  She had sequestered herself in a condo and came out and rubbed all over my ankles while I was there.  Paws crossed she goes home soon.  Jackson - sigh - that poor boy.  he shrunk back from me when I went to give him attention, but once I got my hands on him he was all purr and affection.  Sad thing is though is his tail had quite a bit of poop on it.  I mentioned it to the staff member, but nothing was done - not even a note taken :(  They were very close to closing and they were doing the floors so everything was in disarray, but I wasn't happy that she didn't even say she'd do something about it.  I would wish for his forever home to also come quickly but I would very much like to reunite the family..   Well what ever happens I am sure will be for the best.

Elf on the Shelf

Growing up we had a little elf that looked just like this one.  I so wanted one for my house but never found one until "Elf on the Shelf" became popular a couple of years ago.  If you have never heard of it, the original story goes that some elves leave the north pole to watch the girls and boys to help Santa.  The story is much more elaborate and there are rules that no one can touch the elf or the magic is lost.  Each day your elf gets into mischief and kids enjoy what the elf has been up to.    If you are curious, there are a LOT of awesomely clever ideas on Pinterest and around the web.

I thought it might be fun to add my elf to my blog for the month of December, but I didn't want Ella and Jackson leaving with out meeting him.

Lets get ready to rumble..

momma, 

momma, ow.. 

ow ow ow

THAT HURTS!!!

bet you can't catch me!

ha ha ha

you can't get me, nor my ear.. 

Don't you just love my force field??

Momma, why'd ya stop??

Thanksgiving at Casa de Gato

This Thanksgiving was a little different from us than the norm.

Thanksgiving is my husbands FAVORITE thing.  He loves it above just about anything thing else, so when we were first married he had grand dreams of huge Thanksgiving events.  Being an introvert that was the last thing I wanted, so I told him we could do Thanksgiving if he did all of the cooking.  Well wouldn't you know he would take me up on it.  And darn it if he didn't do it in spades.  The man makes a mean mean turkey.  For the past couple of years he has made a turkey and we took it to his brother's house.  They have a whole houseful of kids and it has always been a lot of fun but we are left with a house smelling of turkey and no turkey.

This year his brother had to work and we were invited over to my parents house.  We were told we didn't need to bring a thing (and we so didn't.  My family goes overboard with food and there was enough to feed quite a few more people) and so it looked like my husband wasn't going to get (yes, get.  not have) to prepare a bird.  Well he wanted to, so we decided to have two Thanksgivings.  Once on the day, and another the next.

He brines the turkey,
notice the heart shaped splashes.. it is made with love

The spread

Photobomb Jack

want

PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE!!

Um, Daddy, I was elected to tell you.. 

we want that.. (cause you obviously didn't know before)

Our serving plates

I love these

and this mug is huge and awesome.

nom nom nom nom

I felt quite bad about not being able to give any of The Crew some turkey.  There was onions and garlic in the brine and in the cavity of the bird.  I am not sure how much of these can cause problems in a kitty already dealing with anemia issues (Fleurp), so I opted to forgo giving any to The Crew this year. (Well except the small piece I slipped Jack - I justified it because he is the Alpha.. well at least he should be) and oh didn't they lay on the guilt.  The meowing and carrying on was almost too much to stand.  They did get a special dinner of turkey cat food in small cans that they totally appreciated.  It was complete junk and they LOVED IT.

Surprisingly the fosters ate the turkey but did not devour it.  Lady Friday Floofface enjoyed it the most, which was nice because I not only got her to eat out of my hand, she licked my fingers.  She is still way too tense and can not accept any hands on attentions.. so this was a nice.  I think I'm actually looking forward to working one on one with her and Evelyn.  See now that Ella is of size it is time for her to go back and find her forever family.  There are still a surprising number of kittens up for adoption, so I'm not overjoyed at the idea of bringing her back, but there is something to having her family pick her out of the group and not pick her because she is the only one.  She goes back on Monday, will be neutered shortly after that and a day or so later go up for adoption (probably not before Wednesday).  Elsa is already neutered so she will go on the adoption floor as soon as the staff assess her and see what they are comfortable with.  I am going to send Jackson Pollack along with them.  He is 90-95% tamed.  He freaks when your hands go straight at his head or front end, but the second your hands are on him he is A-OK with, do getting love and attention.  And since a lot of cats don't much like that too, I'm going with it might even just be him.  Speaking of him, don't you just love his :( markings on his side??

Thankful Thursday

What better Thursday for a thankful post..

I am thankful for cold noses in armpits at 5 AM, because it reminds me that my Jack misses me and wants me to start my day with him.

I am thankful for fur and whiskers up my nose when I wake up spooning Muffin because she likes to snuggle.

I am thankful for high pitch squeaking that sounds a lot like nails on a chalkboard, because it means my Eli has finally found a use for us.  After spending the first part of his life being that typical "aloof" cat, he's finally forgiven me for saving his life with all that medication as a kitten.

(we interrupt this post to comment that I'm still currently laughing from Eli trying to jump onto my shelves of sweater to take a nap.  DH was just commenting how he tends to do that and knock the sweaters over, and not 5 minutes later he jumped up there and missed the landing and fell to the floor taking 10 sweaters with him.  He's fine, but I've got more work and a very good laugh out of it)

I am thankful for Twee's utter cluelessness and lack of tact and subtly.  She may be a little touched mentally, but she is so sweet she makes your teeth ache and you know that when she wants your attention she has no clue that walking over the keyboard or stepping on your tender bits might be a problem, she just wants love - and who can fault her for that?

Yeah, I really have no negative to turn into a positive here.. I adore that Kit adores my husband, I adore that he adores her, and I love that she lets me dress her up in cute clothing and hats because it makes me giggle..

I am thankful for the hairball at the end of the hall because they remind me that my cats are generally healthy at this point in life, and I'm not overly stressed over Fleurp's recurring anemia (even if it is on my radar)

and I didn't step on it.

I'm also thankful for being drooled on because it means that Skippy has worked his way past Muffin, Jack, and Twee and found a way on my chest and is spending part of his day with me.  He adores to cuddle and always has.. but he is intimidated by the older bigger kitties a lot of the time so when he does it is special.

and I am thankful for fostering, which led to this blog, which led to this photo..

Ella in mid jump

Which led friends on Facebook to have fun with it..

by Red Puff

by Rene and her mad Photoshop skills

to the caped Ella I laughed and laughed but said she should be flying over somewhere saving the day..

And then we had other discussions which led to..

I seriously could look at this all day

and an adorable Christmas one, but according to my husband, we shall never celebrate Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving.. (with one exception of the local holiday church fairs)

So we shall save that one

The paper now awaits me.  I know all the Black Friday deals are online, but I so much prefer to look at the paper ads.. The last year I did door busters was the last year they were at 6 AM.. Personally, I think this "Black Thursday" or "Power Weeks" are inane.  They say that is what people want, but what they want is to save money, and if they can only do that by giving up their Thanksgiving, that is what they will do.  I am very thankful that Maine has blue laws that prevent these stores from opening today.  Only ME, MA, and CT still do.  I think it is a shame.  I wish we could go back to the 6AM openings (heck I'd be so freakin happy if they'd not open till 9AM) but in this country where profit is king and people will do anything to earn another penny out of every dollar, the business who opens at 5 will get those shoppers first, so then someone else opens at 4, and really it is just wrong.

If any store would return to normal hours, I bet a ton of us would go shopping there..

and I am thankful I have a blog where I can talk about this and the financial footing that I don't feel I HAVE to find a store opening at 8pm tonight.  I can wait till I wake up on Friday and just go out and enjoy the hustle and the bustle and peace and goodwill.

May this find you thankful for things you weren't even considering, and may you either be full of turkey (or Tofurkey if that is your choice) and pumpkin pie.  And if you are not in the US, I still hope you find this day full of wonder and joy.