The Cat Nip Mission: Cat Won!

Striper, Before Dad Brought Him In

When I came across these Clips of cats opening doors over at Sparkle The Designer Cat, it reminded me of one of my dad's cats, Striper.  My dad had stocked up on some catnip and in trying to find a safe storage place for it, he put it in on the second shelf of one of the top kitchen cupboards.

Striper, of course, smelled it and since he was a fantastic climber, he had a plan.  My dad was dozing in the dining room and heard a bunch of noise coming from the kitchen. When he went to investigate, he saw the top cupboard open and Striper on the floor between the stove and the sink with a bunch of stuff from the cupboard all around him, trying to open the bag of catnip which had been on the second shelf!

It always fascinates me how smart and agile cats are.  They are beautiful animals and my dad loved his cats very much.  They were great companions for him in his old age and kept him laughing!  My love for cats came through knowing his cats.

R.I.P.

Don't forget to click on the above link to view the cat clips--they are short and well-done!   

To enter a giveaway for "My Funny Dad, Harry" visit Red Pine Mountain.  The Drawing from those commenting on the post will be entered in the Feb. 5 giveaway!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

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Sledding Is Always Fun!

Here is a short video of my dad pulling me on a sled when I was three years old.  Such a great time we had!  This is a wonderful way for parents to have some quality time with their children.  I still love sledding and hope to go with my husband sometime this winter. 

Hope you enjoy the snow with your children. 

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

An Easy Way To Help The Last Hope Cat Kingdom

My dad would love it that I have decided to use this blog (as well as my other two) to help the Last Hope Cat Kingdom rebuild their no-kill shelter that burned down. I will donate $1 to Last Hope Cat Kingdom for each legitimate comment received during January on our three blogs.

My dad always had a lot of compassion for the homeless cats that roamed his neighborhood and if I had known about a no-kill cat sanctuary when I was looking for homes for his cats after he died, it may have saved their lives. I hope you will visit our other blogs too since this one is only updated about once a week or two.

I will change the charity from month-to-month on a three month trial basis, and if I like how it works out, will continue throughout this year.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

A New Year Means A New Calendar

Customized Calendar I Got From Work For Christmas

I am a big fan of calendars and like how they keep me organized. I like calendars about as much as my dad liked thermometers and flashlights which he had in just about every room. I use calendars throughout the house and have two at my desk at work.  It used to bug me when I visited my dad in his later years and his calendar would be on the wrong month.

What To Put On A Calendar

My dad only had one, but he used it for everything. If he got a new roof on the house, he marked it on the calendar along with the year. If he had a Dr. appointment, he marked that on the calendar. If he bought a new furnace, that would go on the calendar along with the year. For birthdays, he would also include how old the person was, not just put their name on that day. (I liked that idea and started doing that on my calendars too.)  The problem with this though was that it would take him forever to change to a new one because there was so much information to transfer over that he kept putting it off.  It must have taken him all day to get his information transferred to a new calendar but when it came time to sell his house after he died, it made it easy for me to find out how old the roof and furnace were when the realtor asked.  

When To Flip A Calendar

Sweet Thing, my favorite of Dad's cats

Most people flip the calendar page at the end of the month, but not Harry. One year I made him a customized calendar with his cats and he didn't realize they were his cats on it until I pointed it out to him. His eyesight wasn't so good. He was very surprised and quite impressed with it! Throughout the year though, when the months ended, his calendar would still not be changed. I thought he just forgot so reminded him and he just nodded and said he knew. He always had business cards and stuff hanging from it so he had to transfer it all to the next page and just put it off.

What good is a calendar if it's on the wrong month? And the year I got that customized one with his cats, I really wanted him to flip it to the next page because that was Sweet Thing, my favorite one! I remember being very aggravated about that. I am very good at flipping the months on time on all my calendars so just had a hard time understanding why he didn't.

What do you mark on your calendars? Do you change yours on time?


To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This