Oliver the Miracle Kitten

We got these photos this morning from Sharon, the owner of PAWS (the cat shelter where I volunteer at). This little guy was in bad shape when he came to us.

From Sharon updating us on little Oliver...

"This is little Oliver....isn't he just the cutest thing ever? Oliver was two weeks old when he came to the shelter. He and his siblings were in pretty rough shape and none of us expected little Oliver to survive. He was small, dehydrated, starving and constipated. . . .but that was not what we feared most for him. . . .he is missing the last vertebrae in his spine and had difficulty. . . .to go number 2. He has had three sessions with the acupuncturist. Each time the acupuncturist would insert the needle, Oliver would relax and his little eyes closed and he drifted into la la land for the rest of his session. After the 2nd session, I am happy to report, Oliver started using a litter box. Yea ! ! ! He will have one more treatment, and may not need to go back. Oliver has no tail at all. . . .which makes him all the cuter to anyone who has a place in their heart for the special kittens."

That's a Beanie Baby he's holding onto! This shows you how tiny he is!

I love stories like this and so thankful for natural medicine for animals. :)

My new book and a bit of a soapbox.

Like my aprons that hang in my kitchen...

And the dish towels that lay in the basket...

There is a common theme in these two pictures above. Can you guess what it is? Keep reading and you'll see.

I just started reading my new book. I absolutely love it so far. Back up, the last book I read, Here on Earth, was a good book but I was disappointed with the ending. It was very anticlimactic and it really was no surprise. I love a good twist in the end...or a good message and this just kinda laid there. Still, who am I to judge a well written book! Kudos to any author, I say! I will say this, it's inspiring me to write again. I miss it. I miss absorbing myself into another world. Oh well, soon perhaps. :)

Here's the book I just started reading. In a nutshell and very well put here is something I grabbed off of the author's website:

"The Last Time I Was Me is about a woman named Jeanne Stewart who has just hit crisis point in her life.

Unfortunately, she has reached that crisis point in front of 834 advertising execs, calling them, "pointless" and "schmucks." She has also assaulted her cheating boyfriend in a creative, and some might say humorous fashion, and is now facing both criminal and civil charges. She is grieving for her mother, still hiding from her past, and wondering if she should drive her new-old Bronco into the Pacific Ocean. When the moon is full and her truck packed with her high heel collection, her grandmother's teacups, a violin that brings her to tears, and her mother's china, she heads for Oregon. In Oregon she enters a court-ordered Anger Management program, runs naked along a river, falls in love, buries a body, learns more than she ever wanted to about germs, re-builds a house, eats piles of pancakes for the first time in years, covers herself in peanut butter, flies like a bird, runs a gubernatorial campaign, reaches out to those in desperate need of help, and endures a court trial.

She's busy.

Hope you enjoy The Last Time I Was Me.

It might make you cry. Might make you laugh. So get your chocolates and bubble bath ready before you begin. "

Courtesy of CathyLamb.net

I am loving this book so far and I have to say I can relate to what the character is going through. In a less extreme way, I am sort of at the point myself. You know, we've all lived life as we have been brought up to believe...what life is supposed to be like, what it's supposed to be about. Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful for how my parents raised me. If it weren't for them I wouldn't be who I am today instilled with good morals, values and a kind and loving heart. But....I still have questions. I seem to always have questions about life. Who defines what life is supposed to be like? How did the standards of society come about? If someone defined that standard at some point, who is that person....why did he set the standard and does that standard fit any other unique person like me..and you? If it doesn't, who are we? I'll tell you who we are. We are each individuals...we are each unique in ourselves, faults and all, and that's what makes life so exciting. It makes life exciting when we meet new friends who change our lives for better or worse because good or bad, I believe there is a reason to everything. All I know for sure is that I'm here to live life. Live my life to the fullest. But you know....I wanna live life as ME. I don't want to be the person that I'm supposed to be. I don't want to be the person that is supposed to like what everyone else likes or does what everyone else does. My unique qualities are here for me and to possibly touch someone else's life in a positive way and to harm none in my path. If I can do at least that, my life is priceless. See, that's what this book is about. It's about letting go of all we thought we should be so that we can finally be who we really are and to live the life that has been waiting for us all along. So if I wanna eat a whole bag of chocolates in one sitting....or if I wanna put my cat in a baby stroller and walk around the neighborhood, let me. If I want to enjoy laying in bed all day, don't tell me I should get up to exercise a little. Just enjoy my unique qualities and laugh with me. :) Seriously though, I probably wouldn't put my cat in a baby stroller. Lol!

So, about the pictures above. We may all be made of the same thing....we may all look the same....but we're still just a bit different and those differences are what makes life so fun! I mean really, look at all the beautiful designs in those dish towels and those aprons. Diversity! You gotta love it.

Okay, I'm off my soabox now. :) Thanks for indulging me. Now...go live life as YOU!

*sniffle, sniffle* Does anyone have a tissue?

Ahhhh...another relaxing evening. :)

I am so excited! I actually got to come straight home without doing a mad dash to change into my next outfit, next hat, or whatever! I was able to come home, get into my jammies, make myself one of my favorite sandwiches and watch a few episodes of Ma and Pa Kettle. Do you remember the series? I loved Marjorie Main's character as Ma! Lol! She was so funny. And poor Pa always did as he was told. There's something about the Ma and Pa Kettle series that makes me feel like I should be all bundled up at gramma's house (with those jammies that had that footsies on them) eating a grilled cheese sandwich and sipping on some comforting tomato soup. :)

Tonight I'll settle for one of my favorite sandwiches, fresh Genoa salami, a slice of Provolone cheese (it's on the bottom so you can't see it) and tons and tons of avocado!


See these? These are pure evil to Michelle. Never, ever offer Michelle these because she will take the whole bag and eat them in one sitting. I'm almost positive I've gained about five pounds since yesterday.

These are a few funny clips from Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town. I love it! Don't forget to turn off my player down below.



See? All comfy with my robe covering me....the TV on and my computer up. I guess you could say I had a relaxing evening with technology tonight. Lol!

Happy relaxing!

Spirits Among Us?

So, as you all know our paranormal group had an investigation Friday night. First off, I think you all should know it's never as dramatic as you see on TV. :) Our investigations are usually uneventful until we review all the equipment and find something. However, we did have a few interesting things happen that gave us pause.

To start with, we decided to test all of our psychic abilities and each guessed what color the house would be. Yellow, green, white or grey. I picked grey. When we arrived, we found the house to be grey. :) I have been an understudy to our two active psychics in our group this past year. They each say I have the gift but that I need more confidence in my abilities. Well, everyone has the ability, really. It's just how much you are willing to do to expand those abilities. For me, I can't think long about what comes to me. As quick as it comes, I write it down or tell someone. This past week before the investigation, I had a few impressions come to me. I felt a strong male presence there that is very attached to the lady of the house. A kind spirit...and quite fond of her. I also felt the presence of a little girl, about eight years old, wearing yellow. I also knew there was a dog buried on their property and his spirit wanders as well. I should start off by saying our two psychics could not make it that evening but they gave us their impressions of what they sensed before we went. They informed our team lead and did not tell any of us until after the investigation. In any event, I asked the lady of the house who's dog it was that was buried underneath the Magnolia tree. She said "Oh! That's Maynard, our neighbor's dog". :) Everyone was shocked that I did not hesitate when I pointed towards the direction of the tree. I felt his presence sort of wandering the area. I think I tend to feel the presence of animal spirits before I feel the presence of humans. Go figure. ;) I then asked who the little girl was that was in the house. She said, "Oh the kids talk to her all the time. Her name is Emily." I asked her if she wears a yellow dress, or if the kids notice her wearing a yellow dress. She didn't know but said her daughter's favorite color is yellow. Not sure what the correlation is there. When we were doing our EVP session we asked Emily if she was there. As soon as the question was asked the KII meter blinked three times. Other than that it never went off again. We had several cold spots that the temperature gauge caught....from 50 degrees down to 22 degrees almost immediately. As far as the male spirit goes, the lady of the house stated she would feel her feet being tickled in the middle of the night...or a hand stroking her back in the laundry room. I feel as though this male presence reminds her of someone that he was very close to.

The picture above is just above the train tracks where the accident took place. You can see orbs but orbs are very hard to verify as they can be particles of dust or dust on the lens. However, in my review of my DVR recorder that was setup in the master bedroom (where both me and Jen, another gal in our group felt a lot of activity) I caught a moving orb....that appeared then disappeared as if purposefully. Not just a fading effect either. I also caught some very erratic light movement in the room as well. I'll get the opinion of the others that are in our group when we have our meeting next weekend. :) I haven't reviewed my voice recorder but I'm anxious to see if I caught anything!

As a side note, the psychics also let us know the land was once inhabited by Native Americans. The owner showed us at least ten arrowheads they had found on their property since they have lived there. These arrowheads were amazingly PERFECT in shape.

If anything, our group had tons of fun and it's always the anticipation of something happening that gets us excited.

I will be working on our official website this week and will let you all know when it's up and running. Our group actually has a new name. We are called Paranormal Researchers of Oregon Foundation (P.R.O.O.F.). We will work towards becoming a family member of TAPS. :) Wish us luck!

On another quick side note. I went to the shelter this morning, as usual. See this cute guy here? He came in as a very feral cat, very terrified and would not let anyone touch him. Every time I came in I would talk with him and work with him on a social level. Today, when he saw me he let out a meow and came right up to me to pet him. It made my heart fill with joy. I love it when hard work and love pays off like this...especially when it involves trust.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I was able to relax today and get a few things done around the house. I did, however, break the belt on my vacuum. Dang, what was that huge thing I sucked up. Lol! So, off to Target I went....and spent over $100.00! Why does that always happen when I go to Target?!

Restful Sunday

I hope you're all having a relaxing weekend. Today, I'm finally going to relax a bit. After the shelter I am coming home and resting and getting things done around my neglected little place. I'm also going to sit down and visit you all! I have been terrible at my blog surfing and want to apologize! The investigation was interesting. I will post more on that later!

Bonding

The more I ride....the more I can't live without 'em.

"A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence." ~Pam Brown

I had my lesson last night and I learned how to canter on Gunner. It was so incredible! My trainer said I did great! I went home a happy student. :)

Happy Friday all! Tonight I have a date with a few spirits. I've already had a few impressions come to me. We'll see if I'm right. ;)

What am I reading now?

If you can believe it, I actually have time to read again! I am now taking the commuter bus into downtown Portland for work (I used to pay $200 a month for parking) and besides the obvious advantages...like saving $200 (for shopping..did I just say that?) and saving gas money I actually have time to read again! All those poor books that I collected from The Goodwill waited for years to be read and now they're wishes are coming true. Lol! I am almost done with this book and it only took me a week!

I love Alice Hoffman. She wrote the book Practical Magic (that later became that famous, magical movie that I so love). It's hard putting this one down.

Taken from her official website here's a short description of the book I'm reading now.

"In her most ambitious novel to date, Alice Hoffman delivers a spellbinding tale of love and obsession. After nearly twenty years of living in California, March Murray, along with her fifteen-year-old daughter, Gwen, returns to the small Massachusetts town where she grew up, to attend the funeral of the beloved housekeeper who raised her. Thrust into the world of her past, March slowly realizes the complexity of the choices made by those around her. Alan, the brother whose tragic history has left him grief-stricken; and Hollis, the boy she loved, the man she can’t seem to stay away from.

The riveting themes of Wuthering Heights resonate beneath the surface, and a dangerous question is raised: Can a love that consumes you survive? Or perhaps more important, can anyone survive a love that consumes?"

Mmm..mmm..mmm....don't you just love drama? Especially when it's not your own? ;)

And now I think I will have to buy a cute floral book bag to hold my books and magazines in. :) Cath Kidston here I come!


Real quick...I wanted to let you all know we have a paranormal investigation Friday night! I'm so excited...in a tiny town here called St. Helens. A residence..supposedly the kids see and talk to the spirits that inhabit this home. The home is situatuated not far from railroad tracks that once was the scene of a tragic accident in the early 1800's (I believe).

I'll let you all know how it goes!

A Special Gift from my Dear Friend at Sea Cottage!

My dear, dear friend, the Fairmaiden, over at Sea Cottage has bestowed yet another beautiful gift on me. Her little gestures just make me smile! I told her several weeks ago that we were like two pen pals back in the 1800's who write and send secret little gifts to one another. :)

See that adorable French Market hand towel on top? That was in the package...so adorable! I am definitely now a collector of cute hand towels. :)

And since I am now a collector of vintage aprons, she sent me this back issue of Romantic Homes magazine that features aprons! What a sweetheart to give up her back issue for me!

Don't you love how the aprons are used as curtains?

And look at the adorable card that came with it! This is SO Fairmaiden.

On the back of the card she wrote a beautiful poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The note was written in her own handwriting...it's so sad that handwritten notes are not the norm anymore. Reading this in her own handwriting really made it that much more special to me.

"Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."

And just look at the envelope! She took the time to decorate them with these sweet, sweet butterflies!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Fairmaiden. Your friendship and special, thoughtful gifts I hold dear to my heart.

This gives me a GREAT idea! I'll have to get back to you on it (hence my bad habit of procrastinating). ;)

Remember This?

Remember that vintage issue of The Farmer's Wife I bought in an antique store awhile back? I finally framed it. Yea, it all took me but 5 minutes to put it in and hang it up. One project down.....fifty to go!

I'm an expert at procrastination! If you need help with it, just ask. :)

Be Back Tomorrow....

You know, I thought this weekend would be a little laid back but noooooooooo. Let's see, horseback riding, an artists party (I have pics to share later), nine holes of golf, the cat shelter. Monday evening riding Dixie (the horse you saw in my earlier post). I really never saw this summer being as busy as it is. Now I am dying for Fall and Winter so I can slow down. LOL!

Also, saw two beautiful deer on the trails this weekend. Very close to us. Spooked Ari a bit (wasn't quite sure if he was going to bolt). He did a little tap dance and calmed down when I told him he was bigger than them. Lol!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

xoxo

World Cat Day - I forgot!!

My wonderful blogging cat friend Anya and Kareltje reminded me today was World Cat Day....so HUG A CAT! Lol! Here are my sweeties...and happy day guys! So sorry I spent the day with horses...but you guys live with me and are my babies so you get spoiled enough! :)

What? It's MY day? You can't go horseback riding. I'm not getting off your boots.

Fine. Well then, will you please scratch my butt before you leave, mom?

Mocha is treating me for her day. :)

And Emma chose the sun to lounge around in today!

Happy World Cat Day to all you sweet, beautiful cats out there!!

My New Kitchen Island

Yep! That was it girls....the last two nights I put this puppy together and with a few nicks and bruises...and a couple of mistakes (but you'll never see 'em) this was born. :) Isn't she adorable?

Adding a few pretties underneath...

A place to hold my adorable little dish towels...

And I even ate my breakfast on it this morning. :)

Happy weekend! Off for some horseback riding! :)

Black Bean Veggie Enchiladas

So I told you last night I was cooking something up in the kitchen. Well, here it is! Black Bean Veggie Enchiladas. They were so, so delicious! I basically used the recipe I gave you a few posts down for the black bean burgers and used the Sandra Lee recipe here to make this wonderful dish! I still had a bit of filling leftover so I made a couple of more patties for another dinner. :)

Start with a few beans...

Cut the cheese...woops....I mean shred the cheese...

Cry with a few onions (and man, did I cry tears with this onion!).

Nice...

Better...

And a couple patties for leftovers...

I would have had more counter space if I had assembled the little gift I got myself from JC Penney the other day. Yep, a girls gotta get herself a gift every now and then. I'm still assembling it. Lol! I got halfway through and just ran out of steam from turning a screwdriver. Ugh. Seriously...I can only twist so many screws in, push in so many wooden dowels and bang my knee up a few times. :) I promise the finished product will be displayed in all it's sweet, adorable glory this weekend. I can't wait for you to see! Can you guess what it is? And sis you can't guess because you already know. ;)

Show Us Your Roosters Party!

Tonight is a quick post...am busy with a few other things. I do have a life outside of the blog, you know. ;)

Anyway, wanted to tell you about a FUN Rooster party coming up on Friday, August 28th hosted by a new blog I just discovered....Bella Vista. Oh I just love her blog. Not just because of the roosters but this gal is all about sweet, whimsical, romantic, fun things. Check it out when you have time. Now I know all of you have a few roosters around your house so come join the party! It'll be a rooooosting good time. Okay, that sounded dumb. Lol!

Cooking up something yummy tonight but I'll have to show you tomorrow. :)

There are a few of you who have tagged me. I haven't forgotten!! I will get to your tags this week, promise! :)

Update: I forgot to mention Barb at Bella Vista is having a Giveaway too!!

I want...

...and one day I will have.

A girl can dream, can't she? :)

Christmas Giveaway Winner!

Happy Tuesday Morning! Some fresh hydrangeas to brighten your day......

And fresh biscuits to start off your day. :)

First off, I want to thank each and every one of you who participated in my Christmas in July Giveaway! I know it was a little different but you all played along anyway!

Soooooo.....the winner of my Christmas in July Giveaway is......RAINY DAY FARM!! Woohoo! Okay, Rainy Day Farm, email me your address and all that other good stuff so I can package these sweet goodies up so you get them by Christmas. Lol! :) Kidding, it won't take me that long, although I have been known to procrastinate. ;) If you haven't visited Rainy Day Farm now is a great time! She's got the cutest little family and farm! In fact, she's my neighbor! She lives in Washington so we can easily relate to each other when the weather has turned scorching hot! Swing on over and congratulate her...and hope you all have a great day!

One of my favorite songs of the 70's....and the best black bean burger recipe!

Yep, Engelbert Humperdinck! Lol! Don't laugh...man he was sexy in his time. I had the biggest crush on him when I was younger. So....I sang this song to Emma tonight. She kinda liked it for awhile...then she got up and ran. Had to be my voice. My other favorite, and I am embarrassed to admit, was David Soul's "Don't Give Up on us Baby". Lol! Man, I loved those cheesy songs! What is your favorite 70's song? Am dying to know! I have so many but this one was at the top of my list.

Here's a YouTube video I found if you want to torture yourself. Lol!

Also! Saturday after our yoga retreat, Thea, Michelle, Anne and I went back home and had a BBQ with the rest of Thea's family and made this AWESOME black bean burger. I didn't take pictures (sorry) but I guarantee you will enjoy this recipe.

Black Bean Burgers

12 oz. can black beans, rinsed

1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

1 large egg1/2 cup diced red onion

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

oil for frying

In large mixing bowl, mash together beans, breadcrumbs and egg. Add onion, corn, garlic, salt, cumin and chili powder. Mix well and form into six balls of equal size. Flatten to 1/2 inch thickness. Heat oil in frying pan. Add burgers and cook each side for 2-3 minutes. Serve on whole-grain bun with lettuce, tomato and condiments of your choice.

Instead of the wheat buns we got that artisan bread from Safeway, the cheese and jalapeno bread, heated it up and sliced into squares and had the black bean burgers on those with onions, lettuce, avocado, tomato....they were SO GOOD!

I will be drawing my Christmas Giveaway winner tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Quincy!

I am never letting you lick my face again.

An evening in the country...on an old farm.

Wonderful new friends....delicious food.....sitting in Adirondak chairs looking out at five beautiful acres of nothing....at dusk....talking about everything under the stars. Two happy dogs at our feet, a couple of happy stray barn cats. What more could a person want on a Friday night?

But the real reason I went out to the farm was to see about a girl named Dixie. :) Isn't she beautiful?

And that's all I'm saying for now. Gotta get up for yoga tomorrow morning! Happy Weekend! ;)