Thoughts from Alison that might at least entertain you!

Big Dog, tiny cat bed. Tiny Cat, big dog bed.

The Girls are ready for Christmas

A sleepy pampered Maggie B:

Celebrating our little Prune Ridge Family on our 6th Wedding Anniversary!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty Maggie B

Maggie B likes the tomato jungle on the deck:

Oh, the Choices We Have to Make...

Yesterday morning, I was eating a little breakfast at our bistro table in the kitchen.  I heard something I couldn't identify at first, then realized they were the distinct sounds of a dog - rooting around in some wicker baskets on a low shelf in the living room.  I called into the other room: "Olive?  What are you doing?"  The rooting continued.  And then stopped.  And then started again.  And so on and so forth, until I got more curious. 

Stepping around the corner, I saw Olive.  Indeed, she was rooting in the baskets.  She has two baskets of toys (next to one full of dominoes and other people games that she thankfully ignores because they do not squeak).  Olive had pulled out three or four toys, plus her Subaru bandana.  All were recently freed from their wicker confines and gathered at her feet, but still she rooted. 

"What are you looking for?" I asked.  She, being a dog, continued rooting without pause or answer.  I continued to survey the room with my own powers of observation since Olive wasn't spilling the beans.  Well there's her squirrel.  She has killed it at least 45 times and the game never gets old. 

And there's one of about a dozen squeaky fish - "the original" as I like to call it, since the pink fishes and the mohawk fishes came later.  This one is likely a wheezy fish instead of a squeaky fish by now, but still very fun. 

And there's another squeaky/wheezy fish (in a cat bed), along with a fleecy ball, a squeaky ball, and a tennis ball.  Olive, however, is having nothing to do with any of those. 

Oh, and there are two more squeaky fish ("mohawk style"), a nylabone, and a rope/ball pull toy.  Nope, not gonna play with those either.  "I really really really need that one toy.  You know, that one toy I have?!?" 

Oh yeah...  the one and only pink tennis ball that you have no interest in, and that Maggie B is suddenly all about playing with right this second?  "Yes, THAT ONE!"  Maggie B  was our "almost like a dog" cat before a real dog came along, and she still can't resist the draw of a good old ball now and then.  Especially when the real dog wants it.  I should mention at this point, that the real dog never really wants anything to do with a plain old ball - unless the cat-dog is playing with one. 

 

 

 

 

"Seriously, you expect me to play with this plain old fuzzy squeaky squirrel while my kitty has that pink ball that I want so bad?!?" 

 

 

 

 

"Oh yeah, wait a second - I LOVE this one!"

Dog Preparation

So yes, indeed - the Reeds of Prune Ridge will be growing our family by one dog at some point in the not-too-distant future!  We have been thinking and planning for quite some time about adding a dog to our family, and it seems the time is almost here.  We're likely adopting a dog from a rescue group based in southern Michigan, and I will post more specifics as we learn about our future dog and timeframe. (We've identified the rescue, and the dog, and are almost through the application process.  I'm keeping the details a bit under wraps until we feel certain that this is the dog and then I'll fill you in!)  In preparation, we've started thinking about a few changes - many of which relate to our girl Maggie B and how it will be for her to have a dog join us. 

Today John and I have transitioned a piece of furniture in our kitchen to a new set of purposes.  See more about the first picture here below.  We have a large cabinet piece in the kitchen (IKEA!) that has served as our desk area since we made the decision to eliminate an actual desk.  There is a large file drawer in the bottom, two smaller drawers (yeah, mostly junk drawers) above, and a large shelved area at the top.  The shelved area has served as sort of a docking station for either of our laptops when we want to use it.  In reality, though?  We haven't used it quite as much as we thought we would.  I often have my computer set up on the little bistro table in the kitchen instead, and primarily we've used the shelves to stack un-filed and "un-dealt-with" stuff for convenient further ignoring. 

Today we dismantled the computer stuff, moved the middle shelf up, stored the cookbooks (formerly in a kitchen cabinet) on the top shelf, and created a large shelf below where Maggie B will eat!  I should say "where Maggie B will supposedly eat."  We'll see how it goes.  I also purchased a simple vinyl table cloth earlier this week to be cut to size and sit on Maggie's new shelf.  Anyone out there with cats will know that cats might appear to be dainty and delicate, but when it comes to eating?  Not so much.  This is where the picture above comes into play.  After measuring and cutting the piece I needed for Maggie's new shelf, I tossed the remaining tablecloth haphazardly over the couch and her cushions (which used to be mine).  Maggie promptly decided her new favorite item to lay on is the crinkly green vinyl table cloth.  Yep, so cozy. 

Here we have the finished cat-feeding station.  I must say I'm pretty pleased with this: