'Twas the Night Before Christmas

And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Not even Winston...

Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year to all my friends and family.

Wordless Wednesday - It's Kitty Time

New Home - Finally!

I am all moved in to my new house. It seems like forever since I signed the lease- 7 weeks ago. Lots of packing, unpacking, cleaning, moving, rearranging and all the accompanying stress.

Moving the kittycats was full of drama, trauma and a little bloodshed (from trying to get Winston into the cat carrier). But after two days huddled under the beds, the cats have adjusted well. They love exploring the new house - it is bigger than the last one. And with a lot more windowsills. A cat's dream home.

Winston, enjoying a little sun and a cool breeze on the living room windowsill

The birds did not follow me. I hung all my birdfeeders and so far have attracted nothing but a ton of house sparrows. Yuck. We'll see how it goes.

While watching my beloved Philadelphia Eagles in the season opener against Carolina (we won), I made a batch of Zick dough at halftime. I stuffed it in the new suet holders that my dad made. Now I will freeze them to harden the dough and have it ready for hanging when the weather gets colder. Aren't they cool? My dad took up several hobbies when he retired - homemade candles and wood crafts. I have benefited greatly from both.

Goldfinch suet holder (check out the serial killer eyes) and Northern Cardinal suet holder both full of Zick dough.

He and my stepmother spent a week with me after the move and cleaned the new house top to bottom (removing storm windows to clean, scrubbing toilets, hanging pictures and draperies, etc). It would have taken me months to finish without their help. My brother, Russ and his life-partner Jeff also visited to help hook up all the electronics. I am technologically challenged and not afraid to admit when I need help.

Dad and Russ hooking up the new flatscreen to the DVD, the DVR, the wireless router, the cable box and the electricity

Today, I had three of my best girlfriends over to see the house, have bagels and coffee and catch up. They live 50 minutes away and finding "girl-time" is difficult to say the least. So this was precious time. We all sat around the farmhouse table, drinking coffee, noshing and laughing so loud that I think I might get protest letters from the neighbors. When we went to make plans for our next outing, we all pulled out our PDAs, cellphones, iPhones and pagers. How pathetic is our dependency on gadgets?

Now that the move is over and I am settled comfortably, I will blog more regularly. I am taking a group of 10 Boy Scouts birding in 3 weeks, so that should make for one hell of a blog entry. Me and ten 10-year olds in the woods - the situation is ripe for great storytelling.

I leave you with a picture of the housewarming present from my friend Kathy - a punched tin bird that holds a tealight candle in it's belly. Friends know what you like. And they humor you.

Ahhh - the Life of Winston

It's been a rough week. Getting sick, trips to the doctor and the hospital, family issues, craziness at work. Anyway, all will work out eventually and there are no serious aftereffects, but the stress can get to me, especially first thing in the morning when I have to drag myself out of bed at an ungodly hour to go to work in the dark.


Both of my cats sleep on the bed with me at some points throughout the night, but Winston is the one who usually stays through all my tossing and turning. Sophie gives up after a couple of hours and huffs off in a tizzy to sleep in the cat bed in the living room.


A little kitty background: Winston has always been more of a mama's boy. When he was 8 weeks old he must have missed his mother and liked to nurse on my earlobe, wrist, neck or anything else he could dig his tiny, needle-sharp teeth into. He eventually grew out of that (thank God!). His mother is a barn cat who lives across the street and wanders into my yard occasionally. Winston and Sophie are indoor cats (as a responsible birder, how could they be otherwise?), so they sit in the kitchen window, intently watching Winston's birth mother in the yard, but I don't think either Winston or his mother recognize each other. Sophie came to me the same week as Winston, but from another family. So while I consider them brother and sister, they are not related - just adopted into the Russell household.


Back to my jealousy over the Life of Winston. I woke up one morning last week and dragged myself into the shower. I usually don't make the bed until after I am dressed for work. So when I came out of the shower into the bedroom, this is what awaited me....

What? What's so funny? Why are you laughing?

Yes, I WAS sleeping. Please stop bothering me and turn out the light.

No, you can't make the bed. Can't you see I am using this comforter? Aren't you going to be late for work, Mama? Please bring kitty treats home tonite. You keep forgetting and I am tired of reminding you.

To head off the inevitable sibling rivalry, here are pictures of Sophie for equal emphasis:

Mommy, I want to talk to you about Winston. He is hogging the catnip and eating all the treats. I thought I was your favorite...

I want a kiss Mommy. Please put that silly black box with the annoying light flasher away.

Easter Kitties

Happy Easter to all of you and your loved ones.

I will be at a Saturday family reunion at my brother's restaurant, cooking 20 pounds of roast lamb for 18 people on Sunday (we like leftovers!) and making brunch for family on Monday. A crazy busy weekend.

So I thought I would include some cleansing kitty pictures. These are my babies, Winston and Sophie. They are getting tiny Easter baskets with catnip toys (yes, they ARE spoiled!) on Sunday morning. Have a great holiday everyone!

Mom, Sophie's touching me! Make her stop.

No, I wasn't going to grab his tail, honest!