kitty companiona

kitty companiona

Saturday, February 18, 2012

A Two Week Hodgepodge

I Double Dog Cat Dare You!

First we had either Penny or Reggie jumping up and sitting on the top of the doors.  Now we have both at the same time.  They tolerate each other for a few minutes and then begin fighting.


So far no one has fallen off.  But check Reggie's feet hanging over the edge!  LOL!  Penny is determined to be Queen of the Door.

It's good to have friends in high places.


In my last post I was telling the story about Deiter being distressed by biting a stink bug that landed on his back.  Angie from the Shozzy's Place blog asked me 'what is a stink bug'.

If those of you in the UK don't have these pesky creatures, count yourselves lucky!  They have been the Pest of the Year for about the past three years.  They don't really do anything harmful like biting people or
contaminating food or anything.  They just invade the house and if they are threatened, give off a noxious odor.  The younger cats love to play with them.  They roam around the house and try to sniff them out.  They they smack them with their paws to make them secrete the odor.


Hopefully they will soon have had their 15 minutes of fame and go back to being an occasional visitor.

On Valentine's Day we went out to lunch to one of my favorite restaurants, Los Palmeros in Chambersburg.  They are a Mexican and Salvadorian restaurant that serves Latin food but many of their specialties are not particularly spicy which is good for Zip.  He's not a big fan of spicy but he's becoming more accepting over the years.

We both got the beef tongue chimi with rice, refried beans and a trio of condiments.  Then shared a flan for dessert.


I did some cleaning in the kitchen lately.  Most of my counter tops are now cleared of clutter so I have been feeling more like cooking.  The other day I made this really yummy spinach and bacon alfredo pizza.  One of the best pizzas I've made in a long time.  I used hot roll mix to make the crust which cut down considerably on the prep time.


I got to thinking about the foods I loved when I was a kid.

Mom used to make the Chef Boy-R-Dee pizza from a box kit with the dough mix, can of sauce and little container of parm cheese.  Since we were a family of five, she spread the crust as thin as a cracker so that everyone could have several pieces.  Oh, gosh!  We thought that was the greatest treat.

And fish sticks.  Did your family eat them?  A while back I bought a box just to see if I would still like them. Guess what!  There sure isn't much 'fish' in them any more.  Was there ever?

Back in the days before I even knew there was such a thing as a Chinese restaurant, we had Chung King chicken chow mein in a can.  Do you remember that?  With the container of crispy noodles.  And no real oriental flavor.

When Zip and I were kids another thing we both liked was Swanson turkey pies.  They don't live up to the memory either!  And enough sodium to send us old people into shock.

My Mom was a very conventional 1950's cook.  Every night it was some kind of meat, potatoes done in a variety of ways and a canned vegetable.  Waaaah!  I'm so glad for the proliferation of ethnic food available today.  Though maybe if there weren't so many yummy things available, I would not be overweight!  Something to think about.....

And to prove the point, here I am modeling my sweater vest.


Since the weather has been mild, I've been wearing it a lot.  I just love this pattern and want to make another in sage or heather gray.  It's really nice for driving instead of wearing a bulky coat.

We have had two little snows lately that didn't even stick on the road, but looked pretty on the grass and trees.  I thought this picture of the house across the street looked so inviting with the lamp in the window.


Enough blathering for one day!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Note:  It seems that the Word Verification has been changed to two words and one of them is hard to read. I've turned mine off for now, but if I get a lot of spam I will have to change it back.  Why do they keep messing with Blogger and making it less user friendly.  Pictures would only load one at a time today, too!  YUUUUUCK!!!

11 comments:

  1. Hi Pat
    Great to have a post from you.
    So pleased to know that your kitties have tiffs as well, I thought it was only mine. That top of the door one looks a bit precarious though. lol
    Love the vest, you're so good knitting, I just don't have the patience for it although the tatting is going well and that sure needs patience.
    So far, no snow here thank goodness, I hate the stuff but no rain either and apparently its the worst drought for years, can just see a water ban for the summer on hose pipes etc. Stupid thing is, my son in Scotland is getting rain all the time, pity they don't get their act together and pipe it down here in the south, bet they would if it was oil !!!
    Hope you are both well, its sounds as thought you are.
    Warm wishes
    Briony
    x

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  2. love your sweater vest! my grandmother taught me to knit many years ago..she had her own yarn shop and gave lessons. i cant believe how your big kittys sit on top of the doors! too cute! enjoy your day

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  3. Happy Spring to you Pat! I like the picture of the snow, but glad our snows did not hang around this winter! lol! Your sweater looks fabulous! Love the red and I bet it is just right in the warmth category. Pictures of the kitties are always nice too... don't know what it is about cats and high places, but they look like they are having a nice time. The word verification is weird... maybe they will change back...

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  4. Hi Pat,
    I've missed you so!!! Me thinks you need more doors in your house! LOL! Such sweet photos of kitties in high places!!
    Your vest looks great and I bet it is perfect for this mild spring weather....... I'm getting so sick of winter coats and ear muffs!
    I remember exactly all the food from days past... a couple of weeks ago Dave went shopping ( very rare) and brought home a can of that Chun King stuff ( we used to eat it all of the time years ago) ...... won't be buying it again any time soon! :> You and Zip enjoy the spring days ahead..... bet he's thinking about that garden alot!!!
    Hugs!!
    Cathy G

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  5. Hi Pat, It's so very nice reading your post today. It's like seeing a friend that I haven't seen in ages, lol...

    Your cats love to rule from on high, they are like trapeze artists. What's with wanting to perch on top of a door?

    You always have a way with food. I love to see what you are eating next.

    Your red vest looks so nice and comfy. You are such a talented knitter amongst other things.

    Love that neighbor evening snowy picture.

    A yes... the friggin 2 word verification has gotten me less than happy.
    I've turned mine off quite a while back and so far I never got spam but I don't subscribe to other feed on Blogger either just so I get more traffic.

    Have a great weekend Pat. Hugs. JB

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  6. wow, those kittys are amazing, who rules the roost?
    I love your vest, it is such a pretty color. I love your snow picture, it looks like a Christmas card.
    I hate the 2 word thing, I usually can't see the one word part even with a magnifying glass. I have left off many comments lately because of it. I quit trying to comment when it comes up.

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  7. Pat ~
    Those furbabies are too funny! How on earth do they get on top of the door?
    Love the sweater vest! You are so talented.
    I also blogged about the word verification. What a PIA! I turned mine off a few months ago and I probably get 1 spam comment a day, always "anonymous". There is one word that is almost impossible to read!
    This "no snow" winter is perfectly fine with me!
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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  8. Cats have a way of reaching where they want to sit ...we have door top sitters too. Thanks for the bug story ..I dont think we do have these.
    That is a yummy looking pizza ..much better than shop bought. You made me think about food of the past ...many you spoke of meant little to me over here but I remenber life before ethnic food and the first intro to cooking chinese and indian ...it was a packet food called Vesta... not very pleasant in retrospect ..but it taught me to add my own bits to make it better....and we thought we were so trendy eating it lol
    It is great to eat food from around the world and yet stay in our own kitchens but sadly so much traditional meals are lost and only eaten if frozen. Very few under the age of 40 would think of making their own Yorkshire Puddings...unless they lived in Yorkshire...or making a proper jam rolly polly or steamed sponge pudding with syrup...even a meat pie or shepherds pie tends to be bought ready made ... the list is endless. I expect it is the same for some of your traditional ones. The shame is that often it is far cheaper to buy the ready made...but sadly the family recipes are then lost.
    Hugs to you both ...hope Zip is still a non-smoker. xx

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  9. Boy, oh boy, that vest is stunning! It looks warm too. I am itching for spring...it's been in the 40s here, which is a tease...we still have to get through March!

    Love the look of that pizza...looks yummy!

    Great to hear from you!
    Hugs,
    Courtney

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  10. Your vest looks great! Your cats make me laugh!
    And I totally agree about blogger - it makes it very difficult to comment although for the first time I was able to comment on Hookworm''s blog! It's a crazy thing!

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  11. Hi Pat! I was away for the long weekend and missed this post. Wow, it gives me the willies when my cats go up on the door, but I've never had two there at once tussling...AGH!!! Do you try to shoo them down or just let them sort things out themselves?

    I didn't know what a stink bug was either, they may be harmless but I don't like the looks of them...I'm not a fan of multi-legged creatures - LOL!!!

    Your sweater vest is great, what a lovely cranberry colour, very cheery for a dreary winter day :-)

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