Friendly Fill-Ins

Happy Friday! Let's get started with the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. If you'd like to participate but missed the fill-in statements yesterday, we'll share them again here. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. I like ketchup on my _________.

2. _________ reminds me of _________.

3. It pains me to _________.

4. I can't _________ without _________.

My answers are below in bold.

1. I like ketchup on my tater tots.

(You know those crisped, bite-sized bits of potatoes? Like little hash brown cylinders? I don't know if they exist in other areas of the world or what they're called elsewhere, but where I'm from in the Midwest region of the United States, we call them tater tots. I love them, and I love eating them with ketchup.)

2. Applesauce reminds me of my childhood.

(Talk about a weird and random answer, huh? Honestly, though, I recently ate applesauce for the first time in years. Not only do I find applesauce delicious, but it really does remind me of when I was a kid. I'm sure this is because applesauce was a common childhood snack for me, it often made it into my lunchbox for school, and it was also one of the foods I'd eat when I had a stomach bug as a kid. So, there's that strange tidbit for you.)

3. It pains me to take my kitties to the vet.

(Every single one of my kitties is terrified of car rides and equally terrified of the vet. None of them have ever showed aggression while there, but they still cry and curl up into sad little balls. Thimble, who went to the vet on Wednesday, is also akin to panting when in the car or at the vet. I hate seeing her open-mouth breathe like that. I know taking them to the vet is for their own good, but it still pains me to do it, because it makes them so scared. It especially pains me that the pandemic is currently leading to curbside vet care in our area, and so all I can do is hand my kitty over in the parking lot and watch them go inside without me.)

4. I can't leave my house without saying goodbye to all of my furbabies.

(Sometimes it takes me forever to leave my house, simply because I'm finding and telling each kitty or pup goodbye. I can't help myself. I have to let them all know that they are the best things ever and that I'll be back later. Because obviously they understand me and care so much.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.

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Ready for your Eddy fix? Today, Eddy again refused to look at the camera. When I offered her an open window and asked her to smile for the camera, she moseyed away on the window sill.

Happy Friday, friends!

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Doodle of the Day

How about another doodle in our Edgar Allan Poe series, of course also starring his tortie Catterina? Today's installment is a bit more basic, I guess you could say. It was inspired by the chilling waters that claimed Annabel Lee's life in her macabre namesake poem. Though a bit morbid, that is actually one of my favorite poems of all time.

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Tip of the Day

Today, Eddy posed for a photo in her favorite window. In line with that, we're going to give a couple of possible options for keeping kitties and pups safe around the screens of open windows. After all, no one wants their cat or dog to bust through the window screen, fall from the window, and become injured or lost. So, to begin, there are window screens on the market that are specifically designed to be resistant to tears and punctures, such as from paws and their claws. If you are looking to replace or otherwise pet-proof your windows, perhaps look into this pet-safe type of screen. Another simple option is to add extra layers of screen, to serve as extra lines of defense when your kitty or pup is in the window. You can find ways to add extra layers of screen to the frame of the window, or even attempt to just tape or otherwise adhere the extra layers of screens. Just one more example of a way to pet-proof a window is to buy or DIY a blockade to put between your kitty or pup and that window screen. There are indeed such products on the market, some of them being more or less like baby gates that can be fitted into the window. All in all, our cats and dogs can enjoy and benefit from window sessions, but it's of course important to find a way to make windows a safe place for your furbaby to sit.