Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

It's Thursday and we're ready to rhyme. Thanks to Angel Sammy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge, that's the perfect thing to do today.

Our host always shares a photo prompt to guide us. This week's prompt is this intriguing image here:

I definitely took some liberties with this one. One reason for this is because, as I mentioned this past weekend, my grandmother passed away a couple of days ago, so this has been a weird week in which I haven't been finishing many new doodles. Since I like to accompany my poems with an illustration, I wanted to use a flashback doodle that in some way related to the above photo prompt. I was looking for something that had to do with a wintry sort of abode, since that is indeed what this week's photo prompt entails. This is where I started taking some major liberties. I found a flashback doodle from 2018, and that doodle itself had been inspired by the children's book The Mitten by Jan Brett. In this story, there's a rogue mitten in which a variety of animals crawl to stay warm and cozy in the snow.

Anyway, let's try to make this long story short. So, taking some liberties with the above prompt as well as using as inspiration a doodle I scribbled up in 2018, I ended up with this wacky rhyme:

Kitten and the Mitten

One cold winter, Kitten visited Blizzard City.
After touring some of the snowy sights, she suddenly felt quite silly.
After all, she hadn't even considered booking a place to stay.
She hadn't even thought to find a place to house her and her sleigh.

She wandered about and inquired at Pine Lodge, Snow Motel, and Igloo Inn.
At every single one, though, there was not a single empty room within.
With seemingly no options left, Kitten moseyed back out into waning day.
It was then that a big-eared stranger said, "I heard your plight. I have space for you to stay."
Kitten sighed, smiled, and said, "Thank you! You've just made my day!"

On the way there, the new acquaintance told her, "It might not be what you expect.
In truth, my place is a bit quirky at best."
Not much later, the new friend stopped and said, "We're here!"
Then the big-eared pal let out a clap and a cheer.
Upon the snow in front of them sat nothing but, well, a mitten,
A fact that, in truth, confused Kitten.

The new acquaintance said, "Oh, by the way, my name is Mutt!"
A whiskered sort named Tabby then emerged from the mitten and said, "What's up?"
Kitten nervously laughed and said, "I don't want to make your mitten, well, stuffed."
"Don't be silly!" said Mutt. "There's plenty of room, more than enough.
Tabby and I have been roommates forever and ever,
And we've never felt cramped inside. No, never."

Upon being waved over to check out the mitten,
To it walked a quite perplexed and doubtful Kitten.
That was the moment she found herself more than surprised.
Upon peeking into the mitten, she could not believe her eyes.

From the outside, it was just a simple, plain ol' mitten.
From the inside, a cozy yet spacious place to stay it proved itself to Kitten.
There was even a toasty fire warming the living space inside.
Kitten was impressed by the coziness and warmth, that she could not deny.
Though she also wondered how it wasn't a fire hazard, that was no lie.

Mutt invited Kitten to make herself at home, to have a seat.
Saying, "There's stew on the stove, so let's eat!"
Kitten was soon perfectly warm and her belly perfectly pleased,
And then she was shown to a perfectly cozy corner with a bed for her to sleep.

Kitten felt bad for having doubted the mitten at first.
Judging a mitten by its appearance was really quite perverse.
It may have looked more than a bit quaint and humble,
But it was also inviting and worth far more than a dubious grumble
Mutt and Tabby even remained Kitten's friends forever after, really,
And she happily lodged in their mitten every time she visited Blizzard City.

***

Now it's time to move on to Brian's wonderful Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

As always, a little tabby girl named Thimble is here to express her gratitude. And what is Thimble thankful for today? She's thankful that she's adorable from every angle, even this one.

Thimble is not always happy with how this photographer of hers lines up her shots. Luckily for Thimble, though, she's cute from every angle known to existence. Honestly, just look how adorable she looks!

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Last but not least, how about we share the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge? My co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. I learned _________ the hard way.

2. Everyone should _________ at least once in their lives.

3. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about _________.

4. I'll never be too old to _________.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Tip of the Day

Yesterday's winter tip was to avoid using typical salt, or ice melt, for the sake of the health of your furbaby and their paws. One thing we failed to mention, and that is therefore today's tip, is to take precautions in the event that neighbors' or others' use of salt might affect your kitty or pup. In the event that your furbaby goes on winter walks in areas where salt is used, wipe their paws off when you get home in order to remove as much of the salt or other chemicals as possible. Even if your furbaby does not go outdoors, there is still a chance they can be exposed to salt or other potentially dangerous chemicals, such as by way of your shoes. To help prevent injury or illness due to exposure to or ingestion of salt in this manner, remove your shoes when you get home, or at the very least thoroughly wipe them off. In addition to this, vacuum regularly in order to keep salt and other debris from entering your home, or from trailing through your house. Ice melts can pose health risks to kitties and pups, so avoid their use, but also realize and prevent against the dangers they can pose if they are used by others and out of your control.