Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

Hello and happy Thursday, friends! I'm sorry we're running late in posting again today. If I'm to make an excuse, I've had a gnarly cold (not the pandemic sort) for over a week now, and I'll admit that it's left me something along the lines of a zombie. Now that I've finally rejoined the living for today, I can top off this post and share it with you all.

So, it's Thursday. That means it's time for Angel Sammy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge.

As always, our poetic host shared with us a photo prompt to guide our poetic endeavors. This week's prompt is this image here:

I feel like I say this roughly every single time I share a poem, but I really did take some artistic liberties for this week's rhyme. As I've mentioned a few times, I've been scribbling up and sharing a new series of doodles that revolves around books and cats. One of the experimental doodles in this series in a random way reminded me of that there photo prompt. More so, it reminded me of my grandma.

Let me try to briefly explain. To begin, my grandma and I have in common the fact that sometimes we don't have a filter, and that leads to some interesting conversations. My grandma has always known that I love to read, and she supports that in and of itself. But, even when I was a kid, my grandma has outright made fun of the books I read. My grandma enjoys nonfiction books, such as biographies and the like. While I've read and enjoyed some nonfiction, I'm far more so an avid fiction reader. I especially enjoy fantasy, thriller, mystery, and even horror books. As a kid, my grandma once found me reading a book in the famous fantasy series that is Harry Potter, and she came right out and said, "You read weird books." I in turn told her that she should see the horror books I read, and that led to quite a conversation.

Have I rambled enough? Yeah? Okay. Let me just get to the poem that was inspired by my grandma's confusion over my taste in books.

What Are You Reading?

On one fine day,
My grandma came over for a little stay.
We had a wonderful meal and a lovely visit,
And then, for awhile, with my cats and a book I did sit.

My grandma approached my bookshelf and me.
With a smile, she said, "You're reading, I see."
I gave a nod as a smile of my own did sprout.
And then my grandma asked, "What are you reading about?"

I answered, "I'm reading a book that's perfectly magical,
Which allows an escape form this world that's more practical.
It's about a boy who's none other than a wizard,
But he's being hunted by this evil guy who kind of looks like a lizard."

"What on earth?" my grandma said.
She gave a huff and a shake of her head.
Then she added, "Your books are nothing but weird.
Don't you have anything better to read here?"

I told my grandma, "I just finished reading this here thriller,
Which means it has mystery and suspense and maybe a killer.
Believe it or not, it's about this dog who can sort of talk,
Though by a violent baboon he's being stalked."
"No, no, no!" my grandma exclaimed.
The look on her face looked a little something like pain.

"Okay then," I said, "what about this epic one?
It teaches a lesson while also being fun.
It's about a little hero of a guy,
Who has hairy feet and a short height."
"Hairy feet?" my grandma gasped.
"For another weird tale is not what I asked."

I shrugged and said, "It looks like you've just about had it,
So how about we try out a classic?
This one here follows a man on a great many travels,
And both small and big adventures begin to unravel.
He even gets to visit a floating island,
And then he meets talking horses who are far from violent."

My grandma held up her hand.
She looked as if she wished all of my books were banned.
She said, "Just keep reading to yourself,
From all those weird books on your shelf.
There's just one thing I can say without a doubt,
And it's that I don't want to know a single thing they're about."

That there doodle was truly an experiment. I usually draw very basic books in solid colors. That's just the easy thing to do. I wanted to try scribbling up different types of book spines, though, and this was the result. I even rather messily scribbled onto the spines the titles of some of my favorite books, including the titles of all the books hinted at in today's poem. They're all perfectly weird and wacky reads, especially if you ask my grandma. Honestly, I didn't like the result of that there doodling experiment. It took too much time, especially considering how messy it still looked in the end. So, I'll just stick to plain and boring book colors from now on.

***

Now, are you ready for Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop?

Thimble is definitely ready to give some thanks. Today, this little tabby girl is thankful for her sister pup Astrid.

Perhaps obviously, Thimble is also grateful that she yet again won the coveted window seat.

Thimble hopes you all get a window seat today!

***

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. When I run out of _________, I use _________ as a substitute.

2. I don't understand why _________.

3. _________ is the best time to _________.

4. It seems like I'm the only one who _________.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Tip of the Day

Today's tip can relate to our own furbabies, as well as ferals, strays, and other animals who live outdoors. When ice comes into play during the winter months, be very cautious when using salt, or ice melt. Most traditional salts on the market contain ingredients that can be toxic and can irritate cats' and dogs' paw pads. Irritation can also occur in the mouth, as well as in the intestinal tract, which is a concern if the animal directly ingests the salt or licks it off of their paws after walking through it. So, for the sake of your furbabies as well as ferals and other outdoor animals, avoid using typical ice melts. Instead, do your research or ask your veterinarian for recommendations on pet-safe ice melts. There are some ice melts on the market that are far more safe than typical salt used for melting ice, but even some labeled as pet-friendly can still contain ingredients that might be questionable. For this reason, it is always important to do your research. You can also opt for other alternatives, such as tossing some sand or other other similar, safe substrate on top of ice that forms in the winter. Sand and other such materials can allow for better traction and reduced slippage on ice, while avoiding chemicals included in many ice melts.