Friendly Fill-Ins with a Rhyme on the Side

Hello and happy Friday, friends! It's time for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, and we hope you'll join us! My co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.


1. I would like to see what books are on _________'s bookshelf. (Thanks, Melissa!)

2. I adore _________.

3. There is no amount of money you could pay me to _________.

4. When I failed to _________, I _________.

My answers are below in bold. Save for the first one relating to a human friend in this cat blogging community, mine are all about the furbabies this week.

1. I would like to see what books are on Melissa's bookshelf. (Thanks, Melissa!)
(Melissa, that of course being Mudpie's Melissa of Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries, & Meows, inspired Ellen to choose this fill-ins as a result of her answer to one of last week's fill-ins. Since Melissa inspired it, and since I know she is a book and cat lover who of course reads lots of books with cats, I'd love to peruse her bookshelves. I hope that doesn't sound creepy, Melissa, but I'm pretty sure I'd find plenty of books on your shelves to add to my to-read list. After all, a lot of the books she shares on her blog do indeed end up on my to-read list, so I can imagine a look at Melissa's full collection of books would make my to-read list grow even more exponentially. Thanks again for this one, Melissa!)

2. I adore cats.
(Duh. Honestly, I adore all animals, but I feel like I especially relate to cats. They're pretty much my spirit animal).

3. There is no amount of money you could pay me to abandon my animals.
(What prompted me to pick this particular fill-in was an online poll I saw the other day. It simply asked people whether or not they would trade their pet, or pets, for $1 million. I automatically knew my answer was no, so I was admittedly shocked when I saw that just over half of the large sum of people who had participated in the poll had indicated that they would indeed trade in their animal for $1 million. Someone in the comment section of this poll indicated that as long as they knew their pet was going to a good home, they'd take the money. Even then, my answer would still be a big fat no. My kitties and pup are priceless to me.)

4. When I failed to convince Thimble that not every item she finds has to be thrown off of every flat surface she traverses, I admitted defeat and put my breakables into hiding.
(You know those videos of cats who slap anything and everything off of tables, counters, and every other flat surface you can think of? That's the kind of kitty Thimble is. If it moves, Thimble treats it like a hockey puck that needs to be sent flying. It's honestly adorable. That said, anything sentimental that's light enough for Thimble to toss around gets tucked away. Don't worry, she still has plenty of pens and other random items to scatter around the house.)

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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Now, though we're a day late and probably also a dollar short, we're going to share our weekly poem for Angel Sammy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge.

In truth, I'm not just a day late for this poem. This is actually the poem I forgot to share for last week's prompt, with a tiny nod to this week's prompt as well. The two aforementioned prompts our poetic host provided are these images here:

As I mentioned, that first image above is the vast bulk of what this poem is based on. There's a tiny nod to the second prompt as well, because I couldn't bring myself to completely ignore this week's photo. That all said, the illustration for this poem is actually one I completed weeks ago, before we even saw either of these photo prompts. When I saw that first photo prompt from last week, though, it suddenly gave me an idea to go with that illustration I'd already completed. You'll find that illustration after the poem.

Marian the Librarian

There once was a woman named Marian,
Who was, in fact, the town librarian.
She doled out books as if they were candy,
Her knowledge on literature coming in quite handy.

There were rumors surrounding Marian, though.
You see, she wasn't just a librarian, no no no.
Marian, they said, was also a witch.
She could cast a spell without a single hitch.

This witchy woman named Marian,
Who, remember, was the town librarian,
Had apparently been the downfall of a great many folk.
And no, this is not some sort of silly joke.

Marian more than once put out a call for an assistant.
After all, she needed help caring for the books that came and went.
And so, she would put out an ad,
And it would be answered by a lass or lad.
And that lass or lad would, well, disappear.
Soon enough, where they went became quite clear.

Way back when Marian moved to town and took over the library,
She had a single black cat, who often hissed and was just a tad bit scary.
Slowly but surely, Marian accumulated more and more cats.
And this is where we tell you how the townsfolk learned the truth behind that.

It was young Ella Mae who first made the realization,
When she visited the library one day near autumn.
Amongst the books she counted Marian's cats, their number now double digits at ten.
And then Ella Mae stumbled upon Marian's new assistant, Sven.

Ella Mae would have said hello to the friendly librarian's assistant,
But the young man was tucked amongst the shelves and sleeping at present.
At that very moment, though, Marian rounded the corner.
She sighed and huffed as loud as a drama performer.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep, Marian. I'm sorry!" Sven did plea.
The librarian only looked at him like a bee ready to sting.
It looked to Ella Mae like Sven might cry tears like a tidal wave,
But, shushing him, it was neither mercy nor patience that Marian gave.

It was at that moment that Ella Mae saw the crystal ball in Marian's hand.
With it, the girl could only guess what the librarian had planned.
"Could you excuse us, girl?" Marian, scowling, said to Ella Mae.
Out of nothing but sheer fear, Ella Mae chose to run rather than stay.

It took Ella Mae over a week to feel brave enough to return to the library.
She simply had to go, though, as her reading situation was growing quite hairy.
The girl all but tiptoed into the bookish building,
Hoping Marian the witchy librarian would be busy elsewhere, perhaps quilting.
If she was lucky, Sven would be around to help her find her next book to read.

As soon as she entered the library,
Ella Mae was greeted with a sight quite scary.
That crystal ball sat on the closest shelf in a glass case.
More so, why did the cloudy haze inside of it look like a face?

"Can I help you?" a familiar voice suddenly said.
Ella Mae turned to find Marian, who stood with a broom in hand and pointy hat on her head.
What came out of Ella Mae's mouth was, "Oh, um, where is Sven?"
The woman's eyes flitted to the cats, who now numbered eleven rather than ten.
The cat nearest Ella Mae was looking at her with wide eyes nearly popping out of its head.
The girl's eyes just wide, she looked at the cat and said, "Sven?"

That there doodle was actually based off of a piece of Halloween decor I saw advertised online. Said piece of decor is a witchy hand pedestal sold by Bath and Body Works, if you're curious. I didn't buy one, but even so, I felt inspired to scribble it up.

***

Who's ready for an Eddy fix? You are? Well, good, because we have one for you. This time around, Eddy was hanging out on her cat tree by the sunlit window, and I thought that made for lovely little scene.

That there is more or less a silhouette shot, so I tried to up the brightness so you could at least somewhat see pretty Eddy's face. So, here's that sad attempt I made at using my camera's settings.

Even if my skills at using my camera settings or using proper lighting are lacking, Eddy still makes any photo a great one. Oh, and for anyone who is new or doesn't know or remember, that is indeed a Christmas tree in the corner of my bedroom. Eddy loves climbing Christmas trees, so I simply keep one up year round in Eddy's favorite room, that being my bedroom.

Eddy and all of us here wish you a fantastic day!

***

Tip of the Day

Today's tip in our series on taking your cat to the vet is yet another plain and simple one, and that is to be and act calm. As you all certainly know, our furbabies can feed off of our own emotions. That's why, if you are anxious, your cat's anxiety could be heightened. So, as best as possible, remain calm and collected both before and during your cat's vet visit. Even speaking calmly and soothingly to your cat could help to make them indeed feel calm and soothed during their excursion to the vet. You can praise your cat for good behavior, of course remaining calm and quiet when doing so, as that can also help them feel more calm. The long and short of this tip is to try your best to keep any anxiety you have in check, and to remain calm for your cat's sake.