Friendly Fill-Ins, Eddy's Snaggletooth, and the Letter E

Hello and happy Friday, friends! Let's start with the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, shall we? My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.


1. I plan to _________ in April.

2. My favorite kind of muffin is _________.

3. _________ always seems to happen when I _________.

4. _________ has been on my to-do list for a long time.


My answers are below in bold.

1. I plan to be creative in April.
(I'm trying not to set too many hard, specific guidelines or rules, as life does happen and has been happening. But, this month I do want to scribble up new drawings, work on my many writing projects I have going and would really like to finish, do some fun crafts, and all that jazz.)

2. My favorite kind of muffin is chocolate chip.
(Perhaps this is a very basic answer, but I really do like chocolate chip muffins. Really, though, all muffins are delicious. I'd also gladly eat a chocolate muffin, a banana muffin, a coffee cake muffin, and really just any muffin.)

3. Feline sabotage always seems to happen when I sit down to eat supper.

(I'll start by saying I'm okay with this, because I love my furbabies. That said, if I so much as plate up my food or even make it as far as sitting down to eat, that's when some kitty or pup needs to vomit or do some other form of sabotage. Given Evan's bladder and bowel issues, which for whatever reason usually manifest in the evening, I'll also often stall supper for those mishaps. It happens like suppertime clockwork multiple times a week, to where it's almost just comedic at this point.)

4. Painting my kitchen has been on my to-do list for a long time.

(I tried to think of what's been on my to-do list the longest, and this is it. Honestly, my kitchen never got its final painting I wanted to do with it when I moved into my house 9 years ago. Everything else got painted, life started happening, and the kitchen just got left behind. Someday I'll get to it, but I'll admit that painting the kitchen still isn't a high priority item on the to-do list, simply because there are more pressing matters that always appear ahead of it.)

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, let's move to the April A to Z Challenge.

Our alphabetic theme is All Things Cat, for which I'm sharing doodles of random items in the shape of cats, or at least with kitty ears and a kitty face. Today we've reached the letter E, and this is one of my somewhat stranger ones. In this case, E could stand for eccentricity, or eccentric things, or eclectic things. But, I think I'm going to have E stand for elixir, specifically the elixir of life. Honestly, don't you think the elixir of life would look a little something like this?

Feel free to take a sip if you'd like to see how well that elixir works. At your own risk, of course.

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Now, let's give you all your Eddy fix for today. This time, Eddy did one of her rare moments of sitting still, in a sunray, showing off her adorable snaggletooth.

For anyone who might not know, Eddy came to me as a kitten with neurological issues. She's healed from those, but she was left with an occasional head tilt as well as right-sided facial nerve paralysis, the latter of which is why we get such a perfect view of her adorably lopsided mouth. Just look at the cuteness!

Happy Friday, friends!

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Tip of the Day

We just finished our series of tips on heartworm, in honor of April being Heartworm Awareness Month. Since we're on the topic of pesky parasites, we're going to keep it going. We've indeed given many tips on this in the past, but it's something worth repeating. Today, we'll be talking about fleas.

When it comes to fleas, it's important to realize that essentially any and all animals are susceptible. Even indoor-only cats and dogs can get fleas, such as if the tiny pests come into the home by hitching a ride on humans, or on other animals who go outdoors. What's more, fleas can be present even when you might think they aren't, even in the winter. If fleas have already made their ways indoors, they can thrive in the warmth of a home any time of year. Even outdoors in the winter, though, they can still potentially be present. Especially if there are warmer days here and there, and if you're starting to see some green grass outside, then there is always the chance that fleas can be present and active. So, this is just one reason to keep your furbabies on flea prevention.

To really drive home this tip, though, we're also going to remind you of just some of the side effects that can come with fleas. First, of course, fleas can cause all sorts of itchiness. In some cases, an animal can even have flea allergy dermatitis, which is of course when a cat or dog is allergic to flea bites and can therefore display significant itching, hair loss, lesions, and so forth. Itchy skin is not the only potential result of fleas, though. Fleas can also lead to a tapeworm infestation in your furbaby, something which we will further discuss tomorrow. In addition, anemia and other bloodborne and potentially dangerous diseases can result from fleas and their bites. The health and safety of your furbaby is of course, therefore, an incredibly good reason to be sure that you keep up with that flea prevention year round.