Friendly Fill-Ins, Eddy's Belly, and the Letter P

Hello and happy Friday, friends! We're ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, and we'd love for you to join us. 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. My plans for Easter (or Sunday) include _________.

2. My favorite Easter treat is _________.

3. _________ is a healthy food I genuinely enjoy.

4. _________ is an age I wouldn't mind being permanently.


My answers are below in bold.

1. My plans for Easter include Easter morning Mass and dinner at my parents' house.
(My family and I always go to Mass at our church on Easter morning. It's always a beautiful service. Then, that evening, we all get together at my parents' house for Easter dinner, dessert, and a movie.)

2. My favorite Easter treat is a bunny patch pudding dessert.
(I almost didn't put this as my answer, because I myself make this dessert and that sounds a bit conceited. I'm in charge of Easter dessert every year, though, and this is what I make. We all enjoy it, myself included. It's a pudding dessert with a pie crust base that's topped with homemade chocolate pudding, whipped cream, crumbled up Oreos playing the role of dirt, green-dyed coconut shreds as grass, and bunny Peeps with peanut M&Ms as eggs. The finished result looks like what you see below.)

3. Fruit is a healthy food I genuinely enjoy.
(While my favorite fruits are grapes and watermelon, I'll eat pretty much any fruit you put in front of me. I eat fruit as my dessert after almost every lunch. I have a sweet tooth, and most fruit is good and sweet, so there you have it.)

4. 30 is an age I wouldn't mind being permanently.
(While in reality I don't think I'd choose to be any age permanently, if I had to choose one, I'd probably pick 30, or some year in my early 30s. I feel like in my 20s a lot of things were still up in the air, as I was simply still figuring some things out. Then again, I'm still figuring out plenty of things now. That said, at 30 or thereabouts, I at least had a better grasp on adulthood. I can't speak for the years I haven't lived yet, and I just turned 36. The 30s seem to be a decent enough decade, mostly, so this is my answer at this point in time.)

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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And now we of course have another letter to share for the April A to Z Challenge.

I'm still a broken record, and so I'm still prefacing these alphabetical contributions by saying that some of my favorite things in life are cats, drawing, writing, and the fantasy genre. And so, my A to Z posts this year will be illustrations for a weird and wacky fantasy story I'm currently writing. This story co-stars a hind limb paralyzed orange tabby cat named Hobo, and this month you'll get to go along on some of his adventures.

We've reached the letter P, and that stands for potions, as well as a couple of plants. You've seen Nilda the gnome a couple of times this month now, and these potions and plants are her creations. 

Hobo the orange boy himself is quite fond of Nilda's weird and wacky skills, especially one certain potion, which leads to some unexpected results.

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And you of course get an Eddy fix today. Are you ready for the cuteness?

I don't often get shots like that of Eddy, simply because she usually jumps up at the mere sight of myself (the treat giver) or the camera (which she seems to wholly believe is out to steal her soul). But, this time she let me get a photo of her adorable belly. That said, that belly is 110% a trap. While Thimble is the kind of kitty who rolls her belly up fully expecting a tummy rub, when Eddy rolls her belly up, it's not an invitation. I respect that and am grateful to simply admire its adorableness from a safe distance.

Eddy and all of us here hope you have a wonderful day!

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Tip of the Day

 

April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. For this reason, though we did have some recent tips on this topic, we're going to going to give another set of tips on how to recognize potential cases of cruelty, as well as what we can do to help. Today, we're going to start by giving a simple overview of what cruelty can look like. First, of course physical abuse toward an animal is cruelty. Neglect is another form of cruelty, and can include situations such as when an animal is left outdoors in extreme or unlivable conditions with no shelter, food, or water. In a similar line of thought is hoarding, which can include too large of an animal population for the space provided, extremely unsanitary conditions, and lack of nutritional, medical, and other basic care for the animals. Another example of neglect and cruelty to animals is abandoning an animal, such as in a vacated home or outdoors. Other examples of cruelty to animals include leaving an animal alone in a hot or even cold car, as well as any form of dog fighting.

There are, sadly, a great many examples of animal cruelty and neglect. Since animals can't speak for themselves, it is of course important that we all be aware of what cruelty is, and what forms it can take. Our vigilance and diligence may be the only way for some innocent, helpless animals out there to receive the help and care they need. So, do make sure that you are aware of the sad yet true facts of animal cruelty and neglect. This way, you can know it when you see it, and can thereby seek help for the afflicted animal or animals. Tomorrow, we will discuss some of the ways we can address situations of cruelty and neglect that we might witness.