A Selfie from the Bridge

Today marks 2 years since my Angel Rosie gained her wings. I miss her every single day, and I talk to her every single day, and she will never be forgotten.

Rosie certainly will not be forgotten, because she left me with a bottomless reservoir of fond memories. That's why today, in honor or my Rosie, I do not want to go through the day with a heavy heart. Yes, 2 years ago today was the worst day of my life thus far. But, the 21 years before that, the 21 years with which I shared my life with Rosie, were some of the best days of my life. And so, to honor my Rosie, those are the days that I am remembering today.

In fact, it's none other than my Angel Rosie starring in our selfie for the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by our good furiends over at The Cat on My Head.

 
Now, back in the day, there were no selfie sticks, or all that great of cameras. So poor Rosie could only snap whatever selfies the human assistants could manage. This is one of them.

Can you tell what you're looking at there? That's Rosie being pushed in a play stroller, by me. Yep, I used to push Rosie around in a stroller. She had the patience and tolerance of a saint, let me tell you. For those who don't know or don't remember, Rosie was with me from the time I was 4 until I was 26. The brave girl put with me for that long, bless her heart.

Thank you, my Angel Rosie. Thank you for the memories. I will treasure them always and forever, and because of them, you will always be with me. Until we meet again.

***

Our Tip of the Day:

Today's tip is simple. Never forget the good times. Your angels certainly wouldn't want you to.

Caturday Art at the Chemistry Lab

Who's ready for the weekend? We hope everybuddy is, because it's here!

One of our favorite things about the weekend is the fact that it offers some pretty darn fun blog hops, like today's Caturday Art hop that lovely Athena hosts.

With today's doodle, we wanted to show how we're loving all of the May flowers that the April showers gave us. There certainly were plenty of showers to go around, but that's okay, because that means there are now plenty of flowers to go around as well.

The thing is, though, that sometimes this human gets a bit lost. Maybe that's why, though we had flowers on the mind, they came out like this:

Weird, huh?

Actually, though my degree is in animal sciences and I worked as a veterinary assistant for a few years, I now work at a chemistry lab. Some days, I simply have all shades of beakers and test tubes on my mind. There's also the fact that I may or may not be a bit of a happy nerd, so perhaps that also just might explain this one.

But I digress.

We hope the April showers have ended for all of you fantastic furiends of ours, and that you now have plenty of May flowers to enjoy!

Happy Caturday to all!

***

Our Tip of the Day:

Always keep in mind that some job locations, as well as travel or other locations, could potentially bring you in contact with substances that might be dangerous to your furbaby. For example, if you work at a veterinary clinic or volunteer at an animal shelter, you can easily come in contact with various pathogens that could transfer to your furbaby, even on your clothes. The same might be said if you work at particular types of scientific laboratories, plant nurseries, or any other job or location that might land potentially dangerous materials on your clothes or possessions. For such reasons, try to always be cognizant of where you have been and what you have touched while away from home. If need be, change clothes prior to going home to your furbaby, or steer clear of your furbaby until you have cleaned up upon arriving at home. Of course, certainly not every job or location will cause you to be a potential threat to your furbaby's health, but it never hurts to think about where you've been and what you've touched before giving your furbaby a snuggle when you arrive at home. After all, what do we always say? Better safe than sorry!

Festive Friday

Welcome to Friday, everybuddy! We are happy to start the day off with the fun and fantastic Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by the wonderful 15andmeowing and McGuffy's Reader.

We always enjoy the fill-ins our hosts' brilliant minds think up for us. This week's are no different.

1. _________ landline.
2. My most treasured piece of jewelry is _________.
3. This year, I have learned _________.
4. I would like to _________ before this year is over.

And here is what I managed to come up with:

1. I don't have a landline.
(When I moved into my new house a couple years ago, I didn't even consider going through the hassle of setting up a landline. I just rely on my cell phone, which I may or may not sometimes forget to charge. My parents still have their landline, though, and I still know the number by heart.)

2. My most treasured piece of jewelry is a simple cross necklace.
(My parents gave me a simple yet lovely silver cross on a chain for my 14th birthday. That year, my birthday fell just before a week-long trip my 8th grade class was taking halfway across the country, which would be the farthest and the longest I had ever been away from home. I was excited to go, but also nervous. Just before the trip, I had my birthday cross blessed by the monsignor at my church, and then I wore it the entire time I was on the trip. It was such a comfort to me while I was away from home. It survived me wearing it every single day for a decade. But then I brought home pup Astrid, who promptly – yet of course accidentally, I'm sure – yanked it right off of my neck. I still have the necklace, but I'm too afraid to wear it these days. It now sits atop my dresser in my bedroom, safely out of the reach of rogue furbabies.)

3. This year, I have learned that patience truly is a virtue.
(I always try to pick some words of wisdom to focus on each year. This just so happens to be one of the proverbial attitudes I am trying to pay heed to this year, and it sure is teaching me some lessons. Patience can be tough sometimes, but I hope I'm at least a tad bit more virtuous by the end of the year.)

4. I would like to make a dent in my bucket list before this year is over.
(Meaning, I'd like to accomplish even just one or two of my major goals. One of these goals that tops my list is to write and perhaps even illustrate a story or a book. This is something I'd love to do even just for fun, but if possible I'd also love to do something like this with the aim of benefiting shelter and rescue animals. I think I've mentioned here before that this has always been a dream of mine, and now my fingers have really been itching to write and illustrate these days.)


Now, for your Eddy fix today, she wanted me to show you what a poor job I truly did while helping her with her selfies for her birthday this past Sunday. We posted a couple of the better selfies we managed, but there were some not so great ones, too.

See what a terrible job this momma of Eddy's did? Seriously, where did her nose go? And why is it so bright and blinding?

And then there's the fact that, even though always active Eddy managed to actually sit still for this photo shoot, this mom of hers could still scarcely manage a focused shot of her.

Eddy was trying to show off those lovely eyes of hers, yet even with her miraculously posing like a statue, I still couldn't manage a non-blurry shot of those pretty peepers. Shame on me!


Happy Friday! And, of course, happy Cinco de Mayo to all!

***

Our Tip of the Day:

Just as with human children, don't forget to take into consideration your furbabies, and any furbabies you know you'll be around, when selecting things such as your attire and accessories. If you have or will be around a rowdy pup, for example, consider forgoing items such as dangling jewelry or your nicest pair of slacks, as the pup could become caught in or break a necklace or bracelet, or dishevel or damage your clothes in excitement. The same could be said for young kittens, who might consider batting at any loose pieces of your wardrobe, such as earrings or necklaces, or who might climb your pant legs. This is all not only for the sake of your clothes and accessories, but also for the safety of both yourself and the furbabies. Dress for the occasion, as they say!

Theatrical Thursday

Well, it's been raining again. It is technically still Spring, so apparently that's to be expected. When it's rainy and soggy and not all that warm outside, we go back to hibernating inside. And do you know what one of our favorite things about hibernation is?

Movie night! That's right, this here human and furbabies love to curl up on the couch, snuggle, and have ourselves a movie night.

Well, most of us like to snuggle, at least. One particular furbaby tends to pass on the couch snuggle party, so as to claim the best seat in the house.

Thimble always gets a front row seat. And she likes the 3D experience, too, getting all paws on and becoming one with the action on the screen.

Yeah, like that.

In case you hadn't noticed yet, this here human is so adult that animated children's movies make frequent appearances at our house. Can anyone guess the animated movie we were watching this time around?

Anyone? Any guesses?

Now don't worry, we certainly didn't forget about Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

Thimble is thankful for her front row seat at the theater. And all of us here are thankful for movie nights, snuggle time, and of course all of you!

Wishing everybuddy a happy day!

***

Our Doodle of the Day:

***

Our Tip of the Day:

We've talked in the past about furbabies' fear of storms and how to help calm them, such as by closing windows and curtains to help block out sights and sounds, playing music or turning on the TV to further drown out the noise, or even simply distracting them with toys or treats. In some cases, though, it might not be the sights and sounds of the storm that are triggering your furbaby's response. It is possible that the electric charge produced in the atmosphere during a storm could be a root cause for their fear. In such a case, try running a dryer sheet over your furbaby during a stormy day petting session. This will help reduce the electric charge, and might thereby help reduce fear that is the result of this aspect of the storm. Of course, also don't forget that our furbabies feed off of our emotions and actions. For that reason, even during those springtime storms, always try to stay calm and collected for your furbaby's sake.

Pouty in Pink

Despite oodles of begging from her momma, Astrid simply refused to look at the camera during a recent window watch. So what's a momma to do then? Take advantage of Astrid's pouty pose, of course! I used the moment to snap a shot of the new bow Astrid's gammy (her momma's momma) made for her.

So, who thinks Astrid looks pouty pretty in pink?

***

Our Doodle of the Day:

After some rainy, fickle days, it's finally trying to warm up again. This one's for those delightfully warm and sunny days.

***

Our Tip of the Day:

When you bathe one of your furbabies, such as your pup, always be sure to keep water away from and out of their ears. Water in the ears can lead to yeast infections, among other potential issues. If need be, avoid spraying any water atop the head at all, and instead wipe it clean before or after the bath. Or, if your pup allows for it, place a shower cap over their ears before giving them a bath. While you will only rarely, if ever, need to bathe your kitty, still keep in mind the importance of keeping water out of the ears. If water does enter the ear, try to carefully wipe it dry. In the case that you are concerned that your furbaby got a large amount of water in their ear, and certainly if you start noticing symptoms such as shaking of the head or a stench coming from the ear, of course consult a veterinarian.

Toesies Tuesday

We've been slacking on toesies posts lately. That may or may not be because certain furbabies have been refusing the pawparazzi views of those adorable toesies. For today, though, this human here stole a toesies shot while a certain orange mancat was sleeping.

Do any of our furiends have to hide their toesies from the pawparazzi? That darn pawparazzi.

Well, happy Toesies Tuesday to all!

***

Our Doodle of the Day:

***

Our Tip of the Day:

Do your furbabies leave a plenitude of hairball deposits on rugs or carpet, yet they're also afraid of the vacuum? To help them and you avoid the stress of vacuum time, you might consider trying out a rug brush. Indeed, there is such a thing as a rug brush to help remove hair and other debris from rugs and carpet. In fact, even a plain and simple squeegee can do the trick. So, if your furbaby is afraid of the vacuum and you need to reduce their level of stress, that doesn't mean you have to resign to having furry rugs. A rug brush or squeegee can help you keep on top of those hairballs, while also minimizing the stress that vacuum cleaners often create for the furbabies in our lives.

When It Rains

It must be Spring, because we're just about drowning in rain these days.

That doesn't keep Evan from gazing out his front door, though. It might be all wet and soggy outside, but Evan is happy nonetheless, because it's also good and warm and so the door gets to stay open for viewing.

Perhaps that's why Evan always says, if life throws you lemons...

...stick them in a glass of milk? Because that makes total sense, right?

Happy Monday, everybuddy!

***

Our Tip of the Day:

Did you know that while the actual fruit of lemons and oranges is typically considered safe, the peels and other plant parts can be toxic to our pups and kitties? Ingestion of the peels, for example, may cause vomiting and diarrhea. While many furbabies dislike the scent and taste of citrus and so might instinctively steer clear of it, it is still wise to never leave any potentially hazardous fruit or fruit parts unattended. Better safe than sorry, as always!