I just got back from dropping Charlie off at the groomers and then I went to Trader Joe’s. I love their variety of little pumpkins and gourds there. And they’re priced just right too.
So I had to get some of those, since I’m trying to decorate with a “more natural” touch now.
I plan to do the same at Christmas. Use items from nature and simple decor. I am challenging myself to see what I can come up with.
I doubt I’ll bring a tree out, as Ivy would be on that in a heartbeat. I’ve even toyed with the idea of giving them away. But I’ll keep them in the bag at the top of the closet for now.
Christmas trees and cats just do not mix.
Every time I go into a store I see aisles and aisles of Christmas stuff. It’s really gotten kind of overwhelming to the senses.
I used to be attracted to all that stuff. But somewhere along the way that has changed.
I’ve cleaned out both closets and given lots of stuff away. From now on I’ll donate to the animal rescue thrift shop to benefit the animals.
I certainly like that I can walk in my closet and see organized or mostly organized shelves.
Ivy is peacefully sleeping right now. But she sure had herself some fun while I was gone this morning.
I try hard to put folded up paper towels and such between books or somewhere I don’t think she can find them.
But she usually does. Little Miss Ivy Lou is very clever and doesn’t miss a thing.
She gets a lot of exercise on her cat tree. And by running like the devil is after her from one end of this apartment to the other.
Yesterday Charlie started walking down the hall where Ivy was, and I saw her jump straight up into the air about three feet.
How on earth do they do that? She was standing still and just went straight up like a rocket.
I noticed that there are two brave passion vine flowers blooming. It was pretty cold last night, so most everything will go dormant soon.
I need to bring my hose inside. Not sure where I’ll store it.
I’ll be going to pick up Charlie in a bit and then I’m in for the day.
Just last week I was wearing shorts. And today I’m wearing pants and a long sleeved shirt and socks.
Weather is very mercurial around here.
I’m so pleased with the way Ivy has meshed right into our little family. I need not have worried about adopting. Because Ivy is very adaptable. Very loving and secure.
And of course she has me wrapped around her little paw.
If you have an electrical outlet outside, you could put up an artificial plastic/vinyl tree on your patio. I’ve done it in both very hot and very cold, blustery climates and it works out well in either. (Actually, you could do a small real tree.) You’ll need to lash it to something so it doesn’t blow over. I decorate mine with lights, and lots of shatterproof balls I got at Walmart. It looks wonderfully cheerful at night. Magical in the snow. I’m a multicat household. My older cats never touched my tree but when I got the kittens they set up shop in the tree and would not come out.
Isn’t that hysterical when cats jump straight up into the air when something surprises them? Cracks me up when they do that. Monkey is the only one who does that still, but he’s a big ol’ fraidy cat. You can sneeze and he jumps.
I hate seeing the tons of Christmas stuff in the stores already. This past weekend, I went into World Market to see if they had this particular fall leaf garland I saw in a magazine. I couldn’t even find a fall section anymore. It was all Christmas! I left rather disgusted.
Thanks for the photo that shows pretty Ivy’s markings on her back. How distinctive! Our tuxedo cat surprises us with how lazy he can be one moment, and then how active he can be the next. His favorite toy is two twist-ties twisted together into a spidery shape. I don’t even like to think about Christmas decor until December gets here. I love the fall so I don’t put out anything Christmas-y until November is over. Right now I am looking for some sort of artificial pumpkin for the front porch that isn’t likely to get blown away by the wind. Yesterday I saw a pumpkin face that you can put over the porch light and it will glow when the light is turned on. It was clever, but cheaply made, so, I didn’t really want it. I should get my husband to cut a pumpkin shape out of wood and then I could paint it. That might be a nice project. We’d better get busy.
Cats are definitely nosy and love to find things to drag out. I’m with you on putting out the decorations for Christmas…she will definitely be into them. I will not be decorating much this year…I’ve given way and sold lots of decorations. We have limited storage space in this house and we are usually gone for the holiday anyway. Never here to enjoy the decorations, so I don’t feel the need to go all out anymore! Beautiful flower! Huge shift in weather here also…42 for the high yesterday…46 today!
Your entry made for my morning smiles. Thank you.
You sound happy since you and Charlie adopted Ivy. That made me glad. : )
Loy
Flower is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!!
Thanks for some smiles again today, Brenda!! ?
Aww…Ivy is a sweetie! Changeable here, too… 2″ of snow yesterday!
Miss Ivy Lou never has a dull moment it appears and neither does Charlie Ross and you with her in the house .
Are they taking time about with The Charlie bed ?
It appears she loves her cat tree .
I put up a small tree on a table and my Maine Coon kitty doesn’t even go near it ,I see him looking at the lights but he doesn’t bother the ornaments .
But you will probably have to do a test run with Ivy Lou .
Luck to you with that project when the time comes .
I love reading the daily escapades !!!!
Hugs to you all !
Kathy from Tennessee
Oh when they jump straight up it is amazing. Also the side ways thing others were saying is funny also. I always have a tree with low ornaments that won’t break. Of course my cats have been older then Ivy but even young Miss Annie played with a few but mostly slept under the tree. I do love a Christmas tree. Last year I purged about 1/2 of my Christmas and I bet I purge even more this year. Less and Less is better for me! I just took about 3 big bags of things to a friend who has a booth in an Antique mall. If she sells some of it then she takes me to lunch. Win win as it was going to the thrift shop otherwise. Can’t wait to see that handsome Charlie.
I have considered putting up one of the small trees with lights but no ornaments.
I think it would be a good first tree for Miss Ivy!
I’m so glad things are working out for you . I’ve had 4 cats in my life , no have ever bother the tree. You could put yours up without ornaments and see what happens . Around the bottom of mine I hang jingle bells not for ornaments as much as for alarms . My cat Fluff will bat at them and that’s how I know what he’s into !
That’s an idea!
Great idea, Cathy!
Those clematic flowers look like alien life forms, wowsers! Our weather has turned terribly cold here. Since last week it’s been in the 40s with winds out of the northwest and it is COLD! I don’t remember having to pull out winter jackets and gloves or wearing my hat before mid-November for many years. Just a few weeks ago one day the house got so hot I turned the AC on around 5 p.m. just so it would cool down by sundown because it was going to stay warmish out all night long and there was no breeze to speak of. Now, autumn is rushing by. The strong winds are blowing leaves off the trees as fast as they’re turning color. It’s uncomfortable cutting the grass, which loves all the rain we got during September and the cooler temperatures and has been growing like weeds, so it still needs to be cut. The one good thing about today is that the sky is very clear and the air is particularly dry today, so I was able to walk the half mile to the supermarket in record time and only had to stop 2x to blow my nose, didn’t have to stop to catch my breath in the low humidity, hooray! That’s one thing that is good about this time of year. I still have a few blooms left on my Roses of Sharon and my crazy hydrangea is still setting flower heads. My poor tomato plant never did catch up with the season this year. I have at least half a dozen tomatoes on it in various stages of formation – all too small to be any good to pick. I covered it in a large clear plastic bag 2 days ago but I don’t think I’ll be getting any more tomatoes off of it unless we get at least 2 more weeks of warm and consistently weather. The days are getting too short now, it’s dark before 6:30 p.m. and not light enough to wake me up until near 7:00 a.m. I find that depressing. The squirrels are looking chubby, furry and healthy, and I have more of them than ever. I’m running through 25 pounds of hazelnuts (in the shell) every 10 days. Geez Louise. Jan’s Squirrel Sanctuary 🙂 They’re my wildlife equivalent of Ivy Lou and Charlie.
Well, it’s good to have wildlife that entertains and keeps you company. When I read your comment I went back and looked. I did write clematis. I meant passion vine flowers so I fixed that.
Glad you are having such fun with little miss Ivy. I am cutting way back on decorating this year too.
I have such a small space so there is really not a lot of room for putting out a lot of stuff. I got rid of a lot of my things too. I still have to have a tree but all the other stuff not going up is ok with me. Have a good new week.
Kris
The older I get, the less stuff I want to put out.
Me too. I spent the weekend cleaning every bit of decor I have out and thinking about what I can get rid of. I don’t want a gallery wall over the couch anymore but I have no idea what to do with that long white expanse…..
If you want to email me a photo of your wall, I’ll see if I can come up with something.
You could put folded paper towels in the refrigerator. She can’t find them in there. ?
You could fit your hose underneath your bed in a plastic container with a cover on it until Spring.
I don’t think I would put up a tree with a cat either!
I could never give up my decorations cuz I can’t wait to put them up every yr! I only decorate my downstairs and just a few things upstairs.
I even bring some over to my parents house to decorate their house. I just brought some Halloween /Thanksgiving decos there last wk and polished and washed their floors.
I’ve been putting up my parents Christmas tree and decos for 6 yrs now. This will be the 7th yr and my Mom is already telling me where she wants the tree. Instead of saying it’s too much work for me. Win! Win!
Ivy looks like a little angel sleeping. ?
If I lived in a bigger home, I might be more interested in decorating for seasons and holidays. I’ve given much to my daughter who has a big house.
I expected Christmas tree disaster when Buddy came to live with Bella and I,quite surprisingly he paid no attention to it,Bella boo never bothered with it all,she’s very laid back:)
I ve always wondered why they do that straight bounce into the air,I love that sideways thing they do,sometimes with their tail all poofed up.
Looking forward to seeing that handsome devil with his new “do”.Isnt it wonderful that they just hit it off?
Fast weather switch here in New York upstate too,we had humid days and overnight it turned into fall,apparently some spots had a light dusting of the S word we dont like.
Enjoy your day!
We get snow maybe once a year. The trees are still for the most part green here. Ivy is so curious, I can’t imagine putting something new out and Ivy not pouncing on it.
Another thing to look out for with Ivy that is too funny for words: when mine was in a playful mood, she would arch her back and walk diagonally across the room as though she were on her tippy toes and her eyes looked like they were dilated. I would crack up laughing and tell her that you are one silly kitty. 🙂
Carol and Molly
xoxoxo
Can’t wait to see that one. Ivy is full of herself and walks like she’s carrying prey through the jungle sometimes. When all she has in her mouth is a piece of paper. Or a cricket. Found another cricket leg this morning. Why doesn’t she just eat the whole thing? Is she keeping “trophies” like a serial killer??? Maybe she doesn’t eat them at all, just dismembers them.
It’s show and tell all for momma. She has come to love you in such a short time period. So happy for the three of you!
Carol and Molly
xoxoxo
We have had sudden weather changes too here in eastern Iowa. Last Wednesday I had the AC running and on Thursday I turned on the furnace,
I am with you on the Christmas aisles in stores and avoid them as much as I can. For the past few years I have had just a centerpiece with a small string of lights, or a Poinsettia, and I put a wreath on the front door.
I am glad that Ivy brings you so much enjoyment and that Charlie has accepted her.
I will be decorating table tops and maybe a wreath. Lights perhaps. But there’s no point putting much out with Ivy. And I really don’t want to use my energy doing it for a month anyway.
Little Miss Ivy is too adorable for words and I can’t believe that she could care less whether you spray her in the face with the water bottle. That is a first for me! I too have a lot of Christmas and I just go minimal every year in what I display and I need to get rid of some of the items. I have a wicker coffee table that is loaded with Santa’s that I used to collect years ago and as much as I love to see them, I just don’t want to spend a day taking them out and putting them on display; too much trouble for me now. I told you Ivy would jump straight up in the air; I don’t understand that one either, but it is funny when they do it. I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of Charlie all “prettied up”. Enjoy your afternoon!
Carol and Molly
xoxoxo
Yes, Carol and Molly, I recall that you did tell me that! And she did jump straight up. Charlie is home now. I will take pics of him for tomorrow. I used to have a snowman and santa collection, but no longer have it.
Good morning! I was going to say the same about the hose, I think if you drain it well you can leave it outside.
The weather here is the same, today it will be 80 and tomorrow 59. Today will be the last day for shorts for awhile and I am ok with that.
Have a wonderful day you three!
Pretty cool here. I seldom wear long sleeves, but it’s long sleeve weather today. And most of the trees haven’t even turned colors yet.
Can you drain the hose, and then leave it outside? Possibly pound a big nail into the fence and then hang it from that? That’s what I do with ours, and we live in the Rocky Mountains. I just try to keep it out of direct sunlight.
I have a nail I hang it on. I drained it last year, and left it out there. But then when I went to use it in the spring, it had holes in it. So I don’t know what’s going on. I really have no room in here.