Meet Junie

Meet the latest addition to our family! This is Juniper Berry, aka Junie!

This past June, or sweet little Penny cat died, and we spent several months in mourning. Then, finally, my husband and I knew it was time to get another cat.

Junie is an odd-eyed white. She has one gold eye and one blue! This was her first photo at the shelter.

One day on my train ride home from work, I saw a post on Facebook showing a cute white cat that needed a home. I showed the post to Terry, and he agreed that her description sounded like just the kind of cat we wanted.

Junie at the shelter. She really wanted to be adopted by someone!

We emailed the shelter, which specializes in rescuing cats and dogs over 5 years of age from kill shelters, and taking them into their no-kill facilities.

Meeting Junie at the shelter.

We filled out the paperwork online, and went in for a visit.

Terry holding Junie at the shelter.

Needless to say, I fell in love with her right away! She was living at the shelter in the "cat room" where the cats roamed free, and was getting along with them very well. This is something we wanted in our next cat. She was very friendly and let anybody pick her up and cuddle her, and she purred up a storm!

Junie in her new home.

While the shelter took a few days to complete our background check, we went to visit her once more. And on December 22nd, we went in, signed the papers, and Junie was officially ours!

She likes to sit by the heat vents for warmth.

Junie loves getting petted!

On our vet's recommendation, we isolated Junie upstairs, away from Phoebe, until we knew for sure that she hadn't contracted any diseases at the shelters she had been since August. Once she got the all-clear, it was time for Junie and Phoebe to meet!

Meeting Phoebe. They stared at each other from their shoeboxes.

Well, at first, Phoebe did a lot of growling and some hissing. She will not let Junie get too close! But both cats seem fascinated with one another. We have to watch their interactions carefully, and have kept their visits to only a couple times a day at first. We've also let both cats smell where the other cat sleeps and eats. I'm hoping, in time, they will become good friends.

Junie and Phoebe having a meeting under the Christmas tree.

Junie is our little Christmas Cat, and we look forward to new cat adventures in 2012!

She loves a sunny window!

Fragrant Spring Blooms!

I so look forward to the weekends! But this weekend has been unseasonably cold and gloomy.

So I decided to bring a little bit of spring beauty indoors!

I love fragrance in the garden, and I love to bring it indoors whenever I can. Today, I picked some lily-of-the-valley. The fragrance has always been one of my favorites!

I love their little nodding heads!

The grape hyacinths are past their prime, but still have some buds left at the tops.

I thought they would look nice in this tiny blue 3-vase set!

Grape hyacinths really do smell like grapes!

I threw in some Siberian bugloss as well. No fragrance, but very airy and abundant in the garden.

And, of course, some lilacs!

The blue milk bottle vase looks prettier in the window!

There are two types of lilacs in our garden.

The lighter, bluish ones are from a woody, older lilac that was growing at the house when I moved in.

The more purply ones are from a Persian lilac I planted 17 years ago.

Lilacs don't last long in a vase, so I can only enjoy them for a day before I have to go out and pick more!

Lilacs are another one of my favorite scents!

I hope you're all enjoying the sights and smells of Spring!

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Note that many of the most beautiful and fragrant flowers are poisonous to cats! We love our two kitties too much to leave these flowers anywhere that would pique their curiosity. Even dropped petals, if eaten, can be deadly. So please take precautions, and if you bring in any plants, don't take chances. Put them behind glass or in locked areas away from your kitties!

Here's a helpful list of plants that are poisonous to cats:

http://www.russianblue.us/plants.html

Love Is All You Need

For the first time this Christmas, I put my doll-sized Victorian settee near the tree. On it, I placed my antique doll.

The cats were jealous. "How come the doll gets her own beautiful chair, and we have to use the human-sized furniture?" they wondered.

Well, somebody (I'm not namin' names) began chewing on the doll's dress. I had to put the doll away for safekeeping.

"It's all OURS!" they gleefully mewed. "We have our own little settee!"

And with that, the cats jumped onto the beautiful settee and made themselves at home.

"This is the life! What a very nice place for us kitties to sit and relax," said Penny.

"We must tell those humans to leave this settee here for us permanently!" said Phoebe.

And so, the kitties got their wish. The little settee was left in the parlor after Christmas was over. And the kitties rejoiced. And they were so happy, they wanted the world to share in their happiness.

So they made this video for all of you to enjoy. "We wish all the humans and animals in the world Peace and Happiness and Love for all of 2011!"

The End.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day is here!

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday. This year, we will spend Christmas at my brother's house, and tomorrow will get together with my husband's family. We are both so lucky to have our families close by.

This morning, Terry and I exchanged gifts.

The cards have all been delivered and are displayed on our door.

The mistletoe is hung in a most convenient place!

I bought myself an early Christmas present. I just couldn't resist this beautiful Christmas lamp!

I love this framed lithograph Terry picked out for me a few years back. The image contains so much of the things I love!

This penguin and polar bear bring a bit of cheer to our chilly winter!

I usually put this buggy near the tree. This year, I also decided that the antique doll and settee would also make a nice vignette near the tree.

The buggy contains my 3 teddy bears: Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat and Cocoa Wheats.

Penny approves of this year's vignette.

And so does Phoebe!

I used to place a beautiful handmade lace tree skirt under our tree. Then Penny came along. She is very mischievous around the tree. The lace tree skirt had to be replaced with a white sheet. Many of our beautiful ornaments have to stay packed away because Penny thinks the tree is one giant Cat Toy Holder.

Little angels waiting for Santa.

Have a very Merry Christmas!