Memorial Day Weekend Selfies

 We are celebrating, or rather we are honoring those who gave all to keep us free. Why, yes, we should celebrate them! They are heroes afterall!

We are a day early, because petcretary has to work on Memorial Day. 

This picture looks a lot better in B & W, due to strange lighting...

Petcretary was first in the door at Teddy's Tuesday Teaser, along with three others! An she scored a double firstie as she was first with the correct answer as well! Hooray!

She knew it, because sometimes she sees movies at her work...and they played this one for which the little island was famous for.

Here is the picture she guessed:

This is the beautiful CAMEO ISLAND in Zakynthos, Greece!   

Fans of the Mamma Mia! movie may well recognize Cameo Island as the wedding venue in the film. Cameo is a tiny island off Laganás in Zákynthos. It is a lush, green, and stunning southern Ioanian island of the Greek archipelago. A tiny swinging wooden bridge leads from the town over to the small island where there you can bathe on a pebble beach or relax with a cool beverage at the bar. White scarfs hang from a line over the beach, waving in the wind. They are the icon of the small island.

 

Here are the badges she got:

I'm a Frequent Flyer in the FIRST COMMENTER department!

I was the FIRST RIGHT GUESSER on the Teaser post of May 25, 2021….I’m a FREQUENT FLYER in the “FIRST” department!!!

Petcretary had other things she wanted to post for us, but she'll save that for another time...

Meanwhile, take some time to remember and think about the price paid to purchase  the freedom we have here. And after that, enjoy the holiday; Memorial Day.

Have fun and join us in the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop, hosted by the Kitties Blue.

Selfies For Victoria Day Weekend

Yes, Its a holiday weekend in Canada!

Petcretary says she misses being there on special days like this one. 

She is working this weekend, too...so we are posting some selfies we made a couple of years ago...you might have seen these, then again, maybe not!

What's the holiday??

Why, its Victoria Day. Its the day that Canada celebrates the birthday of Queen Victoria. She was the first Queen of Canada.

Petcretary once again managed to be one of the first commenters at Teddy's Tuesday Teaser. So of course she got the first commenter badge too! Same as last weeks, and also the right but not first badge...cause well, she was correct with her answer but not quite fast enough! Oh well!! It is a fun feature each week, but having said that, that whole blog is a fun blog! Pay a visit if you haven't ever been there! HERE!

We had to say sad goodbyes to Speedy.The HouseBunny.

Speedy

There were others too who left for the RB, but we ourselves were not familiar with them...Tubby a Cat Scout, and also from Cat Scouts; the Denmaster's Husband. Some kitties are very busy with that group, but us pups do not romp there...We with them our sincere condolences and sympathy.  May they  Rest in Peace.

Come hop along with us in the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop! Its fun!! We thank the Kitties Blue for hosting the hop each week!

In Loving Memory Of Speedy

Speedy, the famous Bunny of Blogville has become an Angel. You can visit his blog and leave your condolences for his family, by clicking this caption.

Selfies On Sunday!

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Here we are once again on a Sunday. Wow the days fly by! Petcretary has been busy with all kinds of this and that, so she doesn't always get to let us visit...sometimes we get a few done and then its like 3 am...sheesh, get to bed, we need to sleep too, LOL/BOL! We have not forgotten our friends, let us assure you all of that! *She* just says its hard to keep up! Oh well...

We watch her dragging watering cans to all her little oak tree saplings, and to the other transplanted perennials...it is SO dry here, we really need a bunch of good rainy days, even though we hate them, the plants need it.

And of course she has to go to her work, several shifts each week...we hear her talking to pawppy about reducing her hours to maybe 2 shifts a week...sort of like a semi retirement! What? She needs tires?? BOL!

She has to mow our yard too, she won't allow pawppy to attempt that chore, the ground here is uneven and full of holes...mole trails and dug out holes, complements of us...Hmmm, sorry pawppy, but we want to help you get rid of those pesky varmints. He still has some issues with his mobility from all his back problems and surgery last year...but he thinks he is very slowly getting better. He pretty much does everything as he did before. It sure would be nice to have a garden hand to help with that, but who is going to pay him?? Meanwhile it adds plenty of steps to her Fitbit, LOL!

We had some nights when it was quite frosty, we can see damage on some of the plants, but things are perking up now. We hope that maybe the frost made the black walnut harvest very minor, as those things are such a mess each fall...Maybe soon the garden plants can be left outside all the time...its a pain to lug all the containers into the back porch each night...but better than losing them to the frosts.  There are a whole lot of self seeded cilantro seedlings coming up in one large planter box, so we have to cover that up, its too big to bring inside. Earlier today, as she was watering the plants, she noticed a lot of scraggly columbine plants. She thought they were frost bitten, but no, they were worm bitten. UGH:(                     So she had to pick off dozens of little green worms that thought they had hit the buffet of their lives...um...no way!

The other day, we were closely watching the neighbor's kitty, when his family came outside and chatted with petcretary for a wee bit. The kitty's name is Sparkle!! (A boy...petcretary sort of grinned to herself when she heard that name...).  Anypaws, she had a bunch of nip cutting in her hand from trimming them...so she threw them over the fence to Sparkle...and he had the hugest nip fest ever!! He was a space cadet kitty...and we all laughed and enjoyed his antics...rolling, kicking the larger sprigs, jumping in the air, and so on:). It was like he's never had any nip before. He is a young grey/brown tabby, and is very friendly and came right up to the fence...(and of course the camera was in the house)...best he doesn't try coming into our yard, though...we might not like that...afterall, he is NOT our Pipo...He wasn't outside when more nip clippings were harvested, so she threw them in their driveway for him to find later...

Here are our selfies for this week's Sunday Selfies:

Deep in my own thoughts, but not looking at petcretary, BOL!

Since Google is being mean and taking our Feedburner away, does anyone know how to add a widget to add a subscribe to Mail-Chimp Button??  You can subscribe to the Bloglovin widget we already have. We use that, and its pretty good, have used it for many years already. Trying to get a CSV list of my current subscribers is a wicked process even if you follow all the directions. Phooey. You all might need to resubscribe once/if we get the new widget(s) up and running. Sigh...

 Last Tuesday at Teddy's Teaser we were the one and only 'firsties' through the door! Where were the others?? Still snoozing, LOL! But then, when we had found the spot that was what we were looking for, we started to read all about it...and thus we were not first with our right answer! Oh well...that's how it goes:) 

I was the one and only FIRST COMMENTER on the Teaser post of May 11, 2021! I was an EARLY BIRD!

 Yesterday was Straw Hat Day...well, we missed it, (Shhh, she forgot...)...so here is an flashback of us wearing our straw hats...

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We made a memento/card for BearCat, who recently had to become an Angel Kitty.

BearCat

Join in all the fun with your own selfie, at The Kitties Blue, who faithfully host this feature each week! Thanks, Kitties Blue, we love you!!

Happy Mother's Day, 2021

 

It is Mother's Day, 2021

So we made this card for her...sorry we look so serious, it was a sunny day! But we love her! Any and every day!

She has to be at her work today...all the moms and grannies there need her more than we do so we are not grumbling too much.

Here is a fun pic of petcretary when she was visiting the Netherlands as an infant...She's with her paternal Opa and Oma.

Here she is with her own Mom:

And here she  is with our unfurbros, from 2013:

 Well, last Tuesday, petcretary was first in line at Teddy's Tuesday teaser, along with many others. It was like a mini stampede! But she didn't have the right answer soon enough! LOL! At least she did *have* the correct place!

These were the other students who were early enough: Petcretary Sharon,Timmy, Jackie, Katty, Csilla

So these were the badges that were distributed:

 

WOW – we had a BIG CROWD of First Right Guessers on the Teaser post of May 4, 2021 and I was ONE OF THEM!!!!

Well, that all the fun stuff...

But we did make some cards for new Angel furs.

Archie from My Three Moggies

Newt  You can read about him here, at Dash Kitten's blog.

We are in the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop, hosted by The Kitties Blue

In Purr-suit Of Flavours ~ Cinco De Mayo

 

Well, its the first Wednesday of the month once again. Today is May 5th, which is also known as Cinco De Mayo.  So our recipes have Mexican flavor profiles...We are hosted by Skoko and Tyebe from The Canadian Cats, and DaPhenny and DaNelly the Weimie Twins from EasyWeimaraner.

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Here is a yummy dip for veggies...or chips if you eat those:

Creamy Mexican Dip

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• ½ cup prepared salsa
• ½ avocado
• 1/3 cup cilantro
• ½ tsp cumin
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine Greek yogurt and salsa until well incorporated.
2. Gently fold in remaining ingredients.
3. Refrigerate to allow flavors to meld together. (1 hour is sufficient).
4. Enjoy this tasty low calorie vegetable dip with your favorite cut up veggies.

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Mango Guacamole Dip

 Ingredients:

• 2 avocados
• 1 mango, peeled and sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced and seeded.
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 Tbsp cilantro
• 2 Tbsp lime juice, (fresh squeezed is the best.)
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Smash the avocado in a bowl.
2. Add onion, red pepper, and garlic.
3. Gently fold in mango, cilantro, and lime juice.
4. Refrigerate to allow flavors to meld together. (1 hour is sufficient).
5. Enjoy with cut up veggies.

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Cilantro-Chicken Chilaquiles with Crumbled Queso Fresco

Ingredients:

• 6 corn tortillas, cut into 6 wedges each
• 1 7 oz can salsa verde
• 1 4 oz can diced green chile peppers
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
• 4 oz queso fresco, crumbled (1 cup)
• 1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup snipped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion (1 small)
• 1 medium lime, cut into wedges
• 1/2 cup light sour cream (optional)
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 °F. Arrange tortilla wedges in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until beginning to lightly brown. Cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes. (They will harden during cooling.)
• Place the cooled tortilla wedges in a medium nonstick skillet. In a medium bowl stir together salsa verde, chile peppers, the water, and olive oil. Pour salsa verde mixture evenly over tortilla wedges. Top with chicken. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 3 minutes or until tortilla wedges are slightly softened.
• Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese, tomatoes, cilantro, and red onion. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes to allow flavors to absorb and the cheese to melt slightly.
• Serve with lime wedges and, if desired, sour cream.

 

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20-Minute Taco Skillet

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small bell pepper, cored, diced
• 1/2 large onion, peeled, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 12 oz ground beef
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 cup black beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 cup canned diced tomato, drained
• 1/4 cup Mexican cheese blend

Directions:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and onions and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, ground beef, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently and breaking beef up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
• Add the zucchini and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
• Stir in beans and tomatoes. Top with cheese and cover until melted, about 2-3 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips over chopped Romaine lettuce or roasted spaghetti squash and top with hot sauce if desired.

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and onions and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, ground beef, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently and breaking beef up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
• Add the zucchini and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
• Stir in beans and tomatoes. Top with cheese and cover until melted, about 2-3 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips over chopped Romaine lettuce or roasted spaghetti squash and top with hot sauce if desired.

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Chipotle & Orange Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp frozen orange-juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 tbsp finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. (from a can)
  
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp unsulfured molasses
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• Preheat grill or broiler.
• Whisk together orange-juice concentrate, chipotle pepper, vinegar, molasses and mustard in a small bowl.
• Lightly oil the grill or broiler rack. Season chicken with salt and grill or broil for 2 minutes. Turn, brush with the glaze and cook for 4 minutes, brushing occasionally with glaze. Turn again, brush with the glaze, and cook until the center is no longer pink, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

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We hope you will enjoy these recipes, we love em! Well, the peeps do, They won't let us have any...BOL!

This is a blog hop, In Purr-suit of flavors, Click this caption to see all the others or to join with your own yummy flavors.   ***  You can click here for the other co-host, The Weimie Twins

Sunday!! Selfies! (Petcretary Is Frustrated...)

 Hello everyone!

Its Sunday again, so that means its time for our selfies and all the other important stuff we want to tell you about. Or woof about as the case may be.

A little while ago we showed you our Weeping Cherry tree...well by now all the blossoms are gone, and its all green with leaves. But: There is a smaller tree in front of it, called a dogwood. Our pawrents brought it here from Pawppy's home in Washington DC, many years ago...along with a purple lilac. The lilac is slow to thrive, and it only puts out a few blooms, and the dogwood, while it doesn't bark...(so then WHY is it called a dogwood??),  it does bloom now, it took many years for that to happen, so we love to see it, even if it isn't a 'prize specimen'!

Here you can see the cherry tree in leaf, the dogwood 'barking' with blossoms and under that is the top of our little lilac. Perhaps it needs more sunlight, its quite overtaken by the other two larger trees.

This is one of the very few, soon to blossom sprigs on our lilac...well, it tries, LOL!!

 

Now you might ask, why is petcretary so frustrated?? Well, as many of you already know, if you have a widget on your blog's sidebar: Follow by Email, well, that comes from 'feed burner', and its going to be disabled at the end of June, so that it will no longer work to send all of you faithful followers an email letting you know that we have posted. So please use our Bloglovin widget and sign up that way, we use it and its pretty good. Sometimes it says the blog page is not available; but then after another try or two or three, its there. Must be a glitch from too many peeps trying to read a particular blog...but the notices DO get out. We've used it for years. Check it out!

We will try to get on Mail Chimp or another email server, and that is where the annoying things start to happen, since *she* is not technically inclined...sheesh! She's about to pull out her hair, LOL! Pawppy didn't even know what to do about it...of course his tech knowledge is of a very different than this kind of thing...

Well, if anyone knows what/how to do, could they help her out?? We want to have you easily be able to read our blog posts and not have to hunt in the web for them...they might get lost that way, BOL!

Well, at any rate we have made some cuties to cheer her up:

Last Tuesday at Teddy's Tuesday Teaser, Petcretary provided the picture that was the Teaser!

Muskoka region, Ontario, Canada; Picture provided by Angela Nirta, a (Catster) friend, who lives in  London, Ontario. Petcretary lived there before she came to Michigan!

 And she was in the crowded doorway to be first, a total of five were jamming the door! LOL!

Nobody was able to guess that place...not even any Canadians who visited the Teaser.
So it was a doozy or a whopper of a teaser!! These were the proffered badges:

I was one of FIVE (yes I said FIVE) students who were FIRST COMMENTERS on the Teaser post of April 27, 2021. Amazing!

 

My Teaser photo was used on the TEASER of April 27, 2021 AND it FOOLED EVERYONE!
YAY FOR ME!

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We had to say goodby over the past week, to some blogging furry ones. So sad...sheesh, will those doors to the RB ever stay closed?

Anyways in no particular order...here are the newest Angels that we knew about:

Pierre, from Sometimes Cats Herd You

Pip, from Catscue

Sophie, from Life At Golden Pines

We are hopping along with all the other Sunday Selfies at The Kitties Blue. Won't you join us, too? They faithfully put out this hop each week, and we thanks them for all their hard work. We love you all, Kitties Blue!