Mollie and the Bracelet

Anything can turn into a cat toy, even a bracelet.

Comfortable Lollie

It doesn't look comfortable to me.

But she doesn't seem to mind.

Cat Fight

Who will win? Will the claws come out?

It looks like Mollie is going to back down.

Sleeping Mollie

Both cats love to sleep, almost as much as they like to eat.

Rat (or Mouse) Loves Rice

Some of you know that I use Rat Loves Rice as sort of an internet handle. But I don't know if all of you know why. It comes from a Chinese pop song named 老鼠爱大米. That translates to Rat (or Mouse) Loves Rice. The Chinese word for rat and mouse is the same. Here is an English version of the song. The grammar is pretty bad, but you will get the basic point.

Camp Porch

A line of rocking chairs that have sat on the camp porch for as long as I can remember.

Me and My Lovey

Some people cuddle with stuffed animals, Mollie cuddles with people's feet.

More of the Movers

The truck is ready and waiting for more stuff.

Let's get this mattress in the truck.

Yes, even the AC unit goes in the truck.

A dresser only takes one person.

But a wardrobe actually takes 2 people to move.

Moving, Asian-style

My neighbor left Asia at the same time as me, but she was coming back in 6 months so she hired a team of movers to put all her furniture and stuff in storage.

The movers were an interesting and exciting experience. I love the red banner used to carry three trunks at once.

Or maybe 5 boxes at once.

One little Asian man carrying a mattress.

Uh Oh! The truck is almost full. Looks like we are going to have to make 2 trips.

Sleeping Kitty

An unmade bed is also a cat magnet.

Homemade Pretzel Rolls

I tried making homemade pretzel rolls a few weeks ago. I wasn't completely happy with the results so I will wait to post a recipe until I find one that I like better. I made mine in the bread maker using my break maker pretzel recipe.

It is so much easier then kneading dough by hand. I love the bread maker.

Once the dough was ready, I divided each batch into 12 pieces.

Then we tried to fashion each segment into a pretzel shape.

Then we let them rise.

After rising, they needed to be boiled.

Turning once.

My parents had found a big container of pretzel salt at a store in Amish country. Guess I will be making lots of pretzels.

After boiling, I brushed egg whites of the top of the pretzels and sprinkled them with salt.

Camp Art

Art at an angle.

Cats and Coats

I am pretty sure a coat laying on the floor or on a chair is a cat magnet.

Shopping in Amish Country

I live close to Amish country. After a nice little drive, you can be in a land of farms and little country stores.

My parents like to make the drive every few months to buy cheese and meat. This store is owned by the Amish so there is no electricity inside and no photos inside.

This is their favorite butcher.

They make the best sausage.

And you also get to see some beautiful scenery.

Lollie and the Bird

This is one of the most annoying cat toys ever invented. It makes a high pitched chirping noise when they play with it. Of course, they love it.

More Home-Made Earrings

Hearts for sappy days.

Beads from the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit in DC.

Small blue beads and JOY.

And Steelers\Penguins fan fare.

Bottles

I know they are just filled with colored water.

But these bottles made an interesting subject to photograph.

The only problem was that they were high above my comfortable line of sight.

Jealous

Just like human sisters, one always wants what the other one has.

Fall Flowers

I really like these flowers.

They are a perfect compliment to the wooden fence.

And some even add a splash of color.

Christmas Cookie Surprise

Yes, I am really blogging about Christmas cookies in May. Timely posts aren't really my thing. I like to write posts ahead which is pretty funny since my material is so behind.

Any way, I went to a cookie exchange in December. I decided to try something new, so I used this recipe Yeah, my cookies looked nothing like that. They actually turned out looking pretty bad, but they tasted pretty good.

I started with colored sugar cookie dough.

I used red, green, and white dough.

Which I rolled out and cut into circles.

Then I placed the circles on the baking sheet and put mini chocolate chips in the center of each circle.

I placed a second circle on top. And used a fork to pinch the top and bottom together.

Then decorate and bake.

Not the prettiest cookies but still yummy.