She'll Purr For You, Too!

Meet Patch. She's 13--that's 91 in cat years! She rules the roost at our house. But We. Have. A. Problem. Aunt Julie, The Pop'r Queen, is coming to visit, and she's deathly allergic to cats!

We picked up Patch in 1996 at the local Animal Shelter, when she was a year old. Mama Cat, our kitty of 21 years, had just died. The girls wanted another companion.

Patch doesn't do much anymore but lie around. Oh, and she purrs like a motorboat gearing up for a race across the pond--you can hear her Evinrude running from clear across the room! She does like to go out and wander in the garden. And sometimes her curiosity gets the best of her, and she ends up locked in the neighbor's garage!

This Pretty Kitty officially belongs to The Wild One, who took this photo, BTW. But you know who feeds her, grooms her and tidies up after her, right? Dear Old Mom. That would be me!

Aunt Julie loves Patch, too. But she gets all sneezy, and runny, with swollen throat and eyes, as soon as she comes in our house! Soccer Boy, too, gets the sneezles around Patch. But his favorite thing to do when he's here is haul that kitty around. He buries his face in her thick fur, and they purr to each other. Never mind that Soccer Boy ends up with swollen eyes, just like his mom. He and Patch are dear friends.

Remind me to stock up on lots and lots of Allegra and Benadryl for the impending visit. A good time is guaranteed for all!

Jazzy Blueberry Scones

Dear Old Mom always said, "If you can't bake 'em from scratch, just jazz 'em up!" I followed her practical advice this morning, for a yummy Sunday morning treat.

Our neighbors just returned from a trip to the lake, and we took care of their cats while they were gone. By way of thanks, Ann brought us some Blueberry Lemon Scone mix, from Jill's Jams, Mixes & More.

I have to be honest--I've always been leary of prepared mixes. Maybe it's because my Grandma was such a wonderful from-scratch cook, and because my Mom, at least, jazzed up a mix to add flavor, texture and nutrients to the recipe. Of course I never thought about the nutrious part when I was a kid, but it was always there!

So I did what Mom would do--I jazzed up these delicious scones, and served them to the family as a Sunday morning surprise! A pint of fresh blueberries makes baked goods all the more scrumptious, doesn't it? My husband had brought home a gorgeous watermelon yesterday, so our breakfast fest was complete!

Would You Like Geraniums With Your Coffee?

I've been round and round with four scraggly geranium plants I adopted after my Mom passed away. Dear Old Mom always had such a green thumb--I seem to have a decidedly brown one! When I was growing up, we had geraniums blooming--both inside and outside--all year long!

The Sad Sack plants I've been tending for a couple of years are part of the garden that my girls helped plant at Mom & Dad's house. We put four of Mom's geraniums in pots, and I've been overseeing them ever since. They seem to do the best in the summer, when it's hot & humid; in the winter, I'm lucky if I get a few green leaves and an occasional blossom out of them!

Part of my problem, I know, is that these Mediterranean-born plants are water-logged. They're outside on my deck for the summer, and we've been getting a lot of rain recently. My sister also told me that geraniums love to "feed"--in other words, I should do something about fertilizing them.

I'm a bit wary of commercial fertilizers, so my sis recommended coffee grounds. Does anyone out there in the Blogosphere know about this home remedy? I've taken all four of these pitiful plants, transplanted them together in a larger pot, and fertilized them with grounds from my kitchen counter percolator.

Please let me know if there's something else I should--or should not--be doing. It's been two days, and I'm already seeing new blossoms. Coffee & geraniums might be kissin' cousins--who knew?