Real Life Cat Nabbers

 Two nights ago, it is 10 o'clock at night; I've just changed into my pajamas and there is a knock at the door. Gregory and I look at each other - shocked - because well, no one knocks on our door ever! (Except when we order pizza, of course.)

  I answer to find a random girl on our porch, introducing herself and mumbling something about a black cat they've been feeding, her cousin wanting it and do we know who it belongs to? Why yes, I reply, it's our cat Pockles.

 He's an outdoor cat who is virtually impossible to keep inside and has made his way into many of our neighbors' yards. Pockles always returns and seems to be smart enough to avoid the two busy roads near our house. If he doesn't make it back before we go to sleep, Gregory usually props open the garage door and he spends the night there. Pockles loves to hunt and chase all sorts of animals - which is part of the reason we try to keep him indoors. We have found many a mole, bird, mouse and rabbit shredded to bits in our yard. The other morning, we watched him chase a chipmunk halfway up a tree.

 It's in his blood. He's a savage. But we try to avoid the unnecessary rodent bloodshed and do our best to block his constant lunges out the front door. He's busted through screens and meow-howls until it drives us crazy and we have to set him free. I thought his hunting was our biggest concern with Pockles, the outdoor kitty. Now I have to worry about cat-nabbing, pot-smoking neighbors!

 This girl who had knocked on our door was inquiring whether we wanted our own cat back. She had been feeding Pockles for God knows how long and started to delude herself that he was homeless. First of all, he is quite large and well-fed. Secondly, he is super friendly. Neither of those qualities are very prevalent in feral, abandoned adult cats. Here's a lesson in animal behavior: if you feed an animal, it's going to come back to that same person or spot regardless of whether it is being fed somewhere else. It doesn't love you or need you, it's just following the gravy train.

 Apparently our neighbor is one of those (how do I put this?) annoyingly over-concerned with animal welfare know-it-alls. I care about animals too. That's why all of our pets are from shelters and I'll do my part to get strays off the street. But I also mind my own business and know the difference between a sick and healthy cat. She kept asking: do you want him? Does he have a place to sleep at night? Is the cat spayed or neutered? Yes, yes and YES! Thanks for the unnecessary public service announcement. These are your concerns on a summer night in June when a fat cat slouches into your yard for a snack?

 I walk over to this girl's house, right around the corner (our backyards border each other) and they have Pockles shut in the garage. Gee, wonder why he won't go home! Oh yeah, because he's locked in a garage. I have to freaking ID him through the window to say that yes, in fact, he is my cat.

 Then the door was lifted...like I'd been granted access to deliquent cat prison. Pockles makes a run for it and disappears into the night. Then I am blasted in the face with the stench of cigarettes and pot. Honestly, the smell of cigarettes was more offensive and I understood a little bit of their moronic behavior. They had invited Pockles over for some munchies and marijuana and then started to convince themselves that he was a stray. I will admit that our cat doesn't have a collar on... but that's because he manages to rip them off every time we try. He has a microchip and that's the best we can do other than put him in a harness that might drive him insane.

 I can only be thankful that this girl had more sense than her boyfriend and cousin, or whoever they were. The one kid stormed off, angry that he couldn't have the cat, and apparently he had driven from another neighborhood with the intent of taking Pockles home with him. We would have never known what happened to him! Ayla's little kitty, that was given to her after her 2nd birthday, would have just disappeared forever.

 The whole situation was so surreal and weird that I just said goodnight and walked home. The girl apologized for bothering us, but not really for being so stupid about the cat in the first place. It wasn't until later that I started to ask myself the obvious questions. How long had they kept him locked in the garage? Why at 10 o'clock did she start knocking on doors? Why do you think it's a good idea to feed a healthy, well cared for animal? A dog would have been one thing: but cats don't give a f*%k about their owners.

 Pockles was born outside (my mother found him as a kitten, alone, alongside a road. DUH! That's when you take it upon yourself to save an animal) and will always want to be outside. Both Gregory and I asked this girl to stop feeding Pockles and can only hope they don't get weird about this. In the past two days, he has run outside numerous times and won't come back until he's damn ready. It's just how he rolls.

 *** title of this post inspired by Abby McTiernan***

Just off of Main Street...

...Is a freakin' waterfall! 

 I mentioned this place, Glen Park, briefly in my last post... but it is such an amazing spot, that I had to give it more blog-attention. We discovered it a few weeks ago by accident. We had just finished dinner at The Irishman Pub and were looking at a small watermill behind the restaurant. Williamsville is a beautiful, little Sewickley-esque town, so we decided to explore a little further. Lo and behold, down a virtually unmarked sidewalk was a huge waterfall and idyllic park!

 It was almost as if the edges of our vision were blurred with fuzzy, soft clouds like in a dream sequence... a family-friendly "Happy Place" out of Happy Gilmore. Every bench and rock and tree was staged for a photograph; picnickers were sitting on blankets, drinking wine. A little family of ducks waddled around, so comfortable with people that we could sit right next to them while they took a nap.

 Gregory took Ayla and Jackson into the streams and ponds and went climbing next to the old Williamsville Mill. Their love of "exploring" and wading in water is epic and there was quite the temper tantrum when we finally had to leave at nightfall. 

"When do I get to go in the water?"

He fell on his butt almost immediately - but it's part of the adventure.

What do we do at a quiet pond? Throw rocks of course!

I had better close-ups of the ducklings with my phone, but this picture shows how enraptured we were!

 Honestly, it is one of the most peaceful and quietly stunning parks I've ever visited. We took our first house guests, Eve and Matt to see it. Luckily, that night local high school students were taking their prom pictures in front of the waterfall (sure beats taking pictures in front of the garden at home!) and that was spectacular people-watching in itself.

Our prom-perfect pose.

 If we can expect to find places like this secretly tucked into neighborhoods all around Buffalo, I am thrilled to spend our summer exploring the city parks.

Wedding Wear

 Why is it so difficult to find a dress/shoes/jewelry to wear to a wedding? You know how it goes... you will see a nice dress in a store but not buy it because you don't have anywhere to wear it. Then you need to buy a dress and can't find one anywhere! And not only do I have to manage to dress myself, now there are three kids to keep looking fabulous! (Gregory's got his own attire covered, seriously, I rely on his advice in the fashion realm.)

 I was doing a some light (obsessive) web-surfing on Etsy and saw this great idea. I cut out cardboard templates, sewed the pieces together and then to the shirt/onesie. I think it turned out pretty well! I can't wait to see their cute little bodies with their "ties" on!

The casual cat walk-by makes me think that Koko might want his own formal wear.

 Sewing these two shirts for Jackson and Elliot took much less time than I spent obsessing over dresses online. Note to self: stop trying to buy evening wear from websites and just go to TJ Maxx.

Life and Potatoes

 When sunshine and temperatures above the 50s hit Buffalo, apparently this blog takes a back burner to all other activities. Summertime is here and I'm out of the winter slump. I've been sewing like crazy to finish old projects and try new things; I've been moving seedlings indoors and outdoors and then finally into the ground in the backyard. I've been serving popsicles and filling baby pools.

 We have spent the past couple of weekends exploring this new city, driving to ritzy suburbs and drooling over potential real estate. We had our first houseguests thanks to Megabus and Eve and Matt's willingness to ride it so early in the morning! We're stopping for ice cream, trying "where the locals eat" types of restaurants and visiting quite possibly the most amazing park I've ever seen. We stumbled upon Glen Park after eating dinner in Williamsville - but that oasis deserves it's own post.

  With all of this activity, I may have let my tomato seedlings fry under the flourescent light - but our potato condo is a glorious sight. I found the idea on a gardening blog and have been amazed at how well it is growing. Most mornings, while the kids are munching on their waffles and honey... I let Baxter out in the backyard and sneak a peek at our sprouting potato plants. I must admit, I am quite proud. Thankfully, Gregory is here to actually build the thing, but I'm going to take full credit for the idea!

Minimal lumber and some weed fabric on the bottom.

Nothing says container gardening like Jackson's long hair and dress.

Potato "seeds" from the garden center - supermarket potatoes will not work. Planted on April 22nd.

We had growth in about two weeks! May 7th

By May 18th we needed another row of wood.

Elliot models his crawling acrobatics around the potato condo.

Add baby for size scale: by Memorial Day we added four more rows! (After this photo of course).

 Looks like we'll be heavy on the carbs this fall when we harvest!

More than a Tourist Trap

Beautiful AND energy efficient

  I have visited Niagara Falls many, many times over the years. I rode the Maid of the Mist as a little girl, took our German exchange students to see the amazing waterfall, stopped on the way back from our Honeymoon trip to Toronto and just last summer, we brought the kids as a side note to scouting Buffalo.

  And being in such close proximity to it now, I wasn't really excited since I have seen it so many times. With all of the wonders to see in the world, I am the kind of person who rarely likes to visit the same place twice. Niagara Falls is a fun, touristy destination - but I wasn't really looking forward to the prospect of driving there every time we had visitors here in Buffalo. I'll take the kids on the Maid of the Mist, sure, but I'd much rather spend our weekends exploring our new city and other places around Lake Erie.

  But I might owe the Falls another visit to show my true appreciation for a hidden talent I have never considered before: hydro-electric power. Oh yes, that wonderful scientific feat that has given us the lowest electric bills I have ever seen! You might be thinking, "DUH", Buffalo has been receiving power from the Falls since 1896. I just never made the connection.

Our visit last summer

  Gregory and I both have been wondering how it was possible to have such low electric bills here. The rental house is smaller and has less overhead lighting and fans. Without cable, the TV isn't left on as background noise. We have less appliances plugged in here on a constant basis... but that didn't explain the difference of over $100 saved every month. We were beginning to wonder if we had just been crazily energy inefficient in Pittsburgh.

  The science alone is pretty damn impressive - but I am appreciative of the benefit to our bank account. God Bless you Niagara Falls and Niagara Diversion Treaty! Now anytime someone says that Buffalo must be an awful place to live because of the neverending winter... I will remind them that it isn't so bad because it costs us a third of the price to keep our house warm!

Good Clean Fun

Thank you KOA for a good, clean, fun "kamping" trip! 

 It was our first foray into the woods with three children - and thank God we had backup! We met up with family in Erie for the weekend, to continue the celebrations for Jackson's birthday. While the packing and loading of the car is NOT fun, relaxing around the campfire after a long day definitely IS fun. I love everything about camping (minus spiders): just the feel of a sleeping bag induces memories of giggling at summer camp and waking up in the middle of the night to hear strange animals in the woods.

We started with a picnic on Presque Isle; the weather was beautiful. The Darth Vader candle made a return on a brownie cake this time and everyone bought Jackson such cute, generous gifts.

The best thing about meeting up with family to camp - is that you can relax, philosophise about why the rapture didn't happen at 6 pm, and everyone is free to move at their own pace. The second best thing: they remembered everything we didn't! Extra chairs, a night-light lantern for the kids, a camping stove, oatmeal, more hot dogs (to cover for the ones that fell into the fire), paper plates, etc. I didn't even have to tend the fire once... which would have been a sad display of camping experience if our fire had lasted for only one hour. Matthew kept it going long into the night.

We stayed in a little "kabin" this time - just for the fear that if it did rain, I would feel very guilty making Elliot sleep in a puddle. So, yes, we wimped out a little bit, but our kids also have the tendency to get up and wander in the middle of the night. The cabin was clean, had the perfect amount of windows and Ayla and Jackson got their first taste of bunk beds.

 It's always a little tough making the kids fall asleep in the same room, but after Elliot and Jackson were passed out - Ayla made a little appearance at the campfire. She told an epic "scary" story about meeting a bear in a cave and punching him in the face, which then turned into a hybrid tale of both Rapunzel and Coraline.

 I'm so thankful that we have people in our lives that are willing to drive for two hours to spend the day with us! I had such a great time, the perfect beginning to summer. And ... I didn't see any spiders.

The Muppets. DUH.

 I was going to write about going camping this weekend... but must delay that post and give a shout out to my Muppets instead. Excitement, elation, giddiness, pee in my pants crazy happy don't quite describe what I feel about a real Muppet comeback.

 The rest of the world may have believed that the Muppets had lost their edge - but I haven't really been disappointed with anything Kermit related, well, ever. Muppets Take Manhattan may have a special place in my heart, along with countless years of Fraggle Rock, Muppet Babies, Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. But all of the recent movies are still pretty damn entertaining. I've never lost hope that the Muppets will reign supreme. I was just watching the first season of the Muppet Show the other day and snorting with laughter.

 Dancing chickens are always funny. ALWAYS.

 So check out the trailer...a new generation (and old - yeah Billy Crystal!) is giving props to the comic genius of pigs, cows, chickens and whatevers!