Friday, January 11, 2008

Gift bags & boxes

Here it is, 17 days after Christmas and we still have a cardboard box and a gift bag, still on the floor left over from Christmas. I wanted to buy the cats each a special Christmas toy, but Jimmy said no, that they already have enough store bought toys that they don't play with as it is. And as much as I hate to admit it...he's right.

Just as soon as the house emptied out after all the Christmas hoopla the cats began jumping in and out of this box and gift bag and having a great time. I'm still waiting for them to get tired of them and go on to something else, but as I walked by them a few moments ago I snapped this picture...so today is still not the day to throw out these items that we have been tripping over on a daily basis.

The cats have managed to tear out the side of the gift bag and make themselves a side opening...probably for a quick escape when one cat blocks the main entrance don't you guess? All three of the cats take their turns hiding and jumping out at each other and it's really quite a show and keeps us amused. I think only cat lovers can probably appreciate and understand how Jimmy & I can be amused over watching the cats play.

I just went into the kitchen to peer out the window to check the outdoor thermometer. It's 50ºF and wet outside. While looking out I saw a large flock of doves foraging for seeds on the ground below the bird feeders. Our bird feeders have been another joy during these wintry gray days. Every type of bird that comes to the feeders now are coming in large flocks and it's a sight to see a flock of bright red Cardinals, especially on that one day that it snowed. They really stood out against the white snow. A couple of times I think I have spotted quail under the feeders. I do know that they live beyond the creek and in the fields behind our house, so it's very likely that they would come up to get the cracked corn and other seeds that fall from the feeders.

We had a 20º drop in temperature in the last couple of days and some very strong wind gusts. On Wednesday some large trees were blown over on our road, but other than the trees falling we didn't see where any of them caused any damage. Last night we had very strong winds & heavy rain that made our driveway look like a raging river and the lightning and thunder caused one of our cats who doesn't mind the rain at all (Jybow) to seek comfort on Jimmy's lap. Usually Jybow heads for a bed and slides up under the bedspread and stays there until she feels it's safe enough to come out again. But last night she wanted Jimmy to hold her as the thunder was extra loud & booming. Jimmy said she was trembling...poor kitty.

Yesterday they delivered more wood to the barn site during the "tornado watch" so Suzanne & I covered it up with more plastic and anchored the plastic down with 6"x 6"scrap pieces of the posts. The new barn structure is still standing today after all that wind last night and that's good. The old barn hasn't fallen yet either and that's another piece of good news because the horses would be injured if that barn fell...it's really in bad shape and hence the reason for the needed new barn.

Megan & Sharon stopped by on their way to church on Wednesday afternoon and we played Phase 10 until it was time for them to leave. We managed to talk Jimmy into playing with us and while playing Sharon came up with an idea for a 'Special Hat' with a large "L" for those to wear when they can't move forward for three hands in a row of play. Can you guess what the "L" would stand for? (Loser). Of course she was just kidding, sort of, but she might introduce her new hat design when her sister plays next with us and keep it hid until her sister fails to move forward for three hands in a row. Then she'll plop that hat right on her sister's head.

I'm still waiting for Brian and his family to come over and play some games with us. It's really lots of fun and sometimes we order pizza. I promise I won't cook! hehehe.

10 comments:

... Paige said...

that's about like a 1year old getting this really cool toy. Take it out of the box and and the child plays with the box.

Anonymous said...

Cats have so much fun at play.

Your bird feeder reminds me I have a big bucket of some out in the garage. I have a view of my neighbors garage from my kitchen window. I wonder if I could pitch some over there onto the roof and get to see some of those lovely cardinals. Surely you don't have them all at your place *wink*

Hunter said...

We didn't buy Tigger anything this year either. He loves cardboard boxes and plays and naps in them for hours. One time he had six boxes scattered all over the house.

He also loves to cuddle up with the quilts. One day I was looking all over for him and he was completely under a quilt napping.

Hope you're staying warm. It's so funny. I had the fans all going yesterday and I almost turned on the room air conditioner!

Hugs.
Darilyn

Cheyenne said...

Just about everything is a toy to a cat. Our two keep us entertained all the time when they aren't sleeping, which is most of the time. Every time we come home from grocery shopping, they get a new box to play in.

doubleknot said...

Love to watch cats play. Our Moocher isn't much of a player he would rather just lounge about but I did used to see him playing with a piece of rug in the yard till it got lost.

JunieRose2005 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JunieRose2005 said...

There's nothing more fun than 'cat watching,' especially when they are playing!

(lol- sorry- I messed up the above comment!)


Junie

Rachel said...

Gosh, am I behind in my reading! Looks like the barn is going well and I'm glad the winds didn't do any damage. I think you all had more rain/wind/storms than we did here. Jimmy looks cute in his overalls!

I'm glad the cats are enjoying the bags and boxes. They always love those things and I'm glad you are letting them have their fun!!

Susie said...

I bet those cardinals are something to see! We don't have them in CA.
Thanks for your prayers Sandy..
xo

Kerri said...

I just got a brown shopping bag out for Jasmine to play in. She's been having fun :) Thanks for the reminder of how much cats love bags and boxes. We'll be bringing another one (Max[ine])in the house next week after her pre-op check at the vet. Jasmine needs a new 'sister' to replace Hanna :)
Lucky you to get whole flocks of cardinals. We only see 2 or 3 occasionally.
Glad the big winds didn't cause any damage!