Michelle and Mannie (GA)
Member Since 2009
Good Morning LL!!
(Ahhhhhh.... elixir! Thanks Elsa), and Happy Catmint Caturday!
LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! Paw Prints Pizza is open and ready for business! They are running a Caturday Catnip special today, in honor of Catmint Caturday> well duh! They do EVERY Caturday. :roll:
AND! Still with lots of nip in those pies! They have even used their signature nip cheese.
Best order early! so. well. anyways.
Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and Double shot espressos, with beans from deep within the mountain slopes of Africa, AND.... for all my Mocha fans: a venti quad peppermint white chocolate mocha, with peppermint infused whip, garnished with peppermint candy chips and white chocolate shavings... It is my bean's fav! SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of peppermint and vanilla and chocolate and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, sprinkled with peppermint chips and a chocolate caramel drizzle.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good!
I hope everyone had a great day yesterday, and a great week. It has been a week off for me, from having the boys. Mom and Dad, aka Erin and Jason, were on vacation last week, and off on a three ay camping trip. They went to the West Coast area, Mora Campground, near La Push, specifically First Beach, Rialto Beach and Ruby Beach. ALot of beaches there! :shock: :lol:
They had a great time. It was William's first camping adventure, and from what I gear he did very well. They all shared the same tent. Boys slept great, mom and dad not so much, :lol: :lol: Seems that the boys were constantly rolling on top of them, kicking them, and sleeping on their heads. I guess that kept mom and dad up, but the boys slept through it. I can so see the scene! :lol: :lol: :lol: They ate all their meals via camp fire, and both boys now know the wonders of S'Mores made via the campfire. Nicholas kept telling mm over and over how good they were. YUPP!, that they are. The days were spent on the beaches. Is there any doubt that they didn't love the time there? 9AM, and Nichols was putting on his swim suit so he could head on out into the water. Too fun! They plan on many more camping trips, to which Nicholas replies: "Grammie!! Did you hear??? We get to go back!" How cool is that?
Monday was a hiking day for me.
I was out early at 5AM, and not back til late at 7PM.... I-) @-)
and that left no time for the Board and condos. I missed you guys! I rarely travel on holiday weekends, as the traffic here can be so challenging. but... of the days available Monday was the most favorable as far as the weather goes, so I took a chance and headed on out.
It was been a longggggggggggggggggggg one here. It was 7 hours on the road yesterday, sheshhhh... 3 hours over, 4 on the way home. I really do love that drive on SR 20, aka the North Cascades Highway, especially when one gets into the Rainy Pass, Washington Pass and the hairpin turns area. it is incredibly gorgeous there. unreal gorgeous. The traffic itself actually went rather smoothly, considering it was a holiday. coming home went really well too. it took longer, mainly becasue there is always someone that messes up those two lane roads for everyone else. Some butt-head that was traveling way below the speed limit, and would not use the pullouts. He had us all in this ridiculous caravan. LOL: we all took turns passing him. HAHA! Despite that we still moved, it just took a long time. The rest was great, I5 moved. fancy that.
I hiked the Cutthroat Pass Hike. The hike itself was great. wow, to die for scenery topside. This trail is another one that connects with the PCT topside. So that was my goal: to make the PCT connection, and explore some. Mission accomplished! I would have liked to have spent more time on the PCT, but by the time I relaxed some up there it was almost time to head back down. I did meet a few PCT through hikers. They were ecstatic: a few more miles to go and they would be at trails end in Canada. Cool. Anyways - wonderful views, nice hike. But it is long!!! Logged 12.5 miles today, climbed 1980 feet. At least the climb was gradual, so one didn't feel it too badly. As this week I do not have the boys (vacation week for their family) I hope to get in two more hikes before "Fall" officially gets here. The boys schedule will change alot come next week: more school days for Nicholas, and different swim days. So.... best get in what I can hike wise before the apple cart falls over. :lol:
Tuesday and Wednesday were catch up day at home. I have so many projects that need to be addressed, so we tackled some of those. The entire house carpeting was seam cleaned. The driveway and porches etc were power washed, Bleach! but I can now cross them off my "to do" list. YAY!!! The weather was cool, overcast and not so sunny, so it was nice in a way to save a couple of days where I didn't feel like I would be wasting a sunny day. :lol: :lol: I also made it out for a few local hikes, on trails near home. Meadowdale and Picnic Point saw my presence. The hikes were nice ones, mellow, and a great way to unwind from the "working chores". ;-) I am grateful to have such nice places near home.
Thursday was another hiking day for me.
Another hike where I was out early at 5AM, and not back til late at 7PM.... This day found me back on the North Cascades Highway, to tackle a hike called Maple Pass. it is one of my favorite hiking destinations. I missed last year, as the day I was set to go, the area had a massive mud slide that clsoed the access road for a few weeks... BUMMER! So I was elated to be able to go this year. It can be a challenging hike in that one does climb 2000 feet, over a course of 7 miles. ALot of up up and more up! :lol: :lol: Maple Pass offers outstanding views of the North Cascades, 360 degrees! AWESOME!! The hike up was a good one. wildflowers still in bloom, clear skies, and vistas at every turn. The upper portion of this hike is also another section of the Pacific Crest Trail. That in itself is awesome. It was been a longggggggggggggggggggg one here. It was 7 hours on the road yesterday, sheshhhh... 3 hours over, 4 on the way home. I really do love that drive on SR 20, aka the North Cascades Highway, especially when one gets into the Rainy Pass. It is incredibly gorgeous there. Had some interesting weather on the trip up there!
Friday was a family get together day. Me, Nicholas, William, Erin, and Jason spent the morning and early afternoon, at the beach, per Nicholas's request. We went to Juanita Beach. The weather was great, the afternoon was turning into a warm afternoon, like 82 (!!), so off we went! We did all of what he goes there for. Lots of play, and it was warm enough that he could swim in the water. He had such fun with that. I had also brought a pair of swim trunks for William, so he was able to really get in the water, and play as much as he wanted. He continues to love the very small waves, and had a blast. We dig William large hole in the sand, maybe 2 feet across and about a foot deep, which we had filled with water. OMG: that was a magnet for William. His own private little muddy sandy swimming hole. SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH! :lol: :lol: :lol: WHAT FUN! WHAT A MESS he was after that. :roll: :lol: :lol: They both were! William has really developed a fondness for it all, he just gets so excited when he sees the parks, the beaches, the rivers, He is so very much like his brother when he was that age. He just loved it.It was even more fun that mom and dad were there to partake in it all too. We also had a small picnic after our beach and park time. The ducks loved us! one stole half of Williams PBJ sandwich, another decided Nicholas's was just as good. "MOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ducks stole my lunch!" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: All around - really a terrific day. I bet both those boys slept well that night. AWESOME time at the beach.
Nicholas asked Friday if he could go swim that night. Who was I to say no. ;-) NOT ME!!!
Nicholas still loves going, and continues to do well in the pool. We are dealing with pool closures, for fall maintenance, as they gear up for fall scheduling. The good news there is that Lynnwood's BIG POOL IS NOW OPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday night though found us at Snohomish Aquatic Center.
He really does love that pool. They have great play stuff, ample space for swimming, and an area that does well for deep water. So we made good sue of it all. They also have a very nice lazy river, so of course we had to work our way through that too. Great time!
Nicholas still looks forward to our after swim Friday Night Burger Feast too. That is just so fun: burgers and fries, just him and me, with lots of fun stories. He was so happy to see that burger and fries combo show up after he swam. Somehow I think that is part of the magic of Friday night swims: that he gets burgers etc after his swim. :razz: Yesterday we again talked pool closures, as well as all our berry hunts, swimming in the rivers, and alot on his camping trip adventure. He was really into that discussion, and can't wait until the family can go again. He also talked alot about summer swim schedules, and the changes coming this fall. He was so excited. LOL: he got to sleep in a tent.
What fun time, talking through mouthfuls full of burgers and fries. :lol:
I am sitting here this morning, just like last week, trying to think what to write about the kitties.... and just like last week, thinking alot too about Mannie, and all the adventures he planned to for all the LL kitties. I so miss those days, and the fun, and relief from all the FD and the stress that comes with it. AT the risk of being repetitive, this is what I wrote last week - and will repost, as it really was much the same this week, even the part about Nicholas and Mannie. Yesterday was an interesting day in that Nicholas wanted to talk about Mannie, right after the duck stealing lunch thing, what the two have in common, well I have no idea! It is amazing and wodnerful on how much he remembers about Mannie. They were during his first two years inseparable, and the best of friends. He talked about all the things they did, from the nanners, to the food shares, to the play, to the home testing (he was my assistant, knew that the BG's meant, how to work the meter, etc), to the sleeps together, and Mannie's Garden. He knows that Nannie now lives in his garden, and that his kitty at home, Serval, has gone to play with Mannie there (Serval passed a few months ago). What an awesome discussion, and remembrance on Nicholas's part. he says near the end of this talk: " I miss him Grammie, but he is happy. Don;t worry, 'K?" How cool is that? The rest I wrote last week, but all of it continues to be true. More so on the things about Bug and Nicholas. "The kitties are doing well here, all three of them. The last three days that Nicholas has napped here, I have found Bug sleeping, or watching, just outside of Nichoals's door, on the threshold. To me, that was huge. Could it be that Bug may take over where Mannie left off? I always swore that Mannie and Nicholas were bonded, inseparable, perhaps his feline GA is making sure all will be well. I always felt that Mannie sent Bug to us. They are just so much alike. Lola continues to be Lola, wild crazy fun Lola. Still the ultimate escape artist. She loves the outdoors, it has been hard to keep her inside. Our escape artist continues to try and get out. After having a few hours out there she has decided that it was PRIMO (!!!!!) and tries every chance she gets to sneak on through that opening, when anyone goes in or out. She even paws at the door, with what I swear is an "open PLEASE" chant. :lol: :lol: She is relentless. ah Lola....never ever a dull moment with you.
Our resident escape artist has perfected her skills. FOUR times last Wednesday! Outside at all costs, in her opinion. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :-x :razz: :evil: :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: DH comes home, and I hear him outside talking to some one. I should have known,... he walks in with Lola in the crock of his arm, and says" "were you missing someone?" I had no clue she had done it again. :? :? :? She's getting good! On the plus side, he says she was just laying on the porch, which is under my "office" window, sunning herself. No wonder I kept hearing this kitty outside with this sweet meeeee-ooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww. I never occurred to me it was Lola. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: OMG! Well, catio prep has been bumped up on the list! Elsa is still dong well, darn active for an almost 18 year old. She sleeps alot, but what the heck: part of being a cat. She continues to be a very good lap cat of late: nice! With the warm weather she has been out in the yard alot. Lola is SO JEALOUS!!, and lets me know it whenever she sees Big Sis out in the yard. :roll: It is interesting that Bug just doesn't seem to mind that all. He is more than content to be a house cat. I can remember when Mannie was still with us, and I'd go hiking and how stressful it could be at times to be sure I was home in time for test-feed-shoot. Some of these distance hikes were a challenge and I'd always be rushing to make it home in time. :roll: Inevitably came those times when i was late. I'd walk into the door and Mannie, BJ and Elsa (this was before Lola and Bug), would all be waiting at the top of the stairs, right by the door entrance to the house. All there would be pacing. Mannie had this "YOU'RE LATE" dance he'd do. Bj would be hollering "WHERE"'S MY DINNER!!" and Elsa would be sitting there with "that look" :lol: :lol: :lol: All three of them would produce this blood oath that I had signed way back on the occasion on my first home late, where I swore I'd never ever be late again, or pay the consequences. sheshhhh, they were tough! Thursday night, and Monday too, were just like that, what with me being 3 hours late for dinner! DH had fed them, but they still knew I was late. There they sat, blood oath in their paws..... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Sorry kitties. somehow it all fits whit Normalcy in MusketeerVille! Kitties are good, and All are sound asleep as I write this.... Stay good kitties!" Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
cat_pet_icon
Have a great day everyone! Enjoy your Caturday. We have a birthday celebration for DH tonight. It should be a good time: family, lasagna, and Nicholas and William. PRIMO!

KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon
(Ahhhhhh.... elixir! Thanks Elsa), and Happy Catmint Caturday!LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! Paw Prints Pizza is open and ready for business! They are running a Caturday Catnip special today, in honor of Catmint Caturday> well duh! They do EVERY Caturday. :roll:
Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and Double shot espressos, with beans from deep within the mountain slopes of Africa, AND.... for all my Mocha fans: a venti quad peppermint white chocolate mocha, with peppermint infused whip, garnished with peppermint candy chips and white chocolate shavings... It is my bean's fav! SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of peppermint and vanilla and chocolate and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, sprinkled with peppermint chips and a chocolate caramel drizzle.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good! I hope everyone had a great day yesterday, and a great week. It has been a week off for me, from having the boys. Mom and Dad, aka Erin and Jason, were on vacation last week, and off on a three ay camping trip. They went to the West Coast area, Mora Campground, near La Push, specifically First Beach, Rialto Beach and Ruby Beach. ALot of beaches there! :shock: :lol:
Monday was a hiking day for me.
I was out early at 5AM, and not back til late at 7PM.... I-) @-) Tuesday and Wednesday were catch up day at home. I have so many projects that need to be addressed, so we tackled some of those. The entire house carpeting was seam cleaned. The driveway and porches etc were power washed, Bleach! but I can now cross them off my "to do" list. YAY!!! The weather was cool, overcast and not so sunny, so it was nice in a way to save a couple of days where I didn't feel like I would be wasting a sunny day. :lol: :lol: I also made it out for a few local hikes, on trails near home. Meadowdale and Picnic Point saw my presence. The hikes were nice ones, mellow, and a great way to unwind from the "working chores". ;-) I am grateful to have such nice places near home.
Thursday was another hiking day for me.
Another hike where I was out early at 5AM, and not back til late at 7PM.... This day found me back on the North Cascades Highway, to tackle a hike called Maple Pass. it is one of my favorite hiking destinations. I missed last year, as the day I was set to go, the area had a massive mud slide that clsoed the access road for a few weeks... BUMMER! So I was elated to be able to go this year. It can be a challenging hike in that one does climb 2000 feet, over a course of 7 miles. ALot of up up and more up! :lol: :lol: Maple Pass offers outstanding views of the North Cascades, 360 degrees! AWESOME!! The hike up was a good one. wildflowers still in bloom, clear skies, and vistas at every turn. The upper portion of this hike is also another section of the Pacific Crest Trail. That in itself is awesome. It was been a longggggggggggggggggggg one here. It was 7 hours on the road yesterday, sheshhhh... 3 hours over, 4 on the way home. I really do love that drive on SR 20, aka the North Cascades Highway, especially when one gets into the Rainy Pass. It is incredibly gorgeous there. Had some interesting weather on the trip up there! Friday was a family get together day. Me, Nicholas, William, Erin, and Jason spent the morning and early afternoon, at the beach, per Nicholas's request. We went to Juanita Beach. The weather was great, the afternoon was turning into a warm afternoon, like 82 (!!), so off we went! We did all of what he goes there for. Lots of play, and it was warm enough that he could swim in the water. He had such fun with that. I had also brought a pair of swim trunks for William, so he was able to really get in the water, and play as much as he wanted. He continues to love the very small waves, and had a blast. We dig William large hole in the sand, maybe 2 feet across and about a foot deep, which we had filled with water. OMG: that was a magnet for William. His own private little muddy sandy swimming hole. SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH! :lol: :lol: :lol: WHAT FUN! WHAT A MESS he was after that. :roll: :lol: :lol: They both were! William has really developed a fondness for it all, he just gets so excited when he sees the parks, the beaches, the rivers, He is so very much like his brother when he was that age. He just loved it.It was even more fun that mom and dad were there to partake in it all too. We also had a small picnic after our beach and park time. The ducks loved us! one stole half of Williams PBJ sandwich, another decided Nicholas's was just as good. "MOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ducks stole my lunch!" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: All around - really a terrific day. I bet both those boys slept well that night. AWESOME time at the beach.
Nicholas asked Friday if he could go swim that night. Who was I to say no. ;-) NOT ME!!!
Nicholas still looks forward to our after swim Friday Night Burger Feast too. That is just so fun: burgers and fries, just him and me, with lots of fun stories. He was so happy to see that burger and fries combo show up after he swam. Somehow I think that is part of the magic of Friday night swims: that he gets burgers etc after his swim. :razz: Yesterday we again talked pool closures, as well as all our berry hunts, swimming in the rivers, and alot on his camping trip adventure. He was really into that discussion, and can't wait until the family can go again. He also talked alot about summer swim schedules, and the changes coming this fall. He was so excited. LOL: he got to sleep in a tent.
I am sitting here this morning, just like last week, trying to think what to write about the kitties.... and just like last week, thinking alot too about Mannie, and all the adventures he planned to for all the LL kitties. I so miss those days, and the fun, and relief from all the FD and the stress that comes with it. AT the risk of being repetitive, this is what I wrote last week - and will repost, as it really was much the same this week, even the part about Nicholas and Mannie. Yesterday was an interesting day in that Nicholas wanted to talk about Mannie, right after the duck stealing lunch thing, what the two have in common, well I have no idea! It is amazing and wodnerful on how much he remembers about Mannie. They were during his first two years inseparable, and the best of friends. He talked about all the things they did, from the nanners, to the food shares, to the play, to the home testing (he was my assistant, knew that the BG's meant, how to work the meter, etc), to the sleeps together, and Mannie's Garden. He knows that Nannie now lives in his garden, and that his kitty at home, Serval, has gone to play with Mannie there (Serval passed a few months ago). What an awesome discussion, and remembrance on Nicholas's part. he says near the end of this talk: " I miss him Grammie, but he is happy. Don;t worry, 'K?" How cool is that? The rest I wrote last week, but all of it continues to be true. More so on the things about Bug and Nicholas. "The kitties are doing well here, all three of them. The last three days that Nicholas has napped here, I have found Bug sleeping, or watching, just outside of Nichoals's door, on the threshold. To me, that was huge. Could it be that Bug may take over where Mannie left off? I always swore that Mannie and Nicholas were bonded, inseparable, perhaps his feline GA is making sure all will be well. I always felt that Mannie sent Bug to us. They are just so much alike. Lola continues to be Lola, wild crazy fun Lola. Still the ultimate escape artist. She loves the outdoors, it has been hard to keep her inside. Our escape artist continues to try and get out. After having a few hours out there she has decided that it was PRIMO (!!!!!) and tries every chance she gets to sneak on through that opening, when anyone goes in or out. She even paws at the door, with what I swear is an "open PLEASE" chant. :lol: :lol: She is relentless. ah Lola....never ever a dull moment with you.
Have a great day everyone! Enjoy your Caturday. We have a birthday celebration for DH tonight. It should be a good time: family, lasagna, and Nicholas and William. PRIMO!
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon