The Yoga Mat

"Downward Dog is for amateurs."

The Orchid

I received an orchid as a housewarming gift when I moved into this apartment, and ever since Melly's arrival, I've been finding teeny tiny teethmarks on the plant's leaves.

If Melly could whistle nonchalantly, I think that's exactly what she'd be doing:

Also, last night I was awakened by Melly as she attempted to snuggle further into my neck, and noticed that Melly was laying on Scarlett. Yes, on Scarlett. Oddly, Scarlett didn't seem to mind until I moved around a bit, at which point she growled and got down off the bed.

Peculiar...

Just Hangin' Out

Happy weekend!

Keeping Watch

I love how regal she looks as she surveys her domain.

How Melly Has Grown

Remember this?

(It was first posted here.)

Here she is today on the same chair:

She is growing so fast!

Noises

There was a tiny yapping dog outside my apartment the other day, and Scarlett and Melly weren't quite sure what to make of the racket.

The Plume

By the way, that blur inside the closet is Scarlett.

Reminds me of this.

Getting Closer...

Scarlett was laying at the opposite end of the couch from me, snoozing peacefully, when Melly jumped up between us. She flopped down and stayed there for a while. Scarlett didn't seem to mind much, and sniffed a little bit at Melly's head. (My camera was charging, so I took these with my cell phone.)

Eventually Melly made the mistake of making eye contact with Scarlett, at which point Scarlett growled grumpily and got down off the couch.

>

The next day, Melly hopped up on the bed by Scarlett. She carefully arranged her tail so it lay against Scarlett, but she avoided looking directly at her.

It worked well: they hung out next to each other for about half an hour.

Also, I think we'll call the neighbor kitty Ashley. Partially because of Marlene's comment, and partially because I'm saving the name Rhett. You know, just in case a sleek, all-black boy kitty happens to wander into my life someday...

Sleepy Scarlett

Scarlett was sitting next to me on the couch and was being so sleepy and adorable that I couldn't resist taking pictures of her. (In the third picture, you can see that her chin is stained by the bright pink Hibiclens I'm still using to treat her acne.)

By the way, I ran into the neighbor cat outside yesterday, and while petting it, attempted to ascertain its sex. I'm pretty sure it's a boy (he was wiggling a lot, so it was hard to get a good look). Since I don't know his real name, we may need to come up with one for him...

Maker of Mischief

Attempting to snag some Chinese food?

Sneaking into the dishwasher?

Pulling down the curtains in the middle of the night?

All in a day's work for Miss Melly.

Melly and the Feather Wand

This little goofball just cracks me up.

And yes, that belly gets many snorgles.

Playing in the Bathtub

A couple of notes on yesterday's post:

Ayla and Iza: Yes, the oh-so-handsome Siamese does have a home. It wears a snazzy red collar (no ID tag, though), and can frequently be found in one of the entry ways of the building next to mine.

Lounge Kats: The Siamese hangs out by one particular window, which unfortunately doesn't open. If it gets adventurous and goes over to another window, perhaps a meeting of the kitties can be arranged :)

And on to today's post...

Today's pictures are black and white, just to mix things up a little.

Neighbor Cat, Part II

The neighbor cat has come back twice since its visit the other day. The first time it came back, Melly chirped at it through the window very cheerfully while the other cat growled quietly. There weren't any raised hackles or puffed up tails, so I guess they were just introductory chirps and growls.

Scarlett eventually interrupted and drove the neighbor cat away by standing up on her hind legs and pawing vigorously at the glass.

The second time, the neighbor cat stayed nose-to-nose with Scarlett through the window for several minutes. They both just stared at each other peacefully before the Siamese eventually wandered away. Scarlett stared after it wistfully for about fifteen minutes.

It would seem that my kitties have made a friend!

Neighbor Cat

There are quite a few outdoor cats on my block. They are all friendly, but one in particular, a blue lynx point Siamese, is a total sweetheart. It has huge blue eyes and a squeaky meow like Melly's, and it loves to rub against my legs. (I say "it" because I haven't determined its sex.) The Siamese met Scarlett once through the window shortly after we moved in, but Scarlett scared it away with death glares and growls.

Apparently the Siamese forgot that this is the Domain of Scarlett, because it came over to the bedroom window the other day to check her out. By the time I got the camera, the neighbor cat had retreated about fifteen feet away, but the two were still watching each other.

After a while, Melly came in to see what all of the fuss was about. She joined Scarlett on the window sill and the two continued to keep an eye on the other cat.

The Siamese eventually wandered away, and Melly found herself on the window sill with nothing to do. The obvious solution to this problem was to play with Scarlett's tail.

Of course, that didn't go over well, and soon there was this:

Ridiculous.

Happy Weekend!

Scarlett is such a lap kitty, and she goes from being a grump to being a blissed-out biscuit-maker in about .2 seconds.

Also, I'm still tweaking the design of the blog and have added a whole slew of tags (they're at the bottom of the sidebar) in case anyone wants to look at, for example, all the photos of Melly's giant paws.

Enjoy your weekend!

Conniving Kitten

Melly loves to curl up in a nice, toasty spot someone else has just vacated. That someone is frequently Scarlett, who does not always leave voluntarily: Melly has cleverly devised a strategy for stealing Scarlett's spot by taking advantage of her desire for personal space.

I love Scarlett's face in this one.

Bourbon Peach Hand Pies

First, we have the obligatory cat picture for those not interested in baking:

At the market the other day, I saw some huge peaches and just couldn't resist them. Since I don't like raw peaches, I decided to try out Smitten Kitchen's Bourbon Peach Hand Pies recipe. The only change I made to the recipe was to the filling, to which I added half the sugar.

When I was making the dough, it seemed way too dry, so I added some more liquid. This turned out to be a terrible idea since the dough ended up incredibly sticky and impossible to roll. I kept adding more and more flour to my hands, the counter, the rolling pin... and the "lightly floured" surface recommended in the recipe turned into a flour blizzard.

The first batch of dough I rolled out resulted in lumpy, slightly misshapen pies. Despite their appearance, though, they are perfectly flaky and crispy; the prettier pies have a more solid crust.

Despite the problems I had with the dough (and the fact that these take forever to make), I am looking forward to making them again. They're adorable, and very, very tasty. I had planned to share them with my coworkers, but that didn't happen. Oops.

Striking a Pose

I snapped about twenty pictures of a sleepy Melly in various positions on the couch. For the most part, she ignored me...

...but she got tired after a while:

"Being beautiful is exhausting."