Wordless Wednesday

little red mousie gifted to us a few years ago by our blog friend Sharla @BeadedTail is a well loved toy enjoyed by all of us kitties!

Wordless Wednesday

somekitty really likes this pink rug*

*more on this rug in a future post :)

Autumn Colors

Hello lovelies          Hallo Mädels

Round about this time of year I envy my brother living in Virginia, USA, as he gets to enjoy the full splendor of a golden October with its colorful array of maple, beech and poplar trees among others. I've seen pictures of the Fall foliage and it is simply amazing!
My Etsy team's October challenge is to write about the sensory appeal of autumn. Easier said than done, as in my area the trees remain green for a long time, then the leaves turn brown and typically fall off. So on a recent sunny afternoon I grabbed my DSLR and did my best to capture at least some autumn colors. I passed this house that had grape ivy growing on one side of the wall (see pic above). Pretty isn't it.

Zu dieser Jahreszeit beneide ich ein wenig meinen Bruder, der in Virginia USA lebt, und das Glück hat den berühmten goldenen Oktober mit u.a. seinem feuerroten Ahorn, orangebraunen amerikanischen Buchen und goldgelben Pappeln zu erleben. Dies konnte ich bislang nur auf den Fotos, die er mir geschickt hat, bewundern!
Die Oktober Challenge meines Etsy Teams rief dazu auf diese warmen Farben einzufangen. Einfacher gesagt als getan, denn in dieser eher nassen Gegend bleibt die Natur sehr lange grün und plötzlich färben sich die Blätter braun und...fallen ab. Neulich, an einem sonnigen Nachmittag schnappte ich mir meine Spiegelreflexkamera und machte mich auf die Suche nach ein paar schönen herbstlichen Impressionen. Das Foto ganz oben vom wilden Wein war schon mal ein guter Anfang.

I dressed the part! The T-shirt in Marsala (Pantone 2015 color of the year) is handmade by me | floral wrap dress is super old | black cashmere cardigan - pre-owned | boots Vintage 80s | hat from Only. Classic faux-pas if you haven't got eyes in the back of your head: tree growing out of the top of my head ;-)

*

Für diesen Post habe ich ein passendes Outfit gewählt! Das Langarmshirt in Marsala (Pantone 2015 Farbe des Jahres) ist selbstgenäht | geblümtes Wickelkleid - alt | schwarze Cashmere Jacke - second hand | Vintage Stiefel aus den 80ern | Hut von Only. Übrigens, wenn man keine Augen im Hinterkopf hat passiert es schon mal, dass ein Baum aus dem Kopf wächst ;-)

I ventured deeper into the woods, but as you can see it's mostly green with lots of brown foliage on the ground.

*

Bäume und Wiesen sind auch noch im Oktober ziemlich grün während braunes Laub den Boden bedeckt.

I came across these bright pink and orange berries/flowers in the woods. At home I googled them. Apparently this is called spindle tree (Euonymous europaeus). They are pretty to look at, but highly poisonous and in some cases deadly for both humans and animals!

*

Im Wald entdeckte ich diese leuchtend pink-orangfarbenen Beeren/Blüten. Das sind Pfaffenhütchen (Euonymous europaeus). Hübsch anzusehen, aber für Mensch und Tier extrem giftig bis tödlich!

 

I picked up some chestnuts off the ground. These are a bit small and not particularly tasty, so I'll use them for decorative purposes only.

*

Ich habe ein paar Kastanien eingesammelt, aber nur für dekorative Zwecke, denn diese sind nicht wirklich genießbar.

I gave the smallest one to Sumi to play with! She rolled it around a few times and then seemed disinterested :)

*

Die Kleinste davon habe ich für Sumi aufgehoben! Sie hat sie ein paar Mal hin- und hergerollt, aber sonderlich begeistert von ihrem neuen "Spielzeug" war sie nicht :)

 Marsala Nails

On the way back I came across this row of trees, their leaves partly turned to orange which looked great against the blue sky. So, even though I don't live in Virginia there definitely are some bright pops of fall colors to be found in my predominantly wet and grey neck of the woods!

*

Auf dem Rückweg bin ich an dieser Baumreihe vorbeigekommen, deren orangegefärbten Blätter mit blauem Himmel als Hintergrund richtig toll aussahen. Also auch in dieser eher grauen und verregneten Gegend findet man hier und da schöne Herbstimpressionen - man muß nur genau schauen!

I reposted this last photo from last year, because it fit the theme so well :)

Das letzte Foto ist ein re-post vom letzten Jahr, da es so gut ins Thema past :)

Thank you, Judy @ MisterPenQuin for coming up with this month's challenge theme!
Vielen Dank an Judy @MisterPenQuin für das Challenge Thema für diesen Monat!

Life with senior cats

It's been three weeks since my mom's cat Sumi has come to live with us. If you follow me on instagram you will already have seen a couple of pics. Adjusting to the new circumstances has been challenging for all of us. Also, for some reason I always thought Sumi was eight years old. Actually, she is already eleven years old! I am so glad that I had arranged space for her up in the attic, and I am even more glad that she's accepted her cat tree (she loves curling up in the hammock-thingy at the top). The first week I kept the door closed, but there is quite a big gap at the bottom, and once or twice I spotted her spying :) But otherwise she pretty much keeps to herself, sleeps a lot during the day, thankfully eats her special dietary food and makes quite a rucus at night!
Meanwhile, thirteen year old Sammy only realized there was another cat in the house after a whole week had gone by. haha. Yes, I did let him sniff the cloth I had rubbed on Sumi before, but somehow he wasn't impressed. Then, finally after another week had gone by he climbed the steps to make "sniffing" contact - boy, was he in for a surprise. Sumi threw a hissy fit and basically communicated to him to stay out of her territory. Yup, the attic is now hers and hers alone.
Sammy has not gone up the stairs since.
After two weeks I decided to leave the door open during the day. I mean...cats are known for their curiosity and at some point I was sure Sumi would venture downstairs. No chance! Sumi simply sits on the threshold and observes/listens to what's going on downstairs, while Sammy remains downstairs and doesn't seem to be all that bothered. And me? I'm getting one heck of a workout running up and down those steep steps every day checking on the cats! Plus the outdoor cats Leo and Molly need to be taken care of too.
I do hope that Sammy and Sumi will eventually "meet up", but I've accepted that they need to do it on their terms. After all, in thirteen and eleven years respectively, both Sammy and Sumi have never shared their home before. Thankfully, domestic cats are social creatures and are known to adapt to new circumstances over time. I hope so anyway.

Es ist drei Wochen her, seit Sumi, die Katze meiner Mutter zu uns gekommen ist. Einige Leser hatten bereits Bilder von ihr auf Instagram gesehen. Aus irgendeinem Grund dachte ich immer, Sumi sei acht Jahre alt. Eigentlich ist sie schon elf Jahre alt! Sumi ist eine eher ängstliche Katze, daher bin ich froh, dass ich Platz für sie auf dem Dachboden geschaffen hatte, denn eine Zusammenführung mit Sammy ist einfach noch zu früh. Ansonsten verhält sie sich eher ruhig, schläft viel, putzt sich ausgiebig und isst zum Glück das spezielle Diätfutter. Es freut mich, dass sie gleich zu Beginn ihren neuen Kratzbaum angenommen hat - das weiß man schließlich bei Katzen nie. Vor allem liebt sie es sich in die Kuhle zu kuscheln (Bild ganz oben). Die ganze erste Woche hatte ich vorsichtshalber die Tür zu gelassen, allerdings ist unten ein großer Spalt wo sie spionieren  nein durchgucken kann. Ab der zweiten Woche hatte ich tagsüber die Tür aufgelassen, aber Sumi hat sich nicht getraut runterzukommen.
Der inzwischen dreizehn Jahre alte Sammy hat erstmal gar nicht realisiert, dass eine weitere Katze im Haus ist. Der "Trick" mit dem Tuch hat leider bei beiden Katzen nicht viel gebracht. Dann, endlich, nach ca. einer Woche wurde Sammy doch neugierig und kletterte die Treppen zum Dachboden hoch...das war Sumi dann doch nicht geheuer und mit lautem Gefauche hat sie ihn wieder nach unten befördert. Offensichtlich ist der Dachboden nun ihr Revier. Seit dem ist Sammy auch nie wieder da hochgegangen. Sumi sitzt nun oft auf dem Treppenabsatz und sondiert die Lage. Und ich bin in den vergangenen Wochen richtig sportlich geworden, bei den vielen Treppen auf- und absteigen, um nach den Katzen zu sehen. Und die zwei Freigänger wollen ja auch versorgt werden. Puh.
Trotzdem hoffe ich natürlich, dass die beiden sich näher kommen. Ich habe Verständnis dafür, dass es für beide nicht einfach ist nach dreizehn bzw. elf Jahren als Einzelkatze die neuen Umstände zu akzeptieren. Vorsichtshalber habe ich Feliway im Einsatz, in der Hoffnung, dass sie die Umstellung besser verkraften. 

Wordless Wednesday

sad little Sumi

linking up with my friend Verena today!

Hi everybody!

The week just flew by in no time and here I am back at my desk working through my emails, messages and sorting out the paperwork. Although short, I really enjoyed my stay with my mom. It would have been even more enjoyable if it hadn't been a freezing 10°C (about 50° Fahrenheit) and raining the entire time. In June! Of course I got to see Sumi there as well. She is one sick little kitty, but she is hanging in there... and despite her heart and kidney problems she is so sweet and content and loving. Here she is napping in her fluffy hammock.

Back here at my place it's an incredible 25°C (77°F), blue skies, not a cloud in sight. I am going to finish off my back load of work in double quick time, because the weather is too good to stay cooped up in the office. The sun is not a frequent visitor in our neck of the woods. I will be catching up with all of you, my dear blog friends and readers, soon!

Happy Friday!

Hello, my name is Sumi

May I introduce myself? I'm called Sumi, and the humans say I'm a small, but elegant cat with very good manners. Plus I'm smart. I overheard the humans talking about me recently. Something about me moving all the way from one end of Germany to the other end! I don't mind so much, because I know Duni will be there waiting for me. I know she loves me just as much as my mommy does! And there's a nice terrace to sunbathe on, lots of room to play, and a nice garden too! So, what's the hitch? Well, looks like I'm going to have to share my new home with another cat! I asked Duni to send my some photos, so that I could see what my future roomie looks like. His name is Sammy. He's a mancat. Personally, I prefer active, sporty types... Sammy, lazing about... Sammy, drinking water straight from the tap So, what do you think? Are we going to be friends? Happy Sunday!

Getting ready for little kitty

First of all, I'd like to thank each and everyone of you for leaving such kind and uplifting comments in regard to my mom's current situation. I am so thankful for having such awesome blogging friends.

Well, we're just about ready to leave. We had to organize a new set of wheels double quick, because we didn't want to risk driving all that way with less than satisfactory wheels.

I still need to clear some space for my mom's cat. She'll be kept in a separate room the first week. I've arranged everything she needs in there. We think it's best if she gets used to her new surroundings first before meeting her big brofur Sammy. I think Sammy will be fine about it, but not so sure about Sumi - yes, that's her name. Sammy and Sumi. She's about 4 years old, but she's tiny. Also, she is on medication because of a kidney dysfunction. She doesn't like to be held, but she does like to have her fur brushed. She is very, very shy.

Sumi has also got a new cat basket and litter box, but we'll take her old toys and blankets. I really do hope Sammy and Sumi will get along.

And in case you think I've forgotten about crafting it forward - don't worry, I will announce who the winner before I leave...