Happy Thanksgiving!

If Cupboards Could Talk

A while back, I decided it was time to give the spice cabinet a makeover.  Things were getting out of hand - you can see the Montreal Seasoning and the Onion Powder jockeying for position.  And the Curry Powder's about to jump ship altogether.  Clearly, it was time for a change.

So I started with new jars.

Next, labels.  My creative side wanted something fun.  But I couldn't find anything suitable.  So my practical side gave in and I picked up a package of plain rectangular labels.  Two seconds later, my creative side beat down my practical side, and I put back the plain labels.  I vowed to keep looking.

Sometimes you have to do that.  You have to keep looking, or your spices will remain silent forever.  I'm pretty sure that's an old Tanzanian proverb.

And minutes later, I found these!  I used the bottom ones, which were blank.  Cheaper than the blank rectangular labels, and so much more fun.  And noisier, too!

Some of my spices are straightforward talkers.

Some of them are thinkers.  These guys are sensitive.

And some of them are chatty, life-of-the-party types.  

And wow!  These are some self-confident spices.  They're nothing if not excited!

While I know the red pepper flakes mean no harm, I have to be careful not to put them next to the cinnamon.  The pepper's innate brashness is liable to crush the cinnamon's introspective little soul.

It's such fun to see their little personalities blossom.  And now there's never a dull moment in the spice cabinet.

  

Pod Cat

I was working at the computer and heard a bit of a ruckus over in the dining area.  I looked up to see this:

Bella was trying to operate Hopkins, my iPod.  She started whining; saying she's the only one of her friends who doesn't have an mp3 player.  She needs her tunes, she says.

Boy, first the new fur-style, and now this.  Back when I was her age, if we wanted music, we had to make it ourselves.

Please just tell me: are all the cats parting their fur and sporting iPods?  Because I don't want to be a stick-in-the-mud, but I have a feeling I'm being played.

In the meantime, Hopkins is being played, too.  To the tune of the Jingle Cats. 

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Bella is now parting her fur down her spine.  She says all the cats are doing it. They say you have to pick your battles, and since I've made my share of hair mistakes, I'm trying to be patient. But I'm sure this is one of those things, like bright blue eyeshadow, that she will look back upon and regret.