Cat Tree

It's been a week and we've officially decided that Spot is staying with us, either he was a house cat someone grew tired off and tossed out or he was born a stray.   Either way he has a good home now! Since we have dogs and cats we've always had elevated surfaces for the cats to get away from the dogs.   Our dining room table isn't for dining, it's for cat toys.  Here you can see Ernie and Spot hanging out.

But with the addition of Spot I felt we could use a new cat tree.  I found ours on Amazon Prime for 80 dollars it's by Go Pet.  The price has since gone up to 100.  It was fun putting it together and I took a TON of pictures so prepare for photo over load.  

I thought it was pretty cute watching the dogs snoopervise.  It took about an hour or a little less to assemble.  That's Baby cat on the table.   

I sprayed it with kong naturals cat nip spray

So far Spot and Scooter, the black cat, like the tree a lot.  Ernie has tried the lower levels, but I missed
 the photo op. Ernie has only 3 legs so that makes cat trees harder for him.  Baby hasn't touched the tree yet. 

Evidently Fry feels it can be used by pugs too 

So right now we have 5 dogs and 4 cats be we couldn't be happier.  Oh and if anyone is wondering about Spot's name it's not just because of his grey spots there is a Star Trek connection too.  Spot is the name Data's cat on the Star Trek The Next Generation. 

In one of my favorite scenes Data writes the best cat poem ever for Spot. 

PS: Spot is getting neutered today so good vibes are appreciated. 

Darwin Lite Award-The Mismatched Shoes

Today we are participating in Bouncing Bertie's Darwin Lite blog hop.


If you've visited our blog before you have probably noticed that our mom is pretty into her vintage style look.  She spends a lot of time watching old movies and analyzing the "pools", shopping for vintage clothes online, looking at pictures of people decades ago, planning outfits, and oohing and aching over dress and odd kitschy accessories owned by people who have long passed from this mortal toil.   Of course this time would be better spent shopping for dog toys and cooking for us, but thats another post.  Anyway you would think with all this time spent thinking about vintage fashion that our mom would be able to dress herself, but apparently you would be wrong.

A little over a year ago over her schools Spring vacation mom got up and got dressed.  She remembers she was wearing this outfit

and was very happy to be sporting a 1950s Mexican tourist jacket got for a song on Etsy and new Freddies of Pinewood jeans.  She even took time to accessorize with a chili pepper hair clip from luxulite and 1950s style red lipstick from Besame cosmetics   However, she didn't take the time to look at her feet because mom put on two mismatched shoes.  One black loafer and one navy blue, one with tassels and one without.  They didn't even look remotely alike.



Mom and Dad went out too lunch with a friend in Manhattan and had delicious bowls or ramen and tasty pork buns.  Then they went with their friend to look at apartments, the friend was moving.  Mom was introduced to two different real estate agents.  All the time blissfully aware of the mismatched shoes and thinking she looked cute.


Then while sitting on the path train on the way home she glanced down at her feet.  Horrors!  Never has she felt so aware of her lower appendages. She tried sitting on the train with one foot placed over the other.   Next, she and dad had to walk home, 20 minutes from the train station, the whole time mom was very aware of her feet.  Dad of course thought it was very funny.  Once home mom posted about the episode of Facebook.  Most of her Facebook friends responded that people probably thought the mismatched shoes were part of the "look."  However, mom has a pretty encyclopedic knowledge of 20th century fashion trends and she is fairly sure that mismatched loafers where never a thing.

Cinema Spotlight 1930's The Divorcee

The Divorcee starring Norma Shearer in a role that won her an academy award is a pre code Classic (actually in some ways it was post code as Will Hays was working in Hollywood to police the studios, but The Divorcee flouted every aspect of the code and proved that it would be years before anyone followed it).   Shearer plays Jerry Martin a party girl who attempts to live as a man: career, lovers, parties and no apologies, and even if she is a bit chastened at the end of the film you'll barely notice.  

The film opens with Jerry embracing her new fiancée Ted

and discussing the egalitarian marriage they'll have. 

It's pretty obvious from the title that doom is coming and it comes quickly.  Jerry's friend Paul is in love with her and none too pleased to hear of the engagement. He drowns his sorrows and winds up taken a late not drive with Helen, a women whose in love with him, and Helen's sister. Unsuprisingly the drive does not go well.  

There's a horrific accident that leaves Helen's face terribly disfigured.  The damage is left to the audience's imagination, but confirmed with fantastic early Hollywood histrionics as her sister screams that she hopes Helen does not live after seeing her face. 

The next scene shows two weddings.   Jerry and Ted's in a church 

And Helen and a guilt stricken Paul's in the hospitall. 

The film then jumps forward three years to Jerry and Ted's third wedding anniversary.  Jerry is wearing a divine 1930s jumpsuit.  

Still a career girl she is shown finishing up some work 

Meanwhile, Ted is preparing to go on a business trip.  When her maid comments on their unusual arrangement Jerry laughs it off, secure in Ted's love for her.  After all he has just gifted her with an expensive bauble 

Prior to Ted's leaving the couple have some friends over.  That's when Jerry finds Ted in a compromising position with a known home wrecker 

And the plot thickens.  Never loosing her cool Jerry makes a snappy comment to which the home wrecker replies "If I could think as quick as that I would have stayed married." Jerry's retort "think of all the fun you would have missed." 

Ted appeals to Jerry's supposedly masculine nature by telling her to "take the broad minded view."  She pretends to agree, but is inwardly plotting her revenge.  As soon as Ted departs on his business Jerry sets about seducing his best friend.  Her knowing gaze from the wrappings of her velvet coat say it all.

When Ted returns home she gamely informs him that she has "balanced their accounts."

Ted is not too broad minded once the tables are turned.  The couple go their separate ways.  Jerry begins living like a man and getting all her "exercise in night clubs."  With an increasing fabulous set of outfits to go with her divine deco apartment:

Eventually Jerry tires of the partying and runs into Paul

who declares his continued love for her.   The two embark on an affair and are initially happy.

Paul wants to leave poor disfigured Helen and marry Jerry.  Initially Jerry is game but then Helen shows up at her apartment.  Nothing like a poor blameless disfigured accident victim in a black tule veil to put the damper on romance:

Jerry has second thoughts.   Newly chastened she decides for return to Ted and honor the sanctity of marriage.  So while The Divorcee does have a typical ending with Jerry regretting her past sins, the  the sinning sure looked like  glamorous fun!

Tasty Tuesday-Rice Balls

One of the great things about living in Jersey City now is that there are so many great  places to eat. As more people flock from the 5 borough of NYCmore resteraunts open in Jersey City,often called the 6th borough.  One of our favorite places sells rice balls tasty little Japanese balls of rice wrapped in sea weed and stuffed with lots of fillings.

You have to unwrap the balls which can be tricky at first 

They also have outdoor tables a big plus

It's a really fun place to go. 

PS-kitten is a boy as we suspected about 12 weeks.  Vet says he is healthy just needs shots and neutering.  We called around and are pretty sure he's from the cat colony down the street. We have a feral cat problem.  He's tentatively named Spot.  

Fathers Day Suprise

We had a bit of a surprise here. We found this stuck in our huckleberry tree and rescued it with a ladder.

Yes it's a kitten. About 12 weeks old and we aren't sure if it is a boy or girl.   Not everyone knows this but we have 3 cats. Baby Scooter and Ernie ages 15 13 and 12. They are very hard to photograph so I never post pictures.    We brought the kitten inside and put him or her in Bobs crate.  

Our dogs are curious 

Our cats seem pretty  pissed, that's Baby below. Clearly thinking not another one!!!!

Scooter hid upstairs 

Ernie was hissing but enjoyed the cat treats we gave him. 

The kitten has a good appetite 

Tomorrow we go to the vet. We haven't quite decided what to do yet, but it definitely won't be gong to a shelter. 

Kitten has one blue and one green eye which is pretty neat. 

Hopefully he or she is healthy and finds a good home either with us or someone else.