Love Ring

I want to send a long overdue thank-you to Kristi of

Silver Sparrow Designs for my gorgeous amethyst ring.

The back is engraved "love" and the band is rippled like water.

 The stone is as mysterious and beautiful as love itself.

 Around here, passion purple is a big hit!

Vladi takes a break from rolling in the dirt to take a look.

 

Tanji wants a taste too.

 While I'm painting my toenails (to match the ring, of course)...

Uschi magically appears.  He must have heard the camera.

The camera definitely knows who its supposed to focus on.

Back inside, our little love bug touches gently.

(check out all the Vladi fur on his blanket, he needs a brushing!)

Tanji makes sure the hand is still available for petting.

Always plenty of love to go around!

Valley Storm

Usually summers in our valley are dry and warm,

but unlike other states, we have been rainy and cool this year.

Last night we even had a storm, with hail, thunder, and lightening.

 

The sky was charged with energy and rumbled and grumbled.

Tanji watched the gorgeous sunset from the kennel, all three boys

are being kept off the trails until the wild quail chicks learn to fly.

 As the sun set, we went indoors to watch the rain and lightening.

The boys were fine, they just made it through July 4 fireworks.

A stunning summer evening.

Wait a Minute...

During the day, Vladi and Uschi don't seem to get along:

their interactions often degenerate to Uschi hissing,

and Vladi chasing him outside or around the house.

But early this morning when I woke up...

 

 What's going on??  I figured Vladi snuck up on a sleeping Uschi

for a cuddle, but when I offered the two breakfast...

...the two smoothies stayed together and nestled back to sleep.

Hmmmmm.  

If you're wondering if Tanji will join these two...

 ...absolutely not, Tanji only sleeps with his parents.

Best to Share

 Vladi has hit the jackpot: a box with pink paper packing material.

 Uh-oh, someone is coming...

 Uschi wants to play too, but Vladi doesn't want to share.

 After a tense standoff with a bit of swatting,

Vladi chases Uschi out to the kennel.

Giving Tanji a chance to take charge of the goodies.

It probably would have been best to share.

Sanjiv Kitten

When we first met Vladi and the other kittens of Cheetahsden,

we were struck by how friendly all of the kittens were,

especially the kittens that had Sanjiv as their Dad.

Sanjiv kittens were sweet, mushy lapcats.  Except Vladi.

Vladi was a bit more independent, even sleeping alone

while the other kittens rolled and purred in a pile.

Vladi's Sanjiv alleles must be activating,

every day he gets mushier and mushier.

Grandmeow Gifts

Birthday gifts from Grandmeow Nancy with cute kitty paper.

As soon as they were out in the open...

Uschi appeared like magic.

First the card, incredibly detailed (and clever) art by

Charles Wysocki.

A fig candle, one of the few scents that is totally Tanji-approved.

Uschi is preparing to pounce on a sparkly string of star lights.

He's not the only one getting a little crazy.

Fine, I'll play with these ribbons instead.
Nope. Ribbons have been safely moved out of kitty reach.

U has to settle for his next favorite thing: wrapping paper.

Oh boy, oh boy!

Everyone is getting a little worked up.

 What did we get from Grandmeow June?

First a card, by "Beatrice," a local artist.
The cards are making me want to get the paints out.

Vladi is getting impatient... Let's get this open!

Its a beautiful amethyst linen dress, and Vladi is intrigued.

 Pat, pat, pat.

 Vladi, you better not be sitting on that!
He's so darn cute, he got away with it (for a little while).

Coast Birthday: Part II

 

 Who wouldn't want to wake up to this? 

It was another beautiful day on the Oregon coast.

The rocks on the sand's surface made the beach even more interesting...

Here are a few of our favorites.

Our hotel had a breakfast bar and we filled up on french toast, waffles,

bagels, cereal, and fruit. And we still have a massive amount

of food in our coolers for the trip back home.

A last look at the gardens and we are back on the road.

For the trip back we had time to talk and read aloud.

 Some attractions we passed by (although this one was tempting)...

 ...others like this casino we visited.
It had a beautiful view of Coos Bay.

Further up the coast it was cooler and cloudy,

so we found a protected picnic area carved into the shrubs.

Burritos and birthday cupcakes fueled us for the final leg home.

We were ready to see the boys...

Hiiiiiiiiii!  Where've you been?

You smell funny.

What's this?  I don't remember this.

 Tanji seems to enjoy the charms as much as I do, so
now they are a bracelet, and we can stare at them together.

After a frenzied welcome, the boys settled down...

 Uschi took back some of his Vera Bradley bags...

 Tanji settled in by the rest.  They smelled good and salty.

 

 Vladi reclaimed his lap.

It was an awesome trip, and it is always good to be home.

Photo Album