Daily Photo: Mimi and Her “Suggestions”
Lately Mimi has been positioning herself in significant spots around the front porch. I know she doesn’t really like it out there, but I need to keep her out of tick territory in the back yard. The front porch area is likely clear of ticks. I took her actions to be just making the boring old front porch a little more interesting, like sitting in the mail basket the other day, below, or sitting in the empty planter above the settee, above. She does like to get herself into little spaces so this would relieve some of the drudgery of spending time in a place she finds boring.
But then I caught myself noticing those spots and deciding to do something with them; in fact, they were spots I’d always decorated and made special and it bothered me that I hadn’t been able to keep them that way this year. This year, because of my hip, I didn’t place any flowers anywhere and really didn’t clean off my front porch and set it up for summer. I don’t like it, but the time and money for extras isn’t always here. But the other day when she sat in the mail basket I looked at the table as I took her photos and decided to just clean it off. And then I added some fresh flowers from the yard. And then I cleared a few other things off the front porch that really belonged in the basement. I forgot to photograph it, but I have to replace the LED candle and a few other things.
Then the next day she sat in the planter above the settee. I miss having flowers there because I can also see them from inside the kitchen, and I also have a two LED candles on timers for that shelf for decoration at night. And I love the flagstone patio, uneven as it is, and the rope lights by the little wall and even feeding the birds, which I stopped this spring becuse of difficulty walking and affording bird seed.
When she was sitting there I remembered I had some asparagus ferns and red geraniums that the baby raccoons had tortured on the deck steps, but they would do well enough for just something green there. And I pulled out the candles and added batteries and added plastic covers so the stayed clean and water wouldn’t roll underneath to the batteries. Then I decided I would clean up my little patio and start feeding the birds again the next time we went outside.
We usually take a break out there in the early evening but didn’t get the chance last evening, so out we went this morning. Mimi scratched on her birch trees and explored as I moved furniture and swept leaves and twigs off to the side yard as mulch. I trimmed around ground covers and set up the lights, then added some bird seed to the feeder and put a suet cake in the holder. Mimi was very pleased with the results, then gave an approving scratch to the settee.
I was pleased too. I still have a lot to do out there but it kind of feels like my house again! I’ve had as a goal working on all these little projects before my surgery so I had my familiar places to hang out in the time I’ll be recovering. And really, if Mimi hadn’t kind of pointed these things out to me I might have decided it was good enough as it was, but I’m glad she made the suggestions. Including drinking out of the birdbath again so I cleaned up the overgrowth around it and moved things out of the way to get to it easier.
Photos from years past
Daily Photo: Mimi’s Discovery, 2018
Mimi wanted you to “Enjoy a rest in the shade on Labor Day!”
She’s found a new area to model her little black cat self. Really, I just follow her around and take photos. She does all the rest.
This is the flagstone walk that leads around the side of the house from the back yard. It had gotten overgrown over the course of the past few years, not the least from the forsythia that wants to take over my back yard. As part of my cleanup campaign this summer prior to my open house I uncovered the walk once again.
It’s a little rough. When I start out a new flagstone area I just lay the stones down until I have them together well enough to fit, which can take months because I carry stones home from everywhere I go. Then I dig up the soil, lay down a plastic barrier and settle the stones so they are level on top, then sweep soil over them. I started this several years ago but the intervening years were busy. One of these days I’ll do that.
Mimi has always liked it. On these hot days she has headed over to that side because it is shady for a good bit of the afternoon. Then over the weekend she decided we needed to have a photo shoot. Above she’s on the path. Below, she’s modeling her charms at the edge of the herb garden.
Isn’t she the best?
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From Instagram
Toes on Tuesday. Hamlet’s elegant fully floofy toes are observing me while Hamlet sleeps.
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What other photos did I feature around this date?
Too Many Ears and One Eye, 2017
I have to get bigger bins. They can only fit four of the family on top of one of the size I have now. Because, you know, they have to be together.
Yes, there are eight ears. They brothers are all there with their heads together, and Mimi is on the corner, curled up. I took several photos, most of which looked like the one below, but Giuseppe just happened to open one eye. He is such a ham. He knew exactly what he was doing. Doing to me, no less. How do I get anything done when they do things like this>
And the ones below show they really do this all the time!
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From Instagram
We had a nice Labor Day and hope you did too.
I took this photo and couldn’t decide how I liked it best. The top one is the original photo, then I made two variations. Mimi, laundry, shadows, bricks, seems to be a theme.
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What other photos did I feature around this date?
From This Week, 2016
Yes, they’re keeping a close eye on me ………. zzzzzzzzzzz …………. also still getting a lot of mileage out of that box. Giuseppe, Mewsette and Bean from way back on August 30. But along with the photo below they kept a close eye on me all week and made sure I got the work done. And didn’t run off and disappear for days and weeks at a time again.
Then just this morning, photos taken with my tablet and shared on Instagram from an absolutely perfect early September morning, cool, sunny, low humidity, the basement door open and everyone feeling good, milling around and wrestling. It’s the morning zoo at the basement door, seven black cats enjoying the purrrfect sun and breeze. Basil and Bella are wrestling at the door, they’ve been back to it since the heat ended. Mr. Sunshine is in the shadow upper left waiting to leap.
Mimi and Bella have a little girl time.
Nothing to see here, move along.
Then later, Giuseppe and Bean, one on each side, lovin on their mom. Mimi just stepped up onto them and laid down. They are all stuffed into that exhausted little box. Great way to end the week.
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What other photos did I feature around this date?
Daily Photo: Bella Studio, 2015
What would I do without my studio cats watching over every detail of what I do, and often being very artful and inspiring in their own right? Bella means beautiful after all. I can forgive the cat hairs on the mat.
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Home Remodeling Inspectors, 2013
Mimi and Sunshine are ready for their supervisory duties, Mimi for aesthetic design and Mr. Sunshine, of course, for engineering and technical support.
I’m so glad I have such talented cats, and that whenever I need to do something around here they are ready to serve as supervisors at a moment’s notice. I installed two new ceiling fans in my kitchen this afternoon, replacing the one remaining of a set I moved here with and installed nearly 23 years ago. Yes, it was time. My kitchen needs far more than this, but this is a start. Below, Mimi lets me know it’s time for her mandated break so she stretches out on my directions, ensuring I won’t continue (don’t be too sure Mimi, your human has installed about three dozen ceiling fans in her life…). It is, after all, Labor Day weekend.
My kitchen was originally two small rooms, a 7′ x 10′ kitchen and an 8′ x 10′ dining room, and the wall was removed between though there are still two ceiling fixtures in each section. I haven’t had a fan in the kitchen portion since the bathroom flooded in 2009, and the light fixture wiring went bad on the one remaining in the former dining area; both were ones I’d installed when I moved in, but had actually moved from the house I rented and had installed there in 1986. I got my money’s worth out of them, for sure.
So now I have light and air in both portions of the room, the better to photograph black cats, and nice for kitties to spread themselves out beneath in warm weather. Mr. Sunshine tells me I need to check the level on that fan before I go installing any fan blades. Note his brothers lazily sleeping in the box while he works hard. They were assigned to chase down any screws or other hardware I dropped, but I was left to do that on my own the one and only time ( yay me) I dropped one. Of course, Mimi and Sunshine could not do this as that type of unskilled labor was not in their contract.
The newer styles of fans are much more efficient and much quieter than the older ones, so I won’t be relighting the pilot on my stove all the time and turning up the volume on my radio as when both fans were running. Mr. Sunshine decided to immediately try out the air flow across his belly—to ensure it was properly installed, of course. “Piece of tuna cake,” he said. “I could do this job in my sleep.” And so he proceeded to demonstrate his proficiency.
Other daily photos shared on this date
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2012: First Morning
It’s not autumn yet, and this particular morning was actually warmer than some lately. But we can tell by the hour of the sunrise, the color of the light, and the busyness of the birds, September is here. But Giuseppe enjoys a warm morning by the open window as I enjoy watching him.
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2011: You’ve Really Made a Mess Here
You’ve made quite a mess of my table.
I was planning to have a nice evening nap here, but you’ve completely ruined that possibility.
Do you intend to clean this up?
[The idea of Kelly demanding anything in that way is totally ludicrous, though sometimes she shows a little tortitude. She was not so angry as she was somewhat frightened by all the stuff on her favorite hangout, so I did at least organize my things. Silly human.]
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And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
mimi…hay ewe gorgeouz….can ya haz sum porch time for uz two pleez
we iz knot a loud outside pluz R porch iz like 2 feet wide…knot much room
ta chillax ya noe !! hi two de crew !!!!! ~~~ 🙂 ♥♥