Kitten Adventures Part I

One of the adventures I've been having recently has been of the kitten variety. A few weeks back, I witnessed a very small kitten run across our back garden. This was enough to make Sgt decide to set out our "have a heart" trap (or perhaps he did it to stop my whining?) to see if we could catch a kitten. After a few days, we caught a tiny little kitten with a very big purr (who has already been adopted!!!!), but it wasn't the kitten we originally saw, so the trap went back out to the yard. Over the past few weeks we have slowly caught four tiny little 3-4 month old kittens that some "not so nice person" decided to dump off in our backyard in the middle of Winter.  Which brings us to...a very cute adoptable kitten named Mason!

 ~Mason~

Mason is a handsome, little, Seal Point Siamese boy who was caught about seven days ago with his brother Max.  He's about 4 months old.  I'm currently working on his socialization skills as he is suffering from trauma and is very scared.  I am working with Gateway Regional Rescue to help get him adopted to a good kitty loving home.  The adoption will be done through Gateway and the adoption fee, which includes shots and neutering, is $100.  Right now, I think his best placement would be in a quiet home without dogs or children.  I think another cat would be great for him as he is very connected to his brother.  I would love to find a home that would want both him and his brother but that might be difficult to find?  If you are interested or know someone in the local NJ/PA/NY and possibly VA area who might be interested in adopting this sweet but shy little guy, please send me an email at... Marydeluxe53@ gmail dot com.

 
 

 

 


~MaryDeluxe

Happy Holidaze!

 

I am still here and all is well.

Oh the adventures I have been having!

May you all have a safe and Happy Holiday Season!

Happy Birthday Little Vincent

My how you've grown.... 

   

  And what a big mouth you have!!! 

The power has been on for the last week and things are back to normal around here for us.  We of course are very lucky as there are still local people here without power.  In all the hoopla of the hurricane, I forgot to celebrate little Vinnie Bean's first birthday!  I just love this little guy to pieces, he is one awesome little ball of trouble. He is also much adored by or puppies and loves to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon in front of the fire with Chetty.  Life just wouldn't be the same without my little guy in it to keep me laughing, cuddle with me at night, and knock things off my counter!

 

 Have you hugged your cat today?

~MaryDeluxe

Still Here So Screw You Sandy!

People I ain't shitting you, if you live anywhere in the state of New Jersey, NYC and Eastern Pennsylvania near New Jersey....you officially got fucked over by Hurricane Sandy.


I am only writing to you now because our neighbor was kind enough to give us a heads up that the local Tractor Supply store got in 100 precious generators and we decided to break the piggy bank open and rush over to get one. We got lucky and where able to snag one! Once the word spread they went really fast!!! I will just say this, people are nuts when they start to panic and that's what they are starting to do, PANIC! There's lots of people out there who will not be surviving the Zombie Apocalypse when it happens because.....they panic!  We on the other hand will be able to shoot the zombies in the head as we run to pick up firewood to stay warm!  I find it fairly interesting that we won't have power for perhaps 14 more days, but the internet people have their lines all repaired and up and running??  Weird huh JCP&L???   But hey, there's lots of free firewood now to pick up along the side of the road. 

Sgt getting free firewood, take note to the sagging power line!
 

Can't go down this road....see the really BIG tree across the road in front of the blue car.  

I won't even begin to tell you how hard it is to get gas right now....you really can't around here yet (and I live in west New Jersey) as gas stations run on electricity :( If you do chance on a gas station that is running the wait is 1/2 mile long and the gas goes fast. As I stated above, everyone is in the OMG panic mode. 

We are very lucky as nothing was destroyed on our property!  We also have heat and water from our rain barrels.  All I have to say is, bring on the zombies! 

~MaryDeluxe

Waiting it out....

....that's what we're doing here in the western area of New Jersey as our poor coastline is taking a beating from the"Frankenstorm". We prepared the property yesterday for the approaching storm by fixing windows, patching roofs, bringing in wood, covering the wood pile, and cramming as much as possible into the two car garage.

 
Actually, these are normal things we do around here to prepare for Winter, we just had to start a little early this year. We ALWAYS lose power where we live...it could be a perfectly sunny day or perhaps just a passing thunder storm, and if a tree falls down in the right spot somewhere in a 10 mile vicinity, that's pretty much it for the power! We know we will be losing power eventually, we're just not sure when.

So, I've been spending my day making a big pot of veggie chili, making pizza dough for later, and in general prepping for when we lose our power. (the lights have been flickering as I write and I can hear the trees breaking outside my window, it's a creepy, scary sound) I think I'll make some corn muffins next, while I still have use of my oven, and also whip up some mashed potatoes....I love to eat my chili over mashed potatoes! How do you eat your chili?


No serious worries here, as I have a fire to keep me warm, a good book to read, lots of candles, and a big bottle of wine to calm my nerves! Lets all cross our fingers that when we wake up tomorrow, the rest of the Eastern Shoreline will still be here.

Stay safe East Coasters!

~MaryDeluxe

Blog Lovin': Save the Kales

A little over a year ago, I became a new resident of the Lehigh Valley and so I began a search online of blogs that might help me become more familiar with my new home. It's at that time, that I ran across the blog "Save the Kales",written by Jaime K, and have been a devoted reader ever since!

When I first began reading Jaime's blog, I enjoyed trying out her vegan recipes, reading about nifty local restaurants and quirky little shops.  My all time favorite STK recipe has to be her "SteelStacks Salad"!  You just can't go wrong with soba noodles and it's so simple to make!

STEELSTACKS SALAD RECIPE (from Save the Kales)

INGREDIENTS:

• cooked Soba Noodles (2 “bundles” from one package)
• 2-3 heads of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1-2 cucumbers, peeled and cut into half-circle shapes
• 2-3 carrots, peeled and cut any shape you like!)
• 6-8 raw radishes, cut in circles

DRESSING and GARNISH:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce OR tamari OR Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
• 1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 or 2 cloves fresh grated garlic
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• toasted sesame seeds
• 1 bunch green onion, chopped 

Jaime has recently moved on to host her own local television show called, you guessed it, Save the Kales!  The shows are wonderful 30 minute episodes that showcase the community we live in, yummy vegan recipes that are so simple to make, and local people doing cool things!  I've had the pleasure of running into Jaime K,  quite by accident at a local book store, and was happy to discover that she's just as cute, and bubbly in person as she is on her show.  (After we left the store, I had to apologize to Sgt for trapping him in a "girl moment".)  

Where to find Jaime K and "Save the Kales":

Save the Kales

Facebook

Twitter
Pintrest

I look forward to reading more about her life adventures and hope you'll enjoy reading too!

~MaryDeluxe

Dorothy's Diary

 

 (Sis and Dot from Dorothy Diary website)

I've posted about the website Dorothy's Diary before here on DeluxeVille.  It's a wonderful website that documents the life of a teenage girl named Dorothy, from her own daily diary entries, in 1945 and 1946.   I love this site and discovered that Dorothy's son Dave has redone the website and it now includes scrapbooks and interesting facts about the time period and area Dot writes about!  Dot's sister "Sis" also adds comments to Dot's dairy writings.

If you love vintage pictures, the 1940's, and those bygone days, this is a must read website for you to check out.  If you've read Dot's diary in the past, go make a cup of tea and read it again!  Trust me, you won't step away from the computer until you finish it and you won't be sorry about wasting an hour or two doing so!

 

(Dot's friend Sunny....LOVE the hair!)

Also, don't forget to check out the epilogue to see what happened with Dot years later.  You might need a tissue, I know I did. 

Dorothy's Diary Links:

Dorothy's Diary

Dorothy's Diary Blogspot

Dorothy's Diary Facebook

Enjoy!

~MaryDeluxe