Apollo and Morgan, cats 3 & 4

I had my two cats, Hank and Merlin, and life was good.  I had a screened in porch that I left food out for them, because my cats were indoor/outdoor for a long time.  I lived in a trailer park while I was going to school, and it was out in the country, so I wasn't worried about speeding cars.  One night I heard a racket out on the porch and found Hank in a standoff with this gorgeous gray and white long haired cat over the food.  It took me several weeks to get this cat used to me, and moving the food bowl closer and closer to me, I was finally able to get my hands on him.  Underneath all that fur he was light as a feather.  He was also all matted up.  By this time my baby sister was also attending the same college, and had a trailer in the same park.  I called her up to hold the cat while I trimmed out the mats.  He was calm as could be as long as he was in your arms or in the house, but as soon as he got out he reverted to the feral he had been for so long.  I took him to the vet and got him his shots and had him neutered.  He never gained a lot of weight, but he was so soft and gentle in the house.  Apollo got on well with Hank and Merlin.  He was a ragdoll type cat, and would just lay in whatever position you put him in.  He would have been a great cat for a house with children! 

Not long after Hank died, a neighbor kid came by with an orange and white kitten, trying to find it a home.  Morgan was a beautiful cat, but he always had a skin condition, allergies of some sort.  He didn't like to be touched, and I think it was just too uncomfortable for him.  He used to hang out with my 80+ year old neighbor on her porch swing.  She was allergic to cats and never petted him, but she would talk to him for hours.  He would roll over and show her his belly and she would scold him when he was watching the birds too intently!  She bought him snacks and toys and I fed him and paid his vet bills.  I can't find a picture of Morgan, probably because he was always with Thelma!



Below is a video of my current two cats and one I am babysitting for my nephew, enjoying a little catnip party!

Pantry pictures at the beginning of the Challenge

 The Freezer compartment, with broth freezing on the cookie sheet.  Yes, I really do have this much food.  Hope to make a dent in it so I can freeze some ice cubes, somewhere.  I have inventoried the top section, but still have that bottom drawer to go through.  Hope I don't have to throw much away!

 The Refrigerator portion is also stuffed to the gills.  I do have bags of varous nut flours and seeds behind all of this, and want to keep them in there.  Some of it I will replace immediately as I use it, the Chia seed gel and the Cantaloupe sections go in my smoothies.

 The meat, soup and veggie cabinet with some pantry items on the top shelf, brown sugar, corn starch, etc.

 The fruit cabinet, with spices in the box at the top and honey and cooking spray on the second shelf.  This is right next to the stove.

 The baking cabinet with most extracts, and some don't know where to put it stuff.

 Assorted goodies, needing to be sorted.  Corner cabinets are tough.  I think I need to get some lazy susans in here.

Overflow again,  crackers, raisens, malt and tea.  The only cabinet I have inventoried so far is the Fruit and spice cabinet.  I do have work to do.

Freezer inventory

Wow.  You can sure fit a lot of food in a refrigerator freezer.  Especially if it is one of the bottom freezers.  I did throw out some unidentified frozens.  New resolution, label everything!  I can see that the inventory sheet is going to be very helpful when putting together meal plans.  As a single retired, I am not used to actually sitting down for a full meal, and usually single course my way through the day, eating often, but not much at one time.  I am also sorting through lots of stuff, getting ready to put my house on the market at some point.  I found an old Richard Simmons "deal a meal" set, and I think I am going to use it to help me when I am menu planning.  Lots of tools out there, just have to actually USE them.  Hopefully next weeks menu plan will be thought out a little better.

8 years ago, the day after my parents 50th anniversary, my father lost his battle with leukemia and graduated from this life to the next.  Miss you, Daddy.

Resolved

Along with the Pantry Challenge this month, I have also decided it is past time to give up the Mt. Dew.  Again.  This is very hard for me, and I have a 12 pack of Sierra Mist (no high fructose corn syrup, no caffeine) to tide me over the first week.  After that is will be just water and juice.  I am also logging everything I eat into my Spark Page, which of course will make me much more aware of food.  I am hoping to make life easier for my knees!
After more than 10 years without a TV, I now have one.  I had an old 21 inch, but when I got the new dvd/vcr player to convert old family videos, I found that the old TV didn't have the hookups needed.  So now I have a 32" flatscreen and a flat antenna that pulls in the networks, Fox and PBS.  Pretty cool, but in order to watch TV, I have to be doing something else, so now I am crocheting again.  The cats are entertained.  This is the pattern I am working on, but with a pink, cranberry, light brown, medium green and ecru colorway.

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90699AD.html?noImages=;newreg=1&r=1

Meal plan for the first week of January

My goals for this challenge are to clean out the cubboards and freezer and avoid throwing away food!
Saving money will be a nice side benefit, but not the primary goal.  I live alone and don't always plan the best way to use up food.  I don't mind freezing leftovers, but I hate forgetting that they are there until it is too late to use them.  Time to inventory the freezer!

I finished off the Turkey barley soup for lunch today, and am freezing the rest of the broth.  I need more protein today, so will have tuna salad for dinner, on a bed of fresh spinach. 

Tuesday-  Scambled egg and toast. Smoothie for snack
                Pita bread pizza with homemade sauce and canadian bacon and pineapple
                Big salad with turkey for dinner.

Wednesday- Steel cut oatmeal w/craisens and a smoothie for morning snack
                 Tuna on toast and apple/spinach salad--Making extra creamed tuna to use in casserole on friday
                  Broccoli, turkey and cheddar rice bake--Making extra for lunch tomorrow and to freeze for later

Thursday- Fried egg sandwich, smoothie for snack
                 Leftover rice bake
                 Twice baked potato and Salmon filet--Making extra potatoes to freeze for later meals.

Friday-     Oatmeal w/apples and smoothie for snack
                  Tuna casserole
                  Big salad with turkey

Saturday--Clean up leftovers
                 

New year, new plans- Eating out of the Pantry again!

I am going to start 2012 off with a new "Eat out of the Pantry" challenge.  I am planning on making an inventory of the freezer, refrigerator and canned goods cubboard this week.  I did the fruit and spices cubboard last week, cleaning out the old stuff as I did some rearranging.  I made a tomato sauce last week and am combining it with some already cooked and frozen ground beef and some spaghetti for todays supper. 

I was in Kroger last week after Christmas and they announced a sale on their cooked, then frozen, turkeys, .39 a pound.  I grabbed one, reheated it, then pulled the meat off the bones and simmered the bones for stock with carrots, onions, and some spices.  After cooling it in the refrigerator and skimming off the fat, I am freezing  it in freezer bags in 3 cup portions.  After making a turkey and barley soup, I still have 18 cups of broth!  Great for soups and casseroles, which I see a lot of in the month ahead, as I use up what I have.  I still have a lot of white meat for meals and dark and white shredded for more soups.  I paid less than $5 for that Turkey!

Hank and Merlin, my first two cats.

Hank was my first cat.

He was an orange tabby people lover.

He was gregarious and a talker. I was still going to school

and working, so I thought I would get another cat to keep him company.

For his one year birthday.

I went back and got his sister, same momma, next litter.

Merlin was a beautiful dilute tortoiseshell.

Hank was horrified! Hissed at me, hissed at her, was totally obnoxious.

I put Merlin in the bathroom to keep her safe, and

I called my baby sister to come down and

be Merlin's mommy, so that Hank would calm down. This was my

first kitty integration and I wasn't sure what I was doing.

After several days she called me at

work to let me know that they were cuddled up together on the

papason chair, sleeping. It Worked! He was always MY cat,

and Merlin was HIS

(Hank's) cat. It wasn't till 11 or 12 years later,

after he died, that Merlin became MY cat.

She was such a snuggler.

I still miss them both.