Cat Lady No. 273...Apple Slump

Cat Lady Ruthie and Hubert have just returned from a lovely afternoon of picking apples in the back yard. Ruthie can't wait to try out an old, hand-written recipe that she found tucked away in the back of the recipe box of her dear departed grandmother. The recipe is called Apple Slump and here is how it goes:

Peel and core some apples and slice them up nice and put them in a stew pot. Cook with a little sugar and water until soft but not too soft. Then in a bowl, sift 2 cups flour and 1 big pinch of baking powder with a pinch of salt, add 2 cups of milk, and stir. Roll out to fit into the stew pot and set on top of the apples. Put on the lid and cook for 10 minutes. Don't peek until that 10 minutes is up! Serve with fresh cream.

For more old-timey apple recipes visit the Apple Journal where there are dozens of recipes reproduced from The Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture published in 1914 in North Yakima, Washington.

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Cat Lady No. 272...You Are My Sunshine

Kalin Mae was rescued "from the chopping block" when she was 11 months old by Cat Lady Cyndi.

Eternally grateful, Kalin became her new mama's Little Sunshine for the next 18 years.

During that time, Kalin showed an amazing aptitude for math and statistics. In 2003 she helped Feline Fella Rick discover a sequence of numbers (now called the Kalin Sequence: 2,4,2,4,6,2,6,4) that help explain the pattern of the prime numbers. For two consecutive nights, she used her tail-swishing (two flicks; four flicks, etc) to help him solve this age-old math problem that she claimed "was just too easy for my superior cat intelligence."

As for statistics, here are some of Kalin's favorites that she made note of:

• Mama told me that she loved me every single day that I belonged to her: 6544 times
• I snuggled on my Mama’s lap this many times (at least once a day after dinner): 6425 times (discounting her vacation days every year)
• Mama ensured that I would see a long and happy life on earth: 6874 days = 18.82 years
• Mama fed me this many cans of Fancy Feast every night around midnight when I meowed at her to feed me: 6425 times
• Mama emptied my litter box this many times: 12850 times
• Mama gave me a whole lobster on my 10th birthday: 1 time
• Every time my folks went out to dinner each week, I was never let down when I begged for and received special treats: 2754 times

As Kalin's housemate Shabby said "Kalin would have liked for me to relay her thanks to all the Mamas out there who have had the opportunity to know what it is like to care for and love a cat through a long, happy, and sometimes challenging life."

In Loving Memory of Kalin Mae

You will find more of Kalin's fascinating statistics at Kalin's Catster Page!

Cat Lady No. 271...An Autumn Riddle

Cat Lady Gwyneth and Lord Bigglesworth have a riddle for you:

What do autumn leaves and ripening bananas have in common?

Some clues can be found at
Why Do Leaves Change Color?

Still not sure? Here is the answer as explained by Science Made Simple:

The green color in unripe bananas comes from chlorophyll, the same pigment that gives green leaves their color. As bananas ripen, the chlorophyll breaks down and disappears, revealing the yellow color which has been there all along. The yellows and oranges of autumn leaves are also revealed as their chlorophyll breaks down.

Now go have some fun and jump into that big pile of leaves. You know you want to...

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Cat Lady No. 270...The Results Are In!

Cat Lady Hagatha and Assistant Cat Batty have two announcements to make.

First, based on the very scientific 365 Cat Ladies poll, their friend Nancy - who was in search of a more beguiling, less acceptable, more mysterious, less predictable, more bewitching name--has changed her name to Esmerelda.

Esmerelda was the most popular name in the poll with 23% of the votes. To Hagatha's delight, Hagatha was the second most popular name with 14% of the votes. Thank you to all who put in their 2 cents worth!

The second of the announcements is the winner of the 365 Cat Ladies September Giveaway No. 2. In a random drawing, commenter #11 was determined to be the winner. Congratulations Irena!! In a stunning and ironic turn of events, it appears that the winner of the Cat Lady Giveaway is a certified Dog Person! (Hey, we are an equal opportunity pet lover blog here and adore our woofie friends )...You'll find Irena's delightful arwork on her blog Just Crazy About Dogs and in her Etsy Shop. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Cat Lady No. 269...RagaMuffin Time

Cat Lady Sharon is crazy for RagaMuffin cats and they are crazy about her. Sharon happily shares her life with a furry herd of these bunny-soft and sweet as sugar felines.

Ike, Petunia, Angel and kitten Glory always enjoy a group snuggle and some special "purr time" with Sharon.

RagaMuffins are a relatively new breed and are floppy, lovable, teddy-bear cats. Angel loves to demonstrate these qualities with her classic "Angel Resist-Me-If-You-Can Reclining Pose" as illustrated!

To learn more about these lovable RagaMuffins (including pictures of available kittens, plus one special available adult), please visit Sharon's website: www.luvnmuffin.com

Thanks for visiting!

Cat Lady No. 268...Sweater Weather

Cat Lady Kyra and feline friend Delilah can't wait for fall weather to begin...

For Kyra, it means pulling all of her aran sweaters out of the cedar chest.

The Aran Sweater gets its name from the islands where it originated many generations ago, off the West coast of Ireland. The Islanders were fishermen and farmers and each family had their own particular pattern, a unique combination of stitches, which was closely guarded and passed down from mother to daughter, generation to generation.

Here is a sampling of Aran patterns and their meanings: Aran Patterns

As for Delilah, autumn weather means that there is a greatly increased chance that a soft, warm sweater might be forgotten in a nice warm spot where she might curl up for a long, warm nap...

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Just one day left to enter the September Giveaway! For details, visit this post: ENTER NOW!

Cat Lady No. 267...Keeping Toasty

Feline Fanatic Jerrilee and her Himalayan Honey are looking forward to cozy autumn nights in front of the fireplace.

The chimney has been inspected and cleaned, the flue is open and there is a nice stack of dry fire wood just outside the back door. Kindling, old newspaper, and matches are at the ready.

Next, it's time for a refresher course on How To Make A Good Fire In Your Fireplace. This link has step-by-step instructions.

Now all that's left to do is to check the cupboards for hot cocoa and marshmallows.

Jerrilee's work is done. "That's easy," thinks Honey to herself. "Try growing your own winter coat..."

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You'll find this "feline fanatic" design on a selection of t-shirts and gifts in my Cafepress shop: Himalayan Gifts and Tees