Ellie's World is Spinning

ELLIE:  Mr. Waffles! Mr. Waffles! Everything's sideways!!!  

WAFFLES:  That's because you're sideways. Wait...you're upside down AND sideways. 

 

ELLIE:  That can't be right, Mr. Waffles. You're not upside down at all. You look...uh, normal-ish.

WAFFLES:  Normal-ish? Whaddya mean, normal-ISH???

ELLIE:  LOL!!! You said ISH!!!

WAFFLES:  You said it first!

About Today's Photos

Ellie was sure working it on the red chair for Gloman and his camera! Every time he walks literally anywhere in the house, Ellie loves to run ahead of him and then tip over for a full body tummy scratch. She loves is SO much that she even rolls over when she's on the chair. And yes, she's actually fallen off the chair while twirling and twisting for her tummy love. 

Waffles loves a good tummy rub too...on his terms. And only in the middle of his tummy and up to his chinny-chin-chin. When Ellie tips over, she wants it ALL. She loves being rubbed everywhere. Even what most cats would consider to be those untouchable zones. Ellie is definitely a lover!

The Great Super Moth Hunt

WAFFLES:  Be very still, Ellie.

ELLIE:  Why, Mr. Waffles? What are we doing? 

WAFFLES:  We're on the hunt, Ellie. 

ELLIE:  What are we hunting, Mr. Waffles? 

WAFFLES:  Be careful, Ellie. No sudden moves. 

ELLIE:  It's a bird! It's a plane! It's, it's–

WAFFLES:  It's SUPER MOTH! 

ELLIE:  What's a super moth, Mr. Waffles? 

WAFFLES:  It's the most giantest of the giant moths. 

ELLIE:  How giant is giantest?

WAFFLES:  How giant? Known to grab seven pound kittens and fly off with them.

ELLIE:  I don't know, Mr. Waffles. He looks pretty small to me. Looks like a bug with baby wings. 

About Today's Photos

Waffles and Ellie LOVE moth hunting. The bathroom windows attract more of these flying friends than any other windows. Lucky for the moths, there's a heavy duty screen keeping them safe and out of reach. In fact, that probably makes the hunt even more fun.

Gloman was ready with his camera when he noticed Waffles and Ellie transfixed on the little moth at the top of the window. The kitties didn't even know he was there.

A Special Thank You

We want you to know how touched Glogirly was by all of your heartfelt birthday wishes here on our blog and on Facebook too. We have the best friends and readers in the world! 

 

Happy Birthday Glogirly!

ELLIE:  Whatcha got, Mr. Waffles? Is that our birthday present for Glogirly? Does she like orange snakes? Because I LOVE orange snakes.

WAFFLES:  Not sure she's much of a snake fan, Ellie. Even orange furry ones like this.

ELLIE:  So what are we going to give her for her birthday? Should we go shopping? You know, like online and stuff?

WAFFLES:  You weren't here last year at this time, Ellie. So you may have not learned this yet. The kitty that came before you–

ELLIE:  You mean Katie?

WAFFLES:  Yes, Katie. She taught me that it's not about shiny new wand toys, furry fake snakes, or catnip filled mouses. It's not even about chicken treats.

ELLIE:  Not about chicken treats???

WAFFLES:  I know. At first I thought that was just crazy talk. 

ELLIE:  So what do we give her, Mr. Waffles?

WAFFLES:  The best present we could ever give her is to fill her heart with love. 

ELLIE:  But how do we do that, Mr. Waffles?

WAFFLES:  It's easy, Ellie. You know how much she loves it when we're together, right? 

ELLIE:  I think so.

ELLIE:  You mean like this? This is all we have to do to give her the best present ever?

WAFFLES:  This is all we have to do, Ellie. 

WAFFLES:  And extra credit for head butts. 

Happy Birthday to our Girl!!!

July 19 is a very special day here in the mountains. It's our girl's birthday! She probably isn't going to divulge just how many years she's celebrating...she doesn't want to blow Waffles' mind with such big numbers. 

It's a very special birthday because it's her first birthday since Gloman moved permanently from Minnesota to Colorado. He's already showered her with beautiful flowers from her favorite floral designer and rumor has it there's something special hiding in the fridge with a "Paws Off - No Peeking" warning note. They're going to enjoy a special dinner too. 

But the best gift in the world is being together. With each other and with Waffles and Ellie. It's what makes her heart incredibly happy and full.

Sleeping & Sun Puddling

ELLIE:  Are you awake, Mr. Waffles? Or just sun puddling?

WAFFLES:  Sleeping and sunning, Ellie.

ELLIE:  Can I sleep and sun puddle too?

WAFFLES:  Oh boy–

ELLIE:  I'm a GIRL cat, Mr. Waffles.

WAFFLES:  How about you try being a QUIET cat?

ELLIE:  But if I'm quiet, you can't hear me!

WAFFLES:  Yup.

About Today's Photos

Despite Ellie growing up and becoming more independent, and despite Waffles enjoying his own space from time to time, they still find time to snuggle, groom, and nap together.

The bedroom chair by the window is prime real estate around here so it's a very good thing they've figured out how to enjoy it together!

Dinnerwatch

WAFFLES:  It's 4:43.  

ELLIE:  Whatcha doing, Mr. Waffles?

WAFFLES:  Dinnerwatch. It's 4:44. You really should come over here. I may need backup. 

ELLIE:  I'm kind of busy, Mr. Waffles. There's butterflies and stuff. 

WAFFLES:  Dinner is WAY more important than butterflies, Ellie.

ELLIE:  But there's all kinds of cool smells and bugs. It's all breezy too. Don't worry, it's not windy. I know you're scared of the wind.

WAFFLES:  She's heading into the kitchen. She's opening the refrigerator door. It's like 5:01, I think. Seriously, Ellie. You need to get over here. Enough with the windows and breezy bugs... 

ELLIE:  Mmmmm, this one smells really good.

WAFFLES:  ELLIE!!!

ELLIE:  MR. WAFFLES!!!

WAFFLES:  It's 5:04. We're doomed. Surely we're going to starve. 

About Today's Photos

Happy Belated 4th of July, friends! We spent a quiet weekend at home, enjoying the beautiful weather and mountain air. Glogirly worked in her perennial garden, while Ellie and Waffles napped in sun puddles. That is, when Waffles wasn't on dinnerwatch. That's what we call it when Waffles heads to the kitchen, or wherever Glogirly is in anticipation of dinner. Sometimes he'll start as early as 3:30pm. When the clock approaches 5pm, things get really serious.

Ellie is far more interested in looking out the windows. She's absolutely fascinated with every little thing outside. The breeze, the quivering leaves on the aspen trees, the birds and butterflies. She can spot our resident bunny from 100 feet away. Since our windows are our air conditioning, we open and close them regularly. Her favorite time of the day is just after dinner when it's cool enough to open up all of them. She'll follow Gloman around and sit in every single windowsill as he opens up the window. Once one is opened, she bounces to the next with him. She does this again and again...and we have a LOT of windows!  

Remembering Our Katie

Glogirly wanted to share one of her favorite parts of her garden with you today. She added in this beautiful engraved stone late last summer. It sits next to patina kitty that's gazing up into the heavens though a pair of bronze binoculars. She likes to think that Katie is watching us when she gazes up at the clouds. Just behind the stone are three peony plants that Glogirly added to the garden nearly four years ago. They've never bloomed before, in fact she had no idea what color they'd be if they ever bloomed. They're blooming now. And they're the most beautiful pink. 

It's Raining, It's Pouring

ELLIE:  I sure hope the birds and chipmunks know how to swim, Mr. Waffles! It keeps raining and raining and Mr. Sun is nowhere to be found. And why are Glogirly and Gloman doing their happy dance? I hope they know how to swim too.

WAFFLES:  Rain is supposed to be good for wildfires, Ellie. That's why Glogirly and Gloman are dancing. Pretty sure the sun will be back super soon. Me and Mr. Sun are tight. In the meantime, you really should take advantage of all the nice napping blankets around here. Just be sure to–

ELLIE:  Keep my distance. Don't encroach and stuff. Whatever that means.

WAFFLES:  Exactly.

Roller Coaster Weather

One this is for certain when it comes to weather in the rocky mountains. Absolutely nothing. 

We can experience four seasons in four hours. Just a little over a week ago, we were longing for the days of our Minneapolis air conditioning. Nobody, including us, has A/C here in the mountains. There are really only a small handful of days that it would be nice to have it and the temperatures always cool off beautifully in the evenings and overnight. Nature is our air conditioner. That said, just about 7-10 days ago we were pretty miserable. It was in the upper 80s up here at 8,000 feet. And in the direct sun it was probably reaching up into the 90s. (Over 100 in Denver!) 

For the past few days we've been enjoying unseasonably cool temperatures mixed with some very well needed rain. Wildfires are a really concern for us, so any amount of moisture is truly a gift. That's why Glogirly and Gloman are doing their happy dance.

Cool temps and rain are in the forecast for the next week and they couldn't be happier. So while many parts of the country are suffering through dangerously high heat, we're bundling up in sweaters and blankets. 

Ellie and Waffles are sure missing Mr. Sun though!

To all our friends that are experiencing severely high temperatures - Please stay safe and hydrated. Keep a special eye on your furry family members as well as seniors and anyone with compromised health concerns. We hope we can share some of our cooler weather with you very soon.

One Year Later - Waffles Remembers Katie

 

WAFFLES:  Hello, earth to Boss! Are you there, Boss? Come in, Boss. 

WAFFLES:  It's been a whole year since we had to say goodbye. I can tell that Glogirly still really misses you, Boss. She says there will never be another cat like you. 

I want you to know that the present you sent her has helped make her heart happy again. Ellie even looks a little bit like you, Boss. I told her she can't tell me what to do though because YOU'LL always be the Boss. But I've been teaching her stuff like how to watch the birds and bunnies, how to chase bugs. I even taught her how to play fetch and sit on Gloman's lap. 

Sometimes I try to steal her breakfast, you know, like I used to do with you. And she even lets me, just like you did. 

WAFFLES:  I know you're not coming back, Boss. But this will always be your home and we'll always be your family. 

PS - I'm still taking good care of your frog toy and the purple fuzzy heart. 

One Year
A year ago this past weekend, we said goodbye to our sweet Katie girl. Glogirly thinks about her everyday as the wind softly blows through the pine trees and her wind chime sings its beautiful song. 

I'm so grateful to have been able to share Katie with our friends and readers. When I'm missing her, I find so many wonderful memories though the pages of our blog and the kind comments left by so many of you.

Thank you for welcoming little Ellie into your hearts and inboxes. She's pure joy and a such gift to our family. I think Katie is smiling. 

Forever loved.

Forever missed.