Kittens...the only way to start the day!

Maybe I should have named my blog Karen's Kitty Korner of Karen's Kat House! Then again after reading Rob's Blog today maybe not. I don't want his neighbor or someone similar coming after me!! LOL. This morning I got up a little late. I hate to wake up and the first thing that comes to my mind, and/or out of my mouth is "Shit!". I stumble to the kitchen and pour 2 cups of coffee (1 for me and 1 for DH) and grab the cat food. When I open the back door there's all my little babies waiting for me. What the heck, I decide, it's to late to wash my hair but that gave me time to play with the kittens :) I wanna be a stay-at-home cat mom!!

First off, the older cats and the kittens know our feeding routine down to the minute. This morning I saw that Big Bird, the peacock, had left a wing feather on the back porch steps. As I was filling up the food bowls (almost 1 bowl per cat and remember I have a lot of cats!) there where a couple of the kittens checking out the feather. So I calmly reach over and grab the stalk of the feather and start wiggling it back and forth. One little daredevil kitty grabs it and we play tug-of-war for a few seconds when it's momma comes up and starts rubbing against my legs and talking to the kitty. The kitty hesitates as if trying to choose between momma and playing and then grabs the feather again.

Soon it's playing without keeping it's eye on me and having a fun time so I sneakily reach down and pet it. It kind of looks around at my hand like "What the...?" and then continues playing and starts to purr! For the next minute or two I wiggle the feather with one hand and pet him/her with the other. (Can you rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time? LOL Thank God the neighbors didn't go by with me outside in my jammies playing with the kittens!) Two more kitties see the one having so much fun that they join in. Jumping out of the bush to grab the feather or one of the other kittens, they don't care which they get as long as they get something. The 2 new ones aren't to sure about me touching them even though they were watching me pet their litter mate so I back off and just let them play with the feather. It won't be long before they will let me hold and pet them, I think. Besides, I needed to get busy getting ready for work. Will try again when I get home. So far I've had 1 let me pick it up and the 1 this morning let me play and pet it. That's progress.

Everything else is running along smoothly. Work stinks but whats new! Jack is doing better now that we know he had strep throat and he's on meds. Had a big storm go through late last night. Lots of lightning but didn't lose power. Only lost Internet and TV signal off and on.

The big news today is that Tony Stewart is leaving Gibbs Racing! He is going to Haas Racing and will have ownership. Haas team is currently being run by the Gen. Manager because the current owner is serving 2 years in prison for tax evasion! Was so afraid Tony was going to go to the #5 car and that would make him a team mate to Jeff!!! Yuck!! Was so happy when they announced last weekend that Mark Martin is going to drive the #5 car next year! I just can't see myself cheering for Tony...won't happen!

I need to get some work done so I'll quit jabbering and post some the only thing I found interesting in today's history. Again, it's from a time period I love to read and research on:

Today in History:

July 9, 1850

President Taylor dies of cholera

Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, dies suddenly from an attack of cholera morbus. He was succeeded by Millard Fillmore.

Raised in Kentucky with little formal schooling, Zachary Taylor received a U.S. Army commission in 1808. He became a captain in 1810 and was promoted to major during the War of 1812 in recognition of his defense of Fort Harrison (named for William Henry Harrison who would become President one day.) against attack by Shawnee chief Tecumseh. In 1832, he became a colonel and served in the Black Hawk War and in the campaigns against the Seminole Indians in Florida, winning the nickname of "Old Rough and Ready" for his informal attire and indifference to physical adversity.

Sent to the Southwest to command the U.S. Army at the Texas border, Taylor crossed the Rio Grande with the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846. In May, Taylor defeated the Mexicans at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, and in September he captured the city of Monterrey. In February 1847, he achieved his crowning military victory at the Battle of Buena Vista, where his force triumphed despite being outnumbered three to one. This victory firmly established Taylor as a popular hero, and in 1848, despite his lack of a clear political platform, he was nominated the Whig presidential candidate.

Elected in November, Taylor soon fell under the influence of William H. Seward, a powerful Whig senator, and in 1849 he supported the Wilmot Proviso, which would exclude slavery from all the territory acquired as a result of the Mexican War. His inflexible responses to Southern criticisms of this policy aggravated the nation's North-South conflict and revealed his political inexperience. Matters were at a stalemate when he died suddenly on July 9, 1850.

Hope to get some pictures of the kitties and get them posted. Have a wonderful evening all! Until next post....