How to Build a Squirrel Picnic Table (a tutorial)

I've gotten a lot of compliments on the squirrel picnic table I made for my squirrels, so I wanted to write the specifics here in case someone else wanted to replicate it.

*Note: I've been seeing pictures that people have posted of their tables after using my tutorial, and it makes me sad that they don't give me credit for it! It would be nice to share a link--I worked hard on this, and I'd appreciate it if others knew about my tutorial. Thank you!*

As I said before, this table was NOT my idea... it came from a photo of a table that went viral. A man made a squirrel picnic table and shared the photo on Facebook, and then several people sent the picture to me and said I should make one. Of course I agreed! (Here is a link to the original: Squirrel Picnic Table by Rick Kalinowski)

(Here is the post about how it went over with my squirrels when I was done building it)

So, here I am posting a (not great) tutorial for how to build it (assuming you're familiar with simple woodworking). Because I made this up as I went along, I don't have pictures of everything. But this will give you a good idea of how I made it.

I didn't have many scraps of wood left to work with, and I ended up using a slightly warped board that was 1 inch by 12 inches by 6 feet. I used my table saw to cut it down to the size pieces I wanted and I used the router to smooth out the edges of each piece. But this is a project that is a great way to use up scraps of any size!

I was going for a "rustic" look--I wanted it to look a little more detailed/realistic than the original viral photo (mainly because I love woodworking and I wanted to spend some time using my new tools making it my "own" rather than a copy of the original).

Even though I spent a ton of time disassembling and reassembling pieces of it as I went along, I finally got it done and it's actually very simple to make! I added an umbrella, but I'm not going to include that here because I don't think my squirrels were happy with it, hahaha.

Here, I'll just show how I made the table, and then you can choose how to hang it. (I added a block of wood on one end of the table and screwed the block into a post on my deck.)

First, here are the final cuts I made out of the warped board. These are actual dimensions and not the "common" dimensions of most strips of wood. (Aside from the wood, I used exterior screws that were 1-1/4 inches long)

Seat tops (4): 2" x 3/4" x 8"
Table top (3): 2" x 3/4" x 8"
Legs (4): I will detail this below, because I cut them on an angle; but the boards were 1.5" x 3/4" x 5" (They were 6" before I angled them on the miter saw)
Supports for table top (2): 3/4" x 3/4" x 5"
Supports for seats (2) 1.5" x 3/4" x 12"

(In the photo below, the dimensions are slightly different than they ended up being... I modified the dimensions a little as I worked, but this shows the pieces I cut):

First, I cut out all the boards on the table saw. I thought about putting them together as-is, but when I think of picnic tables, I picture the edges of the boards being slightly rounded (a little more rustic). So, used the router with a rounding bit to trim the edges along the length of the boards.

For the legs, I had no idea what angle to cut them. I eyeballed it, and then noticed that it was close to a number that, on my miter saw, is highlighted at 22.5°. I have no idea why that is an important number as far as mitering goes, but I decided to give that number a try. And it worked great!

So, after routing the leg pieces (they were about 6" in length), I cut each side to a 22.5° angle with the miter saw (making each one a parallelogram). After angling, they were 5" from the top edge straight down to the bottom edge.


To assemble:

(There has to be a better way to assemble than what I did, because it was hard to drill in such a tiny area. I had to use a drill bit that allowed me to drill at a right angle. But here is what I did...)

Lay the three table top pieces next to each other, and then lay the two tabletop support pieces on top of those (perpendicular to the tabletop pieces).

I put the table top support pieces 2" in from the edge of the boards and screwed them down to the bottom of the table top. (Yes, they're messy looking, but they were just scraps and hidden from the outside of the table).

Then I placed the legs on the outer side of the support boards (1/4 inch apart in center) and screwed them into place from behind.

You can see from the side--this is how I laid it out to see what I wanted it to look like from the side. (Obviously that's a bigger gap than 1/4-inch between the top of the legs, but this was just a rough idea as I worked--after assembling, there is 1/4-inch there. The dimensions below are what they ended up being when I was done).

If you look at the side of the "A" frame when everything is together, the measurement from the bottom of the middle tabletop board to the top of the seat support is 2-5/8". (Updated: There was a typo here, I've corrected it)

After screwing the legs into place, I added the seat support boards--those are just screwed into the legs from behind.

Finally, I placed the seat boards on top of the seat supports and screwed them down into the supports from the top.

As I clearly demonstrated, this is NOT an easy thing to explain, but I think the pictures help. The dimensions aren't super important, and you can just play around with them to get it to look how you want. Basically, I just played around with it until I liked the way it looked.

This is the final result... (like I said, I added an umbrella, but if making it again, I wouldn't do that).

Make sure you check out the post about how my squirrels liked it... I'm so glad I spent so much time working on it for them! *eyeroll* Hahaha

I've put this whole post into a PDF, in case you want to print it for reference. Sorry that it's not a "plans" format, but I'm better at tutorials than I am at writing up plans! Here is the PDF tutorial.

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A Baby Yoda for Jerry

This weather has been gorgeous in Michigan the last couple of days! It's so weird--usually we get a big snowstorm in late March or early April after thinking that the last snowstorm in March would be the end of it. I'm really starting to believe that this may be it--the real start of spring :)

When I woke up, I wanted to finish a project I was working on as a gift for Jerry. As you know, he's a total Star Wars nerd, and he has been obsessed with Baby Yoda ever since November when the Star Wars TV show came out.

When I became interested in crocheting and knitting again, I started on an afghan; then I realized that I really need to do projects that have instant gratification in order to stay interested. I enjoy them more!

So I decided that making little plush toys (amigurumi) would be a good thing to work on. On Amazon, I bought a variety bag of tiny balls of yarn in several different colors (Amazon affiliate link). Then I saw a pattern for a Baby Yoda on Ravelry and I just knew I had to make it for Jerry.

The pattern was in Spanish, and I'd never had to deal with that situation before! There were several other patterns, but I needed one that was very small (due to amount of yarn) and that was free (I didn't want to buy a pattern when there were several free ones).

Despite the fact that I am FLYING through the Spanish lessons in Duolingo (thank you all for the suggestion!), I was super confused when try to decipher the pattern. I managed to read it well enough to make the Baby Yoda, but I had to totally wing it when it came to the coat.

This morning, I finished it up and gave it to Jerry. I like how it turned out! It was my first time using "safety eyes" (they are used in amigurumi) and it was fun.

While I was working on that, my sister sent me a text asking if I could make some face masks for her and Shawn, and possibly a friend of hers (plus her friend's family). And a couple of other people asked for masks, too. Since I was going to make some for my sister, I thought I might as well make as many as I can in case other people need them.

As of today, there is a federal recommendation that everybody wear masks when going in public to grocery stores and whatnot.

I don't have a ton of fabric, and there was no way I was going to be able to make enough masks with pockets for filters (it took a very long time to make them for my family); but since most people don't have the materials for filters anyways, I just decided to do an extra layer of fabric--and for one layer, I used the fabric from a pillowcase. I read that pillowcases are better at keeping out contaminants than regular old cotton fabric.

I noticed that it's definitely harder to breathe through a pillow case than through other fabric (the ones that I cut up weren't used--they came with a fitted sheet for a futon, and we only used the sheet). I know the masks aren't perfect, but they are better than nothing!

I have only been to the grocery store once in the past couple of weeks. It's so weird! I'm always saying that we need to stop grocery store trips, because there is no reason to go--we have plenty of food at home. Now we're actually abiding by that.

Jerry wore his mask to the store today, along with a hat and sunglasses, and got some odd looks ;) But I actually saw a lot of people wearing masks when I went to the store.

Those are actually my sunglasses! Maybe that's why he got the looks. ;)

Anyways, today Eli got a baseball net/cage thing delivered from Amazon. Since he hasn't been able to play baseball, he's going stir-crazy. I love that he plays baseball instead of video games, so I wanted to encourage that--and we bought a huge net thing where he can hit balls off of a tee without them going halfway across the neighborhood.

Jerry went to the store to get some groceries for my parents, and while he was gone, Eli and I set up his net. It was the WORST designed thing I'd ever seen! Setting it up was super frustrating and took about five times longer than I thought it would. In the end, I don't know if we're even going to keep it. It was expensive, especially considering that it's not the greatest quality (something we discovered today during the set-up).

Tonight, Jerry and I had another game night with with our friends via Zoom. It was fun! And thanks to Zoom, I've now seen my old high school friends more in the last two weeks than I have in a year! We played Wits & Wagers again; I think next week, we'll play Scattergories. If any of you have ideas of games that would work well to be played online, please share! I know there are online versions of games (like Cards Against Humanity) but I like the actual physical games.

Oh! I was THRILLED to notice that Nip/Tuck (from the FX channel way back about 15 years ago) is now on Hulu. I loved that show, and I've been looking for it to stream ever since. So, if any of you were fans, just letting you know that you can watch it again on Hulu.

If you haven't heard of it, it's a great show to binge watch during this lockdown. It was considered very "edgy" back then, and it's a mature show (just FYI). I remember that Nip/Tuck and The Shield were very popular and actually they opened the door to a whole new sort of genre of shows.

Funnily enough, I remember giving birth to Noah during an episode of The Shield, hahaha. I watched it every Tuesday night at 10:00. Noah was born at 10:46 pm on a Tuesday. (No, I wasn't actually watching it while I was pushing!) The Shield also had the most memorable finale of any show I've ever watched.

This post really doesn't have a point. It was just a busy day! Tomorrow, I want to finish up the masks I started making and hopefully get them mailed out. Jerry's off this weekend, so if we have another nice day, I'd like to go for a walk at the part or something.

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The Positive Side of "Lockdown"

I'm going to try to keep this short (I say 'try' because I always say that and then my posts are insanely long). Today was the most GORGEOUS day--it got up to 75 degrees and it was sunny.

You know what was SO odd to see, though? People outside. I'm not saying that's bad--I think it's great!--but I've never seen so many people out walking dogs, riding bikes, going for walks, playing ball, etc. Usually, my neighborhood is dead.

Eli had to make a quick video of him catching and then throwing a baseball. It was really cool what his baseball team did in a group chat! Since they can't play ball now, someone suggested a game of "virtual" catch... One boy started it with a video of him throwing the ball (he throws it but you don't see where it goes). He names someone from his team in the video (like, "Hey, Eli, catch!" before throwing).

Then the next video is of that person (we'll say Eli). His video is of him just catching a ball (so it looks like he's catching it from the previous kid) and then throwing it (as if he's throwing it to the next person). Eventually, with all of the videos together, it'll look like they're playing catch. Awesome, right?! When the video is put together, I'll ask the parents if I can share it here.

This whole lockdown has had such an impact on every single part of our lives. Some of it is negative, of course, especially if you or someone you know has contracted coronavirus. However, I've seen so much positive come out of it, too. Like the people who were outside taking advantage of the nicest weather we've had so far this year.

(My kids' schools announced that they won't be going back for this school year... I expected that, but it's still crazy! This whole thing hasn't really hit me yet.)

Every day, my kids have had me drive them to the park to play baseball (they can't walk or ride bikes with all of their equipment). I got a brand new car a few days before all of this craziness started, and I've barely driven it. I have to say that I love not having to drive all the time! I haven't been able to hang out with my family, but I've been video chatting here and there and that's something I never would have done before.

I got a FaceTime call from Luke and Riley a couple of days ago, and it melted my heart. They are so adorable, and getting so big! Luke is potty trained, and Riley basically started potty training herself. They've been playing outside every day.

I did see my brother, Brian a few days ago. He asked me if I wanted some wood that they had leftover from building the house, and I was thrilled! It was odd when he came over because we had to stay a good distance away from each other, but we at least had a conversation.

He told me that he stopped at my parents' house first, and my dad saw all the cedar boards in Brian's truck and told Brian he wanted them for his fence. And Brian gave them to him! I couldn't believe it. I had been so excited to get the boards. The next day, however, my dad said that I could have them because they weren't the right size for his fence. So, my dad brought them over and I talked to him briefly too, from a distance.

I've loved having the time for hobbies. I've been knitting, crocheting, woodworking, sewing... I never used to have much time for it because I was always driving the kids around or working on more important things. A couple of the things I've made are gifts, so I can't share them until I give them to the recipients. But I love how they turned out!

I also made some masks (I think I already posted this?). We can use them for going to the grocery store or other "necessary" places.

(See? This post is long already!)

I'll end with this photo of my squirrel picnic table being used today! Hahaha, not exactly how it was intended, but I believe Rumples is pregnant--she's huge. So, if you can't fit on the bench seat, might as well sit on the table. (She sat there and ate every walnut, and I even brought her another handful, which she ate as well.)

The bench seat reminds me of when I was pregnant with Eli. I went to Olga's with my mom and we were taken to sit in a booth. It never occurred to me that I wouldn't fit! I sat down and my stomach hit the table to the point where I couldn't sit there. (Being 270 pounds at the time didn't help, either, I'm sure.)

This coronavirus has done a number on eating habits, too--good and bad--but I'll save that for another post!

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If you build it, they will come...

(UPDATE: I've made a tutorial for this picnic table, which can be found here: Squirrel Picnic Table Tutorial)

Firstly, I cannot take credit for this little squirrel picnic table idea. Several people sent me photos of one that someone made and said I really need to make it (being a crazy squirrel lady and all).

Here is a link to the original: Squirrel Picnic Table by Rick Kalinowski

I saw the photos and immediately thought, squirrels + woodwork = my perfect hobby project!

I wanted my picnic table to look a little more "authentic" (and I also had pretty much ZERO scraps of wood to work with) so I spent way too much time working on this little thing. My sister suggested adding an umbrella to keep the birds away from the squirrels, and I loved that idea. (I took a trillion photos of the process, so I will try to make a tutorial if anyone is interested.)

I had a warped board that I had bought with the intention to use for shelving (not seeing how warped it was) until I realized that it just wouldn't look right. It's been sitting in my garage for a while. Thanks to my handy dandy table saw, I was able to cut it down to make all the pieces I needed for this cute little squirrel picnic table!

This was a make-it-up-as-you-go-along project, so I spent as much time building it as I did taking it apart and redoing several pieces. I probably spent about 12 hours on this goddamn thing! But I loved every moment of it :)

And I just KNEW my squirrels would love it.

Well, joke's on me! Once I finished it and I hung it up (yes, my deck is TOTALLY in need of repair/cleaning/staining/anything at all), I set some walnuts on it and made the clicking noise I do with my tongue to call the squirrels. Sometimes several of them come, sometimes none at all.

But today, just one of them came. I call her Rumples, because the fur on her head is always kind of rumpled, like she just got out of bed.

So, I spent HOURS working on this picnic table for the squirrels, and here is how I imagine the commentary went when Rumples showed up.

And then less than five minutes later...

The squirrels crack me up. Most of them are totally comfortable taking food from my hand, but this picnic table just screams trouble, apparently ;)

I'm going to keep trying, though! I just want one adorable photo...

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Some random trivia about me to pass the time

Since everyone seems to be on Facebook lately, I've noticed a ton of questionnaires about random things... just silly questions to answer to pass the time. I actually really enjoy reading them! I usually learn something new, even about people I know well.

So, I compiled three of the lists together, and here I go...

What was the last thing you drank?  *Water

Where was your profile picture taken?  *On my back deck (it's the same picture that is on my Facebook page). Yes, this is an old picture (from 2017) and I am probably about 40 pounds heavier(!) now, but I love it. I remember exactly what I was doing (texting; they asked what I was doing and I sent a selfie as a reply). I remember thinking, "Wow, I look good! I didn't have to take a hundred pictures and my skin looks good enough that it almost likes like I filtered the pic!" Hahaha.

Worst pain ever?  *On the pain scale of 1-10 (just for reference)... giving birth was a 9; breaking my jaw was a 9. The absolute worst? My carpal tunnel syndrome--at its peak--was definitely a 10. Carpal tunnel is no joke!

Favorite place you’ve traveled?  *Portland, Oregon

How late did you stay up last night?  *2:15 AM

If you could move, where would it be?  *Portland, Oregon (my home away from home!)

What do you collect?  *I don't really collect anything. But I'm always tempted to buy more water bottles, for some reason!

Favorite day of the week?  *Friday, of course!

Amusement park or aquarium?  *Aquarium

When was the last time you cried?  *Interestingly, I can't remember! When I'm in a depressive episode, I cry over everything. I must be pretty stable right now, haha.

Who took your profile picture?  *Moi! It was a spontaneous selfie and turned into a favorite picture of mine.

Who's the last person you took a photo of?  *This self-quarantine business leaves me wondering who the last person I even TALKED to was (outside of my family). But the last person I took a picture of was Eli, while he was holding a cat.

What's your favorite season?  *Fall, 100%. I wish it could be fall year-round!)

If you could have any other profession what would it be?  *A forensic pathologist

If you could talk with anyone right now, who would it be?  *Mark

Are you a good influence?  *Yes--I'm boring and I am too scared to do bad things!

Does pineapple belong on pizza?  *Absolutely. Yes. A story about this...

When I was in elementary school, we hosted a German exchange student (my sister's age) named Britta. We took her to our family's favorite pizza restaurant, and asked her what toppings she liked on her pizza. She kept saying, "anana" and none of us had a clue what she was talking about. She said it was yellow and round. My parents ended up asking the server to bring out a plate of toppings so she could point it out. It turned out to be pineapple! None of us had ever HEARD of putting pineapple on pizza! But I love it now.

You have the remote what are you watching?  *A teen slasher film. Love slasher movies!

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Just for fun- High School reminiscing. Think about your SENIOR year in High School. (If you can remember that long ago.)

Class of:  *2000

Did you marry your high school sweetheart?  *I did! And we've been together for... 21 years now.

What did you drive?  *A 1988 Chevrolet Celebrity. It's still my favorite car I've ever owned! And I have a (recent) funny story about it... When Jerry and I were in Portland in 2017, we were talking with Thomas and somehow, the topic of our first cars came up. I was explaining the Chevrolet Celebrity, and why I liked it. Thomas had never heard of it.

As I was talking, we were walking to the top of a parking garage at night, and when we got to our floor, the first car in front of us was a Chevrolet Celebrity! (Circa 1988 model). I couldn't believe it! The Celebrity was a great car.

Where did you work?  *I had lots of jobs, but I think during my senior year of high school, I worked as a video clerk at a grocery store. That was when you could rent video tapes! I also sold cigarettes and lotto tickets behind the counter, haha. In the picture below, I was wearing my Denny's uniform--that was one of my first jobs (I was 16).

Where did you live?  *In Rockwood, Michigan. About 20 minutes from where I live now. I've only ever lived in these two places, other than when I was in a dorm on the EMU campus.

Were you in choir/band?  *Nope. I'm not musically talented.

Ever get suspended?  *No, I was a "good kid"

If you could, would you go back?  *No, but I wish I knew then what I know now. I'd do things differently for sure!

Still talk to the person that you went to prom with?  *I didn't go to prom

Did you skip classes?  *Just auto mechanics. My friend Jake and I would skip almost every day and go get fast food or something. I don't know how we got away with it! Our teacher was a first-year, and we took advantage of it. I should've chosen more wisely... skip the stupid trigonometry and learn as much as I could in auto shop!

Go to all the football games?  *I never went to a football game in my life until a couple of years ago for the homecoming game. My cross country kids and I walked in the homecoming parade, so I went to the game after that.

What was your favorite subject?  *Anatomy & Physiology (Mr. Haver was the greatest! He showed us the "Autopsy" series of videos that are now on HBO, I think. It was because of his class that I wanted to be a forensic pathologist.)

Do you still have your yearbook?  *Yes, I have my yearbooks all the way back to kindergarten!

Did you follow your "original" career path?  *In a way, I think I did. When I was in second grade, I wanted to be "an author". And eventually it became "a writer". But when that was too unrealistic, according to my teachers, I favorited a forensic pathologist until it was time to go to college, haha. So, now that I blog and I earn money from it, I guess it counts?

Do you still have your class ring?  *I never wanted a class ring. Or a varsity jacket.

Favorites:

What was your style?  *Now, I think it would be considered "hipster". Back then, it was just called "weird", hahaha.

Favorite shoes?  *I don't remember the brand, but I got them at a thrift store. They were like Converse chucks, but they were wider and made of blue suede. They were awesome!

Favorite thing to eat for lunch?  *A plain un-toasted bagel with cream cheese. I had this just about every day.

Favorite band in high school?  *Kindred, of course! ;)  (My friend Trysh and I made this--quilt? thing--from scraps of fabric in our sewing class!

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Do you put ketchup on hot dogs?  *Absolutely NOT.  (See, I was even awkwardly holding my head up above the ketchup in this photo, because it clearly didn't belong there)...

Choice of soda?  *I'm not a huge fan of soda, but when I do get a fountain drink, I choose Sprite + lemonade, 50/50. When I was a kid, my friend Sarah and I were at Chuck E. Cheese. We mixed pink lemonade and Sprite, and we thought we were so clever--we named it "Pink-Spry". But ever since then, that's what I usually make when I have a fountain drink!

Do you own a gun?  *No, but I would LOVE to get whatever rifle it was that I used up north. It was Nathan's, and I felt like a badass sniper when I shot it (even though it took me about 20 minutes to line up the shots, hahaha).

Can you swim?  *I can swim in the sense that I won't drown, but I don't know how to do "real swimming"--laps that look elegant. I wish I could.

Hot dogs or cheeseburger?  *Hamburger! I love hot dogs (especially the ones with the skin, like the Kowalski brand); but if I had to choose, I'd probably choose a hamburger (no cheese).

Favorite type of food?  *Italian? I don't know. I love pizza and pasta. But I also couldn't live without rice.

Do you believe in ghosts?  *Not even a little bit

What do you drink in the morning?  *Water and/or decaf coffee.

Can you do 100 push ups?  *BAHAHAHA

Favorite time of year?  *The fall, of course!

Your favorite hobby?  *Woodworking

Tattoos?  *Just one and I hate it. It's a ladybug on my toe that I got when I was 18. It's super faded and the ink has bled over the years, so now when people see a picture of it on my weigh-in posts, I get emails telling me to have the mole looked at. If it wasn't insanely expensive, I'd get it removed.

Do you wear glasses?  *I had HORRIBLE vision and wore glasses, then contacts, until 2002. Then I had lasik surgery, and my vision has been 20/20 ever since. I do wear glasses occasionally now--they have an anti-glare lens, so I don't see halos around lights. And they look cute!

Do you have a phobia?  *I'm terrified of getting Alzheimer's disease. But as far as a typical phobia, I'm extremely ridiculously scared of spiders.

Do you have a nickname?  *Cookies, Boo

Three favorite drinks?  *I mostly just drink water... but my very favorite drink would be a margarita on the rocks with salt. I can't think of three!

Do you like to be indoors or outdoors?  *Indoors

Rain or snow?  *Rain--I love rain and cloudy days!

Can you change a tire?  *I used to know how, back in the days when I skipped auto shop; but I don't know if I could anymore

Favorite flower?  *I'm definitely not a flower person. I don't even know the names of any flowers!

Can you drive a stick?  *No, but it's something I've always wanted to learn

Ever gone sky diving?  *Hell to the no. I'm pretty sure I would die of anxiety before the plane even took off.

Kids?  *Two boys, 14 & 15 years old. I can't believe I am old enough to have teenagers!

Favorite color?  *Orange. Obviously.

Employed?  *Self? I get paid for advertisements, so I make money. I don't technically have an "employer".

Can you whistle?  *Heck yes I can

Favorite vacation?  *This is tough! It would probably be when Jerry and I took the kids to Virginia Beach. Nothing went as planned, but it made for a fun vacation!

Siblings?  *An older sister, Jeanie; an older brother, Brian; and a younger brother, Nathan. Here's the (brief) scoop on them.

Surgeries?  *Four--my wisdom teeth removal; jaw repair x2 after breaking my jaw; and skin removal surgery

Shower or bath?  *Definitely shower. I hate baths!

Last song you listened to?  *Hahaha, I just listened to Funky Cold Medina. No idea why it popped into my head while Jerry and I were watching Gilmore Girls, but I had to find it on iTunes and download it of course.

Broken bones?  *Just my jaw. I fainted and fell flat on my face, breaking my jaw completely through in five different places.

How many TVs are in your house?  *Two--my bedroom and the living room

Do you like to sing?  *Sure! I sometimes break into a sing-song voice when I am talking. It's completely random.

Are your parents still alive?  *Yes, and I haven't seen them in over two months, even though they live less than a mile from me! They were on vacation for a couple of months and now that they are home, I am not visiting because I don't want to get them sick if I should have coronavirus. My parents are adorable... my mom posted this on Facebook a couple of days ago:

Favorite sport?  *I have to say that it's little league baseball! I LOVE watching my kids play ball.

What do you enjoy binge watching?  *This isn't really an easy question to answer. Basically, just any show that I find interesting. Most recently, it was Tiger King. That was a total train wreck that I just couldn't stop watching.

Pumpkin or pecan pie?  *Absolutely pecan pie! It's the only thing that I can bake, and it's delicious. My dad loves pecan pie, so I make him one for Father's Day and his birthday every year.

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And there you have it... maybe you learned something new about me? But after writing well over 2,000 blog posts, I'm pretty sure that there is nothing I haven't written about before!

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Home Again

Sadly, the kitties went back to their foster home today--which is now their "forever home". I feel disappointed about it, but foster mom and I agreed it was best for the cats.

I was hopeful this morning because during the night I heard the cats use the litter box. It was a relief because was really getting worried that they hadn't gone to the bathroom at all. They also came out of hiding for a moment here and there, but the second Jerry or I moved or looked at them, they would disappear again.

This morning when I got up, I was so sure that they would have eaten the wet food I gave them before bed, but it was still untouched. They were hiding under the dresser. I tried giving them a can of tuna fish, sure that they would want it, but they didn't show any interest at all. (I used the same foods they were eating at their foster home, so I know it wasn't that they disliked the food.)

I am well aware of cats needing an adjustment period (we've adopted several cats, and they all hid under beds or in closets for a while at first, and I totally expected that). I had the new boys confined to my bedroom and bathroom, keeping the rest of the pets out, so they never came into contact with Phoebe, Estelle, or Joey. I wanted to give them time to adjust without the chaos of other pets.

They are super sweet cats! I wanted them to work out so badly. They refused to eat or drink, though, and I was worried about that. I could understand them feeling stressed and not eating for a day or two, but after three days, their organs can start to shut down. Their foster dad was VERY attached to them, and I think they probably missed him. He was very happy to take them back and keep them as their own pets instead of fosters.

Foster mom and dad were super understanding and they have lots of cats that need adoption. They have 13 kittens, all without mamas! I couldn't believe that they hand-feed all of them. They said that people will find a litter of kittens and take them in, thinking that the mom has abandoned them. And then they bring the kittens to her, because she runs a rescue. She said that if you find kittens, you should leave them alone because the mom is probably just out finding food. She'll return only to find that her babies are missing.

Anyway, I'm glad that Slick and Jessie are back at their happy place (they lived there since they were just babies). We would still like to adopt, though--I'm sure we'll find the right cats for us!

Meanwhile, Estelle is thrilled to have my bedroom back. I haven't slept in two nights because Estelle paws at the door constantly (the door is right next to my bed). Estelle is super attached to me and sleeps with me every night. This morning, I think she was mad at me for locking her out of the bedroom. She didn't sit on my lap while I drank my coffee--something she does every day.

After an hour or so, she stopped pouting and wouldn't leave my side. She's pretty content to sit on my shins as I write this!

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