Welcome Fall!

Tis the season to watch the leaves change and fall. Bird watching is a must for most of us, too. The sounds and scents of fall are our favourite. 

There are so many things to do in the fall, that we wish mamma would buy us a stroller so we can join her on her adventures. Are you heading to the pumpkin patch or are you going apple picking? We would like to live vicariously through all of you! We hear that corn mazes and hayrides are super fun for the kids and adults. 

Our mamma likes to bake - a lot - and this season is filled with some of her best pumpkin and apple recipes. So what better way to start the season then by sharing one with you?!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Vanilla extract (to your preference, ma uses 1 tsp)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (add more if you like it!)
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 to 2 cups chocolate chips (your preference - semi sweet or milk chocolate)
+you will need cooking spray. 

Prepare it! 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray two 9x5inch loaf pans with cooking spray.

Mix pumpkin puree, sugar, eggs, oil, extract, and spices together in a bowl. Add flour little by little, and mix each time until combined. Add chocolate chips into batter. Pour into the prepared loaf pans.
Bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool a bit before removing from pan and eat!

Mamma saw this on her walk yesterday, isn't that a nice thing to do for our neighbours? 

Another nice thing to do in the fall is to reflect on our life and make a list of all the people we’re thankful for. Fall is the perfect time to let people know you care, why not send handwritten notes out to the people on your list? 

Hope you enjoy the last week of September, and that your October is filled with gratitude and good food.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul… but I must confess that I love you only because you are a prelude to my beloved October. - Peggy Toney Horton.

The Quickness of September

We cannot believe it is already September 20th.

These few months have really gone by too quickly for us. This past week, we celebrated Pasqua's second birthday. I am surprised I have put up with him for nearly two years.

For the most part, I tolerate him. Typically, we are in the same room together, and often, he wants to play or be too close to me, that is when I get annoyed with him. A girl needs her space. 

It has been a transition for me to go from being the baby to my big brother Stray Cat, to being the big sister to little Pasqua. There is a part of me that misses cuddling with a sibling, I just haven't missed it enough to allow Pasqua in to that part of my heart or blanket. 

Also this week, on the evening of September 18, 2020 we began the 5781st Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). This is an annual reminder of our need to pursue enhanced behaviour. In the Jewish faith, the New Year ushers in ten days of repentance - a study of our moral values, a review of our past (as a way to avoid past errors), and helps inspire us to change our behaviour. The ten days end on Yom Kippur. 

As I reflect on the study of peace-through-strength, may it encourage me to love my brother better. 

For all our Readers of Jewish faith, we wish you Shanah Tovah Umetukah!

Purr & Paw,

-Stiavali. 🐾

Rosh Hashanah isn’t just about being new, it’s about a change. – Max Levis.

Pasqua's Birthday Week!

Hello Readers, 

The week that just passed was filled with much sadness for all Americans. We do not take it lightly, instead, we focus on the good we know exists in humans. Every crisis has a silver lining. One deep thinker, Michelle Dean, said, "Crisis forces commonality of purpose on one another." 

Commonality of purpose. Such a great thought. A strong sense of purpose has a powerful positive effect on our lives. When we have a sense of purpose, we know exactly what we are doing, "on purpose", making life less complicated and less stressful. When you are "on purpose" there is less space for negativity to take over our lives.

You may remember last year, we celebrated Pasqua turning one with this post: Pasqua is one!

This year on his birthday, we are once again reminded of the bountiful joys we receive from our family and friends. We are blessed to have so much love from everyone around us. 

We are thankful for all of the things we have in life, no matter how insignificant they may seem to be. Our mamma teaches us to have an attitude of gratitude and to be optimistic. So we are always hopeful  good things will happen in our future. She says both gratitude and optimism are advantages we have that improve our outlook on life, and it is why we are such happy cats. This is our "on purpose". 

We realize humans have lots of stress, which causes havoc on health, so an attitude of gratitude and an optimistic outlook helps all of us, feline or human, to be more resilient in times of crisis or calm. 

Be "on purpose" with your attitude, and may peace be with you, always.

-Stivali. 🐾

Happiness will never elude you if you begin each day appreciating the countless priceless gifts that life has blessed you with. - Author Unknown.

Cover Boy!

Remember in March when we announced I was a cover girl? Well, this month it is Pasqua's turn - check him out! 

This is the Girl Scout calendar filled with local cat photos, the proceeds from the sale of the calendar benefitted a TNR program. We are so blessed to be part of this worthy cause.

I must admit, Pasqua makes a gorgeous Cover Boy for the month of September. Purr-fect month for him, since he was born on September 17, 2018. 

Speaking of birthdays, it will be one week ago tomorrow that we celebrated our mamma's. She had a beautiful day, and we had a wonderful week celebrating her.

Joyce Meyer says that it is never too late for a new beginning in your life. I think that as we begin a new month, approach a new season, and celebrate birthdays, that is a good thought to meditate on.  Birthdays and nature remind us how life is ever changing and ever evolving. We can think of that change as a way to begin again, to have a new beginning, to seek out a new adventure in our life.

Since things right now seem chaotic and unstable, it is healthy to meditate, and be intentional in how we create our best life, to help not only our selves but our loved ones, and everyone in our community. 

What will you intentionally do this fall to make it the best for you, those you love, and those people you may not know but can help support? 

Happy September, Readers, may you be blessed and be a blessing. 

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

September days are here, with summer's best of weather and autumn's best of cheer. - Helen Hunt Jackson.