sights & sounds of summer

sun shines through our windows
casting shadows on the floor.

miss olive the cat, sunbathes

mourning doves coo
birds chirp
wind chimes tinkle

our farm is alive with the sounds
of morning chores being done;
tractors working and calves bellow

flowers bloom
weeds grow
butterflies flit
birds sing
and hummingbirds check out the feeders

the sights and sounds of summer
here on our farm
make me smile
i am thankful for
it all.

life is beautiful.
sit, listen and really look

even the littlest of things...
i never want to take granted!

yes, life is indeed
beautiful.

happy & content

I have always been a bit partial to cats. Growing up in a home where my dad and brothers had hunting/hound dogs, I have always had a cat!

My love for cats has always been a strong one. I love their independence, the attitudes and really almost everything about them.
In our home now, our cat 'Miss Olive' pretty much rules the roost, and she has me wrapped around her paw! Since being empty nesters, we have poured a lot of our love, attention and affection into this sweet but, sassy tuxedo kitty!
Olive can sit for hours upon hours just sitting in her window seat, watching the commotion of our farm. She also loves to watch the birds from this seat and sometimes will try to attack them through the window. It is quite comical to watch!

Our Olive is strictly an inside kitty, because of our farm and the tom-cats that prowl around, we do not let her out. Olive runs and I do mean she runs, to the back door every time it gets opened, thinking she can escape and that the world is more exciting outside; until the other day when my grandson let her out by accidentally leaving the door ajar. She snuck out and we could not find her for about an hour. She was on top of our roof, scared and stuck in the gutter. I had hoped that this incident had frightened her enough, that she wouldn't try to escape but, sadly enough she still thinks the grass is greener and that outside on the farm is more exciting!?

Maybe there is a lesson in this for us, after all? For some, the grass is greener; the neighbor's house is bigger, their car is shinier, their clothes are nicer, their kids are more behaved, their wives are skinnier, prettier and on and on it goes. When, what we have is more than enough! Just like Olive's home is more than enough for her, she doesn't need anything more to be happy and content!
 

Oh, if we could just be happy and content with our life and all our many gifts!

miss olive speaks

hi there!

it's me...

miss olive!

i am princess

hear me roar. :)

i hope you friends

had a wonderful christmas?

mine was a bit wild and crazy!

i am used to a pretty quiet house,

since it is only

me, and my human mom & dad

in the house...

of course sometimes

the one little grandson

 comes to visit.

i like him a lot
 but,

sometimes when he visits...

i hide

where no one
can find me. HA;)

so imagine

when i found out that

the other grandson

that lives in austria

would be staying here

in our house

for ten days!?

it was  WILD

and LOUD

and a whole
LOT of FUN!!

two boys in the house

ages three and five

sure can create
a LOT of NOISE!

when i got tired of the
 cute & noisy boys,

i just ran and hid

 :)

here are 

the two boys

with my human 'dad'

after the holidays

there was a wedding and then

everyone went back home.

my human parents

were sad

to have everyone leave...
they LOVE & MISS
their family a lot.

but, now i have my 

humans all to 

myself again!

(no, i am not greedy!)

i mean, life is good

isn't it?

hey...

 i do not have to share

with the two boys

so 

it kinda makes me happy

i love. love. love.

to snuggle and give kitty hugs

to my human 'mom'

but, i guess i cannot tell a lie 

either...

now that everyone is gone

 it sure gets quiet around here!

maybe those
cute & noisy boys
will come back soon to visit
and then my humans will be happy
and it won't be so quiet

all. the. time. :)

love,

miss olive

it's a miss olive kind of day!

hi

miss olive here.

today is my birthday!

my human

came downstairs this morning

and said,

happy birthday sweet girl.

and she shook a green bag 

that made a fun

sounding noise.

i came running.

i thought is was a toy.

it was a bag of

kitty treats.

she put a handful

out on her hand

and set them on the floor in front of me.

i proceeded with caution.

what was it?

i sniffed at them.

oh,  it is just some 

kind of treat?

 you mean

you are not even

 going to sing

happy birthday to me?

say what?

i sulked away.

& sat on the perch above the couch.

so my human

 went into the

family room.

got out her 

computer and her book.

what?

is it not my birthday?

am i not special?

i decided to remind her!

i crawl in her lap.

i put my whole body 

on top of her computer

stretch out as big as i can...

i demand a scratch on the head

by pushing my head 

into her hand

while she tries to type.

i think i deserve

a few snuggles

a couples scratches behind the ears...

after all it is 

MY DAY.

:)

she put the computer to the side

and even the book

for a few moments and just let me

enjoy a few pets, scratches and snuggles.

then

she let me have the computer

to post a few

pictures of myself

enjoying a good stretch

on

MY DAY.

i hope you too

have an extra

 great day.

even if it is 

MY DAY. :)

love from olive.

phone friday

my life in pictures.
yes, it is insta friday!

these are what my life has looked
this past week.
caught on my phone.
yes, this is my life. ha.

what i wore for my birthday outing/lunch

more outfits from the week. ;)

i finished this book in a day!

i highly recommend it. so very good.

flowers from my 2 year old grandson

for my birthday.

chili for super bowl sunday. 

some sunday card playing. :)

on my luncheon birthday outing with my husband.

found these two sweet owls. :)

a morning walk

taken right outside my house.

and finally

olive was in a valentine photo contest. :)

she didn't win but,

she is a cutie!

have a wonderful weekend.

may you see beauty 

it is there

if you are willing to look.

shine~

miss olive kind of day :)

today is a miss olive kind of day.

i put her in an old pink vest
thinking it would be cute for
a valentine photo contest...
yeah. not so much. ;)

i am amazed at how much company she is!
i love that at night she jumps on our bed
finds her spot at the top of our bed
right next to my head.
she curls up there and snuggles...

for you cat lovers
you know. :)

also, i keep saying i think she thinks
she is a dog.
she gets into my husband's socks
and drags them downstairs in her mouth...ha.

every morning we have a routine, olive and i.
i come into our family room
and open the blinds and she jumps to her
favorite spot and sits and watches
the birds and the neighbors chickens...
every morning without fail.

yes, today is an olive kind of day
i enjoy her and her quiet friendship.
she watches over the farm from her perch
and i watch her over my cup of coffee.
all is good.

hope you too are having a wonderful day.

blessings be upon you today.

what's on my phone? :)

i am a phone camera junkie :)
and decided to post some of my
iphone photos
from this week;

popcorn makes a 

night home in front of the tv

with the fireplace 

that much more wonderful

a thrifted fur vest originally from ross :)

 sweet miss olive

a date outfit :)

leggings, boots and jean jacket along with

thrifted mens shirt. 

that is what i call cute & comfy! 

my new kindle fire 

a gift from my husband for christmas

my favorite pop and a leftover candy cane...

while sitting in front of the fire equals

bliss!

annd finally...

my latest breakfast obsession;

vanilla flavored greek yogurt

and sliced banana. yum

this is my week in iphone 

photos.-

have a lovely weekend

my dear sweet friends.

will you join me

in 

seeing beautiful 

this weekend?

will you join me 

in

shining our lights

and spreading some sunshine?

will you join me

in

 smiling that lovely smile of yours?!

let's shine!