Uh Oh!

Well, THIS can't look good on Santa Paws list....

A child safety lock??!!

The story mama is telling is that somecat here keeps opening this cabinet that holds all of the cleaning supplies, so she bought these locks!  Is it too late to tell Santa Paws that we were framed?

With the holiday coming up, we will be off the air for a few days (plus mama's laptop is suddenly running very slow, so she will see what she can do about it).  Have a very Merry Christmas!  We will be back with pictures and stories of how our holiday went--and whether we got coal in our stockings!

Mancat Monday

New video of the Orange Guy in his favorite lair--the bedroom.




Have a great Monday!

Mama's Birthday

Mama's 39th birthday was yesterday.  We gave her "Happy Birthday" snuggles in the morning to wake her up.  She appreciated that and really didn't want to get out of bed for work.  When she got home she was greeted with this:

While she was gone her friend next door decorated the door, put more streamers and balloons inside, and piled the kitchen counter with chocolate.  What a wonderful sight!  Mama had some hot cocoa and Kahlua to celebrate afterwards--and lots of chocolate.

In more serious news...

Mama works at a big medical center in a not-so-great area.  Police officers are actually stationed in the hospital to keep the peace and provide extra security.  You always have to be on your guard and watch your back in this neighborhood. 

Yesterday, while mama was at work, a visitor threatened staff with violence.  This is sadly a common occurrence in the medical field, and becoming more prevalent with the high cost of medical care.  Mama works in a physical rehab unit, so she doesn't see many things that come in through the emergency room, but she hears a lot about them from her co-workers.  All of this makes mama grateful for the good things in her life--her family, us, her sanity, and the fact that she makes good choices in her life.

Mama is home from work today, so besides giving us scritches and kissing our warm little toes (she's a nut) she has some errands to run.  There's candy wrappers in the livingroom wastebasket that we need to fish out and play with.  We have a full day ahead of us!

So that wraps up our week.  We'll be back on Mancat Monday; have a great weekend everyone!

Mom's Girls' Day Out

Hi everyone--Chez Cat mama here!  I wanted to tell all of you about my day in another historic part of Milwaukee.  On Saturday I met up with a friend and we did some shopping on Old World Third Street.  Our first destination was the Spice House.  I have loved this store since I was introduced to it back in 1992.  When you first walk in, you are hit with the smell of cinnamon, which is cleverly placed near the front door.  There are actually many different kinds of cinnamon, and Spice House carries seven varieties--Madagascar, Bourbon, Cassia, Saigon, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Ceylon.  The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable and the spices are blended fresh daily.

The store is located in an old German bakery (called a "konditorei") that was built in 1858.  The original brick walls and beamed ceiling are exposed for a quaint touch.  Upstairs is a demonstration kitchen, but I haven't been up there yet--I will as soon as I find time.  On this occasion the store was filled with holiday shoppers and it was bustling with activity.  I bought some salad seasonings and a nutmeg grater with a little bag of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and turmeric attached; on Christmas Day I like homemade egg nog with fresh nutmeg on it.

 

Sorry it's blurry, my camera needs new batteries.

Our next stop was Wisconsin Cheese Mart.  This is another old brick building with small tables and chairs to snack on the cheese you just purchased.  They also carry crackers, jams, and a small selection of beverages.  We didn't buy anything there, but were amazed at the varieties, all made here in Wisconsin.  They ranged from spicy to fruity.  Pepper cheese, chili, European styles, cranberry,  blueberry, even chocolate were all represented.  I definitely am going back again!

Also on this street is Mader's, Milwaukee's oldest German restaurant.  It has been serving food in the same building since 1902 and is still one of the top restaurants in the state.  I have yet to eat there (they are a little--well, a LOT--out of my price range), but I did work as a cook at a competing German restaurant, the John Ernst, before it closed so I have had the experience of authentic Deutsch fare.

 

The last--and best--destination on our list was the famed sausage makers Usinger's.  Another historic German institution of food!  The inside is amazing--there is a banner along the wall that tells the story of Usinger's, along with beamed ceilings and marble counters.  Here's a sample.

 

They had this little village in one of the display windows.

I didn't get any pictures of the meat because it was very crowded in there, but the smell was incredible--garlic, smoke, and other seasonings all emanate from this building and mingle with the Spice House across the street.  Add to that the hustle and bustle of the beer halls and pubs that also line this street, and it was a great day!  We bought garlic summer sausage, green olive loaf, and REAL bratwurst.

As you can all imagine, both me and my friend were ravenous at this point.  To round out the ethnic theme of our day, we headed to the lower east side to lunch at County Clare's.  This is an Irish restaurant, pub, and B&B.  Some of the staff are from Ireland and so ambiance is very rustic.  You can eat and visit with fiddle music playing in the background, or have a pint or two by the fireplace.  In summer there's outdoor places to hang out and it gets very lively.

 

 

We started with a huge platter of curry chips, thick cut french fries with a sweet curry sauce drizzled over them.  It was fabulous!

 

 

 We both went for the Kilkenny, which is a club sandwich with Irish bacon and garlic aoili.  And more french fries, but thinner batter dipped ones this time.

Yes, it was HUGE and I took half of it home for the next day.

So, stuffed, shopped out, and ready for a nap, we headed home.  Upon arriving home, I was greeted with this:

"Just ignore her--none of that food is for us."

So it was a great day and one of most favorite places in the city.  If it had been nicer out we would have visited more places, because there's plenty more on that street.  Possibly in warmer weather I'll go back and share it with you all.  Thanks for coming along with me!

Mancat Monday

I AM MANCAT!  HEAR ME SNORE.....ER....ROAR!!

Does the church in front of me look a little odd?  Let's take a closer look.

 

Yes--the steeple is broken off!  Mama isn't sure which one of us did it, and we're not talking.  Lizzie likes to play with the houses, but I was upset that the villagers didn't have treats.  Could have been either one of us, but like I said, we're not talking!

Mama finally went out on Sunday and finished her Christmas shopping plus got more decorations for the tree.  Holiday decorations are already on sale, and she loaded up!  Now our tree looks like this:

She found some ribbon loops to put the ornaments on, instead of hooks (which are a no-no in our house).  There was also a 25 foot roll of ribbon for garland, too.  Our tree looks so much better.  You can biggify it to really see it.

Mama had a girls' day out on Saturday, but we will put that in our next post--it involved food and shopping in another historic part of Milwaukee, so we'll let mama talk about it in Wednesday.

Have a great Monday!

Deep Freeze!

It's a whole 10 degrees here in Milwaukee!  It finally stopped snowing Wednesday night, and now it's just frigid.  Mama has been putting two layers of clothes on to go out.  We've been finding sunspots and warm blankets to nap on.

"This spot will be nice and warm when you come back in."

Mama has big plans for the weekend--she's going out to lunch and shopping with a friend, finishing her Christmas shopping,and getting her cards out.  Finishing the decorations on the tree is on the list, too.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Finally!

Our tree is decorated and lit, finally.  Mama didn't get called in to work last night so she decorated, made hot chocolate and we watched movies.  Here's our tree now.

"No, a little more to the left..there.  Perfect!"

We were just putting the finishing touches on when mama snapped this picture.  Wasn't it nice of her to let us help?   Here we are with the finished product.

 

 "Do you think the people inside the houses have treats?"

"Just look up and smile!  Mama wants a picture.  Brothers!"

 

As most of you know, and probably are experiencing, we have a winter storm going on.  Mama had signed up for extra hours at work last night but got canceled.  She works today and is dreading going out in the cold and slush.  Everyone be safe out there!