June Is…..Adopt A Shelter Cat Month

With my son’s prompting I have decided to begin a new section to this blog. For a couple of years now we have celebrated various “bizarre and unusual” holidays as well as lesser known monthly events in this family.  It makes things fun for the children, my son’s whole reason for his prompting, as well as is a good educational tool for them and I’ll admit, also for me.

June is “Adopt A Shelter Cat Month”.  Anyone that knows me knows animals are very near and dear to my heart, especially those needing aid.  The two kittens in this picture are not shelter animals, but they would have been shelter bound if I did not take them in from the woods they were found in.  While it would be wonderful if you could find it in your heart to rescue and give a forever home to a shelter cat, I understand this is not always feasible.  Yet, there are other ways you can use your talents to make the stay for shelter cats far more comfortable and less frightening of an experience.

Local shelters often have no bedding or minimal bedding and no toys for the unwanted pets they take in, which often are numerous.  This leaves cats and kittens to sleep on wire cages, or worse, in their own liter pans.  Many welcome donations of bedding and toys for animals who have no one to care for them. Don’t fret if you are not the perfect seamstress, no animal has complained yet about uneven stitches or off kilter seams.   One only need browse the internet to find many sources, but I’ll offer you a few that I have used in past, and/or making presently for our local shelters this month. By the way, did you know that not only do homemade items help shelter animals relax but also have been found to increase their rate of adoption? For a few stitches and bit of fabric I’m more then happy to give them all the fighting chance I can give.

Remember in making the cat toys to add some cat nip to the stuffing to make it more appealing.  Also don’t fret about polyfil,  plastic grocery bags make a nice crinkle sound cats love to play with when used as stuffing material, also a good way to recycle them.

Fish Cat Toy

Catnip Mouse Cat Toy

Fleece & Cotton Cat Quilt

Small Pet Bed

Panda Stuffy

Bunny Stuffy

Teddy Bear

Bunny 2

Bunny 3

Birdy

Stuffed Mouse

Now, lets get crafting.

 

 

 

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End Of School Cookies

I was called to duty to make some desserts for the children at my son’s school for their End of School party this week.  Being on a time crunch already with a second Science Fair and a Gifted & Talented party as well as a few other things demanding my time, and my baking, I decided to make these up early and freeze them.  The nice thing about these cookies is they freeze well, hold their form and can be defrosted the day before you need them.

Couple nice things about these cookies, having them in the “sandwich” shape, little fingers don’t become excessively covered in frosting when holding them, and your can stack them atop one another without issue, making transporting several dozen of them far easier.  See? This Mom thinks ahead.

I wish I had a fancy name for them but I don’t.  They are simply sugar cookies (your own recipe or packaged mix), frosting (again your own or store bought), and decorative sugar or sprinkles (I used up some I had left from valentines).

Mix up your sugar cookies and roll into large marble size balls.  Swirl the dough around in white sugar to coat and set on your cookie sheet.  Use the bottom of a glass to flatten them evenly.  Bake according to instructions on recipe.  Let the cookies cool completely while making up your frosting (if using homemade).  Slather the frosting on back of one cookie, put second cookie on top and roll the “sandwich” in a bowl of decorative sugar or sprinkles of choice to coat frosting edges.  That’s all there is to it.  Quick, simple and can give a crowd of children a good sugar rush.  What could be more satisfying?

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