My Cat

Is really creeping me out. He follows me around like a puppy and stares at me all the time! I go to the bathroom? He leads the way. I take a shower? He's sitting there waiting when I'm done. I go get dressed? In 30 seconds he's looking for me.

Yesterday I'm in the kitchen making pizza dough. I turn around...and..

There he is. Staring.

And stay off!

I've been chasing The Little Bastard off the table for years. Four years...to be exact. He's not stupid. Quite the contrary. He just doesn't care!

Get off the table!
And then there's the counter. Unfortunately watching pots simmer is one of his favorite things to do!

And *get* down off the counter!
And then there's the day he found my bag of bags. What. Doesn't everyone have a bag of bags?

Jackopot! This was tons of fun!
It's a good thing he's so cute. Seriously. How cute is this?!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....zzzzzzzz...zzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Raised by dogs?

My cat. When he sees me grab my shoes he runs to the door. Trying to block my exit.

But it wasn't until he was playing with his tennis ball I realized he had to have been raised by dogs...

Really. What kind of cat plays with tennis balls?!

My basil!

I *love* basil. I have a window box in my living room window full of basil. Between Margherita pizza and Bruschetta and Caprese salad and pesto not to mention sandwiches...I just *love* basil. I grow basil in pots all year long but it's especially prolific in the summertime. So...I have this window box in my living room window and my basil just isn't doing well. I don't know why. It's all laying down flat, wilted and dying. I mean really, basil is easy...it's like a weed. Grows like crazy.

There's no evidence of the (stupid) cat messing with it and ...well...I got it. I glance over the other day and...

The little bastard
That's why my basil hasn't been doing well! So I booby trapped it! I stuck a bunch of bamboo skewers in the window box and hardly a day later? My basil looks a *lot* better!

---

Basil marinara:

I got this recipe off the web a few years ago.  It's supposedly a genuine Tuscan recipe.

Sauté a yellow onion in olive oil.  Add a 28 oz. can of ground peeled tomatoes.  Simmer that for 15 minutes.  Resist all temptation to add garlic or anchovies.  Take it off the heat and mix in like a cup of whole basil leaves. And a splash of extra virgin olive oil.  Serve that with some pasta.  I like thin spaghetti.  The idea is to have a nice whole wilted basil leaf in every bit of pasta.

*Insanely* good.  Light and bright and refreshing.  Of course Chianti or Toscana is the *perfect* pairing.

Edited to add:  I also include a pinch of red pepper flakes in my marinara.

Edited to add:  Found a picture!  Now how good does this look!

Mad Face!

Sitting on the couch can be a little chilly this time of year. Sometimes I cross my arms and tuck my cold fingers underneath. And Oliver just can't help himself. He sees my fingertips peak out from under my armpits and sinks his claws in them. I spin around and scream "NO! BAD CAT! BAD CAT!" and what do I get?

The Mad Face
I swear if the Little Bastard wasn't so funny I'd send him packing.

But then I just might miss my...constant companion.

Here we are counting change from the mason jar
And here we are doing dishes at the sink...

What? I'm in the way?
He has *tons* of personality. As soon as I put on my shoes and coat he runs and lies down at the door...

No you can't leave!
He's cute as can be and he goes all dead weight. Make no mistake. Pick him up and he's all claws and teeth. I kind of have to work him away from the door with my shoe. Or barn bag. You'd think he'd be happy to be rid of me. I spend most of the time chasing him around yelling "YOU LITTLE BASTARD" while spraying him with a squirt bottle.

But every once in a while he's rather sweet. And he is getting fatter and lazier all the time. He's over 2 years old now. It will be so nice when he's sleeping 22 hours a day!

Broccoli?

My crazy cat: