Apr6

SPARK on Monday

Posted on April 6, 2026 by onespoiledcat

As most of you know, “SPARKS” was started by Annie McGuffy of McGuffy’s Reader but ended when she stopped blogging some time ago. It was meant to be a way to start out each week with a meaningful thought – something that spoke to each of us and hopefully everyone else who reads it. Although Annie isn’t currently blogging, a lot of us who enjoyed her SPARKS decided to keep posting SPARKS of our own. Feel free to join us even if this isn’t a Blog Hop – SPARKS are fun to find and share and think about and the more the merrier. Just post a thought on Mondays – call it your SPARK – and perhaps your “followers will follow” !

Have you ever had the experience of having a thought in your head and while either reading a book, the newspaper, or cruising the internet you found something that brought that thought to fruition??????? Well I just had that experience. Looking for a SPARK about Spring and lo and behold I found this which isn’t about Spring but reflects the ACTUAL thought that’s been in my head a while……….I bet some of you are with me on this one…….

What can I say? It’s “right on” in many ways. R. Scott Bakker is a Canadian fantasy author. He grew up on a tobacco farm in the Simcoe area. In 1986 he attended the University of Western Ontario to pursue a degree in Literature and later an MA in Theory and Criticism. After nearly completing, but ultimately abandoning, a Ph.D in Philosophy at Vanderbilt University he moved to London, Ontario, where he now lives with his wife. I have a feeling he follows American politics too. (just kidding!)

Happy Monday!

Teddy and Mom

Hugs, Pam (in the good old days – one year old)

Apr5

Easter Sunday Selfie Hop

Posted on April 5, 2026 by onespoiledcat

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Happy Easter!

It’s Selfie Hop Sunday with our friends at The Cat On My Head and we decided just to have some fun with our Selfie today – and did an AI version of yours truly “The Easter Cat” passing on a greeting from us to YOU!

Mom has a lot of fun making me even FATTER than I am – I like to indulge her. Not sure what EASTER EASTER means – maybe double fun for Easter? AI sometimes adds stuff we didn’t ask for – have you noticed??!! I think I still look like ME only bigger. Anyway, we do all want to wish you a wonderful day of family fun and remembering the reason for this special day. We had some fun here this morning when my Dad had to hunt Easter eggs that SOMEONE hid for him to find. Thankfully my Mom always makes a list of where she (oops, I mean the Easter Bunny) put them because if she forgot where one was, it wouldn’t be long before our NOSE told us where it was. HAHA. Anyway, Dad found them all and I’m sure there will be a lot of egg salad sandwiches in his future.

Mom made a puzzle of this one – just in case you have time to do a puzzle today!

Just click this mini-me for the puzzle

HAVE A PERFECT DAY……..we have RAIN but it’s still perfect because we are together!

Hugs, Teddy, Pam and David

Apr4

Bakin’ With Bacon, Penny and King Ted for Easter

Posted on April 4, 2026 by onespoiledcat

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Happy Almost Easter ! We have some suggestions for your Easter Feast Breakfast OR Brunch that we believe you will like.

My Assistant Chef Penny and I have a whole bunch of fabulous recipe ideas for your holiday and we think there’s “something for everyone”. The main thing is having a joyous celebration honoring the meaning of Easter AND having some time with friends and family (and some yummy food) to celebrate with. Hang onto your Easter hats – we’ve got some yummy recipes coming your way. By the way, you’ll notice the amounts for some of the recipes are such that if you have a big family or lots of friends coming over you’re all set – just CUT down the amounts for smaller portions (of course!).

OVERNIGHT FRENCH TOAST

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup melted butter (4 tablespoons)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 (14-16 ounces) loaf challah, brioche, French bread, or Texas Toast, (sliced into 1 1/2 inches thick slices)
8 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup whole milk, (2% milk or cream can be substituted)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans, measured then chopped
Maple syrup and powdered sugar for topping, (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a small bowl combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish cutting and overlapping to fit if necessary.
Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices making sure all of the bread is covered.
Sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices.
Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours.
In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you are preheating your oven to 350°F.
Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don’t dry it out completely.
Remove casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.

BACON AND EGG CHEESE WREATH

INGREDIENTS

4 slices bacon cut in half – crosswise

1 can 8 oz. refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

5 large eggs

1 cup shredded mozarella cheese (or cheddar)

salt and pepper if you want it

caraway seed if you want it

1 tablespoon olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 375°F. Line large cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper.
In large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat about 4 minutes or until cooked but not crisp, turning once. (It will continue to cook in oven.) Set bacon aside;
Scramble your eggs in skillet. Salt and pepper, to taste.
Unroll dough; separate into 8 triangles.
On parchment-lined cookie sheet, arrange triangles in a star formation
(the longer sides of each crescent on the inside with the pointed ends pointing out.)
Place bacon on each of the triangles.
Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the cheese onto widest part of dough.
Carefully spoon eggs over cheese.
Sprinkle remaining cheese.
Pull points of triangles over eggs and cheese, and tuck under dough to form ring (filling will be visible).
Carefully brush dough with 1 tablespoon Olive oil;
Sprinkle some caraway seed
Place in oven and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool 2 minutes.
With broad spatula, carefully loosen ring from cookie sheet; slide onto serving platter.
Slice in between each crescent to make 8 individual pieces.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch ground nutmeg (optional)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons mustard

12 slices white bread

1 lb. thinly sliced deli ham (at least 18 slices)

1 lb. thinly sliced swiss cheese (at least 12 slices)

3 tablespoons butter

powdered sugar for dusting (makes them pretty!)

3/4 cup jam of your choice for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200°F.
In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and nutmeg, if using.
In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and mustard. Evenly spread about 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture on 1 side of each slice of bread. Place 3 folded ham slices on 6 slices of bread. Top each with 2 cheese slices. Top with the remaining 6 slices of bread mayonnaise-side down.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-low heat. Carefully dip 2 sandwiches in the egg mixture on both sides until fully coated (but not soggy). Add to the skillet and cook until the cheese is melted and the sandwiches are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining butter and sandwiches.

PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE SIDE DISH (great with ham!)

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter, melted and extra for baking dish

2 20-oz. cans pineapple tidbits

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 8 oz.)

2 cups coarsely crushed butter crackers (like Ritz – about 1 sleeve)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish.
Drain the pineapple tidbits, reserving 1/4 cup of the pineapple juice in a large bowl. Add the sugar and flour to the bowl and whisk to combine. Fold in the drained pineapple and cheddar. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
Sprinkle the casserole evenly with the cracker crumbs and drizzle the melted butter over the top. Bake until golden and bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes.
Let sit 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Our suggestions above aren’t an actual MEAL – just parts of your Easter feast – there’s no meat dish for instance BUT you can have whatever meat you want or no meat at all – whatever is your choice and whatever your “crowd” or family will enjoy. We think there are some interesting recipes here that might jazz up your day – maybe something different for this Easter?

As always, I thank my good friend and fellow Chef Penny from http://15andmeowing.com for joining me AGAIN in the Castle Kitchen. We always her visits – she certainly brings us some FAB recipes! Thanks Chef Penny and thanks to your Mom Ellen for letting you join me. Here’s your thank you badge – you must have quite a collection now.

I, Penny, received this badge from King Teddy at Castle Baconia in thanks for being his Kitchen Assistant Chef AND his Royal Guest on April 4, 2026!

Chef Penny and I wish all of you a very happy Easter………….if you don’t celebrate Easter, the recipes are good for any day of any year in any country on any planet! Trust me – we wouldn’t kid you.

Hugs, Chef “King” Teddy

Apr3

Friendly Friday Fill-Ins

Posted on April 3, 2026 by onespoiledcat

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Happy Friday before Easter! Hopefully there will be good weather for the Easter Bunny to make his rounds…..imagine how exhausting that must be??? Anyway, let’s get to what we always do on Friday……….fill in the blanks! Thanks first to our two hosts for this fun Hop (Bunny Hop!).

We did our filling in as a family – and here’s the “key” to who is filling in the blanks for each of the four sentences:

BLUE/Mom

BROWN/Dad

GREEN/Teddy

1. My favorite Easter ( or Passover) treat is _whatever is in my Easter basket in the way of squeezable treats!!_.

2. My life would be different without friends and family – they “make my world go ’round”!.

3. If I could, I would give an Easter basket full of “Having a happy home” to every animal in a shelter who needs one.

4. Is it weird that I hunt for Easter eggs every year (thanks to my wife!)?

There’s our Easter fill-ins for ya! Hope you have a wonderful Easter or Passover…………..and hope you know we love all of you always. BIG THANKS again to our two co-hosts for making Friday so much fun.

Sam's Mom, Writer and Artist Pam Kimmell

Teddy, Mom and Dad

Apr2

Thankful and Poetic Thursday

Posted on April 2, 2026 by onespoiledcat

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Happy Thursday! Almost Easter Sunday. If you celebrate Easter and have kids they’re going crazy by now anxious for the Easter Bunny. Well you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy Easter that’s for sure. At my house Teddy helps his Dad hunt for Easter eggs on Easter morning. Yep – the Bunny comes just for my old Dad and because I see where the bunny hides them, it’s my personal tradition to show Dad where they are. Tee Hee

Seriously though, Mom, Dad and I have so much to be thankful for. Our little corner of the world is quiet and peaceful even though “up the road” in DC things are often chaotic and just a bit (or more than a bit) crazy. The Virginia countryside is perfect for the Easter Bunny. Lots of nice green grass to snack on while he makes his rounds and we always hope no rain and lots of sun for him too.

We’re thankful that we’re all pretty darn healthy too which is a big blessing. Mom and Dad have both had their issues but they have great doctors and I have a great vet and I’m NEVER sick – which for a big guy like me is a minor miracle. We are VERY GRATEFUL – all of us – AND we’re also grateful that you are our friends. Honest!

Now let’s see what my Angel brother Sammy did in the way of a poem to share this week. He always hopes that you participate in the fun – I hope you do too!

Love, Teddy

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Hello Poetry Friends! It’s TIME For Poetry!

Hope you had a chance this week to write a poem for the photo I gave you last week. It’s such a lot of fun seeing what you come up with – I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. A chance to be creative which is GOOD for all of us. While I’m at it – HAPPY ALMOST EASTER to all of you. We have a massive Easter Egg Hunt up here at the Rainbow Bridge – I’m one of the artists that gets to paint the eggs. Woo Hoo!

Here’s the photo from last week and my poem:

“Please Don’t Go!”

I may be a pup and you are a cat

But we’re still best friends – how about that!

You visit me every day and we have a blast

We’re just youngsters so we’re super fast!

They say dogs and cats can’t get along

But I’m saying we’re tired of that same old song

We’re closer than close and we’ll stay that way

Let’s grab a bite to eat then to back outside to play!

Lots of people have cats and dogs together in their household and everyone gets along just fine. I think that’s especially true if you get youngsters or bonded pairs. I have watched Teddy grow up from a kitten and I am SURE that he and I would definitely have been BEST BUDDIES if I had been lucky enough to have been a kitten at the time he was one at the Shelter and Mom and Dad adopted BOTH OF US!

Anyway, here’s the photo I found for NEXT week’s poetry fun – I hope you will join me again then.

yep – this will be a winner – I say you have to be REALLY REALLY REALLY dedicated to golf to do this to catch a good shot. Let’s see what we can do about a poem for this guy for next week shall we?

See you then!!!!