Anna Carrasco Bowling's Blog

Hey there, hi there, ho there. It has been a while. Superpowers are in effect, yes, though a bout with shingles (not the roofing kind, thankfully mild this time around) and recovery from that knocked things back more than I would like. I’m back now, so what did I miss?

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Right now, I am two books ahead of my Goodreads challenge, with twenty-one books read out of twenty-five. My most recent read was We Won’t All Survive, by Kate Alice Marshall. YA thriller with trauma survivor teens who apply to play a Survivor style game in a privately owned ghost town, only to find out it’s not a game? Uh, yes, please. I will definitely be reading more Marshall, but I want a palate cleanser with a historical romance first.

Writing wise, the super powers are not disappointing. Final-final edits for Drama King are done and dusted, and once we finalize the cover art, it is all over but the formatting and uploading. Melva and I feel like we are hitting our stride here. We are each working on our individual contemporary stories for next year’s Christmas anthology (and of course I managed to work in a historical tidbit) and I am getting the metaphorical ducks in a row to release A Heart Most Errant out into the world, and other historical projects after that.

Storm has figured out she can get inside paper bags, which adds a new dimension to getting takeout/delivery around here. She’ll be getting back to kitty blogs ASAP, because she knows where her treats come from, and there is a correlation.

Koolio is ready for his winter home. The windows are closed. The property manager has turned on the furnace, though we have not yet put on the heat. Soon, though. It’s tea season. Definitely sweater/sweatshirt weather. My birthday is next week, then Halloween, then it’s Thanksgiving season and then the Big Show, Christmas. The Holidays are most certainly on, and the superpowers are ready. Fingers crossed that Melva and I will have at least one book ready for new release in time for the gift giving holidays.

For tonight, I am headed to the soft office with a spare weighted blanket, some spooky themed journal stuff, and the next book from the library bag. Add a cup of tea and a feline companion. I have French-toast scented wax melts on the burner, and the days are getting shorter. That sounds like prime cozy to me.

as always, Anna (and Storm)

Do not adjust your screen. This is really a blog post from me. There were leaves on the ground as recently as this past Saturday. I see hints of foliage in the trees around here. Our temperatures will be in the seventies or lower (Fahrenheit) for this entire week, and we are looking at sixties very soon, which will mean sending Koolio to his winter home (aka Housemate’s closet.) Our maintenance dude turned on the furnace. I had two cups of tea this morning and am currently wearing an oversized sweatshirt and leggings. The season of pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon is upon us. Store shelves have moved from back to school, to Halloween, which means time to stock up on things I will use all year long.

composition book, journalified

After watching a few (dozen) videos on turning a composition book into a more visual journal, I tried my hand at it, and it’s working extremely well. Plain pages don’t give my eyes anywhere to rest. The best stationery advice I have ever heard is that if I am stumped by a blank page, draw a box around it. There. It’s not blank now. The above is that, with decorative washi creating the box. Add some stickers, stamps, various ephemera, and pens with a bold nib — 1mm or higher– and I am off and running.

The book above is my landing pad, which means it gets everything that pops into my head, much of it to be transferred to its proper place at another time. I am one hundred percent more comfortable composing anything in longhand first. Once the whatever is on a page, I can move it to the dedicated one later. I work out a lot of stuff in this book, though I do have a separate place for mental health/therapy things. I grabbed a bunch of these books when they were on sale for under fifty cents a pop and know I am well supplied for the year to come.

planner shift

Another thing that comes to mind this time of year is planners. I haven’t been clicking as well as I would like with my Happy Planners, though I will see out the year in the two I am using. For 2026, though, the above is what feels most natural. I eyeballed the layout of the Archer and Olive planner, available in dated or undated, and gave recreating it in a dot grid journal (also A&O) a whirl. It makes sense. It’s fun to decorate. The biggest change I made was splitting the section the printed planner calls “notes” into Saturday and Sunday, then using the bottom two sections, which the printed planner has labeled for the weekend, and making those my note section. I am equally comfortable with customizing the dated version or dating an undated one myself.

Since I am well stocked with journals (but never averse to adding to the family) I am leaning toward using what I have. This fits well with wanting to have separate home bases as it were for each individual project. I love what I am working on this autumn. I am currently reading a wonderful medieval romance ARC, and just finished listening to a medieval romance from a favorite author in audio, which added a whole other level to the experience. Reading is getting better, which I welcome. I have a contemporary Christmas romance novella on the front burner, the second novella in my medieval romance series queued after that, and then it’s back to my standalone Georgian romance, which has been waiting for far too long.

This week is our move-in-iversary, which I celebrate. Real Life Romance Hero and I are making plans to make the kitchen more usable, and more aesthetic. Housemate is working on her room, and I am fine tuning not one but two desks, one for my desktop and one for laptop and longhand. Fairy lights are involved in both, and milk crates are my friends. Other bits are slipping into my daily routines. Wax melts in autumnal scents, sweaters and blankets coming into play, and a tea cabinet well stocked for the season.

How is autumn finding you this year?

as always, Anna

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. I am taking Mama Anna’s slot this week because 1) I am a cat, and 2) I have to strike while the keyboard is free. It is September now, and that is when Mama Anna’s super powers kick in. If you are new here, she loves autumn. Displays in stores are turning from back to school, to Halloween, which is not at all a problem for her, especially because that means spooky stationery and decorations, which she will use all year long.

The big news for me is that I got my first Chewy box. Moe, the Chihuahua across the hall, said his dad gets him stuff from there and I should try it. (This isn’t sponsored. I only wanted to explain how awesome the box is.) Mama Anna had ordered a vintage gothic romance novel by an author she loves, and hadn’t read yet. The store sent a book with the right title, but by the wrong author. It’s okay. Mama Anna will read the wrong book anyway, and the right one is on its way. Anyway, there was a Chewy coupon in the envelope, and the humans figured Moe was probably on to something, and now there is a big bag of food and some cans of gushy food. They forgot to order catnip, but that can be next time.

The humans put the box on the big bed and then did nothing. I climbed right in and started sniffing everything. It’s pretty great. I love playing in boxes, and if they smell like my food, that is even better. Mama Anna will probably use that box to store finished journals and out of season stationery, but that’s okay. I still have my Ulta bag and the last big box to sleep and play in whenever I want. Mama Anna put a catnip toy inside the box, which is super fun.

That’s me checking out the goods. I stayed in there for a while. The humans did not let me rip the bag open and eat the crunchies straight from there. I have feelings about that ruling, but they do provide the food, so I guess I can accept this.

One of the ways that I can tell the super powers are back is that Mama Anna is making tea in the mornings. She likes tea. A lot. We have a kettle and a machine that makes hot water super fast. No, not the microwave. Mama Anna is not a savage. Well, not that kind of savage. She can be kind of intense when it comes to setting up her secondary desk. That one is in the kitchen, which she uses for video chats, and probably recording some vlogs. Being able to talk about stuff makes her want to do it more, and that’s okay. I can watch her fine from my scratchy thing next to the bathroom door. Not only is it good for keeping my claws in shape, but it’s super comfy. I like sleeping on it, or just hanging out.

That’s about it for this week, except for the part where I got to consult with two of my peers this morning. They were humans, not cats, but we are all pest control experts. I told them we don’t have any pests (if we did, I would find them and bring them to Mama Anna) and they checked the thing they left last time, and what do you know, I was right. No pests. You’re welcome.

How is your week going?

Headbonx, Storm

Yesterday, a worker at Wal-Mart told me I looked “very gentlewomanly.” I will absolutely take that. For those who wonder, my outfit of the day was a baseball t-shirt, leggings, and hot pink Croc style shoes. The reason for my visit to that emporium was, of course, office supplies/back to school. Now that we are in September, back to school will be giving way to Halloween, so pouncing on the back to school deals is of the hour.

I have recently bought into the hype on composition notebooks, which are a lot more versatile than I originally thought. My preference is heavyweight paper, wide ruled, but I am flexible. I have also discovered that there are a lot more bold ballpoint pens than I thought. The Paper Mate Profiles above have a 1.4 mm point, which my strained eyes greatly appreciate. The Bic Cristal and Glide pens are my favorites when it comes to ballpoints, with 1.6 mm points, but I needed a pack of different colors, to live in the book sleeve with my landing pad notebook.

I have also found that there are more sizes than the standard (B5) composition size. The Staples notebook, above (black) is a B6 size, about the same as a Happy Planner Mini. I normally prefer gel or fountain pens, but for composition book paper, ballpoints are working well. I have seen the Pen + Gear notebook above used with fountain pens before, so I will probably try that.

My contemporary co-writer, Melva J. Michaelian, has her latest nonfiction book out now, available in both e-book and paperback. Thanks For The Memories chronicles Melva’s journey through the changes her husband, Jerry’s, Alzheimer’s diagnosis affected him, her, them, and their family. They found a place called The Memory Cafe, where other families dealing with memory issues gather for activities and community. Many of the events Melva describes, I have seen play out in real time. I said more on that on our blog together, at Melvaandanna.com.

While I’m here, a quick bit of housekeeping. I don’t have Facebook on my writing computer (can’t fall down a FB rabbit hole if I can’t get onto it in the first place) so subscribing here on the site is the best way to make sure you don’t miss any entries. Storm will be posting more regularly now that summer is but a memory. Until then, here is a taste to hold her fans over.

Storm has a box. There is catnip in it.

After I post this blog today, I get to spend the rest of the afternoon putting away spring and summer planner/journal things and getting out the fall team. There is indeed a separate winter team, which comes out the day after Thanksgiving. Right now, I am all browns and yellows and reds and oranges, in anticipation of the foliage soon to come. Here’s a peek at my writing planner, before the pen:

Happy Planner Classic, Dashboard Layout

With my vision, I need high contrast, and clearly defined sections. Using washi and water based markers helps my eyes know where to rest. It’s also pretty, and who doesn’t want to look at a pretty page? Setting up the pages gets me in the right mindset to get the right information down. I like to use the section covered by the sticky note for a bit of art. Maybe ephemera, maybe a doodle, maybe something else, but purely decorative all the same.

I also finished reading a wonderful historical romance, A Lover For Lady Jane, by Virginie Marconato. It’s book number five in her Welsh Rebels series, though never fear if this is where you jump on board; I had read only the first book, A Husband For Esyllt, before this one, and I only found my appetite whetted to get current on the others.

All in all, it’s been a decent week. Writing is happening, and we draw ever closer to a release date for A Heart Most Errant. I can’t wait to share Aline and John with all of you.

as always, Anna

Bloggity blog time. Insomnia has been kicking my backside this week, though I had decent sleep by this afternoon, so I am going to blabber at you and fair warning, this will not be perfect.

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Stock image, okay, that’s good. Anyway, hi. No plan for this entry, which fits, because that does jibe with my original plan, so maybe that works. Let’s go with that. A month or so ago, I had mentioned in an online group I’m in, where the topic was how we express ourselves. I mentioned that I am a novelist and blogger, and that if an acting opportunity were to drop in my lap, I would jump on it.

Well. As so often happened, I not long after that found a notice in our local subreddit, offering a free four week improv class for adults, very close to where I live. I did indeed jump on that. I hadn’t had formal improv training in decades, but the second I entered the room, it was like no time had passed. Here are the top three lessons from improv (which I love and one thousand percent intend to pursue more in the future) that I am applying to my fiction writing.

Yes, and…; this is the first rule of improv. Take what your partner offers and add to it. You had it in mind that your character would be an astronaut, and your partner offers that you are driving a tractor in a cornfield. Instead of refusing that, “yes, and” might look like finding a way to combine the two. Yes, they are driving a tractor in a cornfield, and they are also astronauts. What are the odds that they got assigned to the first corn farm on Mars?Blurt: this goes directly against my innate urge to overthink, but it works. What the instructor suggested was that if we go for the funniest thing, we’re going to overpopulate our brain and then we can’t make any decisions, and the scene dies. Blurt out the first thing that comes to mind and trust that your partner will add to that. This definitely works when writing in collaboration, and it does work with solo writing as well. As Nora Roberts once said, “I can fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank one.” I need to remember that. In the case of solo writing, for me, my characters can count as my partner in such cases. The Next Obvious Thing: This one met with the most resistance from me, but I am warming to it. Reference the overthinking from above. The overpopulated brain bit does resonate. Case in point, let’s say we’re doing a scene. My partner starts with “Hi, Dr. Jones. Thanks for responding to my request for a consult. My patient is over here.” What’s the next obvious thing? Dr. Jones would want to see the patient, so, as Dr. Jones, I would go to where my partner indicated the patient is. If my partner doesn’t offer anything, like name a symptom or ask me to look at xyz, the next obvious thing might be to ask questions. With no offer given, I have no restrictions, so I can have some fun. Why is the patient upside down? So, they are complaining of ABC? This patient again? This is the third time this week. Anything. Refer to blurt, above. When there are too many options, what is the next most obvious one?

These are not the only lessons that improv has taught me, which I can bring over to fiction and blogging, but they are the — you guessed it– first most obvious ones. There are others, which I may go into later: celebrate failure, make your partner look good, be observant. Most importantly of all, there is this: when you take the stage, you have everything you need to complete the scene. I may need to make a sign for that one. What do you think?

as always, Anna

Tails Up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We are still in the cat days of August, which are mostly me lying in front of our air conditioner, Koolio, during the day and doing most of my cat stuff at night. Mama Anna had her special talking vet appointment yesterday, and tomorrow is Papa’s birthday. We are going to do whatever he wants, which will probably be at home, because he is a homebody. That must be where I get it. He will probably ask Mama Anna and Aunt Linda to go get cannoli, because he likes that better than cake (which is still good.) I think the Italian side of the family must approve.

this is about what I look like during the days

Mama Anna is chugging along with the writing stuff. When the sun is on her desk chair, she can go to the soft office, which is the big bed. She got a lap desk she can pop on the big bed and work with her laptop from there. It also works for writing longhand, which is where she does the most of her composing. I like to be on hand (or paw) to supervise and inspire.

Since my “days” begin at night, one of my favorite parts is when Mama Anna comes to bed after her bath and watches an old English tv show on her tablet. It’s like The Walking Dead but in the 1970s in England, and there are no zombies, but lots of farm animals. Obviously, she likes it a lot, and it inspires her to do more world building and character lore development for her medieval post-apocalyptic stories. Zombies aren’t a problem in this show, or in her books, but questions like “crap, where are we going to get salt?” and “oh no, the sheep ate the wrong grass; does anybody know what we do now?” are super big deals. Mama. Anna. Loves. It.

Reading is kind of not happening right now, which she is not liking, but the Talking Vet gave her some tips that she will try. That happens sometimes. She has plenty of books, so that is not the problem. My suggestion is to keep watching stuff and give me belly rubs.

We have Papa’s presents ready to go, and he gets to pick what dinner will be. Yes, I will be getting a special treat as well, because I always do on holidays. Usually, we share a can of people tuna.

What’s up for your weekend?

headbonks, Storm

Finally, it is August, and I am doing what many of my romance writer comrades are doing- writing a holiday romance novella. This one will center around Christmas, for a planned collection my contemporary cohort, Melva Michaelian, and I have in the works for 2026. While we have written a novel with holidays in it (Queen of Hearts gets three holidays plus a wedding) this is the first time I have set out to write a story where the holiday is the whole point. Never mind that it’s technically a few days before the holiday story and most of it takes place in a car. (forced proximity, yep, plus second chance at love)

and we have binder

This time, I am being very intentional in my pre-writing, and paying attention to what works for me now. For new people, hi. I’ve been through some stuff and it kind of affects this writing thing. Anyway, this time around, I am leaning into the way that makes the most sense for me. This also plays into my desire and intention to use the good stuff because I am worth it, dangitall.

Part of that is setting up the sections I can envision myself reaching for/turning to, which I figure out by putting the blank dividers in, with filler paper that has nothing on it, and then see what I would like to have there. If that doesn’t make sense, that’s fine. It only has to make sense for me. Results may vary with others. Right now, I am working on my character lore.

Normally, when I am the only person writing the story, A) I am writing historical, and B ) I stare at the screen, making noises like “huh” when I run into something I don’t know. This time, I am going at the character lore (or backstory; I will use the terms interchangeably.) in a different way. Part of that is influenced by the improv class I started taking this past week (awesome, loved it, will probably blog about it more later) — think of the next obvious thing.

If my classmates noticed the lightbulb that popped up over my head when the teacher mentioned that, well, they rolled with it because that’s what one does in improv. When researching a historical romance, for instance, I have a framework of where I need to look for what I need to know about the people, places and things in my story. Contemporary, though, has always been different. It’s now. I live now. Shouldn’t I know about now?

Well, yes, but I am me. I was born where I was born, brought up the way I was brought up, and my characters are different people. The hero (I am Gen X; I’m going to say hero and heroine) has a different career than he did when the heroine knew him. Okay. How did he get to be a Career One Guy? What degree did he need? Where could someone who grew up where he grew up get one of those? When he changes to a Career Two Guy, not only why, but how? What does he need to do to get to do that? Commence searching. In most cases, a few clicks gives me what I need, because this story is about a couple (re)connecting and not their professional CVs.

I won’t go into all the questions I have been asking myself and/or the interwebs, but my goal is to create a master character sheet that I can use for all my projects, historical, contemporary, or otherwise. Things like birth order (it’s more than just first, second, third, etc) and enneagram, MBTI, archetypes, etc. I have books on all of those things, as well as history, and my beloved books of names from the dark ages to today, in various specificities. I don’t want e-book copies (though I may acquire some) and I don’t want to take out library copies (though I may, if absolutely needed) and I would prefer not to buy new copies. I want my copies.

The issue with that is that they are in the back of the storage unit, where we have not been since we started the dang thing. I don’t know exactly where I drew this line in the sand, but there I am, setting up the binder for this story, and I’m working on what I need to know about my characters, and I Want My Existing Books. This is not negotiable. This will involve blocking out a day or days to haul furniture out of the unit (it’s indoors, climate controlled) locate the research books and my top tier keeper classic historical romances, and Bring Them Home. (cue Alfie Boe’s “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables)

There’s probably something symbolic about this, and I will be mentioning it to Therapy Dude at our next session. For right now, though, I will be taking it at face value, yes-and-ing the heck out of that and doing the next obvious thing. Behave as if. Tell the story I want to read. Hopefully, you’ll want to read it, too.

When do you, as a writer or reader, start thinking about holiday romances?

as always, Anna

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws.

pizza and me keeping each other warm

Mama Anna went to her first improv class in many cats last night, and she loved it and is going back next week. According to her, there were zero cats there, but she had fun otherwise. She also was working on her next project with Aunt Melva before and after class, and today, she worked on cover design for Aunt Melva’s nonfiction project. Safe to say there is stuff going on around here. In case you were wondering, I sat on the pizza box for about an hour. That’s how comfy Koolio keeps us here. The flowery thing behind me is Aunt Linda in her new dress. she looks nice.

Speaking of nice, I have a new toy. It has catnip in it and my humans tell me that Bigger Sister Olivia and Biggest Brother Ginger both loved this toy. Big Sister Skye was a straight edge kitty and did not indulge in catnip. This one was so nippy that I smelled it before it was even out of the packaging and came from another room to yell at Mama Anna to tell her that was mine and I needed it right away. Thankfully, she understood and opened it on the big bed so she and Aunt Linda could both watch me play with it. Papa is off at work. Suffice it to say I love this toy. It is great. I will be playing with it a lot.

10/10 would nip again

Mama Anna and I binged a show on Netflix the other night. It is called The Survivors, and it is Australian. At first, she thought it was going to be some kind of zombie or adventure story. She likes both of those kinds of stories, but this show is not one of them. It is a drama, which Mama Anna also loves, and one of the characters appears to have some form of dementia, which she knows because of some people in her life. She says the representation there was excellent, both of the person with dementia and their caregiver. There was also a story about a missing person and an unalived person and some caves in the ocean. It also had two timelines, and she really, really likes two timelines.

She also finished The Survivor Wants to Die at the End, by Adam Silvera. It is number three in the Death-Cast series and she wants the next one right now, please and thank you, but it is not out yet. I suggested she read something else. Reading got hard again, but she is working on that. In case you want to read this series, she says it is one hundred percent a read in order series. I don’t know what book she will pick next, but probably a historical romance.

Oh wait. She is reading Tears of the Wolf, by Elisabeth Wheatley. It is a fantasy romance but heavily Viking-flavored. If you are new to this author’s books, this is a good place to start. She still wants to read a historical romance, so I will keep you updated on that.

What are you all reading this week?

headbonx, Storm

This is one of those days when I don’t know what I want to blog about today, so you get unhinged blabber. We are in the start of back-to-school season, the most wonderful time of the year for us stationery dragons. I have spent the morning organizing things around the home, and now come to the part of the day where I have to actually tackle the writing stuff.

current blogging notebook setup

The front pocket situation is an ever-evolving sort of thing. I’m not used to the sideways pockets (I am sure there is a name for that kind of pocket, but I don’t know it. I do know the secretarial (big vertical) pocket. That one is for sticky page tabs, which are immensely useful. This blog has a section, Storm’s blog has a section, and there are other sections. I like to keep everything I need for one project on hand, so I only have to pick up one thing. Neither the big nor small dot stickers fit my aesthetic, but they are easier to transport than a bunch of dot markers. The flowered card in the middle pocket is just pretty.

The dashboard is a clear pocket with inserts I can change at will. This one is from one of the boxes from Cora Crea. Inside the notebooks themselves are a collection of big furry messes because that’s how I think. Washi borders, stenciled phrases, homemade stickers, several different colors of ink, and wild blabber with the censor off. Lots of sticky notes

Today has been a boring day. I don’t think anybody wants to read about me organizing my sock drawer, but being excited over new sock drawer organizers actually does give me a dose of dopamine, so I will count it as a win. It also smells lovely, as I remembered the hack to stick a bar of scented soap (in this case, cedar and lavender) in the back of the drawer to act as a subtle sachet. Good-smelling drawers has always meant an elevated grown-up status.

With August approaching and me noticing that I have fallen back into not-reading and not-watching tv/movies, this is the time to haul out the neglected reading journal. I know myself well enough to know that I will be more accountable if I have to tell somebody (like the interwebs) about what I have been doing for story intake. I am watching We Were Liars on Amazon Prime, based on the book by E. Lockhart, but through my fingers, and with breaks, because the ending wrecked me. So far, it’s a good adaptation, and I like that they give the older generation a little more to do than they did in the novel, which is YA.

That’s about it for right now. This is also a reminder to myself to start writing in the blog notebook before the day the blog is due (or two days after, in this case) because I don’t like coming to the creative space and my first thought being, “uhhhhh……” Another reminder that I need to be taking in story in order to put out story. Right now, I am doing most of my writing longhand, so there will be a lot of transcription going on in my near future.

What’s on your agenda for the week?

as always, Anna

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. I am blogging on Sunday this week because we finally got a break in the heat, and there was a while earlier when it was me-ing outside. That is Mama Anna’s favorite kind of summer weather. Papa is working a long shift today, which is nice for him, because he likes his job, but it does leave me without my Papa for such a long time that I do have to mention it. I will spend a decent amount of time on the Papa spot in the big bed, so he remembers where home is.

Since Papa is out hunting for cool stuff (that’s what working is, right?) we are having a chill girls’ day in with me, Mama, and Aunt Linda. Mama Anna is spending part of the day helping me with my blog post, and part of it playing Sims (one of her Sims families now has a calico cat, so that makes the game that much more fun) and part of it taking naps.

This has been an interesting week on the home front. Nobody likes heat, but Koolio takes care of that. Earlier this week, Papa had to do some stuff at the people vet. No cone of shame, but he does have to take some pills. He is brave. He doesn’t even have to hide them in tuna or anything. I am proud of him. Mama Anna picked up a low grade virus that she gets sometimes when stressed, but that is also under control. I have been working hard on nursing duties (the health worker kind, not the kittens-eating kind) which seem to be working because the humans are getting better. Aunt Linda appears to be fine.

I am still in love with the orange Ulta bag. The humans agree I get to keep it until it gets too worn or gross, at which point, Mama Anna and Aunt Linda obviously have to go to Ulta again. I wonder if they make pet beds. I bet they would be awesome. Mama Anna should show the picture of me on the bag to the Ulta people. I bet they’d love it. I pick it over some other beds when given options. Aunt Linda got me a canvas pouch with a calico cat on it, so the humans can keep my daily dose of treats in one place that is obvious in case a cat sitter or somebody needs to know where my stuff is. They can probably put the catnip there, too. There’s also a spare toy. Speaking of which, Mama Anna got me a laser pointer (that is safe for kitties) that has different options for the shapes I can chase. Variety is a good thing.

This is me on top of Mama Anna’s Kindle and one of her composition notebooks. I love this time of year, because Mama Anna gets super happy about school and office supplies going on sale. I, of course, have to inspect all new arrivals and make sure they smell right. That means like us. In about a week, we will be moving into the end of July and then it will be August, which is Papa’s Birthday season, and also shifts, at least for Mama Anna, from summer to pre-fall, and pre-fall is Super Powers Prep Time.

This is also the anniversary of the time I tried, without permission, to be an outdoor cat. Spoiler alert; I am not one. Many thanks to Mama Anna, Papa, and Aunt Linda for spending all that time looking for me and making sure I got home safe. I am never going outside again. I am an indoor cat for sure. Koolio, heaters, fans, comforters, electronic devices, toys, beds, Ulta bags, all that good stuff. Also treats. There are zero treats in the wild.

How is your weekend going?

Headbonks, Storm