Words with Webster and Friendly Fill-Ins for December 23

Words with Webster: Kringle Kitty Kup

Hello, all. Real Cat Webster here, and on this special holiday edition of Words with Me, I come to you from under the Christmas tree, where I have discovered a New Thing. What I have discovered is the cozy little nestlike area that is just perfect for catnapping. I am calling it the Kringle Kitty Kup, or K-3 if you want to sound cool like me.

Here we see a currently catless Kringle Kitty Kup.

In our house, the K-3 results from hours of catnaps on the quilty thing the people put around the bottom of the tree. It might be different in your house if you already have lots of presents under the tree or something, but I really hope all the kitties out there get to enjoy a K-3 this Christmas. Please let us know in the comments!

And here we see the ever-so-rare dual
Kringle Kitty Kups, meticulously created by
Real Cats Paisley and Webster.

Friendly Fill-Ins

And now to Friendly Fill-Ins from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of the blogs you read. The first two questions, answered by old SoLT, are from Ellen of 15andmeowing, and the next two, answered this week by Real Cat Paisley, are from Annie of McGuffy’s Reader.

Old SoLT's answers:

1. I still need to find that great baked French toast recipe before Christmas. I made it last year for Christmas breakfast, and it was really easy and really good, but now I can’t remember where I got the recipe.

2. My favorite episode of Seinfeld is … okay, I have seen Seinfeld, but not for quite a few years and not enough to remember a specific episode.

Real Cat Paisley's answers:

3. What I really would like for Christmas is any toy with catnip.

4.  My favourite part of Christmastime is getting a new toy. I also enjoy having the humans clear the presents out from under the Christmas tree so I have plenty of space to sleep under it again.

Pet Blogger Blooper Roundup for October and Friendly Fill-Ins

We have been having a lot of fun this year sharing She of Little Talent's awful photos on the Pet Blogger Bloopers Roundup, a blog hop hosted the second Friday of every month by The Lazy Pit Bull. (Finally, a pet blogging event celebrating pure ineptitude—old SoLT has been waiting her whole life for this!)

This month, we have bloopers from Real Cat Paisley and Resident Dog Layla. Old SoLT was eager to get some good pictures of them wearing their new Halloween flowers from Barks A Lot Bowtique, and, well, naturally nothing is as easy as she thinks it will be!

Here’s Real Cat Paisley trying to opt out of the photo shoot ("There was nothing in my contract about a photo shoot," she said):

And here’s Layla being all wiggly (this is what you get when you try to photograph a dog; I did warn her):

And now for Friendly Fill-Ins, from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of the blogs you read. This week, old SoLT answered all the fill-ins; Real-Cat Paisley opted not to participate because she was still upset over that unannounced photo shoot, and Real Cat Webster was asleep.

1. It is good to have a spare battery-operated lantern, as I recently discovered when we lost power for a day and the cheap little lantern I usually use did not work, even with fresh batteries.

2. I don't understand why the Kardashians is/are so popular. Nope, I just don’t get it.

3. The spookiest thing that ever happened to me was I clearly heard footsteps in my apartment, but when I went to check it out (wielding a tennis racket as a weapon), there was nobody there.

4. My favourite Halloween tale is “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Love that headless horseman! The TV show Sleepy Hollow is a favorite too; I love how it mixes history with the supernatural.

App Review: Kitten Sanctuary, and Friendly Fill-Ins for October 7

App Review: Kitten Sanctuary

Ever since old SoLT got her first Kindle Fire nearly five years ago, she has been convinced that there are few things in life better than a really good match-three game. She's since moved on to an iPad, but her love of match-three continues. Those of you who are addicted to these games will know what I mean. Just one more level, and then I’ll sleep… If this is you, you have a problem, and you should seek help.

But first, you should check out Kitten Sanctuary, available from Clockwork Pixels for iOS devices. It’s cute, it’s fun, it’s addictive...

Screenshot from Kitten Sanctuary

Saving kittens from alien abduction

Here’s the story: There is a place called Kitten Island, which would be paradise, if not for those pesky space aliens that keep swooping in and abducting kittens. Your task is to free the kittens by solving match-three puzzles. The puzzles do get more difficult as you go along, but old SoLT is on level 60-something and has yet to hit  a level that is maddeningly impossible. She plays in Easy Going mode, where there’s no time limit, but the game also has a Normal mode with a time limit and a Tricky mode that requires you to make more matches to rescue the kitten. The game also lets you choose between Standard and Dynamic tile movement. In Standard movement, the tiles fall straight down; in Dynamic movement, they can pop up less predictably.

The kittens are so cute!

Once you’ve rescued kittens, you have to keep them happy by providing supplies and entertainment. With coins earned in the game, you can buy toys such as a ball of yarn or a clockwork mouse. Then you play with the cats by setting the mouse down, dangling the yarn in front of them, and so on. Our favorite toy is the little horn you can blow at them. Totally unlike real cats, the kittens in the game love this. Also totally unlike real cats, the kittens in the game do cartwheels. Not realistic, but so cute!

Kitten Sanctuary details

This app costs $1.99 in the App Store. In the past, we’ve hesitated to buy apps that want a couple dollars up front, but we’ve gotten so frustrated with “free” apps that turn out to cost an ear and three whiskers if you want to advance in the game that now we’re more than happy to pay a reasonable price for a good game.

And Kitten Sanctuary is a good game. It’s currently our favorite game. You can make the gameplay as easy or challenging as you want, and the kittens of Kitten Island are just too cute to pass up—not realistic, mind you, but cute. When you get tired of matching tiles, you can take a break and play with the kittens. It is surprisingly gratifying to make those kittens happy!

Kitten Sanctuary is available for iPhone and iPad. Check out the video below!

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good app; two paws is for a great app. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

Friendly Fill-Ins, October 7

Next, we’re excited to be participating in the Friendly Fill-Ins again this week. The first two fill-ins are from Ellen of 15andmeowing and were completed by She of Little Talent. The next two are from Annie of McGuffy’s Reader and were completed by Real Cat Paisley.

Old SoLT's answers 

1. My favorite store is a place in Frederick, MD, called the Common Market. It’s a co-op that features natural foods. I actually haven’t been there in years since I don’t live or work in Frederick anymore, but oh, how I miss the smell of spices and just general goodness you got when you walked in the door!

2. An unanswered prayer I am thankful for is…hmm…I have thought long and hard over this one, and I can’t think of one!

Real Cat Paisley's answers 

3. At Halloween, I hide, ’cause people get all weird.

4. I fear the supernatural, because it is NOT NORMAL!