Living Pretty With Your Pets: Red House West
I hope you guys all had a great week. I’ve been struggling a lot lately. Especially with this little blog of mine. Nothing appeared to work right again this week. And learning something new has been throwing me for a loop. I’m sure some of you might even wonder why I moved my perfectly good blogspot blog to begin with and I have to admit that I do too wonder about that now. I do have to remind myself that one of the major reasons was to not have google own my blog anymore and to be self-hosted. It comes with a price I tell ya. Well I do have to pay now but also have way too many options and setting those options up is draining and boooooooooring. I hope you guys can stick with me and it’s not been too too bad for you. Let me know if you notice anything bizarre happening, ok?
Enough now and lets get to the cute furry stuff.
Today I have to share a “pretty new to me” blog but it sure doesn’t disappoint in the pet, style and nature category.
Meet Mera of Red House West who blogs with her best friend Katie. Today we are going to meet Mera’s creatures and I’m so loving their cite little faces:
Hi! My name is Mera, and me and my bestie Katie write the blog Red House West. Katie and I write about fixing up and decorating our homes, and a big part of that, of course, is figuring out how to create spaces that look pretty and are also pet friendly (Katie has two cats, Carl and Dean). I love Julia’s Living Pretty With Your Pets series so much, but the truth is that with four fur-bearing animals in my house there are lots of times when “living pretty” means “covered in slightly less fur than usual.” I just remind myself that I love my animals more than I dislike the constant shedding, scratched floors, and nose-printed windows. That, and I have a really good vacuum!
I’ve always been an animal lover, beginning with my childhood cat, Terra. She was the meanest, loudest, scrappiest little cat (with a penchant for ear licking) and no one in my family particularly liked her except for me. I loved her with every fiber of my adolescent being. My sister still makes fun of me for the time she overheard me say “Terra, you’re my best friend.” I was probably eleven, so cut me some slack (and Terra, if you’re out there, I meant it then and I mean it still).
Fast forward to my adult life and my herd of furry beasts: I have two cats, Wolsey and Cromwell, and two dogs, Cora and Winifred. All are rescues, and they are all amazing and sweet in their own ways. Shall I introduce you?
First up is Cora, my steady and true mutt with a heart of gold. We got Cora from a rescue organization about four years ago. She is the sweetest girl, really eager to please, and she’d rather step on broken glass than stray from my side. She is also the perfect Alaska dog. We once took her on a 22 mile ski trip and when we got home she looked at us like “now what are we doing?” She’s totally inexhaustible!
Cora leaping for joy at the top of Portage Pass, Alaska:
On the days when we don’t have the time or inclination to get out for a long run or ski, Cora doesn’t lay on the guilt trip, but she does lie right by the door just in case anybody is going out.
For the most part she’s happy to just hang out at home with us, as long as at some point we at least throw a toy for her in the backyard.
Next we have Wolsey. Wolsey is a Manx–he was born without a tail. He was a stray who was trapped by a kind-hearted woman who works at our vet clinic. She had seen him around her trap for an entire winter before she managed to catch him. When she trapped him he weighed 6 lbs. Now he’s a hefty 18 pounder!
Wolsey loves belly rubs, has a purr like a locomotive, and he begs for treats with the dogs. I guess he figures he’s lived through the worst life can throw at him, because he is not afraid of anyone or anything. When I brought Cora home for the first time Wolsey walked right up to her and head butted her! He can typically be found lounging in bed (often under the covers) or on the couch, soaking up all the warmth he can get.
Wolsey has a frost bite after surviving an Alaska winter without a home, and since he doesn’t have a tail you probably don’t have to use your imagination to guess what part of him froze. He still has some issues because of that, but it doesn’t phase him in the least. Best of all, he’s given us a handy life-philosohpy: In my low moments I just have to ask myself, “is your a**hole frozen?” As long as the answer is no, then things really aren’t that bad!
Wolsey has a special connection with my daughter Opal. He follows her around and always wants to be with her wherever she is. Maybe he’s her Terra (although even I can admit that he is a lot more agreeable than Terra ever was!).
Next is my other ginger cat, Cromwell, aka Mr. Wonderful. Cromwell came from our local animal control shelter. He had been there for months when I found him, and the good folks who work there spared him a terrible fate because he is so sweet. Cromwell is very distinctive looking (some would say odd, but to me he’s perfect). He’s polydactl, with too many toes to count, he has perfectly round protuberant eyes, and he has an underbite that causes his jaw to jut forward.
Cromwell showing off his catcher’s mitt paws:
In addition to having distinguished good looks Cromwell is just a perfect cat. He’s sociable and gentle, not too demanding, and loves to curl up in my lap. I love all my critters, but Cromwell is definitely my special guy.
My constant blogging companion. Finally, the newest member of our furry family, Winifred! We adopted Winnie from a rescue organization in rural Alaska called Bethel Friends of Canines about six months ago.
When Winnie first came to us she definitely had her guard up. We don’t know much about her background, but I do think that at the very least she has had to stand up for herself a lot in her young life. She’s a tough cookie, but she has been adjusting like a champ. After six months of regular meals, positive reinforcement, and lots of love she is well on her way to being the happy-go-lucky girl she’s meant to be.
One thing that I really love about Winnie is that she is endlessly patient and gentle with our daughter. She puts up with being “walked” around the house, being dressed up in hats and scarves, and visits to the young doctor.
Who could resist these gorgeous girls?!
So, that’s my brood! Thank you so much to Julia for letting me gush about my herd of rescued creatures, and thanks to all of you for reading along!
To read more animal posts you can click HERE.
Poor little Wolsey with his frozen behind 🙁 I’m so glad he can be warm and snuggly now.
And you are just waiting for me to say how happy I am to see another adorable scruffy dog? Winnie certainly meets that criteria.
You have to check out this fabulous block printed dog bed (click HERE) Mera made for Winnie to welcome him home. What a great way to celebrate his adoption:
And I love how they all hang out together too. Cuteness overload. Let us hug a couch 😉
And lets mention the great style again:
So I don’t think I even need to tell you to head on over to Red House West because you totally have to. Am I right? Show them some love by clicking HERE!
And don’t forget you can still enter our group giveaway:
Have a great weekend my friends.
Tschüß
(Youleeya)
Such beautiful babies, both furry and two legged.
I agree Sheryll and have a great weekend.
I just love that fluffy cat and the picture of the legs sticking out. So much gorgeous photography here. What a great big furry family of pets 🙂 Love it!!
I can’t imagine living in Alaska or for a cat to survive one of their harsh winters!
My cat that I got when I was 11 still lives with us! I always told her that she was my best friend growing up and I still do 🙂 No judgment here!
Goodness, those are some adorable pets! I LOVE her outlook on life from Wolsey – Mera, I think you should cross stitch it on a pillow or frame it! 😉
That would be an awesome pillow, love it Brynne!
Oh dude, such a great idea! I’m a big fan of irreverent cross stitch and I’m totally going to do this–thanks for the inspiration!
Can’t wait to see it!
The move is always hard. Hang in there. It’ll get better! And what a beautiful home and story!
Ugh I hope so that it’ll get better soon.
WOW! what an amazing home and what great stories behind (literally, get it!) those animals! they are all so loved now and all so special!
Love the home too
I’m loving what I see in her house!! Such a beautiful space!
I totally agree and I want that tulip chair.
“is your a**hole frozen?” Nope! I’m ok lol. Your home is beautiful and your pets are adorable.
Haha, thank heavens not right? Poor little kitty that’s got to hurt.
Huge thank you to you, Julia, and to your readers for the sweet comments and for checking out Red House West! It’s been a great day!
I loved having you and your adorable family! Have a great weekend
Aww, I love them all! We used to have a kitty with extra toes; they’re the best. And Winnie is so freakin’ adorable. Also, I love all the rugs in her house….must go check out the blog to read more about those 😉
My LillyCat has lots of extra toes too. Looks so silly! I love the rugs too
Thank you for sharing the wonderful stories of these pretty pet companions. Animals are amazing despite the hardships they go through they still give so much love.
These babies look very well taken care of. I am glad to read that they found a loving home
Thank you and I’m glad they have a great home too. I can’t imagine what it is like to try to survive a winter in Alaska! So sad