I picked 37 pounds of assorted apples last week and seven pounds of concord grapes at Eddy's Fruit Farm in Chesterland, Ohio.My husband benefited from my pickings as I made two apple pies including JonaMac, Cortland, and Muen (spelling?), and Gala's that I had from a local grocery store.I love to use the largest apples I can find and picked enormous apples this year. The larger the apple, the less time I need to peel and core for the apple pies that my husband loves.Since my mother recently ... Read Full Story

I am thankful that Sue Wall of NYC painted a picture of our Precious.Now that Precious is gone, we treasure Sue's painting and appreciate Sue's dedication and expertise in art. Sue lovingly painted each hair of the calico colored fur of our young Precious who is a few weeks old in the picture below:We followed our veterinarian's directions throughout Precious' young life and never imagined that we would lose Precious so soon.Precious had a reaction to steroids while fighting a losing battle w... Read Full Story

Are you a current or former cat "mommy" whose beloved cats/kittens are now kitty angels?We are starting a group to meet in the Highland Heights/Mayfield Heights area to do some good for other cats, help in obtaining needed equipment for local dedicated veterinarians, meet as new friends, share a difficult transition, compare notes, or just have someone to talk to about our cat angels over tea or coffee.If interested in joining a group meeting in Highland Heights or via the web, email me at ro... Read Full Story

I purchased my first 1/2 bushel of apples from Patterson's Fruit Farm in Chesterland, Ohio, today.The apples are JerseyMac, wonderful for eating, baking, and sauce. The apple has a wonderful taste and aroma. This early fall apple appeals to my 92 year young Mom, husband, and me.The flesh is fragrant, white, crisp, but not too crisp for my 92 year young Mom to enjoy. The apples vary in size from small to medium with an appealing pattern of red to light green coloration on each apple's peel.I... Read Full Story

It has been over one month and we continue to miss our Precious kitty very much. Here is a picture taken of her in 2005.Precious loved to go under the light blue drapes to see out the family room window as she sat on the couch. As a house kitty, Precious was most curious about all goings on outdoors. Should a bird fly by, deer be in our yard, she was the first to know. On occasion Precious would start sniffing nonstop and then we knew she smelled a mouse. It seemed as if Precious could smell... Read Full Story

My Mom found out she is diabetic at age 92 years. Mom is a cookie lover. I can not find any cookies in the stores that she likes. I am in the process of developing my own recipe for a cinnamon-raisen cookie that is low fat, without the use of sugar.Mom does not need to lose weight, however, I would like to create a cookie that my husband may also enjoy.I am lowering the fat content, removing the sugar, yet hope to create the best diabetic cookie in the world for my family to enjoy.My recipe t... Read Full Story

Our Precious kitty died on March 13, 2009, and joined Willa, the kitty of a member of one of my professional organizations that I never met but bonded with per our cats. We miss our Precious very much. At just 7 1/2 years young she was a most important member of our family and companion to my mother of 92 years. Precious is the kitty I have written about often in this blog and as a very young kitten she would ride on my computer mouse while I completed my work on the computer.We found Precio... Read Full Story

On the same day that we learned the shocking news about Precious, another wonderful kitty named Willa passed away. Although Willa lived in another state and we never met her, we feel the most special bond between Willa and our Precious. Willa being much older is perhaps looking after our Precious. When Precious passes away, we somehow hope that Willa will be there for her.Willa was one year old in the picture below and much loved by Carolyn and Jocelyn.It is very difficult to lose a member of... Read Full Story

On Monday, February 2, 2009, we learned via an ultrasound examination, that our Precious kitty, only 7 1/2 years young is terminally ill.The biggest problem we have had to face besides taking her to our vet for fluids and medicines, is that Precious does not want to eat. We re-created the mixture that we once used with our aged cat, Goldie, before prescription diets were available.We prepared the mixture for Precious. Precious ate the mixture that we call "tuna juice" for several da... Read Full Story

One can tell by looking at the photograph on my web site at http://www.raskinfo.com that I love cats, any breed, color, size, or age. The cheeta picture included on my web site was given to me by the wife of the physician that took the picture who said that her husband would have wanted me to have it.Can you count the number of cats in the cheeta family? There is one extra cub than your total count, almost hidden by his/her siblings. Can you see a bit of the cub's head?The adult cheeta is... Read Full Story