Let me be the first to wish you a very, very Happy Birthday!! The pictures are precious and your little brother could not be any more cuter! You'd better be careful that he doesn't bogart your favorite child status with you parents. I think you might be in danger!!

Have a wonderful birthday weekend with all my love!!

corgi! *kablewie* i exploded from the cute. sorry. i'll clean up the mess.

That would be "your" parents. I hate it when my fingers ignore my brain and do what ever they want!!

I'll second the birthday wishes. Have a fantastic Birthday Weekend!

holy crap. that candle is crazy!

stay cool!

You've got the cutest little brother EVAH!

Happy birthday to you!

If I had a dollar for every time I've killed a candle that way up here in the Central Valley....

That red blob of meltiness used to be a candle?? Really? I would have had no idea!

Also, I am not convinced that is a real puppy. He is just too cute. Are you sure you're not showing us pictures of a carefully-crafted stuffed animal and pretending he's real? Come on, nothing can be that cute in real life!!!

Good luck keeping cool! :)

Happy Birthday. And I thought the weather in TX was bad. I have never seen a candle do that though, It loogs like a slug from Ntl. Geographic.

108 won't get here until a little later in the summer...we live in Texas. One hundred and eight degrees is hellishly hot...we might not have even gotten to that since a long time ago.

Cats look very cool and comfortable on the wood floors...they are cool most of the time I remember from when I was a kid...I think that was when it was. :)

Happy B-day,
just celebrated mine on the 7th, I love old cars especially those that are paid for.My question , how come so many radiators? As I am not acquainted with the heat problems there, maybe thats a reason.

Happy Almost Birthday!! Have a good week-end. Yikes, that candle melted BEFORE it became 108. Stay cool as possible...wading pool in the living room? Bob and your little brother make a cute pair with that dusty cinnamon color.

Happy Birthday to you! Be on the look out for some special animated birthday wishes to you!

Happy Birthday! Hope it's FABulous. And that there is wine involved.

That candle frightens me. You can almost hear it shriek "I'm melting! melting!"

thank you for sharing your sweet kitty kats . I miss my Mindy Cat he died last Fall after being with me for 15 years . I really enjoy your blog and will continue to be a follower of the Cat family and well what happened to that candle ? lol thanks again

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday - may the whole entire year be filled with love, laughter, good health, better friends and work you enjoy. Thanks for sharing with us.

That's a candle?? omgawwd - I will never again complain about 98 with a humidex of 103! Love the kitty and pup pictures :)

It took me a moment to figure out that the disgusting red thing used to be a candle. Holy cats, it's hot out there! :)

Speaking of cats, holy or otherwise, your feline contingent is totally adorable, and so is your little Corgi brother. The ears on that little guy - squeeee!

Happy Birthday!

Make it work, Bob!

Happy birfday, Honeybunch!
WOW! A FAT candle "doing the flaccid." Mine are still okay this year and not pooling on top of the bookcase.

Yet.

Have an amazing birthday! Your little bro is truly too cute. Try and stay cool we don't want to see you all melty like the candle.

Woo! Happy birthday!!

Yeah...I should really take my candles out of the open...I got home yesterday and it was easily 100 degrees in my living room.

Guess the candle was sending birthday wishes :)

Hope you have a great day!!

Your brother is the cutest dang brother ever

FINALLY. More cat pictures!

Happy birthday, dude.

Every time I see your corgi brother I just go Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! So cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!

Please tell me why I first read "lancaster" as "lucifer!"

And Happy birthday!

I really hope no one was harmed in the candle fiasco of 2008.
Happy happy happy birthday!

Happy Birthday!

You know, I'd love to totally kidnap any of your adorable brothers but this one is the one I'd have the most fun with!

That candle is whack! One summer(2001 I think) when we lived in Austin it got up to 112 and stayed way above 100 for several days. It literally felt like we were baking. I remember it hurt the inside of my nose to breath when I was outside. If it ever got that hot in Longview we'd all be steamed from the humidity!

Hope you have a splendid birthday, doing exactly what you want to.

You have the cutest kitties ever (well, except for mine, of course!). Don't they get warm in the heat? Have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and my best wishes for a very happy, uncluttered year!

Hope you have a great Birthday! love the pics!

Crap - is that a CANDLE? I guess I shouldn't feel quite so bad about our 95 degree weather... When it's hot like this my cats stare at me like it is MY fault. Sorry kitties, there is a global environmental crisis - I am not turning on the AC unless there is immanent threat of death!

CUTE pictures!

And Happy Birthday! :-)

I think your little brother is absolutely adorable!!! Not that the kitty kats aren't because they are but puppies, oh puppies are CUUUTE!!
You stay cool there in Encino-adjacent ya hear??

Delurking to say howdy. Love the cat photos BEST although your little brother is a cutie-pie.
Exiting LURKDOM just to say that your love of kitties AND your commitment to public transportation got me on the bus this morning. Last time I took the bus consistently was in 1981 prior to purchasing my first car. Of course I was going to continue to use the bus and only the car for needed trips, NOT. One hour and 10 minutes on the bus this morning and it did not kill me!
Thanks for the book give-away. My friend Lynn was a WINNER and has shared the book treats. Hi Lynn! Hi Jane who is also a reader, lurker. Giggle, snicker.

I feel your pain. We're in triple digits here as well.

That candle is trippy! And I thought it was hot in Georgia. Stay cool (literally)!

That Bob is such a himbo ;-) But he knows how to work it!

In Seattle, we've been HALF your temperature. Some days recently 54 degrees as a HIGH, seriously. Even my zucchini isn't growing.

That candle would be a good representation of me in that kind of heat. MS and heat do not get along at all. This is why I hide in my basement which is a constant 65 degrees every day...unless it's warm upstairs, because then it can get even colder down here.

I was using a heating pad and crocheted afghans to stay warm while crocheting last night.

I'd rather be cold than hot. When you're cold, you can always put on a sweater, but when you're hot, there's only so much you can take off...especially if you're in public.

Love the kitty and puppy pictures!

I love it that you let the candle continue to melt and documented the change over time :)

Does DR have tee-tiny little feetsies? That is some odd perspective going on in the world of weather.

Happy Birthday Weekend!!

Dude! Is that a candle? OK, so let me reassure you that when you come up to Oregon to relax (aka paint my garage) it is barely hitting the 80s here. You need a light sweater in the evenings and mornings.

Happy birthday, Laurie! Enjoy every minute of it. Love the kittens...so cute. I think Bob may be my favorite. He looks like my cat from long ago...Chloe. She was the best cat! Brother is adorable too, but cats rule....

Happy birthday!

Have a happy prime-number birthday! (You gotta do something to make those middling-year birthdays memorable.) I'll be celebrating 37 years in a few weeks and I'm gonna make the most out of my prime number year - I have no doubt you'll be doing the same!

Yea! Cat pictures! My fave!

Advice: do NOT (I repeat, do NOT) light that candle. I don't think it'll work right anymore. And I'm visiting my friend in St Paul right now, and you've saved my life: seeing YOUR kitty pictures, plus getting to sometimes pet one of her kitties, is all that stands between me and total degeneration into Wailing, Weeping and Sobbing on account of missing my Evangeline and Lilliane. {sigh}

Cute kitties! The puppy is cute too, but I am more of a cat person. Did some conversion of those temps and all I can say is eep! I think I would look like that candle. And here I was thinking the 27/C (80.6/F) predicted for us tomorrow was too hot!

Liza {who has a very narrow comfort zone~ -/+ 3 degrees off 20/C (68/F)}

Thanks for the observations on how arguing isn't a skill that adds to the happiness factor. It took me forty years to realize it too, but I feel a lot better not being on the defensive.

Happy Birthday (how did everyone know that - did I miss something?)! And it's only 101 in San Jose - a cold snap compared to Encino!

And I just love, love, love that little puppy.

Love the quilt your sweet cat is resting on. Do you mind sharing where you got it?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURIE!!! ^_^

thank you for your blog, your book, and your awesome you-ness!

i love these pics - such an abundance of cute... (do you sound out words in your head when you type them? i heard "a bun dance" - like a pastry prom)

and total 'wtf?' on that ex-candle. hot damn (and i DO mean HOT)! i'm thanking my lucky stars it's hovering around 85 today.

hoping your day is full of love, hugs, and wine!
^_^

May you have the most joyous birthday weekend ever!!! And keep the cat pictures coming. I have 3 also - one that looks like Bob, and 2 black ones.

I love seeing pictures of your cats. I have 2 I need to take more pictures of them. Your little brother is so cute.

The kitties are PRECIOUS.

Happy BIRTHDAY!!! That candle thing tripped me out. When I was a little girl, I was visiting my grandparents in Arizona. I had a plastic radio with me. Nobody told me not to leave it on the dashboard of the car. It melted. But it still worked. HOT!

Happy Birthday!

Enquiring minds want to know-- is that guy's name really Dallas Raines? Pronounced like Rains? Or is it a TV "Pen name" ? I get a huge kick out of names that match a job. The best one I've heard so far is Waverly Person, the head of the USGS Earthquake Info Center.

ROFL that candle is the best thing I've seen today ... that wasn't your BIRTHDAY candle I hope ... Bob is looking very calm today. Must be the heat making him Mellow. Yay cat pix!
Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday:)Love your little bro he is a keeper;)check out my precious:
http://darcyknottyknitter.blogspot.com/2008/06/cat-and-hat.html
she likes modeling as you can tell by the exspression on her face.lol Hugs Darcy

Happy Birthday CAP!

Sorry about your melty candle. Watch out for chocolate!!

We hit 113 today, I'm about an hour inland from San Luis Obispo. It's amazing how many hours my kitties can sleep in this heat. Happy Birthday Laurie, they just keep getting better, honest.
Great pics of the kitties and that baby....oooohhh! just so darn cute.

108??? jeez loueeze. Come on up to Toronto girl we've had a tough time the last few weeks getting over 70 (should be about 77) with freakish thunder storms rolling thru (I"m talking short deluge that in some places featured hail and snow!!!!)

Ahhh ... so it's a melting candle. That makes more sense than sticking a big chunk of raw salmon in a candlestick holder!

(I thought, "What the heck is Laurie up to now with that salmon?" Sushi for Soba!!! LOL)

HBD and stay cool babe!

Happy Birthday! Have a wonderful birthday day spent just the way you want.

I want to eat that delicious looking puppy!

Wishing you the happiest birthday ever! Since I began reading your blog, you have taken control of your life and I'm so proud of you.

Happy, happy birthday, Laurie!!! I'm so glad to get to share your thoughts on this blog (have to thank the ole Palm Beach Post for introducing me to you!!) I loved your book and look forward to the next. Have the greatest b-day weekend ever...and I KNOW your kitties will want to celebrate too!! Maybe you'll get a card or present from your new little bro...he is puppy-licious.

Hugs,

K.

108!!! You need a nice break in Northern Wisconsin, Sweetie! Happy Birthday!

Is that whats left of a candle? Crazy! Its been hot hot hot in the bay too, but no 108. I'd die!

Cute catness :)

aww to bad about the candle! it looked really pretty.

Happy Birthday to you and Happy Birthday to me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEETIE! I hope you're having a COOL and happy day!!!

Lots and lots of love, Liz R

You know, you can heat that candle just a bit more and re-pour it into a mold and then it'll be good as new.

I do this all the time because I'm cheap. I combine candles into new ones.

Carly Milne (www.carlymilne.net)taught me how.

Now I want a puppy!
.

Did you happen to notice that your new brother's eyes flashed a rockin' Gorgeous BLUE? I've seen red, and yellow, but never Blue...what can it mean?

Strange and mysterious...

Have you heard any more from your ghost? ;D

Ha! I thought that candle was a pork tenderloin... must be late. : )

Happy birthday -- hope you have a year of genuine fun!