Here Kitty Kitty

Isn't she cute? I was lucky enough to win her on ebay. So you can't have her. But you can have something else made by Michie. Two links below lead to her things.

She is 34 inches tall and will look perfect on my entertainment whatsit. I have this knarley high vaulted ceiling in my living room. It's a huge gaping negative space. I don't want to fill it with pictures like a wannabe museum, but I don't want it to stop suddenly at the top of the furniture. Halloween Kitty is perfect, she can fill some of the space and break the horizontal line.


Mykai Creations


Mykai Creations on ebay


Halloween Kitty is one of those things that I can't make. I can plan it, but the plans will snag and evolve into Something Entirely Different. Somebody else had to make her. I thought I found something last fall, but I didn't bid high enough. Rats.

On the other hand, while trying to figure out what I should try for July, according to the New Year's resolution, I came accross a group of fiber artists. It was not an active group. "Somehow" I ended up as moderator of the spectral group. Am I gonna get some action on it? Who knows! I should go surfing ebay and invite some people. Yeah, that's the ticket!

BTAE is having the From Under The Sea group launch on the 20th. Sounds far away, but fast approaching. It should be fun. Keep an eye out!

There is a game, Nightfall, that you can play on the computer. You walk around a haunted hotel and try to solve the mystery. I was doing much better on Nightfall than I did on Riven, but now I am completly bamboozled. I finally got into the locked suitcase in the attic and there was just a copy of the book War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells. I don't know what that means. I got Tim to come to the footbridge and I was hoping for a hint about the suitcase, but he just told me to jimmy it with the screwdriver which I had already figured out.

Community Quilts and Crickets

Hre are some pictures of the Community Quilt I recently finished machine quilting. I used my Juki TL98e.

Community Quilts is a program run by Piecemakers Quilt Guild volunteers. They plan the quilts and get members to help make them. Each quilt is the combined effort of many people. I took this one to quilt. The top had already been pieced, I just quilted it and bound it.

These quilts are made mostly of donated materials. They go out to the community through various organizations. They go to children removed from domestic violence, cancer patients, victims of disaster like housefires.

Milpitas Unified School District has spring break this week. After years of waiting for things to get back to normal, I realize normal is a myth. Every day is the same in it's unpredictability. Yesterday brought a trip to the feedstore for fly spray, crickets, laying pellets, sunflower seeds and a cat toy.

The cat toy was for Whiskers, but she knew right away that An-Jan bags often contain baggies of crickets. Live crickets. She loves bags of live crickets. So I distributed the crickets: six or eight for Liz, One for Whiskers, and the rest for Paula and Chica. Paula and Chica go bannanas when they see the cricket baggy. They peck up the left-over crickets at about two crickets per second per bird. The crickets don't have a chance. I got back inside just in time for Whiskers to throw up her cricket on the floor. I was ready for it, happens every time.

click here to see more quilts

Rancho Suburbia

I have freesias bloooming in the back yard,






and by the side of my house.

Ant these little volunteers by the raised vegetable beds and by the lillies.


The volunteer bush that began to grow in the front yard has lilacs on it now. Good thing we left it where it wanted to grow.

I got some tasty treat for the snails this week and put it out in the front. They have had two days to enjoy thier last meal. Today I'm going to get more merigolds and try again!

Paula and Chica do a fair job on snails in back, but I don't let them in the front, too dangerous for chickens!

I want to plant sunflowers with my merigolds today. I had them there last year and really liked them.

Yesterday I planted two saucers of cat grass for Whiskers and Mary Shelley. It's just wheat, but cats like the grass. I just get bulk wheat at the feed store, less expensive than the prepackaged kind that has a picture of a kitty on the label. That should be up by Friday, and back up again on Saturday! (If you know what I mean)

Welcome, Whiskers Odette

Today we go to the animal shelter to pick up our new cat. We chose her on Saturday. I have made a little blankie out of the front of an old cotton sweater that is serged around the edge. I rolled a big paper bag into a basket shape to go in the carrier with the blankie. If she soils the carrier, a good basket won't be ruined.

We went to the animal shelter Saturday. Dave and I were pretty were pretty much in agreement without much discussion. Like minds, I guess.

So we went to the animal shelter today to look at grown up cats. I cried almost the whole time we were there.

We met three cats in the 'get acquainted room' and had a real hard time. Turns out we both felt the most connection with the cat that appeared to be least desirable. But, of course, neither wanted to stick the other with the poor cat. She had poop crusted into her fur and smelled awful.

A girl tuxedo cat. We decided our chances of getting one like Mary Shelley were as good as getting one like Ferm. Zero. She was very dirty with several large poops crusted to her tail and hind quarters. There were some scissor marks where poops had been cut off, and her abdominal hair was curly like it had been washed.

She slept/hunched in the tiny circular litter pan in her cage. When I told her she could have her own basket at our house, the cat care attendant got a clean litter pan for her cage and lined it with a little blankie. I guess they never thought of that.

We sat in the 'get acquainted room' and watched her for a while. She wouldn't approach us, but purred when we petted her, and allowed her stomach to be petted. She was very distressed by the dried poops stuck in her fur, but was unable to lick them out. She attempted to groom other parts, but was too distressed by the poops.

I think she will groom herself better when she is in a place where she feels safer.

So we filled out the paperwork for her.

They couldn't release her to us because they are in Alameda County and don't have access to home owner records here in Santa Clara County. We have to provide documentation that shows we own our home. People who don't own a home need a signature from the landlord or property manager showing that the pet is allowed.

We had to leave her there until today. They were closed Sunday and Monday. We will also find out when her spaying appointment is and we will have to take her back for that. There weren't any spaying slots available for the week. I felt very bad leaving her there.

Her name card said Whiskers, but she was a stray. I think they name all the strays for convenience or to increase desirability.