Pet Photos

I spent most of yesterday organizing and uploading photos from 2010. In the past, I have done a good job of keeping up with this task throughout the year. This year, I left it all for the end. Let's just say that I've learned my lesson. Going backwards through the year, I'm only on June. Yikes!

One of the silver linings in my procrastination, however, is that I'm seeing the full sweep of the year at year's end. I forgot about some of the items I sewed, quilted, or knitted-- until I saw the photos I took (time to update my Ravelry page)! Several themes have emerged-- butterflies and the flowers that sustain them, leaves (always leaves), pets, education projects, documentation of creative projects such as sewing and knitting, and of course, family/friends.

Today, I share some of my recent pet photos. The first photo is Bailey in his ever-present and ever-graceful bow. When we pull in the driveway, I see him rising from his window spot-- bowing. He meets us at the back door with his happy face and tail.

The second photo shows a quiet moment between all three pets-- seeking the sunlight streaming through the windows.

In the third photo, Conn is in the Christmas tree. He climbs it at least twice a day, knocks off at least two ornaments, messes up the light arrangement, and breaks a few limbs. Good thing I love him to death. Good thing the tree has a stable base.

Last, Rowan was ill on Christmas Eve. Because we had switched the cats' food, she had been quietly losing weight-- a lot of weight-- because she was so stubborn she refused to eat. Willpower. Sheer willpower. After a few days of the old food, meds from the vet, and some special canned food, she recovered. Here, Conn is comforting her. So sweet.

Sleeping Bees

One evening last week, I went outside to gather some flowers from our overgrown, butterfly garden to bring inside. We had not had rain in a while along with record breaking high temperatures, and the plants were showing their weariness. I wanted to save a few before they all dried up. (Thankfully, we now have some cooler temperatures to give us a hint of autumn).

Did you know that bumblebees sleep on flowers during the night-- like little black and golden fairies? I counted and photographed at least 11 bees that I could see around the perimeter of the garden. I turned to the computer to do some research and discovered that male bumblebees indeed sleep on flowers -- especially late in the season when the temperatures begin to drop at night and when female bees refuse to let them back into their underground nests. Apparently, they are no longer needed for making baby bumblebees. Poor things. They attach themselves to flowers and hang out all night until the sun shines on their backs to warm them up for another day of pollen gathering. In our garden they preferred the lantana, flowering basil, and butterfly bush flowers for beds.

How could I live for almost 42 years and not know this?

Once inside, the bunch of flowers (lantana, zinnias, and some mysterious plant that the nursery told me was milkweed but that I have doubts about) quickly became the center of attention for curious cats. They smelled, rubbed, and chewed on the flowers until I moved the mason jar vase to higher ground. Those cats!

Afternoons This Week

Two cups of tea,
two sewing machines,
two sisters,
and two sewing projects.

One cat who does a little of everything:
reclining on the IPad with the instructions for one of the sewing projects,
sniffing the sewing machines,
playing with bits of ribbon and string,
batting bunches of fabric,
fetching a ball,
messing up my applique design.

Two hours of afternoon entertainment. All three of us were purring.

Loving

: : these zinnias outside of my kitchen window

: : the places my cats sleep

: : block printing with 10/11 year-olds


: : sewing with friends young and wise

Good times of the summer.

Knitting with Cats

I knew it. As soon as I returned home from assembling these two skeins of yarn onto two circular needles to make two socks at the same time, I knew Conn would want to check it out. He had better not mess this project up as he did by partially unraveling a finished dishcloth! Didn't I tell you he has a thing for the kitchen table-- and textiles? Twenty seconds of sitting and knitting, and he was there. No kidding.

Rowan has a thing for textiles, too. She took an afternoon nap on a new seat quilt while Conn investigated the knitting, and I carefully made sense of yarn and needles. This project promises some challenge and some fun-- especially if I have to keep putting the project down to take a few photos.

Blogging with Cats

Yesterday while I was preparing the post on Sewing for Cats, I was visited by Conn. Do you see what he does? He gets in the middle of anything done at the kitchen table-- homework, reading the newspaper, breakfast, blogging, writing, photo shoots. He doesn't like to be held, but he does like to "hang out" purring and inching closer to the center of whatever is going on. When my friend came over to start a knitting project yesterday, he lounged on the coffee table nearby (and he played with my water by dunking his paw in the glass). For him, the kitchen table must be like a tree with a great view of the creatures outside and goings on inside.

The cats like their seat quilts. Under the table or on the table, they are providing great company during this quiet week while the children are off catching fish, swimming, laughing, and meeting new people.

Sewing for Cats

one seat quilt made and one cat trying it out

Remember, dear blog readers, I've been charged with daily posts about the cats while my children visit their grandparents, so here is the second installment. It also involves sewing. Our kitchen chair seats are covered in some kind of woven fiber that the cats love to use as scratching material. Some scratching posts for cats are even made out of this same fiber, so I don't blame them. Really. But I decided it was time to take action and deter this behavior with a little sewing project.

I used some fabric from my stash with which I had intended to make cloth napkins. I drafted a pattern with newspaper and measurements (very satisfying). I didn't really want a poofy cushion, so I only layered them with cotton quilt batting. I made several mistakes and fixed some of them. The result of my afternoon endeavor is four "seat quilts" (that currently do not have ties to keep them in place-- one of my mistakes in the inside-out layering process).

The cats wasted no time trying them out. I could hardly take photos to document my work before they were all over the seat quilts and posing for photographs.

before cat

after cat

above view

above view with posed cat

At Home

Rowan and Conn are now at home-- anywhere and everywhere.

Nesting

Rowan and Conn are beginning to feel more at home each day as they find places to nest all over the house. They like to be snuggled and held like babies for as long as we are willing to sit with them in a nest of arms and legs. In December when both my of my children were born, it is a happy reawakening of times past. That the children can hold them like this, too, and they don't try to run away is so special for them as well.

From babies to this: working on a Christmas play for grandparents who arrive today. It has been a several-day process that started with a couple of cardboard boxes, some paints, and a Santa hat for inspiration. From what I can tell, it promises to be an elaborate show with costumes, props, narration, dialogue, and a set. There are tickets and programs already made. I especially like that I have not had to help one bit-- it is entirely their own creative project from start to finish. It has kept them happily occupied while I've been busy getting the house ready and making things of my own.

Speaking of making things, this a another card idea that I played around with yesterday off and on. These are photos of my maple tree in all different seasons-- spring, summer, fall, and winter.

I woke up thinking about "nesting" this morning-- that crazy time that expectant mothers experience just before the baby comes. We clean, we organize, we get things ready. I remember washing the baseboards before my son came. I've still got some cleaning and cooking to do today. I'll probably try to organize a few things here and there. I'll find a few moments to work on the knitting projects I would like to finish for Christmas. It strikes me that this season and this day, Christmas Eve, is partly about nesting as we get ready for a baby born each year anew.

Merry Christmas, friends.

Act III

Rowan

"Ro" for short

Connwaer

"Conn" for short

As a Jane Austen fan, I should know that first impressions are not always true. So it is with our new cats. The one who was first shy has proven to be outgoing, flirty, and very affectionate. The one who initially bore his bravery boldly is now easily frightened and cautious. Of course, he has been nursing an eye infection that we have had to treat with eye drops. And his instant bravery with the dog brought on a few skirmishes that may have tempered his will.

They have the run of the entire house now and have been exploring every single inch of it (when they are not sleeping together underneath my son's bed). We heard noises all night as they jumped here and there on shelves, bedside tables, and laundry hampers. We are all adjusting to new schedules during the holidays. When we decorated the Christmas tree yesterday, we opted not to put anything fragile on the branches.

We have named the cats after wizardly characters in Sarah Prineas's books The Magic Thief and Lost. As a family, we have read these books and loved them, and we are eagerly anticipating the third book this May just as we waited for each new Harry Potter release. My husband and I first wanted to name them Mulder and Scully because we have been recently finishing the last few seasons of The X-Files. The children, however, vetoed this option. Ro and Conn are better names to which we all have a connection. Wizards and cats go together, don't you think?

In the books, Conn is a wizard's apprentice and a former pick-pocket. He sometimes transforms into a cat to gather secret information and escape from tricky situations. Rowan is the daughter of a duchess who attends school with other young wizards-in-training. She desperately wants to be a wizard, but she is not an apprentice. Together, they make quite a team as they battle evil magic in the city of Wellmet and beyond. We've decided that our dog, Bailey, should also be nicknamed "Nevery" after Conn's reluctant tutor for wizardry.

P.S. My favorite part of yesterday was watching Conn find the sunlight streaming through the front windows. I don't imagine he has seen sunlight for about 6 months or so.