Zen Cat Art

Maggie's tummy...

Maggie Mae has always been a bit protective of her tummy (see my scratches) and she has been doing a bit too much grooming.  It's not sore or redder than the skin should be and it is very warm and soft. (see more scratches - she is quick) So I backed off and gave her some space but her look and that raised paw say it all! 

Our Bear Larry could be Loretta...

Last night about 10:30 I heard a familiar scratching at our window bird feeder. The bird feeder is part of the kitchen window and sticks out into the house.  It makes a good cat perch and when the birds are feeding it makes for great kitty TV.

Maggie was a bit annoyed that I intrupted her nap by clicking the camera at her. There are two doves in the box but we've seen as many as fourteen goldfinch squeezed together.  Titmice, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, cardinals, blue jays, nuthatch - everyone takes a turn.  Last night someone else wanted a turn.

Phil looked out the window.  It was Larry with his paw in the bird feeder window scooping what was left of the days sunflower seed.  If you are measuring from the outside the feeder is more than 6 foot off the ground.  But wait...

A baby bear...

Two baby bears!

It was very exciting (as long as they were out there and I was inside) to see them together.  I ran for my camera but it was hard to get a good shot with the low light and the bears moving around.  We thought at first that Larry had turned out to be a female but I don't remember seeing tags on the mother bear's ears.  I think Larry has a red tag.

I wanted to go out on the deck to get a better picture but it's too dangerous when it comes to a mother who is protecting her cubs.  A case personal of discretion being the better part of valor.  Phil seconded the motion we stay inside.  

The feeder is empty and the pole feeder is in the house tonight...but I'll be listening just in case.

 "The better part of valour is discretion, in the which better part I have saved my life." As said by Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry IV.  It may have been cowardice on the battlefield in the case of Falstaff but I still approve, especially when it comes to bears.   

Old jeans, new bag...

We went through my scrap bag to find yet another bit to sew on my already patched jeans.  The jeans had definitely seen better days and before I knew it the scissors were out.

The pink & blue are my hand painted fabric.  The purple is a batik from a recent project and The pattern fabric has to be at least ten years old.

Not my best free motion stitches but it was fun to make and only took about 4 hours.  I'd do a few things differently...but I like it enough that there will be another one.  

The bag pattern is called "Two-hour Tulip Bag" and it says that "larger" bags take longer.  This is the large bag (out of small, medium, large & ex-large).  I think two hours is a stretch if it is your first time doing one and especially if you want to add pockets or embellish it.   Mine has a pocket on the inside and the outside.  Of couse, in defense of the person that made the pattern - I'm not good at following them AND I always change something.  I just can't help it.

PS It's cold and damp and raw today.  My feet are cold even though I have on socks!  The cat's know what to do...

Sammy is One today...

Oh no!  It's my birthday!  I've never had one before, I wonder what will happen. 

Mom got me this great box with paper in it.  My sister Maggie likes playing with it, too.  Mom likes it when I share with her.  I like to share everything except the red dot, but Maggie and Breezy catch it sometimes, too.  I also got a new feather toy and some catnip treats.  It was all very tiring...

Maggie and I needed a nap.  Birthdays are really tiring but very neat and I hope I have lots more of them.

Happy Birthday Sammy!

Cures for Laryngitis...

Phil has laryngitis, he can barely talk.  It would be funny if he didn't feel so bad.  He has a sore throat and aches all over.  He has all the flu symptoms mixed with a couple of upper respiratory thrown in to boot.  As you know, if you have ever had a sick husband, they don't take it very well.  Orange juice, hot tea, Aleve, chicken soup, tissues, sympathy, more chicken soup, etc.  But nothing works as good as a snug from your favorite kitty.  Within minutes they were both sound asleep.

Washing fabric with Sammy...

I'm making an effort to rearrange my stash and wash all of my fabric so that it is ready to go! 
"Fold fabric?  Why would you want to fold the fabric?  I just got it arranged to my exacting specifications and I'm comfortable."

You can't really see the two bottom shelves but you get the idea.  And of course, there are several piles that haven't been integrated yet and a few (maybe 8) boxes (large storage containers) in the basement.  Some of it falls under "what was I thinking when I bought that?"

Hawaiian shirts?  I do love bright colors!

And some will be quilt backs or get dyed and painted on or donated.
There is also the boxes of civil war and historical reproduction fabric for repairing older quilts.  And a large box of silks for repairing vintage crazy quilts.  I'm working on a stunning one now that is almost finished.  More on that soon.

For now I'm just putting a load of fabric in the washer with some "color catchers" and keeping Sammy in nesting material. 

Beginning 2012

This is the view out my bedroom window just as the sun is coming up on a cold and cloudy day the week after New Years.  I spent three days in bed with the flu and a week getting my energy back and the next week catching up.  It's amazing how far behind three days can put you.

There is a poem about a young boy who is sick and has to stay in bed and how his quilt becomes his playground.  I can't remember the first lines or I would put it up here.  I'll ask Phil tomorrow. 

Anyway, I am recovered.  And so is Sammy who was spayed a week ago Friday.   Phil and I pick her up last Saturday after her over night stay at the vet.  We were so glad to get her back home, we have been doting on her ever since.  Well, let say even more than usual.

You can see her little shaved tummy.  I'm typing one handed because she is snuggled in the crook of my other arm.  Oh, how we cater to our fur children.

Today it is snowing again.  Mrs. Cardinal had to hold on to the rhododendron branch to avoid being blown around.  You can just see the fine snow blowing sideways.

And the goldfinches were chowing down by the dozens.  I can see them out my sewing room window.  I try to have my tea there every morning. 

There is more to tell but it will have to be tomorrow...

2011 - Year in Review

It was quite a year!  January was snow, snow and more snow!

In February I lost my Aunt Ruth who was like a second mother to me.  In other parts of the world so many were lost.  We watched the news as Egyptian President Mubarak resigned after wide spread public protests.  Richard Engel's broadcasts became part of our daily lives.  As they speculated about where Libya would follow, oil prices rose 20 percent and the price of gas became and issue.  It was the first time in my life that I considered how much it would cost to go anywhere. We still kept warm.

And had Valentine's Day.

In March everyone watched in horror as a 9.1 magnitude earthquake created a giant tsunami that swept the coast of Japan killing thousands and causing damage to a nuclear power plant - a nuclear disaster that is still being assessed and will reach far into the future.  Civil War in Libya was inevitable. Richard Engel broadcast from Libya and the news media tried to decide how it would spell Gudaffi. I was working on a new repair commission.  A cotton crazy style quilt from the 1900s - maybe as late as the 20's but I think not.

And, March 20th, (today my grief still papable) I lost my Katie.  The best cat in the whole world.

In April the whole world watched the Royal Wedding of Katherine and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. We were welded to the set, we needed some good news!  I got up at 4 am to see the pre-show, served tea & Champagne to Natalie who joined me and just in case there were no newspaper pictures - I took some off the TV set.


In May they captured Osama Bin Laden.  People cheered but cheering for a death felt funny to me.  So I was just quietly glad it was over.

In May Maggie and Breezy were friends.  And then Ruby happened.

Breezy went nuts when she couldn't get to Ruby and she attacked Maggie instead and has been attacking Maggie ever since.  Our happy kitty home has been a bit of kitty hell ever since!  We don't really know what to do except separate them.  Breezy is mostly in the basement (her favorite place anyway) and the den.  And Maggie stays on the main floor of the house.  It requires a lot of opening and closing doors to keep them separated but we have tried everything else we know.
Also in May, some kittens were born.Louise, my long time friend (46 years) and Jimmy's god mother needed back surgery.  She also needed to have her upstairs bedroom moved downstairs to the ground floor of her Levitt house. I knew I couldn't do it by myself so I called the in the calvary.  Not all calvary wear hats but...

Richard, I said, you have to come now!  I need help!  And Richard arrived the next morning from North Carolina.  Yea, for the Calvary!  Richard as you can see, besides being game for cleaning up and moving furniture, was pretty cheerful about doing it. 

Robin road in from Madison, CT!  Louise's mom, Pauline, had passed away a few years ago leaving an extensive book collection in the first floor bedroom.  We donated over a thousand books to the Island Trees library - who were very happy to have them.  Dispite working not stop for a total of almost five days, we had a pretty good time together and felt good about giving Louise a place she could recover more comfortably.
Also in May...

Sammy arrived!
And on the almost last day of May, while we were grilling our Memorial Day dinner, a tree branch fell and tore off the wires and electrical box from the side of our house.

No lights, no power, no water, no cable... fortunately we have good friends and we could continue to party.

Phil in Lake Waramaug.

Chuck at the grill.

Deb and me.

Susie, Phil & Chuck.  A good time was had by all...

In June, my grand daughter, Hannah, had her Bat Mitzvah.

The grown up Hannah.

The real Hannah and her brother Michael, reading one of my favorite books.
Also growing up...

Sammy and her big sister Maggie.  Maggie took to her right away.
Also in June, more tree fell and took out our electric and cable a second time.  We tried to get paid by the town but after a month of pictures and explanations and letters and emails...well, what were the odds anyway.

But there was a concert at Wisdom House.

Walks in the White Memorial Nature Preserve.

Yellow Iris.
And...

Lobster, literature and Sammy.  We saw one of two of our favorite movies of the 2011 - Midnight in Paris - twice.  
And Phil finished his second year teaching English and Journalism at Hartford's Journalism and Media Academy.    

July saw the final mission of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.  And the long awaited final episode - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.  Phil took me the first night and then I went again with Holly.  Fabulous!  I will miss looking forward to the next one.

(internet photo - harry wiki.com) 

Harry how you have changed!  (imdb internet photo)

I was almost finished working on a cotton crazy quilt owned by Susan Cummings and starting to work in earnest on Maria Campbell's fabulous silk crazy quilt from the 1880's.

July was hot but knew how to ignore it.

Then there was the Vera Bradley remake.

It has possibilities.  I'll have to make a few more before I know if it's worthwhile.  In the meantime it was fun and I got to use some of my hand painted fabric.

In August the refrigerator died.  It took $89.95 to pronounce it dead and $900 and 24 hours to replace it.

Ice, food, August... we lost all the freezer stuff but ate a lot of expensive grilled steak.

Then we went to the Lowell Quilt show and the Jack Kerouac museum/park with Louise & Mimi.  We had a blast.  I didn't really get a chance to write about it and some who went to the show and blogged about it did not put up pictures of the quilts they had taken without the persons permission.  Sigh...  I wish I could be that good but I really want to remember them here.

Deb Lacative

My favorite (after Deb's).

Marvelous hand quilting!

This is part of a quilt - just the bottomo corner.  Michael would love this!

This is a box of indigo chunks.  The packet from Pro-Chem Dyes, is much easier to use.

Jack Kerouac's Typewriter.  How cool is that?!
Speaking of being on the road...

Sammy would prefer that we not leave home without her!

Summer vegetables are lush and abundant.  The local corn is sweet as sugar.

Summer soup!  Gravlox and cream cheese on baguette.

Lazy summer evenings on the lake; putting our feet up and dreaming a an endless summer.  Not a lot better than that.  There were rumors of a hurricane that might come up the east coast.  There would be time to think about it tomorrow.

Tomorrow came on a Thursday when I drove to the True Value Rental store at 6 am and waited for them to open.  I was their first customer.  I asked several questions and then pointed to the generator that I wanted, paid the bill for a weeks use, and had them put it in the trunk.

We took all the furniture off the deck and tied the rest down.  And then it started to rain.

It came down in buckets!  Cat's and dogs!  Maybe elephants!  But the basement stayed dry!  YEA!!

The frogs dried out.

And I clipped the rest of the basil for pesto.  It was September and Phil was going back to school for his third year of teaching.


Marie (a good friend of my friend Louise) was visiting so we took the opportunity for a short girl trip.   Louise, Marie, Mimi and I headed north and visited "The Mount" Edith Wharton's Estate.  If you haven't read The Age of Innocence its a timeless read.  It won the Pulitzer in 1921.  The saying "Keeping up with the Joneses" is said to refer to her father's family.

We were lucky to be inside a wonderful little coffee shop later that afternoon when a wild squall came though.    
Our next destination was the Hancock Shaker Village.  It was a fascinating place.

This was one of the stones on the pathway into the village.  There were many of them with different quotes on them but this was my favorite.  But who was Theodore Roosevelt Chickenhouse?

The Shaker Village kitchen.  One hundred people; three meals a day.  Other than the head cook everyone rotated with a turn at everything including the kitchen.  I would have been lobbying for the head cook position as soon as I got there.  You are only seeing about a quarter of the kitchen.  It was a warm place in the winter and you could almost smell the soup.  The gentlemen that did our tour, John was very personable as well as knowledgable and patiently answered hundreds (yes, at least that) of questions as we kept him talking close to an hour after the tour had ended. 

This is their famous "round" barn.  Built in 1836, it could house 70 cows that could eat while being milked.  Wagons could also enter and leave without having to back up.
And who was Theodore Roosevelt Chickenhouse who liked to drink cream out of a saucer?

Why a cat, of course!  Mimi found out because she bought the postcard with image of a Anita Potter and her cat Theodore Roosevelt Chickenhouse.

Some of my favorite relatives came to visit, Don all the way from Alaska.

Donny, Phil and Drew.  Donny lives in Anchorage and Don & Drew are brothers, son's of my father's sister, my favorite Aunt Mary.  Mary taught me some valuable life lessons, including how to appreciate a good bottle of Champagne.  She and my Dad died 6 weeks apart in the year 2000.  I'm sorry Phil didn't get the chance to meet them.

Drew, his daughter Laura and his "significant other" Trudy.  Trudy and Drew have been birding together for probably more than 30 years (feel free to correct me) and she's a gem.  Trudy is a math teacher and helped Phil pass the math part of his Praxis test so that he could teach in CT.  Laura lives in Chicago and went to University of Chicago for Paleontology.  I love it when they visit - there is enough curiosity and brain power to share among ten people and our conversations always range far and wide, there is always more to say and when they leave I can't wait till they come back! 

In progress

Christmas Eve

It's my favorite day of the whole year!

All the shopping is done.

The decorations are up.  These are laptop lights.  They attach to a usb port and slowly change color.  I got them at best buy.  Aren't they fun?!

Provisions in the larder.

Just a few more things to wrap and a few cookies to bake so the house smells nice and we are ready to go!  I'm going to soak every last minute of it up!

The power is on!

The weathermen said we would probably lose the electric because of the amount of snow that would fall with the leaves still on the trees.  And sure enough as I took a few pictures as I was getting ready for bed and with in minutes the lights went out.

By morning the lawn chair was almost indistinguishable as a chair.

Coming down fast and hard.  The railing is only about an inch and a half wide and look how it piled up.

The last picture before the lights went out.  Beautiful chaos Denna called it.  I agree and the chaos part was just beginning.  We went three days without power.  About half of CT still doesn't have power.  We'll be hosting friends for hot food and hot showers later today - just like friends on the shoreline did for us yesterday.  I found out that I wouldn't have made a good pioneer woman.  After three days of not being warm or washing my hair I was pretty snarky!  Thank heaven for Phil pumping out some BTUs in bed at night - better than the three quilts and the down comforter. 
This is the same shelf by our back door as in the last post but the next morning.  Quite different!  This was just after sun up - I had lost electric by then and when I woke up it was cold!  The cats were little round islands of fur between the folds of the quilt.  Have you ever noticed how a ten pound cat can turn into a 500 hundred pound cat when it's sleeping on your legs?

And I took on the porch.  I was heading for breakfast!

When we treated ourselves to a gas grill this summer, even on sale, we hesitated thinking it a bit extravagant.  It was worth every penny.

Toasted bagels and water boiling for coffee and tea!  Yes! 
So how deep was it?

19 inches!  It was deeper in some places but more than the 19 inches was the down trees.

It didn't get cleared until the crews came on Monday but once they moved the tree and picked up the wires the locals had cut it up and hauled it off to fuel their wood stoves within hours.
On Tuesday we were headed for friends on the shore, a hot shower and a fabulous meal.  Thanks Robin & Rick!  And now I have to chance to do the same for others.  

Time to start some bolognese sauce and bake some foccacia...