Junkin' & stuff

My husband was off today so we went to an estate sale--I bought an old typewriter, some number punch things (I don't know what they are called!) and some rusty stuff. My husband ended up buying a whole bunch of rusty old tools for one price, a box of guitar parts, some guitar books and a whole box of old wagon wheels. We went to eat at a restaurant in Fyffe (ever heard of it???) then to another store. I bought an old side table for my studio--it was really pretty, already painted and distressed, plus some other stuff. My husband found more tools there, of course! But it was fun....now we have to unload it all!

I FINALLY caught the short-tailed cat this morning. We've decided to call him Django....can you guess where the name came from? Poor ol' guy was pretty upset, but I threw a towel over the trap and he was fine. He is heavy -- I can't wait to see how much he weighs. He's pretty big for an outside cat!

Not much exiciting going on to share....I went junk shopping yesterday too, so I still haven't gotten too much accomplished. I do have about 5 or 6 new designs to put on my website so keep an eye out for those. I have a field trip planned tomorrow so I will be gone to the Aquarium in Chattanooga most of the day tomorrow!

Since I don't have any new pictures to share....more of baby Sweet Pea....in this one he was about 1 month old. Just a fuzzy little white ball of fur! The next he is about 2 months old. A couple of years ago he tried to get in one of these cubby holes and would fit! I even tried to turn him around and put him in backwards but he still wouldn't fit in there. Then for last....this is his first Christmas and he loved climbing the tree. I caught him here in the tree. That was cute but it wasn't so cute when the whole tree fell in the middle of the night and we had to tie it to the wall so it would stand! I don't know for sure what happened, but I had a pretty good idea. He was too cute to be mad anyway!

   

Ready to garden!

I don't know about y'all but I am ready to play in the dirt!! We planted some tomatoes and corn Saturday. Today we went shopping for seeds & plants, but it poured down rain so we won't be able to get them in the ground for a few days. Our big plans for our yard/garden is a small natural pond near the edge of the garden and a bench beside it, a small butterfly garden in the back yard and clean up around the shed of the empty house next door. No one has lived there in a while and the last person left a lot of junk out there (scraps of wood, tires, etc.) and it doesn't look like anyone is going to clean it up! So I'll just get what is on the edge and maybe it won't be a snake pit. I know for sure that rat are living there because I saw one of my cats catch one! After I get the stuff gone maybe we can put up a section of fence to block it or something. I guess I didn't notice it before because it is in the back yard of my studio--before we bought it, I didn't really notice what was back there. We have a fence up in our yard, so I couldn't see it anyway. I would love to buy the house and fix it up--it really wouldn't take much, but I think we have plenty of projects on our hands now! Frazier is now hanging around all the time begging to be petted. He even paws at me to pet him if I'm not paying attention to him!

I bought myself these little Bozo forks and spoons off ebay....I always remember one Bozo fork that hung around in our silverware drawer at home. I don't know if we ever had a whole set and Momma can't remember either, but I always loved to eat with it. It was small and just right for my little hands. My husband asked me what I was going to do--was I going to eat with them? I told him "of course!" Maybe I will have my sisters over we can eat with them. LOL! I'm sure they remember them....

I have been doing some work on my sites and actually added a few new patterns to The Cat's Pyjamas Patterns . (And new graphics too....) Its been a while! If you click the "new" button you will see the last 3 things I added. I need to get busy--I have neglected it too long. I am bad about making new things and never putting them on my site. Like I said,I really need an assistant!! I have to get back to sewing--Pumpkin probably misses sitting in the basket beside me while I stitch!! I actually have several new ones that I had on Creative Living with Sheryl Borden. I think I may make those into free patterns and will post the first one here soon!!

TGIF!!

Sweet Pea & I are SO glad its Friday. He's so happy, he can't quit laughing!!!

This has been a long week--I am waiting on it  to rain and wash the pollen away. I feel so tired from it and its hard to get motivated! We have the garden tilled and mostly weeded. I guess we will probably finish this afternoon then we can start planting. I mentioned the "fun part" and my husband said he hasn't seen anything fun about the garden yet. LOL!

Look closely at the picture on the right....Strawberry was sharing a box with Sweet Pea! When he was still tiny, when I stayed up late working on my dolls, I would bring Sweet Pea in the living room with me in a shoe box and Strawberry decided to share it with him! He was really protective of Sweet Pea and loved to snuggle with him. I still catch them snuggling once in a while, but not very often!

I have been trying to work on my website all week but I keep getting distracted! I think I'll drag out my sewing machine tonight and work on a doll. Or paint or something! 

Read more about me.....

Am I ever going to get back to creating? I'm sure I will...but right now I needed a break! I tried to work in the garden today. I couldn't walk in my sandals so I tried going barefoot and the dirt was H-O-T!!! Went to paint in my studio, but my husband had the keys....so I really didn't get too much accomplished. I did nearly get to pet Frazier though! I saw my cats keep watching out the window so I looked out and he was lying in front of the shed we are working on tearing down next door. I went outside and he watched me and meowed at me....Dill and Elvis came out there so he got to watch me pet them and play with them with a stick. He even came over and played with the stick too. I probably would have petted him, but someone stopped to ask about my car that's for sale and he ran off. I did get some good pictures--look how much more relaxed he looks compared to the photos of him at the shelter! He doesn't even look like the same cat! When I brought him home, I didn't expect him to ever come around except to eat. Luckily I followed the instructions on Alley Cat Allies (www.alleycat.org) about relocating feral cats. Everything worked out well with him!

Have you seen my Flyin' Cat in Create & Decorate magazine yet? If you go to their home page, you'll see my little Christmas Kitty too! If you don't get the magazine, you can click here to read the article about me. Who knows--maybe  you will learn something about me that you didn't know!

Oops...almost forgot....Baby Sweet Pea pictures....

 

Kittens....and going green

When I look at these pictures, I can't believe they are of Sweet Pea! He is sooo big now. I hope you aren't tired of his pictures yet--I still have a few favorites left! I think he got used to the camera when he was little and started to like it....

 

This is before he realized he couldn't keep me off the computer....we knew he was going to be a big kitty. Just look at the size of his paws!

 

Think I'll save more for another day.....its fun to see him go from tiny baby to big grown up boy!

   

Yesterday my husband worked in the garden and said that Frazier hung out in the garden with him and even MEOWED! He'll be wanting to be petted before long!!!

SOOO....I think I am a day late. Wasn't Earth Day yesterday? Anyway--what are you doing to "go green?" Here are some things I was already doing....

*Buying used instead of new when possible (furniture, clothes, fabric, etc)

*Recycle aluminum cans

*Composting

*Buying local produce when possible

*No a/c in my vehicles (not by choice, but I when they do work, I use them as little as possible)

*Never, never, ever litter

*Take old paint, etc. to be disposed of properly, not thrown in trash

*Rarely use any chemicals on my garden--use organic or natural when possible

*Donate stuff that others could use instead of throwing it away, or list on freecycle for people to pick up

Maybe there are more--please share what YOU are doing!

Here are some things I recently started doing:

*Using glass for drinking instead of plastic

*Reusable shopping bags

*composting even more

*we had a cardboard recycling bin set up at my parents office

And some things I plan to do:

*buy a Hybrid car someday

*build our new shed out of as much salvaged material as possible (this will be soon, I hope!)

*encourage others to do more to help the environment

*learn more about organic gardening

*purchase more products made from recycled materials

*would love to go solar!

I would love hearing from  y'all about what you are doing to help the environment!

Sweet Pea & Frazier

I saw Frazier yesterday--he was sitting at the edge of the garden. He stayed close by while we were out there, caught a rat, then took off under the empty house next door. I was happy to see him and see that he is doing well!

Here are more pictures of Sweet Pea....this is one of my favorites. He is 27 days old and this is about where I stopped dating them, I guess. Pardon my manicure--but who has time for a manicure with a 1 month old "baby"??? lol! To look at him here, you would never know he had a rough day in his life, would you? He was so attached to me--he went with me everywhere. I was considering getting an apron or making something to put him inside to carry him around because he even wanted to be held while I cooked!!

I was kind of sad when he stopped taking his bottle....it was a lot of work getting up in the night but I still gave it to him occasionally when he was way too old. But it was just so cute!!! Everyone that came over wanted to feed him or see him taking his bottle....

  

These last two---obviosly too old to be sucking a bottle....he was starting to look grown up!

 

I actually have a few more for tomorrow! Hope you're not tired of them! ;)

Sweet Pea's story

As promised, here are some pictures of Sweet Pea as a baby. On July 5, 2004, my niece called me and told me they had found a tiny kitten in their trash can and didn't know what to do. (I remember the date so well because its the day after July 4!) I told her the Momma would probably come back--just to watch for her. We waited several hours and she still didn't come. So, even though I really had no idea what I was doing, I went to the store and bought a bottle and kitten formula. My husband said not to bring him home--because I would never be able to give him back! He was right about that! And thank goodness for the internet--I didn't know how to raise a kitten that young and I found some really good information on the internet to help me out.

So I went to my sister's house and in the trash can was a tiny little white thing (my sister said she thought he was a rat when the kids showed her!)--the vet & I decied he was just a day old. I tried my best to get  him to take the bottle but I couldn't, so my niece & I brought him home. He was so tiny that he fit in the palm of my hand and snuggled up to me while I drove home.  Look at his picture--he just really looked pitiful....and he wouldn't eat much for a while. I won't go into all the details, but he had some problems and I didn't think he would make it.... but after a really rough night, he started eating like crazy and started to fatten up. I was afraid to name him--I thought maybe if I didn't name him I wouldn't be so attached. And I didn't want to get attached because I wasn't so sure he would make it. After he started eating, he grew like crazy and it was so much fun to watch him grow. I took so many pictures because it was amazing how much he changed from day to day. This second picture (above) is when he was 4 days old....

Here he is at 6 days old--when he actually started to eat a little. Looks at those tiny ears...he was always so white and pink, lying there sleeping on a white towel, I always said he looked like a whisper! lol! Below--9 days old & 11 days old....

 

Here he is 2 weeks old and I guess this is when he started to eat well. I always loved this picture of him cuddled in my arms! I had lots of company when he was tiny--everyone wanted to visit him!! Now, are these the cutest pictures you have ever seen or what? Now you can see why he is so spoiled....tomorrow I'll share some more pictures. These are where he is starting to get his personality. Now I've gotta go find Sweet Pea and give him a hug. lol!!

 

Frazier is free!

Well--yesterday was the day to set Frazier free. I was thinking it was going to be a little longer, but I checked my dates and it was time! He hissed when I was moving some boxes--that's the closest I have gotten to him. I propped the back door open, got a lawn chair and waited. After about 10 minutes (seemed like hours!) he came walking out and went to the shed next door. He wasn't in a hurry and didn't seem scared. He checked out the shed and smelled where all the other kitties have marked. It seems like that's where all the new kitties start out, I guess because no one lives in that house. He kept watching me and didn't seem too scared. I have seen some that run away if you just look at them, so that's a good sign! I left his food and litter box beside the back door and maybe he'll hang around. According to Alley Cat Allies, I should see him back in 2 or 3 days.  I wish I had taken my camera with me--I expected him to run like the wind, so I didn't think I could get a good photo. But he really just took his time and I could've gotten some good ones. Since I didn't get a one of Frazier, I'll share a sweet one of Mr. Spock. Any of you with black cats know its hard to get a good picture of them!

I had a close encounter with a BLACK WIDOW SPIDER yesterday! We were out in the yard and I decided to do a little weeding in the flower bed. As I was pulling weeds I saw this weird round thing and said "what in the world is THAT?" While I was staring, something red caught my eye. It was a black widow and I had been sticking my hand all around her web! I think I have mentioned before that I am terrified of any spider, so imagine how I felt being so close to that one! My husband kept saying "what? What is it??" He thought I had been bitten by a snake or seen a snake. (I would rather see a snake!) After a while I finally could tell him. I kept worrying maybe it bit me and I didn't know so I had to research on the internet and it said you might not know when you were bitten. Great! lol! I was pretty sure she didn't bite because she was really still the whole time. I will definitely be wearing gloves before I do any gardening work. I never expected to see one in the weeds!

We didn't do too much yesterday since it was my husband's birthday. I went for breakfast and made coffee before he got up. We lounged around, then went to a new antique store and found a few goodies, then I took him to eat lunch. For dinner I made baked ziti, one of our new favorite dishes and made him a cake. I have this book called The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook that I've had for 20+ years!  I used a recipe from that book for Kenyon's cake--a Lemon Chiffon Cake with lemon icing. It's soooo good! I thought his other book would come yesterday so he would have a gift to open but it didn't! I hated for him not to have a gift on his birthday....I have this antique flashlight that I got at an antique store that he has had his eye on for a while. It stays in my desk drawer and I keep thinking I'll use it one day on a project. Every time he opens that drawer, he looks at it and sometimes he asks me what I'm going to do with it. lol! So last night I put a bow on it, lit his candles and sang Happy Birthday to him....I think he liked that flashlight more than the other presents! ha!

Here is a strange site I saw yesterday evening.....I had been to the farmer's market and bought some fresh strawberries. They smelled so good but I never expected my cats to try to get them!I thought I had them out of the way, but when I came in the kitchen, Pumpkin was standing in them and chewing on one! I had to hurry to get a photo so its not the best photo, but I wanted proof that he was really eating them! haha!!

Ginger snaps make good pillows

Well, I never thought of using a bag of Ginger Snaps for a pillow but Strawberry looks pretty comfy with them!

Since I've been home I've had a spring cleaning bug! I have a long list (I love to make lists) of things to do around the house before I get back to working on my studio and my art. I'll still do my computer work and have plenty of stuff I can put on my site anyway. I think Frazier has one more week before he can be free to roam so I will just wait until he is ready to leave before I start back to work on the studio.

My husband tilled the garden yesterday and the day before I started some seeds in peat pots. I should have already done that but at least they will get a little of a head start until we are ready to plant the garden. I wish these were cabbages we grew, but my Daddy grew these. He always has a great garden! We're excited because we have a big garden behind my studio. And we won't have to squeeze it in our little back yard! I walked around the outside of my studio yesterday to see what plants are starting to sprout. I think I'll just take notes of what's there this year and plan what to keep, what to move and what to get rid of. Knowing me, I will keep it all. There are some little trees that need to go. And there is a big forsythia that is really pretty, but I need to find out how to prune it because it is in the walkway. There is a huge bush about to bloom that is almost as tall as the house. I'm anxious for it to bloom and see what it is! I counted four nice size hydrangeas. I'm happy about that because I'm not having much luck with mine so far.....I've been trying to get some started in my yard for years! There are several rose bushes and a big patch of flowers that surround a bird bath that I've always loved! And there's a magnolia tree in the back--it's right against the shed, so I hope it can stay without getting damaged when we tear down the shed.

I walked around my house to see what is growing too--lots of hostas, lillies and spiderwort. This picture is beside my front porch....I love the way ivy fills in all the spaces where nothing else will grow! We dug that nandina in the woods where (I think) there used to be a house. I had no idea what it was, but it was pretty and there were lots of smaller ones growing around it. It has taken a few years to get this big, so that one we saw must have been really old because it was huge!!

One of my favorite things in my garden is my chocolate mint. I spreads a lot, but isn't as invasive as most mints....and the smell is wonderful. I've had this hanging around for several years and have moved it around a lot, so its pretty tough. I have growing around my roses--I love the pink blooms with this green & reddish brown foliage around the bottom. My pink roses are growing like crazy, but my red rose that I moved a few years ago looks like it has died. I hate that--it was growing under some trees when I moved here and it was tiny, a little bush no more than a foot tall that barely had any blooms. I moved it to the back yard in the sun  and gave it some support and it grew way over my head. The pink one was the same, but it is bad to get eaten by bugs--the red one didn't seem to be affected by that. I don't know what happened to it. I guess I'll just cut it way back and see what happens. Below are a few more pictures of some of my plants and a rare picture of Cricket. LOL!

Below--a rusty suitcase I found on the side of the road. I plan to fill it with flowers when I figure out a way to keep it from slamming shut on my flowers when the wind blows! The 2nd picture is a planter my husband made for me when we first started dating. He made several that I painted & distressed.