Quiltcat's Mewsings

Hummingbird Card Giveaway

2011-09-11T00:54:00.000-04:00

I've been away from this blog for way too long! I started a new job last August which has kept me busier than ever, the cats have had some health problems, i've spent more time watching eaglets on a webcam than you can imagine, i went to Vermont and to Maine this summer for two separate one-week vacations....etc.!

I almost made my first return post on July 8, when my dear Fuzzy died, but instead of starting that way, i'd like to start with a giveaway to (i hope) welcome back my friendly readers...i made a card celebrating seeing a female rubythroat hummingbird in my backyard last week, and i'd like to give it to a randomly selected commenter on the blog. So please leave a comment by midnight Friday, September 16, and you might be the winner of the card.

I don't have hummingbird feeders up, so i was delighted to see the hummingbird in my backyard. My old privet hadge in the back of the house has been getting pretty thin and patchy looking, but some spots are being filled in by volunteer Rose of Sharon seedlings, and the hummingbird i think was attracted by one of the Rose of Sharon's blossoms....its first this year!

Nekkid cat pics (Gingy got a haircut)

2011-01-26T19:56:00.000-05:00

Poor Gingy's lovely long fur became very matted in late summer. I could brush her a little but not nearly enough. She had to make numerous trips to the vet because she had a urinary tract infection, which then also affected her kidneys. Her fur around her back end was really matted...not good. So i called around and found a place nearby to get her groomed. Suffice it to say that it cost more than i've paid in my life for a haircut!

Her cut is called a "lion cut"...they leave the fur on the face, a little bit of the ruff, anklets on the feet, and the tip of the tail...the rest is trimmed right down to the skin. Here she is, right after her haircut.

Poor naked kitty! The one upside...Gingy has been more willing to sleep near the boys

Now, four months later, her fur has grown out to about an inch long all over...and in the meantime, Gingy has taken over the prime "spot between the pillows" as her personal napping zone.

After a couple of months of medication, weekly subcutaneous fluids, and a change in diet, she has started to feel a whole lot better. I should probably take her in for another round of tests, just to make sure her kidneys are doing o.k.

But in the meantime, Fuzzy has been unwell...he's been very constipated. I'll spare you the details (which don't involve an enema, yet) but he's felt very miserable. However, his vet prescribed Lactulose, which is a stool softener, on the off chance that he might agree to take it (most internet citations say cats hate it). It's a sticky liquid and he's been taking it from a syringe with no fuss. It seems to be helping, although there's still a whole lot of "stuff" that needs to move out.

In the meantime, he inexplicably has lost several pounds, maybe because he was just picking at his food... All of his bloodwork is good, and now that he's feeling better, he's started eating and drinking and snuggling regularly again. I'm so relieved. Hate to see my big guy be so uncomfortable, missed his snuggles when he spent the night hunched uncomfortably in his nest box instead of in bed, and even worse, hate the reminder that he's at least 16 years old and is becoming an old cat.

I've started him on a very palatable canned food to get more liquid into his diet and every few hours he comes to get me to tell me he'd like another teaspoon or two of food. I am soooo happy to oblige!

Cold weather is for snuggling

2011-01-26T18:19:00.000-05:00

Louie and Fuzzy on the couch the other evening.

Louie enjoying his "hairy blankie," and soliciting a tummy rub

This picture makes me laugh...Gingy helping me telecommute by standing on the computer desk directly in front of me. She's fine with me reaching around her on both sides to reach the keyboard. She still isn't comfortable sitting or lying on my lap, but maybe she will be eventually...it's only taken her 5 years to get to this point!

This is how a professional snuggler helps me telecommute.

Stay warm and safe, everybody!

Snow in the forecast? Bring it on!

2011-01-26T17:38:00.000-05:00

Or at least that's what Fuzzy and Louie seem to be saying! We've had a relatively mild winter in terms of snowfall compared to last year, although it's been quite cold, with several days last week when the temperature didn't get above freezing and got down to 11F at night. Today the forecast was for heavy snow in this area starting about the time of the evening rush hour, so my carpool buddy and i decided to work from home today.

The day began with drizzle, since it was above freezing, then changed to ice pellets, and sleet...and the moment the temperature dropped below freezing, it started snowing heavily. It's a very wet, heavy snow and sticking everywhere. It may be a real hassle trying to move it tomorrow...in the meantime, i'm content to stay indoors with the kitties.

And then at last it was Christmas

2010-12-26T02:49:00.000-05:00

Louie, Fuzzy, Sylvie, Gingy, and i wish everyone the best of the season...the crispness of winter air, the fluffiness of fresh snow, the scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and spicy woodsmoke, peace, plenty, good health, and the comfort of friends and family.

Getting ready to make merry

2010-12-26T02:38:00.001-05:00

Our Combined Federal Campaign at work scheduled an arts and crafts silent auction on December 15, so i made two little zippered quilted bags and two embellished grapevine wreaths. Here are the bodies of the bags...they're tiny crazy quilts that i made with fabrics from my stash and some of the cool fancy stitches on my sewing machine.

And here are the two finished little bags. There was a "bidding war" over one of them which was very gratifying! (and sort of amusing, because there was only one bid on the other bag, and they look so similar, you'd think the bids would have been spread between the two bags)

Here's one of the wreaths...purchased grapevine wreath, with paper punched snowflakes, satin ribbon, chipboard letters, and a few rhinestone brads. I loved how they came out...yet neither of them was bid on. Oh well, will just have to give them to friends!

Here's the second annual card i made for the Red Truck Bakery, our local purveryor of everything delicious, from hearty Harvest Bread to sinfully delicious Double Chocolate Moonshine cakes. They have such delicious baked goods (all baked from scratch on the premises) and they are really nice folks...a great addition to Main Street.

My quilt group's annual holiday party was this past Tuesday. I've been working very full days at work, plus taking work home on evenings and weekends, so have fallen even farther behind than usual in holiday preparations. So i took annual leave on Monday and Tuesday and quilted like crazy. I made a miniature table runner for my Secret Santa, which i was so pleased to actually finish, i forgot to take a picture of it!

Each year we have a challenge block for the party, with the design chosen by the previous year's winner. (Each person who wants to, makes a block and then at the party we put our names into a basket, with one chance to win for each block that we've made. The winner gets all of the blocks!) This year the theme was "Christmas tree ornament" and the club provided an 8" square of fabric to use as the background, so all of the blocks that everyone makes will have that in common. I knew i wanted to make a ball-shaped ornament, and of course it had to have a cat on it. I found the perfect pattern in Quilting Arts Gifts magazine for actual ornaments made out of fabric. They didn't show them made up with cat fabrics, but the "cathedral window" construction was perfect to make a kitty peek out of. I made two and appliqued each one to a background block. I was so thrilled with how they came out, i made two just to be actual ornaments.

Chanukah was early this year!

2010-12-26T01:42:00.000-05:00

Chanukah began during the first week of December this year...Thanksgiving was barely over and suddenly it was upon us! Our congregation's party was held on Sunday, December 5. Sometimes our services are poorly attended...but this year, more than 70 people came to the party, including several new families with young children. It was thrilling having such a big group of people together. Each family brought its own menorah and we lit them all together, so the room was ablaze with light and full of the sound of music and laughter.

I missed getting a picture of Louie sitting on the living room floor, looking up in apparent wonder at the menorah's flickering candles, but here he's sitting on the couch and you can sort of see the candlelight flickering in his eyes.

And here's an unfortunately dark photo of this year's Chanukah card, which i barely got made on time, and many of which i didn't mail on time (but at least i mailed a few them this year...last year i made a whole batch and never got a chance to address and mail them!)

"Chairs: A Conversation"... Quilts and Paintings in October

2010-12-26T00:47:00.000-05:00

I heard about this fascinating quilt show from my friend Sue, who has a family tie to the family that owns the RH Ballard Gallery in Washington, VA...paintings of chairs by Robert Ballard, which inspired his quiltmaker daughter Alethea Ballard to begin her own series of quilts of chairs. Her approach to quilting is unconventional, painterly, exuberant, and fun. C&T Publishing have actually just come out with a book of her chair quilt patterns (i'm waiting for my copy to arrive). Here's the postcard that the gallery sent out to invite people to the show, plus a special handmade, chair-shaped sugar cookie that was one of the goodies served at the show's opening.

I wasn't able to attend the opening but went the next day and spent a couple of delightful hours talking to Alethea, getting a great running narration about each of her quilts. I'm looking forward to getting my book next week!

Catching up -- Sully Quilt Show (September 2010)

2010-11-27T22:33:00.000-05:00

On September 12, i went to the annual Sully Quilt Show, on the grounds of historic Sully Plantation, which is now a county park. We'd had much needed rain the night before and early in the morning, so some of the vendors had to set up in the drizzle. Also, the usual exhibit of antique quilts for sale, hanging up on clotheslines, was missing, probably because the vendors didn't want to risk their quilts getting dripped on by the trees or actually rained on.

I knew in advance that i wasn't going to buy much in the way of fabric...my stash is already overflowing my sewing room, spilling out of baskets in the living room, and piling up by the washing machine, and i already bought more fabric than i intended to this summer at the Vermont Quilt Festival. However, some interesting fabrics still followed me home and i found some interesting patterns and fell for a couple of new books. And i bought a gorgeous basket from Ghana from a Ghanaian gentleman who's sold baskets at my town's Farmer's Market before.

Here are some of my goodies proudly displayed on my garden bench

I couldn't resist a fun new book "It's Quilting Cats and Dogs" by Lynette Anderson, with lots of fun projects incorporating a lot of embroidery plus piecing and applique.

I got two patterns (and the accompanying fabric packs) for Helene Knotts' continuing hilarious series of "Garden Patch Cats." These two are "Mushkit" (kitty as a big mushroom) and "Catus Romanus" (kitty as a Roman emperor...and head of Romaine lettuce!).

I got an interesting self-published pattern from a local quilter, Barbara Wise, under her "Aunt Lilly's Attic" name...it's a pattern for making a market bag from a calendar tea towel. More clever quilters than me could probably figure out how to do it themselves, but i really like the security of having someone else's pattern at least as a jumping off place. Her booth had all sorts of things, especially bags and purses, made from repurposed linens of all kinds and i really thought the reuse of old calendar towels was especially cool. Inside the pattern envelope are some cool old shell buttons that i also bought from her.

The other book i bought is "500 Art Quilts" edited by Ray Hemachandra and Karey Bresenham. It's great "eye candy"....pictures of 500 contemporary art quilts from 1989 to 2008. Not much technical information on any of the quilts, but great selections and good photography. I'm enjoying leafing through it at leisure. It's pretty amusing that about half the reviews on amazon.com are from quilters proudly proclaiming that they have a quilt in the book. They're all worth seeing!

The last item on the bench is a "potato chip bag" that i made from Paula Hughes' pattern of that name. These are really fun little bags to make...i first got the pattern and a striking batik fabric kit from the nice people at Traditions at the White Swan at the Sully show last year. I made one for the mystery gift exchange at quilt retreat this Spring and people practically fought over it...the woman who managed to hold onto it is my quilt guild's program chair and (easily) talked me into teaching the group how to make them. This one is the one I made as a class sample.

And this one I made as a teaching sample as well, and then completed it as a gift for my sister's birthday in October. I added the three decorative buttons in honor of the new mama kitty and her two little orange kittens who my sister rescued from a life of dumpster-diving.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T11:27:00.000-05:00

I'm so grateful for my family and friends, near and far, including those of you who i've met only through this blog or your own blogs...and those of you who i've had the pleasure of meeting in person. As winter approaches, i'm increasingly grateful for a roof over my head, a well-paying job with health care benefits, and the unwavering comfort of my cats.

I went to visit my father at Thanksgiving...the place where he lives does a very nice buffet, combining tradtional Thanksgiving dishes with regular breakfast buffet items. The dining room was full of people from the oldest residents (there's one gentleman who's 101, still plays tennis, sings in the choir, and plays flute) to the youngest visitors (there were quite a few babies, toddlers, and even some teens). My father was telling the people who we were seated with that the day was something of an anniversary for him--it was at Thanksgiving dinner two years ago at my uncle's retirement community in southern New Jersey that my father realized he might actually consider moving to such a place. And not long after that that i told him if he was planning on moving, he might as well move closer to my sister or me...and that i happened to know that there were two similar retirement communities right here in northern Virginia. I'm so grateful he made that decision! It's nice knowing that he's safe, comfortable, happy...and nearby.

The weather on Thanksgiving Day was typical of late November...chilly, gusty winds, with dark grey rippled skies. Most but not all of the leaves are off the trees now. I saw lots of turkey vultures and black vultures soaring and kettling in the wind...think they were making up for lost time because it had been rainy and bleak the day before. And there in between two big turkey vultures was an adult bald eagle! I thought i could tell the two kinds of big birds apart, and then the three birds drifted over the intersection where i was stopped at a red light, and sure enough, there were the unmistakeable white head and tail of an adult bald eagle. Thrilling!

I've got oodles of pictures in the cameras and few stories to tell...will try to catch up on the blogging before work and holiday preparations close in on me again.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!

A different kind of rescue

2010-10-11T14:12:00.000-04:00

I was at a gas station on a major road near my home on a late summer weekend and saw a mother and daughter intently looking at the trash bin next to gas pump. The daughter was reaching out tentatively and the mother was anxiously saying "now don't squish it" but the daughter didn't quite want to make contact...it was a praying mantis! I held out my hand, it promptly walked up onto my hand (the daughter drew back even further), and i said "i'll be glad to take it home to a life in the country." I put the mantis up on the headrest of the seat behind me, drove home, opened the car door and looked in the back seat. Where did he/she go? Oh, still on the headrest!

This isn't a particularly good picture (taken with the camera on my cell phone), but the best i could do at the time. I held my hand out, mantis walked onto my hand, and i promptly deposited him/her in the bushes by the driveway, where there should be plenty to eat (and a lot nicer environment than a gas station!).

What a difference 6 weeks--and a lot of loving--makes!

2010-10-11T12:52:00.000-04:00

This is my friend Sue's kitten Waldo on August 21, just a few days after being rescued...she came upon him being rescued from under a parked car in a grocery store parking lot. He was filthy, frightened, skinny, and had a bubbly nose and dripping eyes. The sheriff's deputy who managed to get the kitten out from under the car also became filthy and dripping with sweat. He brought the kitten to Sue's vet, to make sure he was handing the kitten over to a good person. The vet gave the kitten a checkup and much needed bath, and determined he was about 4 months old. In this picture, he's still looking quite dingy and pretty miserable (the first few days he kept hiding, hence his eventual name!).

And here Waldo is yesterday, having supper with his "big sister" Zella...she's a year old and you can see that Waldo has become about 3/4 her size, fluffy, clean, and definitely not hiding! He still has a goopy eye...vet thinks his tear duct might be blocked, and will explore when Waldo goes in for neutering soon...but he's sure one happy healthy growing boy.

One last pic...it was supposed to be Zella and Waldo wrestling but she dashed off just as the flashy box went off. Look at those muscles and that incipient floof!

Fall is Coming!

2010-09-27T23:53:00.000-04:00

Louie says it's time to gather in your pumpkins...

Yizkor - Remembrance

2010-09-20T08:41:00.001-04:00

During Yom Kippur services (which took place this year on Saturday), Jewish communities around the world recite Yizkor, which means "remembrance" in Hebrew. We pray for our individual loved ones whom we have lost and then we pray as a community for those who have no one to pray for them. I love this prayer, although it's intensely emotional to recite it.

The congregation reads together "Our generations are bound together as children now remember their parents. Love is strong as death as husbands and wives now remember their mates, as parents now remember their children. Memory conquers death's dominion as we now remember our brothers and sisters, grandparents and other relatives and friends.

"The death of those we now remember left gaping holes in our lives. But we are grateful for the gift of their lives. And we are strengthened by the blessings which they have left us, by precious memories which comfort and sustain us as we recall them this day."

The prayer for my mother "May God remember the soul of my mother who has gone to her eternal home. In loving testimony to her life I pledge charity to help perpetuate ideals important to her. Through such deeds, and through prayer and memory, is her soul bound up in this bond of life. May I prove myself worthy of the gift of life and the many other gifts with which she blessed me. May these moments of meditation link me more strongly with her memory and with our entire family. May she rest eternally in dignity and peace. Amen."

To all who have lost loved ones, may their memory endure as inspiration for deeds of charity and goodness in our lives. May they rest in peace. Amen.

Does This Look Like a Sick Kitty to You?

2010-09-20T08:17:00.001-04:00

Gingy in command of Prince William Emergency Vet Hospital

This is how she's feeling more often...not very comfortable.

Poor Gingy wasn't feeling at all well today.She ate an o.k. breakfast but easily let Louie take over her food bowl and then went and spent the day in the basement. At one point she was lying comfortably on her back, but later she was in a dark corner with her head tucked into some boxes. She moved again to a throw rug and was lying on her side, seeming kind of tense and uncomfortable. She threw up once and also peed on the floor (although the latter is not that unusual for her). She had no interest at all in coming upstairs for a snack or supper...definitely a sign that she wasn't well!

I realized i'd either have to take off from work on Monday in order to take her to the vet, or take her to the emergency vet. I went to Prince William Emergency Vet Hospital since they're closer (25 miles) than the Leesburg hospital (45 miles)...which has moved to a new location since the last time i used them and i'm not even sure exactly where they are. Much to my pleasant surprise, the vet who i'd seen most often in Leesburg (back in the days when Louie was having terrible urinary tract problems) now works at the Prince William hospital and that's who Gingy saw. She took xrays of Gingy's tummy, gave her subcutaneous fluids, and gave her a shot of Pepcid to help ease her irritated tummy...with a possible diagnosis that she's got a hairball working its way through her lower digestive tract with gas caught above it causing Gingy's abdominal discomfort.

Unfortunately, Gingy's not feeling much better this morning. She did come upstairs while i was feeding the other cats and nibbled a teaspoon or two of canned food, but then immediately put herself back to bed in the basement. So i'm working from home and will take her to her regular vet as soon as they can work us in.

update: Thank you all for your expressions of concern. It seems that Gingy's white blood count is very high, so she's fighting an infection of some sort, and her kidney values are off. Dr S thinks it's possible that there are at least two things going on: the hairball/digestive blockage and a raging urinary tract infection which might possibly be up in her kidneys. (I feel so bad...this time those puddles of pee on the floor meant Gingy was feeling poorly, not just being "bad" as she often is.) Dr S gave Gingy another shot of Pepcid, more subQ fluids, and an injection of antibiotics (which i requested instead of pills, since if Gingy isn't interested in eating, i wouldn't be able to get her take pills in Pill Pockets [the only way i can pill her], plus Clavamox tends to make my kitties lose their appetites and that's not what we want with a kitty who's not eating). Gingy got some of her fur mats shaved and toenails trimmed...a tiny spa treatment while she was in their power. She was more alert than last night but still pretty lethargic.

I stopped at Starbucks drive-through on the way home to get a coffee and chicken sandwich to go...as i set the sandwich down on top of Gingy's carrier, she meowed loudly. When we got home, she strolled out of her carrier and headed straight to her food bowl! She ate a couple of tablespoons of dry food and at least a tablespoon of canned food before settling down at the head of the stairs instead of retreating to the basement. It's amazing how quickly she's feeling better...i hope she continues to feel better and better with no setbacks.

Current Quilting Project

2010-09-12T04:38:00.001-04:00

Last year i purchased a quilting pattern designed by Sheryl Mycroft called Cobblestone Crows from my friend Karen Sue's booth, maybe at the QU show. At any rate, it was one of those projects that really stuck in my imagination and i knew i was going to make it sooner rather than later. When i went to the Vermont Quilt Festival this summer (yes, i know, i still have to post stories and pictures from there!), i took a bunch of fabrics from my stash with me to see if i could pick the ones that would go in the quilt. I knew i wanted to change the color scheme and had the perfect print with metallic gold accents and moon-like patterns as the focus fabric. I found the perfect background fabric at Yankee Pride Quilts, picked up a few fat quarters of batiks at a few other booths, and got the high thread count black Kona cotton for the crows after i got home from my local quilt ship, Kelly Ann's Quilting.

It went together fairly fast, but now it needs to be machine quilted, so that i can embellish the heck out of it. It will finish approximately 28 inches square, and is actually fairly straight, but since it was blowing in the breeze, it looks like it's got a bit of a ripple.

The crow in the foreground will be holding a shell bead in its beak and there will be a line of four shell beads down the tallest strip in the background. I have some great assortments of small beads that should be perfect for the embellishing.

I find crows and ravens to be fascinating creatures...so curious and observant, and living in complicated social communities. When i was walking around in Sitka, Alaska, i realized that a couple of ravens were following me all over town. Raven and Eagle are traditional adversaries in Northwest Coast Native American mythology, and Raven is the Trickster who stole the Sun from its guardian (but by so doing, brought light, and possibly even the miracle of human birth, to the world). Then, this Spring while i was avidly watching the eaglets at the Norfolk Botanical Garden grow from tiny chicks into healthy fledglings through the cam pointed at their nest, we got news that a raven had stolen an egg from the eagle's nest on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It was recorded on that nest's cam....you can see the mother eagle leaving the nest for a moment, the raven flies in, snatches one of the two eggs in its beak, and flies off! It was a devastating moment for fans of that pair of eagles. If the raven had any fans, they might possibly have been cheering it for outsmarting the eagle.

Front cover of The Ice Bear by Jackie Morris, available now from amazon.co.uk

Finally, with great synchronicity, Jackie Morris, one of my favorite authors and artists, has just published The Ice Bear, about a raven who steals one of the Ice Bear's cubs and leaves it to be found by a childless hunter and his wife. Both the mother bear and the human parents suffer great loss, [spoiler alert!] the child bridges both worlds, so while it seems as if the raven has done a terrible thing, he sets in motion some very important events and relationships, and at least in this telling, he helps keep one side from killing the other.

Summer lingers on

2010-09-12T02:31:00.002-04:00

It's continued to be hot and dry here (although the last few days the temperatures have finally become more season-appropriate). I finally ate enough delicious fresh tomatoes that i was willing to cook a few, as in this okra-corn-tomato dish.

My own garden is nonexistent this year...just have catnip and mint that came back from last year. Even my compost heap shows signs of neglect...i don't think i've adequately turned it and moistened it so it can get hot and decompose efficiently. I went out the other day and found an avocado tree sprouting in the middle of the heap!

A few weeks ago, my father and i went to the wonderful, family-owned and -operated Hartland Orchard, where I picked two pecks of Redskin peaches in about 15 minutes...and a pint of raspberries in an hour (it was the end of a long Saturday and they had been very thoroughly picked over). My father scored all sorts of points with friends in his retirement community to whom he took back peaches. I didn't give nearly as many away...saved quite a few to make a peach pie for my father the following week and also to make peach liqueur following Sylvie Rowand's recipe (i have to pour off the liquid this weekend and i am really looking forward to tasting the tipsy peaches that result!).

The week after we picked peaches, i drove my father down to Waynesboro to visit the Wildlife Center of Virginia which is mostly a hospital for treating native wildlife, but offers tours to the public a few times a year. My pictures didn't come out very well...most of the raptors were in wooden-sided cages outside and were quite dark inside. However, this lovely kestrel was close to the front so i was able to get a good picture of her.

Edie, the American Kestrel, was found as an orphan when her nest tree was damaged in a storm. She imprinted on humans after being rescued, so she can not be released to lead a normal life in the wild.

The Wildlife Center does everything they can to heal their patients to the point where they can be released back to the wild. Some animals however have injuries that they recover from but which make them unable to fend for themselves in the wild. One of these is the cute little Screech Owl named Pignoli, shown below with education specialist Kelly. He is blind in one eye and has limited vision in the other (it's possible that he was struck by a train while pursuing insects), so he wouldn't be able to hunt for food. He has a very sweet personality and has taken easily to a role as an Education Animal.

Education Specialist Kelly and Education Animal Pignoli

After our tour of the hospital and its grounds, we came back to my house to go out to dinner and then back to my house for peach pie for dessert and for my father to have a chance to spend some time with his grandcats. They all greeted him affectionately but we were disappointed that nobody hopped up on his lap (we probably weren't sitting long enough). He took home a funny souvenier of his visit....his navy blue shorts were covered with Fuzzy's fur from the couch!

Speaking of Fuzzy, here he is sprawled out on his back on the couch...summertime cat nap!

Late summer in small town Virginia

2010-08-15T15:37:00.001-04:00

We've had an amazingly hot and dry summer this year. I think we had the hottest and driest June on record, quite a counterpoint to the snowy and cold winter! I believe we had something like 40 days in a row of above-90 degrees temperature. Thankfully, i have central air conditioning...i got it years ago because Lesley had feline asthma and her vet said she'd be much better off if the windows could be kept closed--and the only way it would be bearable to have the windows closed would be to have air conditioning. The cats have been feeling warm but pretty comfortable.

Fuzzy laying on the 3rd desk's book shelf, keeping me company while i telecommute

Sylvie checcking out Farmers Market bounty: peppers, Napa cabbage, corn, 2 different mixes of cherry tomatoes, new potatoes (in bag), radishes

Sylvie staking out my desk chair, which the cats have pretty thoroughly trashed. Why buy a new one if that'll get all shredded, too?

Louie snuggled into his "Hairy Blankie"

Gingy relazing on the kitchen doormat (yes, she's the one who has peed repeatedly on the back door)

Another fine part of summer here is my town's tradition of offering outdoor concerts every Saturday evening in a joint partnership with Bluemont Concerts. The musicians set up on the sidewalk across the street and everyone sets up blankets and lawn chairs on the lawn of the Warren Green building, a Civil War era building that now houses some County offices, next to the County courthouse complex. It's wonderful listening to all kinds of great musicians in such a family-friendly atmosphere. Different community groups provide the refreshments each week and get to keep the proceeds...it's like having a bake sale with a musical accompaniment!

Last week my quilt group provided the refreshments. We lucked out...it was a gorgeous clear warm evening, not dreadfully hot and humid as so many other Saturday nights had been, and the music was fantastic--the Martinsburg Jazz Orchestra, a group of about 8 guys (from an ensemble of 16) playing swing and big band music.

Here's what it looked like from the back of the crowd, as the lights just started coming on.

Martinsburg Jazz Orchestra entertains as night falls

One thing that doesn't show in the picture are the bats and swallows flittering around overhead catching the bugs who are attracted to the lights.

Here are two of my friends from the quilt group with our table of goodies. In addition to the usual homemade cookies and brownies, bottled water, iced tea, and lemonade, we also had trail mix, pretzels, homemade caramel corn, spiced nuts and spicy popcorn both custom made by one of the group, and a peck of peaches picked that very day by a member who hadn't had time to bake. By the end of the evening we only had a few peaches and a few bags of trail mix and cookies left...a very successful evening for us. And so much fun, too!

Quilters and goodies for sale at the Bluemont concert

There are naked ladies in my garden!

2010-08-15T14:25:00.000-04:00

Did i get your attention? *lol* Nope, not human ladies, but these interesting pink lily-like blooms that suddenly appear on long naked stems in late summer around here. They're otherwise known as Lycoris squamigera...and have other wonderful nicknames like "magic lilies," "surprise lilies," and "resurrection lilies" which all refer to the fact that they suddenly seem to appear out of nowhere. In spring, a huge clump of big green strap-like leaves appears, much like daffodils, except there are no flowers, and the leaves go dormant and disappear as soon as the weather starts to warm up. And then in late July, early August, suddenly stems appear and rapidly produce clusters of pink blooms.

They are a wonderful pass-along plant, since they are easy to dig up after blooming (big clumps of bulbs) and transplant to wherever the garden soil is halfway decent and they will get at least half a day of sun. I'd never seen them before i moved to Virginia. In fact, the first place i saw them was along a vanished fenceline in Turnbull, an historically Black community not far from here. I thought people had stuck hundreds of silk flowers in a line along the road in front of an old church. Then i saw them in people's yards. And then the summer after i bought my house, they popped up in my own yard, from where i thought a disappointing clump of daffodils had disappeared!

(Did you notice that they're surrounded by a mass of English ivy, poison ivy, and some other sort of wild viney groundcover thing? And then on the other side there's a nice neat bed of mulch? The mulch is my nextdoor neighbor's yard!)

Guest appearance by another pair of felines

2010-07-31T03:53:00.001-04:00

This is Travis (the orangish fellow) and Fortune (the calico gal) who live at my vet's office. In this picture, they're snuggling together on a bench in the waiting room.

Travis and Fortune

I don't remember now how Travis came to live at the vet's office, but he's a wonderful constant presence there. He especially likes to hop up on the high counter, where he has an unobstructed view of everyone coming in and going out, can keep out of reach of the many canines who also are patients, and can easily solicit petting from clients waiting to pay their bills. (He also likes to sit on the office paperwork and drapes his tail across the receptionist's keyboard.) Every once in a while, Travis has to earn his keep, as he's the blood donor cat.

Fortune was an SPCA cat...from time to time, the staff go to the SPCA and pick out a few cats and dogs and bring them back to the office, knowing that customers will see them and fall in love and adopt them. Fortune was a real sweetie, but didn't get adopted. At least not right away. And it's just as well...because Travis fell in love with her! They can often by found together in the nest in the cat tree that a grateful client donated to the clinic or like this, curled up together on a bench or chair in the feline waiting room. (The only sad part of this story is that the other resident cat, Wink, was also in love with Travis. Now he doesn't get much time from Travis at all, and because he's a fairly antisocial cat, he now stays in the back part of the clinic, supervising the human staff.)

I took Louie to the vet right before I left on my Maine vacation...he needed his annual rabies shot and exam. Much to my surprise, the vet didn't yell at Louie and me about his weight, because he's lost a pound since last year. Admittedly he's still overweight, but at least he's losing rather than continuing to gain.

Speaking of the Maine vacation, i hope to finally catch up with my blog writing this weekend. As a prelude, here i am back at home with Gingy showing me that i could easily have taken her with me. Both Fuzzy and Louie were also checking out the suitcase.

Funny story about the suitcase--it's a big blue LLBean suitcase with wheels, external pockets, leather trim, etc. When i removed the bag from the luggage carousel in the Portland, Maine, airport, two women asked me if i was sure it was my bag. I was startled...of course it was my bag! Wasn't that my bag...and my cat's fur? (Having put the suitcase on the bed to fill it, it immediately picked up a fine glaze of cat hair from the bed.) I opened the luggage tag to show them my name on it. They told me they had a bag just like it, including the cat hair! Sure enough, sometime later when i was waiting for the rental car to be brought to me, the two women came up behind me, wheeling an identical suitcase..and laughingly pointing out the cat hair on it!

Ahhh blessed rain!

2010-07-10T08:51:00.000-04:00

It's been sooo hot here...temperatures in the upper 90s and even 101, 102, 104 last week! On top of that, it hasn't rained in weeks, so everything is fried to a crisp. I've refilled the bird baths every day, and it's been marvelous watching the birds bathing and drinking...blue jays totally submerging themselves in water by flapping their wings to get it up over their backs and robins jumping in and fluttering joyfully. This morning, i awoke to the sound of rain on the roof and trickling into the rain gutters. What a wonderful sound!

The only drawback...i'm leaving this morning for Maine for a week's vacation with my father and sister, reprising family vacations last taken in 1998 when the (as yet undiagnosed) early stages of my mother's Alzheimers made her unable to cope with mixed weather and a new cook at the music camp. I hope the rain doesn't mess up our respective plane flights, but other than that, it's a welcome relief.

Hope everyone is well...when i get back, i hope to blog about the Vermont Quilt Festival that i attended at the end of June (and met sweet Karen LR from sew and sew life) and of course the cats (all well!) and catch up with my blogging friends. Be well!

How to Take a Shower While Wearing a Surgical Boot

2010-05-10T14:14:00.001-04:00

The first few days after my recent foot surgery, i was content to take a sponge bath. But after a few more days, i really needed to wash my hair and the only alternative really is the shower. I tried looking for advice on the internet on how to manage a shower while keeping my foot dressings dry (the post-operative instructions very clearly say to keep the dressings "clean and dry.") Some merely said "keep foot elevated" with no clue how to keep the water from running down your leg. Others said "put a plastic bag around your foot" with no clue as to how to keep the water from running down your leg into the plastic bag! The orthopedic tech at my surgeon's office suggested wrapping a towel around my ankle first, so that any water that got in would be absorbed. She also suggested rubber bands or duct tape to hold the bag tight.

So here's what i did. First, begin with swollen foot in very bulky wrappings in surgical boot.

Next, fold a hand towel in half length-wise and wrap it around the ankle firmly, tucking in the ends.

Finally, put foot into large (13-gallon) plastic trash bag. Pull bag up, place large rubber band around the leg, above the towel. Fold down the bag, place another rubber band around the top. (Notice "normal" toes to left for size comparison!)

Take shower...enjoy!! The only improvement was that once i was able to drive again, i went to the hardware store and got duct tape...it makes a nice tight seal around the top when applied to the top of the bag and the leg simultaneously, so you can take a nice long shower without worrying about springing a leak. The only drawback is that the duct tape sticks to the bag so well, it tears the bag when you go to remove it, so you only get one shower's worth per trash bag.

How to Recover from Foot Surgery

2010-05-10T10:50:00.000-04:00

It's very important to spend a lot of time lying down on the couch, with your foot elevated. (Dr Sylvie behind the pillow, Dr Fuzzy on the pillow) (It turns out that icing the foot didn't work well...the wrapping is so thick, the coolness didn't really get through to my foot very well) (The weird orange stripe above my ankle is from the antiseptic stuff they use pre-operatively.)

It's especially important to spend a lot of time lying down while Dr Fuzzy administers purr therapy.

Unexpected Blogcation!

2010-04-30T12:55:00.000-04:00

Gingy enjoying a very carefully supervised visit to the sunshine on the front porch

The month of March just went by in a blur, and likewise April. Difficult winter turned into beautiful Spring, and i've been busy busy busy at work and getting ready for my quilt group's retreat (which happened last weekend and was a huge success). Now i'm about to have surgery on my foot and will have to be away from the 'puter for a few days lying down with sacks of frozen peas icing the incision. I have really good intentions of catching up with posting and visiting all my blog friends soon. See you!

Lucky Me!

2010-02-15T14:23:00.001-05:00

The kitties aren't the only ones to get wonderful surprise gifts in the mail! Last Tuesday I came home from work (as yet another snowstorm was starting) to find a mystery box on my front steps. The address was from nearby, but i didn't recognize it. I opened the big box and inside was an attractive kraft paper box from Valley Green Naturals. Hmm, i didn't recognize that name either. Food? Plants? Organic cat treats?

No, it was full of wonderful spa products, for me: bath and shower wash, organic soap and honey facial therapy mask (made with honey right from the Valley Green farm), sugar scrub with a scoop and washcloth, and bath and body oil.

There was a sweet note inside saying "Please enjoy a "Spa Day" on us!" and it was from Danica, Britta, Virginia, Trine and Tom--all of the wonderful cat parents who had gone in on the lovely "hairy blankie" that the kitties received the week before. Wow! And perfect timing, too, since i spent an hour or so the next day shovelling more snow and really enjoyed taking a warm soaking bath afterwards.

On Wednesday and Thursday, i was actually able to stay home because work finally joined the rest of the federal government in Washington in closing due to all the snow. However, mail service continued here, and my great letter carrier left a box on my porch on Thursday (so glad i had shovelled off the steps and the front path!). This was from an address that i recognized, my friend Karen from Sew and Sow Life. I read the enclosed note and knew that there was catnip inside for the cats, so i hurried off to get my camera in order to record their response. While i was in the other room, i heard a thump, and came back in the kitchen to find the box on the floor and Fuzzy halway into the box, searching out the catnip!

The catnip was in individual sachets in Valentine colors, each stamped with their initials so the kitties (or the mom) would know whose was whose.Here's a very sleepy Louie sniffing his:

And for me there was one of Karen's beautiful pillows (gorgeous colorful floral cotton squaress sewn into a bigger square and then appliqued to an elegant linen backgroud)and a handsome pouch full of balsam needles from their place in Vermont, smelling wonderfully of the deep woods. Lucky me!

Digging Out

2010-02-08T21:18:00.000-05:00

Here's Trucklette, my faithful Subaru Forester, almost completely buried in snow as the digging out process began yesterday (Sunday).

The little engine that could...sort of. This is the "driver's" view of my snow blower, with the length of the driveway stretching ahead of it. You can see that the snow is higher than the cowling on the augur...with heavy, wet snow, this was disastrous. I kept bogging down every few inches on the way out of the shed and up the backyard, with the snow forming a solid plug in the discharge shoot...finally gave up and shovelled by hand. Then i started the driveway, and for a bit it went o.k., then when i got to the lower end of the driveway the snow was wetter and the clogging started again. Fortunately for me, my next door neighbor had a BIG snowblower (it turns out it's his wife's grandmother's) and did his driveway, his across the street neighbor's driveway, and was starting on his next door neighbor's when i walked down there to see what kind of snowblower he had...and to ask for his help. He did the rest of my driveway in about 15 minutes!

After he finished, i went over to his house to at least give him some gas money...i had barely put my hand in my pocket when both he and his wife said simultaneously "no you don't!" They said i was a good neighbor and would do anything to help them if they needed it (of course) and it was Sunday...hadn't had a chance to go to church so was doing this instead. Great neighbors!

Their daughter was messing around, throwing snowballs at her father, so he picked her up and dumped her in a big drift. She did it again, he picked her up and tossed her in another drift...it was very funny, and reminded me of my father tossing my sister and me into the waters of Lake George when we were little kids. Here's Allie peering out of the second snow drift she got tossed into.

"All" that remained was to clear the corral of snow out from around Trucklette and shovel off her cap...left that task for today.

I also cleared a path from the shed to the bird feeder...discovered the snow in that part of the yard was much deeper...up above my knees! I didn't have my camera with me but took this picture with my phone of the interesting patterns in the snow near the feeder...lots of pairs of bird foot prints...and interesting sharp sweeps that i think are from the doves taking off from the ground.

We have another storm warning for tomorrow...another 8 to 14 inches of snow due between tomorrow afternoon and Wednesday afternoon. Yikes!

How to Spend a Snowy Day

2010-02-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

Perch on top of the magazines in the sewing room while taking a bath...and supervising Mom working at the ironing board.

Make a new nest (Gingy on top of the banker's box full of pillowcase kits.

Spend quality time with friends (I'm telecommuting, Louie is on my lap and Sylvie is up on the desk, giving Louie a bath).

Try to mail yourself to where there's some warmer weather...Gingy on top of a Priority Mail box that she has turned into one of her favorite places to nap.

Quilting Projects

2010-02-08T19:19:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be doing a demonstration and workshop for my quilt group on Tuesday night about Prairie Points and realized i really need a project to show what they look like. You see, i've never made a quilt with Prairie Points! I've only figured out how to make them *g*. I started a quilt in June at the Vermont Quilt Festival (VQF) that i plan to finish with Prairie Points (i posted pictures of the work in process here) but despite a good start, it's still not done. So i needed something else. What to do? I remembered some blocks that i started in a workshop at VQF quite a few years ago, and thought i could finish one as a mini quilt...it seems unlikely i'll ever finish the quilt that they were supposed to be part of, especially since i've misplaced the directions for the project!

Prairie Points are triangles of fabric that are folded (several different ways to fold) and traditionally applied to the edge of a quilt instead of a regular binding. Here's the 13" square (from brushed cottons), quilted like a mini-quilt, with Prairies Points sewn down on three edges and pinned on the fourth to show how it's done.

Another thing i've been working on is getting ready for this year's quilt retreat, at the end of April. My friend April volunteered to help out on the committee and i told her i'd be glad to lend a hand, just not get too involved. Famous last words! I got the idea that given the theme (shhhhh...don't tell anybody, we won't be making the announcement until Tuesday, but the theme is "Sweet Treats Retreat"), it would be fun to make pillowcases for the Friday night project. I'm calling it "Sweet Dreams." I've been making kits for each person at retreat, with a main fabric, cuff fabric, and trim fabric...gave me a chance to purchase a lot of interesting cupcake and other "sweet" fabrics! It was perfect timing to decide on a pillowcase project, too, because American Patchwork and Quilting is sponsoring a Million Pillowcase Challenge to encourage quilters and crafters to make and donate a million pillowcases locally. Each person will have a colorful and cheerful pillowcase to remind her of retreat, and i'm hoping that everyone will then turn around and make pillowcases for the challenge. This box is filling up with pillowcase kits.

Lucky kitties!

2010-02-07T01:43:00.000-05:00

On Friday there was a large box on my front steps--my big Stampin' Up! order had arrived! and my mailbox was full....some fabric that i had ordered, the local paper, some other stuff, and a Priority Mail box from Florida. I couldn't remember ordering anything from Florida....oh wait, it wasn't addressed to me, it was addressed to Sylvie, Louie, Fuzzy, and Gingy! I opened the box for them, and there inside was a gorgeous, soft, fluffy "hairy blankie" from Peggy's kitty blankies. The really cute note with it said this little cosy something was from all of their feline friends at Cliff and Olivia, Cat With A Garden (Chilli and Siena), Sumac Stories (Banshee, Shade, and Goldie), and The Pouponette (Tama-Chan and her kittens, Yuu-Chan, and Sei-Chan)....and that for the hairy blankie, a donation had been made to the Cat Blogosphere to help kitties with their Vet bills. Isn't that nice??!!

I resisted the urge to wrap the blankie around my own shoulders and instead put it on the foot of the bed, over the cat towels, and Louie immediately came in to "test drive" it...he loves it! During the night, Gingy said she'd like to sleep on it, too, and Louie said "no, there's not enough room on this blankie for both of us." I had folded it in half--tonight it's unfolded, so there should be enough room for both of them with no squabbling. Thank you, friends!

Yet another snowstorm!

2010-02-07T00:20:00.001-05:00

The weatherman has so underpredicted our last three or four snowstorms, when they said this one would bring one to two FEET of snow, it seemed like either they would be right...or there would be all this pre-storm hysteria and then nothing would come of it. Friday morning the snow started, as predicted, but the temperature hovered around freezing, so the snow kept melting and took a long time to start accumulating. But once it started accumulating, it really stuck!

By late Friday evening, it was snowing hard and the boughs of the cedar tree in front were weighed down by the snow.

Looks a lot like our snowstorm from December, doesn't it?! It kept snowing hard all night and for most of Saturday as well. This is Saturday morning.

And this is what the cedar tree looks like in daylight, with a lot more snow on it.

Fuzzy was interested to see what i was doing and what the snow looked like, so he stood up and peeked out the storm door. You can see the reflection of the snow on the front steps...the steps are completely covered and filled in with snow!

Here's my measure of how deep the snow is...it's up to the level of the seat on my garden bench, which is 18 inches! (a couple of inches more of snow fell after this picture was taken.) You can't see it well but there are birds on the feeder...today there was a whole flock of mourning doves on the "ground" below the feeder, plus at least three male and two female cardinals, several blue jays, a red-bellied woodpecker, several white-throated sparrows, but none of the little birds (maybe they were all sheltering 'til the snow stops falling).

To take the previous picture, I had to use the storm door to push the snow out of the way so i could get the door open--the snow had drifted right up against it. Gingy thought she might like to go out on it, after all it was right there at foot level, but then decided against it.

Finally in late afternoon it stopped snowing and the clouds lifted enough for there to be a faint rosy sunset. The snow plows have been through several times and the street pavement is actually visible...along with the very tall piles of snow that the plows have pushed up, including right across the foot of my driveway.

One of my favorite sounds from my childhood in New Jersey was the sound of the snowplow! The big diesel trucks would come down our street and you could hear the plow blade scraping on the road and the jingle of the tire chains...a song that usually meant no school the next day! During this storm, my town seems to be using its own pickup trucks with snowblades on them, rather than the big dumptrucks that the highway department uses. I guess the pickup trucks have more maneuverability in our older residential neighborhoods and maybe are cheaper than contracting for the bigger trucks, but i miss the big truck's sounds!

Yet another snowfall

2010-02-03T18:03:00.001-05:00

This is the view off my back steps this morning. A very wet snow fell heavily last night, with no wind, and it just piled up. Don't the newell posts look like fashionable ladies with fluffy hats and stoles on their collars?

To those of you who live in more northern climes, i'm sure it's no big deal to have a new snow storm roll in before the evidence of the previous one has melted. But to those of us who live in Virginia, it's pretty big news! Especially after we had about one measurable snowfall all last winter. This winter, we've had the big snowstorm on December 19, a few inches of snow on Saturday January 23, 4-6 inches of lovely fluffy snow on Saturday January 31...and then about 5 inches of wet snow last night!

Such an interesting contrast between last Saturday's snow and today's...Saturday's snow was so light and fluffy (the temperatures were quite cold, in the teens and twenties) that i removed it from my steps and walks with a sturdy broom. And had lots of fun blowing it off the driveway with my once-again-functioning snowblower. Today's snow was wet and heavy and had to be shovelled. The fluffy snow was way too dry even for snowballs; today's probably was great for building with, if you didn't mind getting your gloves wet.

And beginning mid-day Friday, we're supposed to get a humdinger of a storm, with anything from 10 inches to several feet of snow predicted, depending on whose forecast you listen to. I'm planning on heading to Petco tomorrow evening on the way home from work to stock up on kitty litter 'cause we're almost out of World's Best and all out of clay litter...and then we should be ready for whatever Mother Nature plans to toss our way!

Little Box of Memories

2010-01-26T23:49:00.000-05:00

After i met my father for New Year's brunch, he handed me this green shoe box which unmistakeably has a label in my mother's handwriting: X-Mas Decor Mice

Sure enough, it contained some Christmas ornaments, mostly origami that were gifts from my father's talented co-workers many years ago. But it also contained the hanging that my sister made in embroidery on felt of some cute mice caroling, sledding, etc. Fortunately she dated it on the back, so i know she made it in 1982. Each year at Christmas my mother would bring out the banner and hang it from the fireplace screen.A year or so later i found a kit in the Herrschners catalog for these cute felt mice in stockings. They were so much fun to make! Most of them have embroidery floss whiskers, but a couple of them have real whiskers...they're shed kitty whiskers that i knew i'd find a use for one of these days! (I had just started to save kitty whiskers then...now i have a whole little sweetgrass basket full.) The mice used to get hung up on the fireplace screen too. I don't have a fireplace but i'm glad to have them back. Maybe next year i'll hang them up along the top of a bookcase.

Toesy Tuesday

2010-01-26T23:28:00.000-05:00

Some blogging cat friends often post a picture of their toes on Toes-day so it seemed like a good way to return to blogging in this New Year.

Here's Gingy and her lovely pink paw pads:

December 25 and 26

2009-12-27T02:20:00.005-05:00

I had been going to join my father for brunch on Christmas Day but our weather was very uncertain...icy rain, freezing drizzle, fog, and rain, quite heavy at times. So we decided to wait 'til Sunday to get together.

I finally had a chance to sit down and start writing Christmas cards after spending the day making them. Of course as soon as i sat down at the computer desk Louie needed a snuggle.

Today i opened the lovely gifts my friend Betsy sent for the cats and me. Here's Sylvie playing with a twist of fabric jam-packed with very high quality catnip.

Fuzzy is giving me some of his patented kitty kisses with his sandpaper tongue. I'm wearing the gorgeous purple Pashmina shawl Betsy gave me.

Gingy standing up on her hind legs and begging for the yummy new treats that my sister brought...new Friskies "Natural Sensations" cat treats. (Believe it or not, when Gingy came to live with us 5 years ago she only ate one kind of treat, and didn't actually care for them much...)

Fuzzy and Louie sharing a day-after-Christmas snuggle.

Peace and happiness to everyone!

Digging Out (Last Sunday and Monday)

2009-12-27T01:58:00.003-05:00

I thought Gingy might like to try going out in the snow...after all, she's got a luxurious fur coat and fluffy feet. She got as far as coming out on the back steps and looking under the railing. That was enough!

This is the view from the foot of my driveway across the steet.

Very tired from shovelling, i paused...and saw this bird's nest revealed by the late angle of the sun and a cap of snow.

Monday morning...finally finished shovelling my driveway! I shovelled 3 1/2 hours on Sunday until i ran out of daylight and energy and finished up with another hour of work on Monday. Thank goodness for telecommuting...i was able to work from home instead of worrying about getting out of my driveway.

Monday afternoon, everything is covered in snow, except the aucuba has tossed off the snow on its leaves and heated up the snow around its stem. These plants are often misused in commercial landscaping around here, but this one is performing beautifully as a speciman in my shade garden.

Snowy Saturday (Last Week)

2009-12-19T23:58:00.007-05:00

Sometimes the weatherman gets it right...this was a big snowstorm! With between 15 and 20 inches of snow, possibly the most snow in December for this area ever (we tend to get our bigger storms in January and February).

It was so wonderful to be forced to not run around doing errands. I spent a fair amount of time cuddling the cats and catching up on friends' blogs. I also started the shoveling process...got the back steps and path, front steps and sidewalk shovelled. The snow was so deep, it reached the top of my snowmobiling boots. I put my snowshoes on and clumped around the yard, knocking snow off the yew on the side of the house and the boxwoods in the front, to keep the heavy snow from breaking them.

The cedar tree in front decked out in snow.

The garden bench disappearing under the snow.

I had filled the bird feeder on Friday in anticipation of the storm. The birds fed throughout most of the snow, while the squirrels stayed tucked in their nests until it stopped snowing. Here's a cardinal adding a nice bit of color.

My little house buried in snow (on the right is the same cedar tree seen from the front steps in the first picture).

Sylvie staying cozy indoors.

Christmas cactus all ready for the holiday, blooming its head off oblivious to the snow outside.

Finally, i just had to share this with you...a magnificent sleigh ride behind a 26-year old Welsh pony! No, unfortunately i wasn't there, but a friend of Flora's posted this on a local email list. Doesn't this just resonate with your dreams of Christmas in the "olden days"?!

White Christmas in the Making!

2009-12-18T23:52:00.004-05:00

This is the big cedar tree in my frontyard, 12:30 a.m. Saturday...at least 3 inches of snow have fallen already and it's still coming down heavily.

O.k., everybody north and east of here (northern Virginia), don't mess around...make sure you've got plenty of the essentials on hand: milk, t.p., soup fixin's, cat food, kitty litter, candles, matches (books, quilting projects, gasoline for the snow blower, window scraper, snow shovel by the back door, full tank of gas in the car, plenty of seed to refill the bird feeder...)...this snowstorm is going to be the real thing!

It sounds like we here in the "sunny South" might actually end up with more snow than those of you further North. From "light snow" as forecast a few days ago they are now saying this may very well be one of the 10 biggest snow storms on record for December, with as much as 20 inches of snow before it stops on Sunday.

I had dinner with my father this evening (and with my sister, who flew in yesterday from Tennessee to visit him). When i left there at 8 p.m. it had just started snowing. By the time i got home, at least an inch and a half had fallen and roads were starting to get very messy.

Fuzzy and Louie know how to deal with this kind of weather...stay inside on the couch, cuddled up with one of your best friends.

Hope everyone will stay safe and warm!

Giving Thanks!

2009-11-27T00:48:00.004-05:00

I am thankful to have spent time with friends in September for whom i conducted my first Stampin' Up! workshop. I designed two cards for the workshop which each person made...this is one, perfect for the holiday. We all had a fun time together and i was thrilled that they were eager to buy some stamping supplies so that they could make cards of their own.

I am so thankful that my father moved to Virginia in May and has settled in so well. He is finding his way around, establishing new favorite places, meeting new people, and even started baking bread again. I had Thanksgiving brunch with him at his place today and had a great time. I baked and brought an apple pie, made with local apples from the Farmer's Market. I am thankful for those hard working farmers who come to market each week, no matter the weather, to bring the produce that they have raised so that it can nourish others.

I am thankful for the continuing good health and loving companionship of my cats: Sylvie, Louie, Fuzzy, and Gingy.

I am thankful to have met so many sweet and talented people through the magic of the internet. And i'm very grateful that you all have been patient with me as my blogging has dwindled to nothing for the past month or more...amongst other things, i started a 90-day detail to a new job that is keeping me very very busy...and i love that feeling!

Things You Don't Tell Prospective Cat Owners

2009-10-26T11:22:00.003-04:00

Last night when i went to take my shower i discovered a small puddle of urine on the bathroom floor. It appeared "normal" so i don't think it was a cry for help from a kitty with urinary tract problems. I assume it was left by either Gingy or Sylvie, who from time to time have been caught squatting over the heat register in the bathroom floor! (presumably letting each other know that they're still around) (in case the growling and hissing wasn't enough of a reminder)

As if that wasn't bad enough, after i got out of the shower, i dried off, put on my clean long flannel nightie and slippers and sat down at the computer for a bit, then wandered into the kitchen to get my stuff ready to go to work Monday a.m. ...Louie came over to me and leaned companionably against me while sniffing interestedly at the hem of my nightie. He was giving it waaaaay too much attention for just an ordinary clean nightie. I grabbed the hem with my hand, noticed it was wet (could be, i just got out of the shower) but NO...it was damp with cat pee! Blecch! Not sure how or when that happened, but...yuck.

Cool Weather = Snuggly Kitties

2009-10-20T15:06:00.004-04:00

It's really funny, as the temperature outside (and inside) drops, the cats adopt some new favorite places to nap.

First, Louie has returned to my lap. I never notice him avoiding me during the summer, but i suddenly notice in the fall that he spends a lot more time snuggling with me! Here he is helping me proofread a document.

Fuzzy is spending more time tucked into the bookshelf on the desk after he finishes snuggling with me at the computer. (The desk is 30" across and as you can see, Fuzzy just barely fits...that's a long kitty!)

Sylvie has been reclaiming the boogie mat, and also the couch, when she knows Gingy's tucked away somewhere else (sorry that the picture is blurry and her eyes look weird...took the camera with flash and it was too dark for me to focus well).

Here's Louie and Fuzzy at the start of a little friendly whapping. It looks like Louie's starting this round, but he'll never win...Fuzzy's arms are longer than his, so he's kept at arm's length.

Gingy absolutely adores these Priority Mail boxes to sit on or to lay on or to push around and claw at and try to crawl into!

I had to take Fuzzy to the vet last Friday when his sneezles seemed to be turning into an upper respiratory infection (he's on Baytril and seems to be doing much better). Ever since then, Gingy has been very interested in nesting in the cat carrier.

Snow in the Mountains

2009-10-20T11:25:00.004-04:00

There is something so beautiful about snow. I think partly it's the way that it blankets everything, hiding all the imperfections like mud and unfinished garden chores, and revealing new shapes and silhouettes. And often when it's snowing a hush falls over everything, as little birds and animals hunker down for shelter and the sounds of car tires are muffled by the blanketing whiteness.

I love snow, but here in northern Virginia we mostly get that dreaded "frozen mix" which is neither snow nor rain...and is dreadful for commuters to drive in. This weekend, the cats and i hunkered down because it was raw and rainy. I visited my friends at the Farmers Market, bought a gyro sandwich in town, and did the grocery shopping...but otherwise i stayed indoors mostly at the sewing machine.

Meanwhile, little more than 35 miles away in the Blue Ridge mountains, the cold rain turned to big flakes of snow and my friend Joy captured this wonderful scene on her way to work along Skyline Drive.

Ah!

Here There Be Dragons

2009-10-20T11:12:00.004-04:00

Two of my favorite children's book illustrators who have very different styles and very different approaches recently each published a book about dragons. And what different approaches to dragons they took!

On the left is Tell Me a Dragon by Jackie Morris and on the right is Dragon's Dinner written by Susannah Corbett and illustrated by Lynne Chapman. Jackie's book like most of her writing and drawing is very deep and mystical (here's Jackie's wonderful cats' blog http://wethreecats.blogspot.com/ and here's her main web page http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/now.htm); Lynne's book is very funny and slapstick (see Lynne's blog here http://lynnechapman.blogspot.com/, for great insight into her work as an illustrator). Yet both books speak about the power of the individual's imagination! Wonderful additions to the home library, or at the very least, check them out of your local library. If you haven't been in the children's section of your library lately, you may find a whole new set of books to bring home and dream over.

Sewing Projects and the Miracle of the Internet

2009-10-19T13:03:00.003-04:00

My sister's birthday is the first week in October, so i made her this tote bag, modeled by Louie. (Her cat Stanley was *extremely* interested in sniffing the bag when it arrived.) I also sent her a copy of Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper...i love that book so much, i'm sharing it with all of my cat-loving friends!

And here's the card i made for her (all Stampin' Up! except for the package stamp), which of course includes my favorite Stampin' Up! cat stamp. Can you guess that she likes cats, flowers, and the color blue?!

My quilt group is participating in the Holiday House craft fair at Sky Meadows State Park at the end of November and we're all busily making items for sale. I found a nice pattern for lavender sachets in The Impatient Patchworker, which my friend Karen recommended.

I made a prototype sachet--from this book that i ordered on the internet that i learned about from a friend on the internet--to give to another friend from the internet!

First here's the sachet front and back. I needed a "neutral" background in a hurry for this picture and grabbed the closest thing at hand, a copy of the (soon to be late, lamented) Gourmet magazine.

And here's my friend Annabell, visiting from Australia, for whom i made the sachet. I met her through an online quilt group quite a few years ago. Since the end of August, she and her husband have been traveling across the United States, for the most part staying with friends from that same quilting group. Almost none of us has met in person before, but through the wonder of the internet, we've become close friends. Here she's showing her hostess (yet another friend from the internet) and me the quilt she made for her 50th wedding anniversary. Each star has the signature of their four children, nine grandchildren, and numerous other friends and relations. It was so much fun meeting this lovely couple in person!

Early Fall Colors

2009-10-19T10:11:00.005-04:00

Suddenly last week it went from feeling like early fall to feeling like winter! And on Saturday, while it was a chilly 39 degrees and raining at my house, snow was falling only 25 miles away on Skyline Drive in the Blue Ridge moutains!

Last Monday i finally decided to turn the heat on in the house because it was chilly and getting chillier...but there was no heat! The pilot light in the furnace was still lit, but the furnace wasn't responding to the thermostat. I diagnosed that the thermostat needed replacing. A technician came out the next day and confirmed my diagnosis, but also said the heat exchanger in the furnace was shot, and he refused to turn the furnace back on because he said it could fail at any time and there was a danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. Sigh.

Next day they came and installed a new furnace...that was one huge unplanned-for expense! But at least i didn't have to wait days and days for them to do the work. There's still a bit of finishing up to do...such as moving the thermostat so that i can see it! It's a programmable thermostat with an LED display...and it's too high up on the wall for me to see it without standing on the couch.

I have a few pictures from the warm sunny days in early October that i should post before it's too late (also have a summer flower and food post that never got up...maybe i'll wait 'til November for that one? *g*)

A dwarf solidago cultivar (goldenrod) looking happy in the mostly-shade bed.

A wild aster blooming happily in the gravel next to the driveway.

This is a new (to me) aster cultivar, Bluebird. I've seen its wild relatives along the roadsides. It's amazing to me how covered with blooms this plant is, and how many native pollinators were busily (bizzzily) buzzing around it on a chilly October day.

A close-up of Bluebird aster and busy pollinators.

A wild goldenrod next to a dogwood in fall color with ripening "berries." The dogwood was a gift from the birds.

Another dogwood, which seeded itself in front of the f0undation plantings...love looking out my bedroom window through its leaves in summer and early fall. That cats have been very attentive since the squirrels have been stripping the tree of its berries.

Virginia Red Cedar (which is not really a cedar, it's a juniper: Juniperus virginiana) growing in the perennial bed in the front. The birds keep depositing seeds which become little cedars, which i keep removing or mowing down...except i finally left this one because it was nicely placed. It's probably 12 feet tall now and has about a five foot spread, which means it's taking over some space where tulips and day lilies used to grow. But it's home to at least one nest of mockingbirds, shelter for doves and other birds, and provider of these luscious berries...which among other things add a fantastic flavor to lamb...or gin.

I just made this dish Saturday night...so it's a cold weather dish...but it's made with the last of the summer vegetables from the Farmer's Market--yellow squash, red onion, yellow and green peppers, garlic, herbes de Provence, and mushrooms (forgot that i had shiitakes in the fridge, so these are store-bought white mushrooms). The whole house smelled heavenly of onions and herbs.

The last of the tomatoes. I didn't have much luck with tomatoes all season, and then suddenly the silly plant was covered with fruit. I figured i'd better bring them in because we may get frost any day now, and even if we don't, it's too chilly for them to do any ripening on the vine.

Around the house--cats

2009-10-10T01:56:00.008-04:00

One of my friends from quilting who is a very talented artist made me the cat on the left...she took a ceramic cat and then covered him with little bits of fabric, painted on features, and sealed the whole thing, resulting in this fabulous patchwork cat. She also gave me the porcelain cat on the right...just brought him back for me from a trip to Texas!

Gingy quite smugly taking over the pillows.

Louie showing that even mancats like pink cat towels to snuggle on.

Sleepy Fuzzy.

The super snuggler.

Sully Quilt Show and Sale

2009-10-10T00:56:00.003-04:00

Another Fall ritual is the Sully Quilt Show and Sale, which always falls on a Saturday in early September. Unlike most quilt shows that i go to where almost all of the quilts are new, the quilts at Sully for the most part are antiques, and they're there to be sold. Some vendors have piles of quilts at their booths. Others have quilts draped over quilt racks or hanging on a clothesline...the show is outside, on the grounds of historic Sully plantation, and the weather can range from beastly to chilly and damp. This year we lucked out--it rained enough on Friday to slake the dust, while on Saturday it was lovely warm, dry, and breezy. Interesting mushrooms on a tree stump on the Plantation grounds.

You can take a tour of the plantation house, and there are usually people in Colonial-era garb doing some needlearts...here a group of women are carding, spinning, and weaving wool.

I'm always interested in the old quilts from an academic point of view, but i've never seen one that i liked well enough to buy...well, the couple that i have liked that well have been outside my price range! I've learned that i'm much more of a quilt maker (and fabric collector) than a quilt collector. So i'm always somewhat disappointed in the antique quilts on display...they earn my respect or i pity the ones that are faded and worn but they don't trigger my creative juices and most of them don't have any history with them as far as where they were made or when nor certainly who made them. I just ran across a blog with very nice pictures of some of the quilts that were at this year's show...
Marlene's.

What i end up spending most of my time doing is wandering from booth to booth, looking at all the new fabric, tools, patterns, notions, and books. For some reason this year i wasn't in a very acquisitive mood, maybe because my sewing room is already bursting at the seams and i've been spending money on Stampin' Up! supplies that i might previously have spent on my quilting hobby.

One of my favorite booth's was this one...she had lovely necklaces and earrings that she had made from antique buttons. She did a very nice job of displaying her jewelry, using antique or antiqued picture frames, mirrors, and windows as frames to highlight individual pieces. I spent a long time in there, just admiring and enjoying everything.

Fall Festivals

2009-10-09T23:39:00.004-04:00

The month of September just flew by! I went to a women's spiritual retreat in preparation for the Jewish High Holidays, which was really wonderful. The peaceful spiritual feeling didn't last very long, though, when faced with the logistical difficulties of setting up a borrowed space for services, making sure there was enough food for the potluck dinner, cleaning up afterwards, etc.

The wonderful Red Truck Bakery graciously consented to make challah for Rosh Hashanah, and then even more graciously consented to make the loaves round when told that that was traditional for this holiday. We had a couple of loaves leftover after the Saturday morning service, so i brought them home to put in my freezer 'til the following week.

Gingy as some of you might know belonged to our previous part-time Rabbi and she's sometimes referred to as "The Rabbi's Cat." Her upbringing certainly came to light...i had set my market basket on the floor with the two loaves of challah in it side by side, one in a plastic bag, the other in plastic wrap. Gingy savaged the whole end of one loaf when i temporarily went to another room...it was the superb Red Truck challah that she nommed, not the fine-but-not-nearly-as-good grocery store one.

Practically as soon as the High Holidays were over came the holiday of Sukkot, which is a harvest festival and also recalls when the Israelites were wandering in the desert for 40 years and living in temporary shelters. I had my own personal harvest to celebrate...harvested my first tomato! I didn't get the plants in the ground until Memorial Day, the woodchucks or squirrels made off with the first couple of minimally ripe tomatoes, the plants struggled with too much rain in June and none in July, they are growing in my garden spot that over the years has gotten more and more shaded by the trees so they don't get as much sun as they really need, etc. etc.

The tomatoes aren't as redolent as mid-summer tomatoes, but i figured i'd better bring them in before we have a frost.

Here's a few tomatoes on the second plant that will probably end up as fried green tomatoes.

"Homer's Odyssey" by Gwen Cooper--Cat Lovers, You Must Read This Book

2009-09-04T18:47:00.005-04:00

Last week, a friend of mine gave me a heads up that Gwen Cooper was going to be interviewed on The Diane Rehm show (which originates at a local NPR station). I didn't get to hear the interview live because things got too crazy at work, but i followed the link from Diane Rehm's show to Gwen Cooper's website. She has an excerpt of the first chapter on her site, and i was instantly hooked. Luckily for me, she has links to booksellers' sites right under an image of the book cover, so i was able to order a copy...and then wait impatiently for it to come.

The book came on Monday night; Tuesday evening after quilting and Wednesday evening i sat down on the couch (to the great pleasure of the cats) and galloped my way through the book.

Homer's Odyssey is very appropriately subtitled "A Fearless Feline Tale, Or How I Learned About Love and Life With a Blind Wondercat." Someone finds a tiny black kitten whose eyes probably never had a chance to open because of a severe infection. They cared enough to take the kitten to a vet, but made excuses why they couldn't keep him, once they realized he was blind. The young idealistic vet saved the kittens life by surgically removing his eyes...and then almost despaired of finding someone who would adopt him.

Gwen was only 24 years old, working for a non-profit in Miami, and already owned two cats. She agreed to look at the kitten...and was immediately smitten. From the kitten, whom she eventually named Homer after the blind Greek poet who wrote of love and wandering, Gwen learned a great deal about courage and about love. In Gwen, the kitten found a loving, admiring, sometimes exasperated, mother. Homer had many unusual adventures, adapted to two feline housemates, 6 moves, and the addition of Gwen's husband to the mix.

Of course my poor cats got tears rained down on them at points in the story, but as one reviewer said, it's really nice that this story ends with the protagonist still alive! At age 12, Homer has had one serious health crisis and is slowing down a little, but he's still going strong. Long live Homer the wondercat!

Telecommuting Friday

2009-09-04T18:31:00.005-04:00

Lovely snuggles from Fuzzy

"What's the matter, are you having trouble typing?"

"Are you growing kittens on your desk?" I just "furminated" Fuzzy for a few minutes and this huge accumulation of fur was the result.

"We Have a Winnah!"

2009-09-04T18:18:00.003-04:00

I'm happy to say that the random number generator came up with the number 6, so that means that Judy Hartman (and Kristy) wins the cat mat. Judy's in the hospital, hopefully just for a few days, hopefully just having some antibiotic therapy...so Judy, please get well soon, and when you get back, please send me your mailing address and the mat will be on its way to you and Kristy.

I'm sure glad that i didn't have to decide the winner based on whose comment was the nicest/most appealing etc. because i loved what each one of you wrote and would have liked to have given each of you a cat mat! Thank you!

Do You Want to Win a Gorgeous Quilt?

2009-08-31T12:06:00.004-04:00

Hurry on over to Kellie's blog "Don't Look Now" for a chance to win this spectacular quilt.
Can you believe she's actually going to give something this beautiful away??

I'll be doing a much smaller giveaway myself...in honor of my birthday, i'll be giving away a prototype of the cat mats i hope to sell at a holiday craft fair in November. All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me why your cat would like a cat mat (a homemade version of the beloved Boogie Mats...i'll post a picture later this evening). The comment period will close on Thursday, September 3 and then i'll get the cats (or a random number generator *g*) to pick a winner.

Front of mat, in print to compliment the coat of any kitty!

Back of mat, with envelope-type opening so catnip can be inserted in the back. The next one that i make, i'll try setting in a zipper.

Oh shimmer paint!

2009-08-29T14:15:00.004-04:00

Stampin' Up! has its new holiday mini catalog out, loaded with all sorts of tempting goodies crammed into its 40 little pages. We'll be able to start showing the catalog to our customers on September 1...in the meantime, demonstrators were able to pre-order a lot of the items for ourselves. One of the most tempting was the shimmer paints. I've been seeing them from other suppliers so was thrilled that Stampin' Up! is offering them. As a test i ordered "champagne mist" which is similar to an un-brassy gold.

I had planned to use it on the new snowflake stamp from the big catalog, but it wasn't that outstanding looking. Next i tried it on the new single reindeer stamp from the big catalog, and loved the result.
The recipe: Ink: champagne mist shimmer paint; Stamp: Dasher; Cardstock: elegant eggplant (card base), textured black and brushed copper from specialty papers taste of textiles, rich razzleberry; Ribbon: ribbon originals masterpiece; Accessories: gold brads.

While i was in the stamping mood, i decided to make a thank you card for my friend April, who took me out to lunch on Tuesday and gave me some very nice gifts for my birthday. The wrapping paper and ribbon that she used were the perfect inspiration! The recipe: Ink: melon mambo; Cardstock: whisper white (for the card base); Paper: double sided gift wrap (the big green piece is one side and the pink with polka dots behind the sentiment is the other side), candy lane designer series paper; Ribbon: white and pink satin ribbons from gift; Accessories: ribbon slide from hodgepodge hardware; Stamp: sincere salutations; Punches: large oval and scallop oval.

Another historical cat photo

2009-08-25T23:21:00.005-04:00

It wasn't that long ago that Gingy suddenly decided it was o.k. for her to sleep someplace else on the bed other than on the cat towels at the foot of the bed. And then last week i came into the bedroom and found her sound asleep curled up against the pillows! That's now her favorite evening napping place. I wonder where she'll decide to sleep next!

The other day Fuzzy hopped up on the little bookshelf on the side of the desk my father made for me. After he'd perched there for a while, he relaxed and fell asleep...love those black pawpads amidst the white foot fluff!

Another Saturday Sketch Card Challenge

2009-08-25T22:39:00.005-04:00

Gosh, it's been a long time since i posted last! I've been working on a "tastes of summer" post and keep adding things to it...think i just need to post it and get it done! Also need to put up some recent kitty pics for fans of "the guys."

In the meantime, there's another Saturday Sketch challenge from the folks at Stamping 411. I missed the deadline for the one last week. Here's this week's sketch:

I needed two cards this week: a birthday card for my friend Effie (whose birthday was actually on the 20th) and a thank you card for the generous friends who hosted the congregation's summer party at their house this past weekend. The sketch was a perfect jumping off point!

Both cards use my favorite "Here Kitty, Kitty" stamp set and variations on the same colorway, including the new Mambo Mango, old Kiwi Kiss, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, and i think that's Raspberry Fizz design series paper.

I also made a couple of other cards. My brother-in-law is retiring from the government this week...he just turned 55 and i think he's worked for them for 30+ years. The red white and blue seemed appropriate. I used a similar color scheme for the son of friends of mine who graduated from high school and is heading off to college. When i last saw him, he was about two years old, so it's stunning to me how time has flown!

"Quilting Past and Present" at Sky Meadows State Park

2009-08-12T14:30:00.004-04:00

It was hot on Saturday. And humid. But i had agreed on behalf of my quilt group that we would do a presentation about quilting at the historic Mount Bleak House, built in the 1840s, which is on the grounds of Sky Meadows State Park. The parks department likes to have events that reflect life at the time the house was lived in...crafts, music, history, etc. We would do a talk about quilts from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then demonstrate quilting from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

I recruited my friend Diane to do the presentation because she's very knowledgeable, has a lot of experience making quilts including some out of reproduction Civil War era fabrics, and is very confident in a group situation. I brought a bag full of quilting books and several quilts, Diane brought two baskets full of quilts, April brought a quilt rack and several quilts, and we set up on the lawn behind the house. And waited. And waited. We thought things would be slow, but had no idea that only a handful of people would come for the program.

I thought we'd be standing up in front of a crowd, talking, showing quilts, refolding them, answering questions...instead, we sat on the rocking chairs and had a fabulous day getting some quilting done. Diane had fun reading my books! April worked on a coiled rope basket bag, i did hand quilting on my fortune cookie quilt and on the bunny quilt for my sister, when Dee arrived she sewed the binding onto a Christmas kitty quilt, and when Jeanne arrived, she had a binding to put on a Christmas quilt as well.

Diane, April, my rocking chair, Dee

Jeanne

Afterwards the ranger/volunteer coordinator said that next time they would make the program shorter--the afternoon only, when people are more likely to have finished a day hike or to be in the park for a picnic. I don't think any of us felt the day was wasted...it was amazingly peaceful sitting under the huge hickory tree, looking out across a misty valley that didn't look much different than it would have looked 100 or even 200 years ago.

This week's Saturday Sketch Challenge

2009-08-12T09:00:00.006-04:00

The sketch was pretty straightforward...just what i needed for a baby naming card! So here it is:

(I see that my friend and upline Robin used the same baby stroller stamp...great minds and all that!) I wasn't able to go to the babynaming ceremony because i had to attend an event with my quilt group (more about that soon), but i am sending this card and a copy of Patricia Polacco's The Keeping Quilt, one of my all-time favorite books.

While i was in the "stamping studio" (my mother's old kitchen table and my workbench piled high with stamping supplies in my basement) i also made a sympathy card for dear friends whose baby died at birth. I was reminded of this stamp (and similar color combination) by the pretty little boxes on Takatou's site.There's really not much a person can say at a dreadful time like this but i thought the card would help tell them i'm holding them in my thoughts and prayers.

I also started a series of cards "just because." The new Stampin' Up! lattice die for the Big Shot really intrigues me. I cut out five lattices from different c0lors of card stock (5 of the 6 new In colors) and then mixed and matched the little pieces that are punched out, to make what are essentially paper quilts. This is the first one that i completed.

Sylvie's Turn

2009-08-12T08:48:00.003-04:00

Sylvie is a very opinionated and feisty little girl cat. Unfortunately, since Gingy came to live with us, she hasn't been able to spend as much time with me as she used to, because if Gingy is nearby, Sylvie gives her a wide berth or growls and hisses at her. Sylvie now cautiously checks to make sure Gingy's not around or asleep before she starts cruisin' the house, and if she hears Gingy's bell (i generally don't like bells on cats, but Gingy came with one on her collar and it seemed like a fair warning to the other cats to keep it), she dashes for the kitchen chair that's her sanctuary.

Here Sylvie's sitting on the file box they all like to sit on before hopping up onto my lap...looking very sweet but actually she sank her claws into my thigh moments later "just stretching!"

Nightcap

2009-08-12T08:25:00.003-04:00

When i get into bed at night, if Fuzzy's not already sleeping on my pillow he comes into the bedroom, hops up on the bed, walks up on the pillow behind my head and settles in, kneading my hair and purring in my ear. (Eventually he moves over to the other pillow to sleep, often with his backside parked on my shoulder.) It was a bit tricky pointing the camera at ourselves in the dark and getting a decent picture, but i got a few fairly good ones.

Louie always sleeps between my knees...here he is with his head pillowed on my right knee....awake because somebody's taking pictures!

Historical Cat Photo

2009-08-12T08:05:00.004-04:00

Yes, it's a pretty ginger girl kitty and a cute tuxie boy on the bed together...that's not news anymore, as Gingy has been sleeping on the bed with the boy cats and me since late winter. What's new is this is the first time (that i've seen anyhow) that Gingy was sleeping on the bed other than on the cat towel at the foot of the bed! I guess she suddenly realized that not only was it o.k. for her to be on the bed, she could be anywhere on the bed that she wanted to be!

That picture was taken this past weekend. Last night when i went to bed, Gingy was sound asleep on her back in the middle of the bed! She sleepily moved to the cat towel when Fuzzy leaped into bed. I'm not sure why it's taken her 4 years to come to this realization, but i think it's nice. Now if only she and Sylvie could learn to get along....

View Profile

2009-08-12T07:55:00.003-04:00

A lot of blogger blogs have a place that says "View My Complete Profile," so Louie thought it only right that you should be able to admire his complete profile. He's even displaying a bit of frootbat effect, difficult for a tuxedo with black ear fur to achieve...and then i had to turn the flash off on my camera to keep it from washing out the light shining through his ear.

Some new cards

2009-07-29T14:16:00.006-04:00

The first card follows a sketch (like a recipe, to be modified by the user) on the Stamping 411 site. Here's the sketch.

And here's my card. I used only Stampin' Up! tools and materials for all three cards shown here. For this card, i pretty much used the suggested layout, although the center is cut out with the new Bigz Lattice die in the Big Shot, layered over a piece of Bashful Blue cardstock that i ran through texturz plates on the Big Shot. The lattice, background, and belly band are all from the Tea Party Designer Series Papers. At the center is a square icy blue rhinestone brad. This is a get well card for my friend Violet, who tripped on her front steps and fractured her foot in two places this weekend!

Next i needed to make a congratulations card for my friend Janet, who is retiring on Friday. I had so much fun using the Bigz Lattice die for the previous card, i used it on this card as well, cutting the center from a piece of lilac Designer Series Paper. Different patterns of the same paper form the background and the oval that the sentiment is printed on. The sentiment is mounted on a scalloped oval of the same Tea Party Designer Series Paper as the layer under the lattice. That scalloped oval punch is one of my favorites! The ribbon is the brand new Crushed Curry polka dot grosgrain ribbon...yummy. This card also has a square rhinestone brad in the center, too...this one lilac rather than blue.

This third card i just made because i love how it looks...i saw this design or something very like it somewhere, but i don't remember where now...whether it was wandering on the internet or in a magazine. It uses all new "toys" from my most recent Stampin' Up! order...the card is on Crushed Curry card stock (gasp, so different than my traditional Whisper White card bases), the stamp is from the new Razzle Dazzle set. I stamped the whole design in Soft Suede, then cleaned the stamp off and colored in the flowers with Stampin' Write markers, stamped them on a scrap of Whisper White, cut them out, and mounted them with mini glue dots on top of the Soft Suede version. I double-matted the white layer on top of Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo cardstock. The ribbon is Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain ribbon, the sentiment is stamped in Crushed Curry and mounted on Melon Mambo cut out with my pal, the scallop oval punch.

The Mom Meme

2009-07-26T21:58:00.004-04:00

I've been tagged to take part in a meme by Jan, Milo and Alfie's wonderful mom. I love reading about Milo and Alfie's great adventures (and they are beautiful kitties) and Jan's answers to this meme are so interesting http://milocat.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/the-mom-meme/#comment-4868 that when she tagged to me to join this meme, i couldn't resist.

The rules are simple: Either 1) post 7 facts about yourself AND photos OR 2) post 10 facts about yourself with no photos, OR 3) post a childhood picture of yourself.

First, the picture:

This was my freshman year in college 1) at Oberlin College. (Can you see the teddy bear on the bed? He's the same one i posted about in November! http://quiltcatmews.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-teddy-bear.html)

2) This was my first cat. Her name was Franki. Actually, i think it was "Franki Farren Puppy" or something like that...she wasn't really my cat...she supposedly was my roommate Patty's cat, but i "somehow" became her main person. She was one of the kittens born outside in the cold Ohio winter to a college cat who was probably abandoned once her owners discovered she was pregnant. We weren't supposed to have cats in the dorm but i'm so glad that we took Franki in. She was a great kitten! At the end of the school year, i wasn't allowed to bring her home and Patty wasn't allowed to bring her home, so my boyfriend (at left in picture) took her home. He wasn't allowed to keep her past the summer, either...so she went to live with his cousins on Cape Cod and i think (fervently hope) that she had a very happy life as a companion to their black Lab who totally adored her from the first day.

3) On the bed is an afghan that i crocheted during one of my classes (education testing and measurement, i think). I learned how to crochet from a book. Then i had one of the girls in my dorm teach my how to knit because i wanted a ski cap with ribbing, and couldn't figure out how to do it from a book *g*. It turns out the style she taught me was "Russian," so i've always had to adapt directions to get the right gauge.

4) I was an archaeology major and went on a dig in New Jersey the summer before i started college (we camped out in tents all summer on the banks of the Delaware River; we excavated one of the first known Native American house sites in New Jersey) and in North Carolina the summer before my senior year in college (we lived in some cabins near the old dairy farm on the grounds of the John C Campbell Folk School; in cooperation with the Eastern Cherokee tribe, we excavated a contact period Cherokee village).

5) I discovered a newborn calf while taking a walk looking for wild blackberries on one of my days off on the dig. Its mother had left it safely curled up in the tall grass, just like does do with their fawns. A few days later, i helped a calf get born...the cow was having trouble pushing out the calf so the farmer attached chains to the calf's feet. As the cow pushed, we gently pulled...and soon *pop* out came the calf.

6) My advisor at Oberlin suggested that i really should consider majoring in social-cultural anthropology instead, because i didn't have the hard science background archaeologists need to succeed these days. He left Oberlin for another school and there were no anthropologists left there. I really wanted to drop out of college...Oberlin was starting to feel way too small (it's in the middle of Ohio farm country and in the interests of fostering community, no one was allowed to have a car on campus, so there was no way to leave other than getting on my bicycle and pedalling to nowhere a few miles out of town), the Vietnam war was on, and i questioned what possible good i could do for the world. My parents were extremely unhappy that i wanted to drop out of school, so we reached a compromise...i transferred to another college.

7) I transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, a school about 7 times larger than Oberlin, in the middle of urban Philadelphia. Of course i missed Oberlin-type people! But academically it was a very good decision.

whew...that's enough about me and my ancient past! I hesitate to tag anyone in case you're too busy...but would love to have my regular commenters (and any visitors, too) do this meme, too!

Now a Few Words From the Cats

2009-07-18T00:10:00.006-04:00

The poor little guys feel that i haven't posted enough pictures of them lately...bad enough that i went off to Rhode Island and Vermont, but then i posted all those quilting pictures...

First off, though, a bit of a rainbow seen on my return trip from Vermont. I had stopped at the New Baltimore, New York, rest stop on the NY Thruway. It had been raining off and on since i left Burlington, and had just finished pouring...and there was this beautiful rainbow in the east across the highway.

When i came home the boys showed me how cute they are...looks like they were practicing synchronized snoozing!

Fuzzy wanted to show me that he fit quite well in my suitcase.

Back to telecommuting Fridays, Louie tries to get my attention by hopping up on the box next to me and tapping at my leg.
Gingy taking a rest on the desk.

Fuzzy "supporting" me (or at least my notepad) while i work.

Me trying to conduct a teleconference while Fuzzy is on my lap, giving me kitty kisses.

Another snoozing Gingy shot.

This morning, Fuzzy hopped up on the bed, walked over to where Louie was snoozing, plopped down next to him, and started patting at his tail and feet.

The next thing you know, it's a wrestling match between two 16-pound kittens!

I'm off to New Jersey for the weekend, for the unveiling of my mother's gravestone...back Sunday night!

Vermont Quilt Festival (part three)

2009-07-09T00:08:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite parts of going to VQF, other than seeing the magnificent quilts that are hung with care in the show, is visiting all the vendors and making some careful purchases of fabric, thread, patterns, embellishments, jewelry....the temptations are huge! And seriously, when the vendors bring their best and newest goods with them, it's a joy to see what they've got.

One of my favorite vendors is Usha at Handloom Batik. She has family in India who hand block print and batik most of the fabric that she sells. She had these two cool patterns "Quilting Bee" and "Laundry Day" by Bunny Leighton, made up in a rainbow of ethnic fabrics. Here's a close-up of the Quilting Bee pattern.

I just had to buy the patterns, as well as some of Usha's Indian cottons to use in this or some other project. (Gingy was snoozing on the ironing board and didn't mind modeling all of the fabrics and goodies.)

Here are some batiks that i got with the Quilting Bee project in mind from Batiks Etcetera, all the way from North Dakota....well, the vendor came from North Dakota, the fabric came from Indonesia!

Some yummy sparkly fabrics that i got from the guys at Woodstock Quilt Supply.

This is a lovely calligraphy and quilt design transferred to fabric by my friend Kathi Giberman of Nova Scotia. She has a great selection of lovely sayings like this set in quilt blocks, as well as many Celtic designs, Nova Scotia scenery, animals, and geometric designs. Her calligraphy and ink work are quite outstanding. I think last year was the first time she brought her designs transferred to fabric...i had to buy several with the idea of making up little wall hangings for some special friends.

Speaking of special friends, my friend Betsy and i always give each other some cat/quilt/book related gifts...in addition to being a very talented quilter in her own right, Betsy is also a cat mom, a professional librarian, and an author. We met years ago at a B&B in Northfield, Vermont, when the Vermont Quilt Festival was still held there and now every year we look forward to sharing a suite at VQF. Here's some really cute ceramic "buttons" that can also be used as stamps.

Unique handprinted cat designs on hand dyed fabric from Marit Lee Kucera of Artspoken Yardage.

Really cute ceramic cat buttons.

A cute pincushion from her local quilt show...picked out especially for me because of the cat fabrics on it.

Last but not least, a kitty cookie cutter Betsy picked up at the King Arthur Flour store on her way up to the quilt festival.

Vermont Quilt Festival (part two)

2009-07-05T12:47:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, June 18, i took the "Wee Willow" class with Jane Sassaman. "Wee Willow" is one of four small seasonal quilts that Jane designed. "Wee Willow" is the summer quilt, and it's a much much smaller version of Jane's famous "Willow" quilt, which was named one of the Best 100 Quilts of the 20th Century (she made it in 1996 for her daughter, who was 12 at the time).

Jane Sassaman is well known for her use of forms derived from nature...lots of curves and squiggles, lots of flowers, leaves, thorns, etc...in her own inimitable graphic style. Her technique involves cutting the basic design out of a piece of fabric that has been backed with lightweight nonwoven fusible interfacing and then layering on other pieces that are backed with a fusible (except for the pieces that overlap a dark/light intersection where you don't want the color to show through, and those pieces are backed with the nonwoven fusible interfacing as well). The advantage of having the whole quilt backed with nonwoven interfacing is that she heavily machine embroiders her quilt tops and the interfacing stabilizes it without having to use tearaway stabilizer.

Here's all i accomplished in a 6-hour class...it's the foundation on which the rest of the quilt will be assembled (this is a small piece, about 18" square. (The white piece is also backed with nonwoven fusible interfacing and is set in behind the black, which is all one piece.) Here's the pattern envelope, and some of my many little pieces of flowers, all traced, fused, and ready to go. There's a lot of work left after they get fused to the background: Jane edges each piece with a straight stitch, with a medium zig zag stitch, and then many get some sort of fancy edge stitch. The quilting should be fun...she uses a thick (12-weight) topstitching thread with fairly long stitches, so it almost looks like hand quilting.

Jane brought a whole pile of her quilts to class which were great fun to look through. This is the class sample for her other class at the Vermont Quilt Festival that i didn't get into, called The Personality of a Leaf. Students made a sampler with multiples of pretty much the same leaf and stem, but they're all embellished with different stitches, which changes their appearance a lot. Here's a close up. What fun! I think the cute moth is from one of her fabrics.

And here's a huge moth quilt...the quilt is big (maybe 50 inches square) and moths are big, too! I read somewhere that she made this quilt when she and her family moved from the city to the country and exchanged the wild city life for the wildlife and clear night skies of the country.

Vermont Quilt Festival (part one)

2009-06-28T23:35:00.005-04:00

The Vermont Quilt Festival is hosted at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, with the show itself nearby at the Champlain Valley Expo Center in Essex Junction. The college is quite welcoming to the quilt show attendees...we fill up several dormitories and town houses, have meals at their cafeteria, and have most of our classes (taught by nationally famous instructors) in their classrooms.

This is Pontigny Hall where i shared a suite with my friend Betsy and two quilters from Quebec.
We had individual small bedrooms, a shared bathroom, and a living room area with small fridge and microwave. I spent a lot of time in my room sewing, transforming the bed into a work surface.
I was working on the block of the month blocks that i won from my quilt group in February. I saw a picture in the May/June 2009 issue of Quiltmaker magazine of a simple and attractive layout for a quilt made from basket blocks. http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns/details.html?idx=4706 When my quilt group visted my friend Karen Sue's in-home quilt shop http://www.quiltsweets.com i took the magazine with me and looking at the picture, guesstimated how much fabric i would need for the setting squares and the narrow inner and wider outer borders. I didn't actually go to the web site to look at the directions before i started work on the project; in fact i didn't sit down and do any math until after i started work on the project, either. I had eight blocks so i needed a ninth block, which i made. Then i spent a while shuffling the blocks around, first on my bed and then on the suite's living room floor.
Next i cut out all the setting squares and laid them in place. I realized i had a problem after i measured the length and width...i didn't have enough fabric for the outer border! Luckily for me, there's a quilt shop relatively near St Mike's, called Yankee Pride http://www.yankeepridequilts.com/ in Essex Junction, Vermont. So i headed off there in the rain. Needless to say, they didn't have the fabric that i had planned to use for the border, so i had to come up with something else. I'm pretty pleased with what i picked...we'll have to see how it actually goes together! The next challenge was that although these blocks were supposed to be 12 1/2" square to finish to 12", once i started to square them up, i realized there was a great variation among them, with the smallest measuring 11 1/2" square and only a couple exactly 12 1/2". I had to cut all the blocks to 12" square, so they'll finish to 11 1/2", and i added strips of fabric to the sides of the block that was too small and then squared it up.

Before i could start sewing everything together, i realized i had to cut down the setting blocks, since i'd cut them 12 1/2" square and none of the blocks was that size any longer. Before i left for home on Sunday, i had sewed all the rows of blocks together (the rows form diagonally) and started sewing the rows to each other.

Newport, Rhode Island, part two

2009-06-25T23:10:00.004-04:00

This is the side/back view of a house over on the next block from Wander Inn, my friend Karen's B&B. I was fascinated by the three huge chimneys, the many dormers, the cut stone walls...and the sprouting satellite dishes!

Karen really has a green thumb. This is one of her flower and herb plantings below the deck. I'm envious of the rich dark, sandy loam.

Here's a poppy and pansies in bloom...they've long since gone by in Virginia so it was nice to see them again.

These funny frogs playing checkers with ladybugs are among the frog sculptures up on the deck.

And this was my room...the gorgeous 4-poster bed just about fills the room. (The other rooms have larger beds. One even has a stepstool to help climb up into it.)

I really needed a kitty "fix" so was very happy when Karen let me into her apartment to spend some time with her baby, Figaro. Isn't he a cutie??? He has to spend all of his time up in Karen's apartment because she knows that some guests might be allergic to cats. He usually doesn't talk much but meowed loudly to let me know that he knew that i was on the other side of the door, and Petting Was Required Now! Of course i was delighted to oblige.

Monday night, Karen and i had dinner at Salvation Cafe, a wonderful funky restaurant in a non-touristy part of town. It used to be painted pink outside, now it's bright orange! The inside features a mish mash of folk art, Asian tapestries, 1950s photographs and artifacts, an ancient jukebox (just for looks), a tiki bar for outdoors eating and drinking, and delicious fusion cooking. I had a chickpea masala dish with fresh naan that was scrumptious and Karen had two appetizers--lobster and corn chowder, and "salvation calamari"...lightly battered and fried squid in a sweet/spicy vinaigrette with banana peppers and wasabi aioli. And for dessert we virtuously split an order of chocolate banana purses with vanilla/ginger ice cream. mmmmmmm

Tuesday night we had dinner at Siam Square, a Thai restaurant in nearby Middletown. The outside is unprepossessing...it's in a small strip mall...but the inside is lovely golden wood and fabulous food. Karen and i split one dish that featured stir-fried beef, pineapple, red peppers, mushrooms, macadamia nuts, fresh spinach, green onions, and slivers of young ginger...

And another called chicken penang that included chicken, snow peas, red peppers, hot green peppers, green beans, coconut milk, lemongrass...Thai hot and scumptious!

Speaking of food, i should have taken pictures of Karen's breakfasts, especially because she's won awards for them, but i didn't even think about it...too desperate for coffee and too busy eating, i guess! Tuesday morning's breakfast included strawberries Romanov and blueberry pancakes, while Wednesday morning's breakfast included a cute little apple dumpling followed by a summer quiche made with chopped brocoli and sweet red bell peppers, with watermelon and red grapes dressing the plate.

After breakfast on Wednesday i packed up and headed off to Vermont.

Newport, Rhode Island, part one

2009-06-24T23:53:00.006-04:00

I left Virginia late in the afternoon on Sunday, June 14 and stopped overnight in Rye, New York. After a delicious breakfast, i got on the road and headed to my friend Karen's bed and breakfast, Wander Inn, in Newport, Rhode Island. It's a relatively small B&B, with comfortable rooms, great breakfasts, and a nice deck for having breakfast (when the weather cooperates).

On Tuesday i walked downtown to the Post Office and then did some sightseeing. I've been going to the same place for 11 years but never tire of looking at Newport's architecture. This is a house that i've never noticed before, with a sailing ship weather vane.

Here's the whole house as seen from the street.

This is a glorious old house (probably from the early 1800s) that's been partially restored. It's currently a lawyer's office.

This is a close-up of the dormer window, twin chimneys, and nice trim under the eaves.

Here's a close up of the front door, with its Greek columns with fancy carved pediments. I don't think the etched glass door is original, but it looks lovely.

This is the Touro synagogue, designed by architect Peter Harrison in 1759 and completed in 1763...probably the first synagogue in what later became the United States. This is the site of the famous proclamation about religious freedom from President Washington that i cited in an earlier post.

This is the front window of the Claire Murray store...she designs wonderful hooked rugs with nautical designs.

International Box Day

2009-06-24T13:18:00.004-04:00

While i was away, i apparently missed International Box Day, during which cats all over the blogosphere posted adorable pictures of themselves in boxes. Milo and Alfie in England did a great post about themselves and boxes. My cats love boxes, too, so even though it's late, here's Fuzzy in the big nest box in the kitchen.

Because it took me so long to get going, what with the washing machine trials and tribulations and everything, Mary Ellen came to give the cats their first feed while i was still packing. She was willing to come back later but i told her to go ahead and feed everyone. It turned out really well...everyone was well fed and snoozing contentedly while i was carrying load after load of stuff out to the car.

Here's Louie, successfully pretending that i don't have a suitcase open on the bed.

Many more pictures and words to follow later!

Blogcation

2009-06-14T17:51:00.003-04:00

My vacation was supposed to start yesterday...but my washer stopped working late Friday night with an entire load of clothes and fabric stranded in soapy, grey water. A repair guy was supposed to come...between noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday. So no way i could leave at 3 p.m. In fact, they didn't come 'til 5, stayed 'til 7...and it turns out there was nothing wrong with the machine, there's a problem with a valve in the plumbing that drains the washer into the sewer line. That meant i had to go to the laundromat this a.m. with my sopping wet, rather funky smelling clothes and fabric. I'm finally going...now...later than ever...and need to drive 300 miles before my stop for the night!

The cats won't have access to the computer until i get back online (in 8 days) so they wish all their friends to stay happy and healthy in their absence. I'm so late leaving, the lovely cat sitter has been here already and fed them, so they are dozing contentedly.

Oh, i'm going to a friend's B&B in Newport, RI, and then on to the Vermont Quilt Festival. I promise pictures when i get back! Stay well, all!

Special privileges for Gingy

2009-06-09T23:35:00.004-04:00

Gingy is a beautiful cat, and really nice...aside from the fact that she finds it necessary to mark most of the walls in the house and the floors in the basement and any number of my books that she's ruined...and has been known to bite fiercely...and is constantly provoking Sylvie (and has actually injured her several times). Even though she's not a lap cat at all, Gingy likes to be wherever i am and has a great purr.

All of my cats have been indoors-only ever since Louie's brother Pierre vanished without a trace 10 years ago. Louie (and Pierre) had strayed away from a neglectful owner on the next block and spent a lot of time outside before i adopted them; Fuzzy was left outside for days at a time by his neglectful owner and resorted to killing squirrels to get enough to eat; Sylvie loved climbing trees when she was still an indoor/outdoor kitty and usually manages to make a break for the outside at least once a year, usually on Hallowe'en. Gingy i think was allowed outside occasionally by her previous owner.

Louie and Fuzzy have very little interest in going outdoors; Sylvie would love to go outdoors but i'm not sure i could talk her into coming back in if Gingy were anywhere nearby; and then there's Gingy, who's been trying to talk me into letting her go outside. So the other day i let her out on the back steps for about 30 seconds, and she loved it. Then i scooped her up and brought her in.

Now of course she asks to go out everytime i'm near the door! It's funny how much she enjoys her special treat, and how she doesn't mind at all when i scoop her up moments later and carry her back inside.

Here she is rolling on the front porch on Sunday afternoon...happy cat!

Sounds of summer

2009-06-09T09:09:00.002-04:00

I woke up at 5 this morning to some of the usual sounds--Fuzzy purring in my ear, Louie purring between my knees--and some distinctively summer sounds--the ceiling fan whirring and clicking, the birds (mostly robins, cardinals, and house finches, it seemed) singing, and behind that, low ferocious rumbles of thunder, followed by big booms of thunder and rain pelting on the roof. (Then the sounds of Sylvie hollering at Gingy in the kitchen...*sigh*...that's an all-season sound.) Hope you're enjoying sounds of summer, too.

Plants--beloved invasive, detested invasive

2009-06-07T14:11:00.005-04:00

Every year in mid to late June i look forward to my wineberries ripening. They're in the same family as roses and raspberries, and are not a native plant, although they're certainly well naturalized in my yard! Their scientific name is rubus phoenicolasius and apparently they were brought to America from Asia in the late 1800s as ornamental garden plants. In my yard at least they are quite wild and brambly...the canes are reddish, the leaves are bristly, and the canes are covered with soft red bristles. The fruits ripen inside a bristly calyx, which opens as the berries grow and when they're ready to pick they are deep reddish-orange, a little sticky, on the tart side, and juicy. They're a lot easier to pick than wild blackberries and raspberries which have ferociously sharp thorns.

I didn't plant these plants...they were brought by the birds! I have a line of them on the narrow strip of land on the other side of my driveway. I just try to keep the canes pruned back a bit or else they'd completely overgrow the driveway. They back up against my next door neighbor's beautifully maintained garden...i have a feeling she's not so crazy about their abundant and vigorous growth.

The birds are absolutely crazy for the berries and i've occasionally seen a box turtle underneath the brambles, eating the berries as well. Unfortunately the same generous birds who pooped out the seeds for the wineberries also deposited honeysuckle, poison ivy, and poke seeds in the same place. In my picture of the wineberry plant i inadvertently caught the honeysuckle "on film"...i try really hard to keep the honeysuckle under control but obviously this plant escaped me and has even started to bloom.

The problem with wineberries i guess is that they're non-native plants and can choke out native plants (although they seem to provide very good wildlife food and shelter). The problem with honeysuckle is that it can strangle everything in its path, it spreads vigorously, it regrows from the tiniest bit of stem or root left in ground, and because it makes berries, the birds spread it around generously. It does have an upside...those white flowers are extravagantly fragrant and smell so sweet on a warm summer's evening.

Cards, Cats, Quilting

2009-06-01T12:29:00.004-04:00

Up first are two cards that i made a little bit ago but didn't post because i was afraid the people who they were for would see them on the blog...now it's so long past their birthdays (groan, how does that happen?!) that they won't know these cards are for them!

You can see that i used a lot of the same elements in both cards but they came out quite different since for background one has a piece of decorative paper and the other has cardstock (run through the Big Shot on texture plates).

Louie says "isn't it time for dinner yet, mom? you've been on the computer too long!"

Gingy scratching under her chin with a back foot:

Saturday after going to the Farmer's Market i walked up the street to my local quilt shop, looking for thread for the class project i'll be doing at the Vermont Quilt Festival. I didn't find the thread that i needed, but i did find some great fabrics and a pattern for the "mini charmer" purse by Quilts Illustrated, the same company that published the "charm party" tote i made a while ago. I fleshed out my new purchases with fabrics from my stash, including a great purple cat print that's probably every bit of 15 years old! It was too wet to mow or weed on Saturday, so i spent much of Saturday afternoon and evening sewing. (Then it poured at about 4 a.m. on Sunday, right about when Friday's rain would have dried up.)

Sunday I had a strategy-planning brunch with some members of my Congregation. When i got home i quickly changed my clothes and got the mowing done, then returned to the sewing room...and finished the purse! Here's Gingy modeling the front:

And here's the back. It was sooooo much fun playing with color and texture again! Now i have to return to some of my UFOs (unfinished objects) or WIPs (works in progress).

A few recent cards (and a couple of kitty pics)

2009-05-31T00:05:00.005-04:00

Judy http://judyhartman.blogspot.com/ asked to see some of my stamping/paper creations, so here are a few cards i made this past week.

First up is a thank you card for my friend Violette, who very generously gave my friend Jane and me a pair of tickets to see Turandot at the Kennedy Center last Thursday when it turned out that she and her husband wouldn't be able to use them. It's been ages since i've been to the opera. It's not my favorite musical art form, but Puccini's music for Turandot is fantastic (no matter how discomfiting the story line is) and the staging was amazing, borrowing from Kabuki theatre and Chinese opera. It was a really nice night out! Before the show, Jane and i bought salads at the Terrace Cafe and enjoyed dinner outside on the Terrace in the mild Spring evening air with a fine view of the city, the river, and the planes heading in to National airport.

I "borrowed" the layout for this card from Robin, my Stampin' Up! manager, changing the color combination (had to use violet or something close to it for Violette *g*) and finishing it off with a big silver-colored brad. (Stampers "borrow" each other's layouts all the time...they call it "CASEing"..."Copy And Share Everything.")

Next is a birthday card for Robin herself...she's actually a "dog person" but i thought she'd enjoy the kitty on this since it's practically become my trademark.

Monday was also my friend Jenny's birthday, another "dog person." I used a layout very similar to the one i used on Robin's card, except that i used a cute foam dog that represents Jenny's yellow-ish rescue dog who's probably Australian shepherd.

As promised, a couple of kitty pictures from this week after the weather started to warm up again. First is Sylvie snoozing on a box next to the fridge. She seems to think that since her head is tucked in, no one (especially Gingy) can see her there.

And then there's Louie on the boogie mat in front of the fridge...this is a warm weather snoozing position...still close to that hot air from under the fridge, but much less curled up!

Saturday's Garden and Farmer's Market Loot

2009-05-25T23:44:00.008-04:00

My rugosa rose. Not fancy, and with flowers growing at the ends of long canes, but they smell so delightfully rose-y, and make really nice rose hips.

Wild blackberries. Looks like it will be a good year for berries this year.

Some sort of wildflower/weed growing in my front lawn. I had thought these were the wonderfully-named "pussytoes" but i don't think they are...whatever they are, i like them, and try to mow around them so they get to bloom.

My mountain laurel, bursting into bloom. The previous owner had cut this bush to ground but it resprouted from the roots and is quite a nice size now. I really like mountain laurels, even though in the wild they grow into huge tangles that are impossible to hike through!

Here's my gorgeous Festiva Maxima peony. As usual, the huge flowers weighed down the stems so i had to hold this one up for her portrait. My whole front yard is filled with wonderful spicy peony fragrance from this one plant that has about 8 blooms on it.

Bowman's Root, a lovely native wildflower that doesn't mind being in the shade. It's in the same bed with a pair of Astilbe that are getting ready to bloom soon and the Goat's beard (see below).

The goat's beard (aruncus dioicus) starting to bloom. It's so pleasant to have this spot of brightness in the shade garden.

Amongst all the goodies that i brought back from the Farmer's Market, the thing that the girls were most interested in was this "cat grass" plant. My friend Sabry http://www.sharkawifarm.com/ brings all sorts of wonderful herb plants, dried herbs, and teas to the market and he said that my cats would love this...it's some type of barley, apparently. Gingy and Sylvie liked it well enough to coexist (barely) while both chomping on opposite sides of it.

Fuzzy was more interested in a little nap while Gingy kept chewing.

Sorry about the amateur quality of the video (and the fact that i didn't turn off the radio!)...it begins with a deep growl from Sylvie and ends when Sylvie coughed to dislodge a piece of grass from her throat...

Telecommuting, Friday May 22

2009-05-25T23:24:00.003-04:00

Furzzy says it's o.k. for Gingy to take over the desk top, he's going to see if he can fit on the bookshelf on the side.

Sylvie snoozing in the hammock nest in the study window. (The sun was shining through her ears but i wasn't able to catch it since the camera filled in with flash.)

A very rare instance of Gingy and Fuzzy being close...Gingy eating her dry food and Fuzzy eating a special treat of some other dry food.

Louie telecommuting with great concentration!

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T22:32:00.002-04:00

Today, on Memorial Day, a blogpost to the contrary reminds me that one of the freedoms that our honored military dead fought to defend was the freedom of religion--religious liberty is often referred to as the "First Freedom" because the framers of the Constitution placed it first in the Bill of Rights. President George Washington wrote to the leaders of several faiths, assuring them of the importance of religious liberty in our young country.

A couple of years ago i visited the Truro synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, and they have a copy of a letter that Moses Seixas sent on behalf of the congregation to President Washington when he visited in 1790, and President Washington's unambiguous reply:

To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport Rhode Island.

Gentlemen,
While I receive, with much satisfaction, your Address replete with expressions of affection and esteem; I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you, that I shall always retain a grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced in my visit to Newport, from all classes of Citizens.
The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet, from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security. If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good Government, to become a great and happy people.
The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent national gifts. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.
It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my Administration, and fervent wishes for my felicity. May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.
G. Washington

***
I am so thankful to be living in a country that protects the religious freedom of all its citizens, not just some. And i am grateful to those who fought to protect those and all our other freedoms.

Ambrosia

2009-05-25T17:27:00.003-04:00

Local strawberries from the Farmer's Market, the essence of summer! distilled sunshine, in little red berries!

They only keep for about a day after they're picked, so i'm "forced" to eat a whole pint at once. Mmmmmm...no problem!

This is my 100th post! I really should hold some sort of drawing as other friends have for their blogoversaries but i'm momentarily uninspired. Maybe you can suggest what you'd like to win??

Squawking

2009-05-21T15:54:00.002-04:00

It's the time of year when nestlings are fledging...they're starting to get their flight feathers and either voluntarily or involuntarily leaving the nest. It's probably the most vulnerable period of their lives. They are out of the safety of the nest and not fully able to fly to safety from predators.

When i pulled into the driveway last night there was an awful lot of squawking going on in and around the apple tree that hangs over the driveway. I got out of the car quietly and stood there until i could see who was squawking...from past experience, i knew this was all about a fledgling.

Sure enough, there in a nearby sassafras tree was a large, gawky, greyish fledgling...short tailfeathers, large beak, large feet, fluffy tuft of feathers on his/her head--a catbird fledgling! Both parents were nearby trying to distract anybody who would listen away from their ungainly child who was hopping from branch to branch and then half flying, half falling to the next place. Several grackles and a female cardinal were in the apple tree...i don't think they had any ill intentions toward the baby, but the catbird parents were taking no chances.

This fledgling seemed like he/she had a good chance of surviving since it was almost flying and had two alert parents guarding it.

This is the time of year we always get calls at the Audubon Society about baby birds found on the ground...usually the best bet is to leave them alone. If they're fledglings, their parents are nearby and will feed them on the ground (and encourage them to fly into the bushes where they're safer) until they're ready to fly more strongly on their own.

The catbirds usually are feeding young in their nest when i'm getting my vegetable bed ready in the spring (mid to late May) and it's always funny seeing them waiting impatiently for me to turn aside so that they can swoop down and grab any insects or grubs that i've turned up, which they hurry off to their nestlings.

And now the babies are big enough that they're fledging and soon enough will be flying around the yard on their own.

Deep into Spring, and telecommuting May 15

2009-05-17T11:42:00.007-04:00

I took these pictures Thursday evening because we were forecast to get rain on Friday and my peony flowers often get beaten to bits by heavy rain so i wanted to catch them before that happened. This is the red peony that was in bud last week. It's always my earliest peony to bloom. I found my notes...it's called Jean Bockstoce, an oldish hybrid from 1933 (i got it in 1992 from White Flower Farms in Connecticut as part of a 3-peony special).

This is one of my new babies that i bought last year from Country Flower Garden. This is the first single flower peony that i've planted. Her name is Scarlet O'Hara!

Not quite open yet, this is Pink Hawaiian Coral, also bought last year from Country Flower Garden.

This plant is the reason why i started planting peonies in the first place. It's Festiva Maxima, an old old cultivar, with huge frilly white blooms that open with a fleck or two of red in the innermost petals, and the delicious peony fragrance. The three-peony selection that i bought from White Flower Farm was just supposed to be "one red, one white, and one pink" but i really wanted the white to be a Festiva Maxima, which i had seen in a garden in upstate NY and fallen in love with (but felt i couldn't afford to buy an individual plant). They said they couldn't guarantee which plants would be in the collection, but they were pretty sure the white would be a Festiva Maxima, and sure enough, it was! It has done wonderfully year in and year out, although sometimes the bloom time is cut short by a downpour that knocks the stems down or knocks the petals off. This one will be blooming in a week or so, depending on the weather.

I'm pretty sure these are Siberian irises that i bought from my friend Sally Mello a couple of years ago. Last year they did nothing and i thought they'd perished; this year's bountiful spring rains brought them up tall and blooming!

I think this is Iris Black Knight from Country Flower Garden. Irises have trouble in my garden because the beds get too overgrown with groundcover and honeysuckle for their rhizomes to have the nice clean surroundings they thrive in. I hope i'll be able to keep this one happy!

After unloading all of my father's household goods on Tuesday, the small moving truck followed me to my town (i could see the driver thinking "where the heck are we going??"). On board they had the student desk and bookcase that my father made me many years ago, a box of books, and two boxes of small tools, nuts, and bolts, that my father set aside for me.

I didn't really have a good place to put the desk since my study is cluttered with boxes in the center and two desks already against the wall, but i really really wanted to keep that desk that he so lovingly made for me and which i sat at to do my homework all through junior high and high school. So i moved some boxes of "stuff" to the basement and had the movers put the desk in the middle of the room. Gingy immediately explored and declared it was a wonderful perch just for her.

This is my telecommuting Friday, with Fuzzy snuggling (after thoroughly washing my face with his raspy tongue).

Then he turned himself around and lay with his head on the keyboard. This is always challenging especially when i'm telecommuting :).

Another picture of Gingy enjoying "her" new desk.

And of course Louie had to snuggle, too, during an hour-long teleconference.

Here's the bookcase (i should have moved that flooring remnant out of the way before i took the picture!). When this was in my bedroom in my parents' house, it used to hold my collection of National Geographic magazines as well as a bunch of books, including some favorites that i brought back with me, like Margaret Mead's People and Places.

I need to bring one of my cats to work!

2009-05-17T11:26:00.003-04:00

I returned to the office on Thursday, my first day back in the office after a week. Late in the morning, i opened my desk drawer to get a square of chocolate, and what should i find but this:

Some little rodent(s) had throughly nibbled a big chunk out of my chocolate bar! (Chocolove's dark chocolate with candied ginger, by the way.) I pulled all the rest of the stuff out of drawer...in the front were plastic bags, toothbrush, toothpaste, and in the back were lots of files and there was mousie poo everywhere, plus shreds of plastic bag and kleenex package, where they seemed to be thinking about making a nest.

I told our secretary, who after nearly fainting in fear and disgust, called Facilities. The custodian was impressed with the chocolate and said he was going to get some like that; his supervisor said that strangely almost all of the rodent calls in our building are about mice and chocolate! (I didn't remind her about the rats in the parking garage....) They vacuumed out the drawer, spritzed it with disinfectant, and set some sticky traps baited with the remains of the chocolate (poor mousies...). Now i know why that drawer has always had a peculiar aroma...i had thought it was because the previous occupant of the desk must have kept their gym shoes in that drawer, but i think it's had a long time mouse occupancy.

Spring's progress and telecommuting, May 8

2009-05-17T02:19:00.005-04:00

Stella d'Oro day lilies and variegated iris

My earliest peony, a gorgeous red, starting to show color.

A tiny chartreuse-green hosta. I thought this was called "Capitan" but all the pictures on the internet of "Capitan" are something completely different.

A large, strong, variegated hosta. Just bought it last year so it's still in a pot. I think it will be huge once it's established. Of course i can't remember its name.

Dame's Rocket. A non-native wildflower that fills the back of my yard with color. Unfortunately it's said to be an invasive alien plant.

Rain-drop speckled lilies of the valley...so tiny and so fragrant. I haven't had any success planting them...these plants spread over from next door and of course are thriving!

Dear Louie snuggling while i telecommute.

Gingy wants up, but Louie's well ensconced on my lap.

Now Fuzzy's on my lap and Gingy wants up!

On Saturday (May 9) was my congregation's first Bar Mitzvah in five years. This is the card i made for the congregation's gift to the young man.

And this is the card i made for my gift to him. (The stamp set with the truck in it is really fun...it comes with all sorts of accessories including a boy driver and a girl driver and trees, hearts, dogs, and eggs for the cargo! The bar mitzvah gift stamp is from another stamp set.)

Mission Accomplished!

2009-05-17T01:30:00.007-04:00

I am happy to report that as of Tuesday, May 12, my father is a resident of Virginia! The move from New Jersey went quite well, all things considered. We had delightful weather for loading the truck (two young men did all the work themselves...carrying bookcases single-handed, carrying several large boxes on their back at once, pausing only momentarily to flirt *g*) and also great weather for the drive down to Virginia, except for the last 20 minutes which were in a gully washer of a rain storm.

The guys showed up with the truck in Virginia on time Tuesday morning, but the truck was too big to get on the property, so they had to bring a smaller truck to shuttle goods from where the big truck parked on the road in to the property. Luckily they brought along wheeled dollies so they didn't have to carry everything on their backs into the building, up the elevator, and down the hall to my father's apartment.

Part of what my father paid for was help in unpacking stuff and putting it away. They did a sort of peculiar job putting stuff in the kitchen and one of the unpackers said to me "why did your father bring all these books? you couldn't read one a day of these for the rest of your life. With everything on the internet, who needs all these books?" As a confirmed lover of books this question infuriated me so much i just sputtered "what a bizarre question!" and left the room. (After the unpackers left, we started moving things around to more sensible locations. And my father is continuing to unpack boxes and look for things that were hidden, like his brown socks which were in a bag on top of a closet, and the clean sheets, which are still apparently in an as-yet-unopened box.)

I stayed in the apartment overnight and on Wednesday we did some important errands like getting a library card at the lovely branch library...you know, so he can get some more books! (hmmmmph!! so there!) We also figured out how to use the new dishwasher and also the washer/dryer. It's a really cool space-saving unit where a full-sized dryer is perched on top of a full-sized washer, enabling the whole thing to fit into a closet.

Everyone seems very friendly, the apartment is starting to feel like home, my father's got his internet access back, and all's well with the world!

Here's a last picture of our family home for 49 years, taken Sunday shortly before we left.

This magnolia started off 49 years ago as a bareroot switch no bigger around than my thumb...now as you can see it's taller than the house, and reliably blooms twice a year!

A last visit with one of the local cottontail rabbits.

This afternoon i drove up to visit my father--it's an easy hour's drive--and went grocery shopping with him. He wanted to see if he could do the drive himself...it's quite challenging learning all new roads to all new places, especially given his reduced vision. He did fine and we had fun getting more essentials for the apartment. I had dinner with him in the dining hall and it was really nice...the food was quite good (unlike the dinner Wednesday night, where the food seemed very bland and underseasoned) and two charming women were seated at the table with us, one of whom has lived there since the Fall so she's an "old timer" and the other of whom has only lived there for two days, so she's even more of a "newcomer" than my father.

Here's hoping that all continues to go well!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-09T15:41:00.003-04:00

Louie and Fuzzy (and Sylvie and Gingy) wish all mothers a very happy Mother's Day and send a special snuggle to each and every one of you. I'm off to New Jersey to pick up my father...this is the weekend he moves to Virginia!!...so i'll probably be offline until Wednesday night. Take care!

Cats are funny creatures...

2009-05-06T08:02:00.002-04:00

Monday night i cooked the rapini i had bought at the Farmer's Market. I used a recipe that called for cooking the veggies in boiling water for 5 minutes, draining them, and adding olive oil in which quite a few thinly sliced cloves of garlic had been cooking until "melted" and then red pepper flakes stirred in. Fuzzy and Sylvie are my two veggie eating cats and they were very interested in what i was doing, so as soon as the rapini was done, but before i added the olive oil, i pulled a few stems out of the colander and let them cool off. Fuzzy and Sylvie sniffed carefully, and then each devoured their rapini stems! In fact, they asked for some more! Louie wanted to see what they were eating, but one sniff of a rapini stem was all it took for him to back away quickly...

While supper was cooking, i saw something white out in the garden...it was my next door neighbor's mostly-Siamese cat, Blue. I've never been able to get him to be friends...he spends a fair amount of time in my yard, and watches me intently, but has no interest in coming close for some petting and conversation. He loves catnip, and last year i had to put a low little fence around my catnip plant to keep him from rolling on the plant and flattening it. I don't mind at all that he helps himself to some leaves, but rolling on the plants, especially when they're young and tender, doesn't do them any good.

The fence worked well...Blue could often be seen grazing the leaves that poked through or over it. (Then the woodchuck came along and trimmed the tops off all the plants...i guess it was just food for him/her, not an aphrodisiac like it is for the cats.)

This year i guess the plants haven't grown fast enough for Blue...as i was watching, he went from sniffing through the fence to leaping right over it, landing exactly in the middle of the tiny fenced area (just big enough for one pot of catnip and two pots of sage...and one cat, apparently!).

Another lovely Saturday

2009-05-02T23:00:00.006-04:00

I had to get up early (for me on a Saturday) because i needed to get to the Farmer's Market before picking up a friend to go to a bat mitzvah....which i had to get to early because i was bringing the yarmulkes and prayer shawls and Kiddush cup (for blessing the wine) in my car!

The Farmer's Market had double the number of vendors as last week. And everyone had gorgeous greens, since this last week's cooler, rainy weather was perfect for them. As early as i got there, i still didn't get there early enough to get the first asparagus of the season *pout*, but i did get a beautiful head of red leaf lettuce, a bag of mizume, a bunch of radishes in mixed colors, a bunch of rapini, a slice of berry pie, and little bags of biscotti, rugelach, and almond cookies. All set for veggies and breakfasts for the week! Oh yes, and the lady with fresh salsa and chips was back, too....yummmm.

The bat mitzvah was wonderful. I've known the young lady since she was about 4 years old. It was wonderful to see how confident she was, and how well she read and chanted the Hebrew. Rose, our lay leader, did a superb job of preparing her...but it was up to her to carry it off, and carry it off she did! There were probably 150 people there, which for our tiny congregation was huge...lots of friends and family from New York came down for the event.

After the ceremony, they moved tables into the room and set up a sit down lunch. The most amazing thing was that each table had a gorgeous glass vase on it, with flowers in a complementary color, on a quilted mat...the bat mitzvah girl's father made each of the vases himself from blown glass and his mother--the girl's grandmother-- made all the mats. I got to take one of the vases home!

I made two cards, one for the gift from me and one for the gift from the congregation, which i presented. The young lady volunteered at the local animal shelter as her special project leading up to her bat mitzvah, so i put a kitty on her card from me!

On the way home i stopped off at Borders to pick up a gift for next weekend's bar mitzvah...i realized if i didn't get it today, i won't have a chance until the weekend, when it will be too late!

This evening, the cats have been playing musical nests...and i had the camera at hand when Fuzzy took his turn on the boogie mat...

Spring's Progress

2009-05-01T00:32:00.004-04:00

It went from 48 degrees last Thursday a.m. to 94 degrees last Sunday afternoon! The viburnum is finished blooming, many of the trees are now fully leafed out, the early tulips are done and mid-season tulips are beginning...and the dogwoods are in full glory of bloom.

My calycanthus is in bloom and the heat Sunday afternoon released its wonderful fragrance. It's got a lot of common names "sweetshrub," "Carolina allspice," "strawberry bush" that all reflect how spicy/sweet it smells.

All of my peonies went from tiny spikes to lots of greens...and flower buds! This red peony is always the first of mine to bloom, and depending on the weather, might begin blooming this week (although it's chilly again!).

Gingy discovered a new, small box in the living room and took it over.

Louie was playfully attacking my big African basket.

And Sylvie took over the nest box in the kitchen...lots more room around her than when Fuzzy's in that box.

Quilt Retreat! (part two)

2009-04-30T23:04:00.005-04:00

Most of us worked on our own projects all weekend, but the committee did provide a project for Friday night...coloring with crayons on fabric. They provided each person with a piece of pre-washed plain cotton, a piece of freezer paper to iron on the back for stability, some photocopied patterns from a copyright free design book, and a box of crayons. I wasn't too excited with the designs i had, but in hindsight the one i colored came out pretty interesting (i don't know if i'll ever finish it or do anything else with it, but it was fun.)

The two projects i worked on were 1) completing a tote bag that i started some months ago and never had time to finish. It went together quite well. Interestingly, the designer, Penny Sturges, seems to be very popular...at retreat i learned that this month's McCall's Quilting has a bigger version of the tote bag that she designed, and several of the people in my quilt group have made or are planning on making it. My bag is made with a charm pack of Amy Butler fabrics...every square on the outside, plus two inside pockets inside made from 4 squares each, is different. The bag has very attractive long handles which didn't stand up for this picture (i'll have to take another picture later of the bag laying down, so the handles can show).

The other project was the chuppah i began more than a year ago for Rose, my congregation's lay leader. Last year at retreat i finished piecing the top and basted it to the batting and backing. I've been working on the machine quilting off and on all year. At retreat, i finished the machine quilting, made the binding and hanging sleeve, applied them by machine, and got about 2/3 of the binding sewed down by hand. It's a bit bigger than the top of a double bed. (I'm surprised no cats leaped into the middle of it when i laid it on the bed to photograph it!)

The cats were certainly glad to see me when i got home....and vice versa! Here's a lovely little furball i found under my desk when i sat down at the computer.

Quilt Retreat! (part one)

2009-04-30T21:47:00.008-04:00

Every year at this time my quilt group goes on retreat for an extended weekend. We go to Massanetta Springs, which is a church camp/conference center about two hours' drive from here, in beautiful country between the Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains. (The drive usually takes considerably longer, because part of the charm of going on retreat is stopping at quilt shops on the way to go shopping!)

This year was our 11th retreat! In early years, activities were planned for Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning. More and more, each of us brings our own UFOs (unfinished objects) or WIPs (works in process) to work on, but the committee that plans the retreat usually comes up with projects related to the retreat's theme, which they announce several months in advance. (Also, most of us now elect to arrive on Thursday...one more day of quilting!)

The theme this year was "A New Box of Crayons." Each of us was provided with a colorful folder listing all the things that we would need to bring, meal schedules, maps to nearby quilt shops, etc., plus directions on how to make the exchange block. Each person who wanted to made one (or more) of the exchange blocks, and then one lucky person's name was drawn on Sunday and she won them all! The exchange blocks this year were "chubby crayons"--the committee provided a paper foundation, a small amount of white fabric for the background, and two strips of black fabric for the stripes on the crayon wrapper. We provided the fabric for the "crayon" and the "wrapper." I made two (doubled my chances of winning!) but sadly didn't win them. (Of course you can't tell that i love cats and that purple is one of my favorite colors....) Here's a little quilt the committee made to show how a few crayon blocks could be set together very nicely into a quilt. And here are all of the wonderful colorful blocks that everyone made, laid out to be admired and signed with a Pigma pen, so that the winner will be able to remember in future years which of her friends made which blocks.

The committee also provided a crayon-shaped blank that we were supposed to use to make a name tag, giving ourselves a color name that in some way went with our real name (like Lime Green Lynn or Amethyst April, for example). Here's mine:

One of the things that sets our retreats apart is an innovation introduced by the organizer of our first retreat..."meal treats." At each meal, a different team provides special handmade treats at each person's place in the communal dining room. And individuals have been known to put a treat on each person's sewing machine in the wee hours of the night or morning. The committee also provides each person with goodies donated by merchants and every half hour throughout retreat there's a drawing for door prizes, with each person eventually winning something, usually a bag full of donated goodies such as beautiful pieces of fabric, patterns, threads, rulers, and if you're really really lucky, a gift certificate to a local restaurant.

The purple bag in the background holds the goodies from the committee. The meal treats included (left to right, back to front) a mug with an "apron" on it to hold sewing tools (and it came with wrapped mints inside); a fabric basket containing a box of crayons; a Stampin' Up! bag containing a stamped piece of fabric to use as a quilt label; a Stampin' Up! box containing three pieces of Ghiradelli chocolate (this was the treat my friends April, Jen, and i made...instead of wrapping the boxes with a strip of designer paper, we wrapped them with a strip of quilting fabric. We made 30 boxes and no two were alike!); a fabric-wrapped medicine bottle to use for holding broken needles and pins; a fabric rose; a box of crayons with tightly rolled pieces of fabric instead of crayons; and a pretty little mirror with a lovely sentiment.

And a cute scissors-holder to wear around the neck...the team who made these carefully made two with cats with me in mind; both got snaffled up before i got to the table but my sweet friend Gail had one of the kitties and offered to trade with me.

Before Leaving for Retreat

2009-04-27T23:10:00.007-04:00

I need to backtrack to include some Spring flower pictures from weekend before last. Saturday April 18 our Farmer's Market opened (yay!) so i got some spinach, green onions, cilantro, perennials to plant, biscotti, etc. as well as hugs from the vendors who i haven't seen since November when the market closed for the winter. It was great catching up with them. Then i dashed off to volunteer at the Audubon Society.

The next day, Sunday, i did a massive amount of outdoors work since it really and truly felt like Spring. I mowed for the first time (the grass really needed it!), trimmed some trees, weeded the perennial bed in the front a bit, and assembled my new garden bench! The old one managed to last for 14 years while exposed to all sorts of weather, but the wood started rotting (it's cedar, not as durable as teak but not nearly as endangered or as expensive, either) and the bench began falling apart, especially after getting flipped over by the wind several times. Here's the pristine new one, which includes a lovely little brass plaque that says "Paula's Garden." (Thanks, Daddy!) The styling is a little different. Unfortunately one of the screws that holds the back in place split the wood so this one may not last 14 years....but i plan to enjoy it for as long as i can!

The dogwood by the house is blooming nicely.

The old apple tree next to my shed is in full abundant bloom. It blooms early, sometimes getting zapped by frost, and produces deliciously tart apples in late June and early July. It's way too big to be a good orchard tree and has had a lot of problems with tent caterpillar infestations over the years. There's a lot of dead wood, and many sapsucker holes that indicate there are bugs in the trunk, but the tree carries on. All sorts of birds love the apples, as do the woodchucks and squirrels. Little birds like the bugs they find amongst the blossoms...and when i was working out there, the whole tree was humming, it was that full of wild bees who were happy to find an abundant source of nectar.

The bleeding heart is now in full bloom, with the freshest bright pink color.

This little cat statue guards my dear Babka cat's regal tomb, and the violets just appeared by themselves.

I started getting ready for retreat, assembling all the materials for the projects i wanted to work on. Louie and Gingy both kept me company at the same time for a while...this picture of Louie is a view from the other direction of him looking out the sewing room window, while Gingy was perched over the sewing machine.

The evening cooled down and my assistant wandered off to do his impression of a ball!

What i'm looking forward to

2009-04-23T10:49:00.002-04:00

I am leaving momentarily for quilt retreat...an extended weekend of quilting, laughing, and eating with friends old and new from my quilt guild. We go to a church camp about two hours' drive from here in the hills near the Shenandoah valley and the Blue Ridge mountains. I have some unfinished projects i hope to make progress on! There's a new exhibit of floral applique at the Virginia Quilt Museum that we're hoping to visit. And there will be the requisite stops at a couple of quilt shops on the way down, to be tempted by new fabric and patterns and notions for more projects!

And when i come home, i look forward to seeing this sleepy little boy kitty perched on a pillow on top of a bookcase in the sewing room, looking out at the driveway, knowing that i'm coming home:

The Boogie Mat Matter

2009-04-15T12:25:00.004-04:00

I had stopped at Petco on Friday night to see if i could get another Boogie Mat for a certain sweet cat whose bruvfur won't share with him and they actually had two in stock. My quilt group will be making items to sell at a craft fair in November and i thought some sort of "cat mats" might be a good item to sell, so i bought one Boogie Mat for my guys, which i figure they can enjoy and i can reverse engineer!

Sylvie smelled the catnip and kept looking up at the table and meowing to let me know it was there and she wanted it. Finally on Sunday evening i put the mat on the nest box in front of the fridge and Sylvie instantly appeared and took it over. She rolled on it, she chomped on it, she licked it...she was loving it!

And then her dear sweet "brother" Louie appeared. Louie leaned in close to Sylvie, he squeezed between her and the fridge, he started vigorously washing her ears, all the way wedging himself onto the mat! Finally she gave him an annoyed chomp on the ears and left...leaving the mat to Louie!

They've been pretty good sports about taking turns...but mostly it seems that Sylvie claims it and then Louie "steals" it. Interestingly, neither Gingy nor Fuzzy has tried it yet, but then again, neither of them have been that interested in this nest box before either...

Easter Flowers

2009-04-15T11:31:00.006-04:00

Saturday i drove out towards the mountains to a new Gardener's Market set up on the front green of a gourmet food market. It was a bitterly cold, breezy, wet day, but there were at least four vendors there selling native shrubs as well as perennials and herbs. I could have dropped a bundle but kept tight rein on the pocketbook...bought 3 perennials in 1 quart pots, two for my shady backyard and one for my sunny front yard.

Next i went to Laughing Duck Gardens to pick up the Jerusalem artichokes that i won on her blog! It was really nice to look at a big, soon-to-be productive kitchen garden, sit down for a sociable cup of coffee and conversation, and spend some quality time with a couple of very excellent cats.

Sunday was almost as cold as Saturday had been, but at least the sun was out. I did a little bit of weeding and took some pictures of Spring's progress.
My bleeding hearts dicentra spectabilis are just popping up leaves and starting to unfurl a couple of pink flowers:
The viburnum, which is now showing LOTS of color in the buds and a few flowers are even opening:
A few flowerheads forming on "my" lilac. (This bush used to be in my former neighbor's back yard, but he kept piling up lumber and firewood along the fence, so the bush squeezed through the fence and now is growing entirely on my side.) Behind the lilacs you can see the plum trees blooming. I think these might be Damson plums. The fruit usually is full of bugs by the time it falls, but the birds and squirrels love them.
Lovely little wild violets everywhere. Most of them are the regular dark purple, but there are a few almost-white ones with purple stripes mixed in.
My hardy pansies, looking much happier now that they've gotten some rain and sun.
A few tulips blooming just in time for my across the street neighbor to look out her window and enjoy them for Easter
A really healthy clump of daffodils (with vinca behind them) in the front perennial bed.

My friend April invited me over to dinner at her house. It was her, her husband, her teen-age son, her grown-up daughter and daughter's boyfriend who were visiting from New York, and me. It was a huge spread...a ham, lasagna, green bean casserole, creamed spinach, asparagus, Greek salad, rolls...and about four or five kinds of dessert! With all that wonderfulness, the only picture i seem to have taken was of "Paul," April's son's female (!) hamster, stuffing a cracker into her cheek pouches!

Spring kitties and flowers

2009-04-10T01:02:00.004-04:00

Too many words below, we need a few kitty pics!

First, Louie in a new kitchen nest box. I picked this box up at Costco when i bought stuff for the book club dinner a couple of weeks ago, and it's just the right size to contain the old kitchen nest box!

Fuzzy kept me company while i was making the bat mitzvah cards.

Sylvie was there too, laying in the cat bed that she and Lesley both used to like when it was in the living room. I had to move it to the basement because there wasn't any room for it anymore, and i never saw any of the cats using it. Of course, when i went to take Sylvie's picture she woke up and hopped out of the nest!

Gingy helped snoopervise the making of the matzo cover.

I've been wanting to post pictures of my cheerful little anemone blanda (i think they're also called "Grecian windflowers") that are naturalizing themselves like crazy in my lawn, but each time i've been outside with the camera, they've been sulking because it's been too cloudy for them. Finally Wednesday morning it was sunny and they were happily open.

My purple hyacinths were even more open. Would be nice if i had smell-o-vision so i could share their wonderful perfume!

Happy Passover!

2009-04-10T00:32:00.004-04:00

Passover began after sundown on Wednesday, April 8. It's an 8-day holiday celebrating our freedom from slavery in ancient Egypt, and is usually begun with a ritual meal called the Seder. Symbolic foods are placed on the Seder table, prayers are recited, songs are sung, and the story of the Exodus is told. This is a holiday that's celebrated in the home, not the temple, but many congregations, mine included, have community Seders. We've progressed in 10 years from doing all the cooking ourselves to having a fantastic gourmet buffet at a country inn. This year we numbered 70...members, family, friends, and members of the larger community who saw our ad in the paper and wanted to join with us.

In an exchange of emails about what we needed to bring, the rabbi asked me if we had a matzo cover (a stack of matzo, unleavened bread, is at the center of the Seder table and should be covered until time to say the blessing over it. Matzo covers are one of those utilitarian linens that can be turned into works of art.)

Um, no, we don't have a matzo cover but i could make one.... So Wednesday morning i made a quick but functional matzo cover, from a fancy (prewashed, unused) cotton dish towel trimmed into a square and hemmed, with the Hebrew letters for Pesach (Passover) cut out of gold dupioni silk and fused on, then stitched down, the Seven Species of plants stamped in gold on a piece of blue fabric and sewn to the middle, plus a group of three pomegranates stamped in gold on a piece of gold for each corner.

One weekend, three hats

2009-04-09T15:52:00.004-04:00

I wear a lot of different "hats" with all the interests i've got. Some circles of my life intersect in interesting ways and others don't overlap at all.

Saturday morning we had the bat mitzvah of one of the very talented young ladies in our congregation. She rides horses competitively (a typical hobby for many out here in "horse country" although not what i would consider a typically Jewish sport!), sings beautifully, is very smart, and also very sweet. Her parents asked me to take an aliyah, which was quite an honor...to be called to the bimah and recite the blessing before the Torah was read and then to recite the blessing afterwards. The bat mitzvah girl chanted all six aliyot directly from the Torah, which is a mind boggling achievement (in my opinion) because the Hebrew letters in the Torah don't have vowels, so you really have to know/remember what the words are, as well as what the chanted melody is.

I also served my usual role as our lay leader/rabbi's moral support, as well as undressing and dressing the Torah (taking the covering off and then towards the end of the service, putting the covering back on). And i presented the congregation's gift to A, the bat mitzvah girl, since our congregation president was out of town.

Here are two cards that i made. The first was to go with the congregation's gift and the second was for mine:

After the ceremony, a sit down lunch was served. Each table had the cutest centerpiece...a "corral" with a floral arrangement in the center, with a little hobby horse head sticking out of it, and all of A's many prize ribbons draped over the corral. (There were enough ribbons to have them on every table!) I ate the salad and most of the main course and then had to dash off, first dropping off the chuppah (that i've been making for over a year! for our Rabbi) so that she could use it for a babynaming ceremony the next day...our newest member, a healthy baby girl born to 40-year old parents who had tried everything for years and years to have a second child and finally a miracle happened.

I drove home, changed from my dress-up clothes into jeans and headed off to a county park for Frontier Days. I had signed my quilt group up to have a display there before i knew that a bat mitzvah was scheduled for the same day. I felt obligated to do both!

Luckily, my friend April and another friend from quilting had set up the booth and ran things just fine for a couple of hours until i got there. We were demonstrating hand quilting and hand sewing...a fair number of people came by with memories of grandmothers who quilted as well as youngsters (boys as well as girls) who wanted to try their hand at sewing. And we handed out flyers about our quilt group to anyone who might have been interested in joining. It was a lovely sunny day, and this year, our second, we were given a big open sided tent right in the middle of things. April strung up a clothesline and put up a lot of my quilt tops and wall hangings and as they flapped colorfully in the breeze, they acted as a great draw to our booth.

That breeze was a real pest because things kept blowing off the picnic tables and trying to blow away! Plus it suddenly made it feel about 15 degrees colder than it actually was.

Sunday i put on my third hat...i finally got out in the yard and did a bunch of garden clean up, cutting back last year's peony stalks where i could see this year's coming up, pulling lots of honeysuckle and vinca from around iris, daylily, and peony plants, picking up sticks off the lawn because i'll need to be mowing soon, and so on.

O.k., it's really Spring now!

2009-04-02T23:37:00.004-04:00

Last Friday, it was chilly and rainy, but i got a few pictures of my early Spring bulbs starting to bloom (unfortunately most of the pictures were out of focus). I did get a nice picture of my hyacinths. And here they are a week later, on another drizzly day, much more open and showing their nice dark purple color.

They are what happens to hyacinth when they are allowed to come back year after year instead of being pulled up and thrown away--the flowers seem to revert to a more wild, open type. These plants are probably 15 years old. My friend Gloria happened to come along at the right time one day, when the gardeners for the Smithsonian were pulling up the spent bulbs and getting ready to throw them away. Over the years she and i have both had this discussion, that it seems so very wasteful, but the gardeners say that there's no place to store the bulbs from season to season, and they (the gardeners) are expected to provide constant blooms all season and the only way to do that is pull out the bulbs when the flowers go by and plop something else in their place. For some reason they can't sell the bulbs either, something about them having been bought with government funds? (of course, that was 15 years ago...maybe now they'd be happy to raise some revenue!)

Anyhow, Gloria came along as the guys were pulling the hyacinths and tossing them aside. She got 6 bulbs for herself and 6 for me. Each of the bulbs has made 3 or 4 new plants. I suppose i should divide them but i like the clumpy look and i haven't really had place for more hyacinths.

The little grape hyacinths have suddenly popped up and are blooming.

The viburnum buds are showing lots more color.

And this week is the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC! It was grey and misty this morning and this picture was taken from a moving car (i wasn't driving this time!). It's of the reflecting pool in front of the Jefferson Memorial and all around it are Yoshino cherry trees in full bloom (sorry that the guardrail takes up the whole foreground of the picture). Even at 7 this morning there were tourists walking around under the trees, striving to get the best picture of the lovely blossoms close up or far away. Lots and lots of big cameras and tripods!

The National Park Service has an excellent site all about the cherry trees, including an illustrated history of how they originated in 1912 as a gift of friendship from the people of Japan. Some of the trees are descendents of trees in Japan that are said to be 1500 years old! http://www.nps.gov/cherry/cherry-blossom-history.htm

Cooking for the Book Club

2009-04-02T15:14:00.004-04:00

This last month my book club read The Girl From Foreign by Sadia Shephard. It's the true story of a young woman who grew up in the US with a Christian American father, a Muslim Pakistani mother, and her Muslim Pakistani grandmother...except that towards the end of her grandmother's life, Sadia learned that her grandmother was actually originally from an ancient Jewish community in India and had converted to Islam when she married. Sadia set off for India, fuelled by a Fulbright scholarship, to learn more about the Jews of India, and her grandmother in particular.

Each month a member hosts the book club meeting at their house, and usually the host provides a light supper or heavy snacks or even a nice sit-down dinner. I don't have seating in my house for 12 people nor a flat surface large enough (or clear enough of clutter) to put out a buffet for that many people. So for this meeting, Sharon and Peter hosted it at their house, and i brought the food. I did a bunch of research online and realized that one of the cookbooks that i lost either to the flooding of my basement 10 years ago or subsequent spraying by Gingy would have been perfect...The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York by Claudia Roden...but i don't have it anymore and didn't have enough time to get a replacement copy.

So i made recipes that i found online...Chittarnee, which is sweet and sour chicken in an onion sauce; a cauliflower, potato, and pea curry; and a carrot, potato, and chickpea curry. Amusingly (and to my surprise), each dish had a crushed tomato base, so all three dishes were reddish in color, but each was spiced differently, so at least their flavors contrasted. I made cucumber-dill raita as an accompaniment, brown Basmati rice to go under everything, and put out little bowls of sliced bananas, grated unsweetened coconut, cashews, raisins, fresh cilantro, and plain yogurt for garnish. If i'd cooked it just for myself, i would have greatly increased the heat quotient but since i was cooking for a dozen people with tolerance for very different levels of heat, i made all three dishes fairly mild. (The spiciest, the cauliflower dish, was hands-down the best.)

For appetizers i heated up a dozen veggie samosas from Trader Joe's, which turned out to be a challenge because Sharon almost never bakes, so her oven was quite cranky. For dessert, i brought these scrumptious frozen desserts from Island Way (had to go to Costco to get them)...they are halves of real fruit filled with a creamy (low-fat, mostly natural flavor) fruit sorbet in interesting flavors like orange-mango, coconut, and lemon.

I spent over an hour Friday evening shopping, almost all day Saturday cooking, with a quick trip up to Trader Joe's for the samosas, a fruit nut mix for appetizers, and a couple of items it turns out they don't carry anymore, and then on Sunday i loaded everything into my vehicle...three Pyrex bowls of food, the frozen desserts and appetizer, all the condiments, bowls for the condiments, pot holders, cooking timer, etc. I didn't bring a cookie sheet, but i should have...Sharon had to hunt to find one in her cabinets (but she did find one).

All in all, the book discussion was great with all of us learning a lot about each other, the dinner was tasty and well-received, and i've had yummy leftovers for dinner all week.

Sky Blue Pink

2009-03-25T09:02:00.002-04:00

An absolutely glorious sunrise was happening on my drive in to work this morning. There were all sorts of bands of blue and pink and sky blue pink and almost-orange. I finally took a picture with the camera in my cellphone when traffic slowed a bit (i was driving...). The camera quality isn't very good and the colors seem much less bright and saturated than the real thing, but the picture gives a hint of the wonderful panorama of color stretching from horizon to horizon and on up ahead.