Sleeping Cats

After I returned from Mixed Minded in May my cats were delighted to see me.  I was uncomfortable leaving them alone for three nights, but I left them plenty of food and water, and Pam looked in on them.  Nevertheless, after an initial aloofness when I first came in the door -- I eventually had to go find Kia and carry her downstairs, which she disliked intensely -- the cats followed me around like puppies.  They wouldn't let me out of their sight.  We had frquent meetings in the bathroom' which isn't that unusual as they seem to like to visit with me in the smallest room in the house.

How I loved this behaviour.  Admittedly, Kaliko almost tripped me a couple of times.  She likes to walk in front of me on the way to the kitchen, or back, and looks over her shoulder to ensure I am coming.  So adorable.  But the best part was they spent every night sleeping with me in my bedroom.  Kia snoozing in her corner at the foot of the bed, and Kaliko on 'her' chair by the closet.  I love having my kitties with me at night, and this is the time I most miss Kritter, because he used to spend every night on the pillow beside me.  Sigh.

Alas, the sleeping behaviour didn't last.  They are used to me being here again and now go off to their kitty sleeping places, whichmI think are upstairs on the blanket on the couch.  I guess you can't have everything.  But I did appreciate it when I had it.

They do spend a lot of their time with me and right now are supervising me with their eyes shut at the foot of the bed.  I love my kitties.

And on a totally unrelated note, am I glad I didn't go out today, as it is now thundering and I hope raining.  It does pay to water your plants midday.

Art Journal Beginnings

I finally found an appropriate journal book, with mixed media paper, at Curry's.  I've been wanting to start an art journal for a while, but couldn't find the appropriate format.  The one I got is perhaps a little larger than I wanted, but it will do.  I made the cover a couple of days ago and I really like it, so I will be happy to create and experiment in my lovely new journal.  I made a little "Ideas" booklet the other day to house all those pages I had written ideas on. I wanted them not to get lost in the notebooks I use, so I put them all in one place.

I am on my way.

I Has Tomato

I really hate the cutsey way I wrote the title, but it expresses how excited I am that today, Friday July 13, I spotted my first little tomato beginning to form on the plants growing on my front porch.  There have been flowers for a while, although I'm a little concerned at how few.  In 102 degree humidex I watered today at 1:45.  Not the best time of day, but if I don't do it when I think of it, I forget and it doesn't get done.  I still need to fertilize.  I can't wait to have 'real' tomatoes after a number of years without because of my inability to garden anymore.  Now I've got to see if I can figure out some method of training the cucumber up so they have space to grow.  I think there is twine in the garage, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to go there -- although my trek earlier has come to fruition in the large plants on the porch.  I'm also to chicken to go out in this heat to go to the store.  Maybe I'll go Monday after I see Mary Linda,, 'cuz I'll be out of the house anyway.

Speaking of the medical profession -- why are they allowed to get away with behaviour that would get anyone else reprimanded, if not fired?  Three weeks after one doctor says take a new medicine I finally get it because the other doctor went on vacation withiut oking it.  And I was made to feel as if I was impossing on them when I called to ask about it.  And I didn't call on their first day back either.  Irresponsible, in my opinion.

But -- I has tomato!

Cats with Wet Faces

I'm a good cat mommy.  My cats always have water -- it's in the bathroom so I don't have to transport water very far.  And they have round the clock food.  It's easier for me to just leave their food out all the time.  This way they can nibble when they want to, and they don't get fat.  And the food is just outside my bedroom door, so I can see when they need food -- it's also neat to watch them eat.

So why do both of the cats insist on drinking from my dripping taps?  (Plumbing Very old, unfixable without total replacement and pipes that don't fit etc.)  Kaliko has been drinking from the bathroom sink for a long time, but now Kia has discovered the bathtub tap.  She gets her face totally wet and can barely drag her old body out of the tub.  (What a lot we have in common.)

They are so cute I can't stand it.  =^••^=

Mixed Minded

I've just realized that I haven't posted anything about Mixed Minded, and it's been a month since I was there.  This is a memory I want to preserve.

I had fun.  In fact, I loved it.  I love the art I created.  I loved working on art and finishing it in one session.  I especially like meeting Karen Ellis of the art house studio, and getting a welcoming hug from Donna Downey.  They will never read this, but thank you so much.  You were both so kind to me.  In fact, just about everyone was helpful, going out of their way to offer assistance, so I didn't have to move.  I wish I could have taken more classes, but I took the right amount for the limitations of my body.

The only bad thing that happenend, and unfortunately I got a little upset about, damn it all, is that my heat gun ceased to work.  It must have been the fuses and electric at the hotel because the power kept going off while 30 or so women all used heat guns at the same time.  I would guess there was a power surge that wiped my heat gun out.  Unfortunately, it also destroyed the one that Karen leant me.  I feel very bad about that.

It was nice to be with creative women.  I did notice some of them were a bit clique-ish, and one was kind of nasty to me.  What is it about me that makes me dwell on the slights and my shortcomings instead of rejoicing in a glorious weekend?  Especially as inspiration and creativity was what the conference was all about.  I am going to try to change my outlook a bit.  I may never be able to write the kind of 'be happy' statements that abound in this arena, but I can try to be more positive.  And I will.

Fabulous time.  I even conquered a detour with lousy signage on the drive, and I got all my stuff out of the car and into the house by myself.  Not sure this çonference will be offered again next year, but if it is, then I'm going.  Maybe I should look farther afield for more creative things to do and attend.

Mutant Flies

Let me start off by expressing just how much I hate insects.  They give me the creeps, make me shudder, make me hide under the covers.  I can't even touch pictures of them in magazines like National Geographic.

Suddenly, two days ago, my kitchen was invaded by flies.  Not just any flies, but huge, monstrous, probably alien flies.  How did they get so big and where did they all of a sudden appear from?  I have managed to inhumanely destroy a few of them, but it's become a running battle.  There is currently one ensconced in my bathroom, buzzing merrily away, hiding from me and my pink fly swatter.

As I sit here on my bed and write, another one is periodically flying around my bedroom.  I sit armed with trusty pink swatter waiting for him to alight somewhere with a hard surface (not the TV screen for which he seems to have a certain fondness).  Damn fly will not cooperate.  I just begin to think he may have left the room for other climes when he pops up and charges my bedside lamp.  It is now 2:30 a.m.  I may never get to sleep because even if he settles down for a nap, I get the creeps thinking of him roaming about in my air space as I try to sleep.  Eeww.  I need to be rescued by a superhero, but not one like spiderman or batman -- much too insect-like.

Note to Self: Things not to do again

So I'm having a fairly good RA day.  It's early in my Orencia cycle and I'm tired of having things I want to do and not doing them.  I decide to drag my planters out of the wasteland I call my garage and start planting the tomato plants I bought weeks ago.  I wasn't surprised when my body said enough before I actually got the plants into the soil.  That's OK, wasn't expecting to do too much.  I'm nearly there and I can finish later.

Then, later in the day I decide to wash some newly bought fabric.  (My brain still thinks my body is going to let me do some quilting.)  The quandry -- brave the stairs to the washing machine in the basement, or hand wash?  My knees say hand wash.  Apparently my knees did not consult my hands.  Wringing out wet fabric --  not a good activity when I had already been using my hands.  Ouch.  I can't express how much I hate this disease.  I hate it that tasks that I wouldn't have thought twice about a few years ago and that seem so simple are now something that has me wringing my hands in pain tonight.