We're Off!

We're off to the LinuxFest. My KnitFlix package is winging it's way to Sheryl!

I'm a Cool Cat ... got a real dark eye

My shelter name is 'Tux.'
The boss says I'm a 'slick cool cat!' That's good, right?

Shh.. don't tell the lady, but I'm really a boy. She keeps calling me 'Good Girl', I wouldn't want to make her mad at me! There's a chance I might come back here next week, after something called a 'vet-visit' at the Humane Society. The boss looked me over again with the puppy on hand, and my attitude was entirely different. Instead of freaking out, I just boxed the puppy's ears once then let her lick me... I guess it wasn't all that bad, once I was out of the trap and able to defend myself, or run and hide.

The swelling on my nose was from that ugly cage - I battered myself pretty good in there. It's all better now, people seem to really like me, and I like everyone I meet! Five people have picked me up and they all seem to talk nice and pet me and scratch behind the ears just right.

I talk a lot - I'm a loud cat.. if you talk to me, I talk back! I got to run around in the office bathroom, and didn't even complain much when they brought out this 'cat carrier' thing (It was a lot nicer than the trap, a lot nicer!)



This office place might not be bad after all
The man at the humane society took me in and will take care of me this weekend, and we'll see what happens! They said something about neutering and shots - what are they? And what is this LinuxFest thing these office humans are going to this weekend?

If I don't see you again, at least I know people are taking care of me! The humane society man is VERY NICE! (P.S. - There are even six separate 'cat play-rooms' at the shelter - and only a few cats in each one. Wow! There are cat trees and food dishes and toys.... )

How I got into all of this...

Fourth of July cat spends the night and goes to the shelter

Hiding near my craft supplies
She spent the night at our house last night -- and things went better than expected. Willow made friends, if tentative 'just don't get too pushy on me' friends. Sally still hates her - and is upset at me. It's like an aggravated form of what happened when the kittens came.

Sally: 'I'm the baby, not her! See? I'm the baby - and I don't like her! What is WRONG with you Mom? Why don't you smack her?'

Willow: 'I'm worried about everything, but Mom keeps saying she's O.K.... which makes me worried, but not as much. I'll go sit nearby and stare at her, touch noses with her - and then run away."

And my camera batteries are spent - I only got one picture of her in our house.

She is incredibly sweet. I can't believe this baby grew up on the street - but I know she did. Our boss said any good human interaction she can get now will help her at the shelter, so I've been loving her up. She purrs, rubs my back, legs and plops down in my lap. (I'm sure Sally thinks she is marking me as 'hers' - and that is why she is SO upset with me)

She even let me pick her up and carry her around - with no more than a 'whoa - okay' the first time. She has had a human before, if even just for petting and a dish at the back doorstep. She likes humans and other cats - but knows when to back off and go hide. She hates dogs. I hope the CCHS (no kill shelter) calls me back and we get on the road to giving her a good home.

UPDATE: I just contacted the man at CCHS again, and we can drop her off at 1 pm today - this is a no-kill shelter, and she will go on tour with their PetSmart and adoption shows after she has had her medical attention (which we'll help with). I'm happy now. She is way too sweet for what I know awaited her at our Paris animal control after 2 weeks.

Fourth of July cat hates DOGS

I have a dilemma here - I was an idiot not to even consider she might not like dogs. She is a grown cat, and we probably won't be able to train her out of freaking out.

We are leaving for the LinuxFest on Friday night, and now we have a new cat. And, she hates dogs.. outright hates them with a purple passion. *sigh* There are EIGHT dogs here. Either I stay at home (I'm feeling somewhat better and could make the trip just fine now) and try to take care of her in a room apart from my girls, or we put her out in the yard and see if she can get along with the dogs. She's even afraid of Puck.. the tiny puppy. She just can't stand the sight of them.

:o( I'm not sure what to do.

I've sent off another email to the Carroll County no-kill shelter, as well -- hoping they might be able to help out with her (we would donate her medical cost).

She seems like she would be a very sweet girl, if someone took some time with her, and there were no dogs. She even let me stroke her under the chin and between the eyes - a little, then pulled away because she is still scared. Our boss took her out of the cage and talked to her a little - but she did struggle (no claws, wow) to be let free, and went back in.

What am I going to do?

Fourth of July Cat comes to the Office

This kitty has come to live at the office. I hope s/he does well here. If they catch the black one tomorrow, it's coming here as well -- Good news that the other two black and white cats were given a home by another neighbor of ours that was feeding them as well.
Mouse is sleeping, she has been playing and continues to ask to go outside, but is basically lying low. She was very cute last night and kneading everything - the floor, us, the shelving... Our boss bought her a little pop-up kitty tent and she approves of it highly.

I'm doing better than yesterday, although my medication is making me sleepy. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes for both Mouse and me!

Mouse and I commiserate

Mouse cat went in for her 'surgery' today - and she isn't feeling very good now, poor girl. She has lots of house-cat comforts here at the office, but still sits on the windowsill looking outside. I hope this will be better for her - she'll have a longer life inside, if she can get over the heartbreak!

I'm still working more on the grey shawl - and not much else. Mr. J took the camera to Nashville with him on an office equipment trip. I had my own doctor's appointment today and I'm not feeling up to much either.

Progress Report

I've spent my weekend knitting this:
Grey Shawl from Scrappy stash yarn

And Sally has spent hers helping me out:

Progress picture on the Theatre Shawl.
last update
The Vacation Socks were taken out, and a heel done on the second sock - but I might have to rip it back out. Something looks funny, maybe I turned two rows too soon.

I won a lot of 1969 knitting booklets on Ebay this weekend - should be interesting when they come. My KnitPicks needles may be coming soon - there is an extra pair of sock needles in there too, so I can try knitting two socks at once.

Linky: Twisted German cast-on for socks, and another, but PDF. Some other sock toes and heels references.

Saturday Easy-does-it

Mr.J coerced me into going bowling.

Thanks to Chris, I couldn't get 'Take the Skinheads bowling, take them bowling.' out of my head the entire time! ;o)

We averaged between 53 and 105 -- (pretty bad!) -- but still managed to impress the little kids at the birthday party there ;o) I heard one of them say about Mr.J -- 'Hey... he can BOWL! He just WALKS (not runs) up and drops the ball and EE-EE-EE, it goes into the pins!' *giggles* However, Mr.J also put notation all over our score sheet that included:

• 'Up to this frame is better than my entire last game.'
• 'Full suckage returns here.'
• 'Not quite as much suckage here, but it was a fluke.'

So, every time I got back to my seat, I had a laugh at what he had added about his last score ;o)

These pictures are from last Tuesday night (when we drug a sunken boat up onto shore and emptied it at work - hence the mud on both of our jeans). Mr.J liked it so much we had to go again today.








I'm in need of some FOs... Small Knits I could make use of soon:

---

Felted Needle Case
Felted Eyeglass Case (but not in that horrific colour!

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I'll have some knitting magazine pictures to post tomorrow - in the meantime, Lynn has an array of knitting pattern pics up on this post.

Off now to watch Star Trek and knit on the grey shawl. Willow and Sally have been watching a strong rainstorm outside with great interest. It's funny when the wind starts blowing the rain through the screen they both shoot out of the window, shake, then slowly decide to get back up there and look again.

Frogging and Casting

**lots of knitterly ranting here**

I frogged the red and yellow piece of wool herringbone. This freed up my size 5 needles for something else. *sigh* On a side note: Willow and Sally really enjoy it when I frog something and they get to steal the yarn from me.

I cast on another *yes, another* shawl on another 36" circular needle - which is proof either that it is getting *COLD* or that I'm bored with dishcloths and my Vacation Socks. I'm halfway through the second sock - I should get myself on the ball and finish it.

I saw these lace tips over at See Eunny Knit, via a link from Chris' post today! Lace is certainly something to aspire to. Well, for me, most knitting beyond socks and dishcloths is something to aspire to.

Taking a moment to look through all the stitches in my Encyclopedia of Crafting and all the knitting magazines acquired over the past two years -- I have a long way to learn. Well... I'm going to have start pushing the envelope of my abilities if I want to get there, right?

**starts to think about what she could do next to learn more stitches and techniques**

Shannah reccommended a razor cami pattern she said was easy. My black cotton yarn might work for it - but there is only 460 yards of it. When we go to the LinuxFest Mr.J has guaranteed me at least one yarn store stop in Columbus, OH -- have to keep an eye out for similar gauge cotton yarn!

OK enough ranting - I'm not sure I came to any conclusions ;o)
Kitty cuteness.

Willow: Excuse me Ms. SniffyString, I was playing with this first!
Actually, this is about as polite as Sally gets when it comes to toys.
Usually she is a wild maniac!

Other News: The black and white Fourth of July kittens still have not shown up at the Paris animal shelter (where Animal Control would bring them) The humane society called back and said they might be able to find placings for them as barn cats, if I can get hands on them. There might still be hope! Being a barn cat is much better than the alternative, if they are caught.

My new eyeglasses (for up-close computer-screen reading and 'fine' work (knitting, soldering etc)) will be ready on the 28th - just in time for the Linux con. I'm set to take in some SQL, Apache web server and a few other seminars at the con. Our boss said I'd better get ready to be stared at oddly - since this particular convention is about 98% male.

Puckish at the lake.

Puck belongs to our boss. She's a very cute puppy.
We'll return you to your regular kitty viewing soon!

Playing with a bread sack.
The best toys aren't meant to be toys at all ;o)


And licking water off her nose after falling off the dock.

This one deserves viewing large.

Elsewhere: Willow being cute with the DVD player
Elsewhere: Tiny creature pictures from the lake - look hard!

The People with the Funny Hats are here - Run!

In response to Chris' parade of scary hats:

"I’m sure the bobble hats didn’t help," said Hestia moodily.
Cupid nodded slightly. "Or the stripy mittens," he agreed.

from this story at Mythical Beast
at Vulpine's StoryBlog take a look!
I hope that counts as a reference, not a copy!

And I joined two groups, Socktoberfest and FiberFlix!

I still need to finish my second Vacation sock -- maybe this will push me over the edge ;o) Or... maybe not, if my circular needle comes! It is getting chilly here (nothing like Chris' 39F) and we have sadly acclimated to thinking 70F in the house in the morning is starting to get cold! I hope this shawl gets done soon, last year it was 48F in the house before we turned on the main heater!

I don't like to complain, but lately my blood pressure has been acting up again - making me feel like an unproductive invalid. Today is one of those days. My thinking gets a little fuzzy at these times too - and it's hard to remember what I was going to do next. Then it all clears up (usually with salt) and I'm normal again. It's been months since even a minor spell, and now, three major spells in a week that leave me in 'vertigo.' It could be worse, but it sucks all the same.

No word yet on the Fourth of July kittens.
Hopefully they are still free and alive.
It makes me even more grateful for my beautiful girls Sally and Willow.

Squint and his other new friend, Scout.
Kellen says all the cats love this particular chair!

He Wants me to Knit in the Dark. What?

*sigh* For the past two years, Mr.J and I have been having an ongoing debate. Neither side has moved. I think it's a little ridiculous - but he insists it is necessary and I am ruining his circadian rythyms.

He wants me to knit in the dark. At least, that is what it amounts to.

Here is my side. We usually don't get home until 8 pm at night - and until about midnight I read, knit or craft until I am tired. Then I go to bed, and get up the next morning about 8 or 9 am to get ready for work. He doesn't usually get up until at least 11 am, unless there is a meeting or flea market to go to. He often stays up the entire night, then crashes at 5 am and gets up at noon.

He says this is my fault. I leave the lights on 'after sunset', which ruin his internal rythym, and makes him unable to sleep. I've 'tricked his brain' into thinking the sun is still up - so he wants to be up and working at night. What? Lights off after sunset? Hello? What did we invent electric lights FOR?

I don't think I'm the culprit. We were night-owls (knitowls?) long before two years ago, both of us. Then he took a hotel job as a night manager for a year. Ever since then, he's had this 'The Light - it blinds me and I can't sleep!' issue. I offered last night to buy him a pair of sunglasses to wear in the house, so I can at least knit in the kitchen while he is 'adjusting his eyes to the darkness.'

OK - sorry, but I had to vent on this. You can just feel the sarcasm drippinng off every word, right? How am I ever going to get anything done if he makes me knit in the dark? I'm not a kid, and I don't want to go to bed at 8 pm!

If my computer is really good later - you'll get a picture of a playful Sally cat ;o)

Linky: Lilith tank top pattern that might do well for the black Mandarin Cotton yarn I won on Ebay. Kudos to Snarkland for blogging about her use of the yarn!

Also: Tempest at same site, has cool shrug/coat and a tank that looks easy.

Note to Self

Friday - 10:30 am : eye exam for new glasses.

Squint and Fourth of July Kittens

The GREAT news

Squint and Riley at Kellen's house
Don't they look cute and happy together?
Thanks Kellen for sending the picture!
They look like they are making friends ;o)

I am SO GLAD Kellen gave Squint such a good and loving home. He really deserved it with his personality and smarts! She says he's already getting the habits of waking them up in the morning and coming when called :o)

And now, the maybe not so good news...
long spiel here!

These were the kittens from the Fourth of July

Last night was the first time we had seen all four in quite some time. Mr.J put some food out for them - the first time since Labor Day that we had done so. Our neighbor, the new one who was afraid of Willowpede, called Animal Control this morning. They are setting out traps for them on our street tomorrow morning. I've called for more information, but won't know how/if we can help them until tomorrow.

I called our county shelter, it is one that puts animals down after XX number of days. They put them down immediately if they appear sick - so they don't bring it to the other animals. We'll see if there is anything we can do - our boss said he might take at least one here outside if they are in danger of being put down. We all have our own pets to be responsible for though, and we know that they come first.

Wow - I do get myself into things, don't I? I'm not out to save all the cats in the world - don't worry... I know the limits of my abilities. But sometimes you put out a little effort and see a spark there, a potential.. and don't want to easily give up! Am I crazy? Their momma cat had been an obvious 'thrown-out housecat.' She tried to come in my house several times, and meowed at me when we brought Doria's kittens to our house, asking to see them. Last night, after it was done eating, one of these cats came over to our window (which was open a crack) and sniffed noses with Willow and played paw-games with her. No hissing occurred.. just lots of bird-chirps and soft mews.

The neighbor called the control office because they tore up one of her patio chair cushions! I can see the damage to that one chair, but nothing else on our shared porch has been touched. Mr.J said he wants to work with the animal control too, if possible. He is the one who put the food out last night and doesn't want to see them all killed over a chair cushion. They really don't have a chance for a good life on the street either - so maybe this is for the best (if they get homes or into the no-kill) I'll keep you updated!

Knitting News

Knitting experiment while I wait for my new circular needle to come in the mail. When it does come, I can continue working on the Theatre Shawl.

Geek News: We're going to the Ohio LinuxFest 2006 in Columbus, OH. Any good knitting stores I should visit there?

Some things about Willowpede

I can see something moving in there - it's making the music!
She 'clowns' for me when she really likes something,
but I don't often catch it in pictures!

I did Sally's list a while back, and have had Willow's on-hold, tucked away in a notebook.

• Her full name is Willowpede. The name came from a dream ala Alice in Wonderland.

  What in the world is a willowpede? I don't know - but it's definitely not an old fashioned chiropracter in Paris, TN.

• Willow and Sally (and four others) were born near May 15th, 2005 at the office, to a wonderful cat named Newt. They travelled back and forth with us to work for over a year, until the unfinished building was done, and big dogs who moved in made them nervous.

• Willow's nicknames are Willow, Willowpedal(like bipedal), WikiWillow (wikiwiki means quickly), Cotton Paws and Greta Garbo.
  

• I knew I wanted this kitten from the very first time I saw her. She was less than three weeks old then, with her eyes just open. Their mom had moved them to a dangerous place in our boss' water heater closet and we moved them back out to her bed in the hallway. She looked like a little striped grey tiger with big blue eyes.
  

• She has a beautiful striped and speckled belly, as well as large patches of orange tabby mixed with her blue-grey striped tabby and white patches. I've heard a few people call her a 'diluted calico.'
  

• Willow doesn't like strangers. She's getting better with some people, but usually she hides wherever she can just to get away from someone new. Places she has hidden that take the cake are in the cupboard with the dishes, in the rafters, and out the back door and into the neighbor's garage.
  

• Willow covets hairties found in the bathroom or laundry room. She stores them with her toys.
  

• She will wake me up with her high pitched voice in my ear if her food dish is empty at daybreak.
  

• Willow weighs 12 lbs (right now).
  UPDATE: November 2006, Willow weighs 9 lbs, how did that happen?
  

• She is a bit lazier than Sally - and likes her alone time as much as, at other times, she demands our attention. (thus, Greta Garbo)
  

• Willow will eat dry food, cat treats, most 'meat' things and strangely, banana.
  

• She sings for her supper (tuna). I give it to them once a week and she sings loudly as soon as I show her the flat can and say 'Tu-na.'
  

• I can call her to me with 'Willow-willow-willow' OR 'Sally Mandarin'
  

• Willow thinks 'Sally Mandarin' is the plural of 'cat' - but she doesn't come if I just call 'Sally.'
  

• Willow does a very good 'I'm worried' look at me whenever she hears people next door, at our door - or other strange noises. She'll come over to me then and ask me to do something about it. Poor girl :o(
  

• She hates thunderboomers - but not lightning.
  

• When we first got her, Willow's favourite toy was Mr.J's shoes.
  

• Willow came home with us first, a full week before we knew we would also be taking Sally home with us.
  

• She will attack Mr.J's belt hissing with full ears-back and back arched if it is rolled up into a coil. She swears its a snake and cries as we get near it to show her it isn't.
  

• She has a bad habit of licking the inside of the shower curtain liner.
  

• If I leave my wool coat out in the winter, you'll find Willow sleeping there.
  

• Willow's all-time favourite game is 'grasshopper.' (a string with a weight on the end of it)
  

• Willow will bring her grasshopper toy, and only that toy, to me from other rooms. She will lay it down on the floor and sing loudly.
  

• Willow has a high-pitched soprano voice compared to Sally's Siamese 'mrao.'
  

• She loves to get into containers and get things out. Her other favourite game is for me to put the grasshopper toy in a box or otherwise hidden, with just the tail sticking out. Then she gets all excited, shakes her entire back end and soon is up there trying to pull it out. If she's really happy with herself, she'll bring it back to me to show me she got it.
  

• She makes 'bird-chirpy' noises when she wants to know what something is or how to get to it. She does this when I put things in and take them out of containers, as well as at the birds and squirrels outside the window.
  

• She has huge 'webbed' feet.
  

• Willow loves to listen to my music box - although this is recent she begs me to turn it on so she can stick her nose in the hole and watch the mechanism turn while it plays.
  

• She also has to run into the room to watch every time we open the DVD player to put in or take out a disc. If she is close enough to us when we open it, she tries to get her paw in before it shuts again. Cute but dangerous habit!
  

• ADDED LATER-- I almost forgot one - Willow doesn't like it when people sneeze. No kidding. She cries as if I'm telling her 'No' or yelling at her (which I rarely do). If the sneezing fit continues, she'll find a place to hide until it's over. Silly kitty!
  

• She absolutely loves being held up to attack the cords on the ceiling fan. She'll sit underneath it and cry when she wants someone to hold her up.
  

• She loves to be scratched right in the middle of her forehead and behind her ears. She will literally fall over if you hit just the right spot.
  

• Our boss said she was a 'tailed Manx.' Sally and Willow had the same Mommy cat, Newt, but they might have had different fathers. A neighbor at the office had a full-blooded male Manx, so it's likely. Mouse at the office is also a kitten of Newt. Mouse looks a lot like Willow but is tail-less.
  

End of Summer

Eye Candy Friday (sort of)

I had the fortune to play with a new 8 mega-pixel camera at the office here yesterday. There were a few shots I really wanted to show you! Only some of them are here...

Abby the Great Dane
Our boss' dog at the office.
Puck and Abby playing 'baby and momma elephant' at the lake
Okra in our garden.

About the other pictures I had - Bloggger keeps wanting to turn them one way or the other - even though they aren't saved that way. In fact, they look a lot like the raw picture format before I put them through the graphic editor -- even though they are obviously uploaded under the name of the altered image. What in the world? Usually I have no problem with this, but what a weird problem to have!

Anyway - here are the ones that are working.

Have a great day!

Advice please?

Knitting: I've been putting a row or two on my Theatre Shawl whenever possible - and now, when I put it around my shoulders, the tip of it is about 3 inches up from my waistline. However, it is getting to the point where it wants to pop off the circular needle I have it on - and I did want to keep knitting on it.

Any advice that doesn't include buying a longer (or another) circular needle?
I have the option to make a KnitPicks order,
but didn't want to be waiting on a needle to come!
Another cute pic from our work server.
The puppy's name is Puck, she is half dachsund and half terrier.
That might give you an idea how small Squint was here too!
Squint update: He came through his vet appointment with flying colours - although he had to apologize for nipping the assistant when they were playing. He licked her hand afterwards and squeaked at her. Kellen and Randy say they love him and that he is playing, snuggling and crashing out on their laps. We do miss him around here - our boss is also enjoying hearing how Doria's baby has found a family that loves him so much!

Coding World: I've been working at generating archives and an archive fetching system for one of the computer websites we consult with. They need generated calendars that keep the archives accessible - but use little CPU-time when hit by over 40,000 people. I've been up to my ears in Python (strf.time - friend or foe?), cgi forms and generated HTML. I've been trying to get them to solidify what they want, before I make my program any more specific than it is... which sometimes getting everyone to agree can be as hard as programming the job!

Playtime!

And the answer is...

I'm in a coding haze, thus the non-knitting content. (Plus Jeanne's photos inspired me) Most of you were right! My mom was the second girl from the left, wearing the yellow shirt.

I guess it was harder though than I thought it would be! So, well done! No one at the office here could guess -- even those who had seen my mom! Below is one of my favourite photos of her.

Circa 1968

My grandmother Vera, circa 1945
I only knew her a little, but she was a wonderful person.

Squint update: Kellen says Squint has been thoroughly adopted by the other kitties in the house! They've been playing with him and one even held him down to give him a good washing. Sounds like her kitties are very warm and accepting! I am so glad he is loved :o) She couldn't believe how very small he really is - and has had to kittenproof the house to keep him out of small spaces. He saw a vet there yesterday - more news later.

Family Photo June 1967

My mother and her family when she was a teenager.
Grand Rapids, Minnesota

I'll let you guess which teenager she is ;o)
this might help

Squint's Amazing Journey

Squint travels from Tennessee to California for a new family.
One more Nap on Mr.J's lap
He slept part of the way to Memphis.
I also played with him some to 'run down his kitten batteries.'
I sent along his wool mouse toy and a green dishcloth I finished knitting this morning.

He took to Kellen's husband Randy right away!
He sniffed him and studied his face.
At one moment, he nosed him under the chin - almost as if to say
'So, you're a new person - will we be friends too?'
He didn't like the plane carrier much.
Kellen said he didn't like the escalators at the airport either.

Update from Kellen: Squint reportedly had other airline passengers admiring him and doting on him! He rode most of the way in Randy's lap, because he didn't like the carrier. While Randy was changing planes he rode on his shoulder through the airport. Wow! He has never been in a crowd before, so I'm really impressed at that!

Randy will get back late tonight with Squint - and he will get to meet Kellen for the first time. There are also two other kitties in the household, a lively playful Manx named Scout who sounds a lot like Sally - and a 14 lb. one-eyed Maine Coon Cat named Riley who will have to tell Squint who is boss! ;o) We'll have to see how that goes ;o)

Kellen also sent along a gorgeous journal she made by hand!

It is coated with beeswax and made with antique findings and inclusions! I'm speechless! Thank you Kellen! I hope you enjoy the little toy I sent along to you.

Thank you Jeanne!

Jeanne of k3tog blog sent me a wonderful goodies package for winning her UNannounced contest. I was her 500th comment! (Really I couldn't resist.. MN State Fair? Yummy yarn? You see what I was up against ;o)

Here is what she sent!

Sally said it was required for cats to inspect all packages that enter this house.

Jeanne sent some organic cat treats and catnip 'bathed' mice (oh wow - you should have seen lazy Willowpede jump at those!), as well as a cute card, PEZ dispenser (SHEEP!), awesome green tea, mini sock-blocker kit and last but definitely not least - Fleece Artist sock yarn! Wow. Falling over now. Thanks Jeanne, and happy first contest too!

Still no sign of Cartman

I went out to the office and walked the valley a little -- where her mom usually goes. Even around the buildings where kittens hide, there wasn't any sign of her. It was getting dark when we got there - but there was no sign of her at all, no movement, no noise.

I can sound a lot like a momma cat if I try - and most of the kittens have come to it in the past. When Radar was lost in the woodpile, I called him to where I could see him and then picked him out of the ditch. This time, all I got was a worried Mouse cat saying 'Did you find her? Did you hear her?' She came running up to me within two minutes. With a mommy cat like that on the job -- if Cartman was anywhere near the office, she'd have been found already.

1. Her mom doesn't know where she went.
2. Her mom is still looking for her after a day and a half.

:o( :o(

Getting Squint's things ready for the early morning drive. There will be plenty of documentation about Squint's big day. Jeanne's package arrived with the mail today, and that did make me feel better. She sent some really nice things, and I'll try to get a good photo tomorrow! Thank you Jeanne!

I didn't let myself get attached to Cartman, like I had Radar - but I'm still upset about it. Poor pretty striped girl. Poor momma cat Mouse. :o(

No Cartman

Please keep your fingers crossed for this little girl!
The drama never ends around here :o( This was not the news I wanted to hear last night.

When Mr.J got home from work with Squint (I stayed home with a slight cold) he told me Cartman was missing. She and her mom had been sharing a can of cat food twice a day at the office porch, then they get to come inside and play for a while, then back outside. But the kitten wasn't there at the afternoon feeding. She still didn't show up this morning.

Her mommy cat, Mouse, doesn't know where she is and has been looking for her as well. That's not a good sign, but it would be worse if she was simply upset and not looking for her. :o( I am so, so glad that our girls will have long safe lives in our house - and that Squint will have the same with his new owners/parents.


Squint has been bopping around our house since last night. I knit him up a small toy, which he loves. I hope he can have it on the plane in his carrier.

A wool mouse for me!

Willow: Let me know when the atomic ball of kitten is asleep, okay?

Willow is hiding up on the top of the desk, and Sally chooses her moments to playfight back or hide on the table. They were all playing with the window blinds last night, which was cute.

So, we're all here, what's next?