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Tuesday, January 31, 2017

I Love this Cat Door

I have been wanting an opening to our bedroom for the cats. I like to keep the door shut for those times we have company. So, Dan put a cat opening in the door for me recently.


Hallway Side

I adore this little opening to our bedroom. This is what people would see if they glance at this door on the way to the guest bathroom or bedroom. Abby took to it almost immediately. Gracie rarely comes to our bedroom as she prefers the den. But, she is free to come and go as she pleases.


Bedroom Side

This side makes me love it all the more. I will no longer have broken toes or foot from stubbing the dog figurine we used to keep the door open just a tad to allow the cats freedom to come and go.

I know it's silly. But, it works and suits my needs.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Gracie and the Cone of Shame

Gracie lost two nail caps in the night around January 7th and made herself bloody. The cause for concern was that her wounds were deep (under her chin) and she was in distress. So, we took her to the vet as soon as possible (the same day). As usual, I felt like we got the runaround concerning her allergies. However, she does have a secondary skin infection. Thus, the cone of shame and some medical intervention (antibiotic and steroid shots along with her usual ear treatments). We are also "bathing" her with some medicated mousse in hopes of alleviating her itchiness.

It's been a struggle with her. She managed to take the cone of shame off two nights in a row about a week later and made herself all bloody again. Fortunately, all her nail caps were present. Thus, no deep gouges and the like.

I think, overall, she is doing better. But, it's been a struggle with her. And, she still has her cone of shame. I want her fur to grow back just a little more before giving her freedom from the cone.

I am not sure if the steroid shots helped because she is still wanting to viciously scratch herself. We go back to the vet around February 23rd to discuss her state of affairs.

I am saddened my biggest fear became a reality (secondary skin infection). She has been doing so well for years with getting her ears treated periodically at the vet along with Zymox and nail caps. I've always thought she'd have a short life due to her aggressive scratching. Dan made me feel slightly better by telling me that she definitely would have had an extremely short life if we hadn't adopted her. But still, I feel bad for her.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Another Christmas Ornament

I recently completed this beaded and sequined ornament. This was part of a kit (set of three). I refuse to make one more! It was tedious making this item and the instructions were horrid. After I completed this one, the extra supplies were dumped into an bin that I keep for just in case I need extras for other kits.

If a kid ever wanted to make an ornament for themselves, I think they would have a blast dipping into this bin of mine! I know I made a few ugly ones in my youth from extra supplies my mother kept; but, they sure were gorgeous in my eyes back in those days.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Gypsy Wife Quilt. Section 3, In Progress

Thanks to a distant cousin who found me via giveaway and and now friends on facebook, I used a brand new tool for one of the square-in-square (or diamond in square) blocks that made my life tons easier. It's called Deb Tucker's Square2. I am hoping to jury rig the ruler to make me the odd sized blocks (e.g. 4.5 inch finished) needed in the future. We shall see if I can make it work for me.

All the blocks for section 3 of the Gypsy Wife quilt is completed.


Colour Wheel, 9.5" unfinished


Square-in-Square with Courthouse, 10.5" unfinished


Square-in-Square bordered, 5.5" unfinished and Square-in-Square, 4.5" unfinished

And now, I need to pick and cut fabrics for the strips in this section (ten in all). I plan to do this today. And, I hope to sew up the section tomorrow. We shall see.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Today I am...

::discouraged:: that Gracie (my cat) not only lost a nail cap in the night but also managed to get out of the cone of shame and destroyed herself.

::frustrated:: I said it's just another shit on the fire" when Dan said "It's going to be okay" in reference to Gracie suffering the setback. He had a funny look on his face and said "That'd stink a lot" and my immediate reply was "exactly my point".

::surprised:: and ::pleased:: when a managerial type of person at HEB having a discussion with an employee suddenly blurted out to me "I'm impressed with you and your system" in reference to my Bullet Journal. Who knows? Maybe I do have a future.

::watching:: a few Gravity Falls episodes and Doctor Who "Face the Raven", "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent" episodes while ::cutting:: and ::sewing:: fabrics for another block of the Gypsy Wife quilt. Don't worry. I have seen both TV series before several times. I know what is happening when I look up at the TV for a few minutes and not miss a thing (on account of being deaf).

::eating:: Sausage Pancakes (gluten free) for dinner

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Christmas and New Year's "Loot"

Foreword: I would get packages of fabrics and not open them. I believe this started back in late June of 2016. At first, I would use a package as a reward for completing a block or a section of the Gypsy Wife quilt. But, I never did open up a box. So, they kept piling up. In the end, I just decided to open up a bunch of packages that were in mailing envelopes on Christmas day at the lake and the rest of them at home on New Year's Eve. Opening up the packages on Christmas day was extremely fun. (Note: Dan and I did not exchange gifts this year. Instead, we got our own gifts.)

The below is from New Year's eve and I finally got through them all on January 2nd. By the way, most of the fabrics were purchased at 50% off or more with either free or cheap shipping (e.g. flat rate shipping of five dollars).

Abby Gail photobombed my picture of the pile of packages. She made me laugh!

She looked like how I felt about these packages -- drool and slurp! Ha!

The other side of the pile of boxes.

The result of opening up all the packages. By the way, the fabrics inside the crate is from Christmas day.

I had just sat down in my chair and thought that the view was pretty. So, I decided to take a picture of the back of this pile.

I think I have a severe problem, don't you?