Feline Friday {My Mischief Maker}

These were all taken with my phone on April 29, 2015. I had just gotten my new camera and was still shooting pictures with the phone in spite of pictures turning out lousy. These will give you an idea of what I deal with day in and day out with my little mischief maker.

Oh, Let me play with your new camera.

Note: I tried to distract her. At this point, she knocked off the pen onto the floor.

But, but... The strap is wonderful toy.

Note 2: At this time, I made her quit playing with the camera because I feared that she would end up damaging it somehow...

Fine then, I'll chew on this lovely binder instead.

Note 3: At this point, I picked up the pens she knocked off onto the floor earlier and placed them back onto the sketch book to distract her from the binder.

Ohhh, what lovely toys...

What a strange noisy and mysterious creature.

Note 5: She is so funny, curious and brave. She would make a beeline for the printer whenever it starts. Her entire body would twitch when it made a noise. Sometimes, she would attack the paper coming out. She is very similar to the below YouTube cat.

I have returned...

...to torment the camera strap.

Note 6: At this point, I tried to distract her from the camera AGAIN.

Oh, what a lovely highlighter!

I have to say that my days would be boring without this lovely energetic mischievous critter. She has blessed me and driven me crazy. I do not think I would have her in any other way.

What I've Been Doing Lately III

• Abby Gail has regained her appetite and is now a little piggy. She is slowly gaining back her weight. I have been weighing her on Sunday mornings and she is now approximately 6.7 pounds. She is keeping me busy.
• Dan’s Mom came to town to visit for a week late in July. We did the usual things and took her to see a few sights. We dragged her along window shopping for a small travel camper, did some “junkin’ (antique shopping) in New Braunfels and stopped by the oldest Texas bakery, went to the Riverwalk, had dinner, and took a ride on a tour boat and did some more junkin’ in a nearby town. We also had some lazy days. I think she enjoyed herself and I know she wants to come back soon.

• I have been going to garage sales once again. I just love picking up things I know I will use such as cheap mason jars in excellent condition (FYI: I never reuse the lids). I also like traveling around and getting to know our little town which is not as small as I thought. The population is just over 1100; but, the spread (of land) is quite large.

  I found the above mirror tiles. One of the packages only had five tiles and I asked that the price be $2.50 (instead of $3.00) and she agreed. I picked up the two packages for $5.50. Yes, I have plans for them! I have to resort to making something because I could not find anything out there (to purchase). It is going to be a challenge to create and I pray that I will not end up hurting myself in the process. I also pray that Dan will not hurt himself too as he will be helping me make a frame.


• The entryway is completed. We just need to hang up hooks. I am thinking of using some old doorknobs I hung onto for eons.
• I turned some old drawers into shelves. We finally hung the drawers along with some shelving for the cats in my studio. I think Abby will be happy that she can get up high on occasion now. I will be posting pictures soon.


{Who is that shameless hussy slaving away on the dresser?

Shot on June 28, 2015 by Dan}

• The DIY dresser is almost finished! It just needs one knob (pull) fixed.


• On July 19, we made Raspberry Peach jam! It is extremely delicious. Dan thinks the taste is similar to strawberry jam. Now, the question is: Was it worth it? You have to see this picture to understand why I am questioning my need to make jams and pickles. I think it is worth the effort in spite of the mess it made. I am seriously thinking about investing in a taller pot and/or a splatter shield. SMH (Shaking My Head}.

• I started making a folding craft table. The above picture shows the legs. Everything is stained and the pieces are ready to be put together. We had to fine tune the legs as the plans we used stunk to high heaven (was full of errors).


"The Castle" designed by Teresa Wentzler; Unfinished, Approximately 3/4 done!

• I am still working on the UFO (Unfinished Object) cross stitch project. ‘Nuff said. By the way, you can see the progress by referring back to pictures in my previous “What I’ve Been Doing Lately” posts.

Phone {Picture} Dump I

I was again shocked with the number of pictures on my phone dating from way back in December of 2014! A reminder: I often communicate with Dan via text. I would snap a picture and send it to him. Anyway, I am dumping the best ones here for posterity sake.

Enjoy!

Abby Gail, December 20, 2014

Abby Gail, December 20, 2014

{She looked like she was suckling one of her toes. I thought it was cute.}

Purple Minion Photobomb, December 25, 2014

Cribbage. December 26, 2014.

{My hand is at the bottom. Dan’s is above. And, we cut a six. It’s rare that this happens. By the way, We both had 14 point hands.}

Dick’s Classic Car Garage (museum). December 29,2014

Old Ribbon Dispenser? Seen at an antique shop in New Braunfels. December 29, 2014

Old Ribbon Dispenser? Inside. December 29, 2014

{I thought it was pretty cool and unique. The price was outrageous though. I went back not too long ago and they still had this item in the store.}

December 29, 2014

{Why? Why did I snap this picture? Was it the 63* temp outside? Time? Hershey bar? For the life of me, I cannot remember!}

Abby Gail with Moi. January 2, 2015

{These moments were becoming rare.}

My Old Childhood Jewelry. January 8, 2015

{I finally did something with the majority of my childhood jewelry that I kept – I placed them inside a shadow box and hung them up in our guest bathroom along with a few other mementos. Most of them are tiny little pins that I wore as a tiny child whenever I dressed up. The charm bracelet has my name engraved on it and is extremely fragile. I loved the heart pendant and the opaque silhouette necklace.}

Abby Gail Being Cute Again. January 8, 2015

My Doctor Who Nails. January 12,2015

Discovered Note by Mother with Wooden Flowers. January 14, 2015.
{I blogged about it here.}

Abby Gail Gazing out at the World; January 15, 2015

Abby Gail with Moi. Another Awful Selfie. January 22, 2015

Pictorial Monday {Joy}

I did not follow the life of Joy like I did with Charlotte, her possible ancestor. However, I did capture a few moments of her life which seemed mighty short compared to Charlotte’s life.

May 25, 2015

She began to move from her original spot. It had rained and rained and I guess she was tired of getting “drowned”. So, she moved over a period of two or three days to a newer and better spot about five feet away.

June 7, 2015

June 12, 2015

Sometime between May 27 and June 12, a male joined her on her web. She molted again on June 12 and the male took advantage of her.

Not long afterwards (approximately an hour later), I discovered that either she killed the male or he died naturally. And, she feasted on her exoskeleton.

July 14, 2015

July 14, 2015

July 14, 2015

Like Charlotte, she became enormous. Unlike Charlotte, she did not live a long life.

She moved a short distance away and proceeded to lay an egg sac near the end of July. She rested for a full day and disappeared. Joy only had one egg sac compared to Charlotte’s two and possible three sacs.

What I've Been Doing Lately II

It seems like not much occurred since I last blogged. I have more or less ditched facebook and I am only responding to notifications and messages through the social media. About all I do these days online is check emails and catch up on blogs I read (via feedly). I have shared giveaways notices whenever I am required to do so to get an extra entry myself. And, I still tweet giveaways when I remember to do so.

I may start popping on facebook in August to check up on family and friends statuses/pictures. But, I will not be as active on facebook like I used to be.

Abby Gail on a Bag Containing Sample Fabrics; March 25, 2015

• I dealt with Abby Gail being sick. She continued to be sickly and it was tough watching her lose weight. She just would not eat – not even her favorite treats or wet cat food. She was extremely needy and often snoozed on me.

  I worried about her constantly as she lost a little over two pounds which is a lot for a cat. {FYI: She had a bacterial AND yeast infection in her ears.} We took her in for a scheduled checkup on the 25th of June. At that time, she was on the mend; but, she still struggled with appetite and feeling sickly. She still had a minor yeast infection in her left ear; so, we continued treatment in that ear for another two weeks.

  During the whole time she was sick, she dropped from 8.5/9 pounds to 6.2 pounds. She was so dang skinny – I could feel the rib bones whenever I petted her which bothered me to no end. Do not get me wrong, I do not like fat cats either. I just want healthy content cats.

  I was so happy and relieved one morning (around July 8th) to see her eat her entire meal. Before, she would only barely eat and leave the rest (to go to waste). Her happy go lucky attitude slowly returned. I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a holy terror around this house. It was difficult for this old lady to deal with an energetic mischievous cat once again. However, I have adjusted and am absolutely thrilled to have the old Abby Gail back.



Inspiration for our Entryway from This Old House Magazine (May 2015 issue).

Shot on June 25, 2015

• Dan started working on the "entryway" with my help in deciding on the number of "panels" (we went with five), the depth of the tiny shelf, etc., and etc. I like how this idea turns a plain wall into a usable focal point at the entrance. It also helps that it is our style (Craftsman/Mission). We do not have a hall closet or any usable space to "dump" stuff especially for guests. So, this works. It is looking rather nice at the moment!

  By the way, we will be doing something similar in our Master bathroom in the distant future.



Found at a Garage Sale. June 27, 2015

{We started removing the handles when I remembered to snap a “before” picture.}

• I have been looking for a cheap dresser to “up-cycle” and throw into our master closet for extra storage since we first moved here over two years ago. I finally found one with a mirror at a garage sale recently for thirty dollars and was absolutely thrilled. It is a nice solid piece of furniture which pleased me to no end.

  The dresser has been sanded down and is now in the process of being painted. It will be given several coats of poly and then thrown into the master closet for storage.

  As for the mirror, it will be repurposed. I plan to sand down the frame and then stain it in the near future as the wood is still in excellent condition. It will be hung over my regular dresser in our master bedroom.



Unusual Guests. Shot on July 4, 2015

{Note: I shot a lot more pictures. This was the first one I opened processed for this post. I will go through the rest and may do a "Fiend Friday" post in the near future.}

• We had some unusual guests stay in one of our Crepe Myrtle trees not too long ago. What were they? Bats! There were four of them altogether. Dan was the one who discovered them (on July 4th) while we were outside working. Both of us were extremely surprised that they chose this particular spot. We did not bother them nor they us. They left at dusk and never returned.

  I am not sure why they had to take emergency shelter; but, something caused them to do so. The only thing we could think of was the destruction of their old habitat as they looked healthy (via pictures on camera).

  Anyway, I had been thinking about buying a bat house. Due to this recent event, I decided to purchase one and we will be putting it up in the near future. At least, if any bats need a temporary resting spot, they will be safe from the wind (which was gusting the day they stayed) and be away from the path humanity (we) take.

  Bats are great for getting rid of mosquitoes and other bugs around here and it pleases me to know that bats fly around here even if they are just passing through.



"The Castle" designed by Teresa Wentzler; Unfinished; Almost 3/4 done

shot on July 13, 2015

• I am still working on the UFO (Unfinished Object) cross stitch project I mentioned the last time I blogged. {You can see a picture of the top half at the previous post.} It is slow going and extremely tedious due to the fact that there are a kijillion colors to deal with. But, I am pleased with the progress.