Halloween and Cats!

Hi All! I've been very busy with no time to post.  Have had a very sick kitty for the past month. Kezzie has had a very hard time. First, he had some type of trauma to his jaw and had to have all his teeth pulled from the left side of his jaw including his incisors and then had to have his tongue repaired.  We don't know what happened (he doesn't go outside?) He is a jumper and likes to get up in high places and we think he hit something when he was jumping down from a high place.  He came through this like a trooper.  Then last weekend he started with some behavior that usually signifies a UTI so off the the vet he went again this Tuesday.  Seems he has a bladder stone ... his bladder is the size of a walnut and the stone was the size of a marble so he was really uncomfortable.  Came through the surgery fine and brought him home last night.  He is having trouble getting to the litter box so he is being confined to one of our bathrooms much against his will.  I am going to call the vet to see if this is normal after surgery.  After all this expense, I've decided to get cat medical insurance for my cats.  I've signed up Kezzie and Oscar so far and will get the rest on board over the next few months.  I checked out several companies and the one I chose was the easiest on my pocket book.  I've got a $250 deductible for each cat and then a co-pay of 30%. This way I can recoup some of their medical expenses for illnesses, routine check-ups, vaccines, and dental cleanings.  The company I went with is PurinaCare

Now a little about Halloween and cats from my Vet's office:  He suggests keeping your little furry babies indoors on Halloween, especially our little black kitties.  You might want to keep your kitties in another room with the door closed when opening the front door for your trick or treaters so they don't run outside.  Use candles around kitties with caution - they could either get burned or knock the candle over and start a fire (this happened to someone in my church recently from a kitty knocking over a candle in the bathroom).  Also, candy or gum sweetened with xylitol is toxic to kitties.  And remember all forms of chocolate can be harmful potentially resulting in poisoning or even pancreatic inflammation from the high fat content.

I hope you all have a great weekend ... I have a thousand chores to finish outside before it gets too cold, so you know where I will be this weekend.  Happy stitching and Happy Halloween.

Cats and Ibuprofen and Tylenol

I'm sure all of you kitty mommies out there know about this, but I thought I would remind you all that cats (and dogs) should not be given human OTC medications including ibuprofen. I'm writing this because a friend on Facebook had an injured cat and someone recommended baby ibuprofen for the cat and she gave it to him.

Cats who consume ibuprofen can undergo devastating effects. Significant damages include bleeding stomach ulcers and rapid kidney failure. In any case, a few days without treatment will lead to the cat's death. Cats will experience severe abdominal pain from ibuprofen.  Tylenol is fatal to cats. Please take you cat to the vet if he/she needs pain medication. And remember if your pet in injured and in pain they may also need antibiotics (and even surgery) so get them to the Vet as soon as possible!

Advice Needed!!!!

I would love to learn to needle punch, but don't know where to begin! Would any of you have some advice for a beginner?  I would be interested in knowing what supplies I need and advice on an easy beginner's pattern. Thanks in advance!

Swap Goodies and New eBay Items!

Scaredy cats are always welcome at my house!

The weekend is coming to a close and tomorrow is another work day! Sigh, how I wish I could retire and spend my time doing what I love ... crafting, baking, sewing, and decorating.  Someday ... but just not today.  My weekend was lovely, beautiful weather and I got a chance to relax. Finished a lousy book (somehow I couldn't put it down, but I will not buy its sequel) and started a great book by author Steve Alten called the "Grim Reaper" ... somehow seems appropriate for the season, no?

On Saturday, I received some swap goodies from a good blog friend, Gina! She swapped for some of my hand dyed wool. She made two autumn hand towels, two Halloween pillows from vintage Halloween post card fabric, a absolutely adorable kitty purse, and some great smelling wax ornies. Scroll down to see what she sent and where they have found a home in my house.  She makes the neatest stuff and has great ideas! Please visit her at Cat Nap Inn Primitives.  

I also had some time to sew a little turkey pincushion and an acorn pillow that I've listed on my eBay site.

I made a trip to Goodwill, too, to see if I could find any wool garments that I could recycle to add to my wool stash! I was really lucky, I found several black wool skirts and a cream colored wool skirt and a checked blue wool skirt. They are all 100% wool and so should felt nicely when I wash and dry them.  The cream and blue wool will be used for some winter penny rugs and the black wool will be for some of my signature kitties ... so stayed tuned, there might even be a giveaway coming up in December from Cat Haven Crafts!

Haven't received the Feliway for the cats yet, but I did go to PetCo and find some homeopathic drops to put in their water bowl that seem to help them all get along.  I'll give it two weeks and then if its still working, I'll post about it.

Well, my eyes are getting heavy and the kitties are already making themselves at home in my bed ... so that means its time to turn in too.  Hope all is well out there with you all and that your kitties are having sweet kitty dreams.

Pumpkin Legends

How do you fix a jack-o'-lantern?

You use a pumpkin patch!

Now that my daughter and son-in-law are home, I expect we will be carving JOLs this year. They are both Halloween enthusiasts and love to concoct their costumes.  Here is my daughter at one costume party.  She went as a Star Trek Red Shirt, you know the one who always gets killed in every movie or show! Her costume came complete with a phaser burn!

The Irish brought the tradition of the Jack O'Lantern to America. But, the original Jack O'Lantern was not a pumpkin.The Jack O'Lantern legend goes back hundreds of years in Irish History. As the story goes, Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up the apple tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. The Devil was then unable to get down the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the Devil down. Many years later, when Jack finally died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was too mean and too cruel, and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about forever in the darkness between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. For that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his "Jack O'Lantern". On all Hallow's eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack O'Lanterns. In the 1800's a couple of waves of Irish immigrants came to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O'Lanterns. And anyway, it does sound better than Jack-o'-the turnip!

Good Evening!

"When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween." Irish Saying

Well, I would like you to meet Vlad d'Kat tonight. He has been rolling around in my head for a while now, so I drew up a pattern, cut out the wool, and stitched him up!  And please don't be scared, Little Vlad isn't as fierce as he looks!  You can find him hanging out in my eBay store. 

 I bid you all good night and look forward to reading your blogs tomorrow (Vlad and I are very sleepy!).

Shopping for Christmas!

This morning I recieved a little email from Erica's Craft and Sewing Center.  In it was a coupon for a 20% discount and so I couldn't resist browing the site!  I wanted to share with you all what I bought and also let you in on the discount.  The coupon code is COMEBACKOCT if you decide to purchase anything at Erica's! The link will take you to Erica's wool and woolfelt department.  I can't wait to get started on these. My only regret is that it's about time to stop making Halloween crafties! Next year I think I will start to work on Halloween patterns in July - I love the colors and patterns so much, I could stitch Halloween goodies all year long!

I also finished a penny rug last night called "Cats and Jacks" that was designed by Cath's Pennies!. It turned out so nice (in my humble opinion). I used the tan wool I coffee stained using Cath's recipe and the pumpkins were cut from some wool that I hand-dyed.  It's hard to see in the picture, but the orange wool is mottled.  Please visit Cath's blog to see more of her wonderful patterns. She has some adorable patterns for Christmas/Winter. She also has great tutorials, too!

I think I told you all that my daughter and her hubby are home from Oregon and staying with us awhile.  She has finally gotten over severe morning sickness and is doing well.  Baby boy is doing really well.  However, Molly and hubby have two cats, so we now have a houseful!! One of their boys is a young black cat named "Hex" (or as I call him catzilla) and the other is a senior gray cat with one eye called "Yar" (get it? Think pirate and eye patch).  We are having a slight problem with territorial marking (not sure who is doing it) so I think I am going to go over to PetCo and buy some Feliway. I've used it before and it does work. So hopefully it will again.  My last resort would be to cage the offenders when we are not at home but I don't really like that idea!  Hey Kady, any suggestions????

Well, I must get back to work to earn kitty kibble money, so I wish you all a very happy Tuesday and alot of time to do what we love to do - stitching!!!

Making a Bird Seed Wreath

Soon it will be hard for birds to find things to eat or maybe you are a birdwatcher and like to leave out treats for your feathered friends?  When my daughter was younger, we had a tradition of making peanut butter, bird seed bagels and tying them to one of our trees with red ribbons around Christmas time!  Today I came across a recipe for making a simple homemade bird feeder.  If you have kids or grandkids this might make a neat Saturday afternoon project.  I found the recipe on a very neat website called The Rustic Lodge Lifestyle.

First you could make up a batch of bread dough or (like me) use a one pound frogen bread dough.  Roll out your dough into a rope about 30 inches long. Cut the dough lengthwise into three strands and braid them together and place them on a greased cookie pan. You can also grease the outside of a round cake pan and use it as a form - although it works just fine without one, too. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

Bake your wreath for about 20 minutes. Then brush with whisked ege, cover with wild bird sead and bake for another 10 minutes.

Let dry undovered for 24 hours. Then hang it outside where the brids can enjoy their Thanksgiving or Christmas present! You could even add orange food coloring to the dough for a Halloween treat!

This recipe was adapted from 365 Ways to Prepare for Christmas. Hope you enjoyed reading about this and maybe if you make a wreath up you will post a picture of it on your blog or if you don't have one send you picture to me and I'll post it on mine! Have a great day full of harvest blessings!

A New Prim Blog

I just came across the cutest primitive blog called Chucklebees and Susan is having a great fall giveaway. So please stop by her BLOG and browse through all her wonderful handmades. Definitely some fall eye candy here!

99 cent SALE!

... When black cats are seen,The moon laughs

and whispers, 'Tis near Halloween. 

Hi All. Hope you've had a really lovely fall weekend!  It was just glorious here in my little spot on the globe this weekend. The weather was perfect and I got so much done getting my yard ready for winter, but I over did it and now I'm a little under the weather ... did too much yard work this weekend and have a bit of a sore back.  Any remedies you'd like to share???

I did some stitching this weekend and decided to have a 99 cent sale on my eBay site.  This is one of the items I am listing.  Its a little SKAT CAT candle mat.  I love scat cats and collect them. Do any of you collect any particular Halloween ornies? Below my candle mat picture, I thought you might like to see a few more of my Halloween decorating pictures.

I'm thinking that it may be a short fall here in Iowa. The corn and beans are already being harvested and we've had two frost warnings the past two evenings ... brrrrr. I had to turn on the heat.  Looking forward to browsing your blogs after I'm done with my post!  Take care and make sure you give your kitties a hug tonight!