New Year's Resolutions

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and hope you have a safe and happy New Year!  One of MY new year's resolutions is to get back to crafting soon, but the only one I think I can keep! However, I asked my kitties what resolutions they would make for 2011 and here's what they had to say!

• I will not puff my entire body to twice its size for no reason after my human has finished watching a scary movie.

• I will not help myself to Q-tips, and I must certainly not proceed to stuff them down the sink's drain.

• I will not lean way over to drink out of the tub, fall in, and then pelt into the box of clumping cat litter.

• I will not use the bathtub to store live mice for late-night snacks.

• I will not play Herd of Thundering Wildebeests Stampeding Across the Plains of the Serengeti over my humans' bed while she’s trying to sleep.

• I will not try to leap through closed windows to catch birds outside. If I forget this and bonk my head on the window and fall behind the couch in my attempt, I will not get up and do the same thing again.

• I will not stick my paw into any container to see if there is something in it. If I do, I will not hiss and scratch when my human has to shave me to get the rubber cement out of my fur.

• I will not check every door when it rains because I will believe my human that it will be raining on all sides of the house.

• Birds do not come from the bird feeder. I will not knock it down and try to open it up to get the birds out.

• I will not play "dead cat on the stairs" when my human is trying to bring in groceries or laundry, or else one of these days, it will really come true.

• I will not swat my human's head repeatedly when she's on the family room floor trying to do sit ups.

• When my human puts me into the Cage Of Death for a trip to the vet, I will not try to use my own urine as a corrosive agent as it will not eat through the cage walls.

• Dry cat food is both tasty and nutritious, and it is always available. I will not starve myself and act pitiful all day long in anticipation of the canned food.

• I will not walk on the keyboard when my human is writing important emiognaioerp ga3qi4 taija3tgv aa35 a.

• I will not eat spider plants and then hallucinate behind the toilet.

• I will not soak my catnip toys in the toilet to make tea.

Cheers to you all and give your kitties a little milk on New Year's eve!  See you in 2011!

WIZARDS IN WINTER

Just wanted to share this amazing video of a Christmas light display from 2005. Its fantastic! The lights are synced to Transiberian Orchestra's "Wizards in Winter." Happy Christmas, Harry, Ron, and Hermione! :)

THE YULE LOG

The burning Yule log was a symbol of the light that would return after the dark days of early winter. It gave people an excuse to gather with family and friends before a roaring fire. The tradition is an old one, going back to the Druid custom of choosing a large log from an apple or oak tree, lighting it afire, and praying that it would burn forever. A good prayer considering that they did not have modern conveniences like fuel oil, electricity, and generators in case the power went out! In England, the log was selected months before Christmas Day because it was believed that all who brought it in from the woods would be protected against harm for the ensuing year, everyone lent a hand, making the event itself a festive time.

Today the Yule log is a large wooden log burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in several European cultures. It can be a part of the Winter Solstice festival or the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Twelfth Night.

 Did you know:

• One large log lasts two to three times longer than the same volume of smaller logs.
• That you should burn only seasoned wood?
• Wood-burning stoves are three times more efficient than standard fireplaces.
• For the prettiest flames, burn birch or maple.
• Add a handful of pine or hemlock needles, rosemary sprigs, or sage branches to your next fire to add natural incense to the room.
• Did you know that one cord of wood burned as firewood provides the heat equivalent to that produced by burning 200 to 250 gallons of heating oil, depending on the type of hardwood you are using?
• That the best wood to burn is rock elm, shagbark hickory, white oak, butternut hickory, beech, red oak, yellow birch, red elm, white ash, and white elm?

We have a fireplace but don't use it anymore to burn wood.  It needs some repairs so I burn candles in it instead. That suits me just find because with hot flashes I don't need any additional heat sources! I do have an ambient DVD that  I can play on my TV that plays the sounds of a burning fire put without the heat! I play that in the winter when we have friends and family over! Its great - no heat, chopping wood, or ash to carry outside!

Hope you are all staying warm today. It's a brisk 7 degrees here is eastern Iowa! BRRRRRR! But my hotflahses love it! ;D

CHRISTMAS WITH CATS!

Advent Poinsettia from Wee Folk

Good Morning, All!!! It is a very, very cold morning here in Eastern Iowa ... only 9 degrees with a wind chill of 1 degree. A good day for thermal underwear! My kitties have decided its pointless to ask to go out on the porch as mom just isn't paying the heating bill out there and it is cold enough to freeze tails off!

This morning I wanted to share with you a lovely "FREE" wool applique poinsettia pattern from WEE FOLK! It is a lovely, bright and fun blog. There is even a large section of free patterns of things like gnome and dollhouse accessories, toys, kids crafts, apparel, household, and tutorials.  Whenever I need a smile, I browse around this blog. It is so bright and happy. If you have a spare moment today, take a break and head on over to this sweet blog!

THANK YOU TO PUMPKIN THE CAT!

I've been away from things for a few days dealing with an awful migraine ... but enough of that! Today when I was browsing through my email and blogs, I found out that a wonderful kitty named Pumpkin was kind enough to to pick my name for a surprise gift from the nice lady she lives with! I am so excited!!!! If you would like to visit Pumpkin and Susan (her human) you can find them at Chucklebees! Susan makes some of the cutest prims around!

I also thought I send you a little humorous Christmas cheer from Straight No Chaser called the Christmas Can Can! It makes me smile every time I hear it. ENJOY!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E-47VmFopE