Sisters

Sisters Freda & Finch do like to snuggle up together. After having cats that all slept in different places it's lovely to see this pair together so much. Love the feet crossed & on top of big sister Freda.

Kitties!

A few weeks ago my daughter asked if I would foster a couple of kittens to give a lady who runs the Consett Cat Rescue service a break. She hasn't had a holiday in 6 years and wanted to visit friends in Australia who are elderly.

I liked the idea as I would love to have cats again but worry about they will outlive us or the worse alternative that I will have to have them put to sleep. I had such a horrible time when I lost Oscar didn't think I could face it again.

So Finch & Freda arrived 3 weeks ago & made themselves at home immediately. They were lazing among the ironing in the photo above watching me iron. 

Here Freda is enjoying lazing on our bed.

and Finch in hers.

They have entertained me a lot especially when they race up & down the stairs like lunatics at night.  They do like a play fight now & again.

They love wool & have stolen the crochet poppies I made a few times.

I'll be very sad to see them go in a few days, there'll probably be tears but I made them a blanket each to take with them. 

Cats!

After I lost Oscar I didn't want to replace him for a long time but I do miss having a cat. 

My daughter was the same after her cat Zara had to be put to sleep. However she decided she would get two rescue kittens and here they are, Ginny the tortoiseshell & George the ginger tom.

                                     

Claire bought a sort of  tree house for them & below George is coiffuring his tail in the top section. The cushion needed to be covered so I made a cover & then crocheted another multi coloured one to go on top. George laid claim to the top of the tree!

It has a lower crescent shaped section & Ginny seemed to be relegated to it. I made a cotton cover but shrunk from doing a crochet one.

Eventually I gave in & made a crescent shaped one. Not exactly perfect, I had no pattern. 

As you can see below it was an instant success & was much appreciated by Ginny!

 Mostly I have been knitting & crocheting with the charity craft group. I like knitting these as they can be made so quickly & look so sweet.

It's hard to believe but this wool we have been using is really cheap and it's lovely quality. We've been getting it from Poundworld I think, I always get mixed up but I think Poundland do wool too. It's only £2 for 3 balls, amazing quality.

I'm still struggling on with the gansey I'm ashamed to say. I'm blaming the bad light as it's very difficult to knit navy wool in artificial light. I make too many mistakes! Also the fact I hate doing circular knitting. I'm on to the sleeves now & have had to abandon the circular needle & go for a set of aluminium couble pointed needles which I can manage a little better but I still don't like thid type of knitting. Would have been much quicker to just knit the pieces separately & have seams, I never mind sewing things up. Also you can hide the ends of the wool in seams much easier! 
Now the days are getting longer I'm going to have to do more or pardon the pun I'll miss the boat!

Christmas Chaos with the Cats

Well it's Christmas Eve and I have to say, as usual I'm not ready. Main reason this year? I've been coughing and spluttering for the last 3 days. Thought I had escaped the dreaded bug but thanks to Lauren, my granddaughter, I now have the lurgy!

I managed to pull myself together this afternoon and tried to do some wrapping of presents. The cats decided to lend me a hand. Now I wouldn't mind but these are no kitten cats. You can expect chaos from little ones. Tuppence is is 20, totally deaf, has a dicky heart and a severe thyroid problem. The other, Oscar is 19 and I think he is losing his hearing too.

Despite some of their senses being impaired and health problems, their curiosity and wanting to be in the centre of anything going on, has not diminished at all. I wish I could have videod it; they just swanned about all over the paper, on top of the presents etc, etc. It was done at a sedate pace, not the flying about and paper ripping of kitten cats, but it was still a pain. Still, I couldn't get annoyed because who knows, it may be their last Christmas. Mind you, I've been saying that for a few Christmases now.

Now, how can I help?

Where did I put those scissors?


Now I've lost the Sellotape.


Oh heck! Here comes Oscar.

Oscar, you always spoil the fun!

What a bully!

He starts to chase her about, so at this point I just give up! Too many cooks spoil the broth as they say.

Well it's late, just finished a midnight cheese, pickled beetroot and Pringle sandwich. That'll be enough to line my stomach for the Paracetamol before I go to bed. That way I just might get some sleep.

I have a red nose that Rudolph would kill for! Can't breathe very well though, no good for leading a sleigh.

In a few minutes I'm going to try that thing I've read about where you rub the soles of your feet with Vicks Vapour Rub before you go to bed. You'll guess I'm at the stage where I'm desperate and I'll try anything! Well Oscar is away up to bed so I think I'll follow.

I'll leave you with a nativity scene from Fatima in Portugal. Very unusual! (Source Wiki Commons)

Night Night and to anyone reading this I hope you have a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful year in 2009.

Oh No! It's Her With That Camera Again!

Oscar

This is my lovely little fellow Oscar.

He's getting on a bit now. In the photograph above he was sixteen, now he's nineteen. Like Cary Grant he carries his age well.

These photographs are from a couple of days ago and he doesn't look a day older!

What's going on now?

Please tell me it's not the grandchildren here again.

False alarm thank goodness. Just her with the camera. Does she never give up? It's such a hard life being a cat.

In this weather all he wants to do is sleep. Trying to get an active picture of him proved impossible. I'll be back!

Another Rainy Day in Washington

The rain is back again! That Indian Summer was short lived. Where on earth did that saying come from? Just looked it up on Wikipedia, as you do and looks like it came from the USA and means Native American rather than the Indian subcontinent. The PC police don't seem to have got their eyes on that saying. Yet!

Oscar, my long haired moggy of 19 years has just proved cats are just as unwilling to accept their age as I am. Thought it was just me who couldn't accept the aging process and that it's fifty years since I visited and fell in love with Barcelona, screamed at a Beatles concert, Dr Who appeared on our TV screens and John Kennedy was assassinated. Oh heck I'm ancient, it's official!

I heard an unearthly wailing in the garden. Had to be a cat so I checked. Yes, nineteen year old Oscar howling at a beautiful ginger and white moggy at the bottom of the garden. He was visible proof of the spirit being willing but the flesh weak as he stood there howling at this much bigger and younger cat. So as you do, I provided some much needed moral support and walked down the garden towards them. Once he knew the backup had arrived, Oscar sprang into action and chased the alien cat up the fence. Oscar sprang to the top in pursuit but at that point his aging back legs betrayed him, he lost his balance and promptly fell over the fence. True to his male species he nonchalantly got up, shook himself and then chased the other cat into the wood. Wish I'd had my camera. He appeared ten minutes later at the front door, came in, sat on the settee and is fast asleep beside me now, obviously all in the dim and distant past.

Wish I was a cat. Well one with a good home where I'd be fed and watered to my hearts content, with a nice chair to lie on during the day and a warm bed to spend the night on.

Was hoping I'd get out into the garden again this afternoon but the rain put paid to that idea. So I just sat back, enjoyed Diagnosis Murder for a while and cuddled Lauren. Much better than gardening! Let's see what tomorrow brings.