Cats, Cats, Cats

The cat in the top pic doesn't look so angry in real life. He's kinda mischievous and proud actually. Check 'em out at Glitter and Grunge starting May 1.
[Note: I guess they call it May Day for a reason--because that is what I said when I couldn't get the link working at G and G--"May Day! May Day! My link is broken and I can't get the page to come up"; but it should be working fine now. And then I said "May Day! May Day!" again because I couldn't get my pics to load on my website today, and this is something I've done a thousand times with no trouble. Still working that one out. Some cyber-gremlin must be up to his old tricks again. ~cn]

Happy May Day.

May Flowers

Coming to a website near you--May 1. (The Primitive Gathering)

Why I Have Trouble Finishing Anythi . . .

And the fact that blogger was experiencing technical difficulties with loading pictures. :)

(Note: Cartoon courtesy of Ron and Joe. Click the pic if you can't read the print.)

Tres, The Cat

"Tres" is Volume #3 in the Nash "Black Cat Trilogy" (hence, the name "Tres" which is Spanish for "three.") The first two cats in the series did not end well: one because of disease and the other because of coyotes or an alien abduction or something. And for my youngest child, who dreams of one day being a vet, a kitty, and particularly a black kitty, is practically a requirement.
Tres is a free spirit who embraces her "outside cat" and rarely sneaks into the house, unlike Friendly, her 18 pound counterpart. And not only that, for about a year Tres was a boy cat until I took him to the vet to be neutered and discovered that "he" was really a "she". The technician called me the morning of his surgery to break the news: "Did you know that Tres is a girl and she is already in heat?" To which I responded, "What?! Are you sure? [As if a vet wouldn't be able to know that.] I've never really become acquainted with his. . .er. . .her nether regions. So. . . I guess that changes things, right?" Yeah, about a $70 dollar extra charge change of things.

***

You see, originally, when Black Cat Vol. 2 disappeared mysteriously, and it became obvious that he was probably in the Great Litter Box Beyond, the youngest one's tears started to flow. So my strong, manly husband caved in and promised her a Vol. 3 cat. And it just so happened that one of his co-worker's cats had just downloaded a litter of black kittens a few weeks earlier. I love animals, but I did not want our own little "sequel maker", so my only requirement was that they bring home a male cat who would live outside. (You may recall some of my previous encounters with our other "outside" cat, Friendly, who chooses not to believe that his home is on the other side of our kitchen door.) So Little One and Dad picked out a frisky little male kitten and she named him Tres. Problem was that this little kitty was beyond frisky-- it was more like a demon cat from H-E-"double hockey sticks". Once new-kitty came to our house it went berserk and literally climbed up my leg. (I can't be sure that Friendly did not have something to do with this. Perhaps a whisper in new-kitty's ear about his two predecessors.) So if Vol. 3 was to survive and avoid an untimely end, and my legs were to avoid looking like shredded wheat, something had to be done, and quickly. So, a deal was struck, and Tres went back to momma cat for a few more weeks of maturing. When he returned, he was larger and much, much sweeter, and we even commented on the difference in personality. I asked, "This doesn't even seem like the same cat, does it? Now are you sure this is a boy-cat?" To which my dear husband responded, "Of course it's a male. Gah, I grew up on a farm. Don't you think I would know?" Hmmmm.

Spring is Coming?

The weatherman predicts freezing temps tonight. What is he thinking?? Does he not know that this is the south and it's the middle of APRIL!! It was 78 degrees on Friday, and now I just heard, dare I say, that we might even have snow flurries?! Snow flurries?! Fire up the hot chocolate again.

Primitive Gathering Giveaway

Rush on over to The Primitive Gathering Blog for a giveaway, in celebration of PG's first year. Just post a comment and you're entered--easy as pie! Several artists have donated items so your chances are even better.

A Three Minute Tour

Most of my cherished dolls are at my mom's home in Tennessee where I grew up. But I've retrieved the camera from my Littlest One and managed to snap a few pics of some dolls here that belong to my girls. I'm only a day late for Lori's Dolly Day.

This pic shows my Littlest One's American Girl Josephina doll and a papier mache string puppet my Oldest Girl made in 5th grade for a class presentation. It's Susan B. Anthony and you can just barely see her "Votes for Women" banner. Susan B. is showing her age a bit now, and looks like she may be pleading for the current election cycle to end soon. :)

These are the dolls my Oldest Girl has in her curio cabinet. One of my favorites is a sweet little corn husk doll made by a local artist. We bought it at a Folk Art Festival in town. The larger corn husk doll in the back was made by my own daughter. We spent an entire weekend making her--and on Monday, she was planning to take her for show and tell at school in first or second grade. Dear Daughter grabbed a Sharpie and quickly scribbled on a face. The ink spread more than she had anticipated. She was heartbroken by the smeared ink, and we spent a hurried few minutes trying to "fix" the smile. All was well when we added a few tiny eyelashes, and a quick hug. This is part of my Middle Girl's collection. She loves figurines more than dolls. My favorite is the little girl in the white dress near the lamp. Her dress is a delicate filigree. I also love the ballerina in the back.
This little vignette is in a little cabinet in my kitchen. The two pilgrim dolls were given to me by my sister when we were kids. I've always loved them. ( The blocks are vintage, and the thimbles were given to me by my kids over the years.)

Addendum: And I forgot to add these pics of my favorite dolls!

My girls with their dolls several years ago.

"Nash-ville" at Easter.

My four kids. "Four?" you say. Yes, if you look closely in the top of the pic my son is on the ground in the cloud of dust just above Pink Shirt Girl. He wiped out just when I clicked the pic. Very big of him.

How Much is that Dolly in the Window

Today's the day for Lori's (Faerie Window) Dolly Challenge. There's a long list of participants posted on her blog today, so pop on over and check them out.

Of course, I'm almost a day late and a dollar or two short on posting a pic of the favorite dolly-gals sitting around our house. The dog ate my homework. . .er . . Littlest One got braces yesterday and was using the digital camera to make a virtual record of her new metal mouth, thus the camera went to school too.

So in the meantime I'll post a few pics of some of those I've made over the last year. Hope I'll have some others to post later today.

Happy Monday (Yes, It's Monday)

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." - Michelangelo

(Or forgetting to set aim at all --or one's alarm. :)

Spreading the Love

You gotta check out this new blog : "The Burp Cloth Babe." She's new to motherhood and the blog world. And she's hilarious. And she has the cutest baby on the planet. And she is an Usbourne book representative. (And in full disclosure, she just happens to be related to yours truly. :) And did I mention that she is hilarious?! And she made me "great" in one day-- in July it became official. . . I'm a Great Aunt. In the words of Daniel J. Boorstin, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers." Or in my case, some just have a niece who has a baby.