Thursday, December 31, 2009

On The Seventh Day Of Christmas...

My true love gave to me...

Seven swans a swimming!

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With New Year's Eve upon us, I am not sure what to do for celebration. The husband and I have not discussed this at all actually. However, one thing I do plan on having is some wassail. I shall have to get it started here soon, as it is approaching 11am already and all I have been doing all morning is uploading photos and posting them in Ravelry groups. Lazy bum that I am.

This is some freshly mixed, un-warmed wassail I made up earlier this season. It was delicious once it had sat nice and toasty for a couple days.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Actual Knitting

I thought it was about time I actually posted something that I knitted. A mini scarf for this mini kitty. I'll get around to uploading other crafty creative type pictures sometime.


All nice and warm for the winter!

On The Sixth Day Of Christmas...

My true love gave to me...



Six geese a-laying!

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Hydra has always enjoyed lurking under the Christmas Tree. I usually have scolded her, but now, in her old age, I haven't the heart to chase her out from under there.


Yes Hydra, I can see you there. You are not as sneaky as you think you are.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Repost: Wake

This has been a very private thing for nearly six months now. I feel the time is now that I need to start sharing this.

I posted this over on a different account, since that is my safe place and hardly anyone sees it. It's about when one of our kittens died.

This was originally posted June 7th, 2009.

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Wake

I love the multiple meanings of that word.


To rouse from sleep.


To hold vigil.


The path of something that has passed.


Today little Qiang Shen died. He was our almost 4 week old kitty who was having all the health problems. It would have been his four week birthday two hours ago. He was born breech, not uncommon for a cat. However, that was just the beginning. He had a hard time nursing because of a deformity with his mouth. Instead of the palate being straight across in front, it made a little inverted V, right up to his nose, so his lip was split as well. The palate was in tact, so that saved him for a while, but unfortunately congenital defects come in packs. He had an open fontanel on his head, aka a soft spot, that wasn't growing in. His head was massively out of proportion to his body and there were some odd ridges on his skull that shouldn't have been there. This also made his face a bit deformed, his eyes set too wide apart, and the lids a touch too high on the eyeball.


He wasn't monstrous, but you could tell by looking at him that something was wrong.


Aside from all that was wrong with him, and something a little more hidden to come to light his last day here with us, he was a sweetheart. Ready to purr from the time he was just a couple days old, soft warm body covered in downy kitten fur of white and ginger, and a strong spirit. That's his name in Mandarin, Strong Spirit, Qiang Shen.


For three days from birth, he could barely suckle, and nearly died. He was taken to a vet ER in the wee hours of the morning, where they were certain he wasn't going to last the night.


He proved them wrong.


He fought back and became strong, started growing, and working hard to keep alive. Since momma couldn't feed him, as he still couldn't suckle from her, the task fell to me to bottle feed. Every couple hours round the clock. As he gained weight, that timing was stretched to every three hours. He knew at the sound of my voice, it was time for food. He knew by my smell, he was going to get a full little belly and lots of attention. He'd mew and purr, eager to prove how much better he was doing.


However, there were the signs, the soft spot on his head that wasn't going away, the problem with keeping balance to walk, stand, or even sit.


Then, after nearly three weeks of nothing but progress, it started to happen. He had bad diarrhea that got all over him. Two times i had to clean him up. In the middle of the afternoon, he suddenly refused to eat. Then things started picking up that evening. He'd eat a little and mostly kept himself clean. Then, the next morning, I walked in to a heartbreaking scene. He was covered in feces, scooting himself around as best he could because he had lost most control of his head. He was mewling and shaking, tail twitching wildly. I bathed him again, warmed him up and got him to eat a little, then rushed him to the vet office.


The tests came back. Everything that was fixable, he was just fine on. It narrowed to something unfixable, something inoperable, something there was no medication for. Between the skull deformities and open fontanel, they had sorted out it was most likely excess fluid around the brain, causing pressure. If it hadn't been for this, he would have been a perfectly healthy kitten despite everything. His little body had coped with this as long as it could have, and was now at it's end. He had seizures in my arms, and was crying constantly now. The decision was made.


When the vet came in with the syringe, she let me know that he was too tiny to give the shot intravenously. She would have to put it straight into his liver. It would take a minute longer to work, but he would sleep first, then slip away. I couldn't watch as she gave him the shot, but I couldn't leave him. He stopped trembling and the mewing quieted. He was sleeping. But he was strong. She had to give him a little more. I explained his name through my tears. She said it was a good name. His tiny heart held out a little longer, then slowly stopped beating.


He was gone.


He had tried as hard as he could, but where his spirit was strong, his body was damaged. Here so briefly, but has taken a piece of my heart with him. When we come together on the other side of the veil, I shall be a little more whole again.


Rest well, my tiny one, knowing how much you are loved still, and look forward to the joy there shall be when you can be in my arms once again.


Qiang Shen: June 10th, 2009 - July 7th, 2009

I miss you. Please wait for us at the Rainbow Bridge.

On The Fifth Day Of Christmas...

My true love gave to me...



FIVE GOLDEN RIIIINGS!!!

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I have determined that for next year, I am going to do my best to make as many gifts as possible. I have scads of yarn, clay, beads, and ideas. It's exhausting wondering what 'so-and-so' is going to want and if there will be enough money to get it.

I am also going to start a gift stash. That way it will be a lot easier to spend $400 over the course of the year instead of in one month. The little kids are going to be easy enough to squirrel stuff away for. Toys are always a sure thing. Various accessories and miscellaneous are great for the adults, things like pocket puzzles, mini flashlights, silly gag gifts, shawls, scarves, jewelry.

As for the hand-made items, I am going to make clay miniatures, learn to make hats and mittens, more jewelry, maybe some lap blankets, learn to felt so I can make little fun things, and lovely smelly things, like pomanders. It's going to be a busy year, and I might even be able to sell some of my lovelies. That would be nice. Any extra cash I can bring is in a good thing.



These 'pomanders' are really not much more than clove decorated oranges. They likely won't preserve properly, but they were a lot of fun to make. I am really looking forward to making proper ones.

Monday, December 28, 2009

On The Fourth Day Of Christmas...

My true love gave to me...

Four calling birds!

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So, every year for Christmas, we try to keep it simple around here regarding extended family, as my mother, my sister and her family, my brother and his fiancee, and my other sister live all within a half an hour drive of me. For the past few years we have been doing a name drawing for the total of eight people. It works fairly well when people try and participate properly.

This year my brother and his fiancee managed to end up without jobs before the holidays, and while it was my brother who had drawn my name, his sweet lady was the one to get to work. She, with the help of her mother, made monster plates of cookies for everyone. While aforementioned little bro did contribute some recipes, and peanut brittle, she worked hard on sugar cookies, gingerbread men, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, chocolate wheat squares, and goodness knows what else. They individually wrapped each thing so it wouldn't dry out, and then piled them high on a large charger. I should have taken a picture before it was dismantled by the husband thing. Oh well.

The sugar cookies were these neat little soft lumps of sweetness. I bet they would go awesome dipped in chocolate and added with sprinkles. Would make for a really cool effect.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

On The Third Day Of Christmas

... My true love gave to me...


Three french hens,



Two turtle doves,



And a partridge in a pear tree!


For those of you who don't know, the twelve days of Christmas starts Christmas day, and ends the night before Epiphany. :)

Professional Cupcake Cake Mess

I feel the need to keep the Christmas spirit going, as the past three days, despite being some of the most festive in all of the calendar year, have been rather unpleasant. So for the next few days, I shall be keeping things festive. :D

Happy Boxing Day!!

I think I am going to have to agree with Jen of Cake Wrecks, cupcake cakes are pretty awful. Most designs are not conducive to the lumpy outline of a cupcake cake. Then you add in the awkwardness that some decorators bring to the table for a regularly shaped sheet cake. Toss in some 4 am hangovers (bakers and decorators get in very early in the morning) and you get a Cake Wreck. These cupcake cakes are not as awful as some of the cakes featured at CakeWrecks.com, but these weren't pretty. I found them at the local grocery stores.



A candy cane is not a bad idea for a cupcake cake, unless you do this. The extra cupcakes could have been done separately from the design, decorated with sprinkles, something. Instead this lumpy mess looks like a mutant reject.



I am not sure if this is supposed to be a Christmas themed 'J' or a stocking. I am guessing stocking. Obviously someone was not paying attention.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Here, Then Gone

'Tis Boxing Day, and the celebrations of yesterday has not left yet. Oh no. The carb hangover, dehydration, scatter of boxes, presents waiting to be put into their destined household places, and Christmas clutter still lingers. However, it was a great time, and even though there is still much left to do to clean up, I'll do this again next year!

Santa Claus left behind a couple bites, but he did down the whole glass of milk!


Canyon is unimpressed with all of this Christmas shenanigans.


The child inspects what Santa has left behind. I doubt that game was intended for her.


Christmas? Bah, humbug.

Friday, December 25, 2009

'Tis The Season

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
I hope everyone has a great and relaxing time today with their friends and families!


This year we had to purchase a new tree. A couple weeks ago or so I was getting the decorations out, and of course, the tree. Pulled it out of it's box and discovered that during its time in storage, it had managed to break itself. Will wonders never cease!

So to deal with the small tragedy, we got a small tree. It fits ever so nicely on our end table (which we have no room to move anywhere else, making it the only place for a tree) and we have loads of space under it for gifts! As you can see, Saint Nick loaded us up!



You can see here in this close-up that the ends of the needles have been scruffified (why yes that is a word, in my world), making the tree look frosted (not flocked) when lit. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but we have twinkling lights on the tree as well as regular ones. We didn't go all trailer park though, the regular and twinkle lights are evenly interspersed together.

Bubble lights are a must have in this house. I grew up with them on the tree every Christmas. The husband would love to pick up enough of these to decorate a tree entirely in bubble lights one of these years. I think that would be very interesting indeed.

Each year we also insist on having a few breakables on the tree as possible. With seven cats, the likelihood of the tree taking a nose-dive is high. I'd rather pick up whole ornaments than bits of ornaments.

Everybody have a Merry Christmas today and a Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

'Twas The Night Before Christmas Eve

I am going to be better about this blog thing. I am having intentions on doing more things internet wise that involve making some moolah off of this, so I had better danged well start doing something.


It is Christmastide once again and we need some nice holiday spirit.



This is a honey apple cake I had made for the Solstice. Turned out nice enough, but the recipe needs some tweaking. It will be really nice once I get it where it should be.

Monday, March 23, 2009

I Am A Lazy Bum

My apologies to the dust bunnies who read this. I've been lazy.

Well, on immediate news, we might be getting a puppy in about four months.


This is what it might look like. A Corkie. A Yorkshire Terrier/Cocker Spaniel mix. The parents owners swore up and down that Oscar was too big to get to Sugar. They had little clue how determined two unfixed dogs can be. There is no confirmation of pregnancy yet, but we have been offered a pup if she comes due.
The husband type monster will be happy.
Maybe it'll end up as silly as this dog.