This is dated the 29th, but it is actually my thing for the 28th (it was just after midnight when I put the date in I guess). We get one more last one tomorrow.
I realized I’ve gone almost the entire month without mentioning my cat Alex, otherwise known as Alexion, Mrs. A, and Bobina (pronounced “Bowbeenah”), the latter generally said in a high, squeaky voice with the accent on the “bee” syllable, as in Bow-BEE-nah. This is not the best photo of Alex, but it’s the only one I had readily available to post. We found her as a kitten, wandering the farmer’s field adjacent to the 4th of July picnic we were attending. In her younger years, Alex loved to wind herself around the bannister, chase the circle of light from a penlight, leap after fireflies, and bask outdoors (on a leash) in the sunshine. She still loves being outdoors, but for much shorter periods of time. She’s a frail little old lady now who seeks the warmth of a lap and sleeps on my pillow, wrapped around my head. You see, Alex is 20 years old!! She’s a grand old dame, and my haiku for today is dedicated to…
Alex, Mrs. A,
Bobina, Alexion…
Basking in the sun!
I helped make dinner by cutting up an obscene amount of red, green, yellow, and orange peppers. Cross-stitch still requires outlining, background, and text.
So today, I painted another pair of my circulation socks with a heart-theme and organized a cupboard (may not look like it, but should’ve seen the before). I also included an update of my cross-stitch, which is looking more and more like it’s supposed to everyday. Happy Valentine’s Day, all!
For Day 12, I finished putting on the binding that I made on Day 5. It was for this quilt that I started for my husband over 5 years ago.
Blogged at www.greetingarts.typepad.com.
Margaret approved:
I got the idea for this from: http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/01/how_to_make_a_noknit_scarf.html
We’ve been having a run of rainy, dreary, damp weather here in Pennsylvania–many days in a row. After a torrential downpour in the wee hours of Saturday night/Sunday morning, the wind got wild and blew in great heaps of gray-black clouds and snow, alternating feathery dustings with whiteouts. Today we were left with numbing, branch-snapping cold, the kind of cold that takes your breath away and freezes the insides of your nostrils. The sun shining in the high arch of dark blue sky did absolutely nothing to warm the day. The cat fluffs out her fur and huddles in a fuzzy C, curling her tail over her nose to muffle the cold. I’m shivering as I write this, in spite of the space heater going full blast at my feet. So here’s my winter Haiku:
More and more each year,
I really hate the winter.
Take me to the sun!
Daily Photo:
Sagwa Ingalls Wilder
Today I made a mockery of my cat. OK, my husband did it; I just recorded. Our cat is named Sagwa, hence the title. There is also dialog that goes along with it:
“Yeah, life gets kinda tough out here on the prairie.”
It had been a long week. What can I say?
For day 8 and 9, I made two of these bags. I finished one yesterday and the other today. I’m still contemplating whether or not to open an Etsy shop. In case I decide to go through with it, I thought sewing up a few things to have ready might be a good idea.The bags are approximately 14 1/2″ x 9 1/2″, including the handles and has a drawstring closure. I made one of the bags last summer for my mom who uses it to throw her wallet and smaller knick knacks in. Then I made two more for my nieces with this same kitty material. The girls insisted on carrying their purses everywhere they went and used them to carry all the important things a 5 year old girl could need…a water bottle, a doll, and Happy Meal toys 
Today’s thing is another multi-tasking thing. : ) Ages ago, I volunteered to be interviewed by What Shoes I Wear. I was all set to write up my answers and send them in when I realized…I had no pictures of my shoes. And I didn’t want to do a boring “looking at my feet” shot. So I set it down. Today, I decided, was the day to get that OFF my to-do list. So I thought. And thought. And thought. And wandered around the house. And framed some pictures. And opened the fridge (anyone else find boredom or stress lands them in front of an open fridge?). And closed it. And opened it. And, well you’ve got the idea.
Finally, I decided to play around with my “imagine” letters that I decoupaged a box for the other day. After much playing with placement and shooing of cats (”Noooo, Abby, no, no, come here, no over here..Jack! No! Don’t eat that–Abby!…) I managed to get my pictures taken. So here is today’s “thing”, a still life of sorts. : )
And here are my well meaning helper cats in a less animated state.
Yes, ladies and gents, behold the first decent shot I took of my cat. Because she’s so black, her fur reflects the flash in a horrific manner. And if I don’t use the flash, then she just looks like a big black blob. But last night I finally got that elusive picture. I’m really proud of it, and I invite you to enjoy it! 
just a simple little thought for you when the days are tough, and you don’t know
what to do….do what ms. kitty does . . .
Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
For some reason, this never got published yesterday, so today I shall publish two rather than just the one…
Cool sheets against her legs
The rumble of the cat a lullaby
against her back
Turning, then again
the deep blanket of sleep
covers her.
This is a little chat I might have had this morning.
Characters: Me, cat, and a coffee cup.
Setting: Monday morning. A small, warm kitchen with bright sunlight streaming through its many windows. This is probably not my house.
Me: It’s a beautiful day. (Stretches, looks out windows.) I don’t feel like going to work.
Cat: I heard you tossing and turning all night.
Me: Indeed. (Standing, looking at the coffee maker as it burbles and hisses steam.) I am sleepy.
Cat: Is something weighing on your mind?
Me: Monday. (Yawns.) And I am worried about work and money.
Cat: Sometimes you worry too much about things.
Me: Yes, that’s true. (Leans down to stroke cat’s back.)
Cat: Me too.
Me: Why? (Looks to cat, curled at feet.) Like what?
Cat: I am afraid you won’t come home some nights.
Me: (Looking into cat’s eyes.) Is that why you pee my bed?
Cat: I am nervous and angry.
Me: Sorry. (Bends and strokes cat’s whiskers.)
Cat: It’s OK. (Purrs and stretches.) I love you dearly.
Me: Thank you. I know. (Retrieves coffee cup from cupboard.)
Coffee Cup: I don’t like that you keep me in the cabinet so much. Look at how nice the light is shining through these windows.
Me: I know. (Looks towards windows.) I keep you in there to make things tidier.
Coffee Cup: I don’t really understand.
Me: I frequently leave you on the counter in the light when I leave for work.
Coffee Cup: I enjoy the light.
Me: You are a long lasting and durable cup. (Lifts pot and pours coffee into cup.) You have served me well. (Stands, sipping coffee from cup and staring out the windows.)
Coffee Cup: Thank you.
Cat: I will sit in the windows while you’re gone and wait for you to return.
Me: It won’t be long.
Coffee Cup: I would like to be in the sun while you’re gone. Wash me and put me away later, please.
Me: OK, I will. (Lifts cup to lips, drinks.)
Cat: Have a nice day. (Stands and rubs his side against my leg before hopping onto a window sill.)
Me: I will try.
I went to the park today (February 3) and spent several hours getting cold and making watercolors. They came out terribly, and I won’t show them to you. Later on I made this picture of my friends’ cats Lucy (on the left) and Linus (on the right), which I am quite happy to show to you!
Affordable and easy to make cat toys.
I found the Mouse, Jak and Ball patterns FREE at Marmalade Pets
I made the notches too wide, so I ended up taping them to ensure the 2 pieces stayed together.
For Day 4, I will attempt to make dye from Blueberries!
Original idea may be in the works tomorrow, but today, I took advantage of the cat sleeping on me to take pictures.
So it’s February 1st and I’ve taken a good look through todays Thing-a-day’s posts and I’m beginning to wonder what I am doing here lol. There’s just so much talent here! How wonderful. I had intentions of sewing up something today to post. However, my habit of daydreaming kicked in and rather than sewing, I just sat around daydreaming and doodling.
It used to be that I would doodle on scratch paper and throw it out when I was done, but since I’ve been doing a lot of letter writing lately I’ve decided to dress up the plain white envelopes with my handy dandy art work…And when I say “art work”, I use the term loosely. In fact, here is a picture of my handy dandy art supplies. A plain white envelope and a Strawberry Shortcake pen. Ooo Strawberry Shortcake, you know you’re jealous. The pen’s pretty sucky though, since it doesn’t smell like strawberries like the smelly dolls used to back in my day.
And here are my envelopes.
Not sure what my fascination is with cats lately. I don’t even own one. The cat on the bottom envelope was intended to be purely black, but since my nifty Strawberry Shortcake pen has a super duper ultra fine tip, I got lazy trying to color the cat in and said, “Eh, good enough.” So we’ll just pretend I meant for him to look this way okay? Sshhh…it’s our little secret.
It’s 11:55pm here in Melbourne, Australia. I remembered at 11:30pm that I had to make my thing. See, I didn’t flip the calendar over, and I thought that today was Jan 31st. Anyway, I’m a dork. So, I moseyd over to www.instructables.com where I looked at duct tape wallets, but ultimately decided I just couldn’t be arsed with tape tonight. So, I made this really simple paper airplane.
It worked great! Took me all of three minutes and amused the cats and I for quite a while.
Tomorrow, I will try and allow myself a little more time. Maybe I’ll even make a duct tape wallet
