buzzville

and his name shall be

Almost a year ago we submitted an application to adopt a greyhound with our local greyhound rescue organization. It was quickly quite clear that we weren't ideal candidates because we have 2 cats and a little one - they generally like kids to be at least 5 years old. And so, I had just about given up hope on a greyhound in the near future. That's why I was so surprised to get a call last week asking if I'd like to meet a young pup (between 12 and 14 months old) who might just work out in our house. "Kevin" came over last Wednesday to check out the place and meet me and Brynne and our cats. The first meet went extremely well, and I was pretty sold on the cutie. Jerry was out of town for work last week, so we arranged for a second play date on Sunday. Kevin came over and spent most of the day with us - we played outside, went for a walk to the park, and had loads of fun. We drove him back to the rescue center last night, and we all decided that Kevin should join the family. Since we're going out of town for the holidays, we're waiting until we get back to bring him home for good. How can you resist this guy?!?

As you can see, he's quite irresistable and very comfortable lounging on our bed!

The only major hurdle is coming up with a name. I just can't do Kevin... doesn't work for me. So, I'm asking my blog friends out there for name ideas - we like creative and fun, but easy enough to call him. If we end up choosing a name suggested by a blog reader, we'll send a little goodie package out with some fun stuff! So - bring on the names!

still no kitty...

I want to thank all of you for your wonderful comments - the tales of hope and words of support have really kept me going. I've been re-reading the comments whenever I'm feeling particularly low, and they have really helped to give me a boost. I haven't seen Issey since last Thursday afternoon when we left for San Diego, but we're not really sure when she disappeared since we weren't back until Saturday afternoon. Regardless, she's been missing far too long for my tastes. Jerry is optimistic that she may have found another home and is happy and well fed there. While this is definitely better than the scenarios of injury or worse, it's just not good enough for me. Call me selfish and self-absorbed if you will, but I want her back home with us! And, I don't think I'm the only one feeling that way... our other cat, Divali, has been totally mopey since we got back. I know that she misses her snuggle buddy and partner in sofa warming... she's never been an only cat before.

To top it all off, I came down with yet another cold last night, because apparently, physical suffering has to accompany the emotional suffering. Now, I hope I'm not sounding like some freakish drama queen... I have a wonderful husband, delightful daughter, beautiful home, and plenty of food, entertainment, and silly things that smack of consumerism. I'm not in a bad place at all - I'm just feeling pretty low at the moment. I'm still hoping against hope that she's ok and she'll just walk right back into the house any minute now. My ears are tuned to listen for her little voice announcing her return.

On the positive side, Jerry and I laid in bed last night remembering all the fun and silliness we've had with Issey. You see, she was our first "baby" - we each brought a cat into the marriage, but Issey was truly ours. We picked her out at the shelter before she was old enough to be adopted, and we waited anxiously for her to gain weight and clear all of her health checks so that we could bring her home. We like to think that we are somewhat responsible for her overall good nature, but in reality she was probably just born that way - our perfect cat.

Issey is missing...

I know I should be posting happy tales of our weekend in San Diego, and I was really going to... but, I've kept putting it off because my heart just wasn't in it. We returned home on Saturday to find that one of our 2 cats is gone, and she hasn't come back yet. So, my days have been filled with walking the neighborhood, visiting the animal shelter, posting lost flyers, and general hand wringing and worrying. We've had Issey for about 8 years, since she was a tiny kitten, and we love her dearly. She is such a sweet and good natured cat - we miss her terribly. I've heard many tales of cats going off for a while and then returning home, and we are trying to be optimistic that this will be the case for us. To make matters worse, we have heard of a cat found about 4 blocks from our house that had been hit by a car. But, our neighbors assure us that this cat had quite long hair, while Issey has short hair... ugh - I just hate not knowing - is she lost, is she hurt, or worse...? I'm sorry for the depressing post, but thought I should explain my absence the past few days. I keep hoping she'll just walk right in, chirping her adorable little Issey sounds, and snuggle with me in her sweet, insistent way.

My little kitten...

The weekend was a whirlwind in San Diego. We had a great time visiting with Jerry's brother and sister-in-law, but I didn't get a chance for any crafty stops - not even the Mitsuwa! Has anyone else noticed how it can be really challenging to schedule activities with those who don't have kids? They were planning dinners at 7pm for us (7pm is Brynne's bedtime), and they were excruciatingly late for everything. We planned on meeting for breakfast at 9am Sunday morning. Given that we're usually awake by 6am, we figured we'd have a little snack to tide us over until 9. Well, they didn't show until 9:45, then took us to a restaurant that was about 35 minutes away, and then we waited for about an hour to get a table. I don't think we were actually eating "breakfast" until about 11:45. And of course, all the while we're trying to entertain Brynne and keep her from having a meltdown since she'd been waiting for the promised pancake breakfast for almost 3 hours! Don't get me wrong - I love Jerry's family and we always have a great time together - but I wish they realized how important a schedule can be to a little tyke!

We came home to find one of our kitties suddenly very sick. She had a lump on her chest and was hardly moving - obviously in a great deal of pain. I took her to the vet to get checked out. Initially the vet thought it was an abcess (easy to take care of), but upon checking it out more closely discovered it was a "solid mass" of some kind. He operated that same day and kept her overnight. They're doing a biopsy on the tumor to see if they can find out what it was. I brought home my little baby, Issey, and she is so pathetic! She has to wear one of those cones to keep her from licking or biting her wound, she has a row of big, metal staples holding the sutures, and they shaved most of her chest and one paw where the IV was located. Look at this poor little thing!

The good news is that Issey is happy to be home, and we're being sure to give her lots of extra snuggles and scratches. Aside from the results of the biopsy, my biggest concern is making sure that Brynne is careful and gentle with Issey... She has the tendency to be pretty rough with our cats, and Issey may not be able to escape Brynne's clutches quite as easily at the moment!

This Post is for the Birds

You've probably noticed the prevalence of birds in blog-land lately. Maybe it's the coming of spring or the ever inspirational Lisa, but birds have been on my mind as well. So, I thought I'd share some fun bird finds - not all are new, but I think they're pretty cool.

Egg Birdfeeder

Birdtable

Bird Houses

Perch Bird Feeder

Singing Birds

Joe Bird Bath

Oiva Toikka Birds

So, while monkeys are at the forefront of my mind at the moment, I have a feeling that birds will be taking center stage before too long... stay tuned!

Klee Bird Cozy!

Last night I finished the aforementioned cover for Chiclet's cage. The fabric is a fun Paul Klee inspired jungle print with red and blue birds. The shape of her cage is unusual, with an asymmetric curve along the top edge, so I was a little worried about my ability to make a good pattern. Now that it's finished, I'm pretty satisfied with the overall fit, and it should certainly keep Chiclet feeling safe and secure at night. Here is the finished product (apology for the backlighting!):

The front opening is kept closed with a little velcro, and there's a slit running along the top front so that it can be slipped on around the cage handle. Hopefully, the cover will transport Chiclet to her native forests of Central and South America while she's quietly dreaming.

Introducing Chiclet

What better way to begin this inaugural post than to introduce the latest addition to our family. This is Chiclet, a 3.5 month old female parrotlet purchased for me as a Valentine's Day gift from Jerry.

 

The initial gift idea was for a lovebird (romantic, no?), but after a little homework, we thought that Chiclet would be a better fit, especially with regard to noise. We purchased her on Sunday at our local "mercado" (more about the mercado to come). So, Chiclet becomes the 8th member of our family (joining me, Jerry, Brynne, our 3 cats: Cthulhu, Divali, and Issey, and Brynne's fish, Blue Fish).

Being the crafting demon that I am, I now need to sew a custom bird cage cover for Chiclet that will keep her warm at night. I've selected a fun fabric, but need to place the order, make the pattern, and stitch it up. Should I line or quilt the cover for additional insulation?