I can smell pine trees from our patio. Bliss! And I think my cat enjoys that patio even more than I do.
I still need to take these grocery bags back out to the car. But how can you disturb such a contented looking creature?
Ah, he leads such a hard life…
I am still very slowly trying to get both of my cats comfortable with the idea of being inside a kitty carrier. I so desperately want to reduce both their stress levels and mine when we make the long drive to Seattle in June.
Both cats love taking naps in the carrier when the door is off. Today I attached the door to the newest carrier and tied it open. Then I sat back and watched to see what would happen.
She wouldn’t lie down, but at least she crawled inside to take a look!
She’s not sure what to think…
And, after about a minute and a half, she decided she’d had enough.
My other cat hasn’t touched the carrier since I added the door. Hopefully we’ll have better luck tomorrow!
I am finally making some progress on my Double 9 Patch quilt! My quilting sessions aren’t as long as I would like but at least I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This quilting is mostly stitch in the ditch with straight lines connecting the 9 patch blocks. Well, the lines are semi-straight. I definitely need more practice!
Quilting
In moving news, we bought a kitty harness today to start leash training both cats. Here is Bruno, looking a bit unhappy with his new accessory. The photo makes the harness look way too small for him, but it’s not. He’s just sitting really weird.
Harnessed kitty
I’m so glad it’s almost Sabbath! It’s great to have a weekly break with God.
Success!
I added the kitty carrier lid. There was no other place in our living room for the end table so it went into the spare bedroom. Ah well. Our apartment looks more and more like a college pad every day!
Bruno: OOKCF (Operation Overcome Kitty Carrier Fear) – Part 1
Bruno: OOKCF – Part 2
Fiona: OOKCF – Part 1
Fiona: OOKCF – Part 2
Oddly enough, they keep fighting about who gets to sleep in the carrier. It looks like we need to buy another one! Fiona was sitting on top of the cat carrier on Sunday. Bruno stuck his head in and Fiona swatted him! Possessive cat!
I’ll let them get used to this setup for awhile and then reattach the door. I’ll have to do something to keep the door from closing on them. Bungee cord?
Hubby thinks my efforts are noble but will be in vain when the cats are forced to be inside the carrier. I’m still optimistic it won’t be so bad if they are used to the idea. We’ll see!
Ah, today was so much more relaxed compared to normal. The only chore left is to clean out the litter boxes shortly before sundown. I am definitely going to take note of what I moved to Thursday and do it again next week!
I even had time today to iron the backing I sewed together yesterday. I laid the quilt layers on the floor and watched a tutorial on how to use the basting spray. But then I decided that it would probably be better to wait for my husband’s help to use the spray. We don’t have hardwood floors so I can’t tape the quilt down and will need help keeping everything flat.
Hopefully we’ll be able to baste it Sunday morning so that I can start tying it all together! When I knew that I couldn’t finish this quilt by Christmas, I started procrastinating. Now it’s February and I’m still not done! My goal is to get this quilt tied, the border attached, and the quilt mailed by the last day of February. There’s no reason why I can’t get it done!
And just for fun, here’s a photo of my kitty trying to bury himself in the clean towels. Silly Bruno!
I decided it would be a good idea to get both of our cats used to the cat carrier. Fiona hasn’t been inside a carrier in several years and screamed the entire time she was last transported in one. Bruno was in the cat carrier several times when he was sick a few months ago. It stressed him out more than the actual vet visit. Poor kitties.
After much thought, I figured the best way to get them acclimated to the idea is just to leave out the bottom half of the carrier with a towel in it. If I can catch them using the bottom half, then I can attach the top half and just leave off the door.
This morning I took these pictures.
Fiona was sleeping in it! Success!
My first photograph woke her up. “What do you want, Mom? I was sleeping here, you know.” She looked extremely grouchy.
Now if I can get Bruno to do more than just stare at the carrier… at least he’s not running and hiding under the bed like the last time I brought it out!
It looks like Bruno has passed the critical point. This morning he got up and started following us around the house. For the past week, he has just stayed within the same couple of feet in the bedroom. This morning he started seriously purring when we pet him, ate a bit, and just looks way more perky.
I’m not sure if it was the antibiotics or the water they injected under his skin (that’s my guess) or finally getting him to eat yesterday but he’s showing signs of improvement. He wore himself out this morning trying to be active and has spent the last few hours sleeping on my desk.
I am SOOOOOOO relieved that he’s recovering. He still walks funny, but I think he’ll be ok. To anyone who prayed for him – thank you so much! I really appreciate it.
My kitty is sick. We’re taking him to the vet in 45 minutes. I’m very distraught over the whole ordeal. If you read this, please pray. I need him.
I am SO glad that tomorrow is Sabbath. We will not be attending church as my hubby isn’t feeling very good. But to have a day to stay home with no chores and all that time to study the Bible or read or sleep! It sounds lovely.
Today I cleaned the apartment quite a bit for the Sabbath. I like cleaning the bathroom on Sabbath because that somehow makes the whole apartment feel cleaner. I just have to put a plug in here for 7th Generation tub cleaner. That stuff is super cleaner! My tub just keeps getting cleaner and cleaner every week that I scrub it out. I also washed our sheets, vacuumed the floors, swept the kitchen, washed all the dishes, ironed our church clothes, and straightened up around the living room.
This morning I decided it was time to make beans. I have a recipe to make refried beans in the crock pot with no added fat, so they aren’t technically “refried.” They taste pretty good, though. The beans have to cook for six hours but don’t require an overnight soak. They were done at 4:30 this afternoon, so I mashed them up and stored them in the fridge.
The plan for dinner this evening was to have burritos with beans, rice, tomatoes, etc. We were out of fresh vegetables so we ran to the store after hubby was off work. On a whim, I checked the frozen section to see if Morningstar Farms is making vegan burger crumbles yet (nope, no luck). Instead, I noticed that Boca Burger now has a vegan burger crumble. Hurray! We bought a bag and quickly switched to soft shelled tacos. AFTER I made beans, of course. Oh well. They’ll be good for the weekend and early next week.
My kitty seems to be feeling a bit better today. He’s not as hot to the touch and he has a little bit more energy. He still spent most of the day sleeping on my pillow, but I think he’s on the mend.
I had grandiose plans for today. Haha. Best laid plans? There’s a text somewhere in the New Testament that talks about people making plans and how they should say “IF the Lord wills, we will do such and such.” That was basically my morning.
Hubby has been working late nights and I’ve been staying up to keep him company. I think last night we went to bed around 11. I woke up at 6 and stumbled out to the living room. After nearly falling asleep just sitting on the couch, I decided I needed to go back to bed. I promptly passed out for another two hours.
After getting up, hubby was immersed in phone calls with clients. During that time, I ensure that the clients can’t hear me in the background. That means I don’t have much I can do. I can either read or do something on the computer or… that’s about it.
Around 10:30, I finally got my chance to make cookies. Yay! The batter mixed up really well. It smelled great. It baked nicely. And… my peanut butter cookies didn’t taste like they contained peanut butter. They were pretty good, just not peanut butter cookies. Some of the reviews mentioned that, but other people said they tasted great. I will either have to continue looking for the perfect peanut butter cookie or tweak this one so it tastes like peanut butter.
I realized how poor some of the quality of our ingredients is. The cookies are supposed to be sugar free, other than what is in the tiny bit of maple syrup. My cookies were not sugar free. The maple syrup (fake, cheap stuff) contained high fructose corn syrup. The almond milk had added sugar (I didn’t know that!). And the peanut butter had added sugar! I thought I had bought a natural peanut butter without added sugar. I guess not… So much for sugar free cookies!
My kitty is sick, I think. He’s been hot to the touch since yesterday. He’s extremely clingy and really likes sleeping on my pillow when I’m in the bedroom. Poor baby. 🙁 He’s eating a bit less than normal, but still eating. I’m just going to watch him and see if he gets better on his own. I really don’t want to take him to the vet and get him shot up with medication. Hubby reassured me that we will spend money to take him to the vet if it comes to that. I just want him to feel better!
I hope this post doesn’t sound all doom and gloom, because I did have a good day. It just wasn’t what I expected!