Welcome Katrina!

Our most elderly friend, Norman, passed away a few weeks ago. He was in his 14th year and had been failing for the last six months. He was a happy cat and he often told us so. Rest in peace, Norman, until we meet again.

Not wanting Bodecia, who had known Norman almost all of her life, to go into a deep mourning, we looked around for a likely kitten to join the family.

We found Katrina.

Ahem, Katrina! Hey, Katrina! They're introducing you. Sit up and look pretty!

She's got Norman's old white rat, as you can see, on the floor of the workroom. Why she wants to roll around down there like that, I have no idea. She'll be hours getting all that dust off of her.

She's developing quite an effective rabbit kick, we'll have to give her that..... 

and good balance on the haunches......

seems to understand rat anatomy......

knows the head from the tail...... Yes, she's doing quite well in RAT101.

Now, to see if she can pass BIOLOGY101 by removing the rat's brain.....

it's a serious fight, folks.

She's got him down.....

did you hear that? The rat cried uncle! Katrina wins round 1!

This is exhausting, raising kittens.

I'd rather be upsidedown.

Or, asleep, at last. Bodecia. Age 9.

And Katrina, too. Sleeping dustmop. Age 12 weeks.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Sunshine and Roses and a WINNER!!!!!

The Lazy Daze of Summer ..... Almost Here

 Well, for cats, every day is a lazy day. They love the front porch in the mornings when its sunny. Sometimes there's a battle for the right spot. That's Norman, on the left, and Bodecia the "beaudacious babe" on the right. Norman's losing out on the sun, gradually, but he's such a gentleman, isn't he? He just goes right back to sleep. When you're a great hunter, like Norman, you need your rest.

Meanwhile, outside, on a derelict house in our town, a wild, wild rose is having its way with the old thing.....

.....it's climbed in behind the window covering and burst out the top!

It's blooming all over the place!

Joyously!

Intrepidly!

Coyly!

And Fragrantly! It smells like the sweetest of raspberries.

I've collected a cutting of it. Any rose so brave should have a space of its own. 

Will it take over my house? Possibly.......

And guess what? We've just drawn a name for the winner of a free pattern from Prairie Cottage Corner and she is.........ta-dah!

!!!!!!Sandra V.!!!!!!

Send me a message, Sandra, and I'll return it with the pattern of your choice from our collection. See the link at the top right of this page for all of our patterns. Just give me the pattern name and it's yours! My email address is on the same page as the patterns.

Congratulations!

A Simple New Year's Repast

A Good Time Was Had By All

Nothing fancy this year. No stress, no bother. I just love doing things buffet style. Yup. I set out BBQ Sausage in my DH's homemade BBQ sauce......(hint: it's made with ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar & a little brown sugar)

Sliced up two kinds of Summer Sausage and four kinds of cheeses (Swiss, Colby, Wisconsin Brick and Aged Cheddar).....

Put a jar of whole cranberry sauce out.....our favorite berry this time of year.....

....arranged some crackers, celery and carrot sticks.....

.....set some lovely, fresh Romaine up in a bowl with a little cool water in the bottom.....

.......began with a dish of shrimp in my DH's other favorite sauce recipe....cocktail sauce.... (hint: it's made with ketchup and zesty horseradish sauce....yum)

....added some salad dressing of choice, a little sour cream dip.....and we settled down to a quiet New Year's Eve....alternating between reading Ngao Marsh on our Kindles, watching taped episodes of "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and "The Pioneer Woman"......and playing a couple of computer games.

Very relaxing. (Norman likes to hold hands with my DH while Bodecia crashes.)We actually stayed awake to hear the local fireworks....but were too cozy to go out and actually look at them. Oh, for drinks? Sparkling cider, what else? Aren't we boring? Didn't we just A-LOVE it (as Martha Stewart says). Yes we did.

(When Bodecia's awake, nothing escapes her.) Oh, and we set up the tv to record the parade and the Rose Bowl game so we didn't even have to get up early. Such a life, don't you think? We deserve a break once in a while. So, I hope you're taking a break today and enjoying time with family, thoughts of a fresh start and a feeling of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the bounteous blessings of His love.

 Happy New Year, friends.....

How to Stay Warm in Winter

It's been 24 degrees F. here forever, it seems.  And foggy!  What better way to endure winter, than stretched out with Louis L'Amour and two kitties?  About New Years Day, my DH was glad to have the company with the weather so cold.  And, of course, Bodecia and Norman were glad to help, even though it was such a sacrifice!

 Bodecia's not aware, yet, that she's the subject of an upcoming blog post.  Norman, however, is ready and waiting for top billing. " See my claws?  If not for furniture, then what?"  Notice all our furniture has coverings.

Finally, Bodecia is vaguely aware of the hovering "flashy-washy thing".  "Oh no!  Spots before my eyes!"

They're both exhausted from having had a night of uproarious fun, taking ornaments off the tree and batting them across the floor.  After so many years, you'd think they'd be bored with that.  I know WE ARE!  Well, so it's time to hibernate, definitely.  Stay comfy, all.  By the way, that's my almost-first-early-quilt providing the hugs.....a kitty fabric Turning Twenty.  The backing was a Laurel Burch kitty fabric that is so dreamy.  I still have a few little shreds of it left.

Aren't her designs wonderful?  I couldn't find a swatch of the exact one but love this one.  Thank you so much, Laurel Burch for all the lovely images and the rich colors.  Our world is better for all of that.

Coming up, I promise......Applique' Made Easy!

Does He Ever Stop Napping?

You know, I really need to play.  Doesn't he ever wake up?

(When Bodecia joined the household as a kitten, Norman was about 4 years old.  He had already learned to nap professionally.  You can learn more about Bodecia and Norman on their pages.)

Resident Quilt Testers

Meet the official quilt testers.......

Norman, in a box of pumpkins a few years back.  I think he wanted to hatch them.

Bodecia, waiting for another quilt to test.