We're having rather unusual weather here in South Florida at the moment--usually at this time of the year it feels like our version of 'winter', but at the moment the temperatures are reaching the upper 20s Celsius (it was 26 degrees C today).  Our mixed bag o'weather today included driving rain with intermittent blazing sunshine--which brought Mr Oliver Puss (aka Pussito) to the window to supervise my endeavours and let me know that he was unimpressed with his wet fur.

After two and a half days of straight knitting my little project is complete, and I am reminded that I really need to be conscious about posture while crafting--my shoulders and neck are definitely a bit stiff today!  (Photos to follow at a later date as the project is a surprise gift.)

Does anyone else do that?  I have to work at relaxing my shoulders because before I know it, I find that they have unconsciously risen to somewhere around ear level... definitely not a healthy situation!

So... today I worked on a little project for Sophie.  I'm going to take a photo of the finished product tomorrow as it will look much better in the warm light of day :-)

Now me and my aching shoulders are going to have a cup of tea and watch Ancient Aliens...  I have no idea why, but I love that crazy show!

What projects are you working on this week?

It was a sad day at Zoo Miami today as they said goodbye to Tevy, their 12 year old female Malayan Tiger.  She was found dead in her enclosure this morning by zoo workers and had been experiencing declining health for several weeks due to a liver condition. 

It has indeed been a hard 12 months for Zoo Miami as they lost Roshe, their 19 year old female tiger, last March.  Such a sad loss considering how few of these gorgeous creatures are left roaming the earth...

Rest well, Tevy.  Roshe is waiting for you on the other side.

I confess I just went out to run errands, to get the basics... like Kleenex with lotion because I just can't seem to shake this head cold that I've had since Christmas.  Truly, that was my mission.  It's not my fault that my local Big Box store has expanded its fabric and crafting section, and they just happen to have the most gorgeous wool now...

I've been twitching to knit lately, and when I ran across these gorgeous wools (Glacier Bay on the left and Violets on the right),  well... they asked to come home with me. 

Really, they did.

As always, my furry boys were on hand to supervise my outdoor activity (taking a photo of the gorgeous yarn)...

And then something really cute happened.

Today I brought Charlie home a doggie toy--one of the tennis ball contraptions with a rope attached to it.

He was completely uninterested in it.

Oliver, however, thought it was quite something...

... and proceded to bite it, roll around with it, and kick it with his back paws for the next 20 minutes.

Charlie isn't very interested in toys in general.  We're not sure why--we found him in the street two years ago, so we have no idea where he came from, or the story of his time before he became part of our family.  We're just glad he's with us now, and he's such a good boy!

Now.... enough Rambling. 

It's time to go find my knitting needles!  Sadly, they've been neglected for quite some time...

Happy Saturday!

I'm doing my happy dance right now--thanks so much to SCOTT at my site provider, because he managed to recover my blog page!!! 

WHEW!

PS:  I'm working on the cutest little project for Sopherella right now.... photos to follow soon  ;-)

Last August we had the blessing of welcoming a new little niece into the family!  She had been long-awaited and greatly anticipated, and her arrival was a joyous miracle for her happy parents.  They named her Francesca, and it was instant love.

Francesca is kind of special to me--she is not the only niece in the family by any means, but she is the first little one to be born after I became a part of my husband's family.  I am an only child myself, so the only nieces and nephews I'll ever have are by way of my husband's brothers and their wives.

What better way to welcome our new little sweetie than making her a crib quilt?!   It's an unofficial tradition in my family that all new little members receive a  quilt (hmm... maybe that's why the new furry members also end up with cuddle  quilts?  I never made that correlation before...)  So, I found some adorable  lightweight cotton and got to work...

First I washed the cotton and hung it out in my Mum's back yard to dry...  As you can see, I had a couple of feline backyard helpers:

I should mention that little Francesca lives in South America, so the quilt is more for comfort than warmth.  I used a pink cotton with white dots as the backing and an adorable bee and flower patterened cotton and matching pink and yellow solids for the front.  I used a lightweight cotton batting so it would not hold the heat as much as a synthetic material, and it was very basic and simple, something that could be washed frequently.

.It went together quite quickly and my Mum helped me sandwich it...

Sadly, I never took any photos of my little corner of my Mum's front porch where I set up my old sewing machine and worked on the quilt.  It was sunny and warm with a gentle breeze blowing through the window at my back, and I spent many happy hours working away in my hidey hole.  I machine-quilted 'stitch-in'the-ditch' style between the squares, and I like the clean appearance of the finished piece.

This is little Francesca Antonia enjoying her quilt--she was pretty much brand new when this shot was taken back in August, but she's growing quickly and we can't wait to spend more time with her soon! 

If any of you are like me, you'll understand what I mean when I say that I'm a 'fabric hoarder'.  Regardless of the amount of fabric in my stash, I always have room for more if it catches my eye... and that happens A LOT.  Sadly, I not only accumulate tons of pretty fabrics, but I have issues with throwing away the scraps.  I blame it on my childhood...  really. 

I spent my entire childhood in my Mum's fabric store.  Some of my fondest childhood memories involve rainy afternoons in the fabric aisles, matching up colors and patterns, or sitting on my Mum's lap to 'help' her while she was sewing.  It was an innocent, happy time and there is something in that which rubbed off on me and I now carry it with me as an adult. 

I've made quilts for Charlie Dog (see above) and Oliver Kitty (and actually bought the fabric specifically for them), so when little Sophie came into the household, I felt it only fair that she have something of her own too.  I wanted to make her something pretty and special, and went for a wander through my fabrics to decide what to use.  I found a whole bunch of scraps left over from a variety of projects--a dress, a skirt, a shirt for my husband--and decided to use them to make her something unique.

Here's the result:

I've always been a fan of the Log Cabin pattern, and I decided to create a modified version of the classic motif.  My Mum tells me that the fabric strips should be lighter in color on one side and darker on the opposite... but I did this my own way.  I've never been particularly traditional.

I didn't have any particular order in mind, I just prepared the strips and started it, making it up as I went along.  I really love how it turned out--the colors and patterns are so different when they're placed in strips as opposed to a whole larger piece, and the overall look is happy and colorful in an understated way. 

The pale blue border is repurposed fabric from one of my husband's old shirts--he was done with it and I loved the fabric, so of course I claimed it!  It had embroidery on the back, so I worked that into the overall look of the quilt and it is visible at two opposite corners.

Sophie absolutely loves it, and is always cuddled up on it, or burrowed under it for a snooze.* 

*Forgive the blurry cell phone shots--my blackberry sucks... I really need to modernize and go for a Galaxy :-)

I made the little quilt at the beginning of November, and you guessed it--I had scraps left over. 

Scraps of scraps....

So when it came time to make a Christmas stocking for the newest member of the household, out came said scraps (of scraps) and I whipped up something pretty for my girl.

Totally off topic, but overall it was a great Christmas--and one of the best gifts of all is that, after a long road to recovery for little Soph, she is doing so well!  She just had her second set of vaccinations on Sunday, and is going in for her spaying on the 20th.  She's come a long way from the sick, starving, emaciated little ball of fur that I found in mid-October, and I am so thankful to have her with us!

As I type this post she is laying in my lap asleep, paws and tail twitching as she dreams of chasing mice and cackling at birdies...  such a sweet little scrap of life--I will always wonder where she came from, but regardless, I am so glad that she found me!   

Black kitties never photograph very well, but isn't she the cutest little thing?  The vet estimates her to be around 5 months old... and with so much personality and love already!  She's going to be a beautiful girl!

One of my resolutions for the new year is that I plan to do a lot more sewing--in fact, I have my eye on some left-over fabric (of course) that I plan to make into some modified Log Cabin pattern pillow covers.  Our beautiful modern sectional sofa came with the most hideous throw pillows I've ever seen, and I've been meaning to get rid of them for almost two years now (there's the procrastination I mentioned yesterday... ugh), so this is the year! 

Update to follow :-)

Happy crafting, y'all! 

Happy New Year to you all! 

Hard to believe that we are at the start of a brand new year--but I welcome the fresh energy that 2013 brings.  Last year was a difficult one in so many ways...  from the natural disaster that devastated my hometown in Canada and completely destroyed my house there, to a number of very special people and furry ones who are no longer with us.  Putting up the new calendar at midnight was like taking a deep breath and letting go of all of the trials and tests of 2012.

It has been very hard not to focus on the negative aspects of 2012 when thinking back over the year--loss does that, it makes you dwell on what might have happened, on the things you should have done or said, on the phone calls you put off that now won't ever have the opportunity to make. 

But, it's time to let it all go and appreciate the present while looking toward tomorrow.  I am so thankful for so many things, despite all of last year's challenges.

The flood that devastated my hometown could have been worse--I lost my house, my parents lost a house, many of the neighbors' homes were also destroyed.  However, everyone survived.  It could have been so much worse... thank God everyone is still with us.   Although it didn't seem as if it could possibly go on as the village was lying under 8+ feet of freezing water from March 23-25th, the town is slowly rebuilding and life has continued.   A new normal has slowly been created, and we all learned the incredible value of people--family, friends, and strangers alike--and the transience of material posessions.  If you can, give to the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, or any other organization that helps the victims of natural disasters--as I learned from experience this year, you never know when you may yourself become a victim.  They were a lifeline and a Godsend--many thanks to them all!

Health is one of the most important things in life--put its value high on your list, and be thankful if you are hale and hearty!  Several of my close family members have had major health issues during the past year, and I am so thankful that they are still with us, relatively unscathed.  Sadly, I also lost close family members as well--all of them sudden and completely unexpected.  Their loss cuts, taking away a bit of myself and completely rearranging the landscape of my life.  The lesson learned is an old one--never take anything for granted.  Enjoy people, pets, and places and focus on the time you have with them in your life, because time truly is precious.

In October my husband and I rescued a kitty that we named Ella.  She had been abandoned in our neighborhood when her family lost their home to foreclosure, and had been living rough for some time.  It is a long and sad story, but we discovered that she had become unable to walk, and took her for veterinary care.  We hoped and prayed that she had only been hit by a car and would be mobile again once the inflammation subsided, but sadly that was not to be.  In retrospect (and after taking her to a veterinary Neurologist) she probably had cancer in her paw that spread to her spinal column, causing progressive degeneration.  We tried so hard to help her, but in the end she passed away at home with us comforting her, telling her it was okay to go.  That was my first personal experience with death, and in a strange way it has removed a lot of my fear of the transition from this plane to the next.  For a while I kept going over everything in my mind, thinking that if only we had realized that she needed help sooner, then we could have maybe helped her and she would not have suffered.  But that thinking is not productive, and what we have to focus on is that in the end, Ella kitty was loved and cared for.  She had the best medical care and she left this life held by hands that soothed and stroked her, surrounded by loving words and energy.  She knew, in her own way, that there were people who loved her, who cared what happened to her, and who will always remember her. 

In a happy contrast to Ella's story, there is Sophie.  While out for a walk one night in mid-October, I was surprised to hear a rusty little meow and to see a little black ball of fluff running after me.  She was painfully thin and I knew that she wouldn't last long without help, so I took her bony little body in my arms and we went home.  She was so malnourished that I could feel all of her ribs and vertebrae, which broke my heart, and when we got to the vet I cried when he told me that she was about 3 months old... and only weighed 1.6 pounds.  She was dehydrated and had diarrhea that was due to coccidiosis, so we began a long journey of medication, special diet, and lots of love.  I am so thankful to report that Sophie now weighs 5 pounds, has beautiful sleek and healthy fur, and is playful and loving.  She is one of the nicest little kitties I have had the priviledge to know, and has become a permanent member of the household.  The moral of the story?  Do what you can, and although the outcome may not be what you had hoped, at least you tried.  It means the world to a little creature in need, and you can save a life--or at least lessen the suffering and make a difference.  

So, this year's resolutions?  Be grateful.  Be thankful.  Spend important time with family and friends.  Volunteer.  Donate.  Focus on the good in life, and learn to negotiate the difficult times without letting them destroy you. 

Hello January... let's be friends.

With all of the recent activity at my Canadian house (Did I mention that the garden has been completely dug up?  That pesky oil contamination from the recent flood managed to leach its way out of the house and taint the earth all around it...) I have been reminded of the generations past who inhabited it.  With nothing but an old photograph to go by, I did a little research and managed to piece together a bit of history that I find rather fascinating.

Years ago a friend had given me a photocopy of a photo that appeared in a local historical periodical, telling me that the house in the article was mine.  I thought it was interesting and put it away in a binder, never thinking much more about it.  Well, during the past two weeks there has been a lot of excavation around the house, and I guess maybe some memories have been dug up along with the oil-saturated soil, because something led me to do a bit of internet research into the man named Charles Henderson who called the house his own long before I was ever born.

After a bit of online digging I was delighted to discover that Charles Henderson was in fact a Baptist Minister, and he is buried in the old Baptist cemetary just up the street from the house.  I took a walk, spent half an hour searching through the gravestones, and finally located Charles and his wife Sarah.  So amazing to think that I have walked past that cemetary for years and never once realized that the former owners of my house were resting just twenty feet from the street. 

Further online genealogical research uncovered the 1881 census, which shed more light on the history of the house and the Hendersons.  At that time, 42 year old Chas Henderson and his 46 year old wife Sarah lived with their two children, 11 year old Gertrude and 10 year old Chas, both of whom were attending school.  The household also consisted of an astonishing FIVE extra people--a Blacksmith, a Milkman, a Station Agent, a Labourer, and a Servant.  At that time, there would only have been three upstairs bedrooms, so it is anyone's guess where the extra five people were housed.

The poor old house is looking very tired and sad at the moment--one of her decks has been cut up and removed, her lacy latticework skirt has been torn away to reveal her spindly porch legs, her old-fashioned ornamental side flowerbeds have been hauled away, and the beautiful lush grass all around her has been stripped away and hauled off in trucks.  To stand watching the destruction is heartbreaking, especially when I think of how many generations she has seen come and go, and how many changes she has withstood in her long life. 

We don't know yet if this will be the end for the old girl... but I am thankful to have had the priviledge to spend time within her walls, and make memories of my own there, carving out my own little piece of her history. 

The front garden remains intact, and out of respect I spent a few hours yesterday cleaning it out, making the front yard presentable.  There is something soothing in the monotony of tasks that have been repeated a hundred times, without conscious thought or planning.  The normalcy of raking, weeding, and pruning--those were prescious hours that may never be repeated, and I enjoyed every second of them, for they may be the last of their kind. 

Rest easy old girl, and always be a lady.

The skies have darkened and the weather has turned cold and rainy here in this little valley, and I find that my thoughts shift constantly to warmer, lazier days spent sipping cool drinks on the porch of my house by the river.

There is something magical about a hazy summer morning by the river, watching  the sunlight sparkle on the  shifting surface while the garden flowers turn their  happy little faces toward the light for a day of sunbathing.

Sadly, I can't find an inside shot of the porch here in summertime... but suffice it to say that it holds a very fond place in my memory, and I would love to spend a few hours curled up in a chair there  with a kitty in my lap, dreaming away the afternoon.

Wherever you find yourself on this rainy day, I hope your day is filled with warm thoughts and happy memories!