Oh Christmas Tree

 We're still getting settled in our new home and have many boxes stored in the barn we've yet to unpack. Many of the boxes are full of Christmas decorations . We knew we had a lot of Christmas decorations but boy oh boy, is it possible to have too many ? Especially since our new home is less than half the size of our home at Cedar Pond. ( Picture is of our youngest grandson helping my husband place the first few decorations on our tree.)

 We bought a new artificial tree for our first Christmas here. Yes, we have many beautiful trees growing in our forest that'd be perfect for us, but the woodstove in our new home keeps the whole house roasty-toasty and we did not want to worry about keeping the tree stand filled with water when we knew it would dry out every day with the heat and our cats and dogs drinking out of it. We chose this tree because it is narrow and nine feet tall, filling the window but not crowding us out of our new little living room.

Blizzard, our 20 pound cat, stretched out under the tree .

 We have a new puppy . She was born to a Labrador Retriever one of our granddaughters owns. We got her when she was 8 weeks old and now she is 8 months old. Her name is Luna and we love her. She discovered a long time ago she can peek into the house from the windows overlooking the deck. Our two cats seem to enjoy mocking the dogs from indoors. Here is Miss Marple almost taunting Luna. If Luna were indoors Miss Marple would be hiding under the bed or in the closet.

 The view of the tree from outside on a cold snowy winter's evening. You can see our other cat Blizzard looking out the window.

"The shining sparkling ornaments strung on our Christmas tree , Reach out and take me by the hand to years that used to be."  *  'To The Years That Used To Be '  from poem by Annette Victorin

Cats !

 This is what I often awake to, Blizzard my cat staring at me. I know this picture is slightly blurry, but I don't see well without my glasses or contacts and this really is what I see, close up and very personal. Blizzard does not sleep with us at night, my husband does not want the cats in bed. However, when my husband goes to work early in the morning Blizzard opens the door ( yes, he can open firmly shut doors ) and allows Miss Marple , our other cat, to precede him into the bedroom and onto the bed. Blizzard often tries to sleep close to my face but when he wakes me up while trying to curl up on my pillow I move him away and eventually the cats and I settle with them curled up at the foot of the bed. I sleep on quite peacefully with the comforting sound of a purring lullaby.

Our daughter and her children were visiting last week. You can see Blizzard knows he is an important member of the family. He took his place on the sofa to listen in on the conversation, and why not ? Cats, I love them, especially mine .

Random Happenings Around Cedar Pond

 It's that time of year I spend a lot of time watching and evaluating my Jacob sheep. This is Gudrid. Her four horns are a bit wonky but I like them, and I like her. I also like her fleece. I have a new ram and am hoping Cedar Pond's Gudrid and  Puddleduck Jonas will produce some amazing lambs for me. I am excited about spring 2016 lambs already.

 My husband was painting the second story of our house front, directly over the skylights in the sunroom. The cats were fascinated and watched him the whole time he was up there.

 Blizzard ...

 ... and Miss Marple.

 I finished my chicken embroidery on a piece of linen. I am still not sure what I am going to do with it. Add words ? Make a pillow or tea cozy with it ? Put it away in a drawer and forget about it ?

I carry a small bag of embroidery projects with embroidery floss, scissors and extra needles for those times I find myself waiting somewhere away from home. The doctor's office, the auto shop, or while visiting people. If I have some stitchery to do it keeps my hands busy and my mind free to concentrate on conversation or prayer. 

We now know why our fountain is losing water more rapidly than it should. Just glad Ella and Fella can't actually get into the fountain to splash and swim ! ( You know that is what they're contemplating.)

 

We finally got some rain this past weekend, along with a windstorm that knocked out our power and kept us without electricity over night. We survived , but many in our area sustained a lot of damage to their homes and the winds whooshed their way over the mountains to eastern Washington without much rain fanning the flames and spreading the already devastating wildfires there.

 

September is here and I am so happy about this. It has been a very hot , dry, and busy summer , but my favorite season is almost here and along with September cooler weather has come. Yay !!!!

The Rest Of The Story ?

 Oh glorious spot in the sunshine , perfect place on the bed for a cat nap.

 What you don't see is how Blizzard woke Miss Marple out of a sound sleep and bullied her out of her spot.

I am pretty sure "the rest of the story" is coming.

Let Me Sleep In !

 Zzzzzzzzzzzz.................

 ....zzzzz ?

Some of us aren't early-birds , please , please, pretty please ...let me sleep in !?!

Tea & Crafts With the Cats

I poured myself some tea to sip from my Gracie Chintz china cup while adding some finishing touches to a flock of little sheep . I had some help with my crafting.

Yes, after finishing some of the sheep I took them into my sun-room to photograph in natural light so I could post them for sale in my Etsy shop and look, peek-a-boo ! Miss Marple was supervising the whole procedure making sure none of the little sheep strayed from position. She is very good at whacking them around if they do. Sometimes she even helps them get away , to their detriment. Good thing there is a shepherd there to guard them. ( And I don't mean the little porcelain one. )

On the very same day I finished up a few wool needle-felted balls. I had help there too.

Blizzard personally checks each and every wool ball out by batting and rolling it around. If the ball has jingles in it he double and triple checks it , enjoying my game of seeking it out after he is done. You can see Blizzard is sitting next to a blue bin where the wee little sheep are placed for their protection after they are completed. I have learned the hard way NOT to leave the little sheep unattended if the cats are prowling the house.

Just minding her own business ? Hardly, she is supervising the terrarium projects I have going on...

...with some help from Blizzard. I'm not sure if they think the resin mouse in the terrarium is real, but I do know they'd love to sink their paws into the mosses . If you look closely at the window behind Miss Marple you can see the cats have thoroughly decorated the window with little nose prints, the higher row of prints being those of Blizzard. I suspect the terrarium will be thusly dotted soon.

And then there are my weaving projects. I completed 3 rugs last week all with plenty of help from Blizzard. He holds the loom down for me. At 16 plus pounds, he's very good at this.

"Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause the most inconvenience." Pam Brown  ~ But that being quoted, you can tell I love having my cats in, out, and round-about me. As I write this Blizzard is holding my husband down in the recliner , stretched full out on my husband's lap. They are taking their evening nap together. "Dogs have their days but cats have 365." Lillian Jackson Braun

I enjoy this teacup, one of a set of 4 rose-chintz patterns from Gracie China. It is not only beautiful, with it's rose patterns, but when I hold it up to the light it is slightly transparent. Also, this is a sturdy teacup , a quality I need when working around my cats who love to check out my dishes but pay them no mind if they decide to have a spat about who gets to sit closest to me. I have had to remember to place my teacups firmly toward the middle of the work table to spare them such disasters. We don't have too many broken dishes from the cats, I am the klutz, but several close calls taught me well.

I would like to mention a blog I love, written by a cat lover who also enjoys her tea time. Deb at  'Just Cats'* writes not only about her cats, but also about the cats she encounters in her cat-sitting business. She also has some very good tips and info regarding cat care, and some common problems people face with their cats & kittens. "The smallest feline is a masterpiece." Leonardo da Vinci

I am linking up once again with these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday :

• Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
• Terri at Artful Affirmations *
• Martha at Martha's Favorites *
• Bernideen at Bernideen's Tea time Blog *

A Christmas Whimsy , Blizzard, & Hawk

 My Whimsy, almost 6 months old and already she loves to pose for pictures. ( well, she SEEMS to )Do you see the spray bottle under the Christmas tree ? It is full of vinegar water for....

 ...our Blizzard who thinks it is fun to catch the bird ornaments and dismantle the tree. So when I catch him at this game I spray him with vinegar water. Actually, all he needs to see is me reaching for the bottle and he scoots out from under the tree and disappears  from sight. ( The little red boot ornament was a gift to me from my first grade teacher in Massachusetts many , many years ago. Mrs. Miller still rates as one of my favorite teachers.)

Our Christmas dogs. Hawk, wearing a bell and a worried expression, and Whimsy , just waiting to play after pictures are taken .

 

We hope your Christmas festivities and celebrations were times of making new & precious memories with loved ones, and times to reflect on the many blessings God bestowed upon you in the years past. May you  also be able to look forward to whatever 2014 brings to you with boldness and peace because you know the One in charge... Jesus !

Cat-Free Guest Room ?

 This is our guest bedroom. New carpeting, completely new bedding for this bed & the built-in beds in the alcove. ( not shown ) New curtains, new paint. The closets and bureaus are empty to accommodate guests' needs. Low lights by all the beds for night time reading. The best part of our new room is we are keeping it cat free because we have so many visiting friends & family who are seriously , almost life- threateningly allergic to cats. Well, Blizzard, our cat, is making this hard to do. He can open doors, and he intends to make himself at home in this "new" bedroom.

All we can promise is the bedding will be completely laundered if our cat-sensitive friends & family visit and they can lock the bedroom door when they retire for the evening. Otherwise they'll find Blizzard sleeping with them. He's friendly and loves to share himself with everyone .

1,000 Pieces Minus One

 We had 2 of our grandchildren over to spend a few days with us this past week. I discovered they love to put together jigsaw puzzles and are so good at it that we need at least a 1,000 piece puzzle for it to be any fun. My husband loves to put puzzles together too. What a pleasant way to spend a cold & rainy weekend ~ hanging out indoors with grandchildren, eating good food, and assembling a cupcake puzzle.

 Most of Saturday & Sunday ( including the evenings ) was spent gathered around the table putting the cupcake puzzle together. No prompting was necessary, these three were drawn to the puzzle like bees to flowers , bears to honey, or kids to cupcakes !

 Almost finished....

 ...but what's this ? There is a piece missing ! Our 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle is only a 999 piece puzzle. How could this be ?

The teeth marks on the scattered puzzle pieces we found Sunday morning gave him away. Wonder where he hid the 1,000th piece .

 

Blessings this past week : playing with grandchildren , a warm home with plenty of food, a husband who loves to play with his grandchildren, a husband who loves me , and most of all ~ a husband who loves God !  ( O.K., a magnificent cat who makes himself known & appreciated even if it means to compete with a puzzle for attention he has to steal a piece. )

Cat Entertainment On A Rainy Day

 It's a rainy day here in the Pacific Northwest and I decided to move my parakeet back into the sunroom. The parakeet enjoys the front porch all summer long .Since she is back indoors the cats took full advantage of her entertainment value. Miss Marple napped on top of the cage ,

 Blizzard across from the cage. He knows he can survey the bird AND Miss Marple from here.

 Looks like a cat stare-down , doesn't it ? But Miss Marple with all her claws intact is no match for a muscle-bound 16 pound cat, even if he is de-clawed. Blizzard dominates her and all our big dogs. Soon the stare-down is over and Miss Marple leaves. Blizzard is ready to...

 pounce ! What grace, what feline precision. He lands exactly where he planned.

In front of the parakeet cage. Betty, the parakeet isn't even startled. She knows what you & I know,

Smarty pants Blizzard can't open the cage door. She'd better watch out though, he can open all the bedroom doors and I see he is pondering the parakeet. Now I'd better go get a wire clip , I don't want my cat entertainment to turn into a cat snack .