Phew?

Since Saturday, I've heard. "Phew, it's over.  Finally!" about a million times.  When you work retail, that is to be expected.  However, I have a confession.... unlike everyone else working in this field, I actually love the holiday season!  Strange, I know.

This year it was great, we actually put up lights and decorated a tree! Almost picture perfect, except for the whole snow thing.  Not one flake 'round these parts, I wish.  Just plenty of rain.

If I could say one thing about our tree this year, it has "us" written all over it.

Yay for Tree-Bots!

Yes, that is a real pine cone on our tree!  How cute is that?!  We were lucky enough to find two of those little guys on the tree once we brought it in.  As for the pickle, I've heard some debate as to whether or not it's really a German tradition.  Oh well, even if it isn't, I still love pickles.  So why not one for the tree?

Christmas included wearing PJs (Jammers around here), Scrabble, cuddles, football, movies and tasty beverages all day.  We exchanged awesome gifts and basically took advantage of a quiet day together.  A rarity.  I hit the jackpot with my presents, lots of cute things to share with you.  And lots of supplies to make cute things to share.  Oh, my babycakes knows me so well.

At the moment, I'm taking a break from crafting to enjoy a cup of coffee...Santa brought the house a Grind n' Brew.  Yum!  

I hope that you enjoyed a lovely holiday with the ones you love.  Wishing you many more in the future.  I also hope you are having a craftastic day.  See you soon!

My 1st Caturday!

Have I mentioned that I just love Becky of Becky's B-Thrifty Blog.  Becky is a sweet, stitchin' lady who just so happens to be a teacher!  (Anyone who is a teacher has a special place in my heart!)  She's also in love with the same things as me- kitties, thrifting, embroidery, old TV, Elvis...should I keep going?  Anyhoo, she's wonderful and has the sweetest feature on her blog, Caturday!  Isn't that cute?  I thought so, which means I'm totally going to have a few Caturdays around these parts.  I figured with three cats, I'll have plenty of material.  A big thanks to sweet Becky, for the inspiration!

Everyone likes pictures of cats, right?

Oh...you don't?  

Sorry!  You'll probably want to avoid my blog for the next few Saturdays Caturdays!

Hmmmmmm, what to share??  As my first Caturday, I should probably kick it off with the OGK, (Original Gangster Kitty) Mama Sass.

It all started with her. A crazy lioness of a cat.

The guy was pretty anti-cat for a long time.  Understandably so, after several bad experiences with an old roommate and her kitty.  However, after getting the big guy, Tequila (Yes, we're aware of the female emphasis there.  It's a long story, for another time.) he warmed up to the idea.  One night a co-worker called to tell me she was bringing over a stray kitten.  However, she  arrived with a "teenage" adult kitty who was promptly scared away by the dogs in the house.  Eventually she came back and we became one big happy family- Dillon, Jackson, Tequila and Mama Sass.  We were surprised, but not the least bit upset, when this skinny-minny gave us 5 kittens!!! (That, too, is another story entirely!)

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Sadly, after having her litter and being fixed, she changed quite bit.  When the babies we kept were old enough to be developing their own personalities and exploring their space, she became very hostile towards them.  She fought them all of the time and eventually ran away.  We put up posters and checked every shelter around for months, however we never saw her again.   After seeking some advice we found that this was pretty common with feral cats who become domesticated for a short period of time.

I was still pretty devastated.  Having grown up in NY, I didn't even know what a feral cat was until Sass came along.  With the weather being so temperate here, most people let their cats out all year-round.  I'm still torn on the subject.  (It's been the topic of many a heated discussion 'round these parts.)

After she left I felt so guilty, however, I'm convinced that she only moved a few blocks away.  There is a huge college that maintains a colony of feral cats (with controlled breeding and health-care, of course.)  There is one that looks just like Sass.  She has yet to approach when I call, so I mainly look crazy, but I'm used to that.  I still think it's her.  I also still miss her terribly.  Maybe it's wishful thinking but I still hope that it's her.  And that maybe she cruises by here every once and a while, just to see how her babies are doing.  You never know, crazier things have happened.

So, yeah.  That's Mama Sass, our first kitty.  She's a beauty, no?

Thanks for tuning into my first Caturday!  I'll be back very soon with more fun stuff.  Having missed you guys so much lately, I'm trying to make up for lost time. See you soon.  Have a craftastic day!

V-V-V-Vino!

Hey, guys!  Long time, no see.  I've missed you.  The days are flying by in the form of one big blur, too fast for my liking.  Before I know it, it'll be 2011.  Isn't that just plain crazy?  I need to hurry up and get caught up with 2010 projects to share with you.  A fresh slate sounds nice, wouldn't you agree?

A while back a friend of mine mentioned that he would be turning a room in his house into a wine bar.  I mean, we are in "Wine Country", after all.  So, after a little brainstorming, I made him something to contribute to the decor.

Don't mind the terrible photos...I swear, I wasn't partaking in any Vino at the time!

It's simple enough, but I'm new to this whole piecing thing, so I was quite pleased with it.  Hope he is too.  

Hmmmm, un bicchieri de vino does sound mighty good but it'll have to wait.  We're supposed to get our Christmas Tree tonight! Yay- should be lots of fun.  The guys put up the lights outside last night and they look great.  Hopefully by next time I check in, it'll be nice and festive around here.