Spring is here and so are the new kittens!

One of the cats I didn’t get in my first TNR session had kittens.  I knew that if the kittens were to be tamed and become adoptable they needed to be caught fairly soon.  It’s just a guess, but the kittens are 5-7wks old.  I stumbled upon them out of luck.  I was throwing something in the dumpster down the alley and walking back up, I spotted them in a neighbors yard.  The kittens were coming out from under the shed and would play in the wood pile while their Mom sat in the yard.  I had the brilliant idea of trapping the Mom and saving the kittens, thereby saving the world!  Kidding, sort of.

(Photo by Amtours)

This is Old Deuteronomy or Ole D.  She has been coming around since February for food but sleeps somewhere else.  I tried to trap her in the neighbors yard after getting permission from the homeowners, but the trap did not go off and she got a belly full of food.  Later that evening I saw her nursing her babies and I thought, well one last meal, and I will try again in the morning.  Early morning of the TNR clinic, Ole D was in my backyard.  I had the traps set up and Ole D went in.  Success!  I was also trying to trap Eggy, an old sick cat in my yard, bu alas she wants nothing to do with food that is in the traps.  I took Ole D to the clinic for spaying surgery and then went home to see if I could catch the kittens.

Well that is when my neighbor got into me.  I had asked permission before and I assured him that the cats would be returned as I returned the last TNR batch.  But he said he didn’t believe me (as the cats have taken to my backyard since I feed them real food on a regular schedule), and he hadn’t seen them since.  He says he feeds them, but I think his idea of feeding them is much like my neighbors, they throw stale bread and table scraps out the back door.  As I was going to set up traps and bait for the kittens, he said unless I was with the City or Animal Control he didn’t want me in his backyard catching the cats.  He said he wants the cats around to catch the squirrels and that he couldn’t grow his bell peppers because of the squirrels.    I started to cry.  I told him that I had trapped the Mom already and these kittens would die if I didn’t bring them in to feed them.  He said I could catch these kittens and then after that to not bother cats in his yard again.  I promised I would.  I tried and could not catch the kittens.  So I set out some food and went home to talk to a RMACA volunteer and wait for the Mom.

The clinic called and said Ole D was ready to be picked up.  I talked to a few volunteers who said the Mom would return nursing if I let her go later that evening and the kittens would survive.  We were thinking that if the Mom returned to her kittens, the neighbor could keep the colony in his yard.  We would wait to catch the kittens when they were older and left his yard, knowing that sooner or later they would be coming to my house to get food.  Well, at the clinic I lifted the towel on the cage to make sure I was getting the right cat and I saw a frail, sick, weak cat.  The vet tech. saw vomit and said oh that is not good.  We looked further at her belly and she had ripped out her stitches and her intestines were splayed out on the floor of the cage.  They got the vet immediately and took the cat back into surgery.  They said I could come back tomorrow and she will get fixed up.  I called the RMACA and was freaking out.  The trauma the Mom went under would almost certainly mean the kittens would no longer get food from their Mom and would have to eat solid food.  Almost 20 minutes later, the RMACA called and said they had to euthanize the Mom.  They found a squirrels paw in her intestines and that is why she had ripped out her stitches and intestines.  They said only a 1/3rd of her intestines were viable.  Had she been a House cat, they have a surgery to fix her, but being a feral she isn’t so lucky.  Everyone was telling me that she would have died a painful death without my intervention, so it was better that she was caught and humanely put to sleep. I still feel a bit responsible for her death and certainly I feel responsible for these kittens now!

I had three volunteers from the RMACA come out and help me catch the kittens.  Certainly now this was a high priority.  The vet did say that the Mom was slowly weening them off of her, as she was lactating less.  So that is a good sign that the kittens would be old enough to eat solid food.  The first volunteer was able to just reach into the wood pile and grab all 3 kittens.  They were screaming like mad, but quieted down once we got them in the cage.  You have to be fearless when catching kittens.  I think that is why I couldn’t catch them.  They would hiss at me and I would back off.  This volunteer just took charge and showed them who’s boss!  The volunteer thought they were great candidates for taming and adopting.  I would just have to keep them for a few weeks in my basement and play with them a lot so get used to humans.  Oh the trouble, I have to play with kittens! So far they are all eating (minus one, though I am keeping my eye on her).  All are girls, so I am glad they got caught and will be spayed when older!  When first handling them we would grab them with a towel to protect our hands, but even after one night, I’m finding that they will just let me grab them with just my hands.  A couple have eaten food from my hand and lick my fingers.  They are too cute and I can’t wait to see their personalities to come out.  I’ve been thinking about naming them for temporary until they get adopted and renamed.  So far, the Orange calico is Pookie (after my old calico cat).  The Black/White one I want to call Eggy (again after my old B/W cat, but I already have a Eggy feral in the yard).  So I’ve nicknamed her Crouching Tiger as she likes to pounce around and from the 2nd photo in this post she is crouching down ready to attack.  The third grey tabby, is the Silver Fox or Mah Boo (DListed readers will get the joke).

Spay and Neuter your pets!  If you need help with a cat contact the RMACA.  Even if you cannot afford the vet bill for your house cat, contact RMACA and they will help get your pet into a clinic for a very discounted price.  If you want a squirrel catcher to protect your prized bell peppers, adopt!  or have fixed ferals that you feed REAL cat food in your yard!

On today’s edition of This Old House, I bring to you my bathroom.  What, might you wonder, is underneath the top coat of plaster in a 1920’s bathroom?  It might surprise you.

The blue square is my painting a background for a wood cut art piece that I own.  (I was painting a sky behind the wood relief.)  The dark brown is the Mississippi Mud color that I was attempting to paint the wall.  The cream is the base of the plaster as is the black racing stripe.  I would have thought black racing stripes would be so 1950’s, so I am surprised that design would be used on the original plaster for a 1920’s home.   The wall isn’t perfect.  There have been drywall patch jobs and even the thickness of the plaster varies.  I will tell you, my original goal was to create a plaster worn effect on top (through faux painting) and add a wood beaded wainscot for the base.  For you locals, imagine the walls of the Thin Man bar on 17th Street.  I even wanted to hang a dozen or so small art pieces, religious relics, etc for the effect.  I think I am only going to scrape this one wall and Kiltz/paint the rest.  I may leave the original plaster and wax over it, but I am unsure of wax in the bathroom and I am undecided if I am a black racing stripe type of girl.

Yes, I know I am a bit compulsive but honeslty, this is my kind of fun!  Architecture!  Love it!

Isn’t there some parable about how Hell is pushing dirt up a slope only to have it wash back down again, and then pushing the dirt back up the slope, only to have it wash back down again . . .

I’m going to post these before and after pictures and then take a long hot bath.  And then I am not planning on moving EVER again.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Please.  Please let me get into Heaven!

I admire the Weekend Warrior.  They typically plan a project, wait for the long Holiday weekend, execute, and finish by the Sunday sunset.  They get to relax and have a beer Sunday evening proud of the work they accomplished for their week.  Productive and accomplished.  Sigh.  How I envy those traits.

My Weekend Warrior projects never seem to be that fulfilling.  I encounter a problem, a mishap, a delay, a major threshold that delays my “weekend” project into a month long procession.  Sigh!  It’s not you, it REALLY is ME!

Let me share with you my troubles.  First, I will share with you one accomplishment.  I found an old box spring mattress by the dumpster.  I know you are getting the whole Sanford and Son vibe right now when I tell you that I saved it from the landfill.  I painted it a lime/apple green and hung it to my fence to created a trellis for my Trumpet Vine (that just arrived in the mail from the nursery).  Success!  I love it.  Yes, I will admit it looks like trash, but imagine if you will the Trumpet Vine crawling all over it with it’s vibrant yellow flowers.  After a year or so, you wont even notice the box spring and you will love the Trumpet Vine!

Okay.  Success right!  Hanging the box spring made me want to plant the Trumpet Vine.  So I went out early Saturday morning, while it’s still cool and I wont sweat and fight with the bees over my dandelion weeds.  I unearthed a whole brick patio/walkway that I didn’t even know existed in this area of my yard.  You see  my yard slopes to the alley, so it makes sense that the dirt would over time wash over the brick.  The dirt I am unearthing is at least 5″ deep.  How much time did it take for that brick to be washed over?  How did the previous owners not notice this and upkeep this?  I’m still digging, but I wonder how far this trail leads!

Alright, Second Weekend Warrior project.  Paint the bathroom.  Simple right.  I mean it is painting for goodness sakes!  However, after painting a bit of one wall I decided to do to scratch test, to see if the paint was bonding to the wall.  It is not.  In fact I am wondering if ANY paint would bond without pulling the paint off the wall.  Sigh.  I am currently scraping the paint and the first layer of plaster off the wall.  The only way to get paint to bond to this surface is to scrape, sand, or Kilz.  I am scraping right now.  I may brake down and Kilz later.  Let’s let you see this mess.

My original color was Mississippi Mud.  Maybe that fits the mess I have created in my bathroom right now.  Not quite mud, but a mess to be sure.  Sigh, this is going to take me months to sort out.

So, my plan is to dig out the brick where I want to plant the Tumpet Vine and sort out the brick later.  My plan for the bathroom. . . uhm, no plan really.  I’m going to scrape and figure it all out later.  Sigh again!

So I had the best intentions when I found this rocking chair out by the dumpster.  One leg needed to be re-doweled, a dab of wood glue here and there, sand, paint some vibrant color and sell for a fortune in a garage sale.  However, when am I going to do this?  When am I going to have a garage sale?  How long has this broken down chair lived in my basement?  Answers:  Never.  Not now.  Far too long.

So I came up with the brilliant idea to salvage the parts and use them for something else I really did need.  A Niddy Noddy!  I’ve been frogging sweaters that I bought on the cheap for yarn and I needed to skein them so I could wash, uncurl the kinks, and come up with some measurable way to figure up the yardage.

I thought I would share with all you the labor intensive process on how to make a Niddy Noddy in this tutorial I’ve created.

Step 1: Subject: broken down rocking chair.  Set in room.

Step 2: Take rubber mallet and smash the rocking chair to pieces.

Step 3: (Are you following me so far?)  Take three pieces of chair base, sand off crusted wood glue from the ends and put them together.  No need to use wood glue, just friction fit them together.  Turn one end 90 degrees from the other.

Step 4: Take yarn and wind onto Niddy Noddy.

Step 5: Tie waste yarn around yarn before removing from Niddy Noddy and then give it a bath.  Let dry on clothesline and then wind onto ball winder.  Knit or crochet your recycled sweater yarn into something you love.

Step 6: Gloat!

The End.

It’s the first day of Spring.  I’ve been speed reading the Twilight books, Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse (haven’t read the 4th book yet–Val!).  So how appropriate is it to finish a sweater I’ve been mulling over the past year called Moonlight!

I misjudged my row gauge and the sleeves are too long, but I just roll them up.  And I don’t even care.  This yarn is so yummy soft, it’s a dream.  And I love the buttons I found at the Lambshoppe.  They remind me of a celtic knot, sort of.  Anyways, here it is.

Alright.  I admit it.  I can’t stand shopping.  Never did like it.  I occasionally go to the Gap and buy clothes (like once every 3 years).  I like going to Target, although lately I stick to a budget so that has gone by the wayside.  My last trip to Target, coupons in hand I did pretty well and stuck to my shopping list.   I did wonder what a Crockpot went for these days, just so I would know when I found one on discount if I was truly getting a deal. That was when I saw the Rival rice cooker for a mere $17 and splurged.  Most splurges I regret before I even get home.  Not this one.  I have used it nearly everyday and can’t imagine how I lived without it.  Well, actually I know how lived without it.  I never cooked rice!  I don’t know why it is so difficult to boil water, time the rice or pasta just right and enjoy, but it just is.  I would like to blame the high altitude cooking adjustments, but no.  Even at sea level, I never could make it just right.  My friend suggested I get a rice cooker and explained how it worked since I never knew such an appliance even existed!  So that is what led me to buying a bunch of rice for a steal at the Asian market.  Now, where to put the rice in my kitchen.  I’d saved a few glass jars from pasta sauce, but those are small in size and takes up a lot of my limited pantry space.

I had wanted to drop off a small bag of donations at the local GoodWill and I had been wanting to buy another pot to specifically pop popcorn kernels.  (I don’t have a microwave, and the stove top popcorn is expensive and a larger size than the single serving I was after.  So popping my own serving size was the direction I wanted to go.)  Of course, me walking into a GoodWill, even with one thing in mind to purchase, is a bad thing.  You see, I hate shopping, except when it comes to needless old junk.  Then I go crazy.  Of course, on a budget, going crazy in a GoodWill is not as horrible as it sounds budget wise, it’s more a filling up your house with needless junk and running out of room to put it crazy!

Okay deep breath.  Here is what I got.

Yep.  All of THAT!  And I love it all!  (Minus the yarn swift and ball winder, I was too lazy to take them out of the shot, since that is where they live.) Okay there are a few deals I got that I just have to show off.

Flour and Coffee Jars  I have a container for my white flour, but my cornbread flour as been sitting in the brown bag it came in on the counter.  It deserved a container.  And of course Coffee, a daily habit in my house.  I am actually going back to the GoodWill this weekend, just to make sure I got all of these jars.  It’s possible I missed some in this design and it would be a shame to separate them.  It’s also possible this was all there was, but I can’t be sure until I do another sweep.

Montana Jar.  I had wanted a Montana Jar to store leftover skeins of yarn, but these puppies are expensive!  This jar was $3.99. It is actually a beverage jar made of recycled glass that originally sold in Target.  I read the reviews online (originally sold for $30) and they were awful.  The spickett kept breaking and I think they had to pull them off the shelf.  This one has a plug and hole, but no spickett.  No problem.  I wasn’t going to use it for beverage serving anyway!

Baking! (Fuzzy pic, Sorry about that.)  I actually made my first batch of homemade cookies this past weekend.  I realized while in the process, I was woefully missing some crucial items.  I didn’t have a rolling pin and I had only one medium sized mixing bowl.  I got the rolling pin for $1.99, the Glassbake mixing bowl for $1.99, and the 3 stainless Chefmate mixing bowls with measuring lines for $6.99!  I really wanted to find a mixing bowl like the Glassbake but with a handle (like Martha Stewart makes).  I wonder if its possible to have one made and bonded/glued on.  Hmm.  The Pyrex measuring glass was only .99cents!  (I so needed another measuring cup, as I only have one, and it’s plastic.  You can get by with one measuring cup, so long as you measure the dry ingredients before the wet ones –yeah right.)  The four plates are a simple design that appealed to me and were only .49cents each.

Glasses.  My old roommate had a collection of Art Deco Manhattan Glass.  It rubbed off on me a little.  When I spotted these I knew I had to get them for myself.  I’m not schooled enough to call these authentic, but they fit the style enough.  The tall glasses look and feel more authentic than the short juice glasses, and at only .49cents each why complain.  My mother gave me a huge set of glasses that I never use.  The glass is just to thin and I worry each time that I could easily bite the glass off and cut my lips.  In fact, I never use them.  I use the two or three thick glasses that don’t match over and over.  Even when guests come over, I wont serve them the thin glass.  I don’t need a lawsuit!  I need to get rid of them.  I’m also not a matchy, matchy kind of girl.  I like having an eclectic array of glasses.  I was actually looking for a wine goblet when I found these.  Notice I said goblet, wine glasses are too dainty for me and again I feel like I could break them.  Since I have no dishwasher,  I have to handle washing the dishes in the sink and have dropped a few.  The thick ones don’t break as easy!  Safety over dainty glasses!  Bring on the goblets!

I have never owned a cheese slicer!  I bought a block of cheese and have been crudely cutting it with my worn out knives.  Block cheese is cheaper than prepackaged sliced or shredded almost always.  I actually laughed when I picked this up and thought, how did I live this long without this!

I have a whole rant over can openers, but I will try to make it short.  You know when you buy something fancy, new, and a cool design and you are so happy.  Then the overpriced piece of crap breaks after a month.  Well that is what can openers are these days, especially electric ones.  The plain old manual design works better, but good luck finding it.  You sometimes can find it at the grocery store, but there was a time you couldn’t, and I should know.  I have this same Ekco can opener, but its cruddy and getting worn (after 10 years of use), I finally bought another.  I’m not going to throw the old one out, but I figure buying a spare was the least I could do, in case I find myself in a pinch.  Ekco brands are much like Pyrex brands (the small glass bowl above).  When you find them, buy it, and you won’t regret it.  Each item was just .49cents.

Wagner Tea glass jars.  Completely needless and I love it!  Nothing more to say, don’t you agree.

Cute Terra Cotta oval pots for $1.99 Couldn’t resist.

Cool Retro looking Bread Box.  Love it!

For my knitting friends!  Sheep front and back.  Thick glass like I like.  Adorable.  Come on for .49cents!

Oh that’s right.  I only came in to buy a Popcorn dish.  Well I did find one that I love.  Perfect size and it’s Pyrex!  Only $4.99!

Triomphe Jars.  I had never heard of this brand, but when I googled I learned that it is a discontinued French canning jar company.  I bought as many as I could find.  Total I got just two with the Triomphe name, but these four pictured in the forground were just the same.  Now I can store my rice, flour, sugar, dried soup, etc.  These are my favorite find of the day.  The price ranged from $2.99-.99cents.  I am going to scoure every GoodWill and ARC in the city for more of these every chance I get.  How better to save money on your groceries than to buy the right storage container!  I love that it is glass and not the plastic containers that you find now days. Okay well believe it or not, I left out a few items in this blog post.  I told you I went a little crazy.  And sad to say, I am going to go crazy this weekend as well.  Saturday, GoodWill is having a 50% off sale. If I find more Triomphe jars or sweaters that I can unravel for the yarn I’m going to go for it!

Maybe that is a horrible title after you read the story I’m about to tell.  I have wittier friends who might be able to suggest better.

My neighbor knocks on my door Thursday morning.  Not early mind you, (I was up and having coffee and checking emails) but earlier than I had wanted visitors.  I almost ignored the knock, until a second knock came louder and more urgently.  I cracked open the door to see my neighbor who just blurts out “Is that one of your cats dead on my front door step?!”  Wha!!!!  I rush out the door, slowing my pace as I turned the corner.  I was getting my self ready for it to be Charlie Brown or even one of the smaller ones like Jezebel or The Kid.  The neighbors dog has killed a few cats breaking their necks like it was a rag doll.  Well, I gasped when I saw the grey and white cat, no ear tip and wearing a collar.  Definitely not one of my cats.  Whew!

My neighbor became even more worried and wondered if someone placed the cat on her doorstep.  I told her I couldn’t imagine that at all.  We called the number on the tag and left a message.  I put on some gloves and got a box to place the cat in to hold while the owners could get off work and come collect their loved one.  It was the first time I had ever touched a dead animal.  The first time I had ever felt rigor mortis.  I was a bit surprised that the neighbor asked if we should just throw it in the trash or bury it.  I said no, it has a collar we have to let the owner have time to collect and decide what they want to do.

The entire day went by with no word from the owner.  I was getting worried about what I would then do with a dead cat that was now in my garage.  When my neighbors got home from work, I went to ask them if they had heard from the owners.  They hadn’t so I asked for the number so I could call again.  When I did, the man I spoke with said he only lived on the other side of me, in other words neighbors to my neighbor.  It became clear when talking with him that the cat was 18yrs old and had been suffering with kidney problems  It must have just crawled up on my neighbors front porch to die.

I delivered the cat to them and spoke with the guy a bit longer.  He said it was his wife’s brother’s cat that they had been watching for the past 6 years.  The brother’s wife had allergies and couldn’t live with the cat, but it was clear the brother still loved the cat as he shipped premium canned cat food to them. In fact, a large shipment had just arrived that day.  He said his wife told him that I was taking care of the ferals in the neighborhood and would I want their leftover cat food.  OMG Yes!  I had just run out that day and was needing to go to the store.  I also was harboring a bit of despair that no one had given any donations when I went around the neighborhood telling everyone I was going to step up and TNR the ferals.  The next day I spoke with the wife and she gave me even more cat food!  I was floored and so thrilled.  It is a bit expensive to have to feed so many cats, so any help I can get is a relief!

I feel that this is where the karma comes in.  Even though I was upset that not one neighbor had stepped up to help me out when I had asked for it.  In time, it all evens out.  You do see the donations and help, not right away, not when you ask for it, but when you need it the most.

So there is this episode of House M.D. where Dr. House is shopping for a new cane.  You see a few selections that he looks at and turns down.  Then the camera is just on House when he is shown another cane.  His eyes light up and he declares “Bitchin’!”  The camera cuts to House exiting an elevator at the Hospital and you see the cane for the first time.  It is a sleek black with red and yellow flames.  Bitchin’ indeed.
That was my reaction when I answered a Craigslist ad that had a dog house for free.  I wasn’t given any photos, so I really was going blind on what I was going to get.  Hey for free, you can’t complain much.  When I drove up to the driveway, I saw the dog house and I declared “Bitchin’!”

The cats have certainly made the house a home.  I had to do something for them.  I don’t know where they go when its a snowy day.  So far this winter has been mild, but even one night of snow has to be tough to sleep through.  The dog house is insulated and well built, as it weighs 3 tons!  I was gathering some scrap wood to try to make my own, but there are currently several dog houses for free on Craigslist.  Why not save myself the time and materials cost and save something from the landfill.

I think many people that feed stray cats, don’t worry about the shelter part.  Honestly, it’s hardly something I thought about either, until it snows.  So now I have piece of mind, and the kitties can curl up together for warmth in their new insulated home.  I think I am going to set it up on concrete blocks, just to insure on the heavy snow drift days, that the base is above the ground. (BTW, the Grey monster on top is not The Russian.  He just came around yesterday.  I nearly freaked out at first thinking he was The Russian.  But he is mean, big, and doesn’t even stay around to eat, the polar opposite of The Russian who was sweet and is now up for adoption at Dumb Friends.  I think he is just coming around to mark his territory since all my other men have been fixed.  I need to set up another TNR, I still have two from the colony that need to be trapped and now the Grey monster.)

Here is Piwa’s reaction to the past week with the kitties in her house and now living in her backyard.

“Say What?”

“Oh brother!”