National Cat Day

I just saw a post by Margaret on her blog at Petit Parterre with a delightful photo of her cat wearing a hat:

http://petit-parterre.blogspot.co.nz/2014/10/national-cat-day.html

 

She said it is National Cat Day in Australia. I note from an internet search that 29 October is also National Cat Day in the USA. I don't think New Zealand has a National Cat Day and International Cat Day was on 8 August but I will share with you photos of my two cats Dash and Squiggle anyway. I figure some of you cat lovers out there might be interested in seeing their progress. They are now about 7 months old and have grown out of that tiny kitten stage.

 

Unfortunately they didn't oblige me like Margaret's cat did. They were far more interested in snoozing on our bed, it being a rather wet and blustery afternoon outside.

Dash (male)

 

 Squiggle (female)

 

My three dogs are grumbling in the background about all the fuss over cats. Perhaps I'd better find out when International Dog Day is if there is such a thing!

 

Anyway, Happy Cats Day to all your furry feline friends.

Image from the Graphics Fairy





Still Working on the Book-Ends

I spent a bit of time in my work room this weekend and did a bit more on the book-ends.

 



I still need to paint the houses and stage the book-ends with a few accessories to indicate the town and country theme. I haven't made miniatures in 1/48th scale before so that could be a challenge.

I was ably assisted in my craft room by the terrible two - Squiggle and Dash.
 

I think I'd better put a door on this dolls house!

We have names... (for now)

This is just a quick post to follow on from my last post where I introduced the two kittens I received for Mother's Day and asked for name suggestions.

First of all thank you so much for the fabulous name suggestions. We all loved receiving them and I loved many of the names. The difficulty was in trying to find a name that my husband, daughter and I all agreed on.

You also asked whether the kittens were boys or girls. When my husband and daughter picked up the kittens they were told they were boys. Admittedly they were very little and were only about 6 weeks old. Since then another lady has looked at the kittens and thinks we have two girls. We will have another good look at them in a week or so when they are a bit bigger and hopefully will be able to tell.

Anyway we have named the kittens but there is always the chance we may change the name when we are sure of their sex.

Firstly the little black kitten is called DASH. We called this kitten Dash because of his/her speed and playfulness and also because of the dash of white on his/her paw.

The tabby kitten we have named SQUIGGLE because of the mix of colours and also because of a popular New Zealand biscuit called Squiggles which has squiggles of hokey pokey on top of chocolate. Squiggle has hokey pokey colouring in amongst his/her other colours, especially a patch on top of his/her head.

We are trying to slowly introduce the kittens and our dogs. The funny thing is that our large dog Jasper (a total sook) is scared of the kittens and won't go anywhere near them.

And while we are on non-miniature matters I just thought I'd update you on my husband's employment situation. We have had a lot of kind thoughts sent our way since my husband lost his job. After 5 months of unemployment Pete is currently training for a position working with intellectually disabled that live independently within the community. At the moment is it only part time but hopefully within the next 4-6 weeks it will turn into a full time position and we will be able to start living a near-normal life again (if there is such a thing).

And finally I will finish with something to do with miniatures. I have finished the stitching on the table cover apart from needing to do hem stitch along one side so I can trim the table cloth and then fringe the two ends. I am really pleased with the way it has turned out.

I promise I will try to get back into making miniatures this week. I found some paper clips at work that are making me think of stand up photo frames. I just need to find some suitable photos to have a play.

Name Suggestions Please...

I got an early Mother's Day present today - two gorgeous little kittens. They are siblings. One is a lot darker than the other. We are having trouble naming them. We would really appreciate some suggestions for suitable names.

My next few weeks will be spent introducing the kittens to our three dogs and refereeing!

We look forward to hearing your suggestions. Have a great weekend.

Gone to the Dogs...(and birds)

I had every intention of doing some miniatures last Sunday but my day didn't go as planned. I started out the day with one husband, one daughter, a dog and a cockatiel. I ended the day with three dogs, a cockatiel and two budgies (oh, and of course the husband and daughter)!

The budgies arrived first, fairly early in the morning. I love bird things and my 10 year old daughter Jamie decided to buy me two budgies for my birthday (which by the way isn't until September). Apparently she had to buy them now while there were some young budgies available. She saved her pocket money, made contact with the breeder (a friend's nana) and arranged delivery herself without either my husband or I having any idea of what she was up to. The first we knew about it was when they were delivered in a wooden box last Sunday morning. Luckily we had a spare cage out in the shed. While my husband and I are really proud of how resourceful and sneaky she was, we also let her know "never again". We are now considering building an outdoor aviary to put the budgies and cockatiel in to save having to vacuum so often! They are cute though. We've named them Blueberry and Feathers. Our cockatiel Ginger is quite enjoying having residents next door to his cage - some feathered friends to talk to. Jamie has asked that I put some photos of them on my blog, so here they are:

Anyway after settling the budgies in I thought I might get to do some miniatures after lunch. However, one phone call later from a family member needing to rehouse some much loved dogs and we found ourselves travelling to a city an hour away to meet some dogs needing a new home. The  intention was to possibly get a companion for our dog Jasper. An hour after our arrival and we were travelling home again with two dogs. Meet Scottie and Smudge. They are a bit bald at the moment as they have just been to the groomers. At the moment when I am in the craft room they live at my feet.

 

Smudge (King Charles Cavalier Spaniel/Shih-tzu cross - two in August) and Scottie (West Highland Terrier/Shih-tzu cross - 9 months old).

Luckily our big dog Jasper (Labrador/Border Collie cross) has adjusted to the new residents, albeit a little worn out... sleep time...

I'm still shaking my head at the events of last Sunday but we are a happy family - three humans, three dogs and three birds.

Just had to share that with my blog friends. I promise the next post will be about miniatures.