Fluff... an outside feral cat

One of our outside ferals (doesn't he have the sweetest face?)

This is him again...  He is a long-haired black and white that was brought here by his mom along with his 2 siblings (another black and white and a long haired black) when they were about 6 weeks old. The other two show up in the yard on occasion, but this one (we call Fluff) stays close by most of the time. He is an extremely happy go lucky young cat that flies around the back yard jumping at bugs and rolling on his back.

He is always happy to see either of his siblings, but gets really excited when his long haired black sibling shows up. They cavort around the yard like two kittens and make us laugh. And we really need to laugh right now!

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fox in the hen house

Finished my first little fox (for this round). Can you see him there in the middle?  The Cheeky Chickens don't seem too disturbed. Will start under-glazing them all next week...

It is cold outside this morning (43 F). I really wish it would warm up and the sun would come out. 

Oh, and I have a new supply of books to read! My friend who downloads books to her kindle downloaded a new batch of mysteries for me (I have her 'old' kindle). 

And another good friend (who buys from Amazon) dropped off a bag of books this week. And... I downloaded one from kindle and ordered one from Barnes and Noble (which arrived yesterday).  So... besides writing the sequel to my Time After Time, I'm catching up on my reading! 

Hope you all have a safe 'Stay at Home' Saturday! I love sharing these little bits and pieces of our life with you... and reading about yours. We are really all one big family... and we will get through this together! Stay well!

Hugs,
Rian

a puzzle and a pad...

Well, I planned to post every 2 days... but Hootin' Annie's Scavenger Hunt was unexpected (but fun!). So now I don't know if I should just skip today and post tomorrow. However, I have a few things on my mind and things don't 'stay' on my mind for long these days. They just drift off onto never never land only to return at some inopportune time. So... I'm going to post today as planned.

Completed cat breed puzzle

DH (and I) finally completed the cat breed puzzle! He did most of it, but I helped with a piece here and there.

What I needed to vent about here is unimportant in the grand scheme of things (the Pandemic), but aggravating/irritating (never knew when and how to use these two) just the same. Those of you that follow my blog know that since January, 2020 - our dryer and our dishwasher both died. Yesterday our washing machine joined in their passing. DH and I keep looking at each other and wondering what will go next. (Hopefully not us... and I know that's not funny, but a real possibility these days).  

Anyway, the serviceman who comes out (and is beginning to know us well) was very nice. DH was at his radiation so he wasn't home. I welcomed him in - standing 6 feet away and wearing my home-made mask. He was very understanding and said that he wasn't sick (that he knew of) and was very concerned that he might bring something in to his customers so for us to be sure and spray and wipe down any area he worked in after he left.  We did.

I locked Ghost up while the serviceman was here as she doesn't do well with strangers. I'm going to have to make it up to her later - maybe with a good brushing or a play with the laser bug. I did take this picture of her yesterday (guess I'm a little bored to be taking pictures of my cat's paws). But I never noticed how pink her pad were... kind of pretty with her grey fur.

Ghost's pink pads

They're even pinker than the picture shows.... 

OK, that's it for today. Please stay home and stay safe... and thanks so much for visiting!

Hugs,
Rian

Anni's Scavenger Hunt Contest

Here are my 10 objects for 

Scavenger Hunt!

(from Hootin' Annie's Blog)

necklace with red

stuffed animal

printed with letter L

Yellow flowers

Art with human

glass cat

blue rectangle 

Buckle

Can with 'nutrition'

unusual ??

Do these work?

Hugs,
Rian

Give me a garden...

A very long time ago I used to write poems... mostly haiku... of some sort. Anyway, I came across this picture the other day and it reminded me of one of my poems. Sharing it with you just for the peace of it...

"Give me a garden

and a cat

Beauty and 

quiet contemplation

Add a favorite book

and a cup of tea

These are the 

wonders of the world

... to me"

Hugs,
Rian

Staying calm and enjoying nature...

Our backyard March 2020

Our backyard is a bit overgrown. We used to use it a lot when the kids were here... but now we basically have given it over to wildlife... which is actually very entertaining.

And our Bay leaf tree in the back is doing beautifully. I need to pick and dry some bay leaves soon.

Bay leaf tree

And the Spearmint in the front looks wonderful too. I love the smell of mint... and DH uses it in his sweet tea.

Mint

We don't have flowers, but we do have a lot of greenery... so I thought I'd share some with you. I had to make the pictures very large to actually see the leaves well... hope that works OK on your computers. Let me know if it doesn't.

Today is Saturday and day 12 on our 'shelter at home'. I haven't gone anywhere outside the house except to walk around the neighborhood. DH goes off to his radiation every morning and grandson went out on a grocery run for us yesterday. He was gloved and masked. Still can't find Lysol or Clorox disinfecting wipes, but otherwise, we're fine. 

I tried my best to handle the groceries carefully, either wiping them down, spraying, or washing in the sink.  One can only do so much.

Made another chicken (that's 9 new additions - the flock is growing!). I also started on a crochet project and am thinking about making a few little clay foxes... (maybe). 

Oh, and  I saw or heard that if you're making face masks, that vacuum cleaner bags were good. I checked my bags and the ones I have are 'odor fighting hypo-allergenic charcoal filter bags' for sensitivities to odors and dust. Would these make good face masks? Would it be safe to breathe through charcoal filter bags? I only have a few, but thought I'd give it a try if this was a safe alternative. Anyone know?

Closing this with this poster I found on Pinterest. Isn't this the most calming space? 

Love this!

Hugs,
Rian

the new normal... a shelter at home day

This is how my day went yesterday...  

DH gets up to go to his radiation treatment early. Used to be he went at 2pm, but now they want to close the office early so he has to be there by 8:30 (and now they take your temp before letting you inside). 

Anyway, he leaves the house and I get up, make a cup of tea, share my cream with Ghost... (she only gets a tiny drop, but loves it), put the TV (news comes on), as soon as I see a certain face - I turn it off, start work on my clay, take a break and make some Lost Bread (French toast) for DH so he can have coffee and 'something' when he gets home. He'll be surprised as usually we only have coffee/tea and toast.

As the morning progresses, DH feeds Ghost and the outside ferals, then puzzles, (I actually found 5 pieces today when he was gone. I was so excited!)

This is what the puzzle looks like complete

This is it so far...

There are so many tiny pieces with just eyes or solid green, ugh!

The sun is out today, so we took a walk before lunch. I heard that sunshine and Vitamin D was effective against viruses... (?) Sounds good to me. There were several people out walking the neighborhood. We all said hello but stayed far away from each other. 

However, as I was passing one man who was mowing his lawn, I coughed. Now mine you, I was on the other side of the street... and it was just a little cough. (For those of you that know me, I have had a radiation cough for 20 years. Doctors told me that the radiation I received for BC probably irritated my lungs). Anyway, as we passed and I coughed, I swear to you, the man stopped mowing and went inside!   

And my daughter told me that she and her daughter were in the grocery in the hill country the other day and there was a police officer stationed outside the grocery making sure that everyone wiped down their carts before entering and there was an announcement over the loud speaker saying for people to please not stop to talk with others, but to remember to social (physical) distance. She said that while shopping, her daughter said "I'm going to sneeze..." and she said, "DON'T!"

Such a strange time...

Anyway, we watch TV while eating lunch. We both had tomato basil soup and he had a sandwich while I had a slice of cheese and a few chips.  DH usually watches sports or something military while I've been watching a series called "Love Hurts" on Acorn. It's really good.  I only watch while I'm eating, then turn it off and go on to either blog, write, or continue sculpting. 

Today I wanted to finish this little pie bird. He's drying on top of my Aga right now.

He's off to the right with the home flock drying

Oh, and see that red fabric there... that's a mask one of my pottery friends made for me. Isn't it sweet? We're suppose to wear a mask when working with dry clay as there's a lot of clay dust. However, I think that if and when I have to go somewhere during this Pandemic, I'll wear it. It probably won't be terribly effective... but a lot more fashionable than the others.

By 3:00, it's tea time... or coffee as the mood strikes. Both of us stop what we're doing for this break... and sometimes (most of the time if I'm honest) have something sweet to go with it. Tea to me is very calming so that's usually my drink of choice these days... a cup of tea with a dash of cream in a pretty china cup.

This is another of my favorites... It's called Remembrance.

That tiny lavender rose in the center of the saucer makes it so perfect... (or is it just me?)

Then naptime (DH doesn't do naps, but he does fall asleep in his chair!)  Naptime means I retire to our bedroom and read or text friends for a bit and sometimes but not always do fall asleep. By 4:30 I need to think about supper... and this is also the time my kids tend to call. After talking to them, I'm usually late getting supper started. But that's OK. So we tend to eat anywhere between 5:30 and 6:30 depending. 

Supper, TV (during which I Pinterest), then bed by 9 or 10 where I continue to read until my iPhone rings an alarm that says "Go to sleep... musically." It always makes me laugh... and I try to obey and put my book down (but not always).

Most nights I sleep well. Occasionally I get up between 3 and 5am  for a cup of tea with Ghost. She likes it when I do that. Then back to bed until morning. 

That's it. Not very exciting... but with our  'Stay at home' order, not really so bad. 

Take care!  Sending you my thoughts, prayers, and virtual hugs!

Rian

Found disinfecting wipes!

Life is strange. Yesterday (Saturday) morning we are over the moon because grandson just texted that he found us some disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer. Who would have thought this would make us so happy just a few weeks ago?

Well, if you don't laugh, you'll cry... and I prefer to laugh.

Now, what can I talk about today that will 'lighten up' these dark days?  

We 'Skyped' for the first time Friday afternoon with youngest son and grand daughter who is 7. That was weird, but fun! I guess I'm showing my age - but to be able to see and talk to family from afar is still amazing for me. Even our DIL came in from work while we were skyping (she is a nurse working in the infectious disease department at the hospital). She was exhausted, but popped onto the screen to say hello.

Now it's Sunday morning. I texted with some family and a few friends yesterday. One told me that her daughter had just flew back from California and had decided to go straight home whether than stop and spend a few days with parents here... just to be safe. I thought this was a very good move on daughter's part. 

Another is a family member in Louisiana who said how glad she was that she was able to visit Italy last summer before all this craziness started. 

OK... now on to another subject:

I am working on clay projects... well, really just more Cheeky Chickens as I only have so much clay at home. Some clay and tools are still locked up in the studio on the closed college campus. 

So, here I will share my work station (in the front room):

You might have to enlarge to see chickens in progress

and here's a close up of some of the ones I've just sculpted:

These still have to dry and then be underglazed... (and if this sheltering at home lasts very long, my flock will be HUGE!)

...and just for fun - here are the Pychedelic sisters:

Psychedelic Sister Chicks in their Easter plumage!

Going to close this with a picture of one of our outside feral cats and a possum eating outside the patio door... (actually there were 2 cats and several possums there before I ran to get my camera. Some ran off when they saw me. These 2 brave ones remained.)

That's it for today. Please self-isolate and stay well! 

Hugs,
Rian
(Remember when I had all that white space on my post a while back and couldn't make it go away. Now... when I 'view' my post, I see this word 'todday' at the bottom??? When I go to the 'edit' section, it won't let me go there to delete it... strange. Please just ignore it.)








Todday