Another Easter at Rocky Ridge Ranch

As has been our family tradition for the past few years, we enjoyed another Easter with family at my brother’s ranch. It was terribly windy and cold this year, and the wildflowers weren’t quite in full bloom yet.  Since we didn’t take our traditional walk, I didn’t take many pictures. It was still a fun day, though!

Steve and Tami. Windy, much? LOL!

Steve was helping Brady get a bird’s eye view for some great pictures! Brady is a very talented, professional photographer.

My brother, Steve, and his best buddy, Jackson.

My son, Collin, and his girlfriend, Toni.

My niece, Jennifer, and her son, Jackson.

A week after we adopted George, he got out in the middle of the night, and ran away from home. He was sleeping on the bed when we went to sleep. When we woke up in the morning, the patio door in our bedroom was ajar just enough, and he was gone. Zack had come in from work at 3:00 a.m., and I think our patio door wasn’t closed completely. When another door in the house is opened, it causes an unlatched door to get pulled open. We searched door to door, put signs up, an ad in the paper and on Craigslist, and I’ve been watching the shelters on a daily basis. No George. He was tagged and micro-chipped, so he may get back to me some day. In looking for him, I found this little guy.  I was NOT looking to adopt another cat, and wasn’t even remotely tempted by all of the kittens in the shelter.  As soon as I came across the picture of this red headed little guy, I knew he was mine. I even had a name for him….Shamus. I have no idea where the name came from, it just popped into my head. I got to bring Shamus home last Friday.  I’ve never had a kitten before, so this is all new to me! I’m enjoying it, and I still hope to find George. I suppose I can quit saying that I’m not a cat person! LOL!

Snoring and purring

Scott’s not a cat person either. LOL!

Kaffe Fassett in the House!

Last Thursday was opening day at the new location of Strawberry Patches. It’s right across the parking lot from the old location, so it’s not hard to find. The store is jaw dropping gorgeous, and the joyous atmosphere inside the store was electrifying!  While there, Suzanne came to tell me that Kaffe Fassett had paid her a visit, in the way of a fabric shipment! My heart be still! I’ve long been collecting Kaffe Fassett fabrics, and I’ve dropped just a few hints over the years to Suzanne. Boy, did she come through! I literally purrrrrred with delight as bolt after bolt was laid out on the cutting table. Nerrrrrrvana! I’m in the middle of working on a project using KF fabrics, and I needed just a couple of more pieces. Thank you, Suzanne, for feeding my addiction! LOL!

Settling In

I am completely in love with George, my newly adopted cat! I brought him home and followed my friend, Stacy’s, instructions about how to acclimate him to our home and our dogs, Chunk and Chipper. Stacy assured me that when George was ready to meet the dogs and venture about the house, he’d let me know. Zack and I brought George home on Saturday afternoon. By Sunday evening, he was pounding at the sewing room door, wanting out. I’d been going in and out of the room throughout the day, and my dogs would patiently wait for me just outside the door. I would leave the door open, so that the animals could see each other. My dogs are very good about not encroaching on George’s personal space. I can now leave the sewing room door open, and George has gotten comfortable in the rest of the house. If the dogs get too close, he still growls a bit, but they know to back off when that happens. They usually just lie down wherever they are. He looks so much like Oscar, they are probably wondering what the heck is with Oscar’s attitude! LOL. Yesterday morning, I awoke to find all three animals asleep on the foot of my bed. He’s definitely settling in just fine around here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A New Member of the Family

After losing Oscar, a month ago, I have been completely heartbroken. I am a person who never had any interest in having a cat. That was, until Oscar showed up. He simply wouldn’t leave, and he needed to be taken care of. He stole my heart, fully. I have missed having a cat around, and have made several visits to the animal shelters the past 4 weeks. I was looking for Oscar, not another cat.  Yesterday’s visit to the shelter was my one last time to look for Oscar. No Oscar, but I found George. We’d actually met when I first visited the shelter a month ago, but only through the cage. My son, Zack, was with me yesterday, and he’s been offering to pay for adoption fees if I wanted another cat. He pestered me to actually “meet” some cats, and so I asked to meet George.  OMG! Did I ever get picked! My friend, Stacy, does a lot of cat rescue and fostering. She’d given me some excellent tips in looking for a new cat. One of them was to see if a cat would let me lay it on its back and touch its belly. Not only did George not mind it, he was like a wet noodle! When I raised him back up, I had his back against my body. He proceeded to purrrrr and rub his head under my chin. When I looked at Zack to say something, George literally wrapped his leg and paw around the side of my face and pulled me back to him, nose to nose! I was butter! I did take a couple of hours to meet other cats, but none of them chose me. Besides, they were all younger cats, and I wanted one a little older. I know that people want younger cats and kittens, and I wanted a buddy that needed me just as much as I needed him. George is 5, the oldest cat at the shelter. He has a bit of one ear missing, and he’s a bit chubby. A perfect fit! He is adjusting well, and I’m so glad that Zack encouraged me to “meet” him! Good son!  **forgot to mention that when I asked how long he’d been at the shelter, they told me he was left there on January 18……my birthday!**

Sewing Machine Cozy

Who doesn’t have a fabric stash? I’ve been trying to bust that stash just a little bit, and I found the perfect way to work on that! Suzanne, at Strawberry Patches, posts tutorials on her blog for a variety of projects. In this tutorial, she made a sewing machine cozy. My little machine desperately needed one, and I had the perfect Amy Butler fabric in my stash. I’m slow about everything I do, so it took me an afternoon to complete. Someone who isn’t slow could probably get it done in a couple of hours.

More Paper Piecing

I recently pieced a dragonfly wallhanging which required me to make paper pieced dragonflies. I have a thing for dragonflies, and really enjoyed making the blocks. I decided to make one from silk, and I love the way it looks! I have definite ideas for this block, but haven’t had time to follow through. When I get it all together, I’ll post a picture here. For now, this is what the block looks like done in silk.