Life!

This last weekend was particularly long and sad.  We mourned for a few days over the loss of Violet (see my previous post.)  But we have many kittens to take care of, some are getting ready to leave us, and another group was waiting to be saved....

Right now the shelter is not housing any kittens under six weeks old.  There are too many kittens coming in, and the littlest ones don't do well in the kitten cottage (they quickly become sick.)  A litter of four was slated for euthanasia yesterday, and while a plea went out on the shelter's Facebook page, nobody offered to take them.  In swoops Theresa to save the day!  

These poor babies were absolutely covered in fleas -- probably a few dozen per kitten.  We bathed them in magical blue Dawn dishwashing detergent (which gets rid of fleas), gave them some flea spray, and then a dose of a topical flea ointment to keep them off.  These four are some of the NICEST and SWEETEST kittens we have ever taken in.  They are playful, energetic, loving, social, friendly and so, so happy.  We have named them after Beatles songs characters...here are:

Sergeant Pepper.  (He was hard to catch on film, because he was tearing around this morning.)

Bungalow Bill.  (He hisses at ALL of the other cats, and he has perpetual poof tail...but he LOVES people.  Maybe he thinks he *is* one?)

Lucy.  (She has taken a particular shine to Steve last night, who said he "didn't sleep for one minute" last night.)

Prudence. (We tell Lucy and Prudence apart, because the orange marking on Prudence's face looks like a "P" and Lucy's looks like a lower case "l.")

For Father's Day, we went to one of Steve's favorite dude restaurants ... Buffalo Wild Wings.  We joked while there that even the SALADS all have meat.  It's ridiculous.  Then we went home and painted with the painting supplies I received for my birthday.  This is a picture of my painting, inspired by a photograph in a Barefoot Contessa cookbook.  It turned out really cool.

And why not ... one more little happy story.  This is Minty.  She came and wenty.  (See what I did there?)

  

Wednesday, Minty was on the PTS list (Put To Sleep).  She had fleas, ear mites, worms (probably), and a goobery eye.  I scooped up this baby, and Amanda (one of the shelter vet techs) and I cleaned her all up -- gave her dewormer, flea medication, ear mite medication, and then I medicated her eye when I got home.  She was really nervous at our house, but after a few days, she started sleeping out in the open and playing with the other cats.

A nice lady (named Sarah) I had met at the shelter had made plans to come by and see me (and my kittens) to pick one out.  She is going to do her doctoral work at Purdue this fall and wants a cat for a companion.  Well, she came over Saturday afternoon and went home with Minty, who is now named Hattie.  Hattie is now being royally spoiled and is doing well with a lot of one-on-one attention.  Sarah's roommate came along on Saturday and fell in love with little Charlie (Violet's brother.)  The roommate and her fiance are coming over today to look at him and possibly take him home.  LOTS of happy stories, huh?

Oh, and a little more good news.  Kathy the amazing finished stitching the Quaker Ragamuffin Sampler last week, and I should have it in my mailbox today.  She said it turned out beautifully, and I can't wait to see it.  Remember, this one is stitched on 32 ct. Vintage Light Exemplar by Lakeside Linens (you will need a fat half.)  And while I have previously posted the thread list, I didn't have totals.  Here is what you will need in terms of threads:

Gloriana Florimell Antique Black (3)

Gloriana Silks Vanilla (2) (please note, this is the only thread you're going to stitch with TWO strands)

Au Ver a Soie 1814,  3723 (2), 1845 (2), 3812, 2212

Needlepoint Silks 224, 901

I will post a picture as soon as I can get a good one.  Hope y'all are having a great week so far.  It's back to work for me, and I am feeling much better this week after losing two dear kittens last week.  Life goes on, and while I will not forget those we have lost, I will keep fighting the good fight.