Jet Needs a Home!
[ EDIT -- thanks to a generous donation, Jet will be going to his new home FULLY vetted -- tests, shots, neutering, and everything. He will be entirely plug and play! ]
I admit it — I’ve fallen madly in love with Agate (now Emily), and she’ll be staying here. STOP LAUGHING. But Jet still needs a home, because holy crap, I don’t need two of Loiosh.
I found a place nearby that has a fund to cover getting pets spayed and neutered for cheap, so good news — he’ll be fixed before he goes to his Forever Home! I’m still hoping to raise some money to cover his shots, so if you can’t take him but want to help, I sure wouldn’t object.
(Any extra funds will go to the place that’s generously doing the spay/neuter for me, cos they’re a good cause!)
So the NEW rules:
1) He always has a place here. If the new owners cannot keep him for any reason, I will not ask questions, I will not judge, I will not grouse on my blog. I will just come get him and bring him back home.
2) Between me and various friends I’m pretty sure we can get transportation to cover goodly chunks of the central East Coast — I will deliver Jet to anywhere within a couple hours of Knoxville, at the very least.
3) He must be an indoor kitty. He’s lived the outdoor life and now deserves to be safe in a climate-controlled environment with soft beds and lots of toys. (If you manage to leash-train him, of course he may go outside — with you, on the leash! But not by himself!)
4) No declawing. It’s mean. Just no.
5) Yes, he’s adorable. But you know what? Surprise kittens make crap gifts, y’all. Therefore I will need to be in contact with the actual person with whom he’ll be living. I do not care how well you know your friend/roomie/spouse/partner/parent/sibling/dentist. Kittens are not a good present.
6) As of right now I have no idea how Jet does with other critters, because he’s still in quarantine. Look for more info after his check-up and FIV/FeLV testing!
7) He’s been treated for fleas, he’ll be tested for FIV/FeLV, and he’ll be going in to get fixed Sept. 12. Jet will be ready for a home a few days after that — I want to make sure he’s recovered okay.
And now, kitten pics!
I did manage to get one picture of him without a goofy look on his face, but only one:
He climbed up into the windowsill himself, but then was Very Not Sure Mom:
And the Famous Bellehtuft! (Plus obligatory goofy look.)
In two weeks he’s gone from terrified to one of the loudest purrs I’ve ever heard. It’s actually hard to get good pictures of him, because he insists on being RIGHT UNDER MY CHIN. At all times. LOVE MOM LOVE NOW.
He’s adorable, getting braver by the moment, and needs a good home with people to give him Plenty Love.
Are you his people? Holding back because you live in Colorado or something? We’ll get him there. We can do it.
Just let me know. Cos he needs a home.
Posted on August 24, 2011 by Kate | View this Post | 5 Thoughts So Far - Why Not Add Yours?
Twist — New RedBubble Photo
I’d somehow forgotten about this one until it came past on my screensaver. This is part of why I have my screensaver set up as a slideshow of everything in my ‘Pictures’ directory (the other is all the adorable kitty pictures). It’s been too long since I posted anything new to my RedBubble shop, so I was due anyway, and this one was just perfect.
I visited the Great Sand Dunes almost a year ago, now, just before I moved here to Tennessee. It was a last hurrah, a last exploration of Colorado and the last chance I’d get to hang out with a couple of dear friends before leaving. I had a wonderful time and took a lot of pictures, but this one, with the dunes themselves misty in the distance, framed by the gnarled tree, is one of my favourites.
It’s available now, in everything from a postcard to a ginormous framed print, at my RedBubble shop.
Posted on August 22, 2011 by Kate | View this Post | Add your Thoughts
Kittens! Or, What I Did On My Summer Vacation.
These beautiful babies were born in my back yard, and I’ve been trying to catch them for a couple weeks now. Jet (the black one) has been inside for almost a week, and though he’s still kinda skittish until I pick him up, once I’ve got him he’s the purrinest, lovinest kitten you’d ever want. He sits right below my chin and loves on me and refuses to leave — if I try to put him on my lap he’ll climb right back up. GIEF ME LOVE THUMB MONKEY LOVE I NEEDS IT
He also loves cheese. To the point that after his very first piece he tried to climb into my mouth to look for more.
Agate has only been in for a few days, but I got a purr out of her this morning. She is much quieter than her brother, and will sit calmly on my lap, and even let me turn her over and rub her belly. She is…solemn, calm, a quiet joy. Plus, her nose is ADORABLE.
Yes, they’re up for adoption — I’m pretty well full up these days. I am stealing my friend Andrea’s rules (with slight modifications):
1) They always has a place here. If the new owners cannot keep them for any reason, I will not ask questions, I will not judge, I will not grouse on my blog. I will just come get the cats and bring them back home.
2) Between me and various friends I’m pretty sure we can get transportation to cover goodly chunks of the central East Coast — I will deliver them to anywhere within a couple hours of Knoxville, at the very least.
3) They must be indoor kitties. They have lived the outdoor life and now deserve to be safe in a climate-controlled environment with soft beds and lots of toys.
4) No declawing. It’s mean. Just no.
5) Yes, they are adorable. But you know what? Surprise kittens make crap gifts, y’all. Therefore I will need to be in contact with the actual person with whom they will be living. I do not care how well you know your friend/roomie/spouse/partner/parent/sibling/dentist. Kittens are not a good present.
6) As of right now I have no idea how they do with other critters, because they’re still in quarantine. Look for more info after their check-up and FIV/FeLV testing!
7) They’ve been treated for fleas, and I’ll be able to get them tested for FIV/FeLV, but I likely won’t have the money to do more than that. You must PROMISE ME (and prove with vet records) that they’ll get the appropriate shots, and that, once they weight enough (which they likely will by the time they’re ready for homes), they will be fixed. The whole purpose of this is to have fewer feral cats running around without homes!
If I wind up with sufficiently ridiculous amounts of money, I’ll take care of #7 myself, but I don’t want to guarantee anything. (Donations towards catfixing happily accepted, however!)
I will have better pictures of them soon — I keep forgetting to bring my camera in with me! — and please, please boost the signal, and let me know if you have room in your heart and home for a tiny kitty!
Posted on August 21, 2011 by Kate | View this Post | 2 Thoughts So Far - Why Not Add Yours?
Best Review Ever!
I got this awesometastic review recently, from a lady who’d just received her very first order from me, and I loved it so much, I hadda share:
Hi, Kate!
I wanted to let you know that I ordered that bug spray in HOPES that it *possibly* might be here in time to take to the beach for vacation, but had very little hope because I didn’t think to order it until the last possible second. Not only did it arrive TEN MINUTES before we hopped in the loaded down car, BUT ALSO, the only time I got a bug bite the whole time was when I didn’t wear the spray.
We just got home tonight, and I sprayed myself down before going out to water the plants at dusk (which is THE WORST possible time for the little effers) and got nary a bite. My kids never got a single bite either, and didn’t get irritated from the product either. (one of them breaks out every time I spray Off on him.)
And the lip balms I got are my new favorites. (and I am an intense lip balm snob/addict) The only time I will use something else is if I need an SPF. You have a new fiercely loyal customer. You rock, and I shall commence with the recommendations to everyone I know. (I already talked you up all over the Outer Banks, and forcibly sprayed down one of our fellow travelers, and wrote down the page name for her. Poor woman barely escaped with her life.)
So thank you, and keep doing what you do because you’re fabulous.
Emily Comer/emblyknits
She’s ordered from me twice more since then, so I think she even means it. Thank you Emily!
Posted on August 19, 2011 by Kate | View this Post | Add your Thoughts
Sweet Green Apples: Garlic
When I first moved out on my own one of the first things I purchased was a long string of garlic, thinking it would look pretty to hang up while I used it. Turned out that it wasn’t really set up properly for that, so I spent about three months trying desperately to use it up. It finally got to the point where enough of it went bad that it wasn’t worth the trimming, so the next time I went shopping I contemplated a jar of minced garlic, like I used to buy.
And passed on it. I’ve gotten to a point where I enjoy it: peeling the garlic, the papery feel against my fingers. Cutting each clove up, mincing the resultant pile of garlic pieces until they’re just right, careful of my fingers because I’m still learning how to keep them out of the way properly. Putting them in a pan with some olive oil to sautee for a while; the aroma, the sound. Yes, it takes longer than scooping it out of a jar, but I’m convinced it tastes better – and the doing of it is so much more satisfying.
Posted on August 15, 2011 by Kate | View this Post | 7 Thoughts So Far - Why Not Add Yours?
Green Eggs (no ham)
I love pesto. I love it with great, great love. I spent some time experimenting with it over the winter, and put it into some fairly interesting foods.
The most interesting? Definitely the green eggs. Not that adding herbs to your scrambled eggs is so odd, but seriously, green eggs. Who could resist?
So: two eggs, add pesto until they’re green, dice up some tasty, tasty soft herbed cheese. Scramble the lot, top with chopped green onions.
And the ham? Alas, we didn’t have any. And even if we had, I don’t think I could have come up with a way to make it green…
…but even lacking the ham, it was pretty damn tasty.
Posted on August 12, 2011 by Kate | View this Post | Add your Thoughts
Housewarming Gift, or, Thanks, Mom!
My mom visited last week. We don’t get to see each other often enough, and it was good to spend a couple days with her.
I didn’t get a lot of pictures — we were too busy! She’d planned the trip to coincide with one of my shows (the Homberg Art Market), but I didn’t find out until after her plans were in stone that I’d be at another, too — my first day at the Marble Springs Farmer’s Market.
That was Thursday and Saturday, and, not undaunted, we took Friday morning to visit the Frank McClung Museum, and (after a nap!) took Loiosh downtown to First Friday.
We did, however, have time for one important operation.
She’d gotten me one of those wall clings for Christmas, and I hadn’t ever done anything with it. I was still living with my friends at the time, and didn’t feel right putting anything on their walls.
Once I moved out on my own I thought about putting it up — but Mom was making plans to visit in May, so I thought waiting until she was here would make sense.
May got too busy too quick, and June is the busy season for her, and July was full up for me…so it was August until she made it down, but I’m glad I waited, because the two of us working together to put this up made a lovely housewarming gift.
Posted on August 10, 2011 by Kate | View this Post | 2 Thoughts So Far - Why Not Add Yours?
Lavender Tea Tree Body Wash
Holy cats, has it been that long since I’ve done a new product post? I guess it has been!
So okay, this is gonna be short an’ sweet, cos if you’ve been in my booth anytime in the last six months or so, you’ve already seen it. I’ve been a little busy, see, what with one thing and another…
At the request of an old friend, I’ve added a fifth body wash, this one with the sharp, clean, slightly peppery scents of lavender and tea tree.
Madhu (the old friend in question) loves it…
It’s excellent! The consistency is much like Dr. Bronner’s, which is a product I love, and the smell is amazing.
…and you’ve been snapping it up at shows, too (at least those of you who’ve been to my shows!). I think I can safely say it’s popular stuff.
You know you want some!
Posted on August 8, 2011 by Kate | View this Post | Add your Thoughts
Visiting Colorado…
Of course I took almost no pictures. Do I ever remember? (Okay, yeah, sometimes I do.) But it was a good trip.
I’ve missed Colorado. I’ve missed my mountains. I miss the beautiful dry, I miss the deep blue of the sky, I miss the cottonwoods and the clean clear air. I miss my people. It was good to be there for a little while.
I had a bunch of fun on the way there (and here’s an example of me being a geek) watching the altimeter on my GPS. Here in Knoxville I’m at just short of a thousand feet above sea level, and by the time I hit Longmont I’m a little over 5000 — but where does the altitude rise happen?
Turns out it’s all in the western half of Kansas and the eastern half of Colorado. Before that I ranged from 300 to 2500 feet — and back down, crossing over the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. But round about the middle of Kansas, those long rolling hills started rising higher and higher and higher, and over the course of that third day on the road I went up most of that 5000 feet.
My mountains.
I’m always eager for my first sight of the mountains. This time there was a storm over Colorado Springs, so it was later than usual — but it was clear over Denver, so after I made the big turn north on I70 they came into sight.
To the tune of ‘The White Tree’ from the Return of the King soundtrack, some of the most awesomely dramatic music ever. Go ahead and have a listen — start around, oh, two minutes in; the mountains came into view right at 2:36. Just sit there and think about that for a moment, look at the picture I’ve posted there of the Front Range. Breathe that.
I realized two things right around that point. The first was that I was crying so hard I couldn’t see so well. And the second, once I’d dashed some of the water out of my eyes, was that I was going about 95. And accelerating.
…so I just pulled over for a little while, and sat and watched them, my mountains, that I’d missed so much.
Your mountains?
I don’t claim that I own them. They’re my mountains in somewhat the same way that Loiosh is my cat. They don’t belong to me. I belong to them, and with them. It’s been far too long.
Even just a few months after I moved to Colorado, I was theirs — I wrote this after a brief visit back to Pennsylvania, almost five years ago now:
Colorado is home. I missed it the whole time I was in Pennsylvania. Sure, I missed my friends; I missed my cats and being in my place but most of all I missed Colorado; the clean clear air and the snow and the low rolling hills rising up the the mountains o gods the mountains, always just there. I could feel them not there on the East Coast, like a physical ache.
Sit and think, for a moment. Most of the time, nagging just below your conscious thoughts, there’s a need or two. I need to pee, I need to eat. I need to sit down because my feet hurt. I need a drink of water and something to put on my chapped lips. I need to go home.
Highest on my list was the need to go home.
I knew Colorado was home already, mind you. I’ve known for twelve years now that home was somewhere in the west, somewhere with dry air and mountains. I forgot it from time to time. For years at a time, until I came out here again summer before last. I remembered…and I put the remembering away, because it wasn’t going to happen. Clearly.
And now? I’m here. I’m home. And I didn’t truly know it until I left it. From the moment I touched ground in Philly, I needed to go home. I felt as if I could point west without looking (I couldn’t; I tried). I mistook cloud banks for mountains (and then got grumpy when I was wrong). I did get used to the extra oxygen quickly enough, but I didn’t get used to either the extra humidity or the pollution. I coughed from when I got off the airplane in Philly to when I got home to real air.
And…none of that is more than symptoms. I ached to be home. And now I’m home, and it’s just as good as I remembered it being.
It was good, for a little while, to be home.
Posted on August 5, 2011 by Kate | View this Post | Add your Thoughts