mixed blessing

i had a very annoying day yesterday and a slight freak out.
it seems that a customer went into our back office and stole my messenger bag and a co-workers Ipod.
i had gone into the office to get my bag to get a gift out of it. which was a jar of pumpkin butter for the girl who works at the coffee shop. when i could not readily find my bag i asked if someone had seen it thinking that a joke was being played. nope it was gone and so was the ipod.
the good thing was just that morning i had decided that i did not want to take some of my knitting projects that were getting to bulky so they stayed at home, just some small random knit projects with no pattern in the bag. a book i had been reading and my lunch, the scary thing was the book mark i was using is a pay stub so i was freaked out that someone had my info to my checking account and my ssn. i finally found another pay-stub and saw they do not have any usable info. i will miss my wood knitting needles they were expensive but replaceable and it gives me an excuse to go back to Muir woods to replace the messenger bag. the other funny was that they took off the clamp on the Ipod which was keeping it from shorting out and it was only full of books on tape.

So whoever took these things messed up their karma for nothing. an Ipod that does not work and a bag of random knitting. my wallet and phone were in my pockets as were my car keys. well they got a kewl bag but they will probably throw it away as it is distinctive, my jacket would have been a better take flannel lined corduroy but also very distinctive with the dancing cats on it.
all in all this has been an interesting year that i will be glad to leave behind. may the next year be better.

Sadness

One would think that one would get used to losing a furry loved one.
I have lost many and each one hurts just a little more.
I am left with the feelings of what did i do wrong, what did i not notice what should i have done different.

Knowing that the little one was predisposed toward an illness does not help. I am still crying, i keep going back to hold Isadora. she is looking at the door giving quiet miaows waiting, i think she is looking for Duncan and i cannot even let her say 'Goodbye' to her litter mate.
Looking back, first i caught Duncan as a sick kitten with upper resp. he also had bad coccidia and other worms. he had such a rough start i wish i could have given him a better longer life but all i could do was make sure he did not suffer.

I also need to let any potential adopters that the kittens have been exposed to corona virus, and i need to watch them real close to make sure they stay healthy.

I have sent my little feral kitten Duncan over the rainbow bridge.




He started showing signs of distress, breathing heavily his belly shrinking never leaving the heating mat. I took him to the vet with little hope of a good outcome.




Duncan with his sister Isadora

My vet did a thorough examination. extremely high temp, breathing loud, gums going blue, his lungs and heart muffled. he was just over 6 months old. i just got the call that ruled out FeLv and FIV which leaves FIP of the wet variety which was what i suspected.

UPDATES

Frankie lounging

Where does the time go. this year is almost over and i still am trying to catch up.

the cats are as always beautiful and i have not seen more kittens.

the 4 remaining kittens i now have the spay vouchers for just trying to get an appointment to have the procedures done and hopefully before Isadora goes into heat! she has come around so much i will miss her if i succeed in adopting her out. Gianni has caught up with her is size so i need to check to be sure who is who.
Duncan looks like he is going to be a BIG cat, his body is growing in starts and he currently looks malformed.
Frankie is my love of them all. He and Isadora always race to greet me when i go back there to check on them. see how they have grown.

Carmen and Durante are still in the room. Carmen has realised that i am not going to hurt her she still will not allow touch but that is OK she comes out to eat and even talks to me.
Durante if i do not see her from the window i would wonder if she were still alive she is so good at hiding. During the first day of the recent storms, before i got protection out, I managed to catch Cage in my room. he had followed Dash in and slept in 'The Closet' Lusitania on guard duty. this closet is 36"wide and at least 6 feet deep of total unusable space, it has been claimed by the cats and each shelf has beds for them. no they are not spoiled.

I did winterize the bunny hutch i was given. i was even planning on getting an Angora but you can see who sleeps here.
Dash was sleeping in the bunny hutch.
i do not think i will get much wool

i matched the cat

Robber is just too beautiful. this is my experiment in Eucalyptus dyeing, the bark gave me a blah beige colour but the leaves WOW. i boiled the leaves for an hour than put the pot outside with the yarn in it. after a few days of ignoring it thinking yeah right i will get a pretty colour i went to check and noticed a few spots of coppery orange, such and incredible glowing orange.



so i put the pot back on to boil another couple of hours with the yarn still in the pot adding water to prevent drying out and then finally turned off the flame added some distilled white vinegar and left for 15 minutes. washed and rinsed using the cats shampoo for lack of anything else and again WOW.
now will i be able to repeat this... or hopefully improve....



My Isolde is being helpful, keeping my projects warm for me.

I love the look of a kitten in the window. there is just something emotional about it. sometimes wistful sometimes sad sometimes determined and demanding.
what do they think about as they sit there watching the world? seeing the birds and the ferals pass by

sniffing at the screen. what is it that is hiding behind those enigmatic eyes.
the other night while it rained they just stared at the droplets hitting the glass. I wonder if they realise they could have been out in it or do they remember being out in it and are happy to be in a sheltered house.

i am so falling in love with this group and trying not to. i really need to get those vouchers i cannot wait much longer on Duncan he has dropped and Isadora could go into heat soon. she is the one i most worry about she is just starting to come around she still gives off her snaky hisses when started. Frankie and Gianni i can wait a little more on as they are younger but they need homes soon. little Carmen with her notched ear is adorable but hard to work with i wish i had Cage in the house but my crew watch out for him.
Buttercup shows up rarely now so i wonder where he has chosen to live. Rue is still being a pain in the assets. Bettie is being a sweetheart letting me pick her up and running to great me when i get home. i know it is the food but sometimes i think she actually likes me.

on to other things i have been playing with my dyeing again eucalyptus bark found at a rest stop.


i soaked it 3 times in the bath and this picture is it after drying dipped back in to wick up dye for some variation. i have another hank soaking in a bath of leaves i had hoped for a rusty orange but i am only getting yellowy goldy green. maybe a few more soaks

the cutest thing

i have to say i love Dash.
he is so careful with kittens right now he is teaching Cage to play.
i have some wrapping ribbon tied to the clotheline so that it just touched the ground and dances with the breeze, i have caught all of the cats batting at it and now there is a game of chase happening.
i do want to get a picture of it all but as soon as Cage sees me he hides.