applewood dye part 1

Some time back while I was walking I found that someone had dumped quite a bit of rotted applewood.
At first I thought treats for bunnies then disguarded the idea as it was more rotted than I though. The next idea was potential dye.

silly me i should have taken a picture of the wood as well as the first soaking. which was a pale almost vomit colour.
this is what i got from heating it with ammonia





A close up. such a delicate color i do like it but i want to see if it will get darker.

This is the first attempt at dyeing on alpaca.prewashed in Ivory dish soap and then soaked in warm water and a touch of CoT.

Update on Magnus

Magnus is back home from the vet.
it was all a very scary situation and i was lucky there was a cancellation so he could be seen. Dr. D. did a quick exam attempted stimulation and took him back for an enema. I was told i would be called later with an update. 4 hours later I called them, and was told that Dr. D. was just now finishing with his last patient and would be calling asap.
He is a very popular doctor so has many patients to see.
I do not envy him his hours 8am to 6pm then an hour more for office and calls.

He went through with me all that was done. It was 4 enemas, an X-ray, a slight wormer just in case he did pick something up from mom. A tiny bit of med to help pass stuff, lubrication and all. I was not painted a Rosy picture. I was warned that Magnus might be going into kitten fail.

Which is why I really like this vet. He gives an honest answer nothing sugar coated. He also cares, many times he has not charged for things that he has done. This appointment could have been so much more expensive with another vet who would insist on test after test.
I was told that the stool that was passed went from hard to somewhat mushy on the last enema so hopefully things were knocked loose. the bad news is that there is a lot of gas in his intestines which means that things are not moving as they should. So prayers are needed for this little baby who is only 10days old.

Hello, I have been quiet lately. i have been depressed after losing Isolde and then Frankie. But here is an update on the kitty front.
9 days ago a customer came in to the store he had found his terriers licking something and went to investigate. What he found was a kitten, he brought it to t he store with every intention of dropping it off.
I did not have much faith on the creature surviving but with my options being accept the kitten or have it stuffed in a night box to a shelter where the odds of surviving the night were slim to none. I took the kitten. At first with it being so tiny i thought it a female now that it has grown i see that the odds favour more the masculine persuasion of things.

I am calling him Magnus now. He has survived 9 days which is much longer than i had given him. the problem now is that he is constipated. I have only been able to get little golden raisins from him not serious turds. He has just been soaked for the second time with serious stimulation until my hand cramped and nothing. i have added Karo syrup/corn to his bottle as I was told. I have used Vaseline and mineral oil Etc.
If I do not get a turd from him soon he will be going to the vet tomorrow

Tonight when i got home i could not find any of the cats.
This is a very odd happenstance as i am always tripping on them.
when i did find them they were gathered at Frankie's grave. I set an Azalea over him i think he would have approved.

Right now Lusitania is the only kitty in the house she has just settled in behind me.
ah and there is Robber come in in all his Maine Coon wanna be glory all 7lbs of it. Got to love the attitude.
I can tell that the cats are in their way also mourning. I think Lu liked the boy more than she let on. I have seen her starting to cuddle with the remaining siblings which is a shocker as 2 are girlie cats.

Now here comes my Moira to greet she is very skittish of late and will jump at any sound. the way she is staring at the door makes me wonder what is going on. probably the nest storm coming in.

Trying to find words

Losing Frankie has not been easy.
It was completely unexpected and incredibly fast.
I think the whole process of the disease took 4 days from me noticing that distended belly to him going to sleep and not waking up.


What hurts the most I think is that I had prepared myself for bad news when I took him to the vet, but did not get my regular vet. The relief vet was optimistic so I left with a little bit of hope that it was not what I was thinking. He was better in the morning after I gave him the SubQ, then when I got home from work that night I saw that he had quickly deteriorated. Within 3 days of seeing the vet he was gone.



This one hurts, I think I did not completely mourn my Isolde as Frankie stepped into the breech and now that he has gone I feel the loss so much deeper as I have just lost both of them. His mannerisms were so like Tristan as a baby and Isolde took to him I think she thought he was her long lost brother.

Good bye my Frankie be at peace

Left behind

I cannot find Frankie. I do not know where he is, I have been searching since I got home from work. When I left for work he was under my bed in the trundle. I can only assume that he went someplace and curled up to sleep. This is going to be incredible rough I am crying again and doubt I will stop anytime soon.
Goodbye my Frankie I love you.

I am losing Frankie

It seems FIP has struck again and I am not going to see my boy grow into his ears. He is following Duncan with the mutation of the Feline Corona Virus.

this was the day I took him to the vet with suspicions, I was very scared and when the vet entered the room and cheerfully asked how we were doing I said as much that I was very scared.
She did a blood work-up, and the results did not surprise me his levels were all off. Liver, kidneys, blood count both red and white. We talked for a bit and she said the only or rather the next step would be ultrasound and X-rays. I let her know that I have already dealt with FIP and that I would monitor him and continue with the subcutaneous fluids which he does not like. I am force feeding him. A ghastly mix of liver, molasses, Karo syrup and vitamins from a recipe that I had been given years ago when Sebastien was stricken.



He was doing better this morning, but when I got home from work I could see just how much he has deteriorated, just 4 short days ago I was fighting him for my food now I am begging him to eat. If the SubQ does not help and I doubt it will as I need a miracle I will be taking him in for euthanizing. then I will start watching Durante as I have noticed that she is developing the distended belly as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_infectious_peritonitis