Home Is Where the Cats Are

Had a busy weekend. The kind where we are just going and going and there's no relaxation to speak of. And by relaxation, I mean sitting around doing nothing. You know, real relaxation, where you're home on the couch like a lump. Didn't get much sleep because of just staying up late and then not being able to sleep, otherwise known as insomnia, Saturday night. Had a family party to go to Sunday too. Before leaving the house, we got the cats inside, safe and sound. Upon returning home that night, we are greeted with sleepy, blinking eyes, welcoming us at the door.

Henry and Clarence, our two cats, were very lovey last night. Hubby and I each get a cat to snuggle and settled in on the couch for a while before going to bed. As I held Clarence, I thought, yup, home is where the cat is, there's no doubt about that. We don't have many pictures of that because of a thing called cat priority©. Cat priority dictates, if you have a cat on your lap, you do not have to get up to do anything. The person without a cat, has to get up and do whatever you ask, reach the remote, get a drink, whatever. In the case where both people have cat priority, they basically cancel each other out and no one has to do anything.

My favorite picture of Henry of late, is this one I shot last week. I was leaving the house to do some errands and there he was in the window box. I had to go back inside and get my camera and take a few pictures. He was a bit sleepy. Cute nonetheless. Some scratches convinced him to wake up for a quick photo.

A few flowers got mushed, but who could blame him for liking that spot?

It's hard for me to get pictures of the cats doing cute things. They always walk to me when they see me. Leaving whatever picturesque spot they are in, breaking whatever cute pose, to come say hi and get a petting. I have to be quick and also persistent and carrying around a camera doesn't hurt either.

Clarence has a way of hanging his paws off the back porch in a cute fashion.

Here are some video clips of our purring, furry babies. One of the perks of cat ownership, and by that I mean being owned by a cat, is the lullaby of the purr and the soft fur and then the next thing you know you're drifting off to sleee..... Oops! You gotta watch out, they'll sleepify© you!

Sneak Peeks

Henry is curious as cats are known to be, but he is especially interested in any work requiring tools. He's a man's cat. Not fond of the noise, he watches from outside, on the patio step.

We've been working on a renovation of my home studio space. We raised the ceiling to a vaulted ceiling, giving me much more room for lights and other equipment. While I'm not quite ready for the big reveal, a few sneak peeks couldn't hurt. We still have a bit to do... trim work, finish tiling around the fireplace, install some lights, etc. But the last really big project for the room, the wood floor, was our job for the weekend. We used pre-finished, solid hardwood, Birdseye Maple 2 1/4" strip flooring. It was a family endeavor. Molly and I laid out the wood planks in a random arrangement, and placed each piece in place. John, the muscles of the team, operated the floor nailer.

Clarence gave his approval this morning, while soaking up some rays. This is a much nicer place to lounge while mom works, than the old floor.

Travertine tile for the fireplace surround. Local code dictates, 20" of non-combustible material on the floor and 12" on the wall.

Wall color, "Wheat Bread", a soft gray with a hint of warmth.

"Did you sneak a peek?"

"Yeah, I snuck a peek, didn't you?"
-From Seinfeld

Garden Buddies

I keep getting emailed this article that's been in the news the last few days. It's about a cat that can predict when residents of the hospice where he lives are about to expire. My neighbor pointed out that "people must think you're a cat person!" Yes, I am. I do love my furry little guys. Why should I be the only one to witness their cuteness?

As I mentioned before, they do keep me company when I'm out in the garden or yard. They are my garden buddies. Sounds like some kind of gadget or something. I do love my gadgets, like my weed hound for pulling out those pesky dandelions in the spring. I thought they were flowers when I was a kid and am probably responsible for the proliferation of millions of those fluffy seeds I used to make wishes on. But my garden buddies are not tools. They're soft, cuddly, happy little cats.

"Hi mama, I'm checking that the soaker hoses are working properly in the artichoke bed."

"You look better this way mom. I can see up your nose too."

Sometimes, they have a cute competition. That is where one cat does something cute first and then the other then copies.

"Follow the leader!"

But it's not all fun and games. They have their serious sides too.

"Strike a pose! Vogue, vogue..."

"I know there are rodents in this wall and I'm not going to stand for it!"

Take the Bad with the Good

Rain is a good thing. It makes things grow, the garden gets a good watering without my intervention, and the wild animals get a fresh water supply. The bad part, for me anyway, is that when it comes down as hard and as fast as it did yesterday, plants get flattened. Two and half inches registered in my rain gauge from yesterday alone. Some lettuce got knocked down, but not all. My hardy hibiscus got droopy and made a U turn once the sun came out, so it looks a little funky, but still quite healthy.

Now, I'll admit, the majority of my garden got through it unscathed, so it's not all that bad. That's what I told myself when I looked at my beautiful little stand of corn, absolutely horizontal last evening. A bee buzzed around, trying to figure out how he was going to get at these tassels. The bees love the corn pollen. Flat corn wasn't exactly a new experience for me. Last year, my corn got droopy from a hard rain, although not completely flattened to the ground as it was this time. Those stalks from last year managed to perk back up when the sunshine came back. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time. The sun came out today, things started to dry out, but that corn stayed flat.

Flat corn, will it bounce back?

Once I had free time, I went out to see what I could do to help the corn. It kind of had a domino effect, each row flopped over on the one next to it. I gingerly picked up a stalk, it made a terrible ripping crunchy sound and rain water spilled out of all it's crevasses all over my arm. I tried several methods to hold the corn up, but these stalks were heavy. The only option was to stake each stalk individually. One by one, I placed a stake by each stalk and tied it up. Sometimes I used one stake for two stalks if they were smaller ones. Henry and Clarence stopped by to say hi and give me a nuzzle. They know how to cheer me up. After a while, I went inside and got my iPod shuffle so I wouldn't have to listen to the crunchy sound of standing the stalks back up. The music lifted my spirits and I whistled while I finished my staking. The corn is finally back to a vertical state, although looking a bit rag tag now. I don't know if it will be okay and continue to grow. I'm sure if I were a farmer, I'd have to just let it go. But for my little patch of garden, I don't mind at least making an effort to save the corn.

Resurrected corn stalks.

One good thing about all that rain, the artichokes seem to love it. They're happy to get a good deep watering. I have six artichoke plants that I started from seed in my basement in February. Artichokes are a perennial and usually flower in their second year. I attempted to trick the plant into thinking it had gone through a winter in California, by exposing it to cold, but not freezing weather outdoors in early spring. Today, I discovered that one of my artichoke plants has three flower buds on it. Another has one bud. The flower bud, is the part we eat. If you leave it alone and let it mature, it will open to a big magenta flower, though I doubt we'll ever see one in my garden. We love artichokes.

Can you spot the third and smallest bud on the lower right?

An artichoke plant that has not flowered yet. Will it flower this year?

I picked some other veggies for tonight's dinner, as the artichokes still have some growing to do. Harvesting always makes me happy. So do these cute little guys. Whenever I'm in the garden, they come in and see what I'm doing. Clarence likes to stick his head into whatever garden bed I'm working on and see things up close. Sometimes, friskiness ensues when his brother shows up too. I have a strict no wrestling policy in the garden beds, but a little lax about it in the aisles.

Henry and Clarence always take time for a bit of wrestling, despite my no wrestling policy in the garden.