Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Mew

Mew in the container of catnip

Mew is our neighbor's cat.  He likes to live outside because he doesn't like dogs and they have 3 or 4 indoor/outdoor dogs.  He will go home for the night and sleep overnight with the neighbor's younger daughter, but when they leave for school, Mew goes outside.  He is litter trained and is a very nice 3 yr. old kitty. 

Two summers ago, we started befriending Mew after I came home and found him wailing at the neighbor's front door in the 100ยบ+ heat.  He had no water and no means of getting inside.  So, I put some cool water with a few ice cubes outside in a bowl for him and then coaxed him into our backyard to drink.  That began our befriending process.  He gradually came to adopt our yard as his domain and works hard to keep any rodents or bugs out of our yard.  We noticed he was appearing a bit on the skinny side, so we began feeding him a little bit.  How now knows that we feed twice a day and if he shows up around those times, he'll get fed, too.  He patiently waits on the ledge outside the sink over the kitchen window.  He knows the routine and will be waiting at the back door when I open it to feed him.  He has a feeding station and is a love bug when we go out to feed him. 

Several days (& nights) this winter, Mew has been left out in the cold to fend for himself and try to stay warm.  Cold for us, anyway.  Several nights it was in the 20s and teens and we've had several ice events and light snow, so we opened up our enclosed sunroom to him.  Our kitties love the sunroom and we've got lots of windows for them to enjoy.  We put our outdoor potted plants in the sunroom during the winter months and we've got a small electric heater out there we plug in when it's going to be below freezing.  So my husband rigged up a comfy spot for Mew to sleep and he has all the basic amenities, food, water, and litter  box.  This has worked out well for all of us.  I spoke with my neighbor and she's fine with us making sure he's safe and warm.  At first, Mew wasn't too keen on being inside, but we don't let him out unless it's above freezing and now he just hangs out and sleeps most of the time he's inside the sunroom. 

Hannah in front and Tumbles in the back guarding the door!
When Mew's in the sunroom, Tumbles and Hannah are the most curious.  Tumbles likes to sit in the window above our couch and keep an eye on Mew or he sits by the door to the sunroom and guards our house against the intruder.  Hannah looks out the door, then goes and sleeps.  Daisy could care less! 

Tumbles on the windowsill above the couch guarding the house.  Mew is in the sunroom dreaming about being inside.
Mew is a great cat!  He loves attention and isn't dominant at all.  In the spring and summer, he hangs out in our garden and sleeps under the leaves of the okra plants. 
He loves to be petted and will roll over on his back for you to rub his belly if he trusts you.  He has a high pitched, squeaky meow and a deep rumble of a purr, which I got to hear for the first time just a week or so ago.  I've told my neighbor that if something happens and they are unable to care for him any longer, we'd happily adopt him and bring him into our home with our crew.  Tumbles might not like it and Hannah might revolt, but we'd make it work out somehow. 

Mew in his favorite spot in the sunroom.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Is it Spring Yet?






My tomatoes are ready!  I started these from seeds in early January and now they're big enough to be planted out, but that's a few weeks away yet.  I have 25 tomato plants, but not all will go in the garden. Most will be given away or sold.  We decided to grow the ones we had the most success with last year, so we have Pantano Romanesco, Homestead 24, and Large Cherry.  We are also trying 1 new variety this year, Marmande.  It's also time to plant our onions. 

My husband is in the process of preparing the garden for planting the 4 bunches we ordered that have been sitting on our living room table for a month now.  You see, as it figures, we ordered them to plant early, then we had 3 weeks of very freezing temperatures.  Of course!  That's the way it always goes, it seems.  I'm just not one of those gardeners who likes to put too much effort into hoop houses and covering plants once they're planted.  I'm sorta lazy that way.  I hope there are enough onion starts still alive to plant when we get around to planting them!

During the cold weather we've experienced since December, I finished my first non-dishcloth crochet project.  (Woot!)  I crocheted myself a scarf to cover my head on those blustery days as well as to keep my ears and nose warm when I have to walk outside in the cold when the wind is blowing 40mph.  Did you know that this part of Texas is located on the plains?  Yep!  We get more wind than The Windy City. 

Full Length


Stitch Detail



I found the Clamshell Stitch pattern online at Hailey's Helping Hands.  I chose it because I could do the stitches and rather than running the length of the project, the stitches ran the width.  I also chose it because I could work the pattern and the stitches were easy.  I chose to do it in a solid color so I didn't have to worry about changing colors and I could make it whatever length I wanted and didn't really need to worry about counting rows.  To make it long enough, I just draped it over me and decided if I liked the length!  Again, I'm a lazy crocheter.  I used a Vanna White yarn called "Berrylicious" and used almost 2 full skeins (balls).  It's come in quite handy during the past couple of cold snaps.

I am still working at Amazon in the fulfillment center located 26 miles from me...one way.  Believe you me, I feel all the miles on the way home!  The drive to work only takes about 30 mins on a good day.  On a really good day, like Saturday, it takes less than that!  The drive home can take anywhere from 45 mins. to an hour and a half, depending on traffic.  The 4-day work week makes me pretty scarce Wed-Sat, but I enjoy the 3 days off.  I am usually worn out by the end of my shift on Saturday, too. 

I know I've not been around much since October, but I just didn't have anything to share.  I've also been thinking on combining all my interests into one blog rather than separating them out.  Due to my work schedule, it's difficult to write daily, so I'll probably only post once, maybe twice a week.  Thank you for reading!