Cat Sighting!

Around here, you really cannot let your cats outside. There are too many predators - coyote, hawk, great horned owl, bobcat. It's dangerous. Sadly, we lost a cat many years ago, our adored Tweety. She got out one night, never to be seen again. :(

We have a neighbor that has cats. They live in their garage, and prowl the neighborhood. They keep them primarily to rid their property of rodents - pack rats and ground squirrels, that can tunnel and cause damage. People that find cats just drop them off at my neighbors. I cannot say that I agree with this philosophy. (These are the same neighbors who have no qualms about leaving their dogs outside barking either....)

One of their current cats is all black, and semi-feral (wild). When he was a few months younger, he took up residence in our garage for a while, and was very afraid of humans. Now he's older, and he's on the prowl. Because he is all black, he stands a good chance of surviving longer term. I hope he does. He's very cute! And still scared of me.

My Constant Companions

I knit. A Lot. And who is always lying right beside me?

Who prefers to be lying on the cool tile?

Who is naughty and leaves all their toys lying everywhere?

Who wants to go outside??

Who is very independent and loves to explore?

Who stays by my side, even when we're outside?

Who is getting better at coming when called?

And whose tail never stops wagging?

Who wants to go inside for TREATS??????? (please forgive the shoes, they stay outside by the back door...)

YAY, TREATS!

Are you a Collector?

When I was a kid - maybe 10 years old - we went on vacation to New Hampshire. I fell in love with the mountains, and the lakes. We stayed on Squam Lake, the same lake from On Golden pond. I've posted about it recently.

My mother loved arts and crafts, and took us to a wonderful place - the New Hampshire League of Arts and Crafts. There, I fell in love with handcrafts (well, I already did love those things, as my Mom sewed and knitted and made bookshelves...) - but handcarved miniatures took a special place in my heart that summer.

These bunnies were some of the first in my collection.

Which has grown over the years -

And I am always adding to it....

This is NOT the whole collection.........

Is there anything that you collect? I'd love to see!

by the way, there's a giveaway going on for BOTH of my shops - Woolies and Buster and boo - over at the rikrak studio.

Drop on by!

Some of: My favorite artists

Do you ever come across something that just BLOWS you away? It happens to me often on Etsy.

Wanted to share some of my most favorite artists with you today.

Baby porcupine above by SharonMontrose.

Art by AmberAlexander.

And BlueDogRose.

Everytime I visit these shops, I love each item more than the next. Then I look again, and I love something else more. I cannot decide. Exquisite works of art. Genius, I dare to say.

Please Visit them, and Enjoy!

Dogs and Chocolate

If you have a dog, then you are probably aware the dogs and chocolate are NOT good together. In fact, chocolate can be lethal to a dog (depending on the variety and amount eaten).

We have four dogs -

Here is my father in law with 2 of them. He comes to visit every Sunday, and all my animals just adore him. :)

So....here's the story. We went out to dinner Friday night. Came home to some empty baggies on the living room floor. One had contained tortilla chips. One had contained chocolate chip morsels - semi-sweet, the kind used for baking. The pantry door was open. It is ALWAYS shut. Who opened it?? We were very worried - but with 4 dogs, how did we know who had eaten what? How many chocolate chips were still in the bag? I know there were enough to kill my littlest dog -

So what do you do at 9pm on a Friday? There IS an excellent urgent care facility for animals. But do we take them all in? Everybody seemed fine.....

The following day, our biggest dog - Buster - was hyper. Not that unusual, he's often hyper. Sunday - he also seemed OK. So did all the others. .........

Monday morning - 4:30AM - hubby woke me up. Buster's not OK. He is panting, and almost hyperventilating, and whining. UH OH. OH NO. We watched him for a bit - then it was apparent - he had to go to the hospital. Hubby took him.

They examined him, watched him for a few hours, did blood tests. Everything seemed pretty normal. They were baffled. They sent him home. But they wanted him kept quiet. They sent him home with a sedative. More like anaesthesia. He could barely walk. And he was thirsty - I offered him water every time he got up - and bit by bit - he seemed better.

In the meantime, I called my vet. They told me what they would do for him - a bit different than just sedating him. If he hadn't been a LOT better by this morning, I would have taken him in and gotten their medicine. (if I hadn't already spent $400 on the hospital visit....)

But - Buster is Better.

So relieved.

We love this crazy dog.
:)

Tis the season

It's been a really really difficult few weeks.

Doctors. MRI's. Biopsy's. I'm pleased to report, that all tests are inconclusive. It seems to be the mystery disease, with some strange symptoms. Blood test results pending.

Work. Spent a week away for my day job. Then came home, and have been working 15-17 hours every day - between my day job, custom orders for Woolies, and Buster and boo being really busy. Thank you to all my customers! I pray that all the packages arrive safely, please!!

My son. I don't usually write about super-personal things on my blog. But today, I need some catharsis. My son and his girlfriend, who have been together for a year, seem to be splitting. It's a long long story, and very heart-wrenching. My heart is broken for them. And I've been crying for the better part of the last few days. This was not your typical high school romance. They are not your typical kids. And we never expected it to end; truly, not ever.

So I go outside to get some sunshine, and what do I find? This put such a quiet smile on my face.

Horses, napping in the sun.

Life in Tucson Arizona

rYesterday morning, (a wonderfully cloudy - very unusual- day) I went outside to take some pictures of new items for my Etsy shop. I looked over at my horses, and all three were watching something. They were on super-alert - horses are prey animals (hunted in the wild), so are very aware that something might be out to get them.

This time, it was a coyote. Coyote's rarely bother the horses, and they are very used to them. I wish I could have grabbed a picture of the 3 of them, with their heads high and ears pricked for danger.

I grabbed my camera, thinking, well, at least I can get a pic of the coyote, who at that point was trotting right through the back of the arena. I dashed down the driveway, and snuck around the side of the garage.

RATS! Coyote was gone, and I terrified my horses! They all scattered and ran!

Once they saw it was only me, they calmed right away.

Silly horses.

Dozer pooped. Dozer always poops. I know the arena looks poopy. We have a giant pooper spreader rake thingy, and my husband does it every week or so. It's due to be done.

Help!

So...........I was knitting this bunny. But then I decided to turn her into a bear. But...then she got a pink nose. And her bear ears are kind of big. But...she doesn't have a tail.

My friend called her a hamster.

Is she a mouse?

What do YOU think???? I could use some help here.....

You can read more about her in my Woolies shop! I'd appreciate your thoughts! If she needs a tail, I can certainly give her a tail!

HELP!

UPDATE: She SOLD today. I asked my lovely buyer if she would prefer a mousie tail, and she said no, she liked her as a very unusual bear.

Thanks to all who who posted their suggestions!!!!

Coyote Den?

Just maybe 50 yards (I'm really bad at guessing distances) from my horse stalls, we found this.

If you look closely you can see the paw prints all around. This is one BIG hole. Most definitely not rabbit, or pack rats.

Maybe bobcat?

It's not on our property - it's on a piece of property that I hope nobody ever builds on.

Dozer (one of my horses) is rather concerned about it.

I'll let you know if I see any coyote pups soon!

New Rag Dolls in my shop!

I had made these for the last craft fair - which was amazing! It was off of 4th avenue, which is to Tucson what South Street is to Philadelphia - which is probably Greek to many, but anyway....


there are 3 that did not sell, so they are now in my Woolies shop - I know it's after the holidays, but I'm hoping somebody will find them and love them. Especially if they have to be taken down after the new CPSA regulations go into effect in February....


Here they are:

this is Tawny....

And here is Perry....

And this is Patches, who is wild.

Hope you love them!

Natural Pod Toy Store

I love making animals and dolls, WAY more than my day-job (uh oh, don't tell anybody). I've been fortunate enough to discover some new outlets for wholesale-ing my Woolies.



Here's a new one I'd like to tell you about - it's called Natural Pod. I love their website, it is clean and simple and uncluttered.

They sell the kinds of toys and children's things that I love - wonderful for open-ended play and discovery.

I've made some teddies - just for them. And some horses too - cause who doesn't love horses???



Well, don't look at my crummy - too-dark pics - go visit Natural Pod!!!

Animals on the Move!

One of the reasons that my Woolies shop is rather empty this holiday season, is because I have been working like a crazy person on wholesale orders.

These bunnies are on their way to Tree Hollow Toys.

And these guys are just finished, hot off the presses (sort of), on their way to Mildred and Dildred. A brick and mortar store in Tucson, at the La Encatada shopping center. Very upscale, and beautiful. Pricey. So I am hoping that they sell like crazy there; wouldn't that be wonderful??

They really are so much fun to make. Each one has their own personality.

If you ever see something that YOU might want, please just contact me, leave me a note here - I'd be happy to recreate that Woolie animal!!!

Horses!

I have been a horse fanatic since I was two. Where our backyard fence ended, a stable began. If my Mom couldn't find me, she knew I'd be standing with my face pressed up to the fence, watching the horses. I love everything about these awesome animals.

I have two real horses, Dozer and Belle.

And I've recently listed two horsey stuffed animals in my Woolies shop.

In case there is anybody in your family who loves horses too.

:0)

I did it!

I've been wanting to make a doll from fabric for a year. I have patterns, fabric, chenille. In the middle of some of the busiest weeks imaginable (day job, working 12 hour days, two big wholesale orders, three custom orders to work on, my animals, kids, laundry) I made a doll.

I named her Rosebud, listed her in my Etsy shop, and she sold in 3 days.

I can't wait to make more.

:0)

Burro!

My friend who lives in Colorado did some traveling last weekend - to Grand Junction and areas around there. She sent me some great pictures, but here are my favorites. Meet Paco, the baby burro!

Enjoy!

(I want some burros.....)

Artist!

I love 'discovering' new artists on Etsy. I'm not sure how I found hide n seek, but here she is. I pretty much want everything in her shop. She offers buttons, stationary, stickers and of course prints.
Her characters, themes, style - all just grab me.


This one is called "He says he can hear the forest whisper"

This one is "Mom, this is the friend I told you about" and the last one is "Dad, this is the friend I told you about".

WOW