Spring has hit, and the joys of living with cats and other things...
@BearArtistLady (5382)
United States
March 18, 2024 1:40pm CST
Ahhh, spring has arrived in Atascadero California! It has been sunny and warm during the day. It has been so wonderful, I even broke down and made a jug of ice tea to suck down during the week. It's the sign that spring has really hit when I break down and make iced tea, although I still drink the hot stuff in the morning and evenings.
My focus has been on spring cleaning, and another joy brought to my eyes this morning was seeing that one of the local thrift malls is having a "yard sale" during the city wide sale on April 20th. We can't do yard sales at our apartment building, so we can have one at the store instead. I have a neighbor that is willing to split the cost of doing the sale with me!! Plus the store takes things in on consignment, so I'm going to be talking to her about putting my bears in her store on consignment!!! Yipppeeeee!!!
I was busily looking for the Danish butter cookies I had bought a few days ago. I couldn't find them to save my life. I knew I hadn't eaten them all but couldn't find them in the obvious places I would normally put them. I searched high and low, in cupboards, drawers and the pantry with NO luck. I finally wandered into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea and reached for the gallon bottle of water I had bought to make the iced tea with and under that bottle was, of all things, the tin of butter cookies!!! Boy did I feel old and stupid!!!
I still need to make the cup of tea, but I did luck out with finding the place for us to do the yard sale stuff-it should be a great sale since it is going to be well advertised because of it being city wide. While I was sitting here behind the keyboard for the computer I heard a cat meowing. I thought it might be one of the outside cats nagging for their breakfast since it was very late for me to be getting around to doing it. I looked outside and there weren't any cats. I kept hearing the meows... I finally thought, well....maybe...possibly...could be....well NOT Petey. He doesn't care much for closets, he prefers curling up in the sunlight for his naps. Then I heard the demanding "MEOWS" again, so I checked the pantry. I opened the door and out stalked a very annoyed Siamese lady!!! After all I am supposed to be at her beck and call at all times when I'm at home, especially when she decides to check out a closet or pantry! She stalked off towards the livingroom/studio with her tail straight up and she was stomping her feet as she stalked towards the studio. I'm deep on her sh*t list for locking her in the pantry and forgetting about her for almost a half hour!!!
Ahhh the joys of owning cats!
I'm about to fix the outside cats their brunch and check the mail and then I'll get busy and work on bears for the yard sale. I'm excited about the possibility of selling more bears and finding a consignment shop to sell them for me!!! It's gonna be great having a somewhat steady income coming in again.
I hope your spring days are going good too. The only down day to this spring has been finding out that there will never be any improvement to my left ankle. I really did a good job on it, and the orthopedic doctor did his best on it but there was so much damage between the scooter falling on it and it hitting the rock...but as long as I can walk on it a bit I won't complain that much about it. My gentleman friend is trying to carry me around on a cushion so to speak. He worries about my walking too much on the ankle and that I may be hurting too much...it's so sweet, but I'm not used to being treated that way. I had to give him extra hugs for being so sweet and considerate!!! Just like the doctor-when the appointment finished the doctor put out his hand to shake hands with me, and instead of shaking hands with him I grabbed him and hugged him. He got a big kick out of my hugging him, not too many patients have the guts to hug their doctors. Of course, he comes from my generation and is used to odd balls like me.
I still need to make the cup of tea, but I did luck out with finding the place for us to do the yard sale stuff-it should be a great sale since it is going to be well advertised because of it being city wide. While I was sitting here behind the keyboard for the computer I heard a cat meowing. I thought it might be one of the outside cats nagging for their breakfast since it was very late for me to be getting around to doing it. I looked outside and there weren't any cats. I kept hearing the meows... I finally thought, well....maybe...possibly...could be....well NOT Petey. He doesn't care much for closets, he prefers curling up in the sunlight for his naps. Then I heard the demanding "MEOWS" again, so I checked the pantry. I opened the door and out stalked a very annoyed Siamese lady!!! After all I am supposed to be at her beck and call at all times when I'm at home, especially when she decides to check out a closet or pantry! She stalked off towards the livingroom/studio with her tail straight up and she was stomping her feet as she stalked towards the studio. I'm deep on her sh*t list for locking her in the pantry and forgetting about her for almost a half hour!!! Ahhh the joys of owning cats!
I'm about to fix the outside cats their brunch and check the mail and then I'll get busy and work on bears for the yard sale. I'm excited about the possibility of selling more bears and finding a consignment shop to sell them for me!!! It's gonna be great having a somewhat steady income coming in again.
I hope your spring days are going good too. The only down day to this spring has been finding out that there will never be any improvement to my left ankle. I really did a good job on it, and the orthopedic doctor did his best on it but there was so much damage between the scooter falling on it and it hitting the rock...but as long as I can walk on it a bit I won't complain that much about it. My gentleman friend is trying to carry me around on a cushion so to speak. He worries about my walking too much on the ankle and that I may be hurting too much...it's so sweet, but I'm not used to being treated that way. I had to give him extra hugs for being so sweet and considerate!!! Just like the doctor-when the appointment finished the doctor put out his hand to shake hands with me, and instead of shaking hands with him I grabbed him and hugged him. He got a big kick out of my hugging him, not too many patients have the guts to hug their doctors. Of course, he comes from my generation and is used to odd balls like me.5 people like this
5 responses
@wolfgirl569 (95318)
• Marion, Ohio
18 Mar
Glad you should be able to sell the bears. Cats are very nosey. Then it's our fault when they get stuck
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (95318)
• Marion, Ohio
20 Mar
@BearArtistLady I hope they will. I am thinking of setting up at the farmers market this summer with the crochet stuff and see what happens
@BearArtistLady (5382)
• United States
19 Mar
I am so excited to possibly have an outlet for my bears. I am not too anxious to make them since all that happens with the finished bear is that they get placed in a container in the closet. I am going to call the thrift shop in a little bit to see if they have any spaces available and discuss putting the bears in on consignment. The cats will have a wonderful time helping make the teddy bears!!!
2 people like this
@BearArtistLady (5382)
• United States
20 Mar
@wolfgirl569 I hope that you sell well with your crochet items. They should sell well as the crochet stuff is coming back into vogue. I am spending around $20 to order 2 inch square cards to use as hang tags on the bears. They'll have my business name, address, phone number, and that my bears are award winning. (My neighbor was upset that I didn't put that on my business cards I ordered in February.) The backs are going to be blank so I can put the information about the contents of the bear (type fur, type eyes -whether they are safety eyes or sew in eyes- paws and soles, and if they are jointed. Also if they are safe for children. It's worth the extra money to have a hang tag that you can also put a price tag on and the purchaser can remove if it's going to be a gift.
It's a thought.
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99392)
• Canada
19 Mar
I've locked my cat in the closet a time or two but he doesnt learn he still runs in when I open it. Good luck with selling your bears.
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99392)
• Canada
19 Mar
@BearArtistLady fingers crossed that it will all work out.
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (5382)
• United States
19 Mar
I'm great at locking the cats in the closet. I keep my eyes on the floor to make sure that they haven't tried to slip by my feet. I even close the closet door when I have to go through the bear patterns that I have in the file cabinet that I put in there. Once they discover that the tall metal thing that I have hidden in the closet has drawers, there will be no stopping them from wanting to explore it. They get mad enough at me for pulling them out of the closet when I open the door to hang up my robe or toss clothes in the hamper.
Thank you for the good luck wishes. I am hoping like crazy to sell the bears and get the thrift shop to take them in on consignment. It will get the motivation going in me again. Thank you again and again!!!
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (57804)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
18 Mar
If a cat has its tail in the air, it's happy. It's when its down or sweeping that you know you're going to catch hell with them.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (57804)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
19 Mar
@BearArtistLady Some cats are huge balls of interesting. They do the things we never expect of them. I would have loved to see that. I am sure that was a bit emberhasing when that happened even though you got a laugh out of it.
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (5382)
• United States
19 Mar
She chewed me out for a fair thee well for locking her in the pantry. It wouldn't have been so bad if I had left some kitty treats in there with her 
, but I keep them in a basket out in the living room where I can get to them quickly.
Right now she is enjoying having the blinds up and the windows open (just as much as I am). It's so exciting that spring is here and things are starting to go a bit better. I just need to learn to make sure that the cats don't get locked in the closet or pantry. With a month before the sale I am going to have to get the containers of fur scraps out of my closet which will have the cats investigating as usual. I'll have to leave the door open wide enough for the cats to be able to slide in and out.
The thing with my cats is that they are a bit backwards. If their tail is straight up they are definitely not pleased with me and I'm in for a chewing out. If it's down they are expecting some loving or some play time with their laser light toy. I have never had cats that go by the "rule" book. They always make my life a bit more interesting and that's why I love them dearly. I had my first Siamese when I was 4 years old and have had them all my life. As my Mom always said, "Siamese are more like a dog than a cat". They even retrieve when you throw their toys for them or roll up a sock for them to chase. One thing we learned quickly is that we HAVE to put our underwear in the clothes hamper otherwise they will come down the hallway dragging panties or a bra--usually when we have company--at the most inoportune time. A few months ago, Freya did it to me big time, I had just finished dressing when the apartment complex manager came by and I let him in. She came down the hallway dragging a pair of panties between her legs (I had left them on the bed). The manager wanted to know what she had...I had to fess up and tell him that it was a pair of my underwear. We both got a huge laugh out of the incident, and I grabbed the panties and put them in the hamper very quickly.
, but I keep them in a basket out in the living room where I can get to them quickly.
Right now she is enjoying having the blinds up and the windows open (just as much as I am). It's so exciting that spring is here and things are starting to go a bit better. I just need to learn to make sure that the cats don't get locked in the closet or pantry. With a month before the sale I am going to have to get the containers of fur scraps out of my closet which will have the cats investigating as usual. I'll have to leave the door open wide enough for the cats to be able to slide in and out.
The thing with my cats is that they are a bit backwards. If their tail is straight up they are definitely not pleased with me and I'm in for a chewing out. If it's down they are expecting some loving or some play time with their laser light toy. I have never had cats that go by the "rule" book. They always make my life a bit more interesting and that's why I love them dearly. I had my first Siamese when I was 4 years old and have had them all my life. As my Mom always said, "Siamese are more like a dog than a cat". They even retrieve when you throw their toys for them or roll up a sock for them to chase. One thing we learned quickly is that we HAVE to put our underwear in the clothes hamper otherwise they will come down the hallway dragging panties or a bra--usually when we have company--at the most inoportune time. A few months ago, Freya did it to me big time, I had just finished dressing when the apartment complex manager came by and I let him in. She came down the hallway dragging a pair of panties between her legs (I had left them on the bed). The manager wanted to know what she had...I had to fess up and tell him that it was a pair of my underwear. We both got a huge laugh out of the incident, and I grabbed the panties and put them in the hamper very quickly.2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (86768)
• United States
19 Mar
Spring has definitely sprung in Atascadero! It's great that you're able to enjoy the warm sunshine and make some refreshing iced tea. Finding that thrift mall yard sale opportunity on April 20th sounds perfect, especially being able to split the cost with your neighbor. Having a consignment option there for your bears is exciting - a steady income stream from your creations would be wonderful. The story about misplacing then finally locating your danish butter cookies is too relatable. Those little senior moments happen to the best of us! And Petey leading you on a merry chase around the house before revealing she'd staked out the pantry is such a classic cat move. Sounds like she let you know just how unimpressed she was about the delay in service! But that's the joy/torture of having feline friends. I'm glad your gentleman friend is being so caring about your ankle, even if his coddling takes some getting used to. Ending appointments with a hug is a sweet, personal touch. Wishing you tons of luck with the yard sale and consignment bears - it'll be a great spring project!
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (134394)
• Roseburg, Oregon
18 Mar
My cats go inside anything that opens up. Once they got nosey and one of them was upside down and got stuck that way.. My husband pulled that cat out and the other one wanted to get stuck. It was funny watching them.
@BearArtistLady (5382)
• United States
19 Mar
I can't believe the things that the little fiends want to go into, from closets to spaces behind the drawers in the kitchen and bathroom. I try to provide them with hidey places but I don't do too well. I am going to get them a cat tree with the hidey boxes built in, but that isn't quite as good as those spaces that I keep them out of. I did slow them down on getting into the bath tub/shower. Freya was in the tub when I reached in and turned the water on. Of course she got soaked, and jumped out in a heart beat. I caught her before she had a chance to run through the apartment; I also managed to dry her off a LOT, but she sure wasn't too happy about getting soaked. I'm hoping with getting to do the garage sale and consignment I'll free up a lot of space in the apartment so the cats will have more room to explore, and hopefully NOT get into trouble. We'll have to see what happens. Freya has focused on the refrigerator, so I have to be very careful when I open the door and get things out. Petey doesn't have that kind of curiosity so he's safe. He's usually asleep on a stack of fur....but they keep me on guard and constantly checking to see where they are. But I wouldn't have it any other way!
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (134394)
• Roseburg, Oregon
19 Mar
@BearArtistLady I have had cats all my life and I love them.
