Goody goody gum drops. I am now caught up and all of my previous blog is on Blogspot now. I am live. If you are tuning in for the first time, you may want to go to the last entry in September of 2010 and start reading up to now. The entries from now on would probably make more sense.
A gallery out in the Hill Country of Texas (Gallery At Spicewood) can get pretty lonely at times. During the week, I can go two or three days without a single visitor. Luckily, I have two permanent visitors, Roo and Squad Car, my trusty gallery cats.
They are always at the front door in the morning waiting to greet me with squeals, purrs, and lots of rubbing. It is really great to always have someone waiting who is glad to see you. This is one of the reasons I look forward to going to work. They entertain me, soothe me, make me happy, and best of all, they trust me. They can count on me and I can count on them to lift my spirits. Let me talk about Squad Car first.
In the morning after I finish feeding, watering the cats and the plants, tidying up the gallery, putting out the open signs, lighting the candles and various other chores associated with running your own business, I sit down and put my feet up and plan the day. This is where my little day-planner-helper shows up. Squad Car jumps up on my chest, does a little gentle kneading and lays down on my chest trying to get comfortable. When she gets into the position she wants, the purring starts, her breathing slows, and she goes to sleep. A little black and white soul laying on my chest trusting me that nothing bad will happen to her. To use a good old Texas phrase, "It don't get no better".
We sit there for fifteen or twenty minutes mentally planning my day (paintings, computer, etc) and then I gently lift her off my chest, get up and gently put her back on the chair. She briefly wakes up, licks a couple of ruffled spots on her coat, purrs a little, and goes back to sleep while I start my day.
Talk about Zen moments. Thank you Squad Car.
Next, Roo and her Zen moments.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Disaster Averted
January 19, 2011
I got to the gallery today about 9:00 am, feeling pretty good, whistling a little ditty, looking forward to a day of a painting, and perhaps, even selling a painting or two. As usual the two cats greeted me at the front door purring and rubbing against my legs. Always a good way to start a day.
As I walked toward the studio where my computer is, I noticed some papers laying on the floor beside the partition that separates the computer nook from my studio. I peered gingerly around the partition and was appalled by what I saw. The shelf I had installed about six feet off the ground had fallen onto my computer desk. It was hanging precariously by just one screw about six inches above my monitor and computer. The printer that had been on the shelf was laying on the floor upside down with all the paper scattered about the room. Lordy, Lordy, what a train wreck!
I had put the shelf up this high because of you-know-who. So I figured the shelf had just fallen off the wall due to my bad carpentry and short screws. This is where the plot thickens. As I was carefully taking down the remains of the shelf, and trying to keep it from falling on the computer, guess what I found clinging to the dangling shelf on a protruding screw? A little, fuzzy mouse toy! Now, how did that get up there?
Then I started doing some detective work. The previous day I had moved a four-drawer filing cabinet about four feet a way from the shelf never thinking what a foolish thing I was doing. This is what I suspect happened, but of course they are keeping mum.
One of the two gallery citizens discovered she could jump from my computer desk to a credenza, then onto the four drawer filing cabinet. New territory to explore. Then the blinding revelation occurred to the intrepid climber. With a little luck and a big jump, she could get to the forbidden shelf, so up she went in a cloud of dust and a "Mighty Hi Ho Kitty Away". Now, once the pathfinder was up there, the other member of the climbing party could follow in her paw prints. At this point, we have two full sized cats, a rather heavy HP printer, a couple of large art books, some papers, a lamp, and the final straw, a fuzzy toy mouse just asking to be played with. I do not know who brought the mouse up. I have watched them play with their mice and they can get very rambunctious. I imagine the screws in the wall finally gave way under the stress of the jumping and playing and the shelf went down like the Titanic. There were two survivors.
I cannot prove this theory, but I have a very strong hunch this is what happened. Of course, the two little innocent angels would not even look at the carnage all day. There will be no confessions forth coming.
We must live right here in the gallery. Nothing was broken except the shelf. The printer works fine, the lamp was all right (bulb not even broken) and the computer fired up perfectly. After a little cleaning and restructuring, everything was back to normal. Of course there was no offer of help from those two and they slept most of the day. Oh well, another day in paradise.
Here a couple of pictures of the gang of two looking innocent.
I got to the gallery today about 9:00 am, feeling pretty good, whistling a little ditty, looking forward to a day of a painting, and perhaps, even selling a painting or two. As usual the two cats greeted me at the front door purring and rubbing against my legs. Always a good way to start a day.
As I walked toward the studio where my computer is, I noticed some papers laying on the floor beside the partition that separates the computer nook from my studio. I peered gingerly around the partition and was appalled by what I saw. The shelf I had installed about six feet off the ground had fallen onto my computer desk. It was hanging precariously by just one screw about six inches above my monitor and computer. The printer that had been on the shelf was laying on the floor upside down with all the paper scattered about the room. Lordy, Lordy, what a train wreck!
I had put the shelf up this high because of you-know-who. So I figured the shelf had just fallen off the wall due to my bad carpentry and short screws. This is where the plot thickens. As I was carefully taking down the remains of the shelf, and trying to keep it from falling on the computer, guess what I found clinging to the dangling shelf on a protruding screw? A little, fuzzy mouse toy! Now, how did that get up there?
Then I started doing some detective work. The previous day I had moved a four-drawer filing cabinet about four feet a way from the shelf never thinking what a foolish thing I was doing. This is what I suspect happened, but of course they are keeping mum.
One of the two gallery citizens discovered she could jump from my computer desk to a credenza, then onto the four drawer filing cabinet. New territory to explore. Then the blinding revelation occurred to the intrepid climber. With a little luck and a big jump, she could get to the forbidden shelf, so up she went in a cloud of dust and a "Mighty Hi Ho Kitty Away". Now, once the pathfinder was up there, the other member of the climbing party could follow in her paw prints. At this point, we have two full sized cats, a rather heavy HP printer, a couple of large art books, some papers, a lamp, and the final straw, a fuzzy toy mouse just asking to be played with. I do not know who brought the mouse up. I have watched them play with their mice and they can get very rambunctious. I imagine the screws in the wall finally gave way under the stress of the jumping and playing and the shelf went down like the Titanic. There were two survivors.
I cannot prove this theory, but I have a very strong hunch this is what happened. Of course, the two little innocent angels would not even look at the carnage all day. There will be no confessions forth coming.
We must live right here in the gallery. Nothing was broken except the shelf. The printer works fine, the lamp was all right (bulb not even broken) and the computer fired up perfectly. After a little cleaning and restructuring, everything was back to normal. Of course there was no offer of help from those two and they slept most of the day. Oh well, another day in paradise.
Here a couple of pictures of the gang of two looking innocent.
Cat Proofed My Foot!
January 11, 2010
It never fails. Just when I thought everything in the gallery had been "cat proofed" they find a new way to prove me wrong. These two cats have way to much time on their paws!
I had (you notice that is past tense) a thick, plastic bag of shipping peanuts (those white Styrofoam things) stashed under my work bench in the gallery. It had been there for at least a year with no problems at all. I came in this morning and it looked like it had snowed back in the studio part of the gallery. The plastic was really thick on this bag. I had trouble opening it originally and finally had to cut it open with scissors. Silly me assumed if I had to use scissors to open the bag, it was probably safe from the gang of two. Wrong again! From the forensic evidence I gathered, both of them took turns working on a single spot on the bag with their teeth and claws. I don't know how long it took to finally break into the bag, but they accomplished that task last night. Then they enlarged the original small hole so both of them could get into the bag and enjoy the winter wonderland inside the bag.
But, they wanted me to also enjoy the beauty of winter. They made the hole really big and started running in and out of the bag while spreading peanuts all over the place. They are so thoughtful that way. I knew something was wrong the minute I walked in. Squad Car (black and white) looked like she had a terminal case dandruff. The humidity has been really low these past couple of days so the static electricity made little pieces of broken peanuts stick to her coat. I examined Roo closer, and she also had a bad case of peanut dandruff. Both of them sat there looking at me and I could imagine the little thought blurbs over their heads saying "Do I Need a Lawyer"? It was an open and shut case and no lawyer worth his or her salt would touch the case. Guilty as charged was the verdict. Big deal! What was I going to do to them.
I found a large sturdy card board box and started shoveling peanuts into the box. It is a heavy duty box, so the peanuts should be safe. They both wanted to help, but it was way past their nap time so helping me was not an option. They napped, I peanuted (I am pretty sure "peanuted" is not a word, but that's what I did). When Squad Car finished her nap, the first thing she did was go sniff the box with the peanuts in it, then looked up at me and I swear she smiled. I am going to lock the scissors in a drawer.
It never fails. Just when I thought everything in the gallery had been "cat proofed" they find a new way to prove me wrong. These two cats have way to much time on their paws!
I had (you notice that is past tense) a thick, plastic bag of shipping peanuts (those white Styrofoam things) stashed under my work bench in the gallery. It had been there for at least a year with no problems at all. I came in this morning and it looked like it had snowed back in the studio part of the gallery. The plastic was really thick on this bag. I had trouble opening it originally and finally had to cut it open with scissors. Silly me assumed if I had to use scissors to open the bag, it was probably safe from the gang of two. Wrong again! From the forensic evidence I gathered, both of them took turns working on a single spot on the bag with their teeth and claws. I don't know how long it took to finally break into the bag, but they accomplished that task last night. Then they enlarged the original small hole so both of them could get into the bag and enjoy the winter wonderland inside the bag.
But, they wanted me to also enjoy the beauty of winter. They made the hole really big and started running in and out of the bag while spreading peanuts all over the place. They are so thoughtful that way. I knew something was wrong the minute I walked in. Squad Car (black and white) looked like she had a terminal case dandruff. The humidity has been really low these past couple of days so the static electricity made little pieces of broken peanuts stick to her coat. I examined Roo closer, and she also had a bad case of peanut dandruff. Both of them sat there looking at me and I could imagine the little thought blurbs over their heads saying "Do I Need a Lawyer"? It was an open and shut case and no lawyer worth his or her salt would touch the case. Guilty as charged was the verdict. Big deal! What was I going to do to them.
I found a large sturdy card board box and started shoveling peanuts into the box. It is a heavy duty box, so the peanuts should be safe. They both wanted to help, but it was way past their nap time so helping me was not an option. They napped, I peanuted (I am pretty sure "peanuted" is not a word, but that's what I did). When Squad Car finished her nap, the first thing she did was go sniff the box with the peanuts in it, then looked up at me and I swear she smiled. I am going to lock the scissors in a drawer.
Hammocks
Jan 4, 2011
Lets talk about hammocks. I have a large window at the back of the gallery (you can see the bird watchers looking out of the window in the Dec 9 entry). I thought it would be really nice for plants. I put up two shelves across the window, painted them so they would not rot from wet pots and stood back and admired my carpentry work. They it hit me! What was I thinking - shelves -window - plants- cats? Why didn't I just throw the plants on the floor and dig out all of the dirt in the pots and save myself a lot of time? It was not five minutes later that Squad Car was camped out on the top shelf and Roo had made herself comfortable on the bottom shelf, both of them happy and content in the morning sun. So much for my mini-greenhouse.
The cats were perfectly content with the arrangements as they were but were forced to lean against the window so they would not fall off as they dozed off. There is about an inch of space between the glass and the shelf and as they relaxed, legs, paws, and tails would slowly droop down to the next shelf and for the cat on that shelf, it was just too tempting of a target to ignore. The first fight started about ten minutes later. Roo could not resist the tail flicking about in front of her face and swiped at it with her paw. Of course, the Car took offense to having her tail dissed and started swatting at Roo from the shelf above and proceeded to fall off the shelf. These problems had to be fixed.
Sooo, what I did was take a curtain I had stashed away and created little hammocks for the shelf dwellers to recreate and relax in. I hooked the curtain on a sturdy curtain rod at the top of the window, and then draped the curtain under the first shelf on the side toward the gallery, stapled it and did the same thing under the bottom shelf. I left enough slack in the curtain so it formed a pocket just the size of an average cat's body. It took a couple of days for them to realize what the slack part of the curtain was for. Roo figured it out first by falling off the shelf into the slack area of the curtain. A perfect fit and it did not take long for Squad Car to figure out why Roo was so happy in her new hammock. By the end of the day, they were both in the hammocks and loving it. Another benefit of the hammocks is they both love to be scratched through the curtain as they are taking their leisure. Here is a picture of Squad Car in her hammock.
Lets talk about hammocks. I have a large window at the back of the gallery (you can see the bird watchers looking out of the window in the Dec 9 entry). I thought it would be really nice for plants. I put up two shelves across the window, painted them so they would not rot from wet pots and stood back and admired my carpentry work. They it hit me! What was I thinking - shelves -window - plants- cats? Why didn't I just throw the plants on the floor and dig out all of the dirt in the pots and save myself a lot of time? It was not five minutes later that Squad Car was camped out on the top shelf and Roo had made herself comfortable on the bottom shelf, both of them happy and content in the morning sun. So much for my mini-greenhouse.
The cats were perfectly content with the arrangements as they were but were forced to lean against the window so they would not fall off as they dozed off. There is about an inch of space between the glass and the shelf and as they relaxed, legs, paws, and tails would slowly droop down to the next shelf and for the cat on that shelf, it was just too tempting of a target to ignore. The first fight started about ten minutes later. Roo could not resist the tail flicking about in front of her face and swiped at it with her paw. Of course, the Car took offense to having her tail dissed and started swatting at Roo from the shelf above and proceeded to fall off the shelf. These problems had to be fixed.
Sooo, what I did was take a curtain I had stashed away and created little hammocks for the shelf dwellers to recreate and relax in. I hooked the curtain on a sturdy curtain rod at the top of the window, and then draped the curtain under the first shelf on the side toward the gallery, stapled it and did the same thing under the bottom shelf. I left enough slack in the curtain so it formed a pocket just the size of an average cat's body. It took a couple of days for them to realize what the slack part of the curtain was for. Roo figured it out first by falling off the shelf into the slack area of the curtain. A perfect fit and it did not take long for Squad Car to figure out why Roo was so happy in her new hammock. By the end of the day, they were both in the hammocks and loving it. Another benefit of the hammocks is they both love to be scratched through the curtain as they are taking their leisure. Here is a picture of Squad Car in her hammock.
Morning Coffee and Funny Papers
December 30, 2010
It is not next year yet, but I had to share with everyone this picture sent to me by one of my blog readers. A typical morning around their house drinking coffee and reading the funnies. Notice what is on the cat's coffee mug.
It is not next year yet, but I had to share with everyone this picture sent to me by one of my blog readers. A typical morning around their house drinking coffee and reading the funnies. Notice what is on the cat's coffee mug.
Cat Programmer
December 22, 2010
Previously, I had mentioned how much Squad Car loves to help me on the computer. I just happened to have camera handy and here are some pictures of my little computer geek getting ready to do some serious coding. She loves to use the mouse. Enjoy and I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Talk to you next year.
Previously, I had mentioned how much Squad Car loves to help me on the computer. I just happened to have camera handy and here are some pictures of my little computer geek getting ready to do some serious coding. She loves to use the mouse. Enjoy and I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Talk to you next year.
Christmas Cat Wishes
December 15, 2010
All the kitties are really psyched about Christmas being just around the corner. They have given me their wish lists and of course, are on their best behavior. They know Santa Claws is watching. Roo has put in request for a new mouse and a ball that bounces a little higher than the one she now has. She also mentioned that a small bag of catnip (organic of course) would more than be welcome. I am pretty sure Santa Claws will bring her everything she wants. She is always a pretty good cat.
On the other hand, Squad Car has had a few lapses in the past month, but I don't think they were bad enough to cost her the items on her wish list. The item at the top of the list is snacks. She is addicted to the snacks "Greenies", especially the "Wild Salmon Flavor. The Car bugs me all day for Greenies. She purrs, rubs against me, walks across the keyboard, meows, and can look extremely pitiful while she is begging. When I finally give in, she is my best friend and head butts me to show her appreciation. Then about an hour later she starts again. I finally have to raise my voice and say "No" loudly, and she goes away to find trouble elsewhere or climbs up into her window hammock and goes to sleep.
Of course, both of them want a nice container of rye grass to chew on. I have been buying the grass at the pet store but that gets to be very expensive, $4.95 for a small tub of grass. I am going to start growing some rye grass next month. All the cats at the house love to gnaw on the grass and it does seem to help their digestion. I will let you know how it goes.
If you are feeding your cats rye grass in the small tubs, here is a hint for you. When I started feeding them the grass, the tub would not stay upright or they pulled the whole bundle of grass out of the tub. Messy to say the least and not easy for them to munch on. What I did was to rubber band the tub to a chair leg (use a big rubber band) and then put a couple of rubber bands across the top of the tub to keep the grass in the container. Works pretty well. Use big rubber bands so they cannot get them off and chew on them. You can get huge rubber bands at Office Max that really anchor that tub to the chair. Hope it works for you and your cats.
All the kitties are really psyched about Christmas being just around the corner. They have given me their wish lists and of course, are on their best behavior. They know Santa Claws is watching. Roo has put in request for a new mouse and a ball that bounces a little higher than the one she now has. She also mentioned that a small bag of catnip (organic of course) would more than be welcome. I am pretty sure Santa Claws will bring her everything she wants. She is always a pretty good cat.
On the other hand, Squad Car has had a few lapses in the past month, but I don't think they were bad enough to cost her the items on her wish list. The item at the top of the list is snacks. She is addicted to the snacks "Greenies", especially the "Wild Salmon Flavor. The Car bugs me all day for Greenies. She purrs, rubs against me, walks across the keyboard, meows, and can look extremely pitiful while she is begging. When I finally give in, she is my best friend and head butts me to show her appreciation. Then about an hour later she starts again. I finally have to raise my voice and say "No" loudly, and she goes away to find trouble elsewhere or climbs up into her window hammock and goes to sleep.
Of course, both of them want a nice container of rye grass to chew on. I have been buying the grass at the pet store but that gets to be very expensive, $4.95 for a small tub of grass. I am going to start growing some rye grass next month. All the cats at the house love to gnaw on the grass and it does seem to help their digestion. I will let you know how it goes.
If you are feeding your cats rye grass in the small tubs, here is a hint for you. When I started feeding them the grass, the tub would not stay upright or they pulled the whole bundle of grass out of the tub. Messy to say the least and not easy for them to munch on. What I did was to rubber band the tub to a chair leg (use a big rubber band) and then put a couple of rubber bands across the top of the tub to keep the grass in the container. Works pretty well. Use big rubber bands so they cannot get them off and chew on them. You can get huge rubber bands at Office Max that really anchor that tub to the chair. Hope it works for you and your cats.
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