Little Miss Daisy

I was finally was able to get a photo of our little Miss Daisy (the runt of the litter) with her big sister Hazel. You can see how small (less than a 12oz.) she really is. Mommy cat is so over nurse her kittens. Since all the other kittens are now eating moist food, Sunny doesn't have to nurse as often. She's also sleeping on the highest counter in the bathroom. She can keep an eye on her babies but they can't get to her. Miss Daisy is now eating a little on her own (she has been dewormed and getting antibiotics twice a day) but because of her size, needs a warm body to snuggle up to. We still have our fingers crossed that she will make. There still is a lot of bathroom clean up and litter box cleaning every two hours but the major blow outs are getting better.

Mayflower Story

When my daughter was in second grade, the class had a pot luck where each child was asked bring in a dish from their family heritage. My daughter decided to bring something from her father's side for the family. My husband is a mix of many European countries, so we narrowed it down to something German or English. Since my knowledge of German or English cooking is very limited, we sent a letter off to Grandma Smith. She sent some recipes and a photo of the Sheldon family (her maiden name) homestead which turns out to be the oldest surviving building from a Mayflower passenger. I asked my husband why he never told us he (and now his children) were descendants from "THE Mayflower"? He said there are thousands of descendants, so what's the big deal?
Hope you have a great Thanksgiving Day!

CAS - Make a Stack - Part three

The third card (there are four total) for my "make a stack" card class at Memories Live On. I wanted to mix up the colors a little and go with something non traditional. I used square punches to make the frame and heat embossed the silver part of the image. I was used the Studio G clear stamps.

Little shrine in Nepal

On Halloween we made a hike up to a small shrine behind the lodge we were staying at. Once we got to the shrine ( it was an all up hill hike with no trail path) it was about two flights of stone stairs straight up with no guard rail. Wasn't so bad going up but you sure had to watch your step coming down.(top photo) There was a big bell right at the top step you could ring and say a prayer. Maybe a prayer so you don't break your neck going down. Once at the top there was a little alter building and (in the picture on the left) a place to make a live sacrifice. In this case, it was a goat and yes that is blood. Some big festival or religious event happened right before we arrived in Nepal and goats are the live sacrifice of choice. One of our guides said this is what they call non vegetarian Hindus. There is a goat barbecue after the sacrifice. We did notice that we didn't see a whole lot of adult goats (only babies) in any of villages we passed.

Update: Here's a link about the sacrifice festival.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091124/ap_on_re_as/as_nepal_animal_sacrifice

Family Photo

This is a family photo of all the kittens and their mom Sunny. You can see that Daisy (in the side photo) is very tiny, about half the size of her litter mates. She is the only one not interested in eating moist food. We are now getting ready to bottle feed her to help her gain some weight. They should be ready for their forever home in about 5 weeks. If your interested let me know. The adoption will go through the Safe Haven program.

Left to right: Hazel, Boris, Daisy, Rosie and Sunny

Next Cat Adventure

After the sudden lost of both Lucy and Honey Bunny Scooter, we weren't really sure if we wanted to get another kitten. Mr. Purrcy, I know would like a buddy but he is very happy not having to be the live chew toy for a kitten. As I was checking out Criag's list, I came across a request to be a foster family to four kittens and their mom. What most people don't know is when a nursing mother with kittens are dumped at the animal shelter, they are killed right away. The shelters don't have the space or time to keep everyone together. The only thing that saved this family was a rescue volunteer happened to be there. She begged to keep them a few days longer and she would find a foster family to take them in. Fostering kittens is the best solution for us. We can raise them and see if any have that feisty but cuddly personality my hubby wants in "his" little fur baby. Kittens are about 5 weeks old and mommy cat is very young too.

We've named the mommy kitty - Sunday or Sunny for short

Boris (the only male) looks just like mom and eats like a horse.

Hazel (already a talker and cuddlier) and Rosie are the gray stripes.

Daisy (not pictured) is the runt and very weak right now. She was curled up with Sunday, so I didn't want to move her to get photo. I'm not 100% sure she will make it.

Next week we will have open kitten time, if you would like to come by and socialize with the gang. In order to get them ready for the pet adoption, they have to have lots of social interaction with people.

CAS - Make a Stack - part two

Another one of the cards for the "make a stack" card class at Memories Live On. Nice way to use up your scraps too!

Hiking in Nepal

Some of my trekking buddies are emailing the photos they took on our trip to Nepal.

De (she's a professional photographer from Washington DC) had a top notch camera with a huge lens.

Northern Nepal is all mountains so you are either going up or going down, there isn't any flat land. I was one of the few that always covered up against the sun. I guess living in California I try to avoid direct contact with the sun's rays.

The top photo we are crossing a creek/waterfall during one of our day hikes.

CAS - Make a Stack Card Class

I was asked to do a Christmas "make a stack" card class. This is a class where you make four sets of each design. The cards have to be simple so you can get everything done in a reasonable amount of time. The style is called "clean and simple" or CAS. The card is super simple and fast to make but still fun.

Himalaya Lodge - Early Morning in Nepal

All of us woke up at the crack of dawn (they bring out coffee and tea to get us going) so we could see the sun coming over the mountains. Those with the better cameras took some great shots. My old camera just wasn't able to capture the moment. Yes, I was very tired and it was chilly until the sun is high in the sky. I think we were at 7,000 feet.

Things you meet on the roads in Nepal

We ran into a lot of water buffalo on the trails and most of the time the farmers would give a fair warning to get off the trail or what I called "in coming".

The rino in the road (that's how I got the name for my travel blog of helpful hints and tips) was taking his sweet time walking along the road in Chitwan. This was the area some of us also picked a few leeches. If I wasn't so shocked to see a leech on me, I would have taken a picture but all I could think of was to pull it off and kill it. :)

Origami Christmas Tree

I've had this origami card in my design file for ages. I finally got around to make a sample for my upcoming Christmas card class. It's doesn't use as much paper as you would think and very simple to make. Great way to use up your scrap washi paper.