Saturday, April 25, 2009

March BJP



It seems I haven't been able to get away from a weather theme. Every time I attempted to veer off in a different direction, I always came back to the weather or more accurately the cold.

I have never been so cold for so long.

I really wanted it to be spring when I was working on my March page, but there were so many days it was freezing and/or snowing - so my thoughts of blooming flowers turned to colorful snowflakes. Thankfully we have some warm days in the forecast for the weekend and I could not be happier! I'm finally spending more time outside. Soccer season has begun for my grandson and baseball season is right around the corner. HOORAY!



I added a couple of photos taken in different lighting and the back of it as well. If the fabric looks familiar to you, it's because it is the same fabric I used for my BFAC project - this beautiful fabric was a gift from my friend Kathy.



I don't believe I have posted about the impending birth of my third grandchild. She (all indicators point to a girl anyway) is due on May 23 and I'm thrilled that I will be here for her birth - it will be a first for me. I was clear across the country for the birth and early years of the other two.

And speaking of birthdays... for anyone that has wondered about our little surprise baby kitty born last year; he turned 1 year on April 16. He has become quite an entertaining little - or should I say BIG guy. His mother weighs in at almost 7 pounds and he's tipping the scales right about 12 pounds or a bit more now.

Mocha Java Joe

He was born all white (photos linked in the above paragraph), but quickly began to show Siamese type coloring. As with Siamese, he seems to get darker all the time.



We waited until he was about 8 months to get him neutered - we were hoping his non-descended testicle would drop (sorry - that may be a little too much info for some, but hey - it happens). It never did drop so when we took him in, the vet was not sure how far 'in' he would have to go to find it, so they shaved him halfway up his belly. The hair there is still growing back and thankfully, the vet ended up not having to go far to find the missing part. All this just to explain this photo - showing where belly fur is so much darker than the rest.



If you have an affinity for cats - check out my little guy playing 'fetch'. His 'ball' can be anything that he can fit in his mouth, but he prefers one similar to what you see in this video. It's basically a felted ball made from his mothers hair after her combing. This is part of our daily routine and it never ceases to bring on the giggles...


Stuff I'm working on... the Pieces of Friendship swap and a couple of fun beady things - I'll post about all in the near future. In the meantime - I hope you are keeping busy and finding many reasons to smile!

15 comments:

*~tabby~* crooked heart art said...

hi grace
mmmm love the colors of your BJP i miss the snow already!! with the temps reaching near 90 on sunday huh? what?? oh bother!!
much to early for that!
your kitten has turned into quite the beauty my big guy simon will play fetch with the plastic tops to water bottles aren't they too funny :)
congrats on the new grand baby
many thanks grace
enjoy your day
tammy :)

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

I love your page, even if it is about crummy weather. Look outside today..its warm..might rain here..but 75 degrees at 9:16.

Doreen said...

So cute! You have a good hunter there! I was wondering about his "mouse". What keeps it from falling apart? I get my kitty the little furry mice from the pet store. He loves them. He also gets excited over the little fur balls that come out of his brush. I never thought about making my own mouse. It must have some weight to it since you can throw it so far. Is it just a pound of matted fur? Does it hold up?

said...

Your work is amazing! And your cats are beautiful. That video is totally awesome! He needs to be on Pet Star.

Timaree said...

My cat plays fetch but I figured she learned it from the dogs. My cat plays with soft foam rubber balls but doesn't always return as well as your kitty. It depends on whether she thinks just she and I are in the house.

Love your March page. This year had a wacky spring and your journal page shows it. Quite appropriate I'd say.

You will love being around when the new baby is born. I got to attend the birth of my oldest grandchild but then my daughter remarried to someone who likes to keep everything private so missed out on the others. I was still there when they came home from the hospital though. Take lots of pics; I tend to forget my camera.

By the way, did you make your kitty movie on a regular camera or on a video camera?

Lynn said...

I love your colorful snowflakes-they just sing spring, even if they are still frozen, they know spring is not far away. Jeepers, after 40 degrees and hateful rain/wind on Wednesday, we were roasting in 80 degrees and sun today. Go Figure.

My very first cat was a siamese-I love them! My grandparents had a cat named patches that would fetch too. I never knew of any other cats that did that!

GraceBeading said...

Thanks all, I really do love the colors of the March page as well - very inspiring to me.

Doreen - the mama kitty from which I take the fur is a Persian cat with an extremely thick coat of hair, so when I comb her I get quite a bit of fur. If it was just all piled up before squishing it - it would probably fit in a good size popcorn bowl. This may sound gross, but I lick my palms or get them wet using the faucet and start working the fur into a ball. They do not come apart, they hold pretty tight. This particular one in the video went through the wash - so it's even harder than most. I hope that answers your question!

Doreen said...

Wow! That's a lot of fur! I don't think I could get a popcorn-sized bowl's worth of hair off of my cat. He's a flame point Siamese. His hair is similar to that of Mocha Java Joe. Guess I'll just keep buying the pet store mice :-)

Jen said...

Hi Grace, as always your work is so beautiful and inspirational! I must say Mocha Java Joe is quite a beauty as well, what a sweetie :-)

Pursuing Art... said...

Love your page and the colorful snowflakes...made me smile! Thank goodness some sunshine will be here to stay soon.

I'm so excited for you all and a baby girl too! And being able to be there is so wonderful!!! Not too many more days...what a thrill. I'll be looking forward to you sharing the news!

Mocha Java Joe is too cute! I love the video and that he plays fetch! I thought he looked Siamese when he was little. He is beautiful and has gorgeous blue eyes. Is he a chocolate point or seal point? We had a seal point when I grew up and his name was Sam! Sam's markings were lighter than Joe's! What cute kitties!!!

XO ~Lisa

beadbabe49 said...

Wonderful work, grace, as usual...and it is so nice to finally get out occasionally without too much wind or icy rain...

pam T said...

WOW Grace, you have been and are one busy lady! LOVE your March page, love all the projects you are working on - I'd be fascinated just to be a "fly on your wall" someday and just watch you create. Congrats on the upcoming grandbaby - and WOW has that cat grown! He was such a tiny cute thing last year and I was enchanted with his pics - now he's a big boy! Fuzzy hair balls to play with - my Ozzy would eat them (he has a thing for fur lying about) but we DO take the hair from one cat after brushing her and make little toupees to put on their heads - gee, why didn't I think of that for MY head??? Glad to hear from you on your blog again, Grace, unless I'm the one that hasn't been catching up like I should!

girlgonethreadwild said...

Nuh uh.. I never woulda believed it if I haDN'T seen it with my own eyes.. catch with a cat? Really? TOO CUTE Grace, thanks for the SMILE. :)

Freckles just barked hello. Hav an amazing day you two!

snippetgirl said...

Tee hee hee! That is SOOOOOOO cute!!! I love it! And what a handsome boy! Your orange baby is precious too. My Teeny used to play fetch AND jump up and turn light switches off and on, but she hasn't done either of those things in years.
Thanks for sharing such a fun, precious video!! OH, if every cat had a life like that :).
Purrs, Carrie

Robin said...

I felt a lot like this in March too... Well done! Being cold. Is it possible that being cold is more than about the weather?

MJJ is adorable... very much like our Hollie-three-bell-huntress, who also fetches (especially small scraps of scrumbled up paper and especially when I throw it down the stairs). Hollie weighs 17 lbs. (AKKK!) Thanks for the movie... I generally don't watch them because of load time, but this one was totally worth the wait!

Hugs, Robin A.

Leaves of Grass

This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body - Walt Whitman