Sparkle Bear~ Noelle

 Noelle is a sweet little hand knit Sparkle Bear. She is ready and waiting to go home and play with her new best friend. Noelle is knit with a special easy care acrylic yarn(vegan) that has a very fine sparkly thread running thru the fiber. So when she moves or sits in the sunlight, she has little bits of bright sparkly color that looks very much like tiny Christmas tree lights! She is a very fancy bear indeed!

Noelle is a pointed snout bear. Her facial features are hand embroidered on so that she is safe to be played with by children of all ages. She wears a nice comfy crocheted scarf around her neck, and just for Winter time, she has a special jingle bell necklace tied around her neck. Noelle is just over 8 inches tall. The scarf and bell can and should be removed before giving her to children who still mouth their toys. Noelle is stuffed with allergen free polyfil stuffing. She was made with love by me in our animal friendly, smoke free home. All while i am knitting and crocheting these little bears, i am charging them with Reiki healing energy. So these bears are truly made with LOVE. My little Etsy shop has been closed since early Spring. Noelle may be one of the first little bears to open it's doors again! Stay tuned!!!

Many Sisters~ Mirian from Kiva

(From her Kiva page)Mirian is a brave woman of many virtues, who defines herself as a humble person with a noble heart and who works very hard for the deep love she has for her two children, to whom she teaches values such as honesty, responsibility, humbleness and hard work. Her children love her for this and her neighbors respect her for the sacrifices she makes to provide for her family.

The loans she has requested to Fodemi will be used to invest in her small activity by buying a new oven to bake her biscuits, as well as in purchasing basic ingredients such as butter, cheese, eggs and flour, all essential items she needs to prepare her delicious biscuits.

Mirian’s dream is to own a big café where she can make her biscuits to then sell them in her own locale. This would allow her to improve her children’s standard of living and to grant them a good education that in the future will help them become good professionals she can be proud of. To learn more about Kiva and people like Mirian, click here. 

Winter Bears~ Rory

 

Meet Rory, a fuzzy little Winter bear who is looking for his forever home. He was hand knit by me, using an easy care acrylic(vegan) yarn that feels very much like wool. Rory let me know that he is all boy while i was putting him together this morning. He's chubby and fuzzy and loves to be hugged. If you hurry, he's the perfect little bear to tuck in a Christmas stocking, or put under the tree. And he'd love to cuddle up for the night next to someone special, and he promises not to take up too much room....

Rory is a pointed snout bear. His facial features are hand embroidered on so that he is safe to be played with by children of all ages. He wears a nice comfy crocheted scarf around his neck, and just for Winter time, he has a special jingle bell necklace tied around his neck. Rory is just over 9 inches tall. The scarf and bell can and should be removed before giving him to children who still mouth their toys. Rory is stuffed with allergen free polyfil stuffing. He was made with love by me in our animal friendly, smoke free home. All while i am knitting and crocheting these little bears, i am charging them with Reiki healing energy. So these bears are truly made with LOVE. My little Etsy shop has been closed since my stroke in early Spring. Rory will be the first little bear to open it's doors again!

Portraits

 I took this picture of Lola today

 and Lola took this one of me and Zoey...ooops....

There we are!

There IS good in this World.

My friend Kate posted this on Facebook today. I cannot tell you how much i needed this. This shooting of small children today has devastated me. These little ones who are gone are my Lola's age. I cannot comprehend this. Just when you start to think the world is beyond fixing, we need to be reminded that there ARE good people out there..Please pray for those children and their families...Pray for the shooter and his Mother who bought the guns and paid dearly for having them. Please pray...

Jack in the Box

 well....more like crushed Kitty Kube....

Gingerbread Trees....

 Aunt Kate bought a Gingerbread kit and everybody came over to my house for lunch and for the gingerbread project!

 Lola helped by wiping off everything we needed for the project

 and Mommy, Lola and Aunt Kate made the frosting and some jello jigglers(no photos of the jigglers OR Aunt Kate...Hmmmm)

  Zoey kept busy in her little seat and the dogs kept busy guarding her and kissing her! 

(the cats are wresting in the background)

Zoey watching the action

GG and Bepa came over for a visit and GG helped out when Zoey got tired 

(of being kissed by the dogs) in her seat (Thanks GG!)

And here are the finished Gingerbread trees! One topped with an Angel

and one with a star! We all had a great time! Thanks Aunt Kate!

Animal Medicine Card for the Day~ Rabbit

What's Bloomin'~ Christmas Cactus

 My old friends the Christmas cactus are blooming right now. This one is a soft peach color, and the only one open right now, tho others have buds. I thank Goodness for the beauty they bring on such a chilly, gray rainy day...I have an assortment of flower colors here... some hot pink, some a pale pink, and there is one that has white flowers with a dark pink throat. Some of my Christmas cactus are very old. I have some pieces of one i got when i went to a plant show with my Grandmother Mary a LONG time ago(Gram has been in Angel form now for over 30 years!) Whenever i find a piece snapped off the main plant(i find this happening a lot now with a house full of kittens!) i tuck it into another pot around the house and if i am lucky, it will take root and grow a new plant for me. What's bloomin' at your house?

Come in from the cold

Hannah's eggs

 Right after we adopted Hannah Pearl, we found out that she suffered a bit of brain damage. We will never know what happened to her, as she and her sister were found in a box, and abandoned in a parking lot. Curiously. i adopted Hannah right after i left the hospital after my own bought with brain damage(cerebral hemorrhage in April of this year) Hannah and i have some of the same side effects of our injuries- balance issues, sensitivity to light and sound...but she seems to be super sensitive to smells. For instance, i cannot use any kitty litter with perfumey scent or she will be happy to use the floor right next to the litter box.

This afternoon i got home after visiting the Troy Farmer's market, and was unpacking my bags. Hannah LOVES to help me so she was right in the middle of the groceries, when she caught a smell that really caught her attention. I bought a box of fresh eggs from a farmer at the market. Hannah LOVED the way they smelled! She purred and even drooled! I had to wait patiently until she got done sniffing every single egg in the box.

But right after i took this picture she tried to sit on them, and that's where i drew the line!

 Silly little cat...

Celebrating Santa....

(My Dad dressed as Santa many years ago)

 I woke up this morning thinking about Santa Claus...I just love him. I still believe. When i was a little girl i told my Daddy that i was SURE i head reindeer hooves clattering on the roof on Christmas Eve and he looked at me with that look on his face, like he was sure i was dreaming. But i am not so sure. I think Santa Claus is real to anyone who believes in the Spirit of Giving. Now i am not talking about the comercialized Santa who is all about shopping and spending money, but the REAL Santa...St Nicholas. I quietly celebrated the Feast of Saint Nicholas yesterday December 6th, and the Feast of Sinterklaas the day before on the 5th. This weekend i would like to start truly celebrating these days, with small gifts of cookies or homemade candies for my grandchildren, and maybe make a donation in their names to a good cause. When my grandchildren ask me if there really is a Santa Claus, i tell them YES! Yes there is a Santa...He is an Angel now, but if you believe in him he is really here for you, and he teaches you all about loving and of giving to others.  I may be all grown up(for the most part) but i still believe....

(My Dad dressed as Santa, holding my daughter Kate on his lap 

when he visited our Day care center many years ago)

Orchids on my windowsill

 the orchids are starting to bloom!

 this one is open now but three others are throwing out buds with the promise of blooms to come

(that is, as long as Hannah doesn't jump up in the window and snap off the flower stems!)

 St Francis sits in the middle of the orchids, Christmas cactus and African violetsin my big window in the kitchen

and the kitchen angels keep watch too....It's so nice to have things blooming indoors now with it being so barren outside...

Many Sisters- Koser thru Kiva

Koser, who lives in Pakistan, bought a carpet making machine to help support her family. She needed a loan to purchase raw materials to create her carpets to sell in the market. To learn more about Koser and Kiva, click on her photo or click here

More Big Time Wrestling

Well, this time it's more like a game of Tag, you're it! In the end the game is over when Hannah doesn't want to play chase. She's a wrestler, not a runner....

Back to walking

 I'm back to walking again. I took some time off...it took about a week to heal a pulled sore tendon in my leg, and then Thanksgiving came and there was so much to do...and then i got this viral cold.  I've been waiting for it to clear up since Thanksgiving night, but i finally decided the fresh air would do me some good . It is so mild out right now...

 and the grass is coming up again, bright Spring green color

 and yes...that is a dandelion...in December....definitely NOT normal....

 the trees and woods are bare and everything is covered with a soft carpet of moss

i love moss...

Cat Naps

 My little cat family loves their cat tree. The top bunk is open, and that is usually Lucy's spot to rest.

 but right after i took this shot

 Jack moved up, and Hannah took the middle bunk

 while Lucy watched from her cardboard box hideout

 Rosie watched the whole thing from the floor below.

Another one of Hannah's favorite places to rest is across my shoulders. She climbs right up there, makes herself comfortable and it's up to me to make sure she doesn't roll off and hurt herself. Cats sure do know how to relax....

Honey and Hannah, two friends playing

 

Sorry for the dark video here. I have to get my undercover shots as they come! Little Honey and Hannah Pearl have been playing a lot together lately. I think Hannah likes to wrestle more than the chase and swat style of play her bigger cat sisters can offer her. They get really upset with her when she jumps on top of them cowabunga style. But Little Honey? Bring it on... You can see in this little video Honey pins Hannah down and gives her ears a good washing. Hannah hates to get her ears cleaned...