Life lately + my furbabies

It's finally Friday and I can't tell you how glad I am! After three incredibly busy months plus my tax appointment I really thought I could wind down a little and focus on future projects for my blog, but at the beginning of this week one small mistake made by a third party resulted in widespread repercussions, leaving me with having to deal with the aftermath. I'm sure you can relate. Unfortunately until the messy business is solved I have to push back those projects. I guess here's where I admit I'm a bit of a control freak. I like overseeing every single step in my business, be it sales, accounting, shipping, ordering, customer service and so on and so forth. My family always jokes that they would gladly help me out, but never actually be employed by me. haha.

The weather over here has been a mix of rain, hail, fog, storms with some record low and high temps. Most mornings in my area look like in the picture above. While the mist dissipates over the course of the day, the wind around here can be especially chilly. I'll be glad when I can finally put my coat away for good. In good news I sold tote bags and a couple of rectangular pillows over in my society6 store and in better news the awesome company Art Gallery Fabrics is now following me on instagram :)

Some of my readers with cats have been asking and I realized that it's been quite a while since I posted pictures of my furbabies! My kitties always cheer me up without fail and just looking at their pictures makes me go squeeee :) Apart from Sammy, who doesn't move around much it's really difficult getting a good picture of the other three kitties, as they either come up really close to the camera and start sniffing it or run away at the sound of the click. However, I did finally manage to get a photo of each without too much blurring!

Sammy, at nearly fourteen, is the oldest of the bunch. He's never been a cuddly kind of cat but over the years he's grown quite mellow and he's the only cat of the four I can actually pick up and carry. Mostly though he snoozes on the couch or his favorite cushion near the window. Sadly, just like humans, various aches and pains come with age. Lately he's developed mild osteoarthritis in his hind legs, for which he now gets daily medication. Luckily he eats well, so I can "hide" the icky meds in his food without him noticing. Sammy is the only kitty I know that doesn't want to go out into the garden. Sammy is a rescue cat from the shelter. I have been told that he had been stuffed into a box ready to be dumped. Someone with a heart rescued him from the box and brought him to the shelter. He was about a year old back then, but he's never overcome this traumatic experience. I always keep any type of box away from him, because he's so afraid of them. Also, he is seized with panic every time the doorbell rings and strangers come in the house. I've made sure that he has a safe place for hiding and that whoever comes in the house, even family, doesn't go near him. Sammy has always been special in a way that we need to take extra care of him.

After living her entire life (she's almost twelve now) at my Mom's place, Sumi has adjusted pretty well over here. We have established a routine - so important for cats - and since Sumi is somewhat finicky, I really make sure to stick to it! Because she was born with kidney insufficiency she's been on meds her entire life and it is not easy administering them, as compared to Sammy, she's a picky eater. I have to sit with her in the mornings to make sure she at least eats a portion of the specialty food with the medication in it. But make no mistake, she's feisty despite her age and small size! Now that she's no longer afraid she loves exploring the entire house. She's not allowed in the garden though, even if it breaks my heart to see the longing on her little face. But she's all I have left of my Mom, so I'm not about to lose her too. She doesn't know cars and doesn't know that some neighbors don't like cats. I compromise by letting her sit - supervised - at a window which I've opened a crack. She enjoys that so much. She also enjoys daily grooming and games, lots of games! I've noticed that ever since she's moved here she's become a lot more active and she really enjoys the company of humans! I do believe she's quite happy :)

For those who asked, I'm afraid she and Sammy still don't get along. They simply don't like each other. I'm just glad they instinctively avoid each other's company most of the time, so I can work in peace without fearing cat attacks or that my home will be torn to shreds.

Molly is an infrequent visitor and she only ever comes to the back door. She's a true huntress. Just the other day I saw her chasing a squirrel. The squirrel scrambled up a tree, and Molly was trying to catch it but wasn't able to climb high enough. Then the squirrel jumped on the next tree and Molly had to admit defeat. I was so relieved she didn't catch the squirrel! I'm not sure of her age, but I believe she must be around five years old now. She's not too fond of the food I put out for her...I have an inkling this is because more often than not she's already had her meal. However, she never says "no" to a small dish of cream! Again, she's not very cuddly and she prefers for humans to keep their distance; on the other hand she's not shy at all and in summer time when the back door is open during the day she simply waltzes in and searches the rooms until she finds me! Being an outdoor cat she's highly alert and quite the independent lady. She does not tolerate any other cats around her turf and will chase them away. I've seen her two streets away, so her turf covers a pretty big area. She seems to have accepted though, that the garden is Leo's turf.

Leo!!! My adorable roly-poly Leo, who simply walked up to our house several winters ago and never left. Being a former feral cat with probably bad experiences with humans in his young life he's skittish most of the time...except when he's around me. I am the only person who is allowed to pet him and he headbutts me in return. He is in fact very sweet natured, but so terribly frightened of every unknown noise, cars, screaming kids and of being locked in. I don't think he's over his last vet visit. Poor guy. I had no other choice but to bring him there to have his injured leg treated. Thankfully the leg is all healed now and ever since that terrible episode he keeps close to the house, not leaving the perimeter of the garden. At three years old he's like a playful kitten. It's too funny watching him jump around in the garden! He has his own little wooden house with a special sheet on top to protect against rain and wind plus there's a comfy blanket inside. When the sun is out, like in the photo above, he lays on the flagstones for hours. Naturally, I worry about my two outdoor kitties, but I respect their need for freedom. They aren't typical house cats and would feel trapped inside, plus I wouldn't have enough space to accomodate them indoors anyway. This solution is the best I can offer and by all accounts they are healthy and look happy. And that makes me happy.