Laundry Room Cats

Oscar and Turtle 

Brother and Sister love. 

Who knew that I would have two cats in my laundry basket instead of my ironing....not me.  There is nothing else better that I would like to have in my laundry basket.  It sure beats ironing.  The problem is, I still have the ironing.  It's just piled on the floor in my studio now.  I keep thinking I should just get another basket for my ironing, but I also keep thinking that one of these days soon, the kitties will be moving out of the laundry room to Nashville.  One of these days, it will all just be a memory.  

Happy Birthday Chuck!

Shell and her Daddy 

A warm fleece shirt from Shell!

Well, it was one of our "22nd Birthdays"...Chuck's!  (that means it was my 1/2 birthday)  Shell came home for the long weekend before her Daddy's birthday to celebrate. It's sure is nice to have Shell only two hours from us now.  That was never in all my day dreams of moving to Alabama.  Ya just never know what is going to happen in your life.   Ryan called and talked to Chuck on his lunch hour on his actual birthday. He told Chuck that there were two packages on their way but will just be a little late.  I think it's fun getting things late for your birthday.  It just stretches out the fun of your birthday. When the mail came, there were a couple of cards and an envelope  full of panorama pictures of the inside of the barn from when George and Christina were here in September. ( before all of Shell's stuff was there) George had taken tons of pictures of the barn and then taped them all together to get the full sense of the size of the barn and what was in it.  Chuck had a smile on his face, the whole time he was looking at all of the pictures.    Chuck and I went out to dinner at our local steak house that night.  Not only was the food good but we used the gift card that we received for Christmas from our friends.  All in all, Chuck had one of the nicest birthdays since we moved.

Alabama Quilt Square

Hand embroidery on berries 

Alabama Flag and vines 

Every year the Alabama Rural Electric Association has a quilt square contest.  Each year, they pick a different subject and this year was the " Alabama's Official State Symbols".  Little did I know that our state's fruit was .....ta da...."the blackberry"!!!!!  I just had to try and make a square that says " Brambly Pines" for the contest.  My mind started thinking of ideas right away.  Of course there needed to be the state flag. I'm so glad we have an easy flag to make.  (Would have never been able to applique the Florida State Flag.) It took me a lot longer than I expected to finish my square.  There was a lot of hand embroidery to be done on all of the blackberries and leaves.  It was really hard to push the needle through all of the layers of fabric.  I sure did have sore fingers by the time it was done.  It turned out just like I had it pictured in my mind.  I was pleased when I put it in the mail to be sent off to Montgomery.  "IF" my square gets picked for the quilt, I will receive  a plaque and will be invited to go to Montgomery to have my picture taken with the " First Lady of Alabama".  The long wait until March 6 begins.  That's when they are informing everyone who enters the contest if their square is going to be used.  What an honor it will be if my square gets picked.  To be continued.............

The Way of The South.

My pretty corner of the house

Monograms everywhere

Pillow cases to match my top sheet. 

Little by little, I'm getting each room of the house the way I want them after over two years.  I've been working on my bedroom lately.  Lady Melanie had given me a round pillow form last year. After my friend Debbie ( in Florida) monogrammed a piece of fabric from my valances/chair that I took down on one of my trips to Florida, I finally got my pillow made.  I used the same monogram on my top sheet and two pillow cases.  Debbie has an awesome program for her sewing machine with beautiful monograms.  Some day I might save up my money and get the same one.  After all, everything you own should be monogrammed.  It's the way of the "South".  

Mansion remodeled

Everything fits on the back wall 

The new nesting boxes

Guess the girls like the new boxes

This second flock of girls, didn't like roosting on the roost in the mansion for some reason.  They would rather sleep on top of the nesting boxes.  Well, that became a problem because it would get piled up with.....you guessed it...poop!!  The nesting boxes took up the whole back wall because there were four of them.  The girls only used two of the boxes.  The same two all the time.  So, Chuck made a new set of two boxes.  He also slanted the top of them so the girls couldn't stand or sit or lay on the top.  That solved the pooping problem.  It forced them to roost on the roosting stand and it worked.  That's where they sleep now.  It also solved the problem of them pooping on the window sills because they can't reach the windows .  I guess they like the new nesting boxes because when I went down there this morning, there were five eggs in the first box.  Just maybe their mansion will stay a little cleaner now.  I know, I'm dreaming.

Real Buddies!

Marmalade

George

Yep, George kitty was a " house kitty" for a few minutes.  I bring him in every evening and he walks down the basement stairs, goes through the scardy pit and on to the basement, so he will be safe from the neighbor's dogs and what other wild animals that are out lurking in the middle of the night.  When I first started bringing him inside, I had to carry him to the basement but it didn't take long for him to get used to it all and now he does it on his own.  He's a pretty smart guy.  Well, one afternoon, I brought him inside and took him to the sun room where Marmalade spends his days when he's not on the back porch.  George and Marmie are buddies through the screen of the porch and the windows but I wanted to see if they would be real buddies up close and personal.  Marmie was laying on the chase and I put George down on it.  They smelled each other's head and then Marmie actually licked George's head.  Then, he got down and sat on the floor while George laid down to take a nap.  I know George was thinking ..." man, this is pretty good, being an indoor kitty".  I let him stay for a few minutes but made him go outside again.  I didn't want him to get used to the " good life", not that his life outdoors isn't good.  I just can't have three " house kitties".  The cat pan for two is bad enough.  Not to mention the extra two "visiting" kitties, in the laundry room right now.  I got my answer about George and Marmalade being real buddies.  They are!