Finally Friday

The weather was perfect yesterday. Warm, sunny, breezy, dry. Mom got home and opened this window in her bedroom. I spent a long time sitting there, watching the world go by and sniffing the smells.

Mom's back to working on the SSP. She loves it, but she is eager to finish. She was kinda stuck, trying to decide about something. She thinks she's worked it out. I'd say, "You'll see..." but obviously you won't for a while. She says she -will- post in process pictures of it on her sewing blog after the "quilt is out of the bag."

I have some ideas about what should go on the quilt, but she hasn't been listening.

(sigh)

Thursday Thirteen SSP Hints

OK, everybody! You guys wanted hints about the Super Secret Project (SSP). Mom and I decided to give you hints.

We'll give you 13. But you won't be getting any more until the Big Reveal at 6:00 PM on July 26, so don't bother asking.

I have some private thoughts I want to share about it, so they are in italics!


Thirteen Hints about the SSP (and a Bonus Hint)

1. It involves fabric. (Duh)

2. Mom will use the sewing machine to make it. (Double Duh)

3. In this next picture, I am lying ON the SSP (the brown tote bag on the right has NOTHING to do with it.)

4. Mom is designing it as she goes.

5. She's not 100% sure where it's going. (DUH! It's going to Mary-land!)

6. There is RED in the SSP.

7. There is ORANGE in the SSP (this butterfly is in it.)8. There is YELLOW in the SSP.
9. There is GREEN in the SSP. (click the pictures to biggify)
10. There is BLUE in the SSP. (And there is PINK, too!)

11. There is BLACK in the SSP. (Not much, I promise)

12. There is gonna be VIOLET in the SSP.
13. Violette is gonna sleep UNDER it!
BONUS HINT:
It's BIG!

OK, so now you know the SSP is a quilt that Mom is making, that has all the colors of the rainbow in it, that it's BIG, and that it's going to go to live with Sprout in Mary-land.

You wanna know WHY?



HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm not telling. You gonna have to ask Monty.

Wordless White (tummy) Wednesday

with a twist.

(somebody get a pillow ready for Monty Q!)

Tuxie Toesies Tuesday

I like to keep mine nice and clean.

Oh Monty, if you like this picture, wait until you see the special one I have chosen for tomorrow!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

We have a sliding window in the kitchen. Mom used to hate it because she couldn't get it clean. She could clean the insides, but not the outsides. Remember last January, when one of the glass panes broke?
Mom was lucky enough to be home when the guys came to replace it. Turns out you simply grab the sides of one of the windows, lift up, pull the bottom edge out, then lower it to get the top edge free, and the window comes right out. "Wow," Mom thought, "now I can finally get it clean!"

But that wasn't all. It has been so Hot Hot Hot here (96 F, 35.5 C), that yesterday, Mom just removed both of the windows, so the air could move around. There was no chance of rain, so she left them that way overnight. This is what it looked like this afternoon:
The screens were dusty, so Mom took them out, to clean them off. Just before she replaced them, she took this picture. No window, no screens! I can't believe I missed this! My golden opportunity to get outside... Uh, wait a minute... I would have had to jump down about ten feet... into the HOT outside with cars...
So now here is a picture with the screens nice and clean, and back in place:
Frankly, I like the view without them much better. But the screens keep the flies and other bugs out, and that's a good thing. Next, Mom washed the windows thoroughly, inside and out, and then washed the tracks of the window casings, and then replaced both windows:
Here is a picture of the window as open as she can get it, without removing the windows: Not too cool, but the weather guys say we are in the path of some crack-and-boom storms, and that means rain, so Mom had to put the windows back so the rain wouldn't come in the house.
Now if it could just be a little bit cooler!

Oh yeah, Mom watched the French Open yesterday. Nadal beat Federer. Badly. It was embarrasing. Even I couldn't watch.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Mom is working on the SSP. I can't tell you what she's doing. It makes for a kinda boring blog post.

However, I sneaked this picture, below.

Mr Karate brought this up from the basement. It's a box that makes cold air, and it is supposed to go into a window. He set it down right where Mom stands when she's working, so it's in the way. However, in this picture are some clues about the SSP.

Except I can't tell you what they are. You're gonna have to guess.

I can tell you that there is a new post over at her cooking blog.

Drawing Day!

It's Drawing Day today. You can go here to find out about it, but the short explanation is to do a drawing and post it. Here are the places you can post it. Flikr is one of them.

Mom -loves- to draw. I will make sure she does a little drawing and posts it here (at least!) so you can see. She says drawing is very relaxing, and it won't be like work.

Hot Cat Saturday

Mom has updated the Bizzy for Gizzy blog, and we changed my blog template. Diva Kitty liked the pictures Mom added to the Bizzy for Gizzy and Patchery Menagerie blogs, and suggested I add a picture to the top of mine. Well, there was only one picture to consider, as far as I was concerned.

It's supposed to be very HOT today. Mom's gonna be watching tennis, naturally. I'll find a nice cool spot to take a nap.

I thought you might enjoy these pictures of Gizzy and Jasmine, taken on hot days many summers ago.


Yes, Gizzy is hanging over the edge of the table a bit. What a guy!

Finally Friday

Mom has been really tired lately. Hot Flash has been bothering her at night, so she has been having a hard time sleeping. And she is having a rough time at her day hunting gig. She's been working on the SSP, and she says it is --- ---- ----------- ----- --- --- ---- ----. These are some of the reasons I haven't been visiting as many of your blogs lately, and I am sorry about that.

Of course, Mom has -also- been watching the tennis at Roland Garros in France. She says on Saturday, she will watch Big Brown run in the Belmont Stakes.

I will try to make sure she sits down so I can be near her and purr. I will also do my best to teach her to take a nap when she is tired. After all, that's what I do.

Thursday Thirteen

You all know Mom and Auntie Karate are sisters.

Mom is the Big Sister, and Auntie is the Little Sister. Mom is 8 years older than Auntie. They don't have too many pictures of them together. In this picture, Mom is on the left, and Auntie is on the right. It was taken about three years ago. The ladies at the fabric store call them "The Bicker Sisters," which they think is pretty funny. They love each other a lot, and they are Best Friends.

But when they were girls, they weren't too fond of each other.
Thirteen Things About Little Sisters.

1. Little sisters think they know everything.

2. Little sisters think they have all the answers.

3. Little sisters keep reminding you they are important.

4. Little sisters want all the attention

5. Little sisters are such pests.

6. Little sisters embarrass you in front of boys.

7. Little sisters tell all your secrets.

8. Little sisters think they can do everything better than you.

9. Little sisters think being younger is better.

10. Little sisters tell your boyfriend every silly thing you ever did.

11. Little sisters think you don't know anything.

12. Little sisters are so bossy.

13. Little sisters keep telling you you're old-fashioned.


I wonder what Auntie Karate would think?

Dona Nobis Pacem

PS, Mom's got a new post up at her Quilting Blog and I can confirm the SSP involves fabric.

Tuxie Toes Tuesday

Oh Monty.... Monday

You don't want any hints about the SSP...
You don't want any hints about the SSP...
You don't want any hints about the SSP...
You don't want any hints about the SSP...

Easy Like Sunday

Mom and I will be watching the Tennis today, so I know Mom will be taking it Easy. The French Open is on. It's pretty sweet watching it on HDTV.

Yesterday Mom and Mr Karate went to see some guy named Indiana. We won't reveal any spoilers. Mom said it was a lot of fun.

Saturday Night Lights

Our arch is lit up at night. The colors change from purple to pink,to green,
to blue (even though it looks white here)
to a yellowish white.
and then back to pink. It does this all night long. It's really pretty. I can't wait to see it in the snow. It will look pretty in the snow, too. Believe me, I can wait!

Formerly Feral Friday

I like getting chummy with Mom. Each night this week I've made her sit in the big chair, and then I jump up and lie down next to her for pets and scritches. She's been tippy tapping on her silver lapbox. She found her butterfly book, but she said she didn't need it anymore. Guess after yesterday's blog post you can figure out why. Last night she was looking for different stuff on the innernets and then she did some little drawings in her sketchbook. She says she's doing research for her SSP.

That and she started up a quilting blog. Goodness gracious!

I made sure she understands that MY BLOG is the MOST IMPORTANT one, and that she HAS to help me post EVERY DAY.

Sheesh! I used to think life was tough as a feral kitty. But it sure is a lot of work to train your bean. I guess the regular food, clean water, nice safe place to sleep and Temptations treats and regular scritches make up for it.

Yeah.


Anyway, we have added a countdown clock to the top of my blog for the reveal of the Super Secret Project. Mom says it will be "big." Update -Please let me know if the clock isn't working!


And she updated the look of the Bizzy for Gizzy blog. She put up a really nice picture in the banner and added a picture of Gizzy and a link to the story of how the Gizzy Quilts came to be. Any cat with a Gizzy Quilt who has not posted their pictures should contact me for instructions on how to post their own stories.

She Dit It!

I can't believe it!

She did it!

I know she's been lurking in the Quilt Blogs...

But she did it.

She started a Quilting Blog. It's called The Patchery Menagerie, and she stayed up SO LATE working on it, she didn't even have time to help me post a T13.

Just for that, I'm gonna let a secret out of the bag....
This butterfly can be found on the...

oh oh, gotta go..


(But here is a picture of Monty Q's Sprout and KidBean. Personally I dunno which one is cuter. And BabyBean is pretty cute too!)

Wordless Wednesday

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(or what happens when your Mom tries to take a picture by holding the camera over her head and clicking the button.)

Tuesday Tuxie

It was nice and warm over the long weekend. Mom had the window open while she worked on the Super Secret Project (SSP). She has been working on the SSP practically non-stop, so the kitchen is full of dirty dishes and she didn't even do the laundry or change the sheets on her bed. She is really happy with her progress on the SSP and she is exactly where she wanted to be by the end of Monday.

She went to The Mall with Auntie and PlusOne. She came back with a jacket, a blouse and two pairs of shoes. She said these were for the "trip in Joo-lye."

My ears perked up when I heard this... Here is what I know so far:

• Skeeter, LC & Ayla: it has nothing to do with a ferry or the number 260, though "Maryland" does appear to be correct.
• Monty Q, honey: the color isn't pink.
• Yes, the trip is in "July," which isn't so far away.

P.S., go see Roxy's blog today if you want a good laugh.

Memorial Day Monday

Mr Karate's dadbean served in Viet Nam, so we are very aware of the sacrifices our Military Men and Women make on our behalf.


Yes, Poppy Q, we did watch Scott Dixon win the Indy 500! You Kiwis must be celebrating big time!

Mom spread the dirt around in pots yesterday, and stuck lots of stoopid green leafy plants in them. Here's a picture of some of them. Fiona bun knows what this stuff is (that is, if she's still conscious), but I'm pretty sure it's Dill, Marjoram, Sage, Purple Sage, Red Leaf Lettuce and then down front it's Oregano, Savory, Globe Basil and Basil Perpetua. There's also Parsley, Mint, Golden Oregano, Chives, Cilantro and my 'Nip (but that's on the porch so no other cat can have it but me.)Then she spent most of the day working on the Super Secret Project. Mr Karate came over and this was what Mom made him for dinner:Yes, that is HIS plate!

Sorry about the blurry areas in the picture. That's because Mom stuck her greasy finger on the camera lens.

To all of you who have the mistaken idea that the house is always NEAT, let me assure you that is not the case. When Mom does nothing but work in the sewing room, the rest of the house goes to pot.