I can think of no finer way than to wake up like one of my cats. Alf Capone (Used Furniture Dealer) in particular. He has this way of stretching, in a leisurely sort of way, then he pulls his whiskers forward as his mouth makes a sort of pouty, kissing shape, and finally …. he yawns the yawn of a LION. Totally. The only thing which is missing is that LION growl. But … the important thing is ... his whiskers twitch.
Maisie Doats (other cat residing in Cobweb Towers, – a minuscule cat – 1:12th scale) (well,no, not really 1:12th scale, but she is very small). Aaanyway [stop waffling Cobs!]… back to Maisie Doats … her whiskers twitch too – but it’s normally when she getting royally indignant about something (or some cat) she’s spotted in HER garden. If I had the courage of that little cat, I swear to dog that I’d be able to run the world.
Alf …. aw, now he’s a lover not a fighter. But Maisie …. ah, she’s a F.I.G.H.T.E.R of the first degree. A right bruiser. Trouble is that she normally comes off the worst in a fight.
I know when she has an injury because she hides under the sofa. You see … she knows that if I see she’s injured, out comes the cotton wool and the antiseptic in a bowl of tepid water, and in mummy wades to bathe the wounds. SHE HATES IT! She won’t speak to me for hours after I’ve done it – just to make sure that I know what I’ve done wrong. It’s her version of putting me on the naughty step.
Aaanyhoo …. I’m here to share the Catified version of the Waggy Tails cards (<–clickable link – opens in a new tab) which I shared on Monday, so I shall hush up and share!
Now did that face make you smile? If you didn’t smile, maybe now’s the moment to check your pulse.
Originally I was only going to make a nose, cheeks, mouth with whiskers combination … but a little tickle happened somewhere inside me and I added a very tiny pair of beady eyes, just for laughs. Not to do anything which would turn the twitchy whiskers into a ‘real’ cat face – I never wanted this to look like a proper cat face, for I wanted it to be a smile in a card. The whole ‘thing’ about these cards is that they’re meant to be fun and funny. But the beady eyes just gave a sort of added comical twist to it, and … well … I just hadta.
A view from the side so that you can see how ‘proud’ the face is from the card itself.
The whiskers … they can be touched and ‘twanged’. They definitely have the twitchy factor. 🙂
Did you know ….
A cat’s nose is as unique to a particular cat as a fingerprint is to a human – no two cats have the same nose.
The naked skin around a cat’s nostrils is known as “nose leather”.
The colour of a cat’s nose leather depends on the colour of their coats – it can be pink, black, blue, chocolate, brown, lavender and brick-red.
Chinchilla cats have nose leather that’s outlined with a lovely grey colour.
Some cats even boast freckles on their noses!
Since making the Waggy Tails and Twitchy Whiskers Cards, my brain has gone on a ‘jolly’ with this idea and I now have ideas falling out of my ear-holes for other cards which I’d like to make. But … not quite yet. I don’t want to bore you to tears with these sorts of cards.
So I’ll jump craft lanes and come back next time with something a little different.However … expect me to make a visit to these cards at some point in the near future, as my brain is having a party with the ideas, and I can hear very clearly the laughter and the popping of corks which is happening inside my head! 😀
Thank you so much for coming and having a coffee with me, and for taking a peep at the Cats Whiskers card.
But …. take note of the sentiment and please remember to always:
BEGIN EACH DAY WITH TWITCHY WHISKERS!
Have a truly beautiful Wednesday! 😀
Sending love and squidges, from me in my corner, to you in yours.
There are films that I watched as a child which obviously nestled their way into my heart and made a home there. Or … perhaps it was some of the characters from the film(s) which had nestled into my heart….
I sat at my desk, paintbrush in hand and waited for inspiration. I’d been singing inside my head for a couple of hours the song from Aritistocats – the one where they sing over and over “Every body, every body, every body wants to be a cat” – as Thomas O’Malley’s friends (all cats) all play the instruments and sing the Jazz song.
Ok… you’re singing it now. sorry about that.
Well … there are two characters in The Aristocats which are my most favourite – Amelia and Abigail Gabble. The two faaaabulous Geese, who have a particular walk, and a particular piece of music which accompanies that walk.
I knew what I needed to paint … but I had a choice. Paint the Goose which I had pictured in my mind … or go and look for a photo of Amelia and Abigail so that I could be reminded of how they actually looked.
Somehow looking for a photo felt like cheating, so I was going to have to remember what they looked like from memory.
I knew there was something fancy about them, and I guessed at a big ol’ ribbon tied around their necks…. like this . . .
‘Goosey Gander’. An ATC / ACEO Painted for #WorldWatercolorMonth
But I found out that they didn’t have ribbons tied around their necks …. they had their bonnets tied around their heads! Aw bummer. I’d already painted the goose with a ribbon by this time… ahh, I decided that I’d keep it exactly as it was. So I did.
For those of you who’ve forgotten the Miss Abigails and Miss Amelia’s walk … I’ve been to YouTube and collected a video … You don’t have to watch this all the way through … you’ll get the ‘walk’ within seconds.
… I apologise if you’re now going to humming that tune for the rest of the day. But hey .. if I’ve got to suffer, then you can come and join me! lol 😀
If you want to see that walk from the back I have another offering… but I have a tale to tell before you watch it:-
Mr. Cobs recently painted our decking – which looks fabulous and I’m thrilled with it. The cats were kept off it while it was drying. However – Miss Maisie (neurotic at the best of times) took a dislike to the decking paint and to show her utter contempt, she developed a special walk, which I christened ‘The Decking Walk‘ – – a walk which is a seriously odd thing to watch and funny in the extreme! She pulls this wild face look – ears back, eyes the size of saucers and she crosses the decking to get into the house as if she’s trying to lift up her back paws and only walk on her two front paws.
Sadly … she cannot do the required two feet walk. So the resulting walk is bally hysterical!!! Seriously so.
I knew that I knew this walk from somewhere but just couldn’t place it … however in trying to find the video of the ‘Goose Walk’ by Amelia and Abigail, I suddenly had this LIGHTBULB moment inside my brain as I watched the beginning of this video…. – Watch the little white female kitten doing the walk … THAT’S how Miss Maisie walks over the decking …. even though the deckinghasbeendryfor SEVERALweeks. She still feels the need to do ‘The Decking Walk‘ … so please watch and enjoy. (again … you don’t have to watch the whole video … just a bit of it.)…
I ask myself alllll the time, “why me?“. Why do I get all these funny animals? All of them are ‘broken’, like plants on the ‘hospital table’ at the garden centre. No one else wants them so muggins here takes them home and loves them.
Anyhoo ... back to Goosey Gander. She’s a little ATC in size – so 2.5inches by 3.5inches and painted all in watercolours.
I took photographs in different lighting to try and get a decent photograph which captured the colours. This photograph was taken with light flooding in from the window. #WorldWatercolorMonthThis photograph was taken with the flash on. #WorldWatercolorMonth… and this photo was taken with the desk lamps turned on and shone on it. #WorldWatercolorMonth
You can see the difference it makes to the colours, and to the way the light plays on the the painting, kind of picking out details that you could ignore in other photos.
Ack … let’s not get into a photography lesson eh? LOL.
Thank you so much for coming and sharing a coffee with me.
Wishing you a very happy Tuesdayedit to change it to : Wednesday. (It’s a good job that the fabulousTom Merrimanis awake, commenting on blogs, and wished me a Happy Wednesday. I was convinced that it was Tuesday today!). May the hours pass peacefully and may you find some smiles hidden within the moments during your day.
Welcome to the Cobwebs Airlines. I hope you’re going to enjoy your flight. Take off your shoes, socks, and nylons, and do up your seat belt. Take off is about to begin…
To the left you’ll see see what I’ve learned this week. To the right … you’ll see the end of the sentences and paragraphs. Ok… hold hands everyone! We’re taking off! . . .
One or two of our TV channels here (in the UK) have begun to show Christmas films. Not all day every day you understand – (however, saying that Sky Christmas on Virgin 410 seem to be doing something along those lines) but because of this I came to realise, last Sunday (6th November), that no matter how many times I may have seen some of my favourite Christmas movies, I never tire of seeing them every year.
They turn up like far off family visitors, kind of unexpected in a way, but once you settle down together you actually begin to enjoy the fun of them being there, and the warmth they bring to your heart and home.
I’ve learned a beautiful lesson from these Movies – that being: I never tire of Christmas movies that Mr.Cobs and I watched with our girls when they were little.
Those little girls are now very much grown up – one in her late 20’s and the other approaching her mid 30’s – both with families of their own. However, in a tiny corner of my heart, they live on as the little girls they once were. I can recall their giggling laughs. Their squeals of joy. Their little girl footsteps on the stairs. And I miss those girls so very much. I miss how their tiny hands fitted into the palm of my hand. I miss how they would jump all over me if I was on the sofa. And I miss wrapping them and myself up warmly, with our Wellington Boots on, and going out in a howling gale in the winter, so that they could experience that feeling of the wind rushing past them, making them catch their breaths. Seeing leaves flying high into the air and dancing on the wind. I miss their little rosy cheeks when we got back in the house again, and how they thought that the best thing in the world was drinking chocolate to warm them up again.
This week I also learned that:My sense of fun is very much alive and living happily in my inner child; and my inner child is in more evidence at Christmas than at any other time.
I’ve learned this week … that little Starlings (birds) are cheeky chappies.
A cheeky Starling, taken by Mr.Cobs.
We’d gone to the Harbour side, here where we live, to sit and watch the boats, yachts, and various other modes of water transport which we see there. Mr. Cobs had taken some cheese biscuits with him and we didn’t notice but …. we were being watched. Obviously, the time was right and bravery won, and our ‘watcher’ fluttered up off the floor and landed purposefully on the wing mirror, next to the open window of Mr.C. Mr. Cobs fed him a morsel of biscuit, which he took from his hand, and jumped down onto the floor to eat. A moment later, he was back, asking if it was at all “possible to have a little more please?” Mr. Cobs gave him another tidbit of biscuit. Again, he jumped down to eat his biscuit. A moment later he was back … obviously feeling rather proud of himself and a little braver this time. Mr Cobs offered him another tidbit and he was just about to take it when …. two other Starlings ambushed the little brave bird and pushed him off the wing mirror! What a darn cheek!
Mr. Cobs popped his head out of the window and saw that the little Starling had managed to keep his bit of biscuit and was eating it on the floor, next to the car, but Mr. Cobs pulled his head in and pressed the button to wind the window up. We decided that it was time to leave before we were invaded by a large bunch annoyed little birds, all demanding biscuits! eeek!
I also learned this week…. that I have a Deviated Septum.
I’ve been suffering for about 2 years now with ‘nose problems’ which led me to thinking that I must have a sinus infection which wouldn’t go away.
I’d had the problem for about twelve months before I finally went to the doctor.I’m not a natural Doctor visitor. I was sent to see a lovely lady specialist. She took details, asked questions and then, (after asking of course) popped a tube/light and maybe a camera thing up my nose. I have no idea what it looked like for I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see it because that way I couldn’t imagine what it was doing and I wouldn’t be scared!
She told me I would need to have a CT Scan, but in the meantime she gave me a long course of super strength antibiotics, and said I was to get the receptionist at the desk to make another appointment with her, and one for the CT scan.
I took the course of antibiotics and . . . they worked! It was so wonderful to be able to breathe again. I could sniff up my nose. I could talk without sounding like I had a heavy cold. I could speak a whole sentence without getting out of breath and having to puff and pant like I smoked a hundred cigarettes a day.
If only I could now get rid of these blasted headaches then life would be so much nicer.
My GP knew about the headaches. I’d had x-rays of my head and they apparently showed nothing. A doctor at the big main hospital suggested I was suffering with migraines. She cheerfully bounced around the room with a huge grin on her face and suggested that I try to relax more and get rid of the stress in my life. I thanked her for her time and left. My exact thoughts were … “Well what a total pillock she is!”
I had to report back to my Doctor two weeks later. When I told him what had been said he actually laughed a sort of “hurrrhfff” noise.
I’ve suffered these crushing, seriously debilitating, whole head pain filled, headaches for about 20 months or so. I don’t get them every single day … but I get them for about 10 or 11 days in a row, then I might get a day off or sometimes two, and then they’ll come back again.
I wake up in the morning and my head hurts like I’ve been held by the ankles and spun round by someone who’s purposely hit my head up against a wall, many times. I can’t lie down because of the pain. I can only sit upright, in a dark room, with no noise, curtains drawn, sunglasses on, and just s.i.t. I can’t hold a conversation. I can only answer with a ‘yes’ or a’ no’, or ‘ok’, but nothing more. And I’m totally incapable of remembering anything said to me during the time that the pain is worst – so anytime from around 5am to 2.30pm (the times vary – but an average day would be from around 7.30am to 1.30/2pm). [sigh]
When I went back this week to see the lady specialist she told me that after seeing the CT scan, and after showing it to her colleague (a surgeon) they both agree that I have a Deviated Septum. She explained what it is … and I nodded and understood what she was saying. For now, she’s given me another prescription for the strong antibiotics which she gave me before, the one’s which worked. But, she told me that this was something that needed surgery in order to put it right.
When I got home from the hospital I said to Himself … “I’ve just had a thought …. I wonder if this could be the cause of my headaches??? Darn it! I should have asked her! What a dope!“ Mr.C suggested I look on the internet… so I did.
Guess what I learned. . . . This Deviated Septumcould be the cause of my headaches!
You’ll never guess what else I learned .... The website said that one of the things which could cause a Deviated Septum was an injury to the nose. OH. MY. GOODNESS!!! My eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as a memory of how this may have happened came rushing back . . .
About two years ago,Little Cobs was sat on my lap and suddenly threw himself backwards, stopping with a BANG against my body and winding me – but his head travelled further backwards and he head butted me on the face with the back of his head. His little head hit my nose with so much force that I really thought he’d broken my nose! I grabbed a tissue thinking that my nose must be gushing blood – but nothing. No bleeding at all. My nose and face ached for days afterwards, but there was no swelling and I only had a slight bruising under my eye on one side, so I just thought that it would go away and I ignored it. (Although mind, each time Mr.C leaned in for a kiss I would push him off with a command of “Eeek! MIND MY NOSE!“)
Little Cobs (I think) gave me the Deviated Septum. Bless his heart. I’m hoping that next time he wants to give me something, it’s a kiss or a bag of sweeties!
Strange thing is … I’ve stood and looked at my nose in the mirror and I can’t see anything wonky or bumpy. I asked Mr.C if he can see a bump or maybe a teeny twist or wiggle to my nose, but he says he can’t either. But … I’ve looked up my nose and I can see that there’s something different about the inside of the two nostrils. [shudder]
A Deviated Septum … no. That just sounds too silly for someone like me. I’ve decided that I shall call it … My Mutant, Sep. I’m going to choose to believe that I have a mutant called Sep who lives up my nose. Sounds so much more friendly than a Deviated Septum, dontcha think?
Other things I’ve learned this week:
I’ve learned that my littlest cat, Dolly Daydreams (aka Princess Tippy Toes) can move off her prized ‘seat’ on the sofa SO quickly, that she can be snuggled down on my chair, when I’ve stood up for a moment to adjust my clothing, and I never even saw her move!. It was only as I was half way down to sitting on my chair again that I noticed she’d gone missing and I stopped myself from sitting on her. I turned around and there she was with that “It’s my chair now! Nur!!!” look on her face. Needless to say, it wasn’t her chair and she was moved back to the sofa again and told so. The darn cheek of it!
I’ve learned that blogging is actually quite a lot of work – and that I worry that I won’t chat about things which people will enjoy reading. – But I’ve found that if I just be myself, then things seem to work out ok, … and … I keep my fingers crossed that I don’t let anyone down and that I don’t blog about boring things or send anyone to sleep.
I’ve learned for the millionth time, that a compliment, out of the blue, can make someone’s day. I went shopping today, and coming around the end of an aisle, I came across an older lady dressed in a blue coat and wearing a beautiful darker blue and white scarf. She had such a sweet face too. I took one look at her and said: “Oh my goodness, …. ohhhh you look so very stylish!” She looked at me with a smile but a quizzical look and said … “Say that again?” as if she hadn’t heard properly. So I repeated it. She was totally over the moon. Cock-a-hoop! She told me where she’d bought her coat and how old it was, even how much she’d paid for it. I told her that the colour suited her and that teamed with her scarf, the outfit looked totally stylish. I left her smiling and thanking me. Isn’t it just fabulous how a few little words can really make someone’s day so much brighter and happier.
And finally ….
I’ve learned …. some new jokes. Ready? ….
Q) What goes up and down but does not move? . . . . . A) Stairs
Q) What do you call cheese that’s not yours? . . . A)Nacho cheese!
Q) What did one wall say to the other wall? . . . A)I’ll meet you at the corner.
Q) What do elves learn in school? . . . A)The elf-abet.
Q) Where do pencils go for vacation? . . . A)Pencil-vania.
and finally …..
Q) What is Santa’s favourite pizza? . . . A)One that’s deep pan, crisp and even.
Wishing you a truly Fabulous Friday. May your day be happy. May your troubles be small,and may your joy for life be never-ending.
Ten days ago I was nominated for an award for this ‘ere blog of mineours – ’cause it’s not just mine, it’s yours too. (Yes, you have to take the blame also).
The incredibleMrs. P from The Cottage on the Green (aka Craft Odyssey)who I absolutely love to pieces, – (Mrs.P is someone like me, she too has very funny bones) – nominated me for the Happiness Tag – because, she says, I make her happy. I’m funny?! HA! Who knew?! I thought I kept that part of me well hidden, but it obviously creeps out when I’m not looking and makes folks happy. (or is it that people laugh at me? Hmmm… I might have to think about that one. Sadly my one brain cell is busy typing this post at the moment so I don’t have any available memory. I’ll have to think about it another day).
So .. as I was sayingbefore I rudely interrupted myself ... I’ve been nominated for the Happiness Tag and in order to officially accept the award I am to tell you 5 things which make me happy. 5? FIVE?? Only FIVE??? Oh. My. Dog! How on earth am I going to be able to pick just FIVE?
Well, lets see… I’ll start with the obvious – Mr. Cobs, Little Cobs (Grandson), Being Alive, My Dog, My Cats, …. oh, but that’s 5 already and I haven’t even got started yet.
Let me try a different 5: My blog. My Blogging Friends (aw they certainly make me happy. Half the time I’m sat on my side of the ‘puter screen hooting with laughter and trying not to leak! My eyes people, my EYES! [sigh]. Some folk!, in the gutter, looking up at the stars!). Shopping. Crafting. Living by the Sea. Oh heck…. there’s another 5!
Lemme try this again…FIVE, COBS, JUST FIVE GOOD ONES!: My Faith. My Memories. Old Photographs. My Wedding Dress and Wedding Album. No, that’s five.
Try again: My Children – before they turned into teenagers, because before that ‘teenager’ time, I was a Super-Heroin my children’s eyes. I could cook; bake; make; teach; love; cure; befriend; solve problems; read the best stories; make stories up from nothing; paint; create; juggle; do magic; make a wish come true; Google has nothing on me, for I was The Oracle and knew the answer to every question they asked. I could organise a party within hours; make costumes for the school play out of apparently no supplies, and .. oh all manner of Super-Hero Mom stuff.
Darn it … see my brain went off on journey of memories there.CONCENTRATE COBS!
Let’s see if I can do it with the aid of pictures …
This next picture with its caption comes remarkably close to the truth regarding what I saw Himself doing on Saturday morning (Saturday 24th Sept.) . . . .
... as I made my way to the bathroom to take a shower, his last words to me were: “I’m going to garden vac all those pine needles which have fallen in the garden”. And he did. Well done that man!
However … when I returned some minutes later after taking a shower and getting dressed, … he’d finished in the garden and was so happy doing his ‘job’ that obviously felt he hadn’t played nearly enough with his power tool so he’d moved into the conservatory with that same Garden Vacuum, and was sucking up the pine needles he’d walked into the house, … the mat at the door … and the rug in the middle, which he’d complained about the price of when I bought it… and yet, here he was, using the Garden Vac on the darn thing! (I cross my heart – he really did Garden Vac the conservatory!).
One down, four to go ..
NUMBER 2 … FUNNY TEXT MESSAGES FROM DOGS … and CATS.
And from the cat …
NUMBER THREE …. CRAFTING: Ohhhh I LOVE LOVE LOVE to craft!
NUMBER 4…. THE NAUGHTY ‘ME’ WHICH WANTS TO DO *STUFF*
I SO want to do this, just for the giggles
NUMBER 5 … Little Cobs ~ My GRANDSON.
I know I could sit here and tap out a gazillion words about Little Cobs, but most of you have heard them all before and you know that inside this little boy is a spark which ignites a flame of pure, unadulterated love and happiness within me, which makes my heart sing and my mind explode into symphony of musical flowers. Little Cobs is just 5 years old and has Cerebral Palsy and Autism. For a little dot of a child, he’s a massive blessing in my life.
I have already blogged about some of the albums I’ve made for him, but there is one album which I’m making just for him, which has some ‘magic’ about it, – because he loves magical wonderment. He loves that I can make up stories on the spur of the moment which have their own characters and some built-in wonderment which make his eyes twinkle and sparkle with delight. The book/album I’m putting together has a theme to it of “Wishes”. Wishes I make for him, (which you’ll see in this short video of delight from Duirwaigh), and these wishes are all there in a mix which includes dragons and fairies and things which delight and entrance him. Yes, Little Cobs is absolutely my biggest Happy of all.
If you’re still reading and haven’t wandered off yet, then here’s where it gets interesting.
I have to now pass this award onto 5 other bloggers, but they have to be bloggers which make me happy. It’s taken me days to manage to get this down to five, because all of the blogs I follow make me so happy that I’m impossible to deal with after visiting them. Apparently, Mr. Cobs says, that it’s like I’ve been on E numbers for 24 hours. But the rules say only 5 – so here goes….
I’ve nominated these blogs because the ‘owners’ are wonderful people who bring me much joy. But – nominated people: … if you’ve had too many nominations and don’t want to take part then there is absolutely no requirement to do so.
If however, you do want to take part… then you just have to tell your readers 5 things which make you happy. You don’t have to go round fishing for pictures, or anything like that. You can just make a list of five simple things (eg: Biscuits/Cake/Partner/Climbing Mountains/Bungee Jumping) … and that’s it. Then you have to name five other blogs to pass the tag to also … and... once you’re done, you get to display the very wonderful (well ok’ish’) Happiness Tag(below) on your blog, which I made specially for everyone because I couldn’t find the right link to the tag, so I made a whole new, exclusive tag just for us to use. (you can size it down to fit in the side bar on your blog. I just left it big so that you could see it).
Thank you for coming and spending some time with me. I so enjoy your company – more than you’ll ever realise. And … when you comment, it really is like having my friends round the kitchen table for a coffee and giggle. I so love talking to you all and have got to know many of you as if you were here with me. It’s amazing what chatting in blog land can do. I’ve found it to be a very happy place with wonderful readers who have turned into friends.
Have a wonderful day out there… and … be good to yourself, and each other.
Sending my love to you in your corner, from me here in mine.
Dearest fabulous followers and magnificent readers of the Cob Blog, … Mrs.P, who’s a wonderful mummy to a cat (and a rather handsome dog), happened to come across the post I made some time back, about one of my furry craft room companions; Alf Capone. (aka Alfie-pops – DON’T tell him I told you that though). (Link to the original post by me HERE. it will open in a new window/tab for you to read when you wish )
Mrs.P. must have not noticed at the time that her cat,who’s name is: Neurotic Cat, had been perusing the screen as Mrs. P. was reading. Well.. while her mum was off doing other things, Neurotic Cat did the following…..
Have you ever had the experience of perusing posts when BOOM an image of what could be the love of your life appears on screen ??? There was I peeping at Cobs blog when I saw him ..Mr Alf,
Go on admit it …isn’t he just the Bees – knees
I was going to be all lady like and wait for his slave Mum to make an introduction on my behalf ..then I though ” I’m a modern Woman … I can handle this myself” so I’m taking things into my own hands, so here is my online dating profile :-
My name is Neurotic Cat, I’m a dainty 6 yr old black ‘ghost tabby’ complete with a white bib & tummy, I have a meow on par with a car alarm …which is a good thing when you require the attention of the highest calibre, I also have healthy…
About three years ago Mr. Cobs and I were talked into having a kitten by our (grown up and married) daughter. She knew someone who was desperately trying to find homes for kittens and we agreed that we’d have one.
We chose the most adorable little black and white bit of fun and mischief, got her home, and within about three hours we knew we’d made a mistake. We shouldn’t have just had one kitten. We should have had two. She needed a little playmate. We were fine, but we weren’t kittens. She’d come from a big ‘brood’ of kittens and we felt so mean taking her away from them all. It was decided. We contacted the lady and asked if we could have another kitten.
So back we went the next day to pick up the tiniest little black boy kitten; huge big blue eyes which melted my heart and the tiniest little white diamond on his chest. Ohhh, he was SO adorable that there should be a law against being that cute.
We got him into the house and his little girl sister instantly jumped on him and battered him with play. Mr Cobs and I both agreed that we reckoned the young lady was going to be the boss out of the two of them.
We weren’t ‘new’ pet owners. We already had two dogs, and one very elderly cat (whosenow 20 years old). So looking after little rascals wasn’t in the least bit of a surprise. We knew what we were letting ourselves in for.
But …. we didn’t quite reckon on Alf. Or … Alf Capone; to give him the full, respectful name he requires.
(I call him ‘Alfie Pops’ – but don’t let him know I told you because I fear that he will tell me I’m dead to him if anyone else knows about this affectionate monica I’ve bestowed upon his head). :o)
Photograph taken by my lovely neighbour, who’s way better at capturing a photograph of this almost all black chap than I am.
Now I’d like to think that Alf Capone Esquire is more James Bond (cue Live and Let Die music in the background) – because he is so sleek. So dashing. So, SO handsome, and he truly looks like he’s wearing a tuxedo. The white diamond on his chest simply looks like a pure white shirt, beneath his black tuxedo jacket. However, I’ve never seen a Bond film where James attempts to assassinate his sister whenever he’s ready for dinner and none is being served at the exact time he requires it. (more about this distinguishing character ‘trait’ in a moment)
I’m not saying that any mafioso would assassinate his sister – however … we are dealing with the Cat Mafia here and so I think the rules are very different.
I absolutely love this fascinating creature to the moon and back (plus tax) and he tickles the heck out of me with some of the things he does, and has done, in the time since we’ve had him.
I’m rather ashamed to tell you this but … well, … Mr. Alf is a kleptomaniac. He’s stolen things from other people’s houses; cat toys, food – corn on the cob, a fried egg, and even bread rolls which, by the look of the contents, came from someone’s barbecue. He’s delivered looong lengths of silicon sealant at my feet which he’s obviously freshly pulled out from goodness knows where; a sock; a tiny rubber bouncy ball, and … oh, an assortment of other weird and odd stolen things. Along with the usual cat ‘gifts’ of birds (both alive and those he’s personally ‘delivered’ to the Rainbow Bridge) and mice (those are more often than not alive and running at speed when he drops them, with me chasing after them, squealing: “eek, eeeeeek, EEEEEK!” as I try to catch the darn things but stop him from catching them again – sigh).
But his most favourite thing to do is to accompany me to the craft room, where he sleeps either under one of my desks, on a big, soft red with white spots comfy cushion, which my (now passed on) eldest dog used to sleep on, or he will curl up on one of the chairs pushed under the table at the back of the craft room, and sleep there for as long as I’m crafting.
If I haven’t gone to my crafty hidey hole when he feels I should have, he will come into the living room where I’m sat and, standing on his two back paws, he’ll put his front paws on my knees and tap me gently, over and over, until I look at him, and I can clearly see the ‘nag nag nag’ in his eyes, asking me to “C’mon…. get a move on, I’m waiting!” LOL.
However …. in the house, when he gets tired, …. aw, that’s when he becomes a baby again. He loves the blankets we have for our dog (she likes to clamber under the blankets and put herself to bed). Mr. Alf loves these blankets too, so much so, that they’ve become his version of a childs ‘blanky’. He HAS to have a few minutes with the blanky before he’ll go to bed.
You see …. he likes to suck on the fluffy side of them. Yes – you read that correctly.
We’ve tried to stop him – to no avail. We’re aware how bad it is and I won’t bother to tell you how worried I am that he might be taking bits of fluff into his system. (I have checked these blankets and haven’t found any bare patches, or parts where it looks like bits are missing).
The photo above shows you how he drapes himself over the edge of the dogs wicker bed, and once he’s got the blanket in just the right place, he begins to pad, pad, pad it, – just like he would have done to his mummy’s tummy when he was a kitten and wanted to feed – and then he’ll begin to suck it. Audibly. Noisy little slurpy, sucking noises. I kid ye not dear reader.This is really embarrassing when we have visitors and he does it, because it’s quite loud.
Once he’s had his blanky time, he then gets himself into position to sleep …. by making sure that he drapes himself half on the bed, and half off. (see the above photograph). Doesn’t matter which of the numerous beds we have dotted about our little cottage, – he has a choice of:- two wicker beds with comfy cushions; a large, rigid plastic bed with a big squishy cushion inside; a firmly padded tartan with matching cushion cat bed, or two lovely, roses printed Cath Kidston pet beds – he makes sure that he drapes himself in such a way that at the very least one whole leg is draped outside the bed. We have no idea why he has to sleep this way, but I’m figuring that it must be a Cat Mafia thing. One foot always ready to pounce while the other three are sleeping.
However … when hungry, that’s when this adorable little monster becomes the naughty little devil and gets a telling off. If we take just a nano second too long in dishing up his hearts desire, he will turn his annoyance at being made to wait, into a reason for his killer instinct to show up and he will attempt to kill his sister, so as to get us into action pronto.
He chases her around our cottage: – up the hallway at breakneck speed and back down again; over the high-backed chair in the living room (with claws out, which makes it sound like he’s ripping the fabric), over the sofa, both the back and the seat parts, into and around the conservatory, up the 5 feet tall cat scratching post/bed/climbing frame combination, and, eventually , if the door’s left open, he’ll harem scarem through the bedroom, at a gazillion miles an hour – which he KNOWS he’s not allowed to do – over the bed, onto the windowsill – disturbing the curtains and making the lovely little yacht I have on the sill there rock back and forth. If by chance he manages to actually catch his sister, he’ll make her squeal by grabbing her by the scruff of her neck – which gets him a real old telling off, – which in turn makes him sulk on the sofa until he finally gets what he wants …. dinner, in his favourite dish. (Please God don’t anyone give him the wrong dish!)
He can be a troublesome bug to our dog too. He major time loves our dog (‘Maybees’ – say it sort of singy songy and you’ll see how it sounds. lol) sooooo much, that he wants to love her and love her and love her. He rubs his chubby little cheeks around her face, scent marking her and making her ‘his’. He cleans her ears for her with his raspy tongue, which tickles her and makes her shake her head so violently that I think it’s going to fly off one day. He clambers onto her bed and snuggles up to her – which drives her nuts and she pleads with me to get him off. Ohhh he loves Maybees soooo much that it’s pitiful to watch. Maybees does love him too. But she just wishes that he’d leave her alone to snore when she’s asleep and not climb all over her, trying to wake her up.
But he’s adorable. For all his funny things, annoying things, rascal ways … we all love him to pieces. My Daughter and Son-in-Law have both said that they’d have him in a heartbeat. He’s just brilliant.
And … when he finally finds a spot and settles down …. he’s just the little boy he always was when we first brought him home.
He’s just my Alfie Pops. Soft, with fur like you’ve never felt before. Thick, deep and luxurious. Sweet natured (really – most of the time). A little baby who loves ice cream, drinking chocolate (I dip my finger into it and he licks it off my finger) and scrambled egg. His favourite treats are cheesy puffed cat crunchies, which I keep in a little glass jar and shake them when it’s time to come home and stop playing outside in the woods. He’s a beautiful, massively heavy, big (much much bigger than he looks in these photographs) gorgeous, sweet thing and I love him to pieces. And no, dearest daughter, if you’re reading, I’m not going to give him to you … but I’ll share him with you when you visit.
Before signing off …. I know this isn’t one of my usual crafty posts and I know I’ve been Missing In Action for a couple of weeks (or so), and my blogs been very quiet. I had to have some surgery. I found some lumps about four weeks or so ago and the surgeon said that rather than simply take a little biopsy and wait to see what turned up, he felt it would be more prudent to remove all the lumps and, hopefully, all the surrounding cells, and then get a biopsy done on all that tissue. He doesn’t think there’s anything to be worried about but I won’t get any results quite yet. I’m not worrying until there’s something to worry about, because that’s just a waste of days and the older I get, the faster the days seem to go, so I’m not about to waste even one day worrying when I’ve got so much crafting to do!
Normal service will be resumed ASAP, as I get back to my crafty stuff. However … I will continue to introduce you to the fur babies I have here, who accompany me to my craft room, so that you paint a picture of who’s under the desk with me as I craft. :o)
Thank you so much for coming to have a read. I love that you visit to share a few minutes with me. Thank you.
Hello and . . . Happy Thursday! I like Thursdays – they always had great lessons in school on a Thursday and I think that’s why (even now, a gazillion years later) I still like Thursdays. There’s something friendly about a Thursday. I always (mostly) seem to find that people are in a good mood on a Thursday. Why is that? I wonder.
Aw, – enough of me blathering on ….
I’m here with a gentle looking, pretty card ‘offering’ today. This is one of those great cards which could be a birthday card, a ‘hello’ card, a card for a daughter, for mom, wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend, partner (in life or crime! lol) … or it could even be a Valentines Day card! And .. what’s even better … it has a matching box!
I decorated the outside of the box (shown above) so that it pretty much matched the card inside it. I used the same soft pink and white striped backing paper on the box lid as I did on the card, along with the same colour of my favourite rayon ribbon, – and the flowers and little bird, although in different shades of pink, are the same as on the card. The little bird is bringing a tiny red love heart in its beak – so bringing the love to … the card? The bird’s nest? To you?
The little birds nest with the ‘eggs’ inside it; I made by simply winding string round and round (and the use of glue to keep it in place), and I used three pearls from an old broken necklace as eggs. The die cut ‘Lots of Love’ was made using a die made by Tattered Lace. (I’m very much a bunting kinda girl – so these little bunting style word dies were right up my street!)
I love to make boxed cards as they always feel more like a gift than just a simple card, and so I like to decorate the boxes – inside and out. The inside of the box was lined (top and bottom) in 6×6″ vintage style sheet music, and into the centre of the inside lid I fixed a beautiful topper – from DoCrafts as part of a selection of die cut toppers.
The little girl sat on the step and snuggling up to her cat is from a book of toppers made by Lili of the Valley. I have a few of these books and love them for the delightful colours which LOTV use in their production. I highly recommend them. They’re brilliant quality. The sentiment banner is one I made myself on the computer and printed it out. If you can’t quite read it, it says: ‘You’re my kind of Purr fect!’.
Top and bottom of the front of the card is some lovely white, cotton, crocheted lace. The bird(s) are resin, and the flowers are paper flowers, from a selection I have.
Isn’t she just adorable? I love her cute face, cheeky smile and want to squidge those cheeks!
All the photographs here will re-size as if by magic if you click on them and you’ll be able to get a better view then. (but don’t forget to click ‘back’ so that you can come back to the post!)
I would like to enter my card into these fabulous challenges:
Go on admit it …isn’t he just the Bees – knees 
The Art of Cobwebs 