skip to main |
skip to sidebar
When we came to pick you up, you were hiding behind the heater. You had had a rough start into life. Rescued from a farm, you had cat flu and your right eye needed to be removed. We had just lost Jester, the one-eyed, and didn't want Magica to be alone, and then you sat there on the table looking at me from this large beautiful eye and the lady said in a sad voice "People don't want sick cats." We didn't have to think for a minute.
You were the quiet and shy type, not a cuddly cat. You would rather sleep on our feet than on our laps, but you liked to be close. There were a few very rare and precious moments when you let me hold you without trying to get away - once when I picked you up from the vet's where you had had to stay overnight, you jumped into my arms. A few days ago you sat on my chest for 15 minutes kneading away.
You truly were the grey eminence. The others respected you, only Meffi sometimes couldn't hold back and chased you a bit. She never caught you, you were fast. That fact earned you the name "Grey Lightning". We used to say you didn't run on the carpets, but underneath them. Ventre-à-terre, so-to-speak. It probably helped that you had short legs.
You didn't like strangers, but in the last year you didn't mind them too much anymore. You sat in the door looking at them, your eye saying "Look, but don't touch". For years people hadn't believed us that you actually existed and I still see some of them how they lay on the floor taking a peek at you sitting underneath the bed.
As a baby you had an office, first in the cave of the scratching post, later underneath the bed. If we were searching for a pen, we knew where to go. I still see you running a worldwide empire from underneath the bed, but I never found out what exactly you dealt with. Catnip maybe?
Catnip was not your own poison, but you would have killed for chicken or turkey. Standing up, clawing at me while I was cutting it for you. You have been known to steal chicken from the plate, it was something you couldn't resist, no matter how well-behaved you were.
You didn't like to get combed. Your hurt look when the tall guy picked you up, held you and went to work was something else, especially since one tooth had been pulled and you had that slightly crooked smile. When you felt your soft fur was too tangled for you to handle yourself, you came by and dropped, showing us your belly or your pants (the long hair on your hind legs), only then it was ok for you if we combed you, we didn't even have to hold you then.
Today it was time for you to leave us. You spent more than 16 years with us and they were mostly good. But now you got weak and skinny and I'm sorry in case we selfishly dragged it out too long.
Tonight I had a dream about Merlin and you, a sign that he would pick you up maybe? When I came downstairs this morning, I saw that you were ready to say Goodbye. Thanks for giving me the chance to stay with you and hold you one last time. It means a lot to me.
Run free, Grey Lightning, Merlin is waiting for you and he is not the only one. You will be missed.
Wow, this is harder than I thought.
This post is dedicated to Merlin who passed away February this year at the age of 13.
I "stole" him (we thought we rescued him not knowing the Humane Society would come by the next day to pick up his oh so young Mom and his siblings, but still I think I wouldn't have cared!) from a neighbor of the tall guy's cousin who neglected them (the neighbor, not the cousin, they were the ones that fed them at all). When I saw him sitting on a post - we are talking small village and former farm here - with running nose and half-closed eyes, I knew I had to take him with me. Although he very bravely tried to scare me off by hissing at me, I took him off the post and glued him to my sweater telling the tall guy that he was coming home with us and that his name was Merlin.
Little did I know what he would become to me. Of all the cats we had and have the honor to serve (we do know our status in this house! ;-)) he was mine the most. He slept in my arm at night, he listened to me ranting, laughing and crying and he was the one all the other cats seemed to respect. Not because he was tough, oh no, he was a big couch potato, but around him they all calmed down - after a fight, after a rough game, after the disappointment of another meal not suitable for their gourmet taste.
When he was 8 years old, he got diabetes. We pulled it through together, he just let me do what was necessary and finally he didn't need insulin injections anymore.
Like so many cats he got a kidney problem, though. In February he told me very clearly he needed to go, with a look from his beautiful eyes.
Although he is in my heart of course, I wanted to do something else to remember him by, something special.
Then my way had already led me to SJA and when looking at the pieces of Dawn from California, I suddenly knew what to do.
It took us a while. I say us because I hope Dawn didn't feel neglected during this time, left alone with the task to satisfy a crazy cat woman and a grieving one at that. The way she asked me about Merlin, how he got his name, what his character was like, showed me she didn't just want to copy a photo, she wanted the pendant to show him. As she had other commissions to work on and there were vacation trips in between as well, it took a while until Merlin finally made his way from California to Germany.
I wasn't home the day he arrived and when I came home the next day, I was alone in the house. I opened the parcel and there he was.
Don't the beads compliment the pendant perfectly?
I have been staring at him for over a week now (with small breaks to go to work) and still I am amazed, stunned, speechless. I had expected a lot, but this went beyond my expectations.
There is also a little surprise on the back, but that will stay my secret.
I know I already said it, but I'll say it again. Thank you, Dawn, thank you so much.
And now for something completely different.
That's not true, but as a Monty Python fan I couldn't resist to say that.
Merlin has been drawn years ago when he was still a youngster and his figure a little, ehm, fuller. My friend Denis (from California as well which is pure coincidence because I first met him years ago) who is a talented animator made some sketches of our cats for us when he visited.
This is "his" Merlin.
Ok, now I am sitting here bawling and smiling at the same time. It's time for bed. Thanks for bearing with me through Merlin's and my story.
Blue sky, white cotton ball clouds, sun, warm - the perfect Sunday for a fleamarket. The one we went to is usually one of my all time favorites, for a great atmosphere and also for some spectacular finds (I am not exaggerating!). Today it was a flop. I don't know what was wrong, but we came home almost empty handed.
So I am sitting here now blogging although I should do some research for something else. I am not sitting in my usual chair, though. When I came to the computer, my chair had already been taken by a furry black girl. I couldn't throw her out when she looked at me with those big eyes, purring away happily. So I pushed the chair aside and took the tall guy's one instead which is not as comfortable for me because I am smaller than him. I only have to look at this picture to know it was the right decision, though. May I introduce the sleeping beauty? Excuse the picture, the colors are a little weird, but my camera was acting up again. I can't wait till my new one arrives.
So here is Esme, showing her bald little ear where the fur has not grown back yet after she got into a fight with her brother and had a scratch. She is lying on a dark and light blue blanket (told you the colors were weird!).
Ah, jealous Greebo is on the way to let me know he still exists, too! Ssssh, don't tell him he is going to the vet's tomorrow because he sounds like a bird, he seems to have a sore throat again.
What else have I been up to the last days? I played with my knitting spool. I had bought these ribbons on sale because they seemed perfect for an idea of mine. I love the fact they don't have clasps, but can be tied in the back.
First, I don't really like to put clasps on. Second, you can adjust the requested length easily. Third, you can actually also use them as hair bands!
Wine red ribbon with light pink metallic wire, spool knit together.
Two ribbons spool knit together without any wire. I happened to have orange and black in reach when I wanted to try that, so this became a Halloween band. Of course, this one is thicker than the ones I only used one ribbon and wire on. While you can easily put chunky pendants (like the crab agate) on the one ribbon ropes, a two ribbon rope works better without. Just my humble opinion.
This had been the original idea. Just the wire is spool knit and the ribbon runs along inside. These strands are not as thick of course, so I made two and twisted them. Do you also hear Christmas songs when looking at it?
And yesterday I finally caught a treasury again. I know I would probably make a terrible mess with resin, so I haven't tried yet, but I would sure like to because I think it's really cool stuff. Check out Soaping of organic compounds if you want to see some great pieces.
Last, but not least I can announce I found two more nests ... I hear funny little purring and scratching sounds in the night and see the cats staring at corners, but not doing anything. They seem wary, but not scared or aggressive. What is going on here??
The advantages of a virtual picnic are - no ants, no rain, comfy seating. The disadvantages are the drool spots on your shirt from looking at yummy stuff and not being able to taste it.
As we don't have any sun here in the moment, I can live with the virtual picnic, though. Maybe you will enjoy it with me in this treasury that is called "Tea for two hundred" after my favorite Donald Duck animated cartoon. Check it out on YouTube for example. I love this duck!
Oh, and like always click the image to enlarge.
After you hopefully had a little fun with the treasury, have a look at my latest kitty head listing. I made some a while ago, but kept them for the local zoo project. Today I decided my ArtFire studio was definitely missing some more feline influence. He has a big ole tom head with big cheeks and reddish brown tiger eyes and seems like a pretty relaxed guy to me.Unlike some other real kitty who thought it was fun to stuff his belly very fast and then throw it all up on the stairs, also very fast. I am happy to announce I did not step into it and the culprit - no, I won't say names - helped me cleaning it up in his unequaled way, wiping like crazy around the spot that already wasn't there any more. Can someone make little paw cloths for him? The way he runs around here the floors should sparkle all the time. Washable, please. Contact me for my address data ;-)
So here he is now *drum roll*
We have a little zoo in Göppingen, I have mentioned that before. And we have a very big zoological/botanical garden not far from us, about 25 miles, the Wilhelma in Stuttgart. Our club president has connections to the Wilhelma as we are sometimes coached by them, the vet has helped us out with medical treatment when ordinary vets in the area couldn't help anymore and so on.So today we were taken behind the scences by one of the curators. Unfortunately he didn't have much time, so we could not go where the animals are. No cuddling the baby chimps or the tigers! ;-) We saw and heard about the technical side, though. It was very interesting and he is a good story teller. For example I hadn't known that the Wilhelma has the world's largest collection of zoo posters in their food preparing area. He said they hadn't known, either, but when one of the seasons of a zoo show was shot there, the TV people were amazed about all those posters that come from all over the world and had somebody from the Guinness Book check it out. Shhh, just between us - I would have loved to take some of those posters home, especially the old Stuttgart ones.After a while he had to go to supervise an arriving animal transport and "released" us. We split up in two groups, the adventurous one wanting to see as much as possible and the one I initiated, the slow one checking out only a few things (I had been there a short while ago and love to sit in front of an enclosure and just watch, my favorite are the Keas). As always when I visit a zoo, I had to buy a t-shirt and it's a real cool one, too. It has a big lizard on it. To work I usually wear my animal t-shirts, it's my trade mark.It was very humid, the kind of weather I can't stand very well. Also I only had four hours of sleep (thanks, Ponder, grrr), so I am tired now and will probably meet my old pal Morpheus as soon as my head hits a pillow.
I was not all unproductive today, though.
One idea I had for our zoo, I only have to make some more samples, is to sell my animal pendants there and split earnings between the club and me.
Today I made another kitty and because a nice lady from SJA recommended a Siamese, I gave it a try. Here is the picture I took in a hurry (as you see, complimentary real cat hair is included ...). Pictures of the other critters will follow as soon as I have a bunch together. By the way, suggestions for possible pieces are still welcome!
Actually I had a quite relaxed Saturday as well. Going shopping and disposing of cans early, some light blogging, plurking, emailing later. Sounds like a weird kind of fitness training. Then I fell asleep in my chair in the afternoon and visited Morpheus, my old pal, for quite a while. In the evening I woke up all cranky and tired and foggy in the brain.I know who or what is to blame for that.Cat sleeping gas. You won't find it on Wikipedia, you won't find it on a list of dangerous substances, but it's there. At first I had thought it was a matter of touch and sound. A cat snuggled into your arm and purring makes you go to sleep pretty fast, doesn't it? After years of thorough research, though, with the help of my trusted furry assistants (even if they think I am the assistant or even less than that) without who my work would not have been possible, I found out that it's a gas. It enters your body and you won't know it. I am sure it finds its way not only through the nose, but through all skin pores and that way controls your body and your brain.It works best if you are already in a horizontal position or at least half horizontal. That way you won't have to move to fall asleep. You won't fall if you are standing. You think that is nice? I think it was designed that way to keep the furry masters' slaves from hurting themselves. After all they need us. Well, they need our opposable thumbs. Still. Who knows for how long.
So why do I think it's a gas? Because it also works when there are cats sleeping in the same room. The more, the faster you are gone.
A master of this cruel game is Greebo, the innocent-looking one. He swears by all methods, the purring, the snuggling, the shedding hairs - ah, sorry, that one is wrong in here - the licking and the gas. He was the one that got me yesterday. I was just sitting in my armchair, crochet hook in hand, wanting to pick up my wire and there he was, snuggling into my armpit, smiling at me innocently and then working his spells. I think it took about 10 seconds for me to drop like a fly.Now he is here in my lap, relaxed as can be. Sorry, his head is cut off a bit in the second pic, but my arms were not long enough to catch all of him like that and holding the camera above my head I also couldn't check the display.
Oh-oh, I feel a tiredness coming on .....................
No, I haven't gone mad. Well, not more than I was before already.
Chicken man is a dear memory from my teenager times when I was still listening to AFN on Sundays. Casey Kasem and the American Top 40 - aaah, what a trip down the memory lane.
Sundays there was also Chicken Man. I don't remember much about it, but for those who want to check it out (Americans probably know what I am talking about), here you go.
Now, what did I want to say? Yeah, right. I remember now. CatsWire is everywhere, is everywhere ;-) Not to save the world, but to make it a little more beautiful maybe?I hear you yelling from the side "Get going, lady, it's boring out here! What do you want to tell us?"
Ok, it's not Etsy, it's not ArtFire, it's my DaWanda shop where I listed two new earring pairs from my kitty line!
And last, but not least ... a very happy birthday to my favorite witch in the whole world!! :-D
Granny Esmelvira, have the greatest birthday possible. I am so glad to know you are my friend! Hugs and cheers for and to you!!
In October 2008 I sent a parcel to the Canary Islands. One tube of vitamin and one of high-calorie paste for a skinny cat.
You already know what comes next? Right.
This parcel returned to me today, with the note "not claimed".
Now I wonder where it has been for so long. Has it travelled around the world? Has it been asleep in some Spanish post office? Has it been lost in some dark corner with spider webs hiding it? These questions almost makes me crazy.
If it only could speak ......
Ok, the line itself is not so new as you know from a former post. The line surfacing in my shops is new and I can't seem to stop making those little kitties, probably because they are all as different as my own fur monsters are.
Speaking of fur monsters, Greebo's eye is starting to close up. I hope it is "just" a little cold and not another allergy attack like a few years ago when his asthma started. That was so terrible, my poor baby hardly able to breathe, only when he was standing up. I so do not want to hear these whistle sounds again! What worries me is that it came so sudden. Tomorrow we are off to the vet's. I can't go tonight because I have a doctor's appointment myself. I would rather go to the vet's!
Back to the kitty line. The little fellows have no closed eyes and are immune against colds and allergies. If it always were that easy ;-)
Actually I had thought about that from the moment I started crocheting with wire, but yesterday, when I was trying out all the crochet hooks my MIL gave me and finally came to the smallest one, the spark of inspiration (that Terry Pratchett is talking about in his book "Sourcery") hit me with all the might a spark can hit you.
I hope this idea will develop, my big goal is to crochet a life-size elephant ;-) You don't believe me? So what about a kitty head, not quite life-sized?This was my first attempt, in sterling silver wire, jade beads as eyes and a red seed bead as nose. Yeah, yeah, I know, no mouth. I will keep him as a good luck charm, I think. Without the ears he is about 0.4 inch high.
This is number two from brown copper wire. He is larger and he has tomcat cheeks. And a mouth. After all you don't really see cats' lips. The eyes are aventurine, the nose a red seed bead again. I'll have to search my stash for a pink seed bead or maybe a black one.
Stay tuned in case I post the picture of the life-size elephant some day .......
When I came home today the first thing I did as usual was counting my cats. One, two, three ... where are the black devils?? The same moment I heard a desperate meow from upstairs. Ponder, of course, who else could have managed (again!) to get locked behind one of the few doors that are closed to him. Seems someone from the family had dropped off something and didn't notice the little black panther sneaking in. I wonder how long he had to wait there all alone. Am I making fun of him? Never! ;-) When I opened the forbidden door there he was, yowling his little heart out, so confused that he didn't even see that the door was open now. I had to carry him out while he told me about his cruel fate. He's very talkative anyway, but this was absolutely hilarious. I filled the bowls, but he didn't have time to eat, he had a tale to tell first. Finally he followed me to get some hugs and comfort, as seen in the picture.
Now he's sitting beside me, purring and looking cute, but he can't deceive me. I will pack some things now and he is sure to "help" me ....
I hope afterwards I will have a little time for me and my creativity until the tall guy arrives and wants to be fed, too ...
Easy enough. You calm down, relax, have a cool drink and try again.
Huh? That might go for others, but not for me. I don't calm down, but jump around like Rumplestiltskin. Then I throw everything on the floor (if I am sure it will not break ;-)) and after lots of swearing and cussing I might turn to that cool drink and afterwards calm down. A little. Sometimes I try again and sometimes I decide the whole idea was dumb anyway.
You wonder why I am elaborating on this subject? That's why:
To my defense, I did not throw it on the floor and also didn't jump around on it. It was just that I wasn't totally happy and still am not, but ideas from friends how to improve it are already rolling in. More experimenting will keep me from thinking about things that happened the last few weeks. There's a whole lot of trouble going on in my circles it seems and like I wrote a friend in an email today, it feels as if I should be scared to look around corners because the next bad surprise might already wait there.
Oops, no, the surprise is waiting inside my keyboard and it's called cat hair. The little guys should by right be naked now, but the way it looks and feels they are still pretty much covered. I think the shedding has become worse, does that mean spring is finally around the corner?? Please, let it be so, although I don't mind rain usually, I am getting to the point where I want to change my mind about that.
The snoring behind me - in black and white and very furry - is telling me I start to get boring, so I'll call it a day now.
