Anipal Photo Hop #16: My Job

The absolutely most important job for the Kruse Kats is Quilt Inspector. We take our job very seriously. We supervise quilts in every stage of production. We approve the fabrics as they are chosen; the best fabrics are marked with fur. We help cut the fabric, making sure the yellow thing (rotary cutter) doesn't get too close. We inspect all the seams, making sure all the points of the pieces match. Other duties include sitting on the quilt tap during quilting so it doesn't fly away. After the quilts are finished, we check for threads, perfection of the binding, and just overall QC duties. When that is all done, we leave our "inspected by" mark, a bit of cat fur for luck. Mom and Dad give many of their quilts away to charities, so we need to give those a bit of special love.


the photos are: Rudy on a stack of quilts, Buster on the summer bed throw, and Maggie on the wallhanging given as a prize.

Wordless Wednesday

Anipal Photo Hunt #14: MOM!

OMC! You mean I have to share the spotlight with HER? Ah, she's not so bad. However, she took he pic with Parker rather than me, Maggie. Oh, well. He is her baby after all.

Check out the other blogs to see what their staff look like. And, please patronize our sponsor, Big Paw Designs.

Anipal Photo Hunt #13: From Where I Stand...

Cokie's challenge this week is to share what we see everyday. So many things in KruseKat world!

St. Louis is known for the Gateway Arch. Here I am visiting the Arch.

Please let me welcome you into our home in St. Louis. We live in an 1859 farmhouse, parts are probably older than that. Hope you had fun seeing my world!

Not so Wordless Wednesday - Puppy MIlls

Lawmakers aim to thwart the voters' will

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - HEADLINE!

Dogs big winners in Missouri races - MO Prop B passes

Anipal Photo Hunt #12: All Souls' Day

I would like to remember 2 of our dear OTRB friends, and mom wants to remember a 3rd.




Mom's cat, Nelson, was my predecessor. We believe he was part of a kitty mill since he never sat up, only laid down, and never allowed humans to pick him up. Nelson was not the sharpest tool in the shed, fell asleep in the water bowl, and only made one noise per week. A roofer liked talking to Nelson, said he felt they were on the same plane. Mom was quite concerned for that roofer. Here he is hanging out in the yard, and trying to snooze in the middle of dog toys.

I don't have to say much about our dear friends who went OTRB the past year, Rudy and Julie Dog. Like an cat, Rudy loved to be on top of things, and this is him on top of a 7 foot amoire. Yes, he jumped there from a table. Julie's favorite toy was a tennis ball and tail toy. Squirrel tail was the best, the fox tail had too much fur. Mom loved the advert - "because everyone needs a little tail".


I would like to acknowledge our sponsor, http://www.bigpawdesigns.com/. It is wonderful to have them on board.

So, join us in remembering you OTRB friends and tell us a bit about them.

Wordless Wednesday - Gratitude Cat Rocks

Gift from @TinyPearlCat. Thanks!

Anipal Photo Hunt #11 - Trick or Treat

Mom made Parker and I pose in the same picture for the blog challenge this week. Mom is really getting on my nerves. Without further ado, here are the Kruse Dogs, er, Kats!

Anipal Photo Hunt #10 - How Annoying!

When Mom told me there would a little red bundle of fur arriving to the house, my face plainly told what I was thinking. And, I can't put that into print, let me tell you!

Wordless Wednesday - 10 month old Maggie and her Mom

Wordless Wednesday - Remembering Julie on Her Birthday

Anipal Photo Hunt #9 - Compromising Positions

Oh, do I have a whopper for you! For all of you who think that Mr. Parker S. Kat is too cute to be bad, well this week's pic shows differently. This is Mr. Buster showing the Squirt a thing or 2 about cat fights. Look at Parker, on the floor in the submissive position. Ha! I saw it, Parker started the whole thing. Just look at Buster showing you what it means to be a proficient fighter. Yes, I (Maggie) enjoy seeing this picture way too much. A pox on little brothers!

Wordless Wednesday

Artist: J. Ottis Adams, 1875
Hoosier Group
Image courtesy of the Ball State Art Museum, DIDO project

Mental Illness Awareness Week - by Mom

"Across the country, NAMI advocates are gearing up for Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) 2010, which takes place October 3-9, to educate the public about serious mental illnesses like major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia."

One of the diseases that has impacted my family is "Dual Diagnosis of Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Disorder". Dual diagnosis is when 2 things are occurring at the same time, a mental illness such as depression or bipolar disease along with substance abuse, either alcohol and/or drugs.

A surprising number of people are affected by this disorder. The numbers below were determined in the early 1990's, and further studies have not been published.

"According to reports published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA):

•Roughly 50 percent of individuals with severe mental disorders are affected by substance abuse.
•Thirty-seven percent of alcohol abusers and 53 percent of drug abusers also have at least one serious mental illness.
•Of all people diagnosed as mentally ill, 29 percent abuse either alcohol or drugs."

Due to these concurrent diseases, it is difficult to treat. Which do you treat first? Often only one of the diseases is detected, and the other ignored. A dual approach to treating these illnesses must be taken.For example, counseling and medication for the mental illness, and programs such as AA or NA for the substance abuse. It has been shown that if a patient successfully conquers the alcohol abuse, then the mental illness is exponentially easier to treat.

This brief synopsis of the dual-disorder is just meant to remind people of the many facets of mental illness and is not meant to be a complete description of the disease. All quotes are taken from the NAMI site.

Our Family's Story
Our cousins' family has been known to suffer depression and bipolar illness. The oldest son became addicted to cocaine and alcohol and was placed in a treatment facility. I am not familiar with this facility, but I could guess that either he wasn't given meds or was noncompliant with his meds. He called one night and talked for an hour nonstop - a sure symptom of hypomania. Folks with bipolar disease often are noncompliant since they miss the "highs" of their disease.

The cousin hooked up with a girl who was on her 3rd rehab. Shortly after release, he started drinking and drugging again. Within a year after getting out of rehab, he hung himself in his apartment closet. His whole family have become hard drinkers, and have moved to New Zealand to escape.

This is just an example of the devastating issues with a dual diagnosis disease, and I am sure most families have similar ones. I just want to remind all that treatment is easy, but denial can have devastating and far reaching effects.

Anipal Photo Hunt #8 - I'm with the Band

This week we're featuring Mr. Rudy for the Anipal Photo Hunt #8 - "I'm with the Band". This was his 2009 Halloween costume designed by @GeorgetheDuck. Rudy is in his full wailing glory on the alto sax. And, here is another factoid: Parker is named for Charlie Yardbird Parker, a famous alto saxman from the BeBop era. Maybe Mom just has a thing for red cats and saxes.

Wordless Wednesday - Autumn Tesselations Quilt

Anipal Photo Hunt #6 - "Hey! That's Not Me!"

What a fun challenge today, Cokie! My (Maggie) coloring is unusual since I'm a blue tortie. I thought and thought and then I remembered that I have always teased @SidTheCatahoula about being a tortie dog. So, here is me and my doppelganger, Sid.

9-29-10

I omitted another dear tortie dog, Butus the Dane! Please enjoy my tortie dog friends.

Wordless Wednesday - Sign on old St. Louis building

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know - by Mom

Mom is taking over the blog today:

I want to thank @Wildboutbirds, Honeybell's, mom for giving me the courage to write this. this is her blog about hidden illnesses: http://honeybell-hoover.blogspot.com/ Hidden illnesses affect how we percieve things, and I believe our twitter friends know when something is wrong. We all have things to deal with, but sometimes it is hard to know what a disease is like if you have never met anyone with it. Please ask me questions about celiac disease and I will be glad to answer them to my ability.

1. The illness I live with is: celiac disease. I was undiagnosed for so long that I have other food sensitivities such as dairy and soy. Celiac disease has also impacted my thyroid function and I have hypothyroidism. Of course, depression often runs with this disease for many reasons. I am also a recovering alcoholic.
2. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2006.
3. But I had symptoms since I was a child.
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is figuring out how to eat in our fast paced culture.
5. Most people assume that all I have to do is not eat bread. AND the big one, that there is medication for this (medications are still in R&D).
6. The hardest part about mornings is trying to find something to eat that is not bread, wheat cereal, oatmeal, or cholesterol containing.
7. My favorite medical TV show is House mainly because he is such a curmudgeon. However, they have had an episode about celiac disease.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without are silicone cooking utensils.
9. The hardest part about nights is depression, wondering how I can continue to cook my meals when I am elderly, wondering if the food experiment will make me sick, hating myself for being fat but not sure what I can give up to lose weight. Luckily, I have no desire to drink, so that isn’t an issue.
10. Each day I take 21 pills & vitamins.
11. Regarding alternative treatments, I would love to find one, but this is all food modification. There is no magic pill to make me better.
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose visible. People can understand a limp.
13. Regarding working and career, it is very difficult as a professional to dine out with colleagues. I have to ask the waiter in detail about food preparation, and I just sound picky. Sometimes after a contamination, I need to sleep for hours. You can’t say to your boss, I need to sleep to help my body recover from a hidden illness. People don’t get it. If you aren’t throwing up, it doesn’t exist.
14. People would be surprised to know that wheat in the forms of flour or gluten is hidden in many foods. My food also has to be produced in a wheat free environment, and most restaurant kitchens are not set up this way. When wheat is accidentally consumed, we call that contamination. Only time and strict adherence to a gluten free diet will heal.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been to figure out that no matter how much you change yourself for the better, something will always come up and grab you in the ass to give you a reality check.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness is to resist cinnamon rolls.
17. The commercials about my illness- since there are no celiac disease commercials, the depression ones make me annoyed as hell.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is eating a sandwich whenever I want wherever I am.
19. It was really hard to have to give up cheese due to lactose intolerance.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is changing the type of cookbooks that I read.
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would order a fantastic meal at a 5 star place, no wine though.
22. My illness has taught me that you have to be advocate for yourself with the medical profession. If you don’t tell them in their vocabulary, they are less likely to hear you.
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is, “Oh, you can just have a salad. That’s safe.”
24. But I love it when people find a restaurant that is gluten free friendly especially for me.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is from a Steely Dan song:
Any major dude with half a heart surely will tell you my friend
Any minor world that breaks apart falls together again
When the demon is at your door
In the morning it won't be there no more
Any major dude will tell you
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them that this disease ain’t for the faint of heart.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is people don’t care.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was the day my husband made a special trip for a white soda.
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because, well, I’m a day late, but I needed to get out my feelings.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel that you have taken the time to care, and that means the world to me.

Readpawty Books - October/November

This post will be put on the fabulous readpawty blog that Pumpkinpaddy put together. I have chosen 2 books for #readpawty. As usual. you will chose one and we will discuss at the next meeting. I will be doing reviews of the books in the Anipal Times. I am rolling over the 3 previous books in case someone didn't get time to read them.

The first is a new novel, Murder Past Due (Cat in the Stacks Mystery) by Miranda James. A librarian has this really cool Maine Coon cat who walks on a leash. The libraian solves the murder of a well known author, Godfrey Priest. The book had 2 things that mom loves - libraries and MC's! This is so new it probably is not available available in libraries. However, Amazon has reduced priced new and used copies. Mom's copy is available for loan.

The second novel is one of the best I have ever read for facing life's trials and joys. The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel by Garth Stein. If you've ever wondered what your dog is thinking, Enzo is a lab terrier mix plucked from a farm rides shotgun with race car driver Denny Swift. Denny marries Eve, has a daughter, Zoë, and risks his savings and his life to make it on the professional racing circuit. Enzo, frustrated by his inability to speak and his lack of opposable thumbs, watches Denny's old racing videos, coins aphorisms that apply to both driving and life, and hopes for the day when his life as a dog will be over and he can be reborn a man.

See you at #readpawty Tues October 5th at 8 pm EDT.

Anipal photo hunt - Be the change

Cokie 's photo hunt has asked us to"be the change" by publicizing unadoptable animals. Here in Missouri our laws are such that puppy mills abound. My featured anipal is a lovely little lady chihuahua who was rescued from the mills. She is fostered by our #nipclub charity, the St. Louis Senior Dog Project.

This is Tillie is a sweet little 5 lb Chihuahua who has had a very sad and hard life as a puppy breeder. She has spent her entire 7 years of life living in a very small cage in an Ozark puppymill. She is uncertain of human touch and sometimes even fearful, but she is quickly learning to trust her foster mom. Tillie will need a special family to show her lots and lots of love and attention, and to assure her that no one will ever be unkind to her again. She will do best in a quiet home with another small dog(s) for companionship, and a fenced yard is required. Tillie is current on her immunizations, she has been heartworm tested, microchipped, spayed, and has had her teeth cleaned. Her adoption fee is $175. If you would like to know more about Tillie, please e-mail lesa_davis@att.net.

Cokie's Anipal Photo Hunt - Blog Paws

Mom went through her archives, and found one pic to fit this week's theme. This is Rudy toward the end of his life keeping warm on Mom's laptop. That's all we can say about it, we all get leaky eyes when we see this.

Wordless Wednesday - In Honor of Our Friend Pumpkin

Anipal Photo Hunt - Where is our bed?

On any given minute on any given day our beds are where we flop. Couches, tops of chairs, kitty tower, bed, you name it, we're there. On this particular day, Parker decided to share the ottoman with me. He is a snot, you know?

Parker and the Fur Toy

Cokies Anipal Photo Hunt #3

Mom went to a cat show just to buy toys for Baby Parker. This is him at 3 months old. He loved the furry toy, pulled off all of it's feathers. Since Buster and I were leery of the small newcomer, we wouldn't cuddle. We think maybe the furry was sort of a substitue mom.

Now that he's 5 months old, he doesn't care for it. I guess we all have adjusted.

These are the latest pictures of Parker. enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday August 25, 2010

Cokie's Blog Hop - Pawtraits

This week's photo challenge from Cokie is best described in his words: "This week's Anipal Photo Hunt theme is PAWTRAITS - that is to say, portraits featuring paws!"

This is a wonderful portrait that Joan Nardozzi did of our OTRB dog, Julie. Julie would cross her paws like this all the time. It made her look like such a lady. Deep down inside, she was a hound! MOL! She always wore a sock since she had a toe removed due to cancer. So, this is doubly precious to us.

Mom adopted one of George the Duck's cousins, Ducktor Wu. Rudy couldn't figure out quite what to do with an itty bitty duck that was about the size of his paw. I am quite glad because Ducktor Wu is a good friend of mine!

Pictures from #GMCBarkNRide - Team WestATudes

Riding shotgun.

The Hookalopes caught a ride and brought their own Doggy Baggage.

Lead Singer for the Westatudes, Preston. Packed and ready to go

#GMCBarkNRide Terrain Review

The Terrain road very nice. There was enough room for baggage, a Westie, and 3 adults. The OnStar was very nice. I love the XM radio. Little Steven's Underground kept me awake the last 3 hours. I have recommended the vehicle to many people to purchase.

The GMC brand has been around for years, and is trusted. If you are looking for a quality vehicle, I can recommend it. Even after 9 hours, my posterior wasn't sore! I can't say that about many rides!

MOM,like Duh

How can you remember asquillion clothes,food,etc., and not remember the power cord to the MacBook? Have you met my mom? So,she's at #bark world and no way to upload pics. Thank goodness for the iPad, but...

Talk about incredible. I have met many of my friends - Smokey, Cosmo,Mattie, TPD, Brutie, Edna, Boris, Dusty, Hurley, Bunny, Frugal, George, Brian, Niqqi, and many others. There were a lot of dogs in the sessions, as well as my roomies, James and Manny the ferrets.

The hookalopes are rooming with us as well. All they talk about are the Shibbering Cheetos and platform shoes. When you stop to think about it, is there any other thing to life but your passions.

Hopefully mom can charge the laptop soon and we can get some pictures up.

How to Recognize Mom

Mom, Wanda, is in the cat ears peering out the top of the #GMCBarkNRide Terrain. I think you will know her! MOL

Mags

Wordless Wednesday

Testing out the GMCTerrain

I have so much to tell you! The Terrain is here for #GMCBarkNRide. The kind gentleman from dropped off the car. He left Dallas at 4:30 am, and got to our house at 3:30 pm, all central time. Mom took a few pictures, then put it in our garage. It fit just great! We have a lot of stuff in front of the car, so we were very happy. The Terrain went on a 7-11 run last night, and it did just fine.

This morning Mom got excited and decided to drive the Terrain to work. She evaluated a lot of features. There are little lights to show where things are, like the door handles. Nothing worse than searching for the door handle in an unfamiliar car. Cruise control is all on the left hand side of the steering wheel, about where your thumb rests, and is plainly marked. Cruise control is very important to Mom. She lived in Chicago, and still has many of the driving habits. Dad says he just looks straight ahead and won't look at the speedometer. Mom even uses cruise control in town to make sure she doesn't go over the posted speed limit.

The SUV handles very well. Mom likes a solid ride with tighter European steering. The Terrain gave a great ride and it felt like she was actually driving, not just floating along like some cars she's driven. It has a tachometer which is missing in so many new cars. Mom feels like she is back driving some Mopar car again even though she's not shifting. Don't ask - she nutso!

The back up camera! WAY COOL! The picture shows in your left 1/3 of the rear view mirror. Now, is that something or what! Dad's Prius has a monitor, and you have to switch your eyes from the monitor (camera) and rear view mirror. Mom sort of likes the Terrain's feature better, except it is small. We're calling the backup camera a tossup. The mirror also has an auto-dim feature which is outstanding.

The only thing so far is the blink makes a nice soft blink sound, but you could overlook it very easily if it doesn't turn off. Mom hates cars that keep blinking. But, Mom, let it go, just let it go.

So, anyway, she gets to work and she has forgotten her access control badge. Whoops. But, all the hassle of no badge is worth all the pleasure of being part of #GMCBarkNRide going to #BarkWorld in Atlanta August 20-22, 2010.

Cokie's Anipal Photo Hunt

Cokie always has great ideas, and this is no exception. He will publish a theme every week, and we find a photo to go along with that phrase. This week's theme is "You Lookin' at Me?"

I always have perfect demeanor, but the Squirt (Parker) has no qualms about being a clown. I think his photo says it all.

Love,
Mags

#GMCBarkNRide - The Terrain

Mom was SO curious about the GMC Terrain she gets to drive to #BarkWorld that she went to a local dealer to check it out, Sinclair Pontiac GMC. It was a little odd to walk into a showroom with absolutely no idea of what vehicle she was looking for, not to mention how to tell the salesman "Seriously, just looking." Well, the Terrain was in the showroom, and she was ever so grateful since temps were 100F+!!! She started looking at the Terrain, and a salesman noticed her. She explained the she won the privilege to drive a Terrain, and had several other sales folks around her while she explained the GMC program and #BarkWorld.

The salesman, Mark Wehner, was so great showing mom all the details of the vehicle. Silly mom, all she wanted to know was where the plugins are for charging devices! MOL! The SUV is a great size - big enough for cargo and small enough to give it a mid-size car feel. the Terrain has a backup camera! The camera shows stuff either on the dashboard screen or on the rear view mirror. Now, is that cool? All the controls for the vehicle are in one place, not scattered all over the interior. You can tell that the professional truck experience that GMC went into the thoughtful design of the Terrain.

Mom is even more excited to drive the vehicle now that she is a bit more familiar with it. If you are in St. Louis and want to buy a GMC Terrain, stop by Sinclair Pontiac GMC, ask for Mark Wehner, and tell him the crazy pet lady sent you.

#Readpawty has a blog!

Part of our #readpawty improvements has been to add a blog and lending list. I may still talk about readpawty here, but all posts will be found at the readpawty.blogspot.com Please visit the new blog. Tell @pumpkinpuddy what a great job she has done creating the blog. I am going to have to hire her to spiffy up mine (turns and glares at Mom). Many thanks to Mario and MizzBassie for all their great suggestions.

Now, go visit the new blog! And, leave a comment!

Mags

#GMCBarkNRide

For anyone who has been following the happenings for the social media conference, BarkWorldExpo, you might have heard of #GMCBarkNRide. GMC has volunteered several Terrains for us to carpool to #BarkWorld in Atlanta, GA August 20-22, 2010. I have been awarded the privilege of driving one of these! Man, this is more exciting than, um, hm, I would have to think on that one.

Mom has driven small cars since, well, let's say the Beatles were still together. She has been desperately searching the roads looking for a GMC Terrain, and she finally saw one. It is great looking vehicle, and she isn't just saying this since she "won" driving one. She's quite serious. She is looking forward to the Terrain because it looks like a big little SUV. And, there's all the stuff on board, OnStar, bluetooth, 2 DVD players, not to mention a whole host of other cool stuff.

We have been trying to tell her there is room for all of us to fit in, but she says she has to take her food (she is wheat gluten intolerant). Hmmmpf. Then she reminded us that Preston the Westie and his parents will be joining the trek. Well, maybe a dog no matter how adorable and a couple cats shouldn't be in the same vehicle together.

I guess I should introduce you to the car pool, @Preston_Speaks on Twitter, and his blog, http://www.prestonspeaks.com/. He is allowing his parents to join us, quite sporting of him don't you think?

make sure you look at the GMC link so you can see the cute SUV we will have. Did I tell you it has a backup camera? Is that the cat's pajamas, or what?

Love,
Mags and Mom

Sticky Boards

Mom doesn't allow sticky boards in the house since she considers them inhumane. e.g., http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4898838_mouse-glue-traps-work.html However, we got a new pest control guy and Mom didn't think about him putting down sticky boards.

Thursday, Dad called Mom at work. He had found a sticky board in the dining room with Parker's whiskers stuck to it. So, poor Parker has only one long whisker on the left side.

We are very lucky this is all that happened. When you consider everything that could have happened to that little guy, well, Mom gets livid. Yes, we were very lucky.

The pictures are Parker with fewer whiskers, the trap, and Parker with all whiskers.

#ReadPawty August/September Picks

First thing: next meeting is August 3 at 8 pm EDT.

Next, four things have come out of discussions about #readpawty.
1. Pick books sooner than the meeting so there is time to find them.
2. People get busy and having the meeting every other month is good.
3. A later time, like 8 pm EDT, allows more folks to participate.
4. Having 3 books allows good choice, and you can pick a couple if you have time.

So, here are the 3 books. Choose ONE book to read. If you have time, you can read another. ONE book is all that you need to read. All are available from Amazon, used copies as well. You may be able to find them in your library.

Julie Powell Julie and Julia
Julie & Julia is the story of Julie Powell's attempt to revitalize her marriage, restore her ambition, and save her soul by cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I, in a period of 365 days.

Blaize Clement Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter (Dixie Hemingway Mysteries, No. 1)
Clement's assured cozy debut introduces an appealing heroine, 32-year-old Dixie Hemingway, who's given up her stressful job as a sheriff's deputy in Sarasota, Fla., to become a professional pet sitter. When Dixie calls early one morning on her latest client, a silver-blue Abyssinian named Ghost, she finds a dead man face down in the cat bowl.

Gwen Cooper Homer's Odyssey
Once in nine lives, something extraordinary happens...
The last thing Gwen Cooper wanted was another cat. She already had two, not to mention a phenomenally underpaying job and a recently broken heart. Then Gwen’s veterinarian called with a story about a three-week-old eyeless kitten who’d been abandoned. It was love at first sight.

Hope to see you August 2!