Pages

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Thankful for Red Cats Thursday



As everyone knows, Mom has a passion for red cats. It all started when she found a a wounded guy on her friend's front step. Thom Katt, Esq. protected his territory and suffered a lot of scrapes. He had a personality bigger than the heavens.
One day Thom ran into the apartment meowing a blue streak and herded her to the door. Mom had 2 kittens playing outside and there was a neighborhood tom cat was stalking the babies. She was able to save the kittens because of Thom's kitty ESP. Thom went on to monitor her friend's yard and lived to a good age. My friend did these drawings of Thom the Bomb.



One of those kittens was a cameo, or silver red, long haired girl named Amelia (Earhart). Mel was a dominant personality and had a flea allergy. She tangled with a skunk once, and got the business end of that deal. I won't described how her apartment smelled! The other kitten was a long haired black tortie, Cynda. Kitty color is carried on the female gene, so the multi-colored girls carry the red gene. Cynda was a lovely girl, great personality and taught Mom how great us tortie girls are. Cyn and Mel lived well in our house in St. Louis.



Buster, a ticked red medium hair, came to live with Mom after Mel died. Mom says Buster is the Gold Standard for cats. He had the same kitty ESP as Thom, patrolled his neighborhood, and only started to lose battles when he was 15 years old. Mom kept him inside a lot more then. Other than hairballs, the only accident he ever had was on the day Mom put him down. He looked at her and his eyes told her he was sorry for the accident and he was in pain. He had made his peace with renal failure, and Mom honored his pact.



After Cynda Died, Mom got Nelson. Nelson was a gorgeous red long hair who may have been a Norwegian Forest Cat. He had been in a cage until he was 9 months old, and had very little human handling. He learned to trust Mom and Buster took him under his wing. Buster taught Nelson how to clean his butt, how to sit upright, and several other things. Nelson was not the sharpest tool in the shed. Mom said that when he was born God asked if he wanted beauty or brains. Nelson said, "Huh?". Buster deeply mourned Nelson's passing.



I came to live with Buster after Nelson died from renal failure. Since I am a blue tortie, I also have the red gene. I am a very lucky kitty because I get the best food and petting and laps and nip and.... Buster tolerated me.



Mom decided she wanted another cat, so Rudy came to live with us. I didn't like Rudy, but Mom says that is because I didn't share well. I say, that's torti-tude, and just get over it! Rudy was a beautiful red classic tabby Maine coon cat. He was a silly guy, always doing something interesting. Maine coon breeders always joke about red boys and their lack of intelligence. Well, Rudy certainly had potential, but he did not always live up to that. Rudy was the barktender of the family, and is known as the Rainbow Bridge @RudyCKat, proprietor of Rudy's Spa. His kidney's were too small and couldn't keep up with a growing MC boy. He died from renal failure.



@ParkerSKat was chosen to live with us. He is also a red classic tabby Maine coon cat. He came to us at 12 weeks old, and immediately captured the hearts of the household. Parker is a clown, a typical boy getting into everything. Buster perked up when Parker came and seemed to get a new lease on life. Even I like Parker and developed a new growl that is reserved only for him. Parker is growing like Rudy never could, and at 1.75 years old is about 20 pounds or 9 kg.Parker is helping mom sew in the picture. Well, he is looking at her upside done through the machine. He's such a trial.

Mom says that Buster did one last thing for her. She believes that Buster gave some of his wisdom and spark to Parker when he left us. We all grieved when Buster died, but Parker seemed to develop new mannerisms that reminds Mom of Buster. Now, it could be that is Parker maturing, but she swears there is something in Parker's eyes that wasn't there before.

So, that is our red cat story. Thanks to Bast for red cat power!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Christmas Traditions - Pets

Every pet in the Kruse household gets a stocking. Here are the current stockings. Mom made mine. What's up with it? She must have been having a bad day. How boring. Dad made the festive stockings for Dali and Parker.










We also get ornaments for the tree. Even after we go OTRB, our ornaments are hung with reverence.





















Mom made these great stockings for Amelia and Cynda. I think I deserve better!













So far, I am the only one with an ornament. I guess someone had better get busy and find Dali and Parker an ornament. I mean, this is their second Christmas in our house! Rents!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Christmas Traditions

My good friend CheskireK asked me about our Christmas traditions. Mom likes to buy cat ornaments, mainly red kitties. Not that I mind, but give us Tortie girls a break! she says we are so beautiful it is hard to capture in a miniature version. I will let her slide. Not. So, here are some of our cat ornaments.








Monday, October 24, 2011

Achievement Awards for Pawty Volunteers

I will be presenting Achievement Awards at the Friday Night Anipal Academy Awards ceremonies. These awards go to volunteers who help make anipal charity pawties and donations possible. There are approximately 150 anipals that donate their time for #pawpawty, #nipclub, and other charity functions. It is incredible to me that out of the thousands of participants about 150 anipals freely give of their time and talents. These anipals are true heros in our world.

When you attend pawties, please be mindful that these volunteers are trying their best to help you have fun. Please be considerate and thank the dj's, quiz masters, and barktenders. If you have a suggestion, do it politely or on DM. Barktenders can easily miss tweets. DJ's spend hours putting together playlists for pawty themes. Requests are gladly taken when presented in a constructive manner. Quiz masters usually quiz for many hours and appreciate an encouraging word.

Without this core group of anipal volunteers, support for anipal charities might fall apart.

Please give your pawty staff a big thank you the next time you "pawty hawty".

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Thankful Thursday 10-13-11

Mom continues to improve! Yay!

Today I am thankful for anipals and their humans who use their art to benefit anipal rescue related activities. I would like to talk about my good friend @ConfuciousCat, CC for short. You all probably know CC as the innovator of the Sunday "Purrs for Peace". What you may not know is that his mum, Patricia Mason, is a writer. CC and Pat have joined forces for #pawpawty! Here's the scoop.

Pat has written a wonderful book written for the young adult (YA) market “Entanglements (Multiverse)” written under the name P. R. Mason. “Entanglements” is part of the fantasy genre featuring wormholes, time travel, vampires and a handsome time traveler hero. I won’t divulge any more about the plot. Let it suffice to say that “Entanglements” captivated me - I read the book straight through, skipping sleep and only stopping when I needed to nom.

Here is the best part! Pat is going to donate all proceeds for books sold Friday, October 15 to the next #pawpawty charity! So warm up those paws and get ready to help out #pawpawty meet the fundraising goal, and get a great read in the process. Amazon and B&N are offering the book for $0.99 and Smashwords for $2.99 as of this writing.

Think about something cool to stick in a Christmas stocking for your favorite young adult. Heck, mom said she has some fantasies about hero herself, so buy it for a lady friend! (Mom, you are SO embarrassing!)

You can find “Entanglements” as an ebook at these links: Amazon; Barnes and Noble; Smashwords
“Entanglements” is the featured book for the December 12 #readpawty meeting at 8 pm Eastern Time.

See you October 15 at the bookstore and at the next #pawpawty. Make sure you drop a tweet to CC and thank him for this great opportunity to help anipals! I hope we totally overwhelm him with our gratitude!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Thankful Thursday

Mom's surgery was more extensive than originally hoped. She was pretty cranky for a few days since most pain Meds made her sick. We had come through all that, and she has made a remarkable recovery. We are so thankful since she is playing with us and we get lots of lap time! She has started physical therapy, so gets tired which is good since, guess what, I get MORE lap tme!

We know she is very lucky to have a good job with benefits so she can take the time to heal. We are also lucky to live in a city with teaching hospitals and an excellent reputation for health care.

We thank all anipals for the best wishes and #paw circles. I have seen the power of positive thoughts affect many recoveries, and Mom is one such case.

So, I will leave you laughing!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

thankful thursday

We have several things to be thankful for.
1. Mom is almost finished with the quilt so I can get lap time!
2. Mom is having shoulder surgery tomorrow, so we will get lots of cuddle time!
3. I will be thankful if Mom isn't bitchy after the surgery, but will be next week's blog!

And, I am thankful that my mom is such a nerd!



Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Beads R Us









Quilt completion is on target! Parker has been on overtime making sure that the quilt gets done. He says that he will not be distracted nor moved during the final stages of quilt completion. We hope you like these really neat parts of the quilt. The quilt is up for auction starting Saturday, September 24 at 9 pm through sunday the 25th at 9 pm CDT.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Quilting is SO Difficult

Mom is making a quilted wallhanging for Okey's Promise kickstarter challenge. We have to keep our paws and eyes on her otherwise who knows what direction she'd be off into. It is a difficult job, so I will be detailing how to snoopervise.

First of all, you have to make sure that all participants know who the snoopervisor in charge is, Me!!!! Do not for one moment think that I am sleeping. I have slits in my eyelids. I see all.

I insist that the cat help have a good bath before assuming duties.




Our duties include making sure the borders are sewn on properly.



There are many gadgets that must be checked out for maximum efficiency.






Sometimes Mom is just so exasperating! So, we call for a scritch and then stretch break.


Finally, she is at the stage where the top is done!



Before we go on to the next step, a little snooze is in order.



Stay tuned! Many more KruseKat exploits with Okey's quilt coming up! Parker dumped over beads last week. We are praying he doesn't do that this week! I think there would be lots of bad words.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Tribute to Mr. Buster Kat

Mom is going to take over my blog since she needs to share about Buster.

Wanda here. I hope this posting will have some continuity, but I can't promise it. I am going to talk about THE gold standard of cats, Buster. I haven't been able to blog about his death, and I need to talk about him.

I went to look at cats at a local rescue. There was something very special about this ginger cat, something palpable in the air. Buster came home with me. That night he jumped into bed with us, purring and being a happy drooler. He knew we were now his people, and he was watching over us.

The kibble bowl always needed to be full. It was one of his insecurities. Buster would round me up and direct me to the bowls in the basement if there was only 1/4 of bowl full. It was years before he became confident enough that we always had the kibble for him.

As I said, Buster was a happy drooler. I can't tell you how many pieces of clothing he "sogged" up. I wouldn't trade that for anything. It made my heart so glad that he could show he appreciation.

I got another cat from the same rescue. Nelson was cage bound for 9 months. Buster showed him the ropes of being a cat, including how to clean butts properly. They played in the vertical blinds. Oh, what I would give to hear that again.

Buster was a menace to the rodentia population. Mice, chipmunks, moles, bunnies, and squirrels were no match for the mighty hunter. My husband who had never been around cats could not believe what a prodigious hunter Buster was. It worked out very well. Buster ate most of his prey, leaving a bit of innards in the yard. Hubby's dog wiould find the innards and role on them. The dog then needed a bath, hubby's job. I praised the cat. Talk about a circle of life!

Buster was a philosopher and understood humanese. He would listen when our cousin or myself would talk. All it took was one look from Buster, and we knew what he was thinking.

I am sorry, but I can't go on. I am crying too much.

Buster was laid to rest August 23, 2011 after losing a battle with kidney failure. He told me it was time since he peed on the carpet. He was so embarrassed - his first mistake.

I can't seem to upload these pics. sorry
Buster (head over chair) and Nelson
Buster with scape on nose after a set to with the Black Marauder
His Professional photo
Buster in our garden

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Art Auction for Okey's Promise: Art for a Cause


Our dear anipal, Brewski Butt, let Bztat, aka Vicki, come to Blogpaws 2011 to make a presentation about the next phase for Okey's Promise. In her kickstarter page, Vicki explains: "My hope is that this artwork will start a dialog about the combined issues of animal abuse, child abuse and domestic violence." A key issue is that this project will only be funded if at least $6,000 is pledged by Monday Sep 26, 4:02pm EDT. as of 9-6-11, $1285 have been pledged.

As you may recall, the link between domestic and animal abuse is very dear to Mom's heart. She had me contact our group of artistic anipals and we are putting together an auction of artwork. Our list so far is: jewelry by Duck'sTypist, drawings by CheshireK, a print from Bztat, a Pasikas scarf, and one of Mom's beaded wallhangings. Details are still being worked out as to when, where, how.

I hope to have pictures for you all. I promise that Parker will help mom for sure. I will say that I have left fur on it already - it is a Christmas Laurel Burch wallhanging that she plans to hand bead. Mom, you had really better glam this up, because i am falling asleep just looking at it!

Love to all,
Maggie

Friday, July 15, 2011

Printer Problems

We have all had a printer problem day. Check out this lady cat's solution.


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Domestic violence and animals

Our anipal community is trying to help a domestic violence situation, and they family has 2 dogs. The mother and children were moved to an emergency shelter, and the dogs have found VERY temporary housing and need to be moved soon. Here is one of mariodaCat's tweets: "Temporary FOSTER home needed for 2 dogs - So. WI. See http://mariodacat.blogspot.com/ for details & pictures."

The dogs have found a home in California, but need transportation. Agin, one of mario's tweets: HELP! Dogs need @pilotsNPaws transport assistance: #WI to #CA will drop off & pick up! HELP! PLS RT! shrinkalink.com/41678 We might have to fly the dogs commercial, or form a transport "train".

Here is a link to very helpful listings regarding domestic abuse and shelters.

Mom has been very silent on this matter. She was verbally abused in her first marriage, and didn't realize what actually happened to her psyche until much later. For some reason, this situation has resurrected feelings that she thought she had counseled out of her, not to mention her situation was totally different. She has worked with Lydia's House (shelter), given much of her time, energy, and quilts while trying to understand it all. She is not trying to turn this post into a pity pot, but really trying to piece together why she has been powerless to help.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Actually, every month is awareness month, or should be. thanks to all the anipals who could help. I think mom can only give money to transport the dogs. She is shedding tears for the mom and kids.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Last Auction


I have the honor of having the last piece for the Art Auction for World Vets. Our fearless leaders, @CheshireK and Robin, have worked so hard keeping everyone informed and coordinated. Kudos to our artists @Boomiethecat, @whskr/@dashkitten and @Cokiethecat / @bohopets.


Please go to the link above and bid on Mom's quilt. Please?


The small wall quilt is a Kimono print from Kona Bay. Complimentary fabrics were chosen for applique elements which were stitched in gold metallic thread. The surface was heavily quilted. The picture does do justice to the main portion of the quilt. The dark rust area will be heavily stipple quilted to match the interior density (to lie flat). All machine quilting was free motion. The quilt will be bound with a contrasting fabric. The back has a suprise fabric, but I will tell you there are samuris aplenty.


Parker and I were really helping mom with this one. She said we delayed her progress, but we knew when she needed a break, mainly cuz her threads kept breaking! We are goona show you how much help we were!




Maggie on chair snoopervising Bored?



I am NOT sleeping


Nice Samuri, Mom! Doesn't look any better this way.