Win This!

Wow! Kudos to all you followers who have hung in here for 10 months with no new posts from me! Well, today may be your lucky day. I am sponsoring a giveaway for a Sterling Silver Name Necklace like this one:

The name/word is Sterling Silver; the chain is white filled steel paladium. Everything is made right here in the good ol USA. Because of shipping restrictions of precious metals internationally, this contest will only be open to USA addresses only

Here's how to enter: go to http://christiecottage.blogspot.com/  and follow her directions. There are different ways to enter, so you can get multiple entries, and the contest will run for two weeks. Good luck to everyone. I will contact the winner after the contest ends and you can let me know what name/word you want.   Til next time,

Cindi

XOXOXOXO

Win It Wednesday

Would you like to win this Awesome Necklace? or any word or name in Sterling Silver?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/86062026/awesome-name-written-in-sterling-silver

Well, for the next week you can enter to win it on ChristieCottage's blog . You should be able to get more than one entry with all the ways she has to enter. And after you enter the giveaway, don't forget to visit ChristieCottage on Etsy . Just look at this darling sock monkey cell phone pouch

http://www.etsy.com/listing/76941812/purple-hat-sock-monkey-cell-phone-pouch

You KNOW if I had a cell phone, I'd sure get this little cutie with his purple hat. So get on over, enter the giveaway, and do a little shopping in Christie's store. You may find the perfect Valentine's gift there.

Until next time,
XOXOXOXOXO

Cindi

Goodbye 2011..Welcome 2012

Saying goodbye to 2011...(pic from my backyard)

 and hello to 2012 and whatever possibilities it beholds. If you've followed me for the last few years, then, oh my heck, what a patient and loyal soul you are! lol
Anywho if you have been around on New Year's, you know I don't do New Year's Resolutions. Instead I focus on a 'word' for the year. This way, I have no worries about resolution let downs, no guilt trips, AND at the end of the year, I know what my word for the year has been. This allows me to focus positively on my 'resolution word' everytime it manifests in my life.
This will be my 3rd year of choosing my word for the year...past years have included 'abundance' and 'believe'. Instead of looking forward with dread on what my resolutions will be, I get excited as to what word will I choose. I know that whatever word I choose, I will be presented with all kinds of opportunities to acknowledge its presence in my life.
This year I have chosen the word 'build'. I can see how this word will be seeping into all areas of my life...building this and that...building blocks, building relationships, building trust, building networks, building a business....the possibilities for this word to present itself in my life are endless.
It's already begun with the purchase of a book on how to build a geodesic dome greenhouse...this will be my project for the year and I'm so excited about it.

What happens when the Mayan calendar ends? Who knows...but we're all here for the ride,so hang on. I have a feeling things are about to get very interesting...

Me? I'ma gonna be 'building' this year ;)

Until next time,
XOXOXOXOXO
Cindi

Closing a chapter

Forcing myself to finish up this chapter..it has taken me 5 months to do this. Not sure if you read my last post "I'm a marked Woman"  But if you take a quick peek, what I post today will make more sense...it's ok I have a cup of tea; I'll wait for ya ;)
okaaaayy...a few days after that post, It was obvious that Mr. Peaches was sick...extremely sick...and when I couldn't stand to watch his suffering any longer, I took him to the vet and he died in my arms. He's buried in our little 'pet cemetery' in the backyard and I made this to mark his spot...RIP Mr. Peaches

I learned a BIG lesson from Mr. Peaches~ Don't run someone off just because they have a bad habit.
Onto the rest of the kiddoes..Momma Kitty and kids....Ebony, Ivory,and Striper

 ...and the other two from her first litter, Mr. Boots and Socks.....
 All are gone but Socks

and Striper

Someone systematically caught them all and I have not seen them in months. I really have no kind words or thoughts for the person who did this. I only know that there is a special place for people who kill animals for no reason other than 'they pooped on your lawn' ...and it's not called heaven.
So now as winter approaches little Striper has no Momma to help show him how to make it through the winter. Both Socks and Striper were the runts of Momma's two litters, so they are REALLY small. I have made a shelter using bales of garden compost and tarps and located it under our dryer vent.

 I lined the inside with one of those reflective space blankets and lots of regular blankies. I have a remote sensor in there to register how warm it is at night. So far we have had a low of 10 degrees and the chilliest I have seen it in the 'kitteh den' is 52 degrees. It eases my heart a bit to know that they have a safe, warm place to sleep at night.

CocoaPuff is ever the Prince of the house. He is not white like this anymore.....

Here here he now...chillaxin in his fav afternnoon spot...he's now mix of dark brown and grey

And on that note, I think it's time for me to do a little chillaxin ;)

Till next time,

XOXOXOXOXO

Cindi

I'm a Marked Woman ;)

Well it has been some time since I had the time to blog, and I wanted to bring you all up to date on the kittehs.
When I last left you Momma Kitty was with childs and was getting close to having more babies. I had made an insulated bed for her under our composter, and after a couple of weeks of her instructing me on making it more suitable, she finally had them on April 17/18th. I had put our outside remote temperature gauge in her bed cause I was so afraid of it being too cold. Even though the outside night temps were in the low 20's her little nursery hidden behind and underneath all those tarps and insulation was never below 62 degrees.

You would have laughed to see me out there every day pulling out that front tarp and adjusting and putting more blankies, rugs, newspapers,and tarps until I (and she) were fully satisfied. She kept them in there for the first couple of weeks and then she moved them a few times til they were old enough to rejoin the rest of the clan back in the neighbors' yard.

As I promised, slowly but surely, everyone is getting spayed/neutered. We have a 'catch and release' program where ferals/strays are caught, fixed, and then the ear is clipped so that everyone knows the cat is fixed. This way we are able to keep the cat population down

Since my last post another stray has been hanging around...

Looked like a 'Peaches" to me---turns out it was a boy; but he answers to the name.  

He is tame, but did something to me that NO animal has ever done....HE SPRAYED ME!!!! EEEWWWWWwwwwww. So freakin gross! It wasn't like a mist either. It was like a straight stream of pee that went through my shirt and bra ( I was sitting on the grass)... So Peaches is no longer welcome in my yard (and this pic was taken before he was fixed-hence no clipped ear). I feel bad for him. He was obviously someone's pet, but they have neglected his fur and he needs a lion cut. His tail and belly are a mass of knotted fur. I don't want to give him too much attention cause he already likes me too much :)

Momma kitty has been fixed...see her clipped ear?

And Little Socks has been fixed (old pic)

Turns out Socks was a girl, and not a boy. The only one I was right about sex wise was Momma...

oh , and Mr. Boots..but you can't miss the huevos on him

Mr. Boots has become psychic and only comes around on weekends or when the vet won't be in the office. I think he knows he's the only one left who hasn't "Been There"

So now you are ALMOST up to date...want to see the new babies???? I must say Momma is very consistent in her baby makin skills. Here's a shot of her last litter-Boots,Socks, and Cocoa

And now look at her latest

Meet Ebony

And Ivory

and Striper



Striper had real bad goopy eyes, but I was able to get steroid drops in them when the babies spent the night with me... and his eyes cleared up totally. Since Momma has them travelling back and forth between yards I made them a little passage through the fence and outlined it in red ribbon.

There such smart kittehs; they figured out the doorway immediately AND everybody knows their name.  I am hoping to make a calendar out of their pics and maybe their cuteness will help support them.

Til next time,

XOXOXOXO

Cindi

♪♫♪♫ Someday My Prince Will Come ♪♫♪♫

I don't know when it was that she actually softened my heart... Didn't she live at that trashy house? And didn't they move? Why is she still hanging around here? We don't need her kind mucking up our neighborhood. In truth, I think I may have run her off a few times in the past. Hadn't I seen her take a wide berth around our property when coming down the street? And NOW she's living right next door! Oh groans! Uuugghh! I was out in the yard working when I first caught a glimpse of her kids playing in their backyard. She had been watching me to see if I would react. I went about my business. As the days and weeks progressed she allowed the kids up closer and closer to the fence. I must admit, it was a bright spot in my mornings when they came out to play. But still I didn't want to encourage any interaction. A few weeks later, she approached me at the fence and wanted to introduce her young ones to me. They were absolutely darling ... and how could I resist naming them? Mr. Boots (a tuxedo kitteh with rear knee high white boots): Socks is the runt of the litter and is the size of a 6 week old kitten, even tho they are nearly 1 yr old, and he has white socks on his feet : And CocoaPuff-some kind of siamese mix:

and the proud Momma:She was abandoned when a neighbor moved out just before winter hit us last year. I saw her frequently through the winter, and when spring began unfolding I caught glimpses of her with the babies. I felt bad that she had such a harsh winter after being abandoned. She was extremely thin. I really don't know how she had enough milk for the babies; I couldn't see any teats on her at all. She originally had 4 kittens; 1 died.

One morning after an overnight cold snap, little grey mc fluffykins was sitting out in the next door neighbor's driveway, just a shivering ball. I asked him what was wrong and he just sat there, which was unusual. Normally he would have ran from me as soon as I talked. He just sat looking down the driveway as if waiting for something. I wondered if he was sick. I kept thinking about him all that day and night and wondering...

It weighed heavy on my mind...I kept thinking about how I had been mean to momma kitty. I had shooed her off our yard so much, she usually took a wide berth when passing us now...

And this was why: Her owners had 15+ cats in a tiny 700sq ft house...but that's not all that lived there-2 adults, 6 kids, 2 dogs, a rabbit, a couple of birds + who knows what else! Naturally, the cats couldn't stand it in the house after the first few weeks. I can tell you the smell was horrendous! The cats constantly came over and used our grass and backyard as their litter box. When they moved, they left cats behind to fend for themselves in October. Most disappeared that winter, but Momma kitty hung on.

She stayed in that empty house for weeks until the windows were repaired and it was closed up. Then she took up refuge under a shed, at the neighbor on the opposite side of us. She kept going back all through the winter to see if her owners were coming back for her. When the handyman came to clean and repair the house, she would go running over there to see if her owner was coming back for her. Everytime someone came to look at the house she would run over there and watch hopefully... and then walk back to the shed down trodden when it wasn't anyone for her. Time and time again that happened. Even now as I type this I still cry for her. How sad it must be for her... STILL- I remembered my veternarian's advice about feeding ferals and strays and I DID NOT want these cats even THINKING about my yard. We have a cheap wire fence that barely suffices to keep our girls in (except for Crimson's occassional Houdini acts) I didn't want any trouble from these ferals and even though momma used to be domesticated, her babies were not.

Sorry for rambling on here-after the little grey mc fluffykins died, I didn't want to see kitties just starving to death just because the momma didn't know how to teach them to fend for themselves..so I used my 'handy grabby thingy'

and put out a couple of cans of tuna through the fence into their yard. Little socks could barely crawl up to the tuna can; they were all famished.

Well...I don't know how long I've been feeding them now; its been months. They have become my 'kiddos'. I first fed them twice a day and got them all healthy again. Then I began cutting them back so that they would become good mousers. I like to think of it as keeping them on retainer. :)

Not only did I begin feeding them, but I would poke my fingers through the fence and start touching them. They were skittish at first, but eventually got used to me stroking them while they ate. Momma kitty was the toughest to crack; she remembered me being mean and even though I was feeding her, I could not be trusted. After the first snow, it became difficult to pass through the fence so I made the feeding place at the corner where our two fences meet. It made it possible for me to feed them at my feet and pet them more freely. Eventually, I have been able to tame all but Socks. He is still skittish about me touching him. But they all know their names.

And now this is the second half to this story:

Cocoa Puff was mauled by a pit bull and for 3 days was unable to walk through the fence to come and eat. He was soooo swollen and and barely able to walk. It weighed on my heart heavy. Everyday I would take food out and each time everyone came to eat, except Cocoa. When he finally healed enough to walk through the fence, I was able to pick him up. His poor little body was so lumpy from all the wounds, but he was hanging in there. And then... he got attacked again; I could hardly stand it. And when he wouldn't come to eat, I took a kitty carrier to the neighbor's backyard and picked him up. I told him I was taking him someplace safe so he could heal.

I sequestered him in the kitchen, and made a warm bed for him I took him to the vet and he got meds. He had several hematomas that were draining. After he healed, I gave him the option of going back to the wild, but he decided he likes having a couple of big sistersAnd living the princely life he always knew he was destined for ;)

Prince Cocoa Puff

I'm still feeding Momma kitty and Cocoa's other brothers. But through all of this insaneness that is my life, I did not get Momma kitty (nor the rest of her clan) to the vet to be fixed, and now she is with childs again. She is nearly ready to birth and has climbed the fence into my back yard to stay away from her boys while she has them. I feel honored that she trusts me and my yard.

I made an insulated bed for her yesterday while she watched. She went and checked it out after I finished, and I am trusting that she found it a suitable nursery. I haven't went out there this morning, but I'll be sure to keep you updated.

Til next time,

XOXOXOXOX

Cindi

Kickstarter Program

So lately in all the spare time I have, she says with sarcasm dripping off her lips, I have been scouring the web for wire wrapping tutorials.

Last year when I was doing features on shops, I came across a shop on etsy, AtabbycatArts, and a lady who wire wraps her pendants whether they be shell, cameo, or painted stone. And I loved the free formed appearance of her wraps. Here's a couple that caught my eye:

Are these not just beautiful? How could I not be inspired? The Leo rising in me yearns for this lion ♥

Go ahead and click on her pics to go to her shop; she's a wonderfully nice lady who inspired me to want to learn to wire wrap... although she has no idea....until she reads this.

Hi Cat/Na *waves*

So I have been learning and practicing and practicing and learning. Here's a few wraps that I've done with colored craft wire

And here's one with a yellow brass wire wrap, a low cost alternative to the pricier precious metal wires:

I would love to wrap my gemstones with precious metal wires.

and some of my crystals...

I'm just imagining what I can do with these...

But with our fixed income, I cannot afford the extra expense right now. So it got me to thinking....

Last year one of my forum peeps raised $$$ to start a bookbinding business. She used a site called Kickstarter, and as the home page says "A new way to fund and follow creativity"

One is allowed to start/post a project with a $$$ goal and a time limit to reach that goal. Basically people pledge to back your project and if/when the entire amount of your $$ goal is reached by the time limit deadline, then and only then, do the backers pay what they pledged.

So what do your backers get in return for their $$$ help? Well you give them rewards-the more $ they back, the bigger the reward.

I have decided to try and raise the funds I need to begin my precious metal wire wrapping project through Kickstarter. I am thinking I will offer items from my current shops as rewards.

What do you think? I'd love to hear any comments you have.

Until next time

XOXOXO

Cindi

ps- when I have a link to my project page and can ask for backers, I'll be back to post it.......all over the place :)

Read My Lips--No New Year's Resolutions!

That's right-no resolutions here.

Last year I ran across a New Year's blogpost where the gal said she always made some lofty goal, never lived up to it or was miserable trying..so instead, the alternative was suggested to have a motto word to live by. I thought it was a good idea. I started the year with less stress and no expectations to live up to. Last year my word was " Abundance" and boy did I have plenty of times I was reminded. When I was blessed with abundance I gave thanks, when it seemed like abundance would overwhelm me, I reminded myself I asked for it.

Since a motto word was such a success for me, I am choosing to do the same this year. The word I have chosen is " Believe" ...I can hardly wait to see what road this motto leads me through.

So Happy New Year's everyone...what's your motto? I 'believe' mine is already less stressful
See? it's already working ;)

Til next time,
XOXOXOXOXOXO,
Cindi

Mr. Clay's update-Hospice has been great! New oxygen equipment has made a difference and he is slowly regaining some mobility. He walks nearly everyday on the treadmill and is looking forward to being able to good outside this spring when things start growing.

They say 'Never travel faster than your angels can fly'

Like many others in the country, our health insurance premiums have sky rocketed and we can no longer afford our Cobra. But Mr. Clay still has the Veteran's to fall back on. So yesterday, Wed, we took another trip to the VA Hospital in Salt Lake, 150 miles away. We were hoping to get them to carry the oxygen order for the hubster and save us a few shekels.
We packed up the car and headed for Salt Lake City at 6am. We made great timing, the roads were clear, not 1 deer in sight as we drove the most dangerous Hwy in Utah. Mr. Clay insisted on driving the first part of the way, which is of course the most dangerous part, and I knew he would be loathe to give up the reins after we made it through the mountain pass.
1/2 way thru the pass we stopped so I could strap in his oxygen tank. I totally forgot to do that when they loaded it in the car yesterday. So I gotter strapped into the seat belt, which is not easy in the best of circumstances, but was even more fun when it was 20 degrees outside and dark still. And Mr. Clay is 'tudey' because 'I should have had this done last night and blah blah blah...' So he reaches up and switches the station on the radio after we got back on the road, and on came a Christian channel and they were playing music and telling inspiring stories on the air. Now normally he would say 'change it and find something good'...but because he's being 'tudy' with me, there is this silence between us, and I figured maybe he needed to listen to this stuff and mellow out.
We got through the mountain pass and just as I suspected, he continiued to drive on. Still listening to the Christian channel as the sun came up and we were flying down the highway! I saw the speedometer bounce out of range we were going so fast! We got to the VA an hour early, and got some details attended to beforehand and then sat........they were running late and it made for a long day exhausting day. We were drained physically and emotionally when we left. They have now ordered Hospice for my dear husband. They no longer want him making the long arduous trip and exposing himself to more cooties coming into the hosital for Dr. visits. At this point, they just want him kept comfortable. Everytime this disease takes another notch out of him, it is so emotionally draining on both of us, and we both kinda go through a stage of processing and getting used to the idea.
We were really tired by the time we got out of there at 3:30pm, AND we had promised a friend to stop and see him before we went home. Once again Mr. Clay wanted to drive, so we pulled out of the parking lot into the long driveway of the hospital and there was a big thunk! Both of us said 'what was that?' and we looked to see what we ran over? and then Mr. Clay says "I lost the steering" (on the car). He managed to get us pulled out of everyone's way into the Ambulance loading area. I went back inside to the VA and called our friend who was still waiting for us ALL DAY and told him what happened.
I could see that something was hanging under the car (maybe the drive train?) but I didn't know what it was. And Mr. Clay can't bend down anymore so he couldn't know what it was. His guess was a CV boot. All we knew was, he pulled on that steering wheel like heck to get us where we ended up and then it wouldn't budge anymore.
Our friend showed up with AAA card in hand, phoned a tow truck, called his long time mechanic, made arrangements for our car to be repaired, took us to his house, fed us and put us up after a night of reminiscing. It was good for Mr. Clay to get to visit his friends, but you could see the whole car thing was taking a toll on him and the sooner we could get home, the better.
This morning, Thurs, we got the mechanic's call that the engine had dropped off the car, onto the steering column with the motor mounts intact! What are the odds of that happening? And how insanely protected were we flying all way up there? It certainly felt like the Angels were all around us; after all their broadcast was coming though on the radio! We are so thankful that it didn't happen while we were on the freeway busy breaking the sound barrier.
We are home now at last after a repair, but I can see we now need to save our pennies up for a new car. So that's how my last two days went...

Until next time,
XOXOXOXOX and never travel faster than your Angels can fly :)

Cindi

It was the best of times; It was the worst of times

I am almost done harvesting this year and have a few pics to share. How cute is that carrot drop? It's no bigger than my pinky fingertip :)
Here is a comparison of our carrots: Those humongous carrots are as big as large baking potatos!

All in all the garden was a success.... for peppers! I harvested over 175 lbs of anaheims (green chiles) and over 75 lbs of jalapenos. Our freezer is more than half full of anaheims and I have countless peppers drying for ristas.

Here's a comparison shot of our jalapenos. The ones on the right are called super nachos

and here is a shot with some Mammoth Jalapenos!

I wish I could say the tomatoes were a success, but everyone had tomato trouble this year. We had frosts turn to extreme heat, then hail and LOTS of rain. Had a few tornados blow through and just as the tomatoes were coming on we had a week of storms and the tomatoes filled up with water and many burst right open whether they were ripe or not. It was so disappointing to watch, but I am thankful that I was able to can 2 cases with these: After that the storms hit, and everything was waterlogged. We have had several frosty nights and last weekend I pulled all the pepper plants. I still have the tomatoes left to pluck and I think I am going to have to learn how to use the tractor for tilling, if Mr. Clay is able to learn me.

He has not done well lately. The pnumonia he had this summer took him down another peg. A shower is a major undertaking now, and he has trouble standing for more than 5 minutes. He doesn't venture outside the house much anymore :(

So it's been the best of times and the worst of times

Til next time...

XOXOXOXXOXOO,

Cindi

Cheater Chile Rellenos

As promised here is my Cheaters Chile Rellenos Recipe- I apologize in advance for the crummy pics on this one. The kitchen must not have been as brightly lit as what I thought.

Preparation time is less than 15 minutes and baking time is 1 hour. The ingredients you will need are:

anaheim (green) chiles-roasted and peeled --canned whole green chiles will work, too!

1/4-1/2 lb of grated cheese-your choice-I've used colby, cheddar, sharp cheddar, and jack**

6 eggs

1 and 1/2 cups milk-fresh OR canned evaporated will work

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon season salt

*optional-cream cheese

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Butter/grease 8 in round baking dish.

I stuff cream cheese in the chiles that line the sides, but this is optional.
Just slice open the chile and place a thin layer of cream cheese inside; then fold closed the chile and place along the sides of the pan

Next add the grated cheese into the pan. In mixing bowl beat for 2 minutes:

the eggs, milk, flour, garlic, and salt.

Pour this mixture over the cheese and chiles already in the pan.

I add a couple more stuffed chiles on top, but it is not necessary. Bake 1 hour. It will get 'poofy', like a souffle. And when taken out of the oven it will shrink somewhat. Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting. **some cheeses will produce more oil than others. If you use an exceptionally oily one, either lay a sheet of foil under your oven rack to catch the oily drippings or reduce the amount of cheese.

Now I know this is not what a chile relleno looks like but believe me the flavor is all there in this scrambled egg pie/quiche version. PLUS you didn't have to spend hours slaving over the stove.

I have served this with avocado slices, guacamole, and cottage cheese. I've also heard that beans are excellent with this.

Enjoy!

And until next time,(and who knows how long that could be with the way these peppers are begging to be harvested weekly)...next on my list is jalapeno peppers. Wait til you see the size of some of these jalapenos!

XOXXOXOXOXO
Cindi