Merry Christmas, One and All

Merry Christmas, happy holidays and happy New Year to all.

It's almost Christmas and I'm really behind. Of course, this is nothing unusual. It's a little bit worse this year because Stefan was sick for about a week and then I caught what he had.

Last weekend we enjoyed a family reunion. It was the descendants of my grandfather and his siblings and we hadn't gotten together in a while. Most of the people I didn't know. It was fun though.

Tomorrow I will hopefully finish up shopping. Then YIKES! Everything has to be wrapped. We're going to my parents for Christmas Saturday night and will come back Sunday evening. We're having early Christmas there since one of my nieces has to fly back to New York on Christmas day. We'll be back home Sunday night then off early the next morning for Christmas Eve at Ralph's family, then back home for our own Christmas. Everyone lives a couple of hours from us, but that 's not too bad.

There's no Christmas tree this year. I know better. Scrappy is 6 months old and shows no sign of slowing down. Worse yet, he is enticing Nikko into doing things Nikko knows he shouldn't. Since they both love trees I think the Christmas tree would be too big a temptation this year. Scrappy is interested in everything. Just earlier he was hanging off the kitchen counter by his toes trying to get a look in the microwave. He rushes into the kitchen every time he hears someone open the microwave door.

After Christmas I need to sit down and try to get a handle on what shows to do in 2008. I'm going to try some new ones this year and pass on a couple I have been doing.

A Tale of Two Tails

An elderly friend of mine passed away last week, leaving behind this gorgeous spayed cat, Sugar Baby. She has long hair with a Siamese pattern and beautiful blue eyes. She has been an outdoor cat. I was told that she was only friendly with Francis, her owner, but she's been really friendly with me and seems very tame. She's a little freaked by being in a strange house. I'm hoping to find a good home for her soon.




Ahh, the pleasures of living in the country. You never know what you'll find on the front porch. (Snakes, a couple of times, and once a peacock.) I surprised this fellow (or gal?) last night when I went to check on the outdoor cats. I saw his tail hanging out from behind the curtain over the dog house door. We keep a light burning in it during cold months for our two outdoor cats. When I opened the curtain he ran for the back, and our cat Callie, who was in the back, took off.




The Opossum did not like having his picture taken. He stayed in the back of the dog house for several hours. The cats were hanging around the door waiting for him to leave. Luckily it wasn't cold. He was gone by this morning. I see him nearly every night, but this is the first time he's ventured in to the dog house. He regularly comes by and eats the cat's food.

Twisted Wire Bracelets

I had a commission to do a set of three twisted wire bracelets so here they are. I used a tarnish resistant copper wire with various colors of glass beads for these.



I'm so pleased with these I did a couple more in different colors. No photos yet. Next I'm doing bird nests, I think, with pearls and crystals for eggs.

The last scheduled show for this year is over, although I may do a show or two at the schools if I can fit them in. I'm subbing the next three days so that will slow me down. This time of year, between now and spring shows is a good time to work on my website and also on more complex jewelry. I think I'll concentrate on wire work and the art clay.

Stefan and Colby skateboarding in downtown Dallas

Stefan is crazy about skating in downtown Dallas so we took him and a couple of his friends this afternoon. The first three tricks are Colby and the fourth one is Stefan.

Ralph and I went to Fry's and Half-Price Books a did a little shopping while we were waiting on them.

Scrappy's check-up

These pics were taken back in August. At varying times of year we have turtles who come by and stay around the yard for a few weeks, munching on cat food in the mornings. Here's an encounter Scrappy had with one.



He wanted to check out the other end but I redirected him. I'm not sure if that turtle would have dropped his food in order to bite him though.




Scrappy had his check-up with Dr. Rife yesterday. He now weighs 9.6 pounds, and most if it seems to be solid muscle. He's in good shape. I was concerned about his teeth. When his jaw was broken some of the jaw bone was lost. He is missing a section of teeth on the left front bottom, including one of the canines. Dr. Rife says his remaining teeth are lining up okay and there are no worries there. He got his shots and is scheduled for neutering next week. Dr. Rife did say that his frequent panting with exercise is not normal. His lungs sound fine, so she thinks he sustained some damage to the sinuses when his jaw was broken. Generally speaking he is in good shape though and we don't expect any problems.