There are a lot of stray cats who roam around my neighborhood. It seems to be acceptable around here to just have an outside cat and let it run free … drives poor C crazy. I recognize most of them by now.
The other day, a cat (large kitten, actually) wandered into my front yard. I didn’t recognize her. My first thought was, “Leave her be, she’ll run off, you don’t need to worry about her.” Then she circled back around my front yard. She started mewing. Loudly. Pathetically. She broke my poor, animal loving heart.
So I brought her inside.
First, I started taking pictures of her. If we were going to put out “Lost” signs somewhere, I needed a picture. And this little girl was surely lost. She let me pick her up without a problem, she loved all over S, she climbed in my lap to be pet.
Then I realized I couldn’t keep her at my house without a litter box or food. So we ran to the store.
It was not her first time eating kitty chow. She knew just what it was and ate down the whole bowl.
Then she came back for more love. And I fell in love.
I started wondering if, maybe, if we didn’t find her owners, we could keep her. I mean, look at this little baby?! Isn’t she a doll?! She loved the kids, the kids loved her? What was not to like?
Not only is C allergic to cats, but his family is, too. And they were coming for the weekend. Not just a little allergic, they’d have to take allergy medicine while they’re here, but “allergic – we cannot physically survive in a house with pets, allergic."
So, I took her to the shelter. I hope someone picks her. And I hope I don’t find any more stray kitties in my yard, because it’s just so hard not to keep them!!!
My dad is a wonderful carpenter. I am not. But I do like to dabble in it now and then. When my sister in law needed her table refinished, I offered to do it for her. She was nice enough to let me try.
It’s a beautiful, old piece of oak, but it had lived many years, and the finish was worn off in many places. I stripped it down.
Here are the two leaves, one stripped and one with the old finish.
After stripping, it looked like this. Still pretty bad, right?
So, I sanded it … and it looked much better.
Ahhhhhh! Isn’t that just pretty?! Doesn’t that make you itch to stain it?
Then I made a rookie mistake. See this nice little canister? See how perfectly the little splotch on the front matches the color of the legs (which I didn’t refinish)?
See how the stain inside the can looks nothing like the little sample on the outside of the can?! (Honestly, I didn’t even let the stain sit 5 min like recommended, it was pretty much on and right back off. And since I’m being honest, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the color.)
But do you see how it doesn’t match the legs? And yes, that’s right, I did do all four pieces until I thought of that. Like I said, this is my first go-round.
So, try again.
This time with a little more smarts and scientific method. I got a spare piece of oak from Home Depot, sectioned it off and tested new stains for 1) applying over the first stain 2) stripping the first stain and then applying a second stain and 3) if I had to, I could sand the whole thing back down to raw wood again and start from scratch.
Three new colors.
And varying results …
A fourth new color …
Trying to figure out what to do and staring at it so long my eyes hurt …
Then finally going with my gut and just picking one … and the immense satisfaction that I picked the right one, and the top matched the legs again!
Then came the fun part. My dad made my mom a table when I was a kid. I asked him what he used to finish it and he told me he’d done a tung oil finish because he’d wanted it to last. Well, I was sure my sister in law wanted hers to last, too. Also, I thought it would be fun, as I’d never done it before.
I really liked it. Okay, okay, it’s much more labor intensive than poly. Sure. You have to paint it on, let it sit for 10 min, then buff it back off (I learned a few coats too late to be VERY CAREFUL to buff all the extra finish off or you get shiny spots).
But it’s fun because … well, look at the table while it has a coat of finish on it. It’s so pretty and shiny! Also, you just keep putting coats on until you get the luster you’re looking for. It gets a little more shiny after each coat.
And this is what it looked like after eight coats. Rich, shiny, pretty. (And the top matched the legs … well, well enough.)
Now I’ve got it in my head to make my own dining room table next summer when my dad comes to visit.
My poor S. Every year, just when I’m glad Halloween is over, we have her birthday. (Then again, I’m still glad she wasn’t a Halloween baby!)
I wanted to make a cake, but she specifically requested strawberry cupcakes. (Were you aware that 75% of “strawberry cake” recipes are made from Jello?! I looked so hard to find a strawberry cake I could make from scratch with … wait for it … actual strawberries!)
But it was worth it for this little doll.
And the cupcakes were awesome.
S was very spoiled, celebrating her birthday over the space of two weeks, because we had to make a trip for her cousin’s baptism on her birthday. (Sorry, baptism trumps birthday, and it was her cousin’s day to get the attention.) As a result, we had cupcakes a week early and let the presents and treats trickle in.
Love my little S!
This Halloween started early for us. L wanted to be Merida from Brave, S was Pocahontas, and J … well, if you make the girls both bow and arrows, you have to make J one, too.
They actually work fairly well,
And I thought the arrows turned out nicely non-lethal.
Thanks to my mom, we had pumpkin cookies to decorate, and the kids really got into that.
We started the day at S’s class party
J ended up as a “Green Dragon”. (Note the green cake from his birthday and the green dragon … there is a distinct theme in my house right now.) S was adorable in her store-bought costume. (I know, I know, I usually make them, but I didn’t have time this year! Seriously! And to be perfectly honest, with the costumes on sale, I actually spent less $ than I would have on fabric, if I’d made them. And the girls were just as happy. End rant.)
Then we went to L’s party in the afternoon, where S and J also got to participate.
Note, J is not wearing his costume in this pic. He hated it. I guess that’s what I get for making his …
Then we crashed the trunk or treat going on at the stake center and threw the kids in bed. But it was a nice day.
