Tough week to be a cat

Or at least it is around our garden; I received a call from my daughter this morning- sobbing loudly- telling me she can’t find Violet. You might remember from this post that we have another cat who now resides with Jessica, because living with the “kittens” (Poppy & Dahlia) was just too stressful for her paranoid/schizophrenic personality. Anyway, the temperature has risen to summer-like levels this week (mid-90’s today), so Jess had left a window in her room partially open to catch what little breeze flows through downtown San Jose; evidently Violet slipped out during the night, even though the window is up high & she is not enamored of the outside world. After searching inside & outside the house without any luck, she called me asking what she should do now; I hated to sound unfeeling, but I told Jess that she needs to start grieving. Unless she is incredibly fortunate, she won’t see the cat again- Violet has no collar or chip, & is loose in a large urban area with no outdoor experience.

I talked with Jess for a while, filling her in on what has been going on with Daisy; by the time we hung up, she had calmed down enough to think more reasonably- she’s going to contact the local animal shelters with a heads-up in case Violet is brought in, & was going to search the inside of the house again in case she’s taking a nap in some unexplained location. *SIGH* Between Dahlia’s balloon episode, Daisy’s health crisis, & Violet’s disappearance, I think Poppy would be advised to keep a real low profile right now.

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Despite our concern over Daisy, we did have a pleasant weekend- laid back & unhurried, with just enough activity to be entertaining. My project for the weekend was to cut out the pieces for a baby quilt “we” are putting together for someone at work. This is another case like the lavender baby sweater last summer- my department cellmate says, “Oh, we should make such & such for “So & So”- why don’t you get the supplies & we’ll do it together”, then she ends up leaving the country & I do the whole thing. The baby isn’t due until beginning of July, but I don’t think this woman is going to go full term- she looks like she’s ready to go now- & my weekends are pretty well booked until the middle of June, so this will be my free time project until further notice.

Anyway, the guys vacated the premises, “to give me room to work”, & went to see the new Spiderman movie- I proceeded to cut out six 8” squares, took a walk, & then read my new library book (Lake Woebegon Days by Garrison Keillor) with the fan blowing on my feet *heaven* When the boys got home, we headed over to the Multicultural Festival at Sam’s school; he & several of his friends were performing a mixed-martial arts routine throughout the afternoon, so we went to watch. I have to admit, listening to them talk & try to organize themselves, I thought it was going to be a ramshackle affair; I was wrong- the presentation was very entertaining & professional. Four different styles of martial arts were represented, each showcasing forms, weapons, & a mock battle, all set to music. After watching the “Urban Ninjas” set, we went to watch my co-worker’s daughter perform with her Punjabi dance troupe, and then headed off downtown.

While Chris wandered around the hardware store, pricing a new wheelbarrow (I got rid of his in the community clean up day 2 weeks ago- hey, the bed rusted through, the wheel shaft was bent, & the tire was flat!) I poked around the quilt shop. I work half a block from the store, but always forget it’s there- it must have been more then a year since I had been inside, when I took a one-day wall hanging class. The shop has joined the “$20 Quilt Club” trend, & is running two different quilts right now; the premise is you pay $20 to join the club & meet once a month for a product demo, where you receive the fabric & pattern to make one quilt block. When you return the following month, if you bring your completed quilt block, you receive the kit for the next block at no cost; if your block isn’t finished, you pay $5 for the kit. These groups are so popular that there is a waiting list to join; I signed on for both groups & have an “in” with the owner- she use to work for me when I managed the now-defunct fabric store several years ago- so I hope to be added soon. I also found the cutest little miniature iron, perfect to take to Quilting Circle or the pack for a trip (i.e. Canada in 10 weeks). We then wandered over to our favorite little neighborhood, located right next to the library park; it is only six blocks square, filled with English cottage-style houses gathered under mature trees. We love to walk around, admiring the small gardens & charming houses, & were fortunate enough to come on a yard sale; we couldn’t afford anything that we liked, but the owner was very friendly, & her collection wicker furniture & old china was a treat to peruse.

I have lately found myself cruising what I refer to as the “Cottage Blogs”, a circle of women who write about their lives & livelihoods spent in small homes; several own shops, others scour tag sales for vintage items, a few are renovating, while some simply share what they love about their homes. (You can find some of them on my “Fences I Peek Over” list on my Blogger site) I divide the blame of this new fascination on MaDuke, who graciously offered me a free subscription to “Cottage Living” (thank you again- the whole office is literally reading them to pieces), my own fixation with old houses, & my suppressed desire to be the owner of my own home. “Someday” I tell myself, but I’m growing a tad impatient- I need to hit that Super Lotto before my arthritis makes it too hard to start a new garden, since that is about the only way we’ll be able to afford to buy a house in California. Regardless, I find it very soothing to peek in on this other world & can entertain lovely daydreams about what I would do if given the opportunity. My tastes are somewhat eclectic, bordering more on the Italian farmhouse, with splashes of Cape Cod, English cottage, & Shaker simplicity- none of which reflect what really goes on in my house, but I guess that is the nature of dreams.

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Well, I’m off to have another go at that baby quilt; I’m doing a simplified Courthouse Steps pattern, with a large center square, so I need to get some strips cut tonight, & hopefully will start piecing the blocks as well. Ta!

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Update: Violet reappeared early this morning, hungry & covered in cobwebs, but seemingly none the worse for her adventure. Jess said she found her climbing out from under the house (the twit never thought to look under there) so at least she had been sheltered & relatively cool all night. Oh, & I ended up going to knitting group for a while last night- I was the only one there (besides the store's owner) until 5 minutes before I needed to leave, but I found the next project & yarn I'd like to do, as well as a new "Knitting Mystery" book that looks pretty fun. Yes, I did cut out the quilt strips- hope to start piecing Saturday.