So, unbelievably I somehow managed not to blog when we were raising a newborn kitten! I'm not sure why I didn't get online and talk about how great it was taking care of this little baby, but, well, i didn't. So now, let me try to recall for you some of the highlights and the terrific story of his new mom and dad!

My husband called and told me he needed to bring home these 2 little newborn kittens that had been abandoned and were dying, covered in fire ants. Of course, I couldn't say no, so home they came. Unfortunately the smaller one didn't make it. Partly our fault as we didn't realize how important keeping them very warm was, but he was also badly bit up by the fire ants.

The other little boy ate well and started to thrive immediately. He became just the love of my life. I would have to go in and feed him every 2 hours in the beginning and because I had him all day, my husband took the night feedings. Feeding a little baby kitten is much like feeding a newborn. They can sometimes fuss and not want to eat well, they fall asleep while they are eating. All the same things you experience with a newborn human. It becomes a very intimate time and I got so that I really looked forward to it. He was so soft and I just loved to hold him close to my face and chest and kiss on him. As he got older and started moving around a bit he would reach up with his paw and touch my face. He also started putting his face up toward my lips to feel what I felt like. He just became so special to us both.

It was a bit nervewracking in the beginning, being afraid of killing him. There is really alot to know about raising baby kittens. You have to help them use the bathroom and so since they don't go on their own you have to figure out when they need to go. It's a little upsetting to suddenly realize no one has tried to pee or poop him for a while and maybe he needs to go really bad!! It's disconcerting somehow to have a baby's pee and poop comfort in your hands. But, we learned how to do it well and eventually it became second nature. And, since he made it I guess we did ok by him.

The really odd thing is that my husband and I both thought of the same couple when we first brought this little guy home as the perfect parents for him even though we had no idea whether they wanted a kitten or not. As it turned out, they did want him having lost a cat a number of months back and feeling like they were ready for the big leap! And so, he went to his new mommy when he was just 4 weeks old, so that she could finish up raising him. She did a great job and sent me updates and pictures. He has a great house to live in and he lives on 5 acres of property with trees and birds and outside decks to lie on. Everything a cat could want. He also has an older brother who has accepted him very well. And his new mommy and daddy are really taken with him too. In all the pics he looks like he has a great life! He now proudly bears the name Boromir from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I look forward to going to visit him soon. He has grown so much and I wonder if he will remember his first mommy and daddy. I guess we will find out when we go to visit. Something to look forward to.

I am always so happy when a customer really likes what they have purchased! It just gives me a really good feeling! I got information today from the last online customer I had that she got her anklet and "just loves it"! It was so weird, because when she made her purchase from ecrater it didn't show up in the shop as a sale. Somehow it just went through Google checkout without affecting the ecrater shop. Anyway, I prefer my shop on etsy.com, but my ecrater shop is still there I just don't update it as frequently. I am glad she found me and really glad she likes her anklet! A good day for me!!

Well, I decided I wanted my "featured items" on my Etsy shop to have some significance! So, I decided to offer free shipping on those 3 items. This is a nice way to offer a deal! I can do it beforehand so that when the customer checks out they are not charged shipping. No need to do refunds back for a percentage sale or any of that stuff. Straightforward and simple. Just the way I like it!! So, I hope some of you will take advantage of it! And if there is a particular item you would like "featured" just let me know! I'd be glad to help folks out that way!! This is my newest piece- http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28913676.

Wow! It has been so long since I updated this blog! I just have felt mute for quite some time and I also had stopped making jewelry much. I finally have found the right combo of meds to keep my pain down at least for now, and so gradually I am coming out of this depression that has been so dark and deep lately. I am very grateful to be feeling better. It is very difficult for me to realize that my depression is ongoing and that I have to treat it as "acute" everyday and do the things necessary to abate it. Things like listening to music, meditation, prayer, spiritual reading, the list goes on. So, here's to hoping I am back on track! I would love it if you would take a look at some of my new items in my Etsy shop. I like some of the new things I have made quite a bit. I have more coming too!

I decided this year to buy my own birthday present. My husband just wouldn't know what to get me since I want to shop only handmade and he's not much of an etsy shopper! So, from the moment I saw these rings, I knew I wanted them, but I didn't think about my birthday at the time and I didn't have the money to just buy myself a gift for no reason, so I let them pass. Well, when I see something like these that I just really love, they stick in my head and sure enough, my birthday got close enough that my husband asked the usual... and I knew right away what to tell him. He, of course, gave me the go ahead, who doesn't like having all the pressure off after all!

I ordered them a little early thinking since they had to be custom made I might have to wait a while. However, I received them really quickly(just in time to show them off at Thanksgiving dinner!) and I was absolutely thrilled when I opened the box! Not only did she take the time to write me a little birthday card, but the rings are just gorgeous! I just love them! One of the reasons I liked these particularly is that they are shiny silver and hammered, rather than brushed silver. And then there are the words "live", "laugh", "love"- something I so need to remember at all times. Life is too short not to remember. Having chronic illnesses and having had a heart attack at 46, I want never to forget to live, laugh and love. And these rings won't let me forget it! All I have to do is look down and admire them and I get a great reminder! Thanks so much to http://www.ablondandatorch.etsy.com/ for this fabulous birthday gift! And, oh yeah, thanks to my dh too!

Here's A Little Boy Who Can't Wait for Christmas!!

While we were trying to put up the Christmas decorations Sammy kept going into one of the containers and pulling out this little stocking! Too cute not to snap a picture!


CHRISTMAS 2008

Weird Stuff Happens!

Ok, so I saw this really cool story about wasps who had built a nest in a Buddhist temple and had built the nest in the shape of a "sitting buddha"! I looked at the picture attached and sure enough it looked like a sitting Buddha to me and I thought how really cool, and before I got carried away with my wonderful self I said... (to myself) Wait a minute! Isn't this just like all the people I call crazy when they see the Virgin Mary in a tree or a bagel or Jesus in a windowpane or whatever? So I looked around the blog a little more and sure enough there was a link attached where you can find all kinds of weird religious news- so in the interest of fairness, here is a link to some wacky religious news stories:
http://weirdnews.about.com/od/artisticendeavors/tp/Signs-of-God.htm

The wasps, I think that was something special!!