EQUAL TIME

(Puss n Boots from Shrek 2)

Seems like lately all I do is talk about my dogs. Have I forgotten the name on this blog!?
It's time for Equal Time for the CATS!
I want to bring up something that I as a cat lover am sure that other cat lovers know but don't talk about and that is if you talk too much about your cats, you are in danger of being judged and labeled as: The weird cat lady (or guy).

I think that television and movies especially kid movies are reponsible for alot of this negative feelings towards cats. When I was a kid, I wanted a cat in the worst way. I begged and pleaded for one. But my father hated cats. I remember in one argument when he said that he didn't HATE them he just didn't LIKE them. When I disagreed he said, "Hey, if I saw a cat while driving, I wouldn't go up on the sidewalk just to hit it".  He thought that was funny. I remember thinking that you could LOVE someone but not always LIKE them.
And even though I longed for a kitty I was frightened of Siamese cats. I remembered how EVIL they were in the movie "The Lady and the Tramp". So if a cat worshipper like me could believe these movies, think of all those little kids out there, being brainswashed that cats are evil.

and that they are BAD LUCK, especially black cats.

(The following Black Cat info is from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cat)
The folklore surrounding black cats varies from culture to culture. In Great Britain, black cats are a symbol of good luck. The Scottish believe that a strange black cat's arrival to the home signifies prosperity. Furthermore, it is believed that a lady who owns a black cat will have many suitors.

(Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff)

However in Western history, black cats have often been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens, specifically being suspected of being the familiars of witches; other cultures consider them to be bad luck as well. The gambling world is afraid of a black cat: it is believed that if, while traveling to a casino, a black cat crosses a gambler's road or path, that person should not go to the casino; most players believe that black cats bring bad luck. Other black creatures, such as black dogs, have shared in the prejudice and suspicion of being "familiars".

The black cat in folklore has been able to change into human shape to act as a spy or courier for witches or demons. During the Middle Ages, these superstitions led people to kill black cats. This had the unintended consequence of increasing the rat population and the spread of the Black Plague and other diseases carried by rodents. There is no evidence from England of regular large-scale massacres of "satanic" cats, or of burning them in midsummer bonfires, as sometimes occurred in Europe.

(my cat - Harry)

However, the supernatural powers ascribed to black cats were sometimes viewed positively, for example by sailors considering a ship's cat in general and a black one in particular as luck for their ship. Sometimes, fishermen's wives would keep black cats at home too, in the hope that they would be able to use their influence to protect their husbands at sea.


and then the MYTH'S about cats:

That they will crawl into the babies crib and suck the life out of the baby.
 Myth: Cats Steal a Baby's Breath

http://pets.webmd.com/
This superstition goes back to the 1700s. When babies died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), people were quick to blame a cat seen lying in the crib. Today, soft toys, illnesses, a stomach-lying position have all been linked to SIDS — but not cats. Cats are drawn to cribs because they're warm, cozy, elevated places – perfect for a catnap.
And what about people thinking that cats are evil and bit for no reason.
Fact: Early Bonding Key for Kitty

 http://pets.webmd.com/

Cats that are aloof or bite the hand that feeds them probably had no exposure to people in early life. Feline behavior experts say a kitten needs regular contact with people in the first seven weeks, or it may never bond with humans. Even five minutes a day in the early weeks will teach a kitten not to bite when the hand of a towering human lifts it off the ground.
and
Cats don't love you like dogs.

http://pets.webmd.com/

Fact: Cats May Love Too Much!

Behavior experts confirm that some cats really do experience separation anxiety when apart from a favorite person — and that's one reason a sweet kitty may pee on your clothes when you're at work. Other signs: the cat paces, vocalizes, or blocks the owner's path to the door. Left alone, she may vomit or be too worried to eat. For cats who love too much, behavior therapy can help – and Prozac.

http://pets.webmd.com/
Fact: Cats Kiss With Their Eyes

Cats communicate with a slow blink, according to feline experts. With their own kind, it's a peace sign, meant to put other felines at ease. Aimed at a human, this seductive blink shows affection, even love. People can return the love with a long gaze and slow blink to "blow a kiss" back in cat body language. The calming blink works on house cats, feral cats, and even tigers in the wild, according to behaviorist Roger Tabor.
So there....just a few things concerning cats, XOXO - Crazy Cat Lady Cindi

I'M COPYING

Catherine aka Junker Jane http://junkerjane.blogspot.com/ 
is always posting these UNIQUE, weird. ARTSY,cool photos of random things with amazing results. So, I'm copying her. Here's my attempt:

LOL! Ya HAD to know what it would be!
XOXO - Cindi

BEEN THERE DONE THAT

I had given notice on my booth and this last month everything (but the fireplace) was 75% off.

I had my sisters help today so we drove out to get the fireplace. There wasn't much left and since we were there, we decided to just wrap it up and take it all with us. The old guy at the desk told me my total...enough for my water bill and a tank of gas. OK, technically if I tallied it all up I'd still be in the hole but Hey, at least I only bought stuff for the booth that I could use in my house....and/or put on Etsy.
OPENED A BOOTH AT AN ANTIQUE/JUNK MALL -

MY MORNING

I woke this morning, wishing that I could have just stayed in bed.
Eva Gonzalès Morning Awakening -"Le reveil" Paris 1876

But unfortunately I had to get up and get ready for work.

I was hoping that Ralphie had learned his lesson....  

 I went upstairs to brush my teeth.  I'm standing at the sink and Ralphie is in the doorway facing out towards the hall and Rosie is sitting on the heat vent being Marilyn Monroe -

(she's waiting for the heat to come on again)

(it's kicking on, starting to blow...)

(she's starting to feel the warmth...)

(ahhh, there it is! Notice her hair swirled up and blowing...she loves this. Look at her little tongue sticking out...shameless.)

Blue is laying in the hallway looking into the bathroom.

He's got his face flat on the floor, watching. Then Ralphie starts barking and bouncing in place at him. I look over, mouth full of toothpaste and Blue raises an eyebrow and looks at me.

It's like..."See what I have to put up with!" I continue brushing and watch Blue lower his brow and then raise the other one and also open the side of his mouth just enough to show his teeth as he looks at Ralph. Then he looks at me. I am shaking my head at him and he stops. I rinse and spit and yell "Knock it off! RALPHIE!!!!" Then I walk out of the bathroom and Ralphie runs down a few steps ahead of Blue and then stops and barks at him. I push ahead of Blue and yell "go" and swing my foot in Ralph's direction. I'm not trying to kick him, just give him the idea of get going. Behind me Rosie is still "twirling" circles in the bathroom, this is a ritual she has to do before leaving a room. Three twirls, then a scurry to the door threshold, then a "leap" over the 1/4 of an inch thick piece of wood and then throws herself down the steps and does three more twirls.

Now that we are in the living room, Blue walks over to one of the loveseats and little dogs jump off, except for Twinkle.

Blue loves Twinkle and she just scoots further into the corner to make room for him. Jimmy is laying on the other loveseat and looks up at me. "I had nothin' to do with it! I wasn't even up there!' his expression seems to say. Rosie is running across the room like a teeny tiny horse, lifting her legs high and runs behind the loveseat where the BIG dog bed is and joins Ruby and Claude, both of who are too small to get up on furniture by themselves. Or maybe they are smart and prefer the comfort and room on the dog bed. Ralphie is running around barking again so I tell him "outside!" He turns and runs for the backdoor which I open and he's already on top of the picnic table bouncy and barking as he looks up the tree for that squirrel.

I set up the laundry room area with the daily ritual of new towels on the floor and potty pads. 

I let Ralphie back in and he runs through the house to the living room window. He plasters himself against it like those stuffed suction-cup feeted toys that you see in car windows. Is that a rabbit tiptoeing across the yard?
Ralphie's in a panic! He must have that rabbit!

I corral the little ones in the laundry room and leash up the terriers and Blue and out the door we go.

Going down the steps, Ralph is straining as far as the leash will allow. Luckily the one and only command that he obeys is "kennel" which when he hears that, he will jump into the van and sit inside his kennel cage. Jimmy heads in that direction but always needs assistance going in. Blue sits down on his comforter in the back. I slid and slam the door shut and go around to my side and get in. Blue has already gotten into the passenger seat.  He gives me the look -"Hi!", I don't feel like getting out again so I let him win this one. Usually if he's up front I will belt him in. It's already snapped closed from yesterday and I let it go but worry about it the whole way to work.

We arrive.

I'm kinda worn out with all this dog stuff and my day hasn't begun.

Is this how kindergarten teachers who are mothers feel?

But the up side of my job is that I run a boarding kennel. And I plan on leaving Ralphie overnight. Poor Jimmy, guilt by association, but he's staying tonight too.

I need a break.

A PAINTING TO MATCH THE SOFA!?

eclectic living room design

I'm sure you've heard people say that they need a painting for above their sofa, or over their table or whatever....
I guess that is how most people are.

eclectic living room design by atlanta interior designer decordemon

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I'm just the opposite.
I find a painting or a some sort of piece of art (junk to some others)

bedroom design

and then I want to change everything in the room.
The wall color, the other paintings, the pillows and I need to move furniture around.
When I say move furniture around I don't mean across a room but all over the house.
I truly believe that just about every "piece" I have, has been in every room of my home.

I had an old serving cabinet that once stood in my dining room. But then I did away with the dining room and made it into my kitchen. So the cabinet went into the laundry room. I had a tray with detergents, bleach etc. on top of it and the fabric softener sheets were in one of the drawers and small rags in the other. I stacked towels in the bottom. Hmmmm, towels?
So I moved it upstairs into the bathroom and stored my hair brushes and curling irons and things in the drawers. I stacked towels in the bottom.
But then it seemed to eat up all the space in the bathroom. So I moved it down to the living room. I put the TV on top and the remote controls in the drawers. I stacked magazines in the bottom.
but then I rearranged again and moved it out to my enclosed front porch.
I put garden gloves in one of the drawers and tools. I stuck dog leashes in the other one. I stacked items that needed to be taken to Recycling Center in the bottom and that overflowed and started to be stacked on top....which made the porch look junky. Especially from the outside looking in.
So I moved it to the backyard, against the steps and put empty pots in the bottom and my garden gloves and my garden hand tools in the drawers. Then I set some potted flowers on top but I never got around to sealing it and it got wobbly.
So I moved it to the curb.
A hatchback car slowed down.
I waved farewell as the old guy loaded into the back.

I wonder where it is now?

So are you like me? Do You find a painting and build around it?

I ADORE this painting by Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec "Monsieur, Madame and the Dog" (1893)

I'm thinking of getting a print and hanging it above the bench in my kitchen....and then maybe paint the kitchen grey.....? Kinda the color by his knee.....

Or do you paint the room, move in the furniture and THEN look for a painting?

Grayson Sofa from http://seeingdesign.com/

I woke up this morning to a dog fight

Ya know how when you are not REALLY awake but just kinda.

I could hear Ralphie growling and barking at the window. He can see across the street and after the "incident" I noticed that the new neighbors were outside in their driveway doing stuff.

But from what I can piece together in my semi-awake state. Ralphie was in the throes of "guarding" his house when Blue must have got up to see what was going on. And as he came over to the window, Ralphie must have turned and in his frenzied state of mind jumped at Blue.

At this point I'm sitting up blurry-eyed and I see Ralphie jumping towards Blue and Blue roars and comes forward towards Ralphie and has him down and it not letting him up. Ralphie doesn't stop his insanity but instead is growling and Blue continues to roar. Jimmy is standing next to this, barking and trembling. I suppose he feels like he needs to back up his buddy but I can tell it's with great trepidation. So I grab my comforter and throw it over everyone. Blue stops and backs up. I pick up Ralphie, completely expecting to find deep wounds and lacerations. I notice some drops of urine on the floor and he's dropped a piece of poop in his fear. I carefully check him over.

Nothing but spit on his fur. I shake my head. How stupid. It's like a raccoon taking on a bear.....

No, I will not be getting another big dog. There are no guarantee's that if there was another large one in the mix that the outcome could have been horribly different.

Yet another sign.

How many signs do I need?!

When Blue wants to play and run, he has me. He doesn't need another pal and most likely doesn't want one.

I just have to get off my big-ass and be there for him.

THE LIST

http://www.icanewfriend.com/

I've posted about THINKING about getting another dog for Blue and someone said to me - "Does your insurance company allow German Shepherds?" and I was like "What?! Why won't they allow a Shepherd?" So I called my insurance agent and told her that I was JUST thinking about maybe getting a puppy for my dog. I said that I was thinking of either a Golden Retriever or a German Shepherd. And I told her that someone had told me to make sure that my insurance company allowed those breeds. WELL! She practically interrupted me and told me that ALL the companies that she writes insurance for would drop me if I got a German Shepherd. She said it was on "The List"!
To be honest, I really didn't like her tone and I asked what else was on the list? She rambled off a few breeds and said there were more. So, I told her that I work at a veterinarian clinic and I'd like to know exactly what is not allowed before something crossed my path and I feel in love with it. So she emailed me the list. Here it is:
"The unacceptable dog breed list is below and they include, but are not limited to:"...(OK, I know what that lingo means. It means definitely NOT any of those breeds but "not limited to" means they can throw some other breed in there if they decide to!)
Amercian Staffordshire Terrier

http://www.recycler.com/

Chow

Doberman

German Shepherd

http://www.sheprescue.org/

Husky

http://www.dailypuppy.com/puppies/

Malamute

http://www.dailypuppy.com/puppies/
Pit Bull

http://www.4luvofdog.com/d/matty.html

Rottweiler

Any dog with a prior bite history

to be honest, I've been going back and forth in my thoughts about EVEN getting another dog and if I did, I've been leaning towards a Golden Retriever but most likely a Mutt. Probably not a puppy. The problem is that I have a REAL problem with anyone telling me what I can and can't do! It also makes me angry that they list specific breeds when there is good and bad in every breed. Yes, Yes, I realize that some dogs on the list belong to horrible people who use them for dog-fighting. Or for status symbols and try to make them mean so that they look tough in the Hood but this is ridiculous! I have had little daydreams of living out in the country with lots of land and lots of rescues. But insurance companies reach everywhere! Grrrrrrr
This explains why so many of the pets that come to the clinic are listed as "lab mixes" or "boxer mixes" yet that's not what I see when I look at them.
I still don't know what I am going to do except I'm pretty sure I am changing my insurance company.

AND NOW FOR SOME POTTERY BARN INSPIRATION...

http://www.potterybarn.com/

This has been a very long week. A sad week, but now is not the time to go into all that!
Instead, I want a distraction. I want to think about something fun! So I want to talk about decorating!
Last weekend, I went to that Double Baby Shower and it was very nice. The woman that threw the shower had added on to her home and done alot of remodeling and I just walked around in awe. It was just beautiful! I was envious, not jealous but just wishing that my home looked like hers. Then on the drive home I stopped at a Home Improvement store and just walked around.
Dreaming.
But there are so many blogs that I follow where women do the work themselves and I can learn!  Money is definitely an issue, Or should I say the lack of it but as one of my best friends always says "That just forces us to be creative!" and that's true. Lack of funds can force a person to search out Estate Sales and Goodwill stores and yard sales and sew and paint and create a home that isn't a cookie cutter of someone else's.
But full disclosure: if I ever won the lottery, I'd just order full rooms from Pottery Barn!

http://www.potterybarn.com/

So...I'm going to spend this whole weekend inside my home working on making it lovely. Besides the forecast for the weekend is single digits! So! here's some photos for inspiration.
This first one, Hmmmm.....I'm thinking I could make some pillows out of muslin. and then paint them!

 http://www.potterybarn.com/
And these pillows, I know I have some old vintage white tablecloths somewhere. I could make some pillowcase shams and embroider them...I bet Martha Stewart's craft book could show me how to embroider.

http://www.potterybarn.com/

I have a table very similar to this...I got it at Goodwill on 1/2 off furniture day. So it was only $20.00!

But I think I will paint mine WHITE!

http://www.potterybarn.com/

And I have my estate sale finds. I don't have this but I have an old L C Smith typewriter!

(I bet Denise would want this!)

http://www.potterybarn.com/

And I have an assortment of glass vases and cloches and I could make some cool terrariums!

(and I know Nita would love these!)

http://www.potterybarn.com/

I could coffee stain some watercolor paper and hand print with a Sharpie some spice labels.

http://www.potterybarn.com/

Ahhhh towels!..............gotta buy some of those!

I think these are lovely...sure I could maybe get some at an estate sale but.......No.

 I get towels for wiping muddy paws but not for ME!

Kinda an ICK thing, at least to me!

http://www.potterybarn.com/

Hope everyone has a fun weekend!

I know that I am going to be busy!