turkeys...and i don't mean the ones that gobble

have ya ever just had days where you wonder what the hell people are thinking ... or not thinking as the case may be??? love a duck ... sometimes i just wonder where their brains are!!! and then i quietly think ... maybe it's just me but by the time i get to the end of that thought i realize that no, it isn't just me ... it's that people just don't seem to be thinking much past "it's all about me" these days.

i was driving home the other night making a list in my head of all the things that have driven me absolutely nutso over the last week or two ... by the time i had been in car for 1.5 miles heading home, the list was so long i couldn't remember it all and since we can't "cell" and drive at the same time here in california i couldn't even turn on the "task" part of the phone to write them all down ...
anyway ... that's enough of that ... i have had a ton of requests for pictures of mama mia and the babes ... and they have cooperated most graciously this afternoon. so ... here is part of the elegant stitch brood (the outside contingent) wishing you a very, very happy turkey day weekend. \


this is "chessie" - who we thought was chessie ... but is really "chesterfield" when you get up close and he let me hold him last night.  he is kay's favorite babe ... even now that she knows he is a he and not a little female . he is quite cheeky and will walk right in the back door if you give him any encouragement at all.

this is mama mia ... she is quite tame and loves all of us ... and we love her. she is very calm and a fierce mama ... and her tummy has healed quite well and the hair is starting to grow back .

this is frankie (ee) - you see - we're not quite sure because frankie (ee) won't get close enough for us to pick up ... obviously a totally different daddy from chesterfield ... kind of a siamese gone a little wonky:)

this is eggs ... and i don't even know how i got this picture. the most frightened cat i have ever met. we named her "eggs" because of her scrambled colors and also her personality ... she does a lot of hiding under my car ... and she blends right in on the other side of the fence amongst the browning stinging nettles and dried out weeds. she is quite plump ... so somehow she's getting her fair share of the food.

last but not least...this is merlin.  i think he is a cousin of the babes...because he is about six months older.  we don't know what flavor this pretty meow is...because - the name says it all...here one minute and poof - gone in the blink of an eye.  merlin (or merlene) is hanging pretty close to the babes these days...and was quite out of sorts when the babes and mama mia were spending a couple of nights in the unit next door while mama was recovering from her surgery.  this one is going to be the toughest to catch (if we can) and this one is our priority after we get the babes in for their surgeries right after i get back from williamsburg the 2nd week of december.

so...there is my herd of kitty meows.  there are three more - the 2 daddies and a solid black one with yellow eyes...but we rarely see them - usually in the dark when everybody has gone home...they come and see if there is any food left in the dishes outside the back door.

have a wonderful, safe, happy and terrific turkey day - even if you have ham (like annie) or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...it's all good.  i have many things to be thankful for and the upcoming year is going to present some major challenges and some incredible interesting changes around here and i am looking forward to all of them with a little fright, much anticipation and great hope for the amazing things we are going to do.  ENJOY!!!  it's all good!!!!!

some silliness and other sunday stuff...

the geese are staying...despite silly rumors to the contrary - i came in this morning for multiparted chores...and they were in the field...about fifty of them...any goose who thinks that modesto in the winter is better than mexico or parts south and warm - needs their collective heads examined...but what's the alternative.

other news - no football game today because we played on thursday night...so we're taking the doggers on an outing to pet smart...that should be fun...as soon as i finish this and get home...then tomorrow we have dogger day spa (and they desperately need it) so i'll work all day down here until it's time to go get them about 2:00 ish.

last but not least....mama and the babes are now out enjoying the sunshine after their period of "lock-up".  mama is recovered from her surgery and is enjoying a bath and a warm spot in the flowerbed...the babes are out and about as only babes can be on a warm fall morning...and we got permission yesterday that project X will fund the babe's excess neutering fees so sometime around christmas - we're going to do the whole thing again and take all three of them in...

we've named them:  mama mia, chessie (because she looks like linda's chessie cat); frankie or frankee depending on the flavor (which we don't know right now) and eggs - because she is such a scrambled up calico.  eggs couldn't find her way outside this morning...i think she's just a little bit scrambled - not only in colors of her fur - but also her personality...but it's all good now.

enjoy your sunday...i'm off to do an update and then get home where the stacks are taller than the ones here in the shop.

mama kitty and the surgical wonders of modern medicine

well...mama kitty and i made a trip to see dr. mike this morning about 7:15.  don't ask me how - i don't know - luck of the kitty gods i believe - but yesterday morning...there they all were - waiting for breakfast and i decided to see if i could get them into the spare unit so the babes would be a little calmer if they had been there overnight.  two huge plates of canned food convinced mama and the three little ones that inside the spare unit was the best place to be...even the really scardy -  truly so ugly she's cute - calico who scares herself most mornings...into the unit they went...and as they are slurping down the good grits...here comes kay, annie and i with the litter boxes, the water and the blankies and when we got everything settled in - bam the door got closed behind us and mama and the babes were safe and sound. 

this morning went off without a hitch - i filled up food dishes (having taken away all water and yummies last night so mama wouldn't eat them), left them on the sidewalk - took the carrier in - and there was mama - into the carrier and then the food came in and the babes were munching quietly away while i took mama out the front door.  into the car we went - two tiny meows in protest all the way to riverbank and she's there now... 

the babes are safe in their giant playpen of a room while mama is gone...and mama will be home tomorrow sometime after morning rounds...and we're going to keep her quiet for a couple of days and then let everybody go...and hopefully she will continue to visit us and hopefully we'll be able to snag the babes when it's time and get them in to see dr. mike too!!!

and so is the saga of just plain luck, a little magic and somebody upstairs being on our side as we try to catch mama and the babes!!!  it's a done deal and she will be much happier and healthier without any more "kids" and the feral population of modesto will have just a little bit of a hitch and we will be very proud that we helped in a small way.