picture summer- day 21 {spacey}

White cat, black berries.

Sawyer

Our new kitten Sawyer. He's nearly 4 months and all white.





Eva and Sawyer.

picture summer- day 5 {glass of water}

My cat Magoo likes to tip over all of our glasses of water...

C. I've got nothing. Except cats.



Agnes posing for her 18th birthday photo. She turned 18 this past Saturday (02-26-11).

Agnes placed just so between the two kids/two laptops.

A little closer-

cats like thanksgiving too

Miss Magoo right before we sat down to eat. (Those are Eva's turkey decorations in the background and her place settings on the table.)

slice of life

What I love about cats (one thing) is their ability to find comfort just about anywhere. As long as it's the right place. Here is Agnes doing her signature lounging. Check out how the knitting book is propped up on the bowl of dried flowers.

That there *is* a bowl of dried flowers on the table. {Flowers from our garden. Picked by Eva.} With the walk man. The kids are both listening to the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede. So far they both like the first book, Dealing with Dragons, and are less thrilled (much less thrilled, in Samuel's case) with the other three. I love hearing them discuss the books together.

There is also a bag for my knitting. And my current knitting. And the knitting book. A glass of water that was mine but has no doubt by this point become Agnes's. A mouse she will not eat. Cat food in the background she has already eaten. Oranges from Chili to the left. Mostly for Eva. A bowl with agates from the beach and a river rock from camping this summer.

Peace is every step.

Maxwell passed away yesterday afternoon at home. He was 13 1/2. He will be missed tremendously.

Here is some Maxwell back story I was working on a few days ago (or so). I'm a little overwhelmed these days and find I am having trouble finishing up any of the blog posts I have been starting during the free spaces my mind ekes out-

At some point while living in New York during the summer of 1997, I decided I wanted a second cat. I had done research about adding a second cat to our home to help our cat Agnes with the transition. I had also convinced myself that a second cat would be good for Agnes's health (read- weight) and emotional well being. She seemed so enthusiastic when she saw other cats sitting or walking outside our various apartments in Los Angeles and then Brooklyn, it seemed a shoe in that if I got the right cat as a roommate for her, she would be thrilled.

Thirteen years later and she is still not thrilled. Agnes likes to keep her distance from Maxwell and bristles- growls, even- when he passes too close to her. Just the other day, Maxwell was sitting on my lap and Agnes climbed up to sit next to me. As soon as she saw Maxwell, she began growling. I covered her eyes as I often do in these cases and she stopped growling. All is well as long as she can't actually see Maxwell. With her eyes covered, Agnes was finally able to relax and pretend {as it were} that Maxwell was not sitting on my lap being pet just six inches from her.

I keep wondering if she will miss him when he is gone. I was touched, then, when I saw her sitting with him in the hall a few days after the growling-on-my-lap incident from above. Agnes was peaceful as she sat near Maxwell. Completely relaxed. Resting. It was all I could do to not sit down in between them and enjoy their company together. I kept walking, though. I did not want to be the one to disrupt the delicate balance clearly at work there in the hallway. And of course, when I tried to return to take a picture to document the occasion, Agnes had already gotten up and moved on...

This post could read Cats Keeping Cool-



Samuel took this picture of Maxwell sleeping in the tall grass recently. And here is Magoo resting on some dried leaves.

But then I couldn't resist throwing in one of Albert looking extra cute. And he doesn't seem to be keeping cool here, although who can say really but him.



Albert snuggled between two blankets.

maxwell

So Monday I took Maxwell into the vet because he had lost quite a bit of weight (turns out it was nearly 3 1/2 pounds) and he was having trouble breathing. My vet sent us over to the animal hospital for chest x-rays and oxygen. Maxwell also ended up having an ultrasound (Echo) of his heart to determine whether his heart or his lungs were the primary cause of his breathing difficulties. While it turned out that he has an arrhythmia and his heart is enlarged, he also has a lot of fluid and extra tissue in his lungs. The doctor that we saw thinks that he most likely has advanced lung cancer and sent us home with ideas about how to make Maxwell's last days more comfortable for him. He is currently taking antibiotics to help reduce any bacterial infection he may also have in his lungs and to help rule out pneumonia, as well as a bronchodilator to help open up his airways so that he doesn't have to work so hard to breathe. I brought home some fancy foods to try and tempt him into eating and am so far very encouraged that he is enjoying his new food choices very much. He scampered off down the hall after eating for the first time in what seems like days. And I got out the catnip, which he is also enjoying. I frequently find him just sitting contently on the catnip piles on the floor. While his breathing is still labored, he seems to be enjoying himself immensely. Nothing like a little catnip to help balance things out.

cats love lace

I finished the art lace bag from Interweave Knits! My bag is slightly smaller than the one in the pattern. The bag in the pattern was knit at 2 stitches/ inch and the final dimensions were 19 inches wide at the bottom, 12 inches wide at the top and 13 inches tall. I knit my bag at 2 1/2 stitches/ inch and the final dimensions were 16 inches wide at the bottom, 8 1/2 inches wide at the top and 9 inches tall. I had been worried about sewing in the lining and attaching the handles, but that ended up going very smoothly as well. I was able to do both this evening after buying the supplies at the fabric store (which were, by the way, very reasonable) today.

One thing about lace knitting that I had forgotten from my last foray into lace is that cats are particularly interested in sitting on lace knitting instructions. Perhaps they can sense that you need to look down at the pattern more frequently than usual? They are undoubtedly attracted to the energy. Thankfully, my cat Maxwell, who is the most attracted to lace-knitting-pattern-sleeping, can be easily transferred to a lap, as long as it is my lap. Now that I have guinea pigs who like to nibble on yarn, the frequent batting at knitting that cats do seems inconsequential. Mostly. I spent a good bit of time knitting this bag with at least one cat on my lap and another eyeing the instructions.



Knit bag pre-lining and handles.



Finished bag and closeup. I chose a deep magenta-purple to contrast the orange. Flashy.

Love and joy come to you...

Yesterday I started picking up the living room- putting away some of the Christmas toys, clearing away some wrapping paper that was still hanging around. I definitely wanted to vacuum. There had been some small efforts to pick up the last couple of days but I was feeling like something a little more advanced. I felt like clearing away at least some of the Christmas that was still lingering in the corners and crevices throughout the house, particularly in the living room. Samuel had other ideas, however, and was crestfallen when he saw me putting away legos and hauling out the vacuum. He said he really didn't want Christmas to be over, it was too soon, and if I started putting everything away and cleaning everything up, it would mean that Christmas was over and that was sad. Well, he convinced me. I did a little cleaning up when the kids were in the other room but focused most of my efforts on the kitchen and other parts of the house. It's still Christmas here, at least for a little while longer. I know from experience that Christmas will eventually go away on its own. The tree will dry up, the frost will turn to dew, new toys will be exchanged for newer, interests will march on.



Maxwell on Christmas.

Two stories from today.

The first one. This morning Samuel and I were the first ones awake. Samuel got both guinea pigs out of their cage and sat with them for a few minutes. When they tired of that, the pigs ran off to check out the house, a little piggie floor time, if you will. The funnest part was sitting with Samuel and watching the guinea pigs root around together. Terrence followed close behind Albert, as usual. Each pig had his nose out and his body low. There was an almost constant chatter between them. We talked about how Terrence's legs are much longer than Albert's and that he looks as though he has knee high socks on when he runs very very fast across the floor. The pigs moved along the wall until they reached the curtains and crawled underneath. And then- we saw first one nose and then another nudge out from under the curtains, the only evidence that guinea pigs were there at all. There were a few catalogs and pieces of paper scattered near the curtains and both guinea pigs, first Albert, then Terrence, began gently chewing on the catalogs. Samuel and I burst out laughing. What a sight. Two guinea pig noses and mouths sticking out from under the curtains, nibbling away on Christmas catalogs. Nibble nibble stop. Nibble nibble stop. Soon Maxwell and Jack sauntered over as well to have a look at the guinea pigs and what they were up to and that cracked Samuel and I up even more. There is nothing quite like Jack and Maxwell looking suspiciously at the guinea pigs, wondering what they are all about and if there is something edible there for themselves. Jack never tires of sniffing catalogs, carrots, kale, dandelion greens in a last ditch effort to find something, anything, to eat. I swear sometimes he even shakes his head at the guinea pigs and looks at me quizzically as if to say- "That's what they're eating? That's what all the commotion is about?" Thankfully he doesn't seem to consider the guinea pigs in the least bit edible, just smaller members of the pack.

And the second. I was walking up to the front door carrying sandwiches and yarn when I stopped to watch bushtits fly about on the suet. There are large flocks of them around the suet feeders everyday now. I have one suet feeder hanging in front of the living room window and one in the back yard by the other bird feeders. On a good day, the bushtits will fly back and forth from one feeder to the other, sometimes landing in the trees nearby, sometimes not. Today while I stood there watching the bushtits, a hummingbird flew up to the nearby hummingbird feeder I had refilled just yesterday. Most of the syrup was frozen inside but there was some at the very bottom that had thawed in the sunshine and the hummer sat perched on the feeder and ate for a very long time. When he was done he flew over to the laurel a few yards away and perched on a limb there. I stood very still in the cold sunshine and felt blessed at having caught all the birds at the feeders at once. I love the activity of the birds during winter- the flocking, the time spent at the feeders, the chattering to one another. All of it reminds me that while we typically think of winter as a time of rest and hibernation, there is activity here as well. Each season brings movement of its own kind, each adds to the movement of the others. And we are each a part of it all.

slice of life

Cats, roses, berries, robots...

what a little carrot won't fix...

So today Samuel has been on the phone the entire day talking with his good friend Jack. They talk quite a bit on the phone anyway, but today was monumental in the length of the talk. He took a short break in the middle of the day to go to the library and they picked right up where they left off when we got back home. The play video games together and talk about their Mario trading cards, the video game they are making together, things like why Samuel won't ever try the tooth fairy (too creepy having a fairy come into the bedroom when you are asleep), why Jack prefers glazed donuts to cupcakes...Just now I heard "Lego figures- all of them are psychic!" Now they are discussing what they will wish for if they find a genie. That genie is going to have his work cut out for him. They have their bases covered. You get the idea.

I was just reflecting too on how much physical exercise he gets while he talks. He walks around and is in almost constant motion while on the phone, walking at a fairly brisk pace, sometimes running, and spending most of his time outside in the garden, walking among the plants on the various paths we have forged. Turns out this is a really wonderful way to spend time- outside, active, mentally stimulating, connecting with a friend, laughing...

Eva has been busy playing different games. Today she spent a good part of the day with the fin part of her mermaid costume only rather than dressing up with it (she did this earlier and went to the store as a mermaid) she pretended the fin was alive- a creature named Fin who could talk in a language only Eva could understand. Eva and Fin were incredibly helpful together. They folded and hung laundry, helped clean Albert's cage, watched Albert, dug up carrots for Albert, held Albert- I see a theme. Fin is resting now and Eva is off checking on some of her other games.

I was just now going through the photos on the camera because I know I took some pictures of a few scenes Eva has set up right now and I see that Fin and Eva took another bazillion pictures of Albert today as well, because you know you can never have too many of those. Such a cutie, we are all smitten.



This is the last bit of land that there is and everyone has gathered to be on this land together- all except the girl in the bucket (who no one likes {sniff}) who is pushed along by the alligators. It is a little like a flood story going on here I think.



And the beavers have built a dam. Can you believe we actually- well, Eva, really- found the-green-plastic-frog-with-his-mouth-wide-open?!! (And I still don't know where he was!!) Here he is partaking of the lovely mud and goo created by the beaver dam. There were others enjoying the abundance and finery as well.



Squirrels make a home...



Agnes giving some old cat love this morning; knit horses I made over the weekend- the manes are tricky (with summer reading...)

here's one or two

Eva took these-
Maxwell on my lap with knitting; Samuel inquiring for the camera or at the camera?

the day before the day

Senior friends Agnes and Charlie hanging out on my lap together. Charlie was a little nervous at first but soon both were so comfortable in the sunshine on my lap it didn't matter anymore.

Today is the big day before the big day. Today is the day before Samuel's 9th birthday! Today we will buy balloons and put up a giant Indiana Jones banner that says Happy Birthday. Today we will make sure we have candles. We will try and find an Indiana Jones balloon (a trip to Party City is not to be missed!). Today we will make not one but two angel food roll cakes with jam spread inside. Today we will make homemade orange sorbet "just because it is a fun thing to have on your birthday". Today I will put together two treasure hunts- one for Samuel's gifts and one for when his friend Jack comes over later. This year's treasure? Paddle balls!

Last night Eva wanted to watch Spot. You remember Spot, don't you? Sometimes she feels nostalgic for her youth, her babyhood and reaches out for all the little things she remembers from that time. The funny thing about Spot for Eva is that she didn't really ever watch Spot. It is something about the time though, a way of being that she is searching for- like if I were nostalgic for the early 80's and watched The Dukes of Hazard even though I never really watched that show at the time. That sort of thing.

Samuel, however, is so over Spot. In fact he was my child who liked to watch Spot, over and over and over. Apparently he had his fill. Whenever Eva brings a Spot book home from the library or wants to put on the old Spot video he resists. Last night he said, "The thing I don't like about Spot is that he is always learning something. I like the characters I watch to be educated." I could not stop laughing over this. That is Samuel through and through. He really wants people to have it together and doesn't tolerate any waffling around about it. Fascinating quote in light of our unschooling lives. Aren't unschoolers always saying things like "Learning all the time!" Well not around here. Here we have it together :)

But seriously though, it got me thinking about how some characters are portrayed when they are learning and I thought that might be what Samuel was referring to, not the learning per se but the portrayal of learning. Frequently these characters are seen as not knowing things rather than simply learning in their own time. There is an end result to the learning process, those in the know and those out of the loop. It might even be shameful in some stories to not know something, to have to learn. This I feel is what Samuel is responding to when he feels frustrated with different characters and them "always learning something".

He is responding to the idea that you aren't powerful if you need to ask a question, if you aren't an expert. This is something I hope I am helping to shake up a bit around here- for myself as well. Learning is inherent to the process of living. Learning is living. Or living is learning? Either way, each of us is where we are. How could we be anywhere else? Making assumptions, not asking questions, not reaching out for help and even not speaking up when I do know...these are all things I do when I believe I should already know something, or know it better than I do... I guess the word should is a tip off that something is amiss. But hey, I am still learning...

16 today (or thereabouts...)

Today is Agnes' 16th birthday! Imagine that! I remember thinking at one point several years ago that if there was a cat who would make it to 22 years, Agnes was that cat. At 16 she is healthy, albeit cranky, and very focused on her food and my lap. She has a little arthritis in her knees and can no longer jump up or down from the counter (not necessarily a place she needs to be but certainly a place every cat wants to be). And while most would consider her to be overweight, I give credit, at least in part, to that awesome cat food she eats for her staggering good health. (If Agnes was ever going to thank me for bringing Maxwell home, and I am certainly not holding my breath, it would be for that food. All the cats eat it now but Maxwell has to eat it. There would be no Innova Evo in the house if not for Maxwell and Agnes lives and breathes that cat food! It has become the very reason she wakes me up each day...) So here's to a long and healthy life! Here's to Agnes.



Agnes today after her birthday meal.

It looks like the kids and I are going to go up to Seattle on Sunday to see the Lucy exhibit at the Pacific Science Center on Monday. I am also hoping to go to the aquarium while we are there because Eva has been asking over and over to see the fish. I have never been to Seattle so this should be a fun adventure and with my new AAA membership (thanks dad!) I am all set to drive up there. We have music! We have space. And the hotel has a pool!

I was told today was National Pancake Day (who knew?) and that IHOP was giving away free pancakes. I can't say I am in the mood for a crowded restaurant but I like the feeling of enthusiasm I feel when I think about free pancakes. I have an amazing pancake recipe now thanks to my friend Brian and I really think we might celebrate tonight with pancakes for dinner.

All of the cats have been de-flea-ed with Advantage. I really hope this does the trick because I am tiring of Agnes being a flea hotel. The fleas are definitely testing the limits of my good will. Even the Dalai Lama said that bedbugs and mosquitos tested him. Good to know.