Another Abandoned One

I was already in the car this morning when my oldest son came down and said "did you see the black cat in the stairwell?"  I hadn't!  But there she was, waiting for us when we got home from school today. She was sleeping in my outside kitty's bed and eating her food, but the good thing is that outside kitty now roams during the day and only comes back to sleep at night.  This kitty has a hurt paw and a cold, like the previous white Persian I rescued (who has been named Lilly and will be winging her way to Canada for adoption very soon).

 I just hate that there are breeders who keep selling these Persians to families who think they are so sweet and adorable when they are kittens and then throw them out at the first sign of sickness or just because they've become a nuisance after about a year.  I don't understand how anyone can just toss them into the street to fend for themselves.

Jingles is afraid of the big outdoors.  She will only venture out onto the balconies where she feels safe.  She doesn't like the doors to be closed on her because she likes to know that she can get back inside at any time.

When these poor kitties come to me, I feel like they are weary travelers looking for respite.

My youngest son says that the cats have their own broadcast and they say "Hey, there's a crazy lady who will feed you if you show up at her place."

I don't mind being the crazy cat lady.

Overcoming the Drear

Our days have been rather bleak and dreary with dust that blankets the sky.  Around 5 pm every day, I watch the doves, pigeons, sparrows and chickadees wing their way back and forth.  Although the doves and pigeons will happily sit for some time, those little birds are always on the go.

Jingles is sitting in a pot that once was filled with blooming moss roses.  All that sitting eventually did them in and now there's just weeds.  Can you see who she is looking at just above her?  

 I'm thankful for the bit of color and plant life on my balconies, even though it is so very hard to keep them clean.  One of my bushes has little purple blooms but the leaves are just filled with a layer of dust from all the storms.  I used to wash down the plants and balconies on the weekends, but it just seems such a waste of water, so haven't even done it this year.

So while it is gray outside, I have been inside doing what needs to be done, and crocheting in between the doing.  A bit of hooky time certainly adds much needed cheer and color to my day.

I hope that all things are bright, beautiful and colorful in your corner of the world.

Have a wonderful weekend.

The Birds

Yesterday evening I was so excited to catch sight of a bird I've not seen before in Kuwait.  This guy landed on a wire just above me.  After a bit of research, I think it is a variety of bee-eater.  Any bird watchers out there have a clue?

We are actually on a migratory path for many species of birds.  Except for the doves.  They live here all the time.  And this one was having a fine dinner of my moss roses this afternoon.

The predicted dust storm didn't turn out to be as bad as they said. Just hazy skies that seem to be the norm of late.

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday.

Tea on Tuesday

After making pumpkin oatmeal the other night, I still had pumpkin to use up, so made pumpkin muffins.  And because everything tastes better with a bit of "frosting", I whipped together pumpkin with cream cheese, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and powdered sugar.  Spread that on top, added a pecan and served it up with Spiced Chai and cardamom milk.  Pretty darn good!

It looks like we are in for yet another dust storm.  At 5 pm, it's already getting dark and dreary out there.  Hubby decided to walk anyways, but I chose to stay in.  After a few chores, I will settle in for the evening with crochet hook in hand.

Hope your Tuesday is a good one.  Stop by Kimmie's place for more Tea on Tuesday.

Beads and Things

Over Spring Break, a friend took me to a bead store that I didn't even know existed.  It is in an area that I don't usually go to.

Turns out,  LB o J'zazz has been in business for about 2-1/2 years.

 It's a small store, but is jampacked with bowls and drawers of beads galore.

 They also sell supplies for decoupage.

 The Indian guy who manages the store used some of their patterned tissue papers to decorate coke bottles by first covering them with gesso, then decoupaging the tissue on and embellishing with paint.

Of course, I came home with a bit of this and that.

And started to crochet a necklace but not too sure about it.

The great thing is I can just unravel it, pull off the beads and start all over again.

Wishing you a creative and productive new week.

Things I Love

Weekends at home.  

Crusty bread, fig & ginger jam and coffee for breakfast.

 Better weather.

 Clouds against a blue sky.

 Leftovers for lunch.

 A new heart pattern.

And a new recipe.

Hope your weekend is great!

A Good Friday

Fridays are always good in my book.  The first day of the weekend here when mornings are slow and easy.

Yesterday we woke to dust that turned to clouds and rain.  This morning we woke to clouds that turned to dust.  And it only got worse as the day progressed.  

We were going out for lunch, but after 45 minutes of driving the kids to where they wanted to go, we said to heck with that and came back home where I whipped up a 30 minute meal of Italian vegetable soup, rocket salad and mozzarella garlic bread.

I even threw a sheet pound cake in the oven.  1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 5 TBS melted butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp lemon zest, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 2 eggs and 1/3 cup milk.  Instead of the lemon zest, I used orange zest.  And substituted almond milk for regular milk.  For the frosting, I stirred some powdered sugar and orange juice into mascarpone cheese and then sprinkled chopped pecans on top.  Delicious!

Hubby says this kind of weather makes him feel depressed.  For me, it's a good excuse to cozy up on the couch and crochet the day away.

Have a fabulous Friday!

And Then There Were Two

The first thing hubby said this morning was "I wish you hadn't cleaned yesterday."  We thought we were in for a very dusty day, but by mid-morning actually had a nice, refreshing rain, which cleared the way for a very colorful sunset.

Another weekend has rolled around.  Screech and Hootie are happily hanging out in the twig tree waiting for more friends to arrive.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

It's a Start

After a dust storm, there is more dust than I care to think about, so instead of crocheting, I was forced to do a couple of hours of dusting after school.  Honestly, it is such a wasted effort ... but must be done.  Anywho ... I did finally sit down to try out the owl pattern.  Very straightforward, and easy.  He still needs to be stuffed but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

One more day of school and then our weekend begins so I will have more time to play and crochet.  More owls to come.

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!

Finding Inspiration

We have dust again. The kind that just hangs in the air.  Leaves one feeling a bit blah and uninspired.

While we were on Spring Break last week, I made hearts and bags and all sorts of Easter themed items.

I even crocheted when we traveled.

But nothing this week.  Like Jingles, I've just kinda been sitting.  Only doing what needs to be done.

However, today I came across Julie's crocheted owls, which led me to Carrie's pattern and then I saw Twyla's colorful crocheted blankets and I'm ready to get started on something new.  Unfortunately, it's bedtime.  Tomorrow I shall crochet!

 Have a terrific Tuesday!

The Meaning

Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it. . . . What frustrates us and robs our lives of joy is this absence of meaning. . . . Does our being alive matter?

Harold S. Kushner in

"When All You Ever Wanted Isn't Enough"

My cousin who died on Friday suffered from Huntington's Disease just as his father did.  It is a hereditary disease for which there is no cure.  

People talk about surreal moments in their lives.  Sometimes I feel like our entire lives are surreal.

We never know what one day to the next has in store for us.  It is our duty to live each one with gratitude and to constantly count our blessings.

Wishing you a wonderful new week!

Easter Blessings

I hope that you have had or are having a joyous Easter celebration with family and friends.  Easter was always a big occasion when I was growing up.  There probably weren't too many Easter holidays that I didn't spend in Mississippi at my Mammaw's house surrounded by aunts and uncles and cousins.  Easter egg hunts in the big backyard were always fun, especially when Aunt Dot would put money in the plastic eggs.  Aunt Betty's potato salad was always the best.

I learned today that one of my cousins passed away on Friday.  Robbie was only 55 years old.  May he rest in peace.

Wishing you a beautiful and blessed Easter day.

Food & Friendship

Our trip to Dubai was a combination of business and pleasure.  Mostly the latter, with food and friendship being the main theme.  Leisurely mornings at the hotel's breakfast buffet were wonderful.  No planning, no clean up; just pure enjoyment.  While hubby read the morning paper, I enjoyed a new magazine and even a bit of crochet.

One of the best meals I had, and yet the most simple, was at Nordsee in the food court at The Dubai Mall.  The fish soup served with plain baguette was out of this world!  Afterwards we headed over to More Cafe with a Pakistani business associate for dessert.  I don't think you can really go wrong with an apple tart and vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

And our last night was spent with Japanese and Spanish friends having many, many courses of personally prepared Japanese food.  We felt more than a little pampered and it was a great way to round out our short time in Dubai.

Spring Break is almost officially over for tomorrow it is back to school.

Wishing you  a blessed and beautiful day!

It's a Small World After All

If you wondered where I was, hubby and I ran off to Dubai for a couple of days and just got back this afternoon.  On Wednesday, we had lunch at the Yacht Club with our Japanese friend, Saito.

Then enjoyed a performance of The Dubai Fountain that evening.

 The water and lights dancing to Andrea Bocelli's Time to Say Goodbye was absolutely spectacular.

And to top that off, I had the pleasure of meeting Maureen from Daydream Living at The Dubai Mall.  She (and her two beautiful girls) accompanied her husband on a business trip and it just happened to coincide with our getaway.  Our husbands humored us as we spent several hours together chatting like old friends.  The girls had a good time going through the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.

It was exactly one month ago that Maureen, who lives in Switzerland, made my blog her Blog of the Week so it is absolutely unbelievable to me that we have now actually met in person.  That's what's so great about blogging -- making and meeting friends all across the world.

Have a blessed day!

Clean, Cook, Crochet

The tv room has been rearranged, curtains washed and rehung.  Weather is warming up with a high of 90 predicted for the week, and although I do still like to whip up a nice pot of soup in the evenings (last night I made chickpea, tomato and pasta soup), a hot afternoon calls for a nice, fresh, cool salad.

In between the cooking and the cleaning, I tried out a new project from Fiber Flux -- one round crocheted eggs.  I should stick with making them rather than eating the Robin's Eggs in the bowl.  (They are very addictive.)  I also finished up another Easter gift bag.

And made another coaster based also on a pattern from Fiber Flux.  She calls hers Simply Cheerful Trivets, but I didn't think mine was very cheery, so added an extra little frilly round.

Nothing much else going on around here.  It's Spring Break and I'm just happy, happy, happy to be at home.

Wishing you a great new week.