Travelin' man - part 2...

had lunch....

watched lunch....

looked down....

looked up....

roasted...

and froze...

We had a great time and can't wait to do it all over again.

Travelin' man.....

I'm sure there aren't many of you who missed me, but Carl and I are out on another epic journey.

We left home on June 11th heading for Yellowstone National Park.  We drove through the Badlands National Park...

got snowed, sleeted and hailed on....

drove the Beartooth mountains....

made a new friend....

drove to Moab, UT...

visited Arches National Park....

drove through Canyonlands National Park....

stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park....

played with Carl's birthday camera which he may never get back....

Poop...

Carl and I left for vacation on June 11 heading for Yellowstone, Moab, Durango and then home.  We left Sadie the run of the living room and upper floor, Sassy got the rest of the house.  All was well until the 19th when our sitter told us Sassy used my yellow chair as a litter box, next was the really expensive spread in the spare room and then the yellow chair with the cushion removed.  So, Sassy has been locked up until our return on July 2nd when we will start training all over again.  She had not had an accident since mid-April and we are really discouraged about the set back.  Sadie on the other hand, is a delight.  The girls cat sitting love her and she loves them.  Sassy hid under the bed in the spare room until she was locked up and I've been told she's more friendly now that they can get to her.

Poop.....

Carl and I left for vacation on June 11 heading for Yellowstone, Moab, Durango and then home.  We left Sadie the run of the living room and upper floor, Sassy got the rest of the house.  All was well until the 19th when our sitter told us Sassy used my yellow chair as a litter box, next was the really expensive spread in the spare room and then the yellow chair with the cushion removed.  So, Sassy has been locked up until our return on July 2nd when we will start training all over again.  She had not had an accident since mid-April and we are really discouraged about the set back.  Sadie on the other hand, is a delight.  The girls cat sitting love her and she loves them.  Sassy hid under the bed in the spare room until she was locked up and I've been told she's more friendly now that they can get to her.

Sadie is exploring....

We're still separating the girls at night, still spending a couple of hours a day playing with the two of them in the same room, still squirting Sassy on occasion.  But Sadie is out and about when the gate is down and the last time Sassy chased her up the stairs into our bedroom, Sassy came right back down and Sadie followed her.  I would so love to just store the gate in the garage and be done with it but we still have fears that Sassy will trap Sadie someplace and Sadie won't be able to get to her food or her litter box.  This actually happened once early in the relationship and it must have been humiliating for Sadie who is such a very good girl.

We are going to meet the young ladies that will be taking care of our girls the last half of our vacation; the first half will be covered by our usual sitters, Tiffany and her children.  As a big gift to me, Carl is letting me have the house cleaned while we are gone.  I've never had a house professionally cleaned before and am excited to come home to a sparkling house.  And maybe, the girls will be bffs by then.  Well, a 'mother' can dream, right?

I've read some dumb things but.....

 This is taken directly from the website of an interactive cat toy:

"- Let your up-all-night cat play silently with this touch-activated cat toy
- Random flashing lights captivate curious cats in the dark
- Great toy to keep your cats occupied WHILE YOU SLEEP
 
Curb kitty's nighttime attention-seeking behavior with engaging play. Flashing Firefly Mat offers silent nighttime activity for cats of all ages. Enjoy undisturbed sleep while kitty is occupied with exciting nighttime entertainment. Randomly flashing lights silently dance in the dark to captivate curious cats. Touch-activated LED's (light emitting diodes) generate no heat and turn off when kitty is finished with play. Quietly blinks and entertains cats of all ages. Polyester mat with a charming nighttime scene of fireflies playing in a field measures 16-1/2" x 11" x 1/8" thick. Includes three LR44 1.5V watch batteries. "

"Please click on "More Information" for care instructions."  and in "more information" it says:

"Note: As with any product, supervise your pet's use of this toy. Inspect product regularly for rips or tears and remove toy if damaged or if parts become separated as injury may result. Intended for pets only."

Does anyone see anything wrong with this ad?

All's quiet on the western front, sort of ...

After living with the squirt bottle for the last few days, I finally see some result.  We left the gate down yesterday all day so the girls were free to come and go.  Last night we gated our bedroom so Sadie would not get trapped in there and I only used the squirt bottle once.  I got up to go to the bathroom early this morning and forgot to put the gate back so Sadie came to bed with us.  She's so much heavier than Sassy and more aggressive in playing.  Not moving your feet is a good idea when Sadie is on the bed, when she pounces it feels as if she weighs 50 pounds.  She finally encouraged us to get up so we took her downstairs to eat and again blocked off the bedroom.  We sat in the family room to read the paper, drink coffee and listen to the news and after twenty minutes of not hearing any noise (quiet children are doing something bad, right?) I went up to check on them.  Sassy was laying in the bay window and Sadie was sitting on her blanket in the bay window.  Neither seemed frightened or aggressive.  Another twenty minutes and Sassy was in the window and Sadie was in the litter box.  All was well.

I headed up to my craft room and only a few minutes later heard the dreaded growling and screaming.  My husband got to the living room first and picked up the bottle but by then it was all over, Sassy was in the dining room and Sadie was under the table with the table skirt on it (something I added yesterday for her to hide under).  Carl picked up the bottle and waited until Sassy made another run at the table but he's not quick enough to catch them at the second before impact.  Just when we think we're making progress, we back slide but we're not giving up.  Separately, they are both amazing animals and we love them both.  Sometimes I think that Sassy just behaves because we're close.  Or that Sadie provokes her some way that we can't see.  I don't understand how they can be so placid and so close one minute and full of rage a minute later.  It's now been over a month since we brought Sadie home, and you'd think things would be getting better.

We will continue doing what we have been doing, playing with them both, giving them plenty of love and not trusting Sassy as far as I can throw her.  I am able to look over the short wall in the hallway on the top floor down to the living room so Sassy never sees the squirt coming.  She really hates the water, though and takes off like a scalded cat.  We're spending every spare moment monitoring them so we'll see who gets tired first - Sassy or us.

Do I love SVG Cutting Files?

You bet I do.  They have some of the nicest card bases with panels I've ever seen.  Easy to cut, easy to fold, easy to decorate and I can create a card in a heartbeat.  And the more I use the Envelope Punch Board, the more I like it now that the dimension problem has been worked out.  I made the envelope to match this card which makes the card even more elegant.  The paper is Sour Apple from My Favorite Things which cuts like butter on my Cameo along with the Recollections Bold Basics Paper Pad for the patterned paper.  The card base is SVG Cutting Files Center Step Fancy and I used Spellbinders Labels 20 and Ribbon Banners.  The stamps were Just Rite  Fleur De Lis and Flourishes Inside & Out Just Because.  The Label and Banner were both raised up on foam tape.  I'm very happy with this card and on Monday will send it to a friend I haven't heard from in a while.

I hope it's dry where ever you are today.  We've had just about all the rain we can stand but I do believe the midwestern drought in our area is now officially over.