We’ve had our third set of foster cats for almost two weeks now – so it’s past time to introduce them. They are about 10 weeks old and they are cute, cute, cute!
We call them Boris, Sylvia and Nellie and we are having so much fun with them.
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On Tuesday we said good-by to our good boys Steve and Avery. We had them for about four months! Much longer than I expected since we only had our first batch of fosters for two weeks. They were such good cats and we developed nice reassuring routines as they seemed to get more and more affectionate.
We’re eagerly waiting for news that they have been adopted.
They were very helpful flower arrangers.
They monitored my knitting progress – when they weren’t preventing it.
Stretch!
In the last couple weeks I had the doors open and they just loved watching for birds.
And here’s the last photo I have of them some final cuddles on my lap before I took them back to the shelter.
The next day we got the news that there were some kittens in need of a foster home. Truthfully our need for kitty company was just as urgent. So we brought home three 8 week-old babies. One is tucked into my sweatshirt sleeping right now. The other two are sleepy but too busy climbing my pajama pants to settle down.
Stay tuned for lots of photos of Boris, Nellie and Sylvia.
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Bea was in Italy again recently. She spotted a Marmot above (middle) and went for a frigid swim below.
She always has the biggest smiles when she is dissecting something (a pig heart). Hmmm.
And a couple photos Brian took while on a run. He know I like to see the sheep.
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Here are some photos from a recent walk at the Chicago Botanic Garden
And in my backyard I turned over my compost pile and sifted it then I filled up my big pots with the nice fluffy compost. So very satisfying!
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Today Claire turned 16. We went to the Secretary of State’s office after school and now she has her driver’s license. Just few minutes ago she drove away to pick up a friend and go to a school event.
What a big day.
I was very happy that Brian was able to be home for the weekend and we celebrated a couple days early. I made a too big cheesecake.
I feel like Claire is so sweet and easy to get along with. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever have any typical parent/teen disagreements. Yes, she often rolls her eyes at her mother but I deserve those eye rolls. Mostly we just get along and laugh. And since it’s just us at home most of the times these days it’s a very good thing that we get along.
Having cats in our lives has been a huge change. If we’re home we’re likely talking about our kitties or talking about something else while petting our kitties. Having our little family of kitties has been really positive for us.
So I had to make her a kitty collage for her birthday. That’s Sam and Fred our first foster cats.
I have a feeling I’m going to look back at this time with my Claire E. fondly.
Happy Birthday dear.
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I was so happy to get the chance to go antiquing with my sister and mom and Claire over the weekend. I used to go antiquing with them sort of often and I really miss it. Chatting and laughing and getting excited about finding treasures – it’s the best.
As usual I found a few treasures. It wasn’t ’til this morning that I realized they area all made of metal.
Here’s what I got.
A cast iron skillet:
I have a couple cast iron skillets but they are quite big. Plus, I’ve wanted to try a vintage one because I’ve heard they are so nice. I learned that this is an unmarked Wagner skillet. A very common but quality brand – Identifiable by the typewriter style font on the back. I also learned that old cast iron is much lighter than new cast iron. I cleaned it and seasoned it and then used it to cooked some onions last night. The photo doesn’t really show it well but it is very smooth inside. It might be my new favorite pan.
Four thimbles:
I use thimbles so for just $1.00 each I couldn’t resist buying these. I’ve already tried the one pictured by itself and it seems to fit my finger better than the new ones I have.
Cable knitting needles:
I use these too – mostly the “J” shaped one. I have another vintage one just like it and I’m afraid I will loose it so I grabbed these. I love the matte finish and the colors of old aluminum needles.
Scissors:
My favorite scissors are old ones so I had to give these a try. They have that nice shape for cutting fabric. I haven’t tested them yet. They need a good clean and probably need to be sharpened. The brand is Wiss – which seems to have a long history of making quality cutting tools in the US. The company was founded by a Swiss man in the US.
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First an update from inside my fridge. I declare it’s summer by getting out my happy Tupperware pitcher and making lemonade. I like to make it with bottled “Real Lemon” and I mix it with fizzy water.
Now to a couple updates from right outside my door. My wild geraniums are finally coming into their own.
I decided to let one of my rhubarb plants make flowers this year and look at it! This rhubarb is the least favorite flavor-wise of the two plants I have. Every year it throws up flowers buds so vigorously – I can barely keep up with chopping them off. I love how it looks. Most spring flowering things are diminutive but this plant is big and bold and it’s showing off beautifully.
Lilac love.
Looks a little bare but I’m always excited to pull out my pots and my bench cushions. The twine in the foreground is my pea trellis.
A bit further away from home – one of my favorite spots at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Pot goals!
Now some updates from Michigan. Claire and I drove back for a visit and for the first time we drove our electric car. Charging seemed pretty straight-forward and mostly hassle-free.
Gramma C. took us for a nice walk at Dow Gardens.
And we had fun with Mom and Jennifer. I especially enjoyed our trip to an antique store. More on that later.
Now for some updates from Europe. Bea visited Brian in Zurich for the weekend and they sent the most beautiful and typical Swiss mountain photos.
Here’s a view from the Wädenswil train station which is right next to Lake Zurich.
Bea sent a photo of geese and cute goslings. I think these are Austria residents – she’s been traveling outside of Germany a lot now that she can.
More Swiss hikes.
One final photo of some jam that they bought at a help yourself type farm shop.
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The main occupation of our kitties is napping.
When they are not napping they like to supervise me in my sewing room.
I recently placed the doll bed that my dad made for me on my sewing room desk.
It’s become a favorite napping spot even when I’m not working there.
I think they like the bright light that comes in throught the West facing window.
It’s a full time job napping and monitoring the all the activity in the house. And still I felt they needed something else to interact with. I call it kitty enrichment. Ha.
I had been looking for a good box to make a house for them and then it finally came when I ordered a couple things from IKEA. A good sized box inspired me to get back to cardboard architecture.
This project reminded me of how much fun I used to have making cardboard things for my girls. Like this dollhouse that I made back in 2014.
The box from IKEA was full of this perforated cardboard – it turned out to be the perfect roofing material. Avery and Steve absolutely love to scratch at it. They also love to jump up on the roof when they are feeling frisky and they play king of the mountain.
Claire pointed out that the photo below looks like we have one extra long cat.
It’s been so fun to see that they really love their house.
The only problem is Claire and I cannot decide on a name for it. Meow Manor? Purr Place? We have lots of ideas but none are sticking.
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Since we returned from our very wintery Spring break it has felt like actual Spring here.
I’ve been making lots of daffodil arrangements.
Can you spot the kitty ear daffodil?
Speaking of kitties. Avery likes to nap under a quilt.
Here are some photo from Bea and Brian.
After Claire’s weeklong spring break Bea still had another week of vacation. She and Brian went to a very long Wagner opera in Austria (Parsifal I think). And then Bea visited her friend in Italy. She has been sending the most amazing, beautiful photos!
Closer to home bulbs are popping around town.
And my wood poppy too.
I brought my geraniums out of hibernation and potted them up.
I was very excited to find out that our village is offering free woodchips again. I’ve filled up my car two times so far.
Kitty “helping” me do some sewing.
I sewed a summer top.
Loose and breezy – it’s the Seamwork Fern Shirt that I have made before. I modified it with a curved shirttail hem. And I shortened the sleeves a bit.
It has a fake button placket and I used some inexpensive shirting from Vogue Fabrics. I think I will wear it lots this summer.
A rainy walk along the Lake.
As I’ve been spending time in my garden the kitties are in the windowsills more and more.
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For spring break we all met up in Germany and traveled a couple hours into the mountains. Not your typical spring break location but Bea was still confined to Germany waiting for her student residence permit (more on that at the bottom).
We stayed in a town called Oberstdorf which is in the Allgäu region of Germany – very close to Austria.
As you can see we arrived to lots of snow, the biggest snowflakes I’ve ever seen, and zero views of the surrounding mountains.
So we spent lots of time in cozy cafes and we began indulging in all the Bavarian goodies.
This is about all the mountain we could see until our last day when the sun came out a bit.
They had a cute little museum all about Bavarian life from the 17th century through all the changes into the beginning of the 19th century.
I love a dusty old museum like this. It was full of interesting objects from clothing and linens to vintage hiking boots, artwork and even some taxidermy.
The museum had the world’s largest leather boot. There was an important shoe maker that lived in the town and he made this.
Bea had to be dragged into the museum but it was a highlight for me and with the heavy snow we could not do any hiking. I think it ended up being entertaining for all of us.
Here’s Brian at a vending machine – it offers all sorts of dairy products including cheeses and a variety of drinks too.
One day the weather apps said there might be some sun so we got on a cable-car and crossed our fingers.
We didn’t have any luck with the sunshine and mountain views. But we did enjoy watching the all the skiers and eating french fries.
Back down in the valley we found a nice path for a walk.
Matching backpacks.
This is our final day. We woke up to sunshine and actually saw some mountains.
We headed to a lovely town trail and walked all around until it was time to catch our train back to Munich.
Oberstdorf has a couple ski jumps just above town.
Bea did not join us for this walk because she was already on her way back to Munich. She got an email early that morning – it said a letter was coming to her apartment that day – and she would need to be there to receive it. It was from the residence permit office! The letter that she has been waiting so very long for!
She hurried back to her apartment and the letter arrived 20 minutes after she got there! So now she has the official card that allows her to leave and get back into the country. So she can visit Brian in Zurich and she has plans to see her friend in Italy. She’s had a very frustrating time dealing with the bureaucracy for the last six months.
So I said good-bye to the mountain man at our hotel and Claire and Brian and I headed back to Munich.
We got groceries and Brian made us dinner (while taking a work call) at Bea’s apartment. He literally cooked the bacon while bringing home the bacon.
And then it was time for Claire and I to fly home the next day.
Bea and Brian headed to Innsbruck for a couple days before parting ways to Zurich and Bolzano, Italy.
It was a good trip – topped off with some much needed good news for Bea with her residence permit.
And now we’re all scattered to the wind again.
Laowai 