Cats Really Aren't Sewing Helpers

I know I should have a picture to go with this post. I should really have a lot of things in a lot of places, but that's another post for another day. My daughter's dance school is doing the Nutcracker in December. The costumes are gorgeous, which, unfortunately, equals expensive. So, we are sewing many of them to keep the cost down. Sounds good, right? Well, I'm trying to put together a bodice out of muslin, so we can try it on the girls and see how it fits, where it needs to be altered for each girl, etc. Now, I can sew but I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to alterations. I have a cheat sheet somewhere...(see second sentence in this post) so looks like I'm going to learn all about alterations.

However, before I can alter something I have to have it assembled. Enter George, the Unhelper. He shreds patterns...he jumps on the fabric as I'm tracing the pattern onto it, he eats pins, he tries to grab the spool of thread off the sewing machine, he will randomly jump on my back/shoulder/head with no warning whatsoever, just 'cuz he wants to.......so rather than bleed all over the place (he has very sharp claws) and get all frustrated and mess up, I'm calling it quits and will try this again in the morning. Let's face it, cats are nocturnal and with any luck, his "energetic" butt will be sacked out in a window tomorrow morning, or so I hope.

Life Thoughts..Random Events or Master Plan?

It's a gray, damp, chilly fall day. Good for staying in bed, curling up on the couch with a good book and a cat. Not in this house! I had my daughter's first parent teacher conference for kindergarten. Some of you may know that the whole kid thing was a foreign concept to me until I had my own. I was a little apprehensive walking in-if there was something lacking in my daughter's school performance, of course I was going to look to myself as the cause.

I sat down and the teacher told me my daughter was intelligent, incredibly creative, very willing to learn, did her work very quickly and tended to wander..so I asked what I needed to be doing to help her in school. Imagine my suprise (and pleasure) when the teacher said, do not change a thing. You are doing an amazing job enriching her in things outside of school. You are keeping her creative spirit alive.

Then, I come home and see that I have had a comment on my blog about George, my "helper" from a woman who used to work at the animal shelter where he and Gracie came from. Yes, I still keep in touch 2 years later. The funny thing? I've never met this woman. We talked on the phone a few times. She and I have a connection. Gracie. She and I both saw Gracie for what she truly is, a very shy, timid yet incredibly loving and friendly cat. I couldn't leave her at the shelter, even though she didn't want to be touched and stayed in the back of the cage. Even though this woman has moved to the other side of the country, we will keep in touch through something as seemingling mundane as a black long haired cat picked off the street.

So, was it fate or was it the Master Plan that me, a somewhat disorganized, creative person had 2 creative, inquisitive children? Was it fate or was it the Master Plan that I walked into the Animal Shelter that day, 2 years ago, and the cat room we were supposed to go in was being cleaned, so we went into the smaller room? Either way, I have been incredibly blessed with 2 amazing children, the friendship of a woman 200 miles away and the love of a stocky little black cat.

No Wonder it Takes Me Forever to Accomplish Things

So, I've made some new items. In order to list them, they need to be photographed. Pretty self explanatory. Not a HUGE amount of time involved.....but, the bulb was broken on my "location" lamp, there was just a little bit of glass left, my husband was actually home, so I sent him off in search of the appropriate tools to remove the remains of the old bulb. I replaced the bulb, set up my white box and prepared to take some photographs.

All of a sudden, there was more than I anticipated in the shot. I removed my helper and he came back. Again. And again. And again. Finally, I said what the heck and shot the picture with him in it. Once I stopped asking him to leave, it was no longer a game and he went off to wreak havoc elsewhere.