My Domestic Leopard- Bandit

is not so good at present. Over the past couple of months he has been losing weight but he is an old kitty (nearly 15). He has always been a rangy cat and gets a bit skinny in summer but this time it is walking skeleton- not quite but he IS very thin. His coat and teeth etc are in good nick but his kidney function is that of a 15 yo kitty -working okay at present and possibly could improve a little with treatment - so the vet is recommending drugs to improve the condition.
I love my 'kids' but I am realistic about their care and treatment- being brought up in the country saw to that. I was wondering if anyone had been through this and whether in the end it is worth it- emotionally for me to keep him going would be fabulous of course but quality of life for my Bandit is the issue.
I cant abide those people who keep an animal alive for their emotional benefit over the welfare and well-being of the animal.

I will always have a soft spot for Bandit because he chose me! He moved in one hot summer as a kitten to backstop my older cat at the time and befriended my puppy and they became inseperable. Bandit mourned for that dog as much as we did when we had to let him go when he got sick. Despite being a very good hunter as a youngster- too good for comfort actually- he is a very gentle cat with us and our friends and family but is feral in his behaviour to strangers.
He became the toughest cat in the neighbourhood purely by default and virtue of his size - the older cat I had when he arrived WAS the toughest cat in the neighbourhood so Bandit never really had to fight for his place in the world.

An Experiment

A dear friend of mine knows about my 'experiments' well this one is completely innocent
a sample of the kind of music I love
the one and only Mr BB King and his slowhandedness Eric Clapton

lunch

Playtime results- and others

These are just a few bits from my playing this week with various bits of dye and stuff around the place. The one on the left is actually a commercial fabric with a gold painted detail -which was truly YUK in colours until I dunked it in the blue pot I have brewing at present. The others are going to end up in a parrot inspired design I am working on as a housewarming gift to a dear friend who I miss so much now he has moved to Mexico. He sent pictures of his house under construction and it looks FABULOUS. We'll get there one day Paolo!
I managed to get my results for last year last night-finally. Two High Distinctions, one Distinction and four Credits so I passed everything. Maybe not as well as I would have liked but with the personally disastrous second semester it is not so bad.
And to top it off I found out I managed to get into all but one of my elective classes and all of my classes this year are afternoon ones- Yippee! lol
Which means I can stumble around in the mornings here before going in and be halfway human before I have to take part in social intercourse. And have lovely conversations with time challenged mate on the other side of the globe without needing to dash

Just playing today

I had some white cotton and an pack of old Gilseal navy dye and have been having fun with it this afternoon. I remember my Mum using it to dye a bedspread when I was a little gal and I found this pack in my dye box- not sure where it came from but I think it might have come from my mother in law's sewing box which M.O.T.H gave me after she passed away.

The beauty of it from memory was that I was able to dye lots of my doll's clothes for days after Mum has used it so I can use it again unlike a number of other dyes. And turn myself into a 'woad dyed pagan' according to my auntie after I managed to get it all over myself- some things just dont change

The other bit is a space dyed shibori style length I did with an eye to turning it into a summer tunic top but not sure about that now.

Fun fun fun this end!!!

better colours

this is closer to the actual colours- I have to develop a darker colour to make them pop a bit more

but it is fun

Creating havoc

is one of my favourite activities according to members of my family. I have been playing with my dyes for a couple of weeks- and getting pink and purple fingertips - and toes LOL. Despite all good intentions and wearing gloves I always manage to get coloured hands- probably because of impatience when I want to see how the dyes have taken etc.

These are a couple of pressies I am making with an eye to test marketing some work in Mossman

now all I have to do is get Ken and David to try them out

Hey guys would you wear them? LOL
The colour saturation is a bit off - will try to take a better shot tomorrow

Restlessness

Its' probably the weather but I cant seem to settle on any one project at the moment. I have been dyeing fabric and bits and pieces, embroidering parrots with my machine and doodling and such but I just cant resolve anything at present.

A bit frustrating but there are other ideas bubbling through and that diverts me even more which is interesting to say the least.

I suppose I have always worked best with a deadline and not having any at present makes it easy to give in to being lazy- and of course there is always the weather to blame. It was scorching on Tuesday when the car died - see previous post- although I am getting her back tomorrow.

The other thing I have been trying to locate is rayon yardage so I can play with my dyes on rayon, silk is wonderful but bloody expensive and not all that practical for some of the ideas I have in mind. Oh well here's hoping I come out of this fog of laziness

My adorable old car embarassed

Coming as I do from a family of rev heads, lead foots and petrol demons I am sometimes teased mightily for my attitude to cars which is A car is a car is a car!!! I dont mind admitting I enjoy driving- or I did enjoy it when I was clocking up in excess of a 1000km a week during my previous career and had the joy of company vehicles - no mess no fuss no worries but when I took the step to change careers and found myself car less. But cars are just the means to an end really and not an object of fascination to me that they seem to be to others- you know who you are *grin* nya nya nya nay

I managed pretty well for a bit but when my parents bought a new car for my mother and wanted to trade in the old but they were appalled at how little the old lady was worth. So I took her on for a bargain basement price because I knew every km that had been driven in her and I didnt mind that she was an 12 year old motor car, she wad comfortable and easy to drive. And Dad was annoyed the dealer would make more than a few grand more for the crumbs he offered.

Oddly enough this is the first 'female' car I have owned- the rest were referred to in the male gender- Horrible Horace, Brutus, Harry Hotrod,The Hashmobile - aint telling THOSE tales LOL- Bertie and Flash. Bertie wasnt a beetle and was my favourite car in all the world- I would have him back tomorrow- so maybe I am a bit like my family after all? LOL but the fairlane has always been the Old Lady.

But today the Old Lady had to suffer the ignominy of being towed for the first time in her life!! I was on my way to meet with the exhibition group- for the first time since August I was actually able to meet my obligations in that quarter but the warning light went on and being well trained by my Dad I pulled up as soon as it was safe to do so and found water leaping about 20 cms into the air once I opened the bonnet. Too much water leaking according to the RACV man and it was a tow job!

Even when I have been involved in a collision (2) I have been able to drive away- well sort of in one case LOL. So this was all new to me but a quick call to my dear mate Joe and we were off

I was dreading hearing the fateful words. Scrap heap but it turns out to be the thermostat housing so I am hoping to get her back in going order asap but it was the end of the plans for the meeting and it turns out I am running a workshop on the day of the next one.

Oh well hope to sort it out sooner rather than later

A bit of a rave

Today much was made on the news that we have had 45 days of bushfires and 1 million hectares of land burnt. Officially we have six weeks of summer remaining but the risks linger well into March and April realistically.
There is something majestic about summer downunder, not just the heat and dust and roaring flames but the everyman (AND woman too of course) who serve in our rural fire brigades.
the Country Fire Authority in Victoria is made up of an 80% volunteer 'workforce'. ( I imagine it is pretty much the same in most states of Oz) and has 60,000 active members at present. They raise funds, take part in community projects and train as hard and long as most soldiers to do their thing. Their training tells them they are not heroes, they are human but to grateful country folks and their offspring they ARE heroes and supermen and women. And they are volunteers!
Outstanding!
But I ask all to spare a thought for those poor buggers in the hills tonight, tomorrow is another crucial day in a summer of scorching harrowing crucial days. Wish them well and to come home safe.
And thanks Kiwi's and Canucks for the firies helping out

PS
and to global warming naysayers - global warming is not just about heat
it is about EXTREME weather events DUH!

Even the preying mantis' are

suntanned! Usually the preying mantis population of my garden are green but this year they are suntanned. Probably to match the crispy brownness of the garden LOL

sketching with stitch

This was originally made for a group challenge and has to be divided among 7 people so it is going to be cut up

kind of like it as is but needs must

at least I have a record of it - a sketch of the Daintree coast

done free machining with the basic pen sketch I made up there in August on the table beside me and just re "sketching" with the sewing machine

Beach rambling

is one of my favourite activities but this was at a nearby coastal park. I love the colours of the heathland and it has given me some nice ideas- now just to implement them

Creativity

is not just confined to visual arts LOL.

Over the holiday season my creativity has been in my cooking.

Mmmn mmmmn Indian food and beer too!

This is a light little repast prepared this evening when unexpected visitors arrived- not that it was a problem because there is still oodles of holiday food around but frankly I was hammed out and needed some seafood so last night did a quickie to Little Saigon and picked up some King Prawns to cook.

Ever since I bounced back after the op have not had the inkling or energy to cook much still but had to bite the bullet over Christmas because the folks were coming for Christmas lunch and the Boxing Day extravaganza as well.

Anyway I cooked half the prawns in a Fiji style curry last night with lashings of coconut milk and chilli YUM but tonight the remainder were fried with fresh chilli, ginger and garlic then lemon juice and black pepper and fresh coriander. Finger licking good- MUCH better than the stuff that line was used to advertise!!

With rice and M.O.T.H's volcanically hot chick pea wonder and the fresh sambols, chutney's and roti it was a mini feast

which was also enjoyed by the feline members of the household too- Bandit loves prawns as he proved as a very young cat when he hooked a single prawn off a plate without touching the plate or any other item upon it the naughty pussycat.

waiting for prawns Mum!

I firmly subscribe to the belief that the 'complete' artist is discerning in dining and wining as much as the visual arts LOL. I wholeheartedly agree which is why I am definitely built for comfort and not for speed!!!!

M.O.T.H being vegetarian means we eat fairly well, he is very fussy about the quality of food but not obsessively so. And when I do indulge in a carnivorous feast I am my mother's daughter. If it aint good-it aint worth it. I was appalled recently by an acquaintance who admitted feeding her family almost exclusively on those frozen meals and take away. Brrr no thanks.

Enough raving on food I have come up with an idea for a piece of work and have been sketching parrots for the past few days- such clowns. That is the only hint until I do some test pieces but I promise to give tasters as it goes along