Saturday, February 07, 2009

Kitties in Sunshine

I told you that the cats are doing well, right? They're long since gotten over their jet lag, and Bibi isn't singing in the stairwells in the middle of the night anymore. The only lingering thing is Pokey and Lily aren't sweet with each other. They'll play and chase each other around the house, but no curling up together to sleep. They get to close together and it often ends in hissing. The same thing happened when we moved to Paris - it took six months to work through.

All the cats are enjoying the sunshine here. Pokey in a box, Lily tangled in cord:

The little cats love this spot behind my computer, next to the window. It's the first place in the morning to get sun.

Pokey and Habibi taking a break in the cat tree:

Lily half out of the carrier, soaking up the rays:

I know this looks a bit screwy - Bibi is lying on a red boa cat toy with feathers. Lily meanwhile has laid claim to a green shopping bag:
 
No photos of Howler today. He's not photogenic, plus he often runs away when I come near him with the camera - not a good combination. Howler is doing so well here and is so happy. In Paris he was peeing on the sofa, peeing on the bed, in my scrap bin... it made life difficult. I don't know if he felt insecure there (lots of dogs could have lived in that apartment, which was over a hundred years old), missed seeing nature out the window, or just had problems with the minerals in the water. Here he is a happy boy and oh boy he gets to sleep on the bed again! He often curls up on my side of the bed with his head on my pillow - it's very endearing.

It's gotten a bit colder here - have had the heat on for several days in the morning. Still marvelously happy to be here though, believe me.

Yesterday I went with my friend to look at townhouses and duplexes that are for sale. Rather horrific how badly prices crashed in the last couple of years and the number of foreclosures... argh. I am amazed at how some of these places look. Don't these people watch any HGTV? Take care of those roof leak stains on the ceiling - that is just something you don't want to see and worry about.

My favorite decorating to sell show is The Unsellables. I love the host Sofie's english accent and she's very commonsense about it all. She'll take the home-want-to-seller to see an equivalent home that just sold and it will be in immaculate condition. Really gives you a way to see what a difference decluttering and fixing a few problem areas can make.

I just wish I could watch British decorating shows. In Cairo we got to see all sorts of them and it was heaven. I mean, let's face it, some of those English homes are awwweful and funny. Horrific patterned carpets and wallpaper and curtains.... My favorites were Kevin McCloud's Grand Designs and Grand Designs Abroad. Moving to a foreign country where you don't speak the language and acting as the contractor to build a house? Eeek, crazy people. And before any of you say it, already tried to watch these programs online, but it won't let me - have to be in the UK. I just wish some channel would show them stateside.

I've watched some movies. I thought Hellboy II was disappointing. I loved the first one but this one didn't have enough of the main characters. Certainly beautiful to look at and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more on the big screen. 

The other movie was Forgetting Sarah Marshall about a composer who goes to Hawai'i to get over the break-up with his girlfriend only to discover her there with the new man in her life. It had cute bits, but did it really have to be that crude and graphic? Bleck, but maybe that's how you get men to go to a romantic comedy. The best bit of the movie was definitely the Dracula musical preformed with puppets - I would so go to see that at a theater. It's worth renting the movie just to see that bit.

On a blogging note, Fabric Fanatic wanted to know how I get the pictures to show up in my blog list on the sidebar. Add a "Blog List" gadget to your sidebar and then select the "thumbnail of most recent item" option. voila.

That's all from here. Ya'all take care.

22 comments:

Valerie said...

What cuties! If I ever die and am reincarnated, I want to come back as a cat in a quilter's house. It doesn't get much better than that.

pwl said...

Thank you for 1) being open about problems with cats. I thought *I* was the only one with cats having "accidents" in various locations - until other people actually started talking about it. And 2) for mentioning the thumbnails options in the blog list.

And oh yes 3) for the info about the cat and monster fabric :)

Unknown said...

Tonya, I have a request!:) I am looking for a link to another blogger you posted 'awhile' back. She was a librarian who spent part of the year overseas as a consultant librarian. Does this ring a bell to you? If you can't remember that's fine...just trying to find her for 'non-quilt' purposes. Thanks so much, Catherine

Twisted Quilts said...

Makes me want to be a cat and lay in the sun all day.

Fiber Babble said...

Love the cat pics. I need to bookmark this post and come back when I forget how to slow down and take it easy!!

tami said...

Your kitties made me smile. I definitely wish I were a cat. They have the life.

Julie in the Barn said...

I agree that American offerings of British TV are pitiful. Real British TV is so much better. BBC America on Dish TV is just stupid. I drool reading the write-ups on the BBC website and have to be content just reading about the shows. At least we can listen to radio broadcasts through the computer.

Seeing your sweet bunch of kitties makes me miss my long gone Punkin. But reading about the mishaps reminds me of Devil Cat (who disappeared one day last summer and never returned, halleluja.)After that cat, I vowed no more cats for me.

Christine said...

Love all the kitty pictures. Hope the girls sort it out soon.
I'm a a bit of a decorating/lifestyle/property show addict too. And yes, the British ones,including Grand Designs are definitely my favourites.
Christine

Rosalyn Manesse said...

Congratulations! Your wonderful article about wonky pieced houses in Quiltmaker Magazine is excellent.

Liz said...

Those are two VERY happy cats.

Fabric Fanatic said...

Thanks Tonya for the wonderful tutorial on how to get thumbnails....I looked around and found the page I needed. I uploaded a couple then gave it up because I realized my blog page would be unreasonably long...lol. But, now I know how to do it!

Sharon said...

Your kitties look contented and happy, basking in the sun! Glad to hear they're doing better. I hope Lily and Pokey sort things out soon. Shade and Dunkel still "argue" over some things, and aren't always nice to each other.

I agree with you about British TV. I find it better than Am. TV most all of the time. It's just hard to find it here! I'm missing Dr. Who and Torchwood. I'd even settle for re-runs!

Good luck house-hunting. It's fun, but also frustrating. I've quit watching all those re-decorating and/or selling shows now that we're settled in our house and happy with it. Don't need any more ideas for a while!

Clare said...

Got a lump in my throat - still no Magic and your piccies remind me how much I miss her. I haven't touched a quilt for a week as I know she won't be here to test it.

I love Grand Designs Abroad, even though it makes me cringe sometimes. I do wish they'd bring Changing Rooms back.

Are you house-hunting for you or friend?

jovaliquilts said...

So glad the cats are liking Florida! Wonder why Pokey and Lily have to readjust their relationship every time you move.
I love the home shows, too, but alas have never seen a British one.

Gillian said...

Hi, I'm English and sometimes I cringe at the state of peoples decorating. Unfortunately some people are still stuck in the 70s and 80s.

YankeeQuilter said...

We get the BBC here which has some of the decorating show on it. The cats look very, very happy.

ForestJane said...

Great mention in Quiltmaker magazine about your wonky houses - good going, Tonya! Bet your blog gets lots of traffic this week, I just got my issue in today's mail. :)

nannergirl said...

I also love the Unsellables, for the same reason! The host has such a great accent, which makes me more interested in what she's saying. Like she must have class and know-how because she sounds good :)

sewprimitive karen said...

Wow what a post, your cats are such incredible characters. You should be able to make a phenomenal home purchase at a time like this as long as you can avoid any depressed neighborhoods.

Anonymous said...

very nice your blog..

Sara said...

Your kitties look so content in the sun. Our dog loves to sun himself...he seeks out every slip of sun that he can.

I just saw the Unsellables last night for the 1st time. Love that show! She's great!

Tanya said...

Glad to hear that Howler is adusting well! So nice to know that kitties DO adjust! And I love your cat tree! I wish mine were bigger but then there wouldn't be any room in the house for the people chairs.