A Bucket Hat to Honor my Wookie

The yarn I used for this bucket hat is the same colors as my sweet Wookie who crossed the Rainbow Bridge last August. I still miss her every day

.

Meet Harlequin, our new kitten!

It is time to meet Harlequin. She is a sweet, affectionate, loving, playful 6-month old kitten. We got her earlier this week. I have a story about my tortoiseshell Wookie and how she led to my new Tabby. I told the story of loving and losing Wookie on the August 27 post on this blog so you can see how special she was.

I like to believe that cats have supernatural abilities and Wookie seemed to have more than most kitties. A couple of weeks after she passed in my arms, she came to me in a dream. Her message was that it was time to move on and get another kitty. Our other kitty Omi was grieving and not eating much. And she told me the name of the new kitty was to be Harlequin. Where that name came from is a mystery. I hadn’t recently read it or heard it anyway, nor do I read romance novels (only mysteries; someone has to die in the first 30 pages or I don't want to read it). I told my husband Ken, and he said, “Good! Let’s go find her."

So meet Harlequin. When we saw her at the shelter, she reacted to us immediately as if she knew we were coming. We were not intending to get a kitten, but she grabbed Ken's arm as we walked by and then leaned into my hand as I patted her. I know she was sent by Wookie. So now, Wookie's work here is done but she will always be with me and never be forgotten.

Oh, and I was informed by Harlequin that she wants her nickname to be Harla, not Harley or Quinn. I guess the supernatural abilities will continue with Harla.

Now for some really weird signs that Harla was meant to come to our house. Back on June 23, I posted a small wall hanging of a tabby face that I knitted. At that time, Wookie wasn't sick and there was no hint that we would have a tabby in our house a couple of month later. Even the markings on the head are similar! Now you know why I believe cats are supernatural?

Here are some more pictures of our Harlequin aka Harla.

More April Snow -- and squirrel

 It is still snowing in Colorado in late April. We live in the foothills so we are a bit higher than the rest of
the cities of the Denver area. Unfortunately, the forecasts are for more rain than snow this week, so maybe the snow is gone for the season. I like the cool weather and snow, so I am not looking forward to the heat of summer. 

Wookie is looking out the window at the squirrel on the deck. Both stare at each other in relative peace.

The Wild Turkey Visit -- not the kind you drink

Here is the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, we have wild turkeys. They often hang out at our house because we don't have dogs. (No one is barking at them).

We have curious kitties trying to figure out what these big birdies are. Wookie and Omi will chatter at birds in the bird feeder, but they seem oddly silent while watching this gigantic sparrows. 

Wookie decides to keep quiet and just watch.

Turkeys will often perch in the trees. This is right outside our deck. 

(In fact, it is taken from inside the house.

By the way, a group of wild turkeys is called a rafter.

Omi is watching very carefully.

I am in my kitchen taking this from the window.

This turkey is about 10 feet from me.

Also, turkeys can fly, but only for short distances, 

usually just to get into a tree.

We counted 15 birds in this rafter of turkeys.

Fighting the Cold Weather by Omi and Wookie

Mommy, I'm cold.

 

Don't worry, I'll keep you warm.

That's better.

Mysterious Kitty Dimension

I am convinced that cats can move into other dimensions and that is why we sometimes cannot find them. 

Today, I couldn't find Wookie. I called her, shook the treats bags, looked in all her usual hiding places, opened closet doors, and she was nowhere. 

After 20 minutes, I was starting to get a little worried. Suddenly, she appeared in the middle of the living room. Just sitting there, staring at me like I'm the crazy one. She was not there a few minutes ago. I know she slipped into that other dimension where there are lots of other cats to play with, other than just our other cat, Omi. 

I have always believed that Wookie was a magic cat because she has healing powers. I don't know what other talents this tortie has. 

Cat or squirrel? Cat or Pirate?

I have told you that Wookie is a magic cat. Here is her imitation of a squirrel.

She is actually playing with a crumbled piece of paper but the effect is the same.

Not to be outdone, here is Omi's impression of a pirate. She's a real chAAARGHacter.

Omi and Wookie

What do you mean "Watch out behind you"?

Uh-oh.

My Favorite Picture

I am so in love with my new kitties! Omi (aka Omen) is my sweet little delicate black cat who has more of a squeak than a meow, but lots of attitude. Wookie is my tortoiseshell who is super affectionate and a 'momma' cat with a deep need to take care of Omi, Ken, and me. They are young so we are looking forward to a long life with our sweeties.

Recovery

 The past couple of months have been difficult for me. It seems like a dark cloud has been over me and it just starting to go away.

First my son's wedding was called off two weeks before the date. I won't go into any details, but we have been spending time with him as he recovers from the heart break.

This changed Ken and my plans as well, as we were going to sell our home and move closer to him and his fiance (from Denver area to Fort Collins). Now he is not sure he will stay in Fort Collins after he gets his master's degree, so we don't want to make any moves either.

Then my kitty Neko passed away suddenly. He has been part of our lives for so long that I missed him horribly. He has a good life and he was very loved, as you can probably see from the many stories about him on this blog.

So it has been a couple of months now and recovery is on the way for all of us. But the best part is that Ken and I adopted two female cats from the Denver Cat Cafe and Life is Better Rescue. Everyone should visit a cat cafe. It's a magical place. We played and watched a couple of kitties play and interact with each and decided they were ours. So here they are:

This is 9-month-old Omen (the black one) and
1 1/2 year old Wookie (the tortoiseshell) 

They like hanging around in the yarn room.

They are adorable and affectionate. They like laps and nose kisses. Wookie is a lady with a loud purr and Omen is so soft and sweet. They are experts at lifting the cloud around my soul.  I will be writing more about them in the future, so stay tuned.

Omen is extremely playful

Wookie is my little hunter chattering at the birds

Rest in Peace, My Beloved Neko

You were very loved and you will be missed forever.

3-1-03 to 9-15-17

'

My Love of Cats

It looks like we will have to say goodbye to our kitty Neko. Losing Neko will be tough. He is almost 15 and his liver is failing.

If you have been following my blog, you know he is quite a character. I have many stories about him including him sending messages to other cats via library books (11/3/12), second breakfasts (4/19/17), and his ability to appear and disappear at will (6/14/17). If you scroll through my blog, you will find other stories about this adorable but feisty creature.

I grew up on a farm in the 1950's and 1960's. I have three brothers and the nearest neighbors were several miles away; most of them did not have any girls my age. So I created a fantasyland with my cats. In the spring, I would hunt the haylofts to find the new baby kittens and make sure their mommy was well-taken care of. As I walked through the barnyard or the pastures, I was followed by a line of cats. It was so comforting to see a line of tails behind me. If I sat down on the ground, I would be covered with cats in no time. When I was 10, I counted 56 cats on the farm, and everyone of them would be named and loved. My dad would purchase a large bag of dog food, and cut it open in the barn or the garage so they could eat. Since we milked cows, Dad would fill large trays with the first draw of milk (which was not sold). In all my childhood, I never saw a mouse or a rat. Mom would put her wren houses up high in the tree so the cats wouldn't get them. In the winter, they all lived in the barn and in the summer they were everywhere, usually following me. I was destined to be a cat lady from the age of 5.

We will have to see what the rest of today brings but we are a house of sadness right now. It is hard to say goodbye.

A Magical Animal

Cats are wonderfully magical animals. Even my Hannibal Lector Neko has magical abilities that just completely flummoxes me.

I am convinced that he has the ability to appear and disappear at will. I have yet to caught him in the act, but I keep my eyes peeled for the act to happen. Many times, I call him and he doesn't come. I know he hears me and I know he knows his name. I look in his many hiding places where I have found him before:

... in a shopping bag...

... a wayward box in the living room ...

... pile of clothes in the closet ...

Under the spinning wheel ...

... in a basket of clean clothes ...

... behind the piano ...

.... a blanket on the couch ...

... or on the arm of the chair ...

... in the yarn ...

... and more yarn ...

... on the keyboard ...

... up the ladder ...

... in the sink ...

.... among the finished projects ...

... in the cupboard ...

... in a shopping bag, whether it is empty or not ...

...  and he is not in any of those places. I'm not worried because he can't get out, but where is he?

Finally, I give up and live with the fact that I will have to put off cuddling with him for awhile.

Suddenly, he is in the middle of the living room looking at me. I didn't see him come in, I didn't hear him. He was just suddenly there. He looks up at him with that expression on his face "I was here all along."

There have been times when we thought he might have gotten outside because we were in and out the front door several times and he might have sneaked out. Ken and I encircle the yard calling his name. We open a can of tuna cat food to entice him to come back. He can be hard to see in the bushes because he is all black, so you can occasionally see us lifting the branches to get a better look. We crawl on our hands and knees to look under the back deck and under the neighbor's porch.

I have had this cat for over 14 years and I can't believe that I hadn't figured this out before.

He is magic. He has the ability to appear and disappear at will. He wasn't invisible -- he was somewhere else. There has to be a cat dimension that he visits to play with other magical cats and maybe even dogs. Can you imagine what a wonderful place that would be? They have even been planning to take over the world from us humans, thinking they could run it better. They might have something there.

It could be that he is just screwing with me.