jkhsquonk's Xanga

cute Amish guy

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:09:06 GMT

     When they cut the woods down across the driveway, they began building an overpriced townhouse. It's taken them about 2 and a half years to get one almost done, because there's been a lot of stops & starts, sometimes months go by without anything being done.There's been quite a number of work crews on the project, but the best ones is a half dozen Amish guys. They really do a good job & are more efficient & careful than all the other crews combined. They've mainly done the woodworking, which appears to be finished now, so I don't know if they will be back. It's unfortunate, since there were several very attractive ones & I enjoyed watching them with their flexible, muscular bodies.The toolbelts were a hot accessory, in my opinion. I snapped a few photos of the best looking one, who looks good from any angle.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:47:35 GMT

   A few more photos from kitty sitting. The Holder's apartment is on the second floor and there is a row of ornamental fruit trees outside, their crowns at window level. Jelly likes to sit in the window and spy on all the birds that land in the branches. I joined her in birdwatching and found it quite soothing. She looks like she's smiling in the photo above, doesn't she?
    While the cats have the run of the house, they aren't supposed to get on the dining room table. I don't know if they follow this rule when their people are home, but they certainly don't when I'm there, as you can see from the evidence below. I told them they weren't supposed to be up there, but Cosmo was too busy peering into my totebag & Sheevie studiously ignored me. Such bad little kitties.

kitty sitting

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:58:36 GMT

Last month I got to kittysit for the Holders, a couple who used to live next door, but moved a few blocks away. They were attending a festival & wanted me to feed their 5 cats, including a new one named Cosmo that I hadn't met yet. All the others like me, since I've done this before, but I was worried that the new youngster wouldn't. Thankfully,he was quite friendly when I met him the night before they left. He's about 6 months old, affectionate, playful and has a long, slinky body that indicates a Siamese ancestor.


   The other playful kitty, calico Sheevie (above), hid the night before, but was happily greeting me within 5 minutes of arriving the next day. She gets irritated with Cosmo, who horns in on games, but I did manage to play with her seperately so she didn't feel neglected. They are very similar, so I don't understand why they don't get along better.

   Jelly(above) is the one who was abused before she was adopted, so has a room of her own. I spent a lot of time with her, showering her with affection & she even played with my shoestring awhile. Though there's lots of toys around, she doesn't give them much more than a glance, so I was thrilled to entertain her.

Ginger is nearly 20 years old & still lovely with her long fur. She mostly sleeps on the big pillows in the living room or on their bed. She is on a special diet, which is served in a bowl shaped like a crown, but usually helps herself to the other cats' food instead.


   Winston, the burly male, would patrol the place a few times a day and always popped up at mealtimes.In cooler weather he will sit on my lap like a purring heating pad, but it was too warm in August. A couple times he & Cosmo chased each other through the house, light-colored blurs streaking by. I have no idea who won these skirmishes.<
The Holders returned on Friday evening, relaxed & excited by what they saw, showing me pictures they'd taken with their cell phones. It was much too short a time that I got to spend with their cats, but I had fun. Missing out on so many things this summer because of sickness, it had felt like a mini vacation for me too. Snuggling a few kitties will do that.

me & CNN

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:06:52 GMT

   Last fall, a friend asked me to join a new site she was launching called Vulpes Libris ( http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com ), which means Book Foxes in Latin. It was to be a literary website focusing on books and there would be a team of writers from around the world reviewing whatever they wanted to read and interviewing authors & publishers. Since most of the other contributors are authors, I was flattered to be asked to join, which was because I read about 200 books a year. Since VL began last year, it has expanded to posting opinon pieces, bookish celebrity interviews, theme weeks, guest writers & any aspect of books & reading we can think of. We now get about 20,000 hits a month, which is surprizing to us all.
My involvement with the site is one of the best things that ever happened to me. I love reading and writing reviews often helps me get more out of a book. Then there's the added bonus of "review copies", which are free books sent by publishers or authors for the sole purpose of reading them & posting a review. Can it get any better?
   Apparently it can, because as we began Environment Week, we somehow came to the notice of CNN and they linked to my review on Monday of a book about extinction.I'm absolutely thrilled! If you'd like to read it, here's the direct link--
http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/the-ghost-with-trembling-wings-by-scott-weidensaul/
   Will I be hearing from Anderson Cooper or Christine Amanpour? I'll let you know....

Monday, September 01, 2008

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:01:47 GMT

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Birthday Rufus!

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:51:00 GMT

Today was Rufus's birthday, he is 6 years old. Instead of a cake, he got a Birthday Salad, as he does every year.This time it had 2 kinds of lettuce(green leaf & romaine), endive, celery leaves, carrot shavings & grapes. It took him awhile to eat it all, but I think he enjoyed it.

chipmunk painting

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:29:39 GMT

   This is my newest painting, finished earlier this month and is now at the Cold-Blooded Creations Show in Daytona Beach, Florida this weekend (along with 3 older pictures).
    Titled "Fancy Meeting You Here". It's an Eastern chipmunk and the other animal is a five-lined skink. It's acrylic, 16"x12" and I put it in a brown frame.
     Hope you like it.

feeling better

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:34:06 GMT

    Eeek, hadn't realized that it had been so long since I'd written.My health has improved somewhat, I'm now able to go out of the house, but am still coughing a lot(bronchitis?) & vomiting most days. Had to miss the county fair, but at least I can go to the library & grocery store these days.Depending on my sister & elderly mom for errands just wasn't working out too well. There was 2 fun days this week caring for some friends' cats, which I'll share pictures of in an upcoming entry.
   I've also been packing up artwork to send to an art show in Florida, as well as to a customer in Texas. A person on one of my online lists really liked my collared lizard painting and wanted it for the new house she & her husband just moved to. Shipping was delayed because of being sick, but I was pleased I could finally send it this past week. It's titled "His Domain" and is fitting that it's going out West.

sicko

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:31:00 GMT

Sorry I've not been around, I've been quite sick.My u.colitis has been very active for the last month & a couple weeks ago went completely crazy. It got so bad that I've not been anywhere for 2 weeks now, had to miss the antique show as well as this months book discussion. I'm feeling kinda down, since I'm not getting to enjoy the nice weather, summer is passing me by. Over the weekend, it began stabilizing and while there's been some improvement, I still have a ways to go.Next week is the county fair & I'm trying to be optimistic about attending it. That's always a highlight of my summer. I'm going to think positive and hope I get to feeling better.

alpaca mug shot

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:33:24 GMT

This is the demonstration piece I did at the Nature Fest back in late April. I did the entire thing over the 2 day festival, starting the preliminary sketch Sat. morning, transferring it and completing the picture by Sunday afternoon. It's done on scratchboard, a paper coated with clay and ink, the drawing is made by scratching through the ink to make white lines. It's a good technique to use for demos, as it's uncommon, so people are curious about it, and there's no paint to smear or water to spill as people jostle the table. This portrait is of an alpaca, a South American relative of llamas and the wiggly lines I used to make the fur was a bit different than my usual strokes, so it was a challenge to keep that texture consistant. A lady who is very familiar with alpacas praised it and told me that the cuddly looking animal hum when they are contented, which I never knew before. I'll mat the picture before the next local craft show in December, where I'll add it to my wares.