Meow

I've gone to the Cats on this Friday!

The postcard I'm sharing is from

The Cat Postcard Book c 1987 by Running Press Book Publishers.

The back of the postcard reads:

Cat and Butterfly, Edo period, 

Ukiyo-e school, by Hokusai (Japanese, 1760-1849).

Painting on paper.

Courtesy of the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution,

Washington, D.C., Acc. No . 02.42

The kitty in the postcard reminds me of my furbaby,

Cassie.

She's the star of the Haiku for today.

Cassie knows no fear

flying through the air with ease

slowed down with bad knees

Cassie had a bad weekend.

She was playing with my other furbaby, Teddy, when I heard her hiss at him.

She never hisses.

When I checked on them Cassie was holding one of her hind legs out at an odd angle.

A few minutes later she was walking on all fours,

but the day was off to a not so good start.

To make a long story short ... Cassie has a dislocated hip and bad knee caps!

Her growth plates are still open and as long as she is getting around and not in any distress,

we are in a holding pattern.

Today she's been flying through the air ... just like old times.

Off to the vet again next week to see how things look. 

***

Cassie and Teddy have a friend named Luna

and were featured on Luna's blog last week.

If you like kitties, you should visit!

The Lovely Luna

***

ICAD #22!!

A big thank you to our hostesses:

Beth for Postcard Friendship Friday

and

Rebecca for Haiku My Heart

Wishing YOU well and a joy filled weekend.

Good Morning!

This and That

I feel like a This and That Day!

I thought I'd start with a knitting project that I've almost finished.

Pretty colorway -- Bernat Mosaic Ambrosia.

I needed to knit 12 fans.

I put them together to make the scarf.

I enjoyed this pattern. 

Knit one fan a day and two weeks later .. a scarf!

(I still need to weave the ends.)

Teddy had to help me photograph the finished project.

It takes 3 skeins of the Bernat Mosaic.

I ordered the kit (from Mary Maxim I think) and received the 

Bernat Mosaic booklet with 10 knit and crochet patterns.

This is an acrylic yarn that feels much like cotton!

***

Sappy and homespun, Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani was my perfect summer read. Set in the real place of Big Stone Gap, Virginia we meet Ave Maria Mulligan. She is 35 years old, a pharmacist, a member of the rescue squad, and calls herself a spinster. The highlight of her week is the arrival of the bookmobile. (Remember bookmobiles? I do and just knew I'd like this book because Ave likes bookmobiles, too!). Ave's favorite book is about the ancient art of Chinese face reading.  A surprise, family secret sends Ave Maria on a quest. There are the requisite Southern quirky characters: "sexpert" Iva Lou who runs the bookmobile and crusty, chain-smoking Fleeta. I was delighted when I found out there are three more in the series! 

***

I started ICAD (Index Card A Day) on July 1 ... one month behind everyone else.

Here are my three newest ICAD's.

It's been fun to see my work pop up on Tammy's blog as she reviews the latest ICAD's of the group. 

Wishing YOU well and a  joy filled week! 

Tea and Books

There is nothing like a cup of tea and a good book.

In this case, it is a book about tea:

The Chinese Art of Tea by John Blofeld.

Mr. Blofeld was a world renowned writer and scholar who 

devoted his life to the study of Eastern traditions.

I've just started the book and it is a delight.

Full of history and stories that will fit in with one of my 

Food and Feast tours at the museum.

The tea cup is one I found at Anthropologie.

There are no markings on the bottom of the cup or the saucer.

I love the orange color and the shape of the cup.

It is very thin and you can feel the tea in the cup. 

In Mr. Blofeld's words:

"Tea is at its best when enjoyed in pleasant surroundings, whether indoors or out, where the atmosphere is tranquil, the setting harmonious. A large party is distracting, whereas the company of two or three relaxed and friendly people contributes to the enjoyment of unusually fine tea. The other two essentials are very pure water and a set of tea-things that please the eye on account of their subdued, unostentatious beauty, thus adding to the prevailing atmosphere of tranquil harmony. Nevertheless, a perfect combination of these five --- setting, company, tea, water and tea-things -- will fail to work its magic in the absence of the special attitude required to do them justice."

"The key to that attitude is mindfulness. The world today is so full of distractions that mindfulness, which must have come about spontaneously in times gone by, has to be cultivated. Once this has been achieved, a thousand hitherto unnoticed beauties will reveal themselves. For example, there is music in the hiss and bubble of a kettle, a springtime freshness in the fragrance of the steam rising from the teacups, and a gentle exhilaration -- too subtle to be apparent to a distracted mind -- results from certain mysterious properties inherent in the tea itself, particularly in the case of green and oolong teas as opposed to black teas. "

"The spirit of tea is like the spirit of the Tao: It flows spontaneously, roaming here and there impatient of restraint."

Thanks to our tea party hostesses.

These are just a few of the tea parties in the Land of Blog.

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Tea Party Tuesday

Tuesday Tea For Two

Wishing YOU well and a wonderful cup of tea! 

Up, Up and Away!

It's Friday and that means Postcard and Haiku day!

I have two postcards for you.

Another from the Memento Box.

The back of the postcard reads:

Experiment, 2000, oil on board, 36" x 24"

c 2004, Inez Storer, from Mementos, 30 Postcards, 

published by Chronicle Books.

And the second postcard from the 

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

(my old home town).

The back of the card reads:

"The launch field is the site of the Balloon Fiesta's mass ascension

when hundreds of balloons at a time go up in  waves. Actual

flight times for balloons average one to two hours, but the

entire ballooning experience -- including pre-flight preparations,

flight, and post-flight celebration -- may take three hours."

And, lastly, a photo from my memories.

October 1981, the first year we crewed for a balloon in the Fiesta.

I'm the photographer, recording for history something every balloon pilot 

and crew dream about ... landing the balloon in the chase vehicle!!!!!!!!

Mr. Dragon is the one in the back on the right with the big smile.

I miss him. 

up, up and away

memories of other days

love gone to the stars

***

A big thank you to our hostesses:

Beth for Postcard Friendship Friday

and

Rebecca for Haiku My Heart

Wishing YOU well and a joy filled weekend.