A Different Kind Of Cat!

An Emily cat!

Halloween Jack O' Lantern

Our freshly carved Jack O' Lantern, done by Emily. Donovan likes to eat pumpkin guts, so he hung around too.

Ogre! Happy Halloween!

When I made him, I was not quite sure if this little rust, ochre and green guy is an ogre or a demon. He might even be a bogeyman. But he was made with the Halloween spirit in mind.
He can be found here.

Wordless Wednesday - Eric Sees a Bug

On the Front Page

One of my items was on the front page of Etsy for a bit - fortunately some friends of mine saw it and caught an image of the front page for me. This image is from Grooveycrafts. My little black cat brooch is in it.

FAE Fundraiser for Nora

The FAE street team is having a fundraiser for one our member who has had major surgery and whom is recuperating.

See the pair of dolls made in our collaboration:


Dark Doll
http://battlemaidenart.blogspot.com/2008/10/dark-doll-auction.html



Light Doll
http://battlemaidenart.blogspot.com/2008/10/light-doll-auction.html

Each member who volunteered to work on each doll put their own expertise on the doll of their choice.

Please consider visitng our dolls, the sale of them ends 10-25 at SIX PM Central time.

(The above text, courtesy of Debbie)

Butternut Squash Harvest

I harvested my butternut squash a few days ago. It was a good harvest, although I think I've never had a bad harvest of butternut squash. I've moved them all to shelves in the garage where they will stay until sometime in January or February, at which time I'll cook them all up and store them in the freezer.
Butternut is far better if not eaten as soon as it's picked. If it's allowed to site a while in a nice cool dark place, it'll ripen further and get much sweeter. Once it gets to that stage, I cook it and save the flesh in the freezer. I've found it easier to cook it with the skin on and then just scoop out the soft flesh. Sometimes I save the seeds before cooking the squash and roast them with butter and salt. I prefer them over pumpkin seeds since they are smaller and more tender.
The cooked butternut stores well in the freezer. I'm currently trying to use up last year's crop so I have room for this year's. It's very nice as a side heated up in the microwave with a bit of butter, and makes a fantastic "pumpkin" pie.

Another Kitty Pot Holder

I love the color on this one! I just uploaded it to my store here.

Bat Cats and Kitty Cats

Today, I had "help" while trying to photograph my newest bat cat ornament for my Etsy shop. Both Donny and Eric insisted in inspecting my little bat cat while I was taking its picture.
First to inspect and hog the camera was Donny, the twenty pound tabby:

Then Eric had to get a sniff in and thoroughly inspect the ornament:


This is the little bat cat that they were so curious about. You can find him in my Etsy store here.

Fantastic Fall Foliage

Last week I spent Thursday traveling all the way up Michigan from Saint Clair at the base of the thumb to the Keweenaw Peninsula during peak color season. I don't think I could have picked a better time. Michigan was aflame with color the entire trip. Most of the color was from maples, but there were some oak, sumac and others with bright color.


There was at least as much color in the upper peninsula:




Some closeups of leaves:


We finally got to my sister's place in the Keweenaw:


We found some interesting colorful fungi on her place, plus a bald eagle:

Some Vintage Crewel Pillows

While I was at my Mom's place last week, I noticed she still had a couple of pillows I made from kits decades ago. These would probably qualify for vintage under Etsy's rules. I made them back when I was a teenager. Even thought they are very dated, they are kind of cute.
Here are some details:

Tag, You're It!

Sandfibers and Glitzy Gallery Gal tagged me. The rules are I link back to the tagger(s), share seven random or weird facts about myself, post these rules and then tag seven others.

Here's the facts:

1. I have over 420 roses in my gardens. It seemed like a good idea at the time when I was only in my twenties.

2. I play piano, dulcimer, banjo, guitar, penny whistle, and accordion. Harp is next on the list to learn.

3. I've been married 26 years.

4. I met my husband when we were both 14, but we didn't get married until we were 23.

5. I am a first generation American.

6. I craved broccoli when pregnant.

7. I have 4 very old little hens. They are 13 this year.

I'm tagging:
Beaded Tail
Thyme 2 Dream
Rose Thistle Artworks
WaterRose
Groovey Crafts
Purr Prints

Kitten in a Mirror

Here's my in-laws' new kitten! We just transported Cora from Iowa to her new home in Michigan. Here, she explores a mirror on a table.