A Tail of Two Kitties

Animals are so much smarter than people... Much more sensitive than most people, too.  Last night I went to bed early - exhausted after a couple of really rough days. I hugged my heating pad to keep my hands warm, got positioned "just right" to try to go to sleep. Meanwhile, both cats jumped up on the bed.  Pickles immediately positioned  himself in the place of honor - on my pillow, leaning against the left side of my head, pawing my hair, and purring like a motorboat.




 CassPurr, settled in next to my shoulder on my right side, and rumbled his magnificent lion-like purrs.  There we stayed all night, their two tails meeting across my neck like a fancy lady's feather boa...

SHALOM  Y'ALL - 
     Twyla

Reigning Cats and Dogs

     Yes, the title is (sort of) a reflection of the weather... We have had torrential rains all last night and today. The yards are flooded, there's a small stream flowing down what was yesterday our driveway, yet still it comes. "Raining  cats and dogs", as the old saying goes.  I wondered where in the world that saying came from?  SO, I googled it, and came up with this article from yahooanswers.com:

     "We have all heard the expression "it's raining cats and dogs." There are several theories about this rainfall saying. It is possible that the word cat is derived from the Greek word 'catadupe' meaning 'waterfall.' Or it could be raining 'cata doxas,' which is Latin for 'contrary to experience,' or an unusual fall of rain.
     In Northern mythology the cat is supposed to have great influence on the weather, and English sailors still say the cat has a gale of wind in her tail when she is unusually frisky. Witches that rode upon the storms were said to assume the form of cats; and the stormy northwest wind is called the cat's nose in the Harz mountains even at the present day. The dog is a signal of wind, like the wolf. Both animals were attendants of Odin, the storm-god. In old German pictures the wind is figured as the "head of a dog or wolf," from which blasts issue. The cat therefore symbolizes the down-pouring of rain, and the dog the strong gusts of wind that accompany a rainstorm; and a rain of "cats and dogs" is a heavy rain with wind.
     There are numerous accounts of rains of frogs, hay, fish, and grain. All of these accounts seem to be due to tornado-like "whirlwinds." A good whirlwind can lift thousands of pounds and carry objects for miles. There is one reliable account of a fishing boat that sailed into a large waterspout. Fish flew everywhere. There are about seventy recorded rains of fish, but nearly all of the rains of fish are small ones. There is, however, one account of a fish fall in India in which more than ten people picked up fish weighing up to eight pounds each. There are many accounts of rains of ice-coated ducks, grasshoppers, fish, and frogs, but there is no account of a raining of cats and dogs
     The most vivid explanation of this picturesque expression suggests that in bygone centuries, the drainage in the streets was so bad that during storms, stray cats and dogs were drowned in the flood that ensued. When the water subsided, their carcasses littered the streets. Jonathan Swift gives us a picture of what it was like in his ‘Description of a City Shower', penned in 1710.
                'Drown’d puppies, stinking sprats, all drench’d in mud,
                Dead cats and turnip tops, come tumbling down the flood. ' "



Moxie, with the "praddy" hat



      But, here at the Ben-David house, we have REIGNING cats and dogs. Namely CassPurr and Moxie.



They are both so spoiled!  Moxie knows that  if she hangs out in the kitchen with me, she WILL end up getting a treat of some sort.  And, Cassie is simply quite aware that he will almost always get his way...

      
I have to admit, though, that Moxie is generally much more willing to please... She really, really wants "Mommy and Daddy" to like her and to be happy with her.  She loves attention and affection;  she especially loves it when we all lay on the floor to watch a movie.  Like a young child, she has to be in the middle so as to get all possible attention.  (Heavens  forbid that Mommy and Daddy pay attention to EACH OTHER!!!)  Moxie will cooperate with almost any project.  She will pose for pictures, help herd the chickens, and patiently wait for meals...


"Get this #*@! thing off  of my head!"

        Cassie, on the other hand,  wanders into the room,  looks at all of us, and makes the decision who he will grace with his presence... It's more often Moshe than me.  We can't decide if he actually prefers Moshe, or if it's because Moshe is closest to the door.  (No sense in over-exerting yourself, there, Cassie!)  Posing for a picture?  You-have-got-to-be-kidding-me.....  (See photo to your right for evidence.) Herding chickens?  "I will tolerate them as yet another lesser life form, but that's the limit of my patience."
Patiently waiting for food?  Oh, my.  Cassie prefers to eat about a tablespoon of food per feeding... about thirty meals per day!!!      Yes, the  cats and dogs are definitely
reigning,  Each in his own magnificent way, just as God designed  them to be.

                 SHALOM   Y'ALL - TWYLA

The Pot Belly Redo

the pot belly

  
      Day before yesterday Moshe finished installing the pot belly stove.  We've enjoyed the radiant heat in the evenings and mornings, despite it getting up to 75 degrees outside this afternoon.  Up here in these mountains, once the sun goes down it chills pretty quickly.  Imagine-  32 degrees this morning and 75 this afternoon!  We are staring to get in the habit of restocking the firewood every morning.  It makes a terrible mess of my kitchen floor...  But then, once it's brought in,  I can sweep and mop and get back to the "normal" routine. (IS there any such thing as normal?)
     Being an artist at heart and an interior decorator by some sort of gift since childhood, the new stove gave me another area to redecorate.   I am constantly redecorating.  Fortunately, Moshe doesn't seem to mind.  He always likes what I've done with the place.  He did comment, though, "It's a good thing you weren't Helen Keller's mother."

cozy radiant heat

  

      Well, you know how it goes.  First you buy the stove and the stovepipe and everything you need for the installation.  Then, you realize you'll need a bucket for ashes. (Sheesh!  Did you know that a metal pail with a lid costs 15 dollars???)  Of course, you'll need some sort of containers to hold firewood and kindling.  Oh, and some fire tools such as a stoker, a small shovel for ashes, etc.  Much like any household project,  it grew into a larger consumption of both time and money than we had planned... But, that's life.  And, I'm not complaining.  Take a look at some of the pictures after only one day of decorating.  All the paintings are my watercolor creations.

the backside of the stove, and the backside of Twyla (loading the dishwasher)

      This photo, taken by the resident photographer - Moshe -
is looking at the backside of the stove, on into the kitchen,  and then on into the dining room and the outdoors. Moxie is lying in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room, no doubt hoping to get some sort of treat from yours truly.
     I LOVE THIS ROOM!  I love the various plaids together.  And, I love the old chairs.  The old rocker
to the left was my Grandmother's.  I remember it being at her house when I was a little girl.  Beautiful.

the beginnings of redecorating around the pot belly...

  
      The next photo is the front of the stove, looking out the window.  So far, I've hung a couple cast iron items,  put a few metal and ceramic cats nearby, placed my antique tea kettle on the stove.  I'm sure the project will morph as I think of more items that are packed away here and there throughout the house. The old tea cart under the window belonged to my parents "forever".  With the drop-leafs up, it served as our breakfast room table until we started the  redo.  Now, we eat at one end of the big dining room table.  I made the chair cushions and window valance out of an old plaid blanket.  Cool, huh?

the view from the laundry room...

    Shalom Y'all - Twyla

  
       This last photo was taken from the laundry room, looking towards the art studio/workroom.  The crazy black curtain with all the strands of various fabrics, beads, etc.  hides the workroom chaos AND keeps the heat in the parts of the house where we want it .   Last night,  even though the temperature went down to 32, the central heat only came on for about four minutes!  I love it!
        So, now y'all have seen some of our home.
Hope you've enjoyed it.  Stay warm.

and Heeeere's Moxie!

Yup. We have a new member to the Ben-David household.  We adopted Moxie from some very good friends.  Moxie was a country dog, trying to live in the city.  She is adapting miraculously well to her new home here in the mountains.  She is already (in less than 24 hours) aware of where "her" acreage ends, knows several of the household rules, and will sit, stay and heel on command.  She seems very happy to be able to run free with no leash.  She respects the chickens and does not bark at them. Good dog... Good dog... We are  amazed at how quickly she is learning.
     Moxie and CassPurr haven't quite come to terms yet; but, we're certain that they'll work it out.  Moxie grew up with cats,  and CassPurr has had dog friends, so it's just a matter of time.
     We are blessed.
                                    Shalom, y'all,
                                                                                    Twyla