Happy New Year!!!

We wish you all a very Happy New Year! May the ending of 2007 see the passing of things you wish to be forgotten, and may the beginning of 2008 see the entrance of hopeful horizons and dreams to come.

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

"Skate" Update: Day 15

Code Name "Skate" Has Been Retired

As many of you know, the little kitten that we have rescued and nursed back to health after a close call with death was dubbed "Skate" (short for Stray Kitty Eight). We always considered "Skate" to be a code name--you know, like Apple uses code names for their Mac operating systems like "Leopard". So after MUCH deliberation we have decided on a more fitting name for the kitten. Her full name "Lucy Maud" with "Lucy" as her everyday name. [She is named after one of our favorite authors, Lucy Maud Montgomery who wrote Anne of Green Gables as well as many other literary classics.] So now she shall be known as Lucy when we give updates here.

Lucy News
Lucy (formerly "Skate") has continued to grow and get healthy. Her legs seem to stretch overnight! She's probably going to be one tall kitty when she's grown. Her fur is growing in nice and thick with blond frosted tips to it. It's looking quite luxurious.

Lucy is also learning how to socialize with the other cats in a controlled setting (namely my studio). The cats that are interested are allowed to come in and check her out. During Lucy's closed-door-supervised-romp-time, a couple of the cats have been brave enough to come in and "observe" (Lucy doesn't let them be passive onlookers for long).

Dexter was the first to really decide that he needed to be on everything as far as the kitten was concerned. I think he's just interested in figuring out how to sneak kitten chow out of her bowl through the bars of her habitat cage.

Then, surprisingly, our little diva Thomasina decided to be in on the action. She established who was boss very quickly and now regularly asks to come in and play with Lucy during romp time. It's quite cute to see Thomasina and Lucy playing among the different boxes and play tunnels I have laid out for Lucy. Lucy doesn't feel threatened because Thomasina is so small and Thomasina still feel like she has the upper paw.

The next cat to be interested in interaction was Suzette. Suzette likes to lay on the floor with her tummy exposed and have Lucy charge her. Lucy is fearless and will come at her with all her kitten self puffed up and "scary". When Suzette has had enough, she politely asks to be let out of the studio.

Today during romp time, Thomasina was in the studio quietly playing with Lucy. I was working on the computer when I was aware of some noise in Lucy's habitat cage. It was more thumping than usual. I turned around to find that Thomasina had crawled in and was curled up in the bottom of Lucy's kitty condo. Lucy was in the second story of the condo peering down into the first story through the internal hole that connects the two and was swatting Thomasina on the head as if to say "Get out! This is MY home!"

I grabbed the camera. When I started focusing to get a shot, Lucy turned around to face me (she is SO curious!) so I got a picture of her with her "evil eyes" because of the flash. After snapping off a couple of shots with the camera, I then proceeded to extricate a protesting Thomasina out of Lucy's kitty condo. There was a lot of complaining, I'll tell you! Thomasina is a whiner, and she was whining at me the whole way out. Fortunately, she didn't hold it against me and wanted to cuddle with me shortly thereafter.

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

What We Got for Christmas!

I'm so excited that I can hardly stand it! Hubby surprised me by playing Santa this Christmas and presented me and himself each with a certificate for New Balance hiking boots! YAY!!!!!

So the day after Christmas (Boxing Day) we went out and purchased our new boots. We have happy feet right now! I can't say enough good things these New Balance boots/shoes. The fit and comfort is amazing (no, I'm not getting paid for the endorsement).

Now, you may ask, "Why are you so excited about hiking shoes????"

To answer that question, I will quote the certificate I received:

"This certificate is good for 1 (one) pair of comfortable
hiking shoes to be purchased after Christmas. Why? To get in condition for our
hikes in 2008."

We're going to be doing a lot of outdoor walks and hikes over the next 7-8 months to train for a hike that we want to do at Lassen Volcanic National Park next summer. I'm so happy! You have NO idea! Not only will I get to go hiking with my camera in tow, but I will be accompanied by my best friend and the love of my life. It is a Christmas dream come true.

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

Christmas Roses and Daffodils

No, Rosehaven Cottage is not in the southern hemisphere. No, Rosehaven Cottage isn't located in sunny Southern California. And, no, I am not posting these photos to gloat.

The miracle of being in the San Francisco Bay Area of California (USA) is that we get the chill of winter to put us in the Christmas spirit with nights that sometimes dip below freezing and wonderful Christmas fog. It is normal for our nearby Mt. Diablo to be capped with snow. We are only a 3 1/2 hour drive away from the ski slopes of the Sierras of Northern California. AND we also have the miracle of almost always having roses on Christmas Day as well as at least one early naturalized daffodil peeking its yellow head out from under the dormant hydrangea where its warm and "toasty" (Oreo the garden kitty thinks so too).

I spent a number of winters in Colorado as a child and a teenager. I've had my fill of white Christmases. I am quite content to have a rose-filled Christmas garden now that I am older, drive a car, and suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Now that I have so many friends in Bloglandia (as Barbara Jacksier calls it), I get to have a white Christmas of sorts visiting blogs from other parts of the northern hemisphere. And I can give back somehow, by sharing my Christmas garden with all of you! Oh, when you're done looking at the Rosehaven Cottage blooms, head on over to Bliss to read a wonderful poem that Yolanda Elizabet has posted for today about Christmas gardens.

Merry Christmas to everyone!
[All the photos below can be viewed larger just by clicking on them]

Christmas Daffodils

America Rose (left) Gold Medal Rose (right)

Honey Bouquet Rose (left) Mystery pink rose (right)

Purple lantana (left) A very confused lilac (right)
This is the first year we've EVER had a lilac bloom on Christmas!

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

What makes Christmas special to me: Oranges

When I was a child, every Christmas Eve we would put up our stockings, don on our new Christmas jammies (the only present we were allowed to open on Christmas Eve), and then head off to bed some time around 9 p.m. because if we didn't Mom told us that Santa might pass us by.

Most Christmas Eve nights I spent fitfully unable to sleep, because I was so wound up. We weren't allowed to get out of bed on Christmas morning to go see our stockings any earlier than 7 a.m., AND we were required to make sure that we were all together when we did so no one was left out. With only 3 kids that wasn't too hard and it made the anticipation and excitement even more intense as we all made sure we walked together into the living room.

Mom would give us each a big tupperware bowl or bread basket to put the contents of our stockings into as we sorted through them. When we got to the end of our stockings, there was always a wonderful orange waiting for us rounding out the toe. So to this day, the smell of an orange will take me back to memories of Christmas mornings emptying our stockings as we wore our new Christmas jammies and marveled at all the treats and trinkets Santa had brought us.

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

Skate Update: Day 9

It's been almost a week and a half since little Skate (Stray Kitty 8) came to recuperate at Rosehaven Cottage after being found cold, shivering and probably dying in the middle of the street. Thanks to a round of antibiotics and a warm room to sleep in, she has rallied stupendously! We are so very proud of her tenacity and will to live. We are also thankful for the encouragement and support that many of you have given to us. It has meant more than you will ever know. We want to send a special thank you out to Yolanda Elizabet at Bliss who responded to an email I sent to her because of her many years of feline expertise. Yolanda, your words mean so very much! We thank you profusely!



As evidenced by the photos in this post, you can see that little Skate is doing very well! She's a typical playful kitten with energy spurts that I wish I could bottle and use myself.

Skate is also a very special kitten, in that despite her "kitten-ness" she has a sweet mature ability to show affection that I have never seen in a kitten this small (and I've seen many in my lifetime). Skate is far more people-oriented than any other kitten I've ever known--even our own Dee Dee and Dexter who were like little dogs in catsuits from the time we met them at 10 days old. Skate likes to cuddle more than most rambunctious kittens which is probably a result of her close call with death.

Skate is also learning human words very quickly and is quite attentive to commands. Interestingly, except for 1 or 2 tiny squeaks at the very first, we have never heard her meow. She only opens her mouth with a silent meow now and then. The only sound we hear emanate from her is a loud rumbly purr that vibrates her entire tiny kitten body when she turns it on.

Now that Skate is feeling better she is allowed to have "romp time" around my studio when I'm in here working. Her little habitat cage is left open and she is allowed to go in and out freely. I think she's explored every nook and cranny possible. She particularly enjoys watching "kitty-vision" out the studio window because there's a pineapple sage bush that is a favorite of the garden sparrows. She will watch for long stretches of time and then turn and run toward me as I work at the computer (she just did). she climbs up into my arms of her own accord and settles in for a bath and a cuddle leaving me to type one-handed (as I'm doing now). Often during her kitty baths, she also grooms my hand or arm. Then she flips her little head over for a snooze. I'm just not used to such a people-oriented little kitten. Such a cutie!

I'm sure that many of you are still wondering about Skate's "foster" status. We aren't certain ourselves. We've invested a lot of time, money, and love into this little gal. We've done it before with other feral kittens that we've easily let go to wonderful homes. Skate seems to be different for some reason.

As we prayerfully consider her future in our family, we are willing to do whatever is appropriate for this little gal. If she belongs in a "forever home" somewhere other than here at Rosehaven Cottage, we will let her go to that home (which is the easiest of the future options). The harder of the future options is the possibility that she belongs here, with Rosehaven Cottage being her "forever home". It would be a sacrifice for us and for the other kitties here, but we will do whatever we are supposed to do. In the meantime, we are enjoying this little bundle of furry affection and hope you don't mind indulging us on the occasional "Skate Update".

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

What makes Christmas special for me: Fire

There are just a few things that say "Christmas" to me. I think this is the case with most people. Those things can be varied and obscure, but are often rooted in tradition, nostalgia, and fond memories. Over the next few days, I'm going to attempt to write about a few of the things that make Christmas truly Christmas-y for me simply because of the nostalgia with which they are imbued in my mind.

Years ago when I was only 6 years old, my parents decided to buy 2 1/2 acres of forest in the Rocky Mountains of the state of Colorado and build a home. At an elevation of about 8500 ft above sea level, Mom used to joke that there were three seasons--Winter, July, and August. Needless to say, it was critical that Mom knew how to build a good fire in the fireplace not only as a supplemental source of heat in the winter but sometimes as the only source of heat when winter storms would take out power that wouldn't be restored for days. From Mom, I learned how to build a fire, stoke and tend a fire, and how to respect fire. [DISCLAIMER: My siblings will quickly tell anyone willing to listen that I am a "pyro" and then regale them with funny stories of my escapades and mishaps with fire.] Moving on...

When the chill of winter settles in around Rosehaven Cottage, my burning desire to have a fire is kindled (all puns intended). Rosehaven Cottage is a drafty little cottage built in the late 1940's. It's nothing like the air-tight, super-insulated modern homes of today. So the hearth becomes a very important heat source in the winter. And during the Christmas holidays, it also becomes a decorated focal point with small Christmas trees on the mantel, a green garland swagged across the vintage red brick, and little scented Christmas-y and knick-knacks sprinkled in depending on our mood that year.

On Christmas morning, it was always a tradition in our home to start a fire burning and then throw the wads of wrapping paper into the flames as they were discarded from the presents. For those sitting further from the fireplace, it became a test of skill and aim. Hubby and I still do this today. Christmas morning just wouldn't be the same without a fire in the fireplace and mis-thrown wads of wrapping paper laying around on the hearth (some being batted around by kitties).

Now with all this talk about fire, I need to go get away from this computer and go tend the fire.

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

What makes Christmas special for me: Fudge

There are just a few things that say "Christmas" to me. I think this is the case with most people. Those things can be varied and obscure, but are often rooted in tradition, nostalgia, and fond memories. Over the next few days, I'm going to attempt to write about a few of the things that make Christmas truly Christmas-y for me simply because of the nostalgia with which they are imbued in my mind.

Ever since I can remember, there were two things that my mom made especially for Christmas--homemade fudge and English toffee. The whole process of making candy absolutely fascinated me through my childhood. When I was old enough, maybe 8 years old, Mom let me help out instead of just watch. I was usually responsible for stirring because keeping the sugar and butter mixture stirring constantly was critical as it heated to the temperature desired for either soft ball (fudge) or hard crack (toffee).

Mom's fudge recipe is no secret. It's the recipe that Kraft has been printing on its jars of Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme (an essential ingredient in fudge) for eons . The recipe is "officially" called "Fantasy Fudge". I didn't know that until I was an adult. All I knew was that Mom's fudge was the best! There wasn't any other kind of fudge from any fancy candy shop that could rival it and still have yet to find one. And the funny thing is that it's a Kraft recipe!

Now, even though I am very health-conscious and a big proponent of nutritious and healthy eating I must say that there are some foods that fall into a "special" category reserved for nostalgic "comfort foods" that are made as part of a family tradition. Those foods should be celebrated. I can account for the calories somehow, but darned if I'm going to feel guilty for carrying on a family tradition that makes Christmas feel right to me.

So without further adieu, here is the recipe straight off the Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme jar sitting here on my desk:

Fantasy Fudge
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine--go with the butter)
1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup)
1 1/2 pkg. (12 squares) Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, chopped
1 jar (7 oz.) Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1 cup chopped walnuts (or leave them out if you have an allergy like Hubby does)
1 tsp. vanilla

Line 9-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan; set aside. Place sugar, butter and evaporated milke in large heavy saucepan. Bring to full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 4 min. or until candy thermometer reaches 234ºF (soft ball), stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallow creme, stir until completely melted. Add walnuts (if desired) and vanilla; mix well.

Pour immediately into prepared pan; spread to form even layer in pan. Let stand at room temperature 4 hours or until completely cooled; cut into 1-inch squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature. Makes 3 lb. or 40 servings, about two squares each.

Variation - Classic Fantasy Fudge (the way Mom always made it)
Prepare recipe as directed, using 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) margarine and substituting 1 pkg. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips for the chopped BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate and a 13x9-inch baking pan for the 9-inch square pan.

Nutritional Information (per serving)
Calories 170
Total fat 8 g
Saturated fat 4 g
Cholesterol 10 mg
Sodium 45 mg
Carbohydrate 25 g
Dietary fiber 1 g
Sugars 23 g
Protein 1 g
Vitamin A 2 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 0 %DV
Iron 2 %DV

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

Skate Update: Day 4

So many of you have stopped by and offered sweet well wishes to little Skate that we thought it was appropriate to give you all an update.

Skate is doing very well. She's still on antibiotics but doesn't show signs of having the respiratory virus that she did last Thursday when she was found.

As you can see in the photo at left, Skate loves all the attention she's getting. She is a real cuddler and loves to be cradled in my arm while she stretches out her tiny body, sometimes stretching to pat my face with her sweet little paws.

Speaking of her paws... we mentioned in a past post that she has slightly deformed paws. Many of you wondered if she is polydactyl. We counted all her funny little toes and she isn't polydactyl. But we think she does have double jointed toes and paws. Her little paws sometimes look quite normal, but other times her little toes are all pushed backwards on themselves making them look like funny little cartoon "clubbed" paws. When she trots around they do this and she kind of making a little "clomping" sound instead of the normal soft padding of kitten feet. She sometimes even pulls one her toes with her own teeth to straighten them out. Both front paws seem to bend backwards on themselves quite liberally. It's very odd but cute nonetheless.

Skate eats and eats and eats! She loves her food! Her tummy is quite round and bulging, but she still is very scrawny in her legs and ribs. From what we can tell, she seems to be a long and lanky kitty in the making so that may account for her proportions. We still would be more comfortable if we could get some more meat on her wee little bones though. She's doing her part, that's for sure! And she's so cute because she burps a lot after eating. Such cute kitten burps too. I know that if she could she'd say, "Excuse me, please."

As you can see from the photos of her little tummy, she has gorgeous markings! Her tummy spots are so beautiful. I love to have her turn over in my arms just so I can tickle her little round spotted tummy (which she loves). Her markings on her back are coming out more and appear to be a combination of the spotted pattern with stripes. She also has a cinnamon color that is coming in to some of her head stripes which is really pretty in the right light.

In case you're wondering about her eyes, they are all clear, but when we take a photo with the flash she closes them halfway so it looks like she's still having problems with them. Her eyes are actually quite clear and bright. And her nose is clear too. Which accounts for all the exploring she wants to do around my studio (which I keep to a minimum).

And finally, how are the other kitties handling having Skate in Mommy's studio? Well, they don't like being excluded from any place in the house, but particularly any place where Mommy is spending time. So each of them have been allowed to come in one at a time to see what's in here now. Dexter is taking it all in stride without any hissing. He sniffs around the cage to say "hi" and do his patrol. Then he's ready to go back out to patrol the rest of the house. The others are still hissy, but that's to be expected. They don't have to worry. Mommy won't let Skate get them.

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

What makes Christmas special for me: Heirloom Ornaments

There are just a few things that say "Christmas" to me. I think this is the case with most people. Those things can be varied and obscure, but are often rooted in tradition, nostalgia, and fond memories. Over the next few days, I'm going to attempt to write about a few of the things that make Christmas truly Christmas-y for me simply because of the nostalgia with which they are imbued in my mind.

Back when I was very young, my mother made four fancy ornaments with ribbon, beads, and rhinestones secured to Styrofoam balls with regular and fancy-headed stick pins. This particular ornament pictured at left always held a certain amount of magic for me. It was so delicate and special. Mom always hung it up high on the tree so it wouldn't be disturbed. Although we children were allowed to handle the rest of the ornaments and decorate the tree with them, this one was handled by Mom.

When Christmas was over, it (and it's companions) would be carefully wrapped in Kleenex and put into an oblong cardboard box. The following year when the ornaments would come out again, I always knew what was in the oblong box and anticipated it making its annual debut. Although some of our ornaments didn't survive the many moves we made during my childhood, this one always did. I couldn't necessarily count on which house we were going to be in in any given year, but I could count on that ornament being there on the tree.

Later, when my mother started downsizing her Christmas decorations, she let us three children sit down together and divide out the ornaments. It was a fun trip down memory lane as we reminisced about all the years of decorating the tree, the animals that would un-decorate the tree, which house we lived in and when, etc.. I was so happy when I was the one that got to have the special ornaments that Mom had made so many years ago. I got the oblong box and the 30 year old Kleenex tissues too.

Now this particular ornament still makes it annual debut in our home, except it is hung in a place of honor on an ornament stand instead of on a tree.

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

Skate Update: Day 1

Although I will not be writing a "Skate Update" everyday, I did want to share photos to show everyone Skate's progress after only 48 hours. It is amazing what warmth, meds, love, and kitten chow can do!

So here are the latest photos narrated in Skate's little voice the way Daisy the Curly Cat narrates her blog photos:

Hey, it's me Skate! Can I come out and cuddle for a bit?

Please! I'll even help you open the door to my wonderful habitat cage.

Oh good! Now I can rub your hand.

Now that my sniffer isn't so snotty, I love to sniff and rub on everything I can.

Are you looking at my paws?

They are kinda different than most kitten paws, but they still work just fine for me.

I love the patch of sun that shines in every afternoon.

I'm feeling rather sleepy all of a sudden.

Oh wait... I'm hungry! I better eat instead of nap in the sunshine.

I'm really good at eating all the kitten chow I can. My little belly is very big and round now.


Here I am next to Cindy's computer mouse so you can see how little I am.
I only weight 1.5 pounds.

I'm feeling SO much better than I did when I was laying in the street in the cold.

Soon, all the sniffles I have will be gone. Yay! For now, I'm loving all the cuddles I'm getting.

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

We've become a "foster" family

As often happens, yesterday morning brought some interesting unexpected events around here and now Rosehaven Cottage has a temporary little houseguest for the holidays and probably for a some time beyond that as we "foster" her until she's well enough to find her "forever home".

I was sitting in the back of the seminary classroom yesterday morning at 6:40 am while my team teacher was conducting a worksheet exercise, when one of my students showed up late, peeked his head in the door, and motioned for me to come out in the hall. He had a little kitten wrapped up in a towel. It's head was covered in dried mucus from its eyes and nose. Its eyes were almost sealed shut by the gunk and its nose was too. My student told me that on the way to class, his mother had almost hit the kitten with her van as the kitten was curled up in the middle of the street. The student's mother didn't see it until the last minute, slammed on her brakes, and came to a screeching halt with the bumper hovering over this motionless kitten. It was still 32°F outside (that's 0°C for my non-U.S. readers). The little thing was probably freezing to death--literally.

My student's mother didn't know what to do and just wanted to leave it there, thinking the kitten belonged to someone in the neighborhood. My student wouldn't accept that answer, bundled the little thing up, and said, "Cindy will know what to do, Mom." And that's how I was introduced to this little kitten that had a brush with death yesterday in more ways than one.

I took the kitten to my vet as soon as their offices opened. I have an amazing vet with an incredible staff. Dr. Laurie Noe and her staff at Well-Pet Animal Clinic are the epitome of what you want a vet to be: loving, caring, compassionate, intelligent, quick-thinking, and affordable. The doctor wasn't able to see the kitten for a couple of hours, so in the meantime kitten napped in the cozy carrier I had her in with a warm cuddly box in it. Once she had a decent nap in a warm place, her lethargy diminished significantly and she transformed into a sweet and affectionate little kitten.

Purry and adorable, but still sneezing and coughing from the mucus, the kitten went in to see the doctor at 10:45 am. She was first tested for all the scary things like feline AIDS and leukemia. All those tests came back negative so it was wise to proceed with further treatment which included: de-worming, ear mite treatment, eye ointment, antibiotics, and flea drops. She was a little trooper and was affectionate and purred through the whole thing. The vet guessed she's about 8 weeks old (or maybe an underweight 10 week old). She only weighs 1.5 lbs. so we need to get some weight on her. Luckily, I walked out of the vet with a free courtesy "new kitten kit" that had a 4 lb. container of premium kitten food from Purina! Sweet!

Both Hubby and I don't feel good about adding one more kitty to our family so we weren't going through the process of naming her (note the key word in that sentence is "weren't"). We did photograph her for my seminary student so he could make "FOUND" posters for the area where he picked her up. Even though I avoided naming her, yesterday evening Hubby came up with the nickname of Skate which stands for Stray Kitty Eight (since this is the eighth cat in our home right now). It seems to fit since the little one also "skated" on the brink of death yesterday.



Since Skate needs to remain in isolation while she has ear mites and the upper respiratory virus (and because she isn't going to become a permananent resident in our home) Hubby and I spent yesterday coming up with a special living arrangement for her. Earlier this summer, my ingenious and ever-resourceful sister had figured out a way to build a rabbit cage using storage cubicle panels from Target that cost $14.99 for a box of 26. I rang her up to ask for tips after we priced other kennel cage options and realized everything else was way too expensive! My sister pointed me in the right direction, and we procured two boxes of the necessary panels as well as a carpeted two-level kitty condo and a container of cable ties to supplement our own existing supply. We spent last night building a cage for the little thing while she napped in the carrier I had outfitted for her with food, water, and a bed.

Skate's kennel now resides in my studio on my worktable. My studio is where I work all day so she isn't lonely. She has plenty of room to run around (which she's doing a lot of this afternoon). She's already got a lot of energy and is acting like a spunky little kitten should. She has a square of lavender fake fur in the lower cubby of the condo that she slept on all night and has napped on. Sleep is the best medicine for her right now. She's eating VERY well, her eyes are clearing up, and her mucus is dimishing--all very good signs.

Hubby fashioned a high shelf for her out of a spare panel and one of the un-used shoe brackets in the storage cubicle kit. She's already using it despite her obviously slightly deformed front paws and legs (probably a birth defect).

I suspect that it won't take long for Skate to be the necessary 2.5 lbs. to have her spayed by my trusty vet so she can be placed in her future "forever home" wherever that may be.