Rosehaven Cottage

Cats That Don't Like the Smell or Taste of Fish

We're going through a bit of a trial and error period around here. On the advice of a well-trusted friend (who is a cat breeder), we made the decision to switch our cat's over to healthier food from "checkerboard brand" they've been getting up until now. Full of corn fillers and other not-so-good stuff, the food was causing frequent tummy, skin, and fur problems for our sweet kitties.

So it was off to Pet Food Express with recommendations in hand. We knew we were in for an interesting experience trying to find a food that our finicky crew will eat. All of them but Lucy, will walk away from turkey giblets and chicken or meat scraps. But if I sit down with tortilla chips or Triscuits I've got a couple of them begging for some. Weird.

Fortunately, Pet Food Express has a return policy for food if your pet doesn't like it. We were assured that we could bring back an empty can and get refunded if our kitties didn't like it. If they didn't like the dry food, then we could bring back the uneaten portion in the bag. Hey, this trial and error phase wouldn't be quite as painful to the pocketbook as we originally thought. We were relieved. So we came home Monday with a number of dry and canned options (we're going to feed them a combination of both everyday).

Things went smoothly at first with the dry food. Except one brand had little round kibbles that kept falling out of the kitties' mouths when they tried to eat it. That one is out. The other dry food is one that they seem to like. And the tummy issues have diminished dramatically since the switch. So that's a good sign.

The canned food is a bit more problematic. They liked the chicken mix I gave them on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, the kitties weren't too thrilled about the chicken and lobster mix I gave them. But they tried it and ate a bit before heading off for kitty bathing sessions and a nap. They also nibbled a bit at the salmon and trout mix I gave them later, but it was clearly not their liking.

Then came today when I apparently committed a major no-no--I tried to add fish oil to each bowl as suggested by my friend. I broke open a capsule of omega-3 fish oil into the bottom of each bowl, and then put a helping of a chicken mix they've heartily eaten earlier in the week. Well, these kitties wouldn't have anything to do with that! I put down the bowls and they ALL literally turned up their noses and sat in dismay looking at me as if to say, "Um, excuse me? You expect me to eat something that smells like that?"

Thomasina finally stuck her nose into one of the bowls and licked a bit, but not much. Not even our "Lunch Mouth" Lucy wouldn't touch the stuff. So now I've got 8 tiny bowls of practically untouched food that will go out to the Oreo the garden kitty (and Mooch the neighbor's cat) later this evening. Hopefully, she'll eat it with Mooch's help.

I must have the weirdest cats on the planet!

Click the box above to follow me on Twitter

Okay... where's a box big enough for me too!

I was working in my studio last night while Hubby was out helping someone with a PC emergency. I was keeping myself busy by creating some digital scrapbooking layouts and backgrounds just for the heck of it. When Hubby came home, he came into my studio to give me a kiss "hello" and said, "Did you see this?"

I turned around to find Thomasina just as you see her above. She's such a tiny thing that she can remained precariously perched in that storage box that is balancing on my art box. What a silly kitty!

Today, I feel like doing the very same thing if I could find a box big enough for me.

I was so excited about the scrapbooking layouts I was making last night. When I finish each one, I put them up on Flickr so digital scrapbookers can download them for free--to create and enjoy them however they choose. I always post an announcement on my studio blog of anything I add to the Flickr downloads. My Auntie is an avid and VERY talented digital scrapbooker, so I do a lot of this for her and her digital scrapbooking buddies. At her suggestion, I went over to a sharing message board at a digital scrapbooking site called Jessica Sprague to share. I've posted once in August when I thought the group over there would appreciate a chicken wire background I created. Yesterday, I created a digital scrapbooking background called "Autumnal Thanksgiving". So I went over to the message board and posted to let people know it was out there.

Well, I should know better than to frequent any message board. It seems that no matter where it is, message boards end up being places of controversy, intrigue, rudeness and/or pettiness. I never should have ventured into another one.

But I did. And now I'm sorry.

I received the worst thing a poster can receive on that message board--a warning email from the site owner's husband, Jared. For some reason someone reported me as violating the forum rules below (according to Jared):

"If you are a designer or owner of a digital store, please do not post new threads about the products you sell. This is not a place for free advertising, but a place to share and learn.

"...if your posts become 'all about ads' and not about contributing to the community, you'll be warned and then banned. We love enablement, and we love to hear about specific products you're excited about, but nobody loves a shill. I think we can tell the difference."

"As of right now, posting about freebies (on sites and on blogs) is OK with limits (i.e. the link must actually take you directly to the place where you can preview and download the file)..."

Well, I've been the author of two posts. I'm not selling anything, because: a) I'm not a professional scrapbooking designer; and b) I don't have an online store selling digital scrapbooking stuff!

I'm just a dumb idiot that thought it was okay to go on a message board and say, "Hey, everybody! I made a really cool thing. If you want to download it for free go ahead!"

Stupid me... now where's that box...

Click the box above to follow me on Twitter

September Enters as a Fallen Butterfly Wing

Coming home from an errand as I approached the front door, I caught a glimpse of a bit of movement on the ground from a slight breeze that had blown across the front of the house. As I approached and bent over in investigation I found a solitary monarch butterfly wing shifting with every little breathe of air that moved across it's delicate silken surface.

I picked up the delicate and frail fragment of what had once been a thriving creature. The orange seemed dull from the lack of life as if without the flutter of the spirit the wing could not retain its vibrance. The monarch had fulfilled the measure of its creation. This was what remained.

September has come and soon much of the garden will shed its wings as well.

Click the box above to follow me on Twitter

Ponderings and Thoughts

I've had the choice experience of having many readers leave some very sweet comments on the last post (the giveaway one). So many of you have made me smile and giggle. It's been a great way to spend a Saturday.

When I was making some creative decisions a month ago, I had a long discussion with Hubby. I expressed to him that I want to share my creative work with others. I told him that I was acutely aware of how badly the economy is affecting so many people right now, and how that made it extremely difficult for others to enjoy my work unless I gave it away as gifts. I've heard so many stories of an artist giving a painting to a neighbor or a friend just because they wanted to share their work. The problem was that the "neighbors" and friends I wanted to give my work to stretched all over the globe. Quite a dilemma.

Then it dawned on us that I could do that very thing by having a weekly giveaway every Saturday; by continuing to share my work on the blogs; and to offer some of my digital work for free download using Flicker. I felt peaceful with the thought of being able place my work in homes where it would be viewed instead of having it sit here in my studio collecting dust and only being seen by me, Hubby, the cats and the occasional visitor.

Shortly after that discussion, I heard a quote that went something like, "You can have a whole stack of canvases, but if they only sit in a closet what good are they?" That really solidified my decision for me.

As I pondered further, I've realized that we are entering a very different landscape thanks to this wonderful technology called the internet. You don't have to know the "right people" in order to publish your thoughts on a blog. You don't have to "be connected" in order to expose your creative work to the world. I've even read an online article entitled "Why Your Images Are Worthless" by Nikonian Martin Joergensen that pretty much says because of the combination of the internet and digital cameras, a lot of really beautiful photography is worth nothing monetarily because there is such a deluge of beautiful images available everywhere.

At first, I thought, "Well, what the heck am I doing then?"

Then over the next day or so I realized that if I valuate my creative work based on monetary value then, yes, my images probably are worthless. But if I valuate my creative work based on how much it makes someone else happy then its worth could be inestimable.

Over the past month, I've told Hubby more than once that I've been concerned that the blog readers will misinterpret my giveaways as a way to increase visitor traffic or gain exposure. I've really fretted over this, because I know in this coarse world we live in that it's hard for people to believe that everyone isn't out to get something from everybody else. I've worried about alienating friends that I've made over the past year of blogging. It's been a real concern particularly since a few of my favorite blogging friends have seemed to drift away over the past month.

So I pose this question to you all... what are your thoughts? Is it possible to give to others unconditionally in today's world without being misunderstood? Or has the world coarsened so much that it isn't possible? Will a giver's motives always be questioned thanks to this wonderful yet weird technological world we exist in? I'm sincerely interested in what all of you have to say. What do you think?

It's "Giveaway Saturday" at Rosehaven Cottage!

To celebrate the essence of the new blog Dusting in Pearls, this week's Giveaway Saturday prize is something pretty and pink--a set of TWO handmade pillows made by me here in my studio.

Each of the pillows are constructed of a manufactured embroidered silk featuring lovely rosebuds on pink and grey strips. Each pillow measures 14"x14" and is edged with a traditional dusty-pink brush fringe. The pillow is constructed over a premium pillow form filled with non-allergenic poly-fill.

"Giveaway Saturday" Guidelines

Every Saturday, I am showcasing a piece of my art or photography that I'm giving away based on a random drawing the following Saturday. Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered. Each person will only be counted once so duplicate comments won't help your odds (sorry). I will pay shipping to whomever wins the drawing to ANYWHERE in the world that I can send something via conventional post. If you don't have an email link connected to the i.d. you use to leave the comment, then you'll have to check back the following Saturday to find out if you won and then contact me via email so I can get your postal address privately. If you do have an email link connected to the i.d. you use, then I will contact you off the blog as well as announce you as the winner. Basically, it's the standard blog giveaway rules that are out there in the "blog-o-sphere" already.

Click the box above to follow me on Twitter