And then some other stuff happened....

Dear Friends

Just so you'll know, I haven't fallen in a hole, I haven't died, I haven't forgotten how to tat.

But I have been VERY busy.

Saturday was a year since Chez Crazy burnt down. And it's taken much of the year to recover. Some things have not recovered - but I am well.

 We have chosen NOT to rebuild the house. As Moe is in his last year of high school and I've been commuting into Hotlanta for lo these many years, I've decided to use the opportunity to move into a condo in town after he graduates. For now, we're living in a little rental home near the site of the old Chez Crazy (AKA the Ash Heap).

I worked for a LONG time to get the final list to the insurance company on the contents of the home. I have to tell you, this is not for the faint of heart. Think about listing by name every SINGLE item in your home, the brand name, when you bought it, what you paid for it, where it was located. Ugh. Fortunately I had enough sense to hire a Property Adjuster to help me - they were able to help build the claim and work with the insurance company to get the maximum value for me.

We have some bare minimum furnishings in the home, just enough for us. I don't know what I'll need when I move to a condo - I'll get those things then.

But we DID get some kitties! Moe begged and begged, he was missing kitties so bad.

This is Lucy.

And this is Theo.

They were fostered together and play nicely. They are very close in age, but not litter mates. They sleep with me. And Moe is happy.

Larry is happy living in Florida. Curly is out on his own in an apartment nearby, selling mobile phones. Moe is doing whatever seniors in high school do. I'm happy in my job. And DH....

Oh dear.

That's where this gets complicated.

After 28 years of marriage, DH and I divorced. It's quite complicated - but the end of any marriage is. DH The Ex and I remain on very good terms; I'm even on good terms with my MIL. He's not a bad man, and I wish him no ill. But I could no longer be married to him. And frankly, the fire made divorcing him easier for me.

Funny how things happen, isn't it?

Anyhow, I'm moving on with my next phase of my life. I haven't tatted much, though I did teach at Tat Days 2014. I'm doing a bit of photography. And I'm looking into dating (which is SO weird!).....

So folks, I'll be back, just on an occasional basis. Wish me well, won't you?
 

And then This Happened...

I was going to tempt you with some tatting I've been designing...

Or tell you about the lovely gift I got from Wendy...



Lovely tatting! So pretty!

Or even tell you about the terrific place I went on a business trip, staying at the Biltmore Estate..



My room at the Inn on Biltmore Estate

But then this happened.

 

And if you're wondering - yes, that's my house. On fire.

 

Here it is now.

It's a total loss. Nothing is left. The house had been almost 3000 sq ft, plus a full basement. And lots of stuff in it.

 

But there were good things.

 

First - no one was home. This happened Friday morning, I got the call about 9:45 am. I was at work, DH was out of town, Larry lives in Florida now (he's really upset but is ok), Curly was at work, and Moe was at school. So no one was in the house, and we are all safe.

 

And we have insurance to cover us. The insurance company is putting us up in a hotel, has given us a decent advance on expenses, and is finding a house for us to rent while we are out of our home.

 

Plus all my friends, family, neighbors, and church family have jumped in to help, bringing money and gift cards and food and clothes and we have many offers of furniture and appliances for us. Folks are falling all over themselves to help us.

 

And my employer is being so great and supportive during this. My boss's boss insisted on following me home to make sure I was ok, and told me not to worry about work until I got things situated.

 

So, in many ways we are so very lucky.

 

But we lost all the pets.

 

It was 11 degrees F (-11.5 C) that morning, and we had all the animals inside. We are responsible pet owners. But now all our pets are gone.

 

 

My Cisco.

 

 

Mr. Vader.

 

 

My beautiful Lily.

 

Plus the dogs - Rocket and Abby,

 

and Curly's kitten Daisy.

The boys are sad. I'm sad. But we have to comfort ourselves knowing that the smoke probably got to them, and they just went to sleep. They didn't suffer.

They were darling pets. They will be missed beyond words.

We will be ok. God made me a tough lady who keeps her head in emergencies. Do not stress over me. We are being cared for. We will be made whole again.

We will be ok. Really we will.

I needed new flooring in my kitchen. Guess I'll get it now, huh?


PS I've already bought two shuttles and some Lizbeth. You can't keep a good tatter down!

The world according to Moe

Animals, according to Moe (heavily influenced by his boy scout troop):

This is a bear.

This is a mini-bear.

This is a bear.

These are mini-bears.

This is a bear.

This is a mini-bear.

This is a bear.

This is a mini-bear.

And so is this.

This is a late mini-bear. Sad.

That is all.

Star of David

I have tatted a little Star of David.

I used DMC silver metallic thread and size 15/0 Miyuki Rocailles. This thread is kinda tricky to work with - retro tatting is almost impossible! Nina Libin uses these tiny beads and the same type of thread in the beautiful jewelry she makes.

The pattern is Lily Morales' star catcher.

I sewed the star onto black velveteen and put it inside a round paper weight that I found on clearance. This is for a Jewish friend of mine. Pretty, isn't it?

This is my favorite time of year. I love the fall, or autumn. Trees are very pretty here.

Larry found some new furniture for his toys to play with. Here they are lounging, having a spot of tea with their dog.

I've been busy doing other things around the house. I re-upholstered the bench seat of a love seat in our family room. You can see it in the above video of Lily playing with a toy. The previous upholstery was plain black, which the Stooges had destroyed by stabbing something (a knife?!?) into it repeatedly. This looks much better.

And of course, Lily continues to be very, very cute.
 

Prepping for Tat Days

I'm getting ready for Tat Days. I'll be going there a week from Thursday - can't wait!

I've made up my kits. These are for my Summer Breeze bracelet pattern.

I'm cleaning up and making stacks and piles of stuff to take with me. And lists, making lots of lists. Will DH and the Stooges survive a few days without me?

I've been cooking too. This was my Cornbread Tamale Pie after the Stooges plus a girlfriend took a first pass. Five minutes later, the pan was completely empty.

Honestly, the cats are not helpful when I need assistance in cleaning. This is how Vader spends most of his time. Really, he's about worthless.

Cisco has become a serious attention hog, wanting constant petting from me. And he has some strange ways. Here he knows he's been caught with his entire head in Moe's size 13 (!!) sneakers, snuffling up the stench. Why does he like that awful smell? He's no help either.

(Don't you love Rhymes With Orange?)

DH has been getting tons and tons of places cut off of him at the dermatologist, basal cell carcinoma. Today's fun was on his ear, taking much of the inside and some of the back skin off. He had to get a skin graft from the back of his ear to replace all the cancerous skin - and that hurts a lot. Needless to say, he's been no help to me.

Heeeerrrrreee's Walt!

Larry caught a wild hair and shaved his head and part of his beard. Now he looks like a young version of Walt, from Breaking Bad. (Or the Unabomber.)

BTW - here is Larry's latest creation - a jazz bar for the toys. I think one of the toys needs to be passed out on a table. See the couple dancing on the left? Sweet.

As you may be able to tell, Larry is not helping me get ready for Tat Days. None of the Stooges are. Why did I have them? I forget.

But - I'm putting those lads to work cleaning, as we have company coming this Monday. I'll tell you about my company after Tat Days - you'll be too jealous if I tell you now.

I better get back to packing. BTW - don't forget to enter my 400th post giveaway!

Hope I see you at Tat Days!

Funny times at Chez Crazy, and buttons!

A bit of humor.

I shared with DH recently a news item on Burger King's latest offering, an ice cream sundae with caramel, chocolate sauce, and  - bacon.

(Yes, bacon. I kid you not.)

See?

DH: Bacon is meat candy.
Me: Then it's a meat candy sundae.
DH: Mmmm. Bacon. In a sundae. Mmmmm. Meat.

DH likes Meat. Can you tell.

On another subject, DH sometimes brings home critters. Yesterday he brought home an orphaned kitten, very skinny and flea-ridden. The cat was de-fleaed  and handed over to Moe for care until we find a home for it. (I do not want another cat right now.)

DH named the kitten Bob. Bob the cat who's a kitten - remember this.

Curly came over last night, in need of various things (like $$). Moe saw an opportunity to pull one on his brother, who has tricked him mercilessly in the past.

Moe: Curly, Dad brought home a Bobcat kitten.
Curly: What!?!! No way! Mom did he really?
Me (with a straight face): The kitten is in Moe's room.
Curly: !!! Let me get my girlfriend - she'll want to see a bobcat kitten.

And Curly grabbed the GF and headed to Moe's room. Where Bob the cat who's a kitten was. Heh.

Finally, on a non-Crazy note, I found a terrific article in Slate on the history of buttons. Read it, then see the slide show at the bottom. One of the buttons shown is embellished with tatting!

Carpe diem...

Some bargains

Still tatting the necklace - all stars are done, working on split rings.

I am a major tightwad, so I relish being able to find a bargain. I found two!

The first is a great tower fan. I found this at the grocery store Aldi. Seriously, at Aldi, for $19.99 USD. I now have two. The fan oscillates and has a timer, and it's not loud. A fan is essential in Hotlanta.

And I found a terrific portable Ott-Lite for the same price! $19.99 at, of all places, Office Depot! Yes, at an office supply store - who knew? It's more expensive online at $21.99, but still a good buy.

It weighs a pound and a half. It's coming everywhere with me. I lurve it.

And finally..

A lovely video of sweet lion cubs and their keeper. Awww.