Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Monty

Today is a good day to introduce one of my favorite felines... Monty.  She is a beautiful 12 year old domestic who stole my heart at just 6 weeks old.  


When I first brought her home, Monty didn't even know how to groom herself. She hid under the couch for days.  But, with the help of Molly, my first kitty, and many loving college students, Monty quickly became the belle of the ball. 

She has always been a big cat.  She is long and tall, and at her heaviest weighed just over 18 lbs.  She was never fat, just big.  We all like to think that we carry that extra weight well... she did.  

This winter, Monty started getting skinny and was licking some fur off.  We didn't really think anything of it.  I mean, she is 12 years old.  When cats get old, they lose weight, act weird, and become difficult.  Normal.  This week, though, mom and I talked about how very skinny Monty had become.  And she's licked fur off to the skin. And has been tossing up a lot of hairballs.  Off to the vet we go...

Lucky for me, Monty is very well-adjusted.  She had no problem crawling into the old, dusty, pee-smelling cat carrier.  She just meowed the entire time.  Normal for her. (And good motivation for me to order a new cat carrier. Any recommendations?)

After 2 hours at the vet clinic and about $200, Monty has been diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism.  Huh?  

Come to find out, hyperthyroidism is fairly common in cats over 10 years old.  It is an increase in the production of the thyroid hormones.  It causes her to burn the fuel (food) that she takes in at an unhealthy rate.  No matter how much she ate, which was a lot, she was still losing weight and muscle mass.  Again... huh?  

Our wonderful veterinarian sees this often and thinks that Monty will get better with a change in cat food.  Let's hope. 'Cause it's a real bitch to "pill" her, apply topical meds, and, god forbid, try to give her injections.  Even skinny, this girl is strong and won't go for it.

We expect a full recovery.  Monty is such a loving, busy-body cat when she feels good.  I just can't imagine losing her now. 

(please ignore the dead plant)



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Sunday, April 10, 2016

When inspiration hits

Last night, just before bedtime, I was scanning through this week's challenges and making a mental list of what would I try to enter.  My plans to head to bed were quickly waylayed when inspiration hit.  I immediately got to work and completed this card.  I like it so much that this morning I prepped all the pieces to make a set of 4.  They are just waiting to be assembled. 



Inspired by this week's Sketch Challenge over at My Favorite Things, I knew that I was going to pull out some of the supplies I received in my order from them a few weeks ago.   Supplies that I hadn't yet used!  Crazy, I know! Life has kept me pretty busy and I haven't had time to play with everything yet. 




While preparing the dies for this card, I wasn't quite sure what stamps I was going to use.  I pulled out a few sets from other companies, and they seem to all work well together.  The cute little fox is from Lawn Fawn and the gift and sentiment are both from and old set from The Greeting Farm.   The inside says "Make it special". 

I am also entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, which is Happy Birthday, to celebrate their 7th!  Congrats SSS!








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Saturday, April 9, 2016

My first shaker card: SSS Happy Birthday

Congrats to Simon Says Stamp, who is celebrating their 7th birthday this year!  And, this week, the SSS Wednesday Challenge is Happy Birthday.  Coincidence? I think not.  

To celebrate, I pulled out the free birthday set SSS sent me with my order a few months ago.  And to spice things up a bit, I experimented with making a shaker card.  This is my first ever shaker card.  And a fairly new trend for me.  Guess I just started seeing these flat shaker cards this winter. 
I watched a great video tutorial... And, of course, now I cannot find which video, but if I find it later, I'll link it up! 

I received the sequins as a thank you gift from my last Verve order.  It's funny... I couldn't imagine why they sent me this little packet of really pretty sequins.  It wasn't until a  month or so later that I connected the sequins with the shaker card innards.  Sheesh.  

Not wanting to bite off more than I could chew, I made the small balloon the shaker.  I used the Cricut Explore Air to cut out the balloon. 

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIMON SAYS STAMP! 







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