Tis The Season: Starting Thoughts

Now that Thanksgiving has happened and is in the past, it is officially the Holiday Season. Many holidays happen this time of year, and with those holidays come traditions.

First up on my personal line up is Gotcha Days. December first is Pho’s Gotcha Day, and the third is Erza and Gobi’s. A Gotcha Day is a celebration of the day that someone was adopted, be that children or pets. It is meant to mark the day that we got ya. Erza was adopted December 3rd, 2019. The joke that year was that our cats were our Christmas gifts from our parents, because those three kittens each chose one of my siblings and me. This year’s Gotcha Days will be mostly like regular days, with a little extra spoiling of our feline companions.

This is also the first year in a while that I have the ability to buy Christmas presents for my loved ones. My list is not huge due to my current means not being very big either, but I am excited to share some love with those on it. Gift giving has been one of my love languages for as long as I can remember. Usually involving little things that I saw and made me think of a certain person. And because it is one of my ways that I show my affection, I really struggle with waiting to give the gift. I just want to give it as soon as possible so that I can make them smile. One of my purest joys in life is making someone smile.

Over the years my family and I have come up with ways to assist me in keeping the gifts a secret until the actual holiday. I am not allowed to hide the presents in my own bedroom because that is way too much temptation. If I see them everyday, I just can’t help myself. So this year my sister and my mother have offered to hide the gifts so that I can’t get to them until it is time to wrap them. I will be using both spots because it is not like I can ask them to hide their own gifts. I am going to try my absolute best to not spoil the surprise this year. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

My sister has also resorted to rewards for me. One year we did gifts for my parents as siblings. K. told me that if I could keep it a surprise until Christmas morning, then she would buy me a box of candy canes. Because I am not a fan of peppermint, candy canes are always of the fruity variety for me. My Mom usually will buy me one box in the flavor of my choosing, and those are mine for the season, and I don’t have to share!

Speaking of yummy treats, we also do lots of baking. Cookies are the staple around here, there are many varieties made though. Russian tea cakes are one of my favorites. I have to restrain myself from eating all of them and giving myself a stomach ache, and then leaving none for everyone else to enjoy. Other popular versions of cookie are the classic peanut butter blossoms, sugar cookies, and spritz.

One treat that it can’t be the holidays without it puppy chow. Also known as muddy buddies, my family will make up giant batches of the stuff and store it in empty gallon buckets. We have to make large amounts because it is so popular with everyone who stops by and the entire family. One little taste is not enough to satisfy a craving that has been building all year. (And yes we are well aware that we don’t have to wait to make it, but it is our tradition.)

I hope that as we go through this season you all have warm moments that turn into cozy memories to help stave off the chill from the weather outside.

Happy Holidays!

Love Kesinee

Pet Bandanas!

I have been on a creation kick lately. Spending some time with the materials and creating a whole new thing from them has been making me feel productive with my days. The latest obsession started off with some fabric found on clearance at Wally world. I picked it up because it was a great price and the patterns fit the general themes that my family tends to gravitate towards. It was not bought with a project in mind.

It wasn’t until one night when I was chatting with my Mom in her room that I decided what project my three one yard pieces would be used for. I saw one of Maggie’s bandanas that she had gotten from the groomer, and it sparked a thought. I definitely had the skills and materials to make the fabric I bought into bandanas.

(Side note: I would like to thank my maternal grandmother for all the time she spent teaching me and having lots of patience. She spent hours with us grandkids, teaching us how to use a sewing machine. Because of her, I have more skills to help with creative problem solving.)

It ended up being one of my sleepless nights, giving up on trying to sleep at three in the morning, that I started my production process. I got up, got dressed, and started gathering the needed tools to work on my project. Cutting mat, ruler, rotary cutter, sewing machine, thread, and of course the fabric, were all placed on the dining room table.

I did not imagine that I would be doing geometry at 3:30 in the morning, but it needed to be done to figure out how big of a square I needed to cut in order for the middle diagonal, or the hypotenuse, was long enough to fit around the necks of my dogs. The answer, a 19 in square creates a 26 in hypotenuse, which is plenty big. I even measured my dog’s necks just to be extra sure.

So by the time my Mom was up and getting ready for work at 6 am, I had already cut out 4 bandana triangles out of each of the three fabrics, and was getting ready to start hemming the sides so that they stayed pretty and the fabric didn’t fray. When lunch time rolled around, I had 12 dog bandanas sewed up and ready for wearing. It might have been the lack of sleep by this point, but that success started a bit of a frenzy.

The next day I started the process all over again, thankfully around 5 am instead of 3 am. This time I had a different animal in mind. Erza will pretty much wear anything for me, and I thought I would give it a go to try and make some bandanas that were her size. This meant more early morning geometry for me.

The first set wasn’t big enough. The second was! I managed to get it tied on Erza. So I started sewing that set of triangles together. Later that afternoon though, I noticed that the point of the bandana, the part that you are actually supposed to see, was disappearing in Erza’s scruff around her neck. Kind of pointless to put the bandana on her if your were not going to be able to see it. So I set to work again, this time with two fat quarters that I had picked up.

For a cat Erza’s size, I need to make 12 inch squares. This gives plenty of tie length and the design on the bandana can clearly be seen while she is wearing it. I also think it is pretty safe to say that she enjoys wearing them. She helps pick out which one she wants to wear, and gets a bit upset when I take them off, pawing at them as if asking for them back. What can I say, my girl likes to accessorize.

Since I am a girl who is obviously a bit obsessed with her cat, I went into production mode once I found the correct size for her. Remember that frenzy I mentioned earlier? Well, as of last week, I have sewn together 32 dog bandanas, and 33 cat ones, for a total of 65. Don’t worry, I have give the majority of them away for other animals to be able to wear as well. Ruby, my maternal grandparents’ dog, looks extra pretty when she wears a bandana that features red, living up to her name. My paternal grandparents’ golden retriever Luna, posed for the picture that they sent with her wearing one of the bandanas I gave them. She obviously was feeling pretty.

Some of the frenzy has died down, but Erza is currently laying on my calves wearing a bandana with print on it featuring Hocus Pocus characters and sayings in honor of Halloween. I do plan on making more for future holidays and seasons as well. Obviously Ezra will be the most spoiled, and I might have to get a second bin to supplement her current bandana storage plan. For now though, I am pretty content with the productivity that came from this.

Morning Playlist

So I have discovered an interesting trend that has started to capture my attention. When I wake up in the morning, I tend to have a different song stuck in my head. This morning it is “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” by Cage The Elephant. Other recent entries have been “Are You Going To Be My Girl” by Jet, and “Salute” by Little Mix.

Sometimes I can notice a trend, things like similar content to the songs, basically what the song is about. Other times it is something completely out of left field, a song that I haven’t heard in ages. My most recent example was when “Under Pressure” by Queen, was one of the first things that I thought of after waking up.

Small pause while writing this for a cuddle break from Gobi, my brother’s cat, who has been extra cuddly this morning. I will gladly take one for them team and snuggle the Magoo. (A nickname that he got after being called a Goober several times.)

A major plus side that I have found from this revolving playlist is that I can add songs to my actual playlist on my phone. I use YouTube Music for my music needs, especially whilst I am driving to and from places. So I have taken to adding several of the songs that pop into my head in the morning to my Car Party playlist.

A Car Party, which I believe I have mentioned in at least one of my previous posts, is when you gear up the playlist of upbeat songs, turn the volume up just a little too high, and sing along with all the gusto of a lead actor on Broadway. (Obviously the driver has to pay attention to the road and all that jazz, please drive safely my peoples!) This method of letting off a little steam, and having some fun, has created many wonderful memories that I share with my family and several of my friends.

I am truly interested in knowing if this happens to you readers as well. If you wake up with a song stuck in your head, please let me know what it is, either by leaving a comment on this post, which I will see for sure, by commenting on my blog post announcement on Facebook, or even by texting/messaging me. Even if you just have a song you would like to suggest for my Car Party playlist, I would love to hear from all of you. I am always looking to add to my music library.

Busy Week: Kitten Sitting

This last week has been filled with things going on. I am currently fostering/kitten sitting for my Aunt A. and her family. The little guy’s name is Garth, and he is 9 weeks old as of yesterday, the 27th. It has been interesting to have a kitten around and compare his antics to those of the adult cats in the house.

Garth was part of a litter that one of my best friends, A.’s younger sister’s cat birthed. She had five babies that are thriving and aching to make their mark on the world. When I found out that the litter had been born, my mom suggested that I send my Aunt a message about the kittens because she and her husband had been searching for a kitten to add to their family.

At first Garth was a secret from her daughters, but when they found out, they couldn’t have been more excited. Pictures would be sent to me from L., A,’s younger sister, and I would happily pass them on to my Aunt and her girls. Each picture was treasured and celebrated as we got to watch Garth grow and learn.

Last Friday, June 20th, Garth and his siblings had hit the 8 week mark and officially were able to leave Mom’s side. So that evening, L. and her boyfriend delivered a meowing kitten burrito to my house. My siblings and I had set up a homebase for him in our upstairs bathroom, and he quickly got settled in his blankets and was out for the night. I am very glad that we thought ahead and provided some pieces of fleece to L., so that she could put them in the nest/den. These pieces absorbed the comforting scent of his mom and siblings, and helped ease Garth into his new environment. They happened to be just the right size to fit in and around his carrier, which instantly became his safe space.

Each day of the following week has been filled with cute and crazy kitten antics. Garth loves his toys, and has actually patted me on the knee with his paw to ask me to play with him, instead of his usual style of independent discovery. He has a very healthy appetite, and will probably be going through a growth spurt soon with how much he has eaten. Seriously, how does such a tiny body pack away all that food? The portions he consumes do not logically fit in his little frame.

Due to his homebase being in the upstairs bathroom, activities like brushing our teeth have gained an added difficulty. My sister K. experienced the brunt of it, and had to wave her foot around in the air to keep her toes out of reach from the little man. As soon as Garth discovered that her other foot was still on the floor, and did indeed also have toes, she had to switch feet. She later informed me about this whole situation and I couldn’t help but giggle at her telling me that she did not sign up for having to do calisthenics while brushing her teeth. It had to be like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time.

Our own household animals have been kept separate from the baby. We are aiming to keep all animals healthy. So that means, since Garth hasn’t been given all the vaccines that our adult cats have, we isolated him. Anything that he doesn’t have an immunity for already, would be extra rough on his little body. The adult pets of the house also could have caught something from Garth, so we errored on the side of caution.

Tomorrow my mom and I will be packing up the baby and all his belongings, of which he has numerous, and hitting the road. We will be meeting up with my Aunt A. and one of her daughters in the Twin Cities, and handing Garth off to his forever family. I will miss the little dude, but thankfully this is not good bye, it is just see you later.

A Short Update

I haven’t posted in a while, and I thought I would try and give a small update on what has been going on with me. This is by no means an excuse for why I have been slacking on posting, but I want to make a record of events that have been important recently.

Since the end of April, my Mom had surgery to help fix her cubital and carpal tunnel issues on her right arm. She has informed me that I made a pretty great nurse while she was recovering. I was up with her before work, and helped her get all her things together for lunch, and was an assistant to tasks that proved difficult due to her dominant hand being the one that was healing.

The weather has also improved. This meant that my household has been out in the yard working on cleaning up after a Wisconsin winter. Now the gardens are full of color, and the yard has become a gathering space once again. Days like Memorial day were full of yummy food from the grill, and fresh produce that has officially become available in the surrounding area. With the good also comes the bad, so we have had a storm or two. The biggest one of note actually knocked a couple of large branches off our trees in the front yard, and punched a small hole in our roof. The fix was pretty quick and thankfully the only real damage done.

We celebrated my Dad’s birthday as well! My father has always been my superman, and he is the reason that I am a loud and proud geek. He has taught me that being passionate about something is never a bad thing, with a few exceptions obviously. He has always loved superheroes, and has passed that love on to his children. Superman is a favorite of his, so my Mom and I got him a zip up hoodie with the Superman logo on it. At one point he was wearing it over one of his Superman t-shirts and had the zip at just the right spot that it looked like when Clark Kent is changing into his super suit. I got a pretty good giggle out of that, and had to take a picture. My Dad thought it was awesome as well, and proudly posed for the picture.

The live action Lilo and Stitch movie came out in theaters and I went to see it with A. I got crafty and made some Stitch ears for us to wear, along with our Stitch shirts. When I sent a picture of me wearing them to my aunt, she told me that her daughters declared that they both needed a pair as well, due to them also being major Stitch fans. As soon as word got out that I was making Stitch ears, my list of requested pairs only got longer. I ended up making seven pairs of ears, including a pair for A.’s daughter, who recently became obsessed with Stitch.

As for how the movie went, I have to say that I still prefer the original. It is what I grew up with, so there are lots of happy memories attached to it. That said, I do think that they did a good job with the live action. There were moments that pulled on my heart strings, and I think they did a decent job of trying to relate to modern issues without completely messing with the original story.

Lots has been happening lately, and I am going to try my best to post more often. Fingers crossed that I keep my promise.

P.S. Please wish my Grandma and her twin sister L. a very Happy Birthday today!

Positivity Shift

Now that the weather shifts in trend towards the warmer side of things, I have been truly loving just finding a pool of sunshine and parking myself in it with my book of the moment. I am lucky enough to have western facing windows in my bedroom. The afternoon sun comes in and creates nice warm rays across my bed. I will often find Erza lounging on my bed, soaking up the warmth.

Vitamin D has been proven to help lift your mood. Sunshine helps your body with the processing of vitamin D, so that means that laying in the sun, within reason, can have some pretty nice perks. With the warmer weather, that means more chances to get outside for your daily dose of sun.

I have been getting curious about what activities people are doing outside while we are still warming up. Here in Wisconsin, the water is certainly still way too cold for any fun to be had, so that means we need to find things to do on dry land. My family has already started the spring cleaning of our yard. Sunday afternoon was spent picking up sticks, raking the grass to lift the dead vegetation off, and cleaning up a winter’s worth of dog poop. The gardens have been left alone for now, to allow the new life a chance to get a solid start.

Green has become the color of the moment due to the sprouts that are peeking out from under the leftovers from last year’s garden occupants. My favorites are the daffodils, mostly because they pop up so early compared to the other flowers. Certainly doesn’t hurt that they are my favorite color, yellow. There is a small patch of them in one of our backyard gardens that I go out and cheer on every year. The one year that I forgot to get out there early, we only got one actual bloom from the bunch. So ever since I have been informing the daffodils that I believe in them and celebrate each bud that turns into a beautiful flower.

This time of year, as things begin anew, I try my best to embrace the positivity in the air. Time to renew a little bit of faith, and spend some time just soaking up the sunshine.