Taft

Without a cat, my home felt pretty empty. My first grown-up pet, Jack the cat, had run away after someone let him outside. After months of searching for him, posting up fliers, searching local shelters and looking everywhere, I had to come to terms with the fact that Jack was probably not coming home.

While I loved Jack dearly, he was not what you would call a nice cat. He would rub up on you and purr while you pet him one moment and then pin his ears back and bite and claw the next. He destroyed four DVD players and peed on a lot of things. But he was my cat.

I began my search for a new friend online. I looked at the local animal shelter and breed rescue and gathered info on getting a cat that would likely be nicer than Jack was. I read a lot about Maine Coon cats and was interested.

While trolling on Craigslist, I saw an add for a Maine Coon that needed a home or he would be shipped off to a shelter. His name was Noonie and he was gorgeous and within a 20 minute drive. I picked him up two days later.

The first night, Noonie hid under my bed until I was half asleep. Then he crawled up and snuggled his 18 1/2 pound body next to mine, with his whiskers tickling my face, purring louder than I have ever heard a cat purr.

He was renamed Taft after William Howard Taft because he is extremely large and likes to hang out in  bathtubs. Plus there is the resemblance:

Taft is a real trooper. He has been moved around a lot with me, from Illinois to Minnesota back to Illinois over to Ohio, back to Illinois and now in Wisconsin. But he makes my home home. He snuggles and night, talks all of the time and just follows Geoff and I from room to room, wanting to be near.

We are looking now at adopting another cat so that Taft is not so lonely while we are at work, but I think with all of the moving changes right now I'm going to wait. I don't want to overwhelm him with too many changes. It is looking likely that we will adopt another Maine Coon because of how amazing Taft is.

Going and looking at all for the abandoned pets breaks my heart. I cannot imagine ever being without Taft. He is more than just my pet, he is my friend and when I took him in I wanted to guarantee that I would not get rid of him because of life changes. And I mean to keep that with him and with my next pet as well. Keeping animals is a commitment that many do not take seriously and I feel for those poor critters.

If you do get a pet, please consider adopting one. No breeders, there are adult cats that are still kittens at heart (Taft was 2 when I got him) and they need a loving home. And spay and neuter them.

Blue-haired cat lady

My hair color changes on a monthly basis and I dyed it today on my big day off.

My hair before starting. I had used a brand called Splatt and was unimpressed. The color faded very quickly (and I use cold water and special shampoo) and I just wanted something brighter and better. After looking around at some online suggestions (for the best hair dye advice, please see thedaintysquid) I bought some Manic Panic Atomic Turquoise.  

I had some bleach on hand and got to work! After a bit of sitting around drinking some coffee and leveling up my chocobos on FFVII, my hair looked like this:

I love that little pink in there! Filing that away for next time... But then I thew some dye on and got some gardening done.

We put our basil plant in my stormtrooper mug and set it out in the back. Taft loves jumping out and just rubbing his face on the concrete. I love this picture of him!

Look at those crazy eyes! As per daintysquid, I left the hair dye in for a loooong time. About four hours. My hair feels fine afterwards and I am thrilled with the results! What do you think?

In closing, here is one last photo of my pretty boy. Geoff and I are looking at adopting another cat because I think we both got bit by the cat-lady virus. I cannot wait to have another little dude.

Taft loves Dostoevsky

I'm playing hookey today from work. I've been feeling super tense and antsy and just really needed a mental health day, so here I am. Despite the fact that I'm suppose to be relaxing, I've been super busy today. I finished two of the portraits for my giveaway and am really happy with how they turned out.

I've also been working on a quilt that is just made up of little scraps of fabric that my grandma gave me. I'm just going to turn it into a throw blanket and it's shaping up. No big exciting plans for the holiday weekend - just chilling at home with Taft and my book. I've got more in me to blog about, but my head is achey and I need to nap I think.

Blog rehaul

I have been unsure about what to do with this space (again) but rather than let it die I am just going to try to have a blog without an over-arching theme per say, but just blog about whatever happens to come my way. So, if you are reading still or reading for the first time - or even if you aren't reading, here are a few things you will likely find in the foreseeable future

My sister - Rachel - who is basically my favorite thing. She is 18 years younger than I am and has Down Syndrome and is the best sister I could ever ask for. She has made me think about things I might not have otherwise, most notably the concept of whale underpants.

I love to draw/doodle/cartoon and I am trying to focus my energy on getting these drawings into a cohesive story line. Also I have a very large (18 pounds) cat named Taft. He is hilarious.

I sew things! Right now specifically I am working on a couple of quilts under the guidance of my awesome gram. When she was younger she had to quilt something like thirteen quilts before she was allowed to get married to my grandpa. Thankfully I don't have the same restrictions. I also have been know to knit and do other craft things.

Taft - the handsome devil.

Other than that expect to find silly photos of my adventures running around the mid-west and trying to figure out what direction my 20-something life is going. If you are out there let me know!