New Things

Let’s start with the loudest, and the cutest.

I was working at the Macomber late this afternoon, when all of a sudden there at my porch door was someone looking in at me and saying, “Hi! Let me in, please.” After a double-take, I realized I had a visitor.

I opened the door and she didn’t run – sort of trotted to the other end of the porch while Red did his, “Who the heck are you?” thing. I put Red back in the house and kitty came right to me for some pets. Sweet little thing. A medium-hair (not long, not short) Siamese with lovely blue eyes.

So I came inside and got a little bowl and put a small handful of Red’s food in it (small dog = small bites dog food). She gobbled it up. I gave her another small handful. Gone. A third small handful – gone again.

I’d made myself some chicken vegetable soup for dinner, so I gave Red about 1/3 cup of it in a bowl in the house and kitty about 1/3 cup of it in a bowl on the porch. She ate it all – green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, every bit.

I made a few phone calls to see if a neighbor knew where she lived. Nope.

I went back out on the porch, with Red this time, and they calmly said hello to each other. Not a hiss, an arched back, or a growl. I brought out a towel and put it in the wooden box that lives on my porch and showed it to kitty. Not interested. But I noticed when I picked her up that she weighs nothing. Looks healthy enough, but I’m guessing is young. She was happy to have me pet her, fine with me picking a burr-ish thing out of her tail. She was okay with me prodding her front feet to confirm my guess from watching her eat – she’s been declawed. I’m guessing she’s been spayed, too.

That tells me that it’s not likely that she was ‘dropped off.’ Has happened plenty of times in the past, usually with a very pregnant female. This little girl is not pregnant. I’m thinking something happened that she got lost.

I’m not going to let her in the house this evening, ‘cuz I’m betting she’s used to a litter box and I don’t have one. If she’s still here in the morning I know my friend M wants her. That’s fine with me. I’d probably keep her myself, but I’d much rather M have a pet than that I get a cat while I’m trying to sell my house.

After I got kitty fed and made her a bed I came back inside and put the sauce/salsa I’d had simmering for hours into jars for their hot water bath.

I used a recipe from my neighbor. She calls it chili sauce, but I think it’s more like a salsa. In addition to the usual culprits – tomatoes, onions, peppers, sugar, vinegar – this recipe has fresh peaches & pears in it. Yum!

Oh, yeah. Remember up top I told you I was working at my Macomber? I’m making great progress on the custom shawl – a silk gebrochene.

Can you spot the treadling error? It’s in the third medallion from the top. I didn’t see it till I was at the computer with the photo, at which point I’d already woven much more than you see here. I’m calling it a design element.

I tried to get a good shot of the underside but didn’t succeed. I think I like that side even better than the ‘top.’ You’ll have to wait till it’s off the loom to see it.