van city kitty :: meet cleo

In case you missed me showing off Cleo like a proud cat momma, I thought I would send her some extra love on the blog. Cleo is this week's Van City Kitty over at Vancouver is Awesome. Think she's a cutie? Leave a heart for her at the bottom of the post!

♥ cat love ♥

I love my cat. Here's a few snapshots from our impromptu photo shoot a few days back when it was still sunny.

life :: craft season

For anybody thinking of visiting the apartment, just a warning... it's craft season. There is fabric, thread, tables, tags and all things craft fair related absolutely everywhere. See that tiny brown coffee table in front of the big purple one? That is where we currently eat while sitting on the floor and the ghetto part is that we lost a part of the leg, so it wobbles and we have to keep any cups that are super filled on the floor in case of spillage.

Last night, Rob and I borrowed a 6ft folding table which is now sitting in the middle of the living room. It's my "practice" display table. Yup. It's that crazy. Please feel free to visit, but don't be surprised if I tell you to start cutting something. Tea and left over halloween candy will be supplied!

Oh, and yes, see that black chair in front of the window? We placed the cat bed on top, so that Cleo could enjoy the heat. So very pampered indeed!

... and then there is Cleo ...

Beginning in 2002, the UK launched a scheme where pet owners could avoid a 6 month quarantine for cats and dogs. We did a bit of research and found a vet at Cats Only that has gone through the process before. This hopefully will make it a lot smoother for us.

The company that her original microchip is from is no longer in business and does not meet ISO standards for microchips. So Cleo has her first appointment at the Vet tomorrow to have a new microchip embedded. Afterwards, Cleo will need a rabies shot and a blood test a few weeks later to make sure that she has the required amount of the rabies vaccine in her blood. She wil then be required to complete a Veterinary Certificate which is a document that shows her microchip number, the rabies vaccine and blood test information and confirms that she has met all of the requirements to travel. It's not over yet. 24 to 48 hours prior to the date we leave, she has to go back to the Vet for a tick and tape worm treatment. Poor kitty!

Currently, the only airline that allows cats to travel in the cabin with the owner is Air Canada and you must fly into the Heathrow airport. There has been some discussion amongst people about a possible human rights tribunal put forth by people who are allergic to cats. They feel that their human rights have been violated by allowing cats in the cabin. This is still up for discussion. Fingers crossed that our little 'muk muk' can travel in the cabin with us.

saturday morning

Started off with freshly made biscuits using this recipe from Post Grad Hair Cut, jam, cut fruit, freshly brewed coffee and some 'fancy' thrifted plates ...


Then we just relaxed in the sun rays beaming through the windows ...


Cleo, the no. 1 chilllaxer

the many faces of cleo

Cleo is a 14 year old siamese tabby snowshoe that was rescued from the BC SPCA 7 years ago. I'm a pretty crazy cat lady when it comes to taking pictures of random cats I meet on the iphone, so I thought I would upload them here and make a collage.

cleo

For the past five years, Rob and I have disagreed about what our Christmas tree should look like.

R: Green
A: White (but now I want green)

R: Fake
A: Real

R: Big
A: Small

R: Coloured lights
A: White lights

After being together for 8.5 years, we finally settled on a green, small to medium tree with white lights. We picked up a used stand from the local thrift store and brought everything home last week. Of course, Miss Cleo aka super nosy, had to check it out and decided that she was thirsty. It was late and dark, but it was a super cute moment!

a bit of crazy

I can't believe it is Monday already! This is what happens when you work all week and do craft fairs all weekend! I'm pretty exhausted, but with Got Craft coming up this Sunday, it means wonky sleep patterns. The day of our very first show, 3 years ago, I woke up at 6 in the morning and started baking banana bread for no apparent reason. Trust me, I'm not a morning person! Rob didn't know what was happening.. haha!


Portobello West was on the weekend and although, I didn't have high hopes for it as I wasn't too pleased with my table location, I did extremely well. Robert (I'm so camera shy!) also did a feature on my teacup candles with Eco Chic International, a website that provides tips on going green.

Of course, as I am writing this, I am sitting amid chaos. The house is a complete disaster with a mountain of Yudu's and swag bags. Not to mention, all of my craft stuff which is literally all over the entire apartment.


(For you keeners out there, yes, the swag bags are larger this year and stuffed with even more awesomeness. For those that want one of these coveted totes, I have spoken from some that are planning on being there no later than 7:30am!! Will be posting swag pictures soon over at the Got Craft blog.)

No craft fair is complete without a little shopping! Table neighbours, Note + Emote has the cutest stationery and this is the ceramic bowl that I picked up from gabriEllephant Design.


Lastly, for a little fur cuteness...


... this is how I found her the other night on the sofa. She loves that pink blanket and just burrowed her way through. Of course, she has also taken up some human traits including laying her head on the pillow. What a pampered princess!

luna

(my fur baby, cleo, enjoying a sweet lick)

My friend's cat past away earlier this week. I love visiting their studio, because a) it's always good times and b) two cats would always come to greet us at the door. Ok. Ok. One would greet us at the door if she saw us and the other one would go in hiding. I miss her chirp chirp purr and her head twisting. I miss how she would gently nibble your fingers and pat your chest if you weren't paying attention to her.

She wasn't even my cat nor have I ever cat sat her or really spent long periods of time together. Yet, my heart broke when I heard the news. Loudly gasping while I checked twitter messages in the middle of Starbucks. I was sad all day and the day after. I know I talk about the pair of new kittens that I would get when Cleo passes away, but I'm just talking smak. I would be completely devasted. So if you have a fur baby of your own, make sure you go and give it a big hug and kiss.

cleo at the craft station

A funny shot from across the room....



and then zoomed in.