Thursday, April 8, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Surprised
I admit, I was surprised. I'm a big girl, and I can admit when I'm wrong. In my painting class we have moved on from photo-representational work to impasto/expressionistic/ arbitrary color using palette knives instead of brushes. I've never worked with palette knives before, and certainly never gone impasto (thick paint that stands up off the surface its applied to in ridges.) Van Gogh did a lot of this, even in photos you can see the lines of the paint, and if you were to actually touch it you could feel the texture. Arbitrary color is just fancy-speak for picking the colors yourself regardless of how an object appears in real life. Anyway, I fully expected to hate this project because I like working with brushes and doing tight details, getting things to look real. Also, I'm a fairly cheap individual, and impasto uses a lot of paint. So I was surprised today because I like the work I'm doing. It might not be my favorite thing ever but I like not completely blending the colors and drawing designs in the wet paint. It's... fun. I didn't want to stop.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
kittens
Hello all! So Mama-kitty had her kittens a couple of days ago... Monday I think it was, and I got to see them last night.
Though it wasn't exactly for a happy reason.
The day started off pretty good, had a nice time in my classes, and had dinner and a movie with my cousins and their puppy, who was quite happy to run up to me and give me kisses. Lots and lots of kisses.
I got back to the dorm at about 10:30 or so, and was surfing the web and such for another hour after that. Fruit Bat was reading in bed, and I was thinking about taking a shower and going to bed. then Fruit Bat got a call from the lady who is looking after Mama-kitty. Apparently, since she's had her kittens, she'd been really mean, and wouldn't even let the lady open the door of the cage to feed her- she had to poke the food through the bars and Mama still swiped at her when she did.
There are four kittens, two are the creamy-orange color that Solstice is, one is a tortie and one looked gray to me, though FB says that its actually a tortie as well due to the color splotches on the paws. Anyway, this lady was calling because Mama-Kitty had pushed the gray kitten away, and she wasn't sure it was moving anymore. It was hard to tell, especially since Mama got agitated whenever she saw her.
FB and I were instantly worried, and rolled out, stopping by the store to pick up nutrient-rich kitten food to help Mama produce milk,some milk-supplement in case bottle-feeding the kitten was necessary and a cat-cube, since at the moment Mama's keeping her kittens in the litter box. It's our hope that she will move them to the cat-cube, FB thinks it would be less stressful for her if she could feel as though her babies were better hidden.
The lady watching the cats lives about twenty minutes away from campus, I think it was about 12:10 when we got there (and I can just hear mom and dad complaining about it being a school night.) She let us in and took us to the garage where the cats were.
Mama-kitty and kittens are in a large wire dog cage (not a crate, this one isn't for transportation so much as a place for your dog to sleep where they can't get into trouble) that has two litter-boxes in it. One is an actual litter-box, where Mama has sequestered the kittens, the other had been filled with shredded paper in hopes that she would nest there, but she pulled out all the paper and stuck with the other box.
The minute that Mama saw FB she started purring. I have never heard Mama-kitty purr before, but she purrs LOUD. It filled the whole garage. Fruit Bat put the cube in the cage, Mama watching her, never letting up on the purr. I was really impressed that she trusted FB so much that close to her babies without even a protest- but what came next simply blew me away. FB carefully reached in and picked up the gray kitten that had been pushed away, a motion that took her very near Mama-kitty and the other kittens, and Mama-kitty just watched her do it. Unbelievable.
Little gray was alive, and warm, FB couldn't see anything wrong with it, and handed it to me while she and the lady went to go mix up some milk supplement.
I've never seen a kitten that young in real life before. She has the extra dewclaw that some of Mama's kittens get occasionally, and from her dad, the infamous Capricorn, she's inherited some light facial markings that outline her eyes. The eyes themselves were, of course, closed. I may not know exactly when, but I do know that kittens and puppies are born with their eyes closed and don't open them for a while. I want to say a couple of weeks, but don't quote me on that.
I found it interesting that even though her eyes were closed, she was more comfortable sticking her head into the sleeve of my jacket where it was darker. She sucked on the skin of my hand, trying to nurse. I really can't get over how cute she was.
The whole time that FB and the lady were fixing the supplement, I held the little kitten, and watched Mama-kitty (still purring) watching me. She sat up and let the other three nurse that way.
FB and the lady came back, and the lady gave us pointers on how to nurse the kitten, since neither FB nor I (definitely not I!) have ever done it before. The kitten wasn't interested in the supplement, and FB and the lady left again to warm it up.
Having warmed it (and having a discussion as to whether or not it was too warm) we tried again. I think I felt her swallow some, but she really just wasn't that interested.
Finally FB decided that we would just try putting her back with Mama. She reached in (again!) and put the kitten in with the others. For a while the kitten just lay with its head on Mama's hind leg, but after a bit it moved to nurse, though it had to shove the two creamy's out of the way, since they were hogging the food supply.
It was so hard to convince ourselves to leave. We sat watching them for a long time, Mama getting sleepier and sleepier the longer that we sat there. I've never seen her so relaxed or happy.
We did have to leave though, again, it was a school night. Didn't get to bed until about 1:40 I think. Oh well, I consider it to have been worth it. Especially since the two classes I had today don't really require mental backflips.
I keep wanting to name the kittens, and I have to keep reminding myself a.) We don't know the genders yet. and b.) They are only a few days old and don't even have personalities yet!
We still don't know why Mama pushed away the gray, but it's heartening that she took it right back.
Though it wasn't exactly for a happy reason.
The day started off pretty good, had a nice time in my classes, and had dinner and a movie with my cousins and their puppy, who was quite happy to run up to me and give me kisses. Lots and lots of kisses.
I got back to the dorm at about 10:30 or so, and was surfing the web and such for another hour after that. Fruit Bat was reading in bed, and I was thinking about taking a shower and going to bed. then Fruit Bat got a call from the lady who is looking after Mama-kitty. Apparently, since she's had her kittens, she'd been really mean, and wouldn't even let the lady open the door of the cage to feed her- she had to poke the food through the bars and Mama still swiped at her when she did.
There are four kittens, two are the creamy-orange color that Solstice is, one is a tortie and one looked gray to me, though FB says that its actually a tortie as well due to the color splotches on the paws. Anyway, this lady was calling because Mama-Kitty had pushed the gray kitten away, and she wasn't sure it was moving anymore. It was hard to tell, especially since Mama got agitated whenever she saw her.
FB and I were instantly worried, and rolled out, stopping by the store to pick up nutrient-rich kitten food to help Mama produce milk,some milk-supplement in case bottle-feeding the kitten was necessary and a cat-cube, since at the moment Mama's keeping her kittens in the litter box. It's our hope that she will move them to the cat-cube, FB thinks it would be less stressful for her if she could feel as though her babies were better hidden.
The lady watching the cats lives about twenty minutes away from campus, I think it was about 12:10 when we got there (and I can just hear mom and dad complaining about it being a school night.) She let us in and took us to the garage where the cats were.
Mama-kitty and kittens are in a large wire dog cage (not a crate, this one isn't for transportation so much as a place for your dog to sleep where they can't get into trouble) that has two litter-boxes in it. One is an actual litter-box, where Mama has sequestered the kittens, the other had been filled with shredded paper in hopes that she would nest there, but she pulled out all the paper and stuck with the other box.
The minute that Mama saw FB she started purring. I have never heard Mama-kitty purr before, but she purrs LOUD. It filled the whole garage. Fruit Bat put the cube in the cage, Mama watching her, never letting up on the purr. I was really impressed that she trusted FB so much that close to her babies without even a protest- but what came next simply blew me away. FB carefully reached in and picked up the gray kitten that had been pushed away, a motion that took her very near Mama-kitty and the other kittens, and Mama-kitty just watched her do it. Unbelievable.
Little gray was alive, and warm, FB couldn't see anything wrong with it, and handed it to me while she and the lady went to go mix up some milk supplement.
I've never seen a kitten that young in real life before. She has the extra dewclaw that some of Mama's kittens get occasionally, and from her dad, the infamous Capricorn, she's inherited some light facial markings that outline her eyes. The eyes themselves were, of course, closed. I may not know exactly when, but I do know that kittens and puppies are born with their eyes closed and don't open them for a while. I want to say a couple of weeks, but don't quote me on that.
I found it interesting that even though her eyes were closed, she was more comfortable sticking her head into the sleeve of my jacket where it was darker. She sucked on the skin of my hand, trying to nurse. I really can't get over how cute she was.
The whole time that FB and the lady were fixing the supplement, I held the little kitten, and watched Mama-kitty (still purring) watching me. She sat up and let the other three nurse that way.
FB and the lady came back, and the lady gave us pointers on how to nurse the kitten, since neither FB nor I (definitely not I!) have ever done it before. The kitten wasn't interested in the supplement, and FB and the lady left again to warm it up.
Having warmed it (and having a discussion as to whether or not it was too warm) we tried again. I think I felt her swallow some, but she really just wasn't that interested.
Finally FB decided that we would just try putting her back with Mama. She reached in (again!) and put the kitten in with the others. For a while the kitten just lay with its head on Mama's hind leg, but after a bit it moved to nurse, though it had to shove the two creamy's out of the way, since they were hogging the food supply.
It was so hard to convince ourselves to leave. We sat watching them for a long time, Mama getting sleepier and sleepier the longer that we sat there. I've never seen her so relaxed or happy.
We did have to leave though, again, it was a school night. Didn't get to bed until about 1:40 I think. Oh well, I consider it to have been worth it. Especially since the two classes I had today don't really require mental backflips.
I keep wanting to name the kittens, and I have to keep reminding myself a.) We don't know the genders yet. and b.) They are only a few days old and don't even have personalities yet!
We still don't know why Mama pushed away the gray, but it's heartening that she took it right back.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
the second day the first post
In other words, I meant to write this yesterday.
Ah, yesterday. A MONDAY. A day of getting up early for class that you haven't been to in a week. A trial on any occasion.
Although, the Monday-ness was greatly increased for me. To start with, I woke up before my alarm went off because of a cramp. By the time I got to breakfast the cramp was so bad that I had to force myself to eat 3/4 of a muffin just so I could take some medicine. It hurt. It hurt so bad that I was getting nauseous. (That would be reason number 2 for my small breakfast).
I made it to my first class of the day, uncomfortably warm, with a stomach that was beginning to tie itself into nasty knots. By the time that the teacher came in, I was aware that I was not going to be able to sit through the class and had to ask to go to the health clinic.
I'm in college, so I'm aware that I didn't have to ask, but I happen to think its rude to just walk out of class- especially since I enjoy that class...
It took me longer than it should have to get to the clinic, there's construction blocking off the most direct route. I'd taken off my hoodie even though it was cold enough to see my breath at times- I was way too warm. I'd also caught a glimpse of my face.
If you know me, especially if you're my family, you probably know that my face is a pretty good indicator of how sick I feel. I'm not talking about expression, I'm talking about hue- I'm naturally pale, but my face tends to get nasty white when my stomach is doing its nausea bit.
I made it to the clinic without getting sick, showed my campus ID and sat down in their lobby- where I was sick in their trashcan. I figure that's what it was there for, since they have a lot of them in there.
They moved me to a back room until the Doctor could see me to tell me what I already knew- bad cramps were causing my nausea and the medicine that I'd taken earlier wasn't working at all. They gave me something else and had me lie down with a heating pad.
I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up feeling much better, almost fine. I was also about 10 minutes late for my next class. Wheee.....
I'm fine today, and I was fine the rest of yesterday. It was just something different, so I figured that I'd talk about it.
Ah, yesterday. A MONDAY. A day of getting up early for class that you haven't been to in a week. A trial on any occasion.
Although, the Monday-ness was greatly increased for me. To start with, I woke up before my alarm went off because of a cramp. By the time I got to breakfast the cramp was so bad that I had to force myself to eat 3/4 of a muffin just so I could take some medicine. It hurt. It hurt so bad that I was getting nauseous. (That would be reason number 2 for my small breakfast).
I made it to my first class of the day, uncomfortably warm, with a stomach that was beginning to tie itself into nasty knots. By the time that the teacher came in, I was aware that I was not going to be able to sit through the class and had to ask to go to the health clinic.
I'm in college, so I'm aware that I didn't have to ask, but I happen to think its rude to just walk out of class- especially since I enjoy that class...
It took me longer than it should have to get to the clinic, there's construction blocking off the most direct route. I'd taken off my hoodie even though it was cold enough to see my breath at times- I was way too warm. I'd also caught a glimpse of my face.
If you know me, especially if you're my family, you probably know that my face is a pretty good indicator of how sick I feel. I'm not talking about expression, I'm talking about hue- I'm naturally pale, but my face tends to get nasty white when my stomach is doing its nausea bit.
I made it to the clinic without getting sick, showed my campus ID and sat down in their lobby- where I was sick in their trashcan. I figure that's what it was there for, since they have a lot of them in there.
They moved me to a back room until the Doctor could see me to tell me what I already knew- bad cramps were causing my nausea and the medicine that I'd taken earlier wasn't working at all. They gave me something else and had me lie down with a heating pad.
I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up feeling much better, almost fine. I was also about 10 minutes late for my next class. Wheee.....
I'm fine today, and I was fine the rest of yesterday. It was just something different, so I figured that I'd talk about it.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Time that passes too tediously quick
If that title made sense to you, you may want to read it again.
This is a post about time, of which I have about twenty-four minutes to rant about until I leave for work.
So, I get to go home this weekend, but I leave Sunday morning. Today, and tomorrow, seem to be taking forever. Tomorrow twice as long as today, since it's not even here yet.
And yet- the time passed way too quickly this morning. I had two tests today- one of which I'm particularly upset about.
One of my English classes (I'm in two) had a test today. I spent much of last night studying. With the result being that when I took the test this morning, I'm fairly confident on my score on the multiple choice/ quotation identification section. The thing that has me twitchy was the essay. With thirty minutes left on the clock, I grabbed the essay prompt, selected one, and pulled quotes out of the books- yes, it would have gone much faster without the quotes, unfortunately they were required. Having pulled my quotes, I started to write.
I don't know if whoever is reading this has ever had to read my handwriting, so I'll just say it. My handwriting is pretty messy, especially if I'm in a hurry (this usually means taking notes or trying to capture a fleeting idea). But even my regular not-rushed writing can usually only be read by me without unreasonable difficulty. Anything I give to friends or family to read is usually rewritten with my taking express care to keep it legible.
This meant, since having an illegible essay would be worse than useless, I had to write a bit slower. I had finished my opening statement and was midway into the second paragraph when the teacher said we had five minutes. Nice writing flew out the window.
Even with the nice writing dying a silent death, I only managed to finish the paragraph I was working on and start the first half of the other. When the professor told us to finish our sentences, I abandoned all pretense of explaining my quotes and simply threw them out there.
So I had to turn in a paper that cuts off in the middle of the third/fourth paragraph, one which has no closing statement whatsoever.
I've never not finished an essay before.
I feel SO twitchy about it.
This is a post about time, of which I have about twenty-four minutes to rant about until I leave for work.
So, I get to go home this weekend, but I leave Sunday morning. Today, and tomorrow, seem to be taking forever. Tomorrow twice as long as today, since it's not even here yet.
And yet- the time passed way too quickly this morning. I had two tests today- one of which I'm particularly upset about.
One of my English classes (I'm in two) had a test today. I spent much of last night studying. With the result being that when I took the test this morning, I'm fairly confident on my score on the multiple choice/ quotation identification section. The thing that has me twitchy was the essay. With thirty minutes left on the clock, I grabbed the essay prompt, selected one, and pulled quotes out of the books- yes, it would have gone much faster without the quotes, unfortunately they were required. Having pulled my quotes, I started to write.
I don't know if whoever is reading this has ever had to read my handwriting, so I'll just say it. My handwriting is pretty messy, especially if I'm in a hurry (this usually means taking notes or trying to capture a fleeting idea). But even my regular not-rushed writing can usually only be read by me without unreasonable difficulty. Anything I give to friends or family to read is usually rewritten with my taking express care to keep it legible.
This meant, since having an illegible essay would be worse than useless, I had to write a bit slower. I had finished my opening statement and was midway into the second paragraph when the teacher said we had five minutes. Nice writing flew out the window.
Even with the nice writing dying a silent death, I only managed to finish the paragraph I was working on and start the first half of the other. When the professor told us to finish our sentences, I abandoned all pretense of explaining my quotes and simply threw them out there.
So I had to turn in a paper that cuts off in the middle of the third/fourth paragraph, one which has no closing statement whatsoever.
I've never not finished an essay before.
I feel SO twitchy about it.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Captured!
It finally happened! It really ought to be Fruit Bat posting this, since she's the one who puts so much effort into the local cats, but she's got homework and I've got time.
Mama kitty, the feral cat we've known for about two years now has been caught!
I'm not sure I ever really thought it would happen- this is the cat who snuck into the trap, ate the bait, and got back out without tripping it. This is the cat who would run whenever she saw us when we first met her.
This is also the cat that Fruit Bat has been working tirelessly to build trust with.
And boy did it pay off.
FB's been feeding the cats all year, and recently she's been sitting outside with them while she fed them, and made good progress. Zant, Mama kitty's son, not only lets her pet him now, but wants her to pet him. Fine distinction, that, but one that anybody who's ever owned a cat will recognize. Recently, Mama's been acting more friendly toward FB- allowing herself to be petted and such. FB decided to pull out the old trick from Operation Cat-in-bag of last year, with which we caught Mama's three kittens Solstice, Saul and Midnight. She decided to train Mama/Zant to eat in the pet carrier.
Yesterday she set it out, only putting the food in it close to the door, since I do believe it was only the second consecutive day that she was working with it. Mama-kitty put her head in to eat- her body blocking Zant, who pouted.
Due to this interaction however, the can of food got pushed to the back of the carrier, and Mama stepped all the way in. FB slowly closed the door, so slowly that Mama didn't notice until it was latched, and freaked out.
Ordinarily, when we catch a cat, we take it to a local vet to get them neutered/spayed. And Mama will be getting spayed- but right now she's about a week away from having kittens. FB has a coworker who will be looking after Mama while we wait for the birth- cursed dorm and its no pet rules!
Its exciting to finally see that she's been caught, but its also bizarre. From day one, August 2008, we've seen Mama-kitty around campus. Now she's not here... At least she'll be returning here once she's spayed though. Zant misses his mom.
The father of this batch of kittens is a cat we've named Capricorn, after the villain from Corneilia Funkle's INKHEART book. This is because Capricorn is really NOT a pretty cat, or even a nice one. He was smacking Mama around when he was "flirting" with her. Jerk. FB's REAL interested in getting him neutered. Especially since she went to all the trouble of getting the males in this area neutered in hopes of preventing any more kittens.
So far the cat-colony over here consists of:
Mama-kitty: female (captured, pending spay). Mother of Midna, Zant, Solstice, Saul, Midnight, and four other kittens.
Abel: male, neutered. Father of Midna, Zant. Possible father of Solstice, Saul and Midnight.
Zant: male, neutered. Brother of Midna. At least half-brother of Solstice, Saul and Midnight.
Trowa: new male. Unneutered. Shy. No known relation to other cats.
Mama kitty, the feral cat we've known for about two years now has been caught!
I'm not sure I ever really thought it would happen- this is the cat who snuck into the trap, ate the bait, and got back out without tripping it. This is the cat who would run whenever she saw us when we first met her.
This is also the cat that Fruit Bat has been working tirelessly to build trust with.
And boy did it pay off.
FB's been feeding the cats all year, and recently she's been sitting outside with them while she fed them, and made good progress. Zant, Mama kitty's son, not only lets her pet him now, but wants her to pet him. Fine distinction, that, but one that anybody who's ever owned a cat will recognize. Recently, Mama's been acting more friendly toward FB- allowing herself to be petted and such. FB decided to pull out the old trick from Operation Cat-in-bag of last year, with which we caught Mama's three kittens Solstice, Saul and Midnight. She decided to train Mama/Zant to eat in the pet carrier.
Yesterday she set it out, only putting the food in it close to the door, since I do believe it was only the second consecutive day that she was working with it. Mama-kitty put her head in to eat- her body blocking Zant, who pouted.
Due to this interaction however, the can of food got pushed to the back of the carrier, and Mama stepped all the way in. FB slowly closed the door, so slowly that Mama didn't notice until it was latched, and freaked out.
Ordinarily, when we catch a cat, we take it to a local vet to get them neutered/spayed. And Mama will be getting spayed- but right now she's about a week away from having kittens. FB has a coworker who will be looking after Mama while we wait for the birth- cursed dorm and its no pet rules!
Its exciting to finally see that she's been caught, but its also bizarre. From day one, August 2008, we've seen Mama-kitty around campus. Now she's not here... At least she'll be returning here once she's spayed though. Zant misses his mom.
The father of this batch of kittens is a cat we've named Capricorn, after the villain from Corneilia Funkle's INKHEART book. This is because Capricorn is really NOT a pretty cat, or even a nice one. He was smacking Mama around when he was "flirting" with her. Jerk. FB's REAL interested in getting him neutered. Especially since she went to all the trouble of getting the males in this area neutered in hopes of preventing any more kittens.
So far the cat-colony over here consists of:
Mama-kitty: female (captured, pending spay). Mother of Midna, Zant, Solstice, Saul, Midnight, and four other kittens.
Abel: male, neutered. Father of Midna, Zant. Possible father of Solstice, Saul and Midnight.
Zant: male, neutered. Brother of Midna. At least half-brother of Solstice, Saul and Midnight.
Trowa: new male. Unneutered. Shy. No known relation to other cats.
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