Happy Earth Day

We are adjusting to being just the two of us. Mommy actually left me alone for a long weekend, with just a visit from Uncle Tim to check on me. I think she was worried about me but as long as I had plenty of food and water, I knew I would be just fine.

My plan for today is to be in conservation mode, as in I'm conserving energy and taking a longer nap and not moving from the back of the couch!

So, plant a tree, repurpose a t-shirt into a great cat bed, and just think twice about how you are using your resources. And, remember, Earth is the only planet with chocolate! (that is from the mommy)

Snuggles from Maggie May.

And then there was one :-(

 It's been a long time since we posted. Charles and Maggie May have been living the good life with me, the mommy. However, Charles has been not doing well and when we calculated his age, we realized that he was 16 years old. 

Charles has been giving me signs that we would be soon be memories to one another for several months but as long as he was eating and making his morning jump from the floor up to my tall bed, I was willing to keep following our regular path. That had become more difficult for him though.

Wednesday morning, he couldn't make the jump and he didn't want any food (hadn't eaten on Tuesday either) and I knew it was time. We spent our remaining hours, telling each other in our own ways, how much we loved and would miss one another until we were together again.

Maggie May and I are finding out how to live without our tuxedo buddy and she still looks for him every morning. She's sleeping with me every night and has taken over Charles' job of waking me up too early for breakfast. 

Charles saved my life 5 years ago when the smoke detectors didn't work by banging on my closed bedroom door until he woke me up. We lost his brother to smoke inhalation.  He was my hero and I always promised I would do whatever he needed or wanted for his entire life and I like to think Wednesday morning also honored that promise.

I will miss my big tuxedo boy. See you at the Rainbow Bridge, Charles.

Fingers crossed

The mommy is taking over the blog for the evening post.
Charles and Maggie May

Thank you both for giving me this opportunity. I've been quilting for many years but most of my quilts are what I consider utility. Great quilts but not meant to be heirloom. Baby quilts are meant to be put on the ground to cushion a baby's play time, spit up on and washed until they fall apart.

My sister and her husband purchased property about an hour outside Nashville several years ago. This will become their retirement living area in a couple of years but for now, it's a vacation location and lots of work to keep the wild at bay. There are dry stone walls that mark the old property lines that date back to before the Civil War.
I went through a phase (it still pops up from time to time) where I enjoyed working with the reproduction Civil War era fabrics. My sister saw this quilt in the earliest stages and liked it. My sister appreciates my quilts but some of them aren't her taste, so this was a sign to me that this should be their quilt.

Last year, I took this quilt to be appraised for them. The appraiser encouraged me to consider entering some of my quilts in contests. I don't always see the beauty, only seeing the mistakes, so this is a huge leap of faith on my part. That said, today I sent off the application, complete with photos and the fee, to Quilt Expo, which is held in Madison, Wisconsin every September. This is a juried show, so the quilts are selected by committee, and the quilts that are selected are then judged before hanging in the show.
So, tonight, I'm saying a little prayer that this quilt gets juried into the show. I have no dreams of winning any of the prizes, just would like to make that first step and get it into the show.
The quilt is titled "Time Stands Still at the Farm", as my sister and her husband have named the property Southern Comfort Farm. I should know one way or the other by early August.
Thanks for keeping up with the cats and I. We appreciate you all.

Wow! where has time gone?

With apologies to all that we have missed in our absence, we wanted to post a short update.

Last September, Mommy got me a new sister. After the fiasco of Charlee, she was worried about how I would react but this new sister is young and (don't tell her!) fun. She likes to bounce on me when I'm sleeping and I get mad but not for long.
Mommy told me the people at the shelter named her Treebond (what sort of name is that?!!) but mommy decided she should be known as Maggie May. Maggie and I like to sleep and eat together, sometimes, but we are still independent cats and enjoy waking mommy up early every morning.

Another change since we last posted is that mommy retired from her job of 39 years last February. I enjoyed having her to myself until Maggie joined us last fall and now we enjoy having our personal servant with us 24/7. Mommy likes to sew and quilt and when she spends too much time doing that, I start tearing up paper and cardboard boxes. Mommy hates that and it's guaranteed to get her attention for a little while.

Mommy has managed to finish many quilts since she retired. Here are a few of those too (she insisted and since she is typing this for me, I'm letting her):

 Mommy says the last one isn't quilted yet but the others have been and two of them have been gifted.

So, that's all for now. If you have been waiting for us to post again, thanks for sticking with us. If you're new, welcome and stick around. I'm going to try and get Mommy to post more often.
Meows,
Charles

Just a new photo...

Mommy caught my handsome face this morning and wanted to share with anyone still checking our site. Not much happening here, eating, sleeping and meowing at mommy for more food-so typical cat stuff!
Mommy cleared me a space under her quilting table to curl up while she does her computer stuff and put a lovely bath mat on it to make it soft.
So all of you have a terrific day and keep purring,
Charles

Relaxing and adjusting to being an only!

Well, I  seem to be finding out how nice being an only can be. While Mommy says I'm a little more needy than before the Princess went to the Bridge, I do like having the mommy to myself.
Mommy has been home a little more than normal...something about having teethies pulled and replaced with new ones (don't know how that works but she seems to be ok and she doesn't look any different to me).

Today, Mommy caught me relaxing on the bed, on her blankie. It makes me happy to smell her when she's gone...I don't feel so lonely and yesterday, I left her a surprise-a hair ball on her other blankie and quilt that she found when she went to bed last night. I think she liked it, as she saved it til this morning before she made it disappear behind the door where she doesn't let me go (the basement, Charles, has nothing for you to enjoy, so you don't need to go there).

So, in all my glory and messy bed, here I am!!!

Sending thanks and purrs to all that are still with us.
Charles and mommy, Anna

Failed attempt!

So, yesterday, the mommy and her sister decided to see if Aunt Mary's feline, Charlee, might like to come and live with us. Charlee is a lovely gray and white girl cat and she immediately headed for my spot on the bed and nothing mommy could do last night would get her to move to the other bedroom, so we slept on the couch last night.
Charlee made her displeasure very happy by scratching and really biting hard. Now, mommy's hand is swollen and red (she bit REALLY HARD)  and my mommy has to go back to the job place tomorrow, so she's not happy.
Aunt Mary came and got Charlee this morning and all is good at the house again. Mommy cried when she had to give up on making Charlee comfortable here but it wasn't to be. I know that mommy is worried that I'm lonely while she's gone but maybe we'll try a little one next time and we'll put it in the spare room from the first. I'm not sharing my bed with no cat or at least not right away.
So,  every cat have a good week and watch out for those snooty, bossy girl cats...they lure you in with purrs and snuggles and turn on you on a whisker.