Doing and Being

"What you do when you don't have to, determines what you will be when you can no longer help it." -- Rudyard Kipling

Hey there, Angels! It's me, George -- back again to take over the blog! And why not? I'm more handsome than Cowboy is, and when Chris came to visit my Mom, Helen Watson from Wadsworth, IL, on Saturday, she said I could. So there, you old Cowboy, you! You're probably sleeping on the Polarfleece blankets anyway!

Like I said, Chris came out to the country to visit Mom on Saturday, and it was a good thing, too. The other cats and I were running out of room, what with all those boxes of what Chris calls "yarny goodness." We really did like it when Mom moved all of them out under the window in the living room -- that was sooooo cool! There was room for all of us to stretch out and STILL see out the window. I think some of the pack are going to miss their perches. Did I tell you that the boxes filled up the ENTIRE hatchback area of Chris's midget car? Yup, did indeed. Mom's been pretty busy with her hooks and needles. Although me and the other cats can't complain, we really like lounging on the couch with Mom when she's making things for her "family" down in Chicago.

Chris got a picture of Mom -- she was really sneaky about it, too. She and Mom were just chatting away about all kinds of boring stuff, like yarns, and needles, and patterns, and blogs - and she whips out this tiny camera and CLICK! A pretty good picture of Mom:

Hey, want to see what me and the cats think is the best thing for Mom to make? It's this:

BIG blankets -- they keep Mom on the couch longer AND when it's cold, we lay on the blankets while Mom is making them. Keeps us all nice and toasty! Mom says that these are for our "grandparents" who live in Friendly Towers -- that retirement place Cornerstone Community Outreach runs for seniors in need. These blankets are BIG -- I think our grandparents will like them.

Here's our second favorite thing for Mom to make:

Yup, it's baby blankets. They don't keep her on the couch as long as the big blankets and fewer of us can lay on them at the same time while she's making them, but they do keep you nice and warm when it's cool. There are for our new "grandbabies" who are born at Swedish Covenant Hospital down in Chicago. I think the new moms will really like them -- I sure do!

OK, here's our third favorite thing for Mom to make:

Prayer shawls for our family down in Chicago. Mom says Chris gives these to people when someone in their family is really sick or when someone they love dies. Me and the other cats think that is a nice thing to do AND these also keep Mom on the couch for awhile. Chris really liked the purple one, but let me tell you from experience -- you can easily get your claws caught in that lace! Hoo eeee -- did Mom get mad!!

Now, Mom makes lots of different kinds of "yarny goodness" -- some of which we cats have mixed feelings about, like these:

Mom calls these "spa cloths," and says they are for our aunties in Chicago who live in Cornerstone's homeless shelters or WellSpring's shelters. They don't take long for Mom to make, so she doesn't stay on the couch very long. HOWEVER, these babies are GREAT for batting around on the floor and hiding under the couch! Mom keeps them in a big bucket, and (now don't tell Mom this...) sometimes we sneak a couple out and play floor hockey with them when Mom's not around!

Mom likes to make sweaters, too -- not many people do, but she does. She decided to make them in all sizes this spring:

Although you can't tell it from Chris's bad picture up there -- that's a brown VEST for a man. I honestly think Chris should take some picture-taking classes or something. I mean, how are you supposed to know that that rose-colored blob up above is a SHRUG??? Anyway, I think our relatives at Cornerstone will like them.

The Angels said they needed scarves and hats for men who go to the Good News Community Kitchen and then there's this thing called the Red Scarf Project. So Mom got busy and made these:

I breathed a BIG meow of relief when Chris left -- I was afraid she was going to put that funky red hat with the strings on me and take my picture in it before she left -- you know, like she does to Cowboy all the time. I was worried! Onyx, one of the other cats, said I should just smack her with my paw if she tried it, but I didn't have to. Thank goodness!

When it was cold this spring, Mom got worried about our grandmas' and grandpas' feet. Yes, feet. She was worried that their toes might get cold -- so she made some more socks:

Now cold toes I can understand. Do you think Mom could make some socks for me and the other cats????

The Angels have something called "challenges" going on, and Mom wanted to give Chris something called "prizes" for the winners. Me and the other cats sniffed them over pretty good, and we don't see what the big deal is -- but Chris was pretty hopped up by them:

I guess Mom and Chris had a good time -- they sure talked a long time!! They even got my Dad Dave talking about knitting -- I couldn't believe it!! Chris brought Cowboy's Dad Frank with her, and she told me that Cowboy LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to sit right next to his Dad in the chair. So look at this, you big black furball you:

I SNUGGLED UP AGAINST YOUR DAD AND LET HIM RUB MY BELLY AND GOT MY FUR ALL OVER HIS SHORTS!!!!!!!!!! BWWWWAAAAA HHHHAAAAAAA!!!!! I may or may not have even fallen asleep while he was doing it!!! He likes me as much as YOU!!!! Just try and top THOSE pictures, you old Cowboy!!!