All about cats :)

First, I want to wholeheartedly thank everyone who took the time to respond here and by email. Seriously, your support meant a world to me during the first days. I was totally hysterical for the first days - not knowing WHAT to do, HOW to solve it and HOW it is going to work out was killing me. I just had a big fog in my head and was almost lunatic. Let me try to explain - I am very rational and well organized and all, but rescuing two kittens two months before leaving Norway, knowing they can't stay here and I can't take them there (to Poland) was killing me. I saw no issues. So please, please do forgive me that I hesitated to write earlier but all I could write here was questions and not answers and noone needs to read long ramblings of a very stressed person ;-) I knew that the first days would be the hardest and that whatever decisions we would make, we needed time and rest to think clearly. For 2-3 days, H. refused to cooperate about taking decisions about the kittens, he was no less stressed than me and he was returning tired from work, so I only pushed him to some limits ;-)
Now, a DISCLAIMER for those of you who don't know my H. I think I just have to write it so you don't get a false impression. He has a heart of gold. He loves animals. He has this magical magnet built in him that makes the wildest cats approach, climb and sleep on him. He is also a zoologist (biologist) and he loves nature just like I do. BUT he also knows limits (I sometimes don't and let my heart guide me, that's how I once rescued Felek, our legendary late doggie, when I already had a german shepperd, all that in a small flat), he is reasonable (I am not and I most often see this as quality, not sure if it makes sense to you LOL!), and then he also raises very valid questions to which there is not an easy or cheap answer, and to which I always find unreasonable and expensive ways of solving the situation. Such as where to locate all the zoo when we travel - and especially I travel a lot. I still haven't done the final move to Norway and even if/when I move here on a permanent basis, there are more chances than not that I will keep free-lancing and flying out to visit my closest family in 3 different locations in Poland and Switzerland. My grand-mother is 100,5 years old, my aunt and father are aging etc. And there are vacations to think of. And both neighbors on both sides - H's uncle and his wife and H's mother HATE cats. In case of emergency, the uncle would obviously help - once Toska was here with H. and H. was taken suddenly to hospital (remember he had a very serious heart op' 3 years ago), the uncle visited Toska daily for two weeks to do the basics. She certainly felt alone, but she got food and all the rest. It was winter and snow, so he wasn't letting her out. However I think that H. can ask only for this extent of help and only on an exceptional basis. Also, here in Norway people tend not to bother others with their problems and try to find other ways than asking for help first.
And then there is Toska, the cat I took from a shelter 2,5 years ago. H's experience with her is not very enthusiastic. Obviously he accepts her and remarks how much she has changed for the better under my loving care, but she is NOT an affectionate cat. When upset, and she is (most) often upset, she can bite, scratch etc. Especially this summer, she spends all days and nights outdoor and only comes home to "charge the batteries" as we call it. All she wants from us is food and peace. And now that the kittens are here, she wants us around even less :). Toska will stay till her old days are over, but I was not lucky picking her and I love her like moms love a difficult teenager. But love, she doesn't give too much of it. Sometimes... :)
Now, to the kittens. We almost immediately decided that we would keep them (at least, I was saying...) till middle or end of August. There are dozens of adds about rescued and other home cats, dogs kittens to give away at this time of the year. Obviously, people (want to) get rid of them but talk of allergies, change of family situation, moving, new babies etc. Curiously, this all seems to happen in June and July!! So we decided to do the vet procedure, take them with us on the vacation we booked (that's going to be easy... hmpfffff.... 3 cats and a dog plus 2 bikes and the rest of the hiking stuff and a 7 hours drive each way...... don't ask me!) and take decisions later. From the first moment, we knew that we would only give them away (IF, that is)... to a very good home.

So, Huggy...

... and Felinek....

... got their first vaccines and health cards...

... more to come next week, and then rabbies (will tell why below) two weeks later, and then two weeks later... and the castration.... and the ID chips... So many vaccins and other treatments - IF they are will travel abroad... read further....
And that actually has gradually emerged as the MAIN problem. The whole procedure for TWO kittens will cost us over 1700 usd within 4 months. Add to this, litter (they "produce" quite a lot, if you ask me!!! we use bag after bag), kitten food, toys etc. They killed all the furry mice so we're on a mice diet for the moment, I can't buy some every day LOL! They LOVE playing. With everything. My mobile phone cable was particularly tasty so I don't have a cable anymore... aaargh! :)
Well, we argued A LOT about their future but I'll spare you that. Yes, those of you who wrote that you can't force your partner to accept unlimited numbers of pets are very right and I saw that point quite clear. It's just that I was totally panicked as to what to do.
AND - we totally love them, from the first second. We can't believe how anyone could get rid of them in such a cruel way. Now that I know them, I am absolutely sure they spent most of the day in that forest - and they were starved. They don't climb on us and jump now unless they're very hungry - which means they were already hungry that Monday.
We made sure that they are not "someone's" cats - it would have been quite a relief to find out we can drive them back somewhere. But first - our vet checked and they don't have implanted chips and second - see the map at the link HERE. We studies it well over the next days and it completely clear they were dumped there to die. As I wrote before, it's just wild and deep forest around. If you look at the map where all the lines meet at one point, more or less centrally, it is where we found them, directly at the borderline between Sweden and Norway. They were continuously crossing it :)
There is a small path from the main road to the lake to the upper left (west) - that's where the cabin we walked to is - desert. The other small path to the west just leads inside the forest. The only house you can find is far to the east - I mean, a few minutes by car, but clearly impossible for these two kittens to come from there.
I smiled at the vet - you were all right about their age, which shows clearly how much I knew about kittens (before I read a lot online now). They were **about** 4,5 months old, over 5 months old today, judging by the teeth they have. Most baby teeth gone, from what I understood. They look big when they "extend" but when they cuddle up, they are still tiny, tiny :)

And, I mean, they are adorable. Friendly, sociable, they love us and we love them. I mean, I love them to death and Hakon likes them - a lot. They are also very tied to each other and somewhat different. The grey one (Huggy) is insatiable when it comes to ideas - he makes things fall a lot, he jumps a lot, runs a lot, and loves to get love, but in reasonable amounts :) He prefers to sleep with small brother or alone. Now, the black one (Felinek) is playful, of course, but is also more calm, less brave in contacts with Toska, less courageous - AND he comes to sleep on our lap and to get hugs - a lot. He is a real love. He is so touching... but then I don't want to sound biased. When they both look at us with their sweet little eyes and give their little bellies to scratch, our hearts melt totally :)

They are exceptional, you see. We knew it from the first moment they run to us at the border. I don't have any experience with kittens, but I didn't imagine them so very used to people. Well, after my experience with Toska, I didn't imagine that there are cats who let you play with their paws and love it either!! So maybe they're my reward for all the pains she gave me initially? LOL
Okay, so before I write a whole book about the kids... Here are our options so far - they might change, but as of tonight, here's what we might do.

A - they both stay here. H. possibly tries to avoid it and well, I see that 3 cats and 1 dog is a lot in my chaotic schedules. Who knows, though. That decision will be made late in August.
B - IF I have to choose, I am keeping the black one. That is one sure thing. If WE don't keep both, I/we keep Felinek. He is too special. He is mine.
C - I got confirmation this week that either my aunt + my cousin and wife (who are building a house on the same property and are total cat lovers) will take both or one cat, or my other cousin + wife and kids (who live 5 minutes away) will take 1 or 2. What a relief!!! My aunt +++ had two dogs, the last one died not long ago, and she had many cats, currently 2 females and 2 males, all half indoor and half outdoor cats. One male is still sort of wild. The other cousin who lives nearby has a female dog and two male cats who fight with each other with ferocity since 2 years, so I'd really prefer it's my aunt and the other cousin who take my kitten(s). The only downside is that a busy road is close to the house and several of my aunt's cats perished killed by cars. Well, I think if I give away the kitten(s) to someone I don't well know here, there is the same chance it can get killed or given away at one moment, so this is an eventuality I sort of have to accept. Anything is better than dying in that forest, right?? Plus, 1 or both will get total love and care with a family who is very fond of animals and used to having lots of them. My cousin and wife rescued 2 black kittens 2 years ago at a parking but the male (Felinek looks almost the same as him) died killed by a car and the female died of unknown reasons last year, she was always sort of weak.

For the rest - either I stay here till December - that's how long the veterinary procedure will take with a short trip to Poland, or H. will have to take care of them till then. If they travel abroad, the kittens need rabbies shots twice and then an expensive blood test, passports etc.

So, the general plan is set up, the details will have to be worked out within August... All this is going to cost extremely much, but when you're like me.... with the job slump I experience, this is a real problem. I took the decision to go on stash diet till next spring - if that's the price I have to pay to give the best I can to these cat babies, then be it. I am ready to do it. I'll also probably try to sell a big part of my stash on ebay at one moment to cover the costs. If it has to be that way, it will be so!

I will of course keep you updated when details become more clear. Felinek will be mine, I just need to get H's acceptance, sort of, but I think it shouldn't be too hard. Huggy, I don't know... If I don't manage to keep him here, he'll have the best home possible in Poland with my family. (I forgot to add, for the sake of clarity, that I really can't keep 3 cats and a dog in my very small flat in Warsaw - especially because Toska will chase them like mad and especially because the two kittens would have a hard life there, plus Huggy would ruin the place in two days LOL! I can already visualize both of them running in the room... not!)

Now, I'm sure you know more than you wanted to know! :)

Don't they look....

.... adorable?

Here, playing with Happy - who seems to actually enjoy their company and sometimes plays with them! He is absolutely terrified of Toska, but then who is not... ;-)

Here Happy licked Huggy on the head and patted him ;-)
... and then told H. that well, they could stay, after all!

He shares his bowls with them sometimes...

... and let them rest...


... so they can play afterwards! (the toy was temporary, we got them real ones soon after)


THANK YOU SO MUCH, friends!!! Everything seems to work out well, slowly, now if we could only win the lotto to cover the costs!

Oh and please don't mind the ugly old wallpapers and floors etc., we're keeping the zoo downstairs in what once was the grand-parents' part of the house and which will be totally refurbished one day... but they can ruin it to their liking (says me, H. doesn't agree! LOL)

Before the CATS update...

... a cross-stitch and general update is in order before I post more recent stuff as well. I've decided to split a longish post into two so that those of you who are not so interested in cats (which I can understand, I used to be a total dog person) don't stop visiting :)

I stitched Black Ribbon Designs' Peace freebie, but haven't done the finishing yet - this one stays home :) My choice of fibers.


My Victoria Sampler Tea Party sampler has been a bit neglected because it is not as relaxing as the other, easy projects... I have to follow the instructions point by point and well, it's work and not relax, to say the truth... I will love the result but I occupied my evenings with easier projects.
Here is where I am now.. more lettering to do and many more details: the rest of the bird on the roof, the tea set on the small table etc.

Now I know - of all the stitches I tried and learned, the bullion knots drove me NUTS! Hate them, hate them. Might be I need to practice more, to read different instructions.
This sunflower is made of tons of them, outlined with a single thread and then completed with lazy daisy stitches. Hmmppppf. Hated working on that one, it was frustrating and it didn't turn out completely perfect - but then what flower is totally perfect in nature? :)

In the meantime I stitched this one, a pattern I loved the minute I saw it:

This photo shows it as a big close-up, but it's very tiiiiiiiny in real, stitched over one on what looks like 36 ct - I think, because it's a Lakeside Linens piece from one of these no-name bags Theresa sells (shakespearespeddler.com); they are just perfect for ornaments and smaller projects. I've finished stitching all of it, but here is where I was at some days ago:

And then I forgot to post two pieces I sent out weeks ago for two exchanges. First comes my first needlebook project for the Blackbird Designs exchange , I used the recent BD chart but adapted it to a needlebook. Of course, I forgot the name of the hand-dyed fabrics I used :(.

... the inside....

... and the back:The second piece was for HOE's Just Nan exchange. I really regret I didn't take better pictures, that small pillow was adorable!

Now, the cats....

Cat lovers, help!

To all you cat (and generally pet) lovers, please send me some moral support. I am mentally exhausted and my head is a mess. I know it'll be better after a good (????) night's sleep, but at this very moment, I feel a big whirlwind in my head.
It's late and I am very tired, so I'll make the story short.
We drove north of Oslo to something somewhere [...]. We decided to return using a longer road east to the border with Sweden and back home, so I could see the nature there. Then we decided to cross the border to see what it looks like in Sweden in this very part where we where (total boonies). Beautiful nature. Small villages (actually a fragment of the size of what one would call a village), we had waffles with coffee, just wonderful. Just houses and farms deep in the forests and fields. We were about to cross the border from Sweden back to Norway and we stop because I wanted to make a picture of the double border sign (see below). Mistake, big mistake. When we stopped, we went out of the car to see the weird structures you can see on the photos. It's an association who makes a point to mark the way (a group of? - need to read more about it) Norwegians escaped from Oslo through the wild woods all the way into Sweden. And then it happened.
Two little cats went out of the woods, so very friendly to us, making small sounds, climbing out jeans, rolling in the grass, playing. Weird place, me things. {..shortcut..}
H. starts the car and I start talking about rescuing them. {..shortcut..}
H. argues we can't do that, they must belong to someone, what would I say if etc. etc. {..shortcut..}
We try to find ANY house around. No house. Just woods.
We return. Cats still there.
We drive again home. H. pi----d off, me almost hysterical. I make him stop at the only cabin near the lake we can see. We climb over the chain barring the road, down to the cabin. No people and to me it is sure they haven't been there this summer {..shortcut..}
So the cats aren't from there. Most probably, someone dumped the cats there so they either survive or someone finds them. I really don't know what was in the heads of these people. I don't want to find out. And I don't want to meet them.
We drive back again to the cats.
Some Polish (funny!) bikers had stopped there and said some Swedish car had stopped also a moment before, so weird it looked, these small tiny cats in the wilderness.
It starts raining *heavily*. Before we make the few steps between the car and the cats, we are soaked. The kittens are half-hidden in a bush, scared, crying.... My heart cries out loud too, we grab the kittens,place them on my knees and drive.
Now, the next 2 hours home were a nightmare. Not because of the cats. They slept, purred, climbed on me, licked me, they are the most wonderful little creatures I've ever seen. And obviously very dependent on each other.
But H. is super angry. He won't keep the cats. And I will return to Poland in September with my cat and my dog. He doesn't want the responsability. He has noone to take care of them when he travels for work. On both sides of the house, his uncle and mother hate cats. He works long hours. Etc. etc.
And then the major argument, he doesn't want a zoo at home. Three cats and a dog is a little much.
He is very angry at me because I try to convince him to keep them and find all the answers about how possible that is {..shortcut..}
We're home since 2 hours. No problem between the kittens and Happy the dog. They raise all hair but nothing happens. They even ate from the same bowl. No problem, I think.
Now, Toska. My devil cat Toska, who absolutely hates all other cats. Doesn't tolerate them. Chases them. Scares the ---- out of them. Makes a hell on Earth to them. Well, amazing, amazing surprise. She smelled one and backed off. She keeps a distance. Is unhappy, it seems, but no agressivity on her side. Well, I had checked they are both males, that's why I allowed myself to take them at all. Not sure how it would be, but it is not a real problem this evening.
Well, it's H. or the cats. That's the way it is now. He wants to find them a *good* home, I don't want that. Also, they need to stay together.
Please send some good vibes tonight. Till tomorrow for a new report.
But, aren't they crazy cute????
Also, anyone experienced with cats, how old can they be? My aunt said 2-3 months. What do YOU say?

Sunday news...

See the lovely Prairie Schooler Santa Valerie sent me for HOE's Christmas in July exchange! I love this chart and I have stitched it for myself, but seriously, I could have a whole tree of them so I was delighted to see it when I opened the package :) And it's finished super nicely with tiny green beads all around - such a joy to look at!


But that wasn't all! Valerie stitched a little floss tag - how adorable!!! I am unsure which chart/designer it is taken from, but it's so very cute!! I love the colors and everything about it. Oh, now I see I forgot to take pictures of the back of both pieces, I'll update later. The two skeins in Christmas colors came with the tag :)

Valerie also sent two charts including one from my wishslist, a piece of fabric in xmas colors which I actually plan to use to finish an ornament I just finished and a big pack of American 100% natural, old fashioned hard lemon drops - so good! I had the pack open while we watched a movie with H. last night and I knew he's doesn't care much about lemon taste like I do, but since it seemed to be the only polite thing to do, I offered him one to try - and minutes later, he said "hmmm, they are actually crazy good!, did you get them today?" So I told him where and who I got them from :)

I haven't written much about stitching lately - but I did stitch quite a lot, just that I can't show the result as of yet. One is a piece for Nath's birthday - which I am delighted about, it turned very beautiful, one is the ornament for HOE's christmas in July exchange, and one is for the year-long birthday exchange Edgar organizes. The last one is not urgent, but I got the perfect chart and felt inspired to stitch it in advance :)
Now, if there is one I can call my summer 2009 project, it is the one below. You know how it is with some charts. You see them, you know you have to have them, it's an immediate story of love between you and the picture you see. And so it was with The Victoria's Sampler cyberclass for the chart "Tea Party Sampler". But it was a lot of money and the timing never was right. Then in May I read that they were taking it off the cyberclasses and only one more would be organized, so I splurged the money and even managed to have my friend Ela get the kit. Now, since last week it is available in normal sale, you can see it HERE. They're now showing it also as a framed piece, but the original idea was the one that I fell in love with, it's the teapot finishing. I drink a lot of different teas and collect china tea cups and sets, so I just love it.
Here's what I stitched till now - 2 installments out of 4, I'm working on the 3rd.
If I managed to make you love it and you plan to stitch it, beware - it is tedious work. Not much cross-stitch at all - it's composed of many, many specialty stitches which you need to either learn, or you know them from before. Most techniques I haven't heard of or tried before, so it goes slow and I will be most glad when it's done and finished and I can start another bigger project (not ornaments, I mean, which I stitch in the meantime). BUT, because there is a BUT, the result is absolutely so beautiful, that I can only encourage anyone with a bit of patience and time to stitch it. This will certainly be the most ambitious and most gorgeous piece I'd have done :)

It is raining almost continuously these days but when it rains not, I bike with Happy and sometimes H comes too :)
Here are some photos from yesterday. I biked from Siggerud to home, passing the post office on the way back to pick my exchange from Valerie.
The great thing here (it is valid for most of the most populated regions in Norway, I think), that villages and towns are interconnected with bike paths, which become country skiing paths during winter, provided there is enough snow. Now that I've built enough courage and muscles to try longer trips (I mean, really not long, but longer that directly in the nature around the village here), I'll be trying more ambitious and longer paths :) Since it is difficult to bike a round trip, I often ask H. to drive me somewhere and I bike home or the opposite, he picks me up from somewhere on his way back and he is a real love to want to do that, because most of the time, he adapts his driving directions and time so he can do that. He so likes when I do my "expeditions" in the nature that he'd do almost anything to help, I think :) Unfortunately, he has a hip problem and he can't come with us every time - plus, of course, I can be out during the working day, because I can adapt more or less when I work, while he works regular office hours ;-)
Yesterday, I was surprised to see how well the biking track is prepared between the two villages - making it so easy to bike. It goes in the woods but it very well maintained and quite wide also.



At home here, we're gradually adding more thuya trees on along
the border to H's uncle, and that meant we needed to get more good soil. And since we plan to add more fruit bushes etc., this would mean buying too many expensive packs of soil, so H. opted for ordering a whole truck of it, which was delivered by the farmer last week. Then H. borrowed a funny machine from a friend, to move soil - it doesn't "dig", but it lifts it from the ground and puts it in the container, then dumps it where you want once it's completely full. It's proved very useful here - the house is on a small hill (a huge rock) and H suffers a lot with his hip when walking up and down and around the garden, especially when he has to carry or push loads, so he smiled a lot :)

Happy, of course, was mostly interested in the perfume he could smell all around - the cow sh-t contained in the soil! LOL

Here you can see the small thuya trees H. put in and some dead ones he digged out. On the upper part the thuyas are very high now, then there are medium ones planted a year after, and then smaller ones... and then the number 4 thuyas as I call them, the youngest ones from last week.
You can also see the sweet cherry tree we planted two years ago. The first summer we got SIX cherries, then a little bit more, then quite some more now :) It's my favorite fruit so I can't wait till it grows and delivers a lot more. And we'll plant more :)