Today after work I cleaned out the screen porch and #3 and I got it all set up for Gypsy's kittens. They didn't have access to cat food where they were before and they're just on the cusp of five weeks old, so they'll need to start figuring that out. They now have two food dishes, a water bowl, two different scratch post / lookout towers, two cardboard boxes, four pillows, and a litter box.. I'm sure more will be added as the kids bring more toys and blankets out there to play with the kittens.
Today there were more discussions within our family about the changes going on behind the scenes. Some decisions have been made, and others remain unresolved for now.
I am stressed to the point that my brain is on autopilot because if I think about it too much, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to function. I'm barely getting by right now, but I have kids who need me, and a job I can't afford to lose, so the show must go on. I had the kids bring Gypsy's kittens in for a while again so we could handle them and get them used to being around people a little more. She had four this time. She's always had three, so this is unusual. I gave them all names. Pierre, Charlotte, and Isolde are all well on their way to being friendly house cats. Unfortunately little Eloise is frightened of everything. Every movement, every noise, every new smell, sends her into a crouch and hissing. I spent several hours today just sitting there with her on my chest. She did eventually relax enough to take a nap. Her eyes are always wide with fear of everything around her. She still needs to be with her momma for now, but as soon as the kittens are weaned they'll be moving indoors to learn the finer points of being a house cat. How to use the litter box, how to get up on the couch, how to use a scratching post, and so on. They'll have a two week crash course on house manners and handling and socialization before they will be available to new homes. Luna has a litter as well, this time only four for her. I did peek at them when they were first born. Two white (one male, one female), an orange male, and a black male. Luna hid her kittens last summer when we handled them more than she was comfortable with, so we've been leaving her chosen nest area alone for now. The kittens are tiny yet, so they're not really missing out on anything right now. Once they're a little bigger and the weather warms up, we may try to move them to the screen porch - though Luna wasn't impressed with this move last year. My interest is in keeping the kittens safe and tame. Nobody wants a feral cat. Her kittens have not been named yet. I've been so focused on all the background stuff that I didn't get to winter sow again this year. My mind is honestly so overflowing with things right now I can't even offer more than a passing thought to the lack of plants this year. I know I should take time to get some containers out, even if they're late season. It's still early enough now. Perhaps if I have time between work and everything else going on right now, I will throw a few containers together just to try to get something started anyway. I do love having fresh tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers and beans and peas in the garden, and tomatoes and peppers won't grow unless they get a head start in our short climate. I'm hoping I have the time and energy to do at least a minimal winter sowing attempt to get some fresh food this summer. I've been largely away from this page for the past year and a half or so. I do intend to come back and start blogging again and updating pages. There are going to be a lot of big changes here. Right now my life is in an upheaval and I'm not entirely sure what it will look like when the dust settles. I've got a lot going on a personal level that I'm not looking to post publicly, but it deserves to be mentioned. There's a lot going on behind the scenes and I'm stressed out. Due to some recent events, I have had to get a job. Because I don't drive, my options were limited. I accepted the first job I was offered, but the pay is low and the hours are minimal. I don't know that it will actually pay my bills, and even if it does, I'm not sure how I will be able to get to work during inclement weather, especially winter snow storms when it isn't safe to walk along the road. I have until the end of summer to come up with some kind of effective work-from-home job that will consistently pay the bills. I took the time to update the Bonanza Shop. It now has an assortment of crocheted items in addition to the jewelry pieces I had listed before. As of right now there are pot holders, coasters, and amigurumi octopus toys. Any purchases there would be helpful in filling in additional home expenses like pet food, vet bills, and so on. I also put together a new Amazon Wish List. This includes fun craft stuff that I can use to make more stuff to put in my shop, as well as things I actually need, such as cat and dog food, or a pull cart for my bike so I can get the kids or animals to appointments or be able to bring home groceries from the local store. As I said, things are changing here in a way I hadn't anticipated, but I'm trying to pick up the pieces and find a new normal. I have plenty of ideas for new projects, but for all my fun ideas, marketing the finished product to make sales isn't always my strong suit. I loved making jewelry, and I love making crocheted items, but if they're not selling then I'll have to find something else to try. I need to supplement my income as much as possible. The hope of course being that I can find something to do from home over winter, but I'm not sure what is available or how that will work out. My most recent crochet project was an ambitious one. I decided to crochet a sloth. A life-sized sloth, with no pattern, using only reference photos from Google images searches for sloths. The head, body, and legs are stuffed and I'm working on adding fur, but it's a long process and I'm getting a little bored with it right now. I may just set it aside and find something else to do for a while until my motivation returns. It was a huge project to undertake and I'm actually pleased that I've gotten this far with it and it even looks decent! I've been battling ear infections for over a week now. First one ear, then the other. The first medication (ear drops) didn't seem to be helping after a few days, so I went back and they gave me another type of ear drops and an oral antibiotic. I'm finally able to go most of the day without needing ibuprofen and my hearing is beginning to return to some semblance of normal. Yesterday we went to Itasca State Park to see the Mississippi headwaters. It was a lovely family trip with all seven of us. We enjoyed a day of walking, sight-seeing, and playing. We finished the day off with root beer floats on the way home. I hope you'll stick around to see what changes we have in store and join us on our ever evolving quest to learn about homesteading and attempting to be as self-sustaining and eco-friendly as possible. Change can be difficult, growth can be painful; but both are necessary sometimes. Here's to change and growth! |
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