Camera, Cats, and Color

We've been very busy despite the lack of posts.  There has been a reason for the lack of posts. One good, one bad, and one finally...check that off my list.

First for the good.  Last summer we became the proud owners of 4 feral kittens.  You might remember seeing a photo or two of them last year.  We were making good progress on socializing them but then the hard winter came and they had to come indoors....specifically our work room.  Our intentions were to find homes for them this spring when Patches, the calico, came up pregnant.  Every day R would let them go outside for about 15 to 30 minutes.  Occasionally we would see another adult cat out by the barn so we didn't really know who the father was until the kittens were born.

Patches....a precious sweet kitty

Poor Patches was so big.  I felt sorry for her.  She would find a sun spot and nap all day.  Since we knew the day was nearing, R went out in the garage and retrieved the large drawer that Patches and her brothers and sister slept in when they were kittens.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to the storage room and out walked a thin Patches.  It took me a moment but then I heard squeaks. There in the large drawer were 5 little kittens.

All kittens are very healthy and already very active for only being several days old.  Patches sister, Sasha, has taken an active role in caring for the kittens.  When Patches gets out of the drawer for a walk or to eat, Aunt Sasha hops right in and curls up with the kittens.  Sometimes the drawer holds 5 kittens, Mother Patches, and Aunt Sasha all at the same time.

Sasha and Patches were always very close.  Being litter mates meant they were familiar with each other but Patches was the last kitten to find it's way back to the house after their mother took them on a walk when she left.  Three of the 5 kittens returned two days after they left with their mother.  Five days later in 96 degree weather, Patches staggered out of the field.  She could barely walk and being feral we didn't want to scare her so we call the other kittens to come and eat (it was the only time we could get near them) so they would come out and possibly see Patches.  Sure enough Sasha saw her and started meowing really loud.  Patches was able to stagger to the barn where the other kittens were waiting for her.  They licked her, she drank some water, ate some kitty chow, and then got in the drawer and slept.  For the next two weeks we rarely saw her except when she came out to eat and drink.

So who's the father?  Patches is a calico cat and 4 of the 5 kittens are tuxedo cats and one is a muted calico or sometimes they call them muted torties.  I think it is a good bet that the father is Elvis.

Elvis, the cat who one minute wants to snuggle in your lap and the next he's strutting

 around like he owns the place

The bad is my camera has been acting up.  One minute it will work and the next it doesn't.  I think I have it figured out.  I use a lot of batteries because I take a lot of photos for my Etsy shop so in a fit of thriftiness I bought a large package of batteries at The Dollar store.  Some of the batteries are slightly shorter and not making a good contact with the cover tabs.  So I had R go to the store and buy the EXPENSIVE batteries and now my camera works.  So tomorrow I will catch up on photos of what we have been up to around the house.

The item that I can check off the list is I have found the perfect color of green.  During our bracket building project we ran out of wood glue so I ran up town to buy a bottle.  While standing in line at the hardware I noticed some paint chip colors on an end cap.  One grabbed my attention.  It was the medium green I wanted for the living room and dining room.  I liked the pale green for the ceiling and hallways but would the dark green work in the family room where I have vintage furniture in a sage green velour that looks like mohair.  When I got home and checked, it was an almost an exact match.

I knew when I found the right green I would know it was right.  I must have 25 green color chips that I have been staring at for the last two or three months.  Any one of them on their own is nice but just didn't work.....either too blue, too yellow, too bright, or too dark.

The next step is to get three or four more paint chips and take them to the wall of the various rooms that will be painted green to see how they look in various light throughout the day.