Cat Family - Urban Wild Life in India

The fact that we live on the ground floor and have access to small pieces of soil makes me immensely happy. Not only it gives an opportunity to plant anything you want it also attracts "urban" wild life. Last year I told about a fledgling who found a safe place in our garden and stayed there until it was strong enough to fly away. 

When we have something blossoming there are many butterflies and bees around those plants. But recently we were lucky to have welcomed a cat family who came at our backyard wall two weeks ago. First we heard cat's meowing and saw a big cat among the greenery of our plants. Later we heard a thinner meow... that was of a kitten! Later there were already two kittens. So basically the mother cat was relocating their home somewhere near by our house. We still have no idea where it is. It is said in India that a cat changes 7 homes... Other members of our family occasionally saw the cats few more times after that.

Day before yesterday night I went out at the backyard following the kitten's meow and rustling of our citrus tree: one kitten left his dwelling and jumped down the wall for some reason. He regretted his actions I am sure as he started calling his mom lamentably. We didn't really know what to do because as soon as he saw us he chose the corner of the wall behind the curry tree and was looking at us from there. We arranged some milk for him, but he was too scared to emerge from his hiding place even for food. Later he ran towards another end and sat behind the citrus tree wanting to climb it but not knowing how. When we thought we could lift him up the wall I took some old bed sheet in order to fetch the kitten it, thus protecting myself from scratches and bites... But as soon as I came closer to him he HISSED at me so loudly I sprang back scared. Obviously we decided it was better to leave him hoping that mother cat would come at the rescue. 

So yesterday morning when I went out to check on the kitten  I witnessed much more than expected to my delight: a cat mother and three kittens with her! Me and D spent time feeding them milk and the only meat we had - some salami. Kittens didn't eat it but their mom seemed to enjoy the treat. My D even got late for office because of the cats but was happy of the reason. Aren't they all cute? The kittens have big ears and cute silly eyes. I wish my baby could see these felines too :)

The mother was alert all the time while D was giving food and I was taking pictures. She won't trust anyone so easily. Many a times I thought I'd like to have a cat at home but I feel that having free urban cats who come and let us take care of them is much more interesting and rewarding. The cats were still there when I left home in the morning and I do hope we will make friends with them at last.

We have started our weekend earlier this time, the cat family is now sleeping on the wall. Wishing you to have a carefree and enjoyable weekend, dears! Meow, meow!

Christmas and Cats

Well, as you know I live in the of the North India which doesn't have that real change of the seasons. These days we have +25 in day time and around +8+9 in the evening. The house feels more cold than outside. We never get snow here, and hence I cannot FEEL winter. So as I have been doing for the past 3 years, I IMAGINE winter.. :) I imagine the frosty morning air, and looking at the evening sky I expect it'd snow... I also try to create that winter holidays mood around me, preparing little gifts.

This time I couldn't wait more and tried my hands at cross stitching. I used to admire all the beautiful needle work people do: absolutely amazing pictures, made with love and warmth of their hearts. I wanted to start learning this craft. My D took me to the local shop called "Chhotu Motu" in Hindi, means "Big and Small", miscellaneous. There I purchased 10 skeins of Anchor thread and 50 cm of fabric + 2 tapestry needles. All cost me 130 Rs. or 2.09 USD. I think it is damn cheap! 

Here is my first cross stitch picture - a Christmas cat :) I know the stitches are uneven, and as I used 3 strands of thread, the crosses came out too thin. But I am happy with this first try and enjoyed the process a lot! This cross stitch was washed and intended to be made into a card. The pattern is here.  I have started another small picture, and I am using 4 strands of thread, which looks way better.

 One more very quick Christmas themed project was a mini stocking made with this pattern. I didn't make any more stockings so far. It's a good project to engage with as you can use scraps of yarn to hook it up.

Meet Mellow, a toy cat. Mellow - Meow + Yellow and it is soft :) Hehe. It was such a spontaneous thing to make, originally it is a crochet applique. I made two such appliques and stitched them together.  Pattern is here, it is a Russian forum/website. 

 I didn't really like the idea of making so many cat appliques for a blanket, it is too boring, and now a toy makes me smile and meow every day :) I am definitely a cat girl!

Tomorrow I am joining new office, and I am very excited about a new job and a new place to work in. Details later and wish me luck! Thanks for wonderful comments about my blanket, you made my day and days to come!

Have a wonderful second half of the week, my dears! Take care! Meow!

Happy Halloween 2013!

It has finally arrived, one of the most fun holidays in a whole year, and this year also marked by the 13th number :) I was not able to give proper time to Halloween preparations, but still have hope to have a little pumpkin today evening, my D promised to get it for me. Also I planned to crochet cat's ears on a hair rim a long time ago, which is going to be a part of a costume of course. Perhaps and may be I will do this in the evening. For the time being I am combining my love for cats and Halloween in this glittering card and wishing you

Happy Halloween, my dears!

Thanks so much for your praising, kind comments on my previous post, love to all!

Summer Blanket and Something New - Wednesday Update

There is not even a single day without us hearing that some tragedy has happened.Yes, I am talking about the attack in Boston, the earthquake in Iran... the waves of the latter we felt even here, in Chandigarh. All the news channels concentrate on these two "events", creating more anxiety and hopelessness. I am really grateful that me and my family are able to start this day and enjoy its beauty. But I wish we all could...I wish we could live without fear being attacked or killed or hurt...

But as we are here now, we keep on living and dreaming... and blogging. We have to bring more happiness in the world. And many of us do. With the idea of 52 weeks of Happy for example, or by posting nice pictures and saying kind words to each other. I really feel that the blogger community can make the world better, let's think how.

Day before yesterday I was sitting in my room in the evening and heard a strong deep meow at our backyard... I smiled. It meant that some cat came to us. I rushed there and saw a grey furry creature standing on the wall and looking right back at me. I hurried back to pick my camera and took few snaps. Here in India people usually don't keep cats as pets, so you would generally see pet dogs, but cats.. they just come and go. Last year there was another cat who used to come to us and we used to feed it, but then she disappeared... For me, a cat lover, meeting a half wild cat, and moreover, almost in our house, is such a treat!

Oh yea, you must have recognized this already. It has started having a more blanket-y look. I feel it is going to be a great result  thanks to all of you who made me believe in this. If I continue working in this tempo, I'll 

Here is how many more squares have come up and need to be stitched together soon. This way I'd have 23 blocks. I got a little bored with blanket crocheting and decided to make some little side project.

Here are three squares I crocheted yesterday evening. There will be only three of them. So could you guess what is it going to be?:) I will give a link to the square pattern later, when I find it in my laptop.

I am using DK acrylic yarn of Indian brand Vardhman. I like its colors and texture reminds wool a lot. I think of making a throw out of this yarn later on. There are lovely patterns on the Red Heart website which I pinned in my Crochet patterns. I like this one and this one the most, but others are also so pretty, aren't they?

Well, let's first rest our fingers and finish this small something. I am sure it'll be a useful thing in my room. Okay, enough hints for you now. I am off to do my job and look forward being back home and crocheting. Also I didn't forget about a promised giveaway on achieving 100 followers, so it'll happen soon.

Wish you to have a peaceful day, be safe and happy! 

Our homely rainy weekend

        My husband arranged a short trip to Kasauli last weekend... almost straight after my arrival back to India. I am very grateful for this as I wished to spend more time with him after one month of separation :) And the feelings of being back and seeing him again are just awesome! However, I don't want to be without him anymore. 

     So here are few snaps from our rainy trip to Kasauli.

    Ohh... I was so much pleased when I found these two cute cats (I guess, mother and her child) on the day of our arrival. Doesn't this look make you feel homely?

   One more discovery of the day was this incredible flower bush with the huge white blossoms! Never saw anything like this. By the way, these flowers have a nice fragrance. May be you know the name of this plant? I got to know it recently, these are Angel Trumpets! What a lovely name, isn't it?

This flower looks like some kind of a coral to me.

 It was raining almost whole night and continued in the morning. The place where we stayed was surrounded by the clouds when we came out of the room... I have goose bumps when looking at the clouds so close!

Ahh, so nice tiny blossoms :)

Of course.. marigold! But an Indian one this time. How many times have I posted about them already?

This was the crowning jewel of my snaps - a rose after the rain.. So much  romantic, isn't it?

I had a great time, full of beautiful views, happy moments and homely atmosphere. This week I am back to work and dreaming of another weekend like that one.

***Have a great day ahead!***