Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! I spent yesterday stuffing catnip into toys. I still have a catnip-induced headache, but the kitties were happy. Santana received his very own catnip salamander. I think he likes it.
The salamander is brown with polka dots on one side, and green with polka dots on the other. I’m not sure I have his legs going the right way. I was modifying a pattern, Simplicity 3953. It may no longer be in print, but there are some to be found on Etsy and eBay. I scanned the smallest version and made it a little smaller. Then I flipped and redrew parts of it in Photoshop. But you could use it as is and just fill it with catnip.
Santana loves getting special presents.
I wrapped the presents for everyone else. The cats needed a little help opening theirs. Oliver Bunny didn’t want to be bothered. I opened his wicker ball for him. He pushed it with his nose and grunted at me. I think he was more in the mood for a nap. It is unusually warm here and gray.
I received such a nice message this week, from someone who adopted a Hug Me Slug, and who has been having a rough time with stress and illness. I was touched that she read my blog, from the beginning, and found it calming. I hope she will keep feeling better every day, and that the package I sent her will bring her some joy and comfort. And, wow, someone made it through my blog. 🙂
I’m not sure what to do on holidays. I know what to do before Christmas, surely, but not what to do on Christmas. I feel like I should get back to work, immediately. We opened some presents, I ate some candy, and we’ll have dinner later. I sat outside for a while, with Henrietta. I’m trying to make a holiday of it. I would read a book, but my head hurts. Holidays make me feel like I am waiting around.
I should be good at relaxing. I have these fine furry examples all around me.
First of all, thank you, everyone who has been adopting Hug Me Slugs. I have been receiving such nice feedback and emails and photos. It is all much appreciated. You guys make my day every time I hear from you.
I had to hurry to print up some extra thank you cards for my orders.
The Post Office recommended Monday as the last shipping day for Priority Mail to arrive by Christmas, within the US. If anyone wants to place an order over the weekend, I will be happy to send it out on Monday. I’m not 100% sure they will make their deadline, but they seem to be doing well.
I had some weird health issues the past couple of weeks, but I’ve been holding steady, getting all my packages out on time. I was already getting rundown. I thought I needed to catch up on some sleep and eat better. I tried that. Then I got a fever and my lymph nodes under my arms grew to the size of grapes. They hurt. The fever is gone now and my lymph nodes are down to the size of peas. I still think I need some rest. I’ll have to get myself into the doctor near the beginning of the new year.
We scrambled to arrange some health insurance for me, by the deadline on the 15th. It took some doing, but I think I can swing it for about $200 a month. That is still better than the $780 a month quote I found a few years back. I do wish they would just extend the graduated subsidy to everyone who needs it, and not make arbitrary cutoff points, to leave anything up to the individual states. It makes no sense for some taxpayers to pay more if they make less, or to suddenly get no discount at all, after paying all year for insurance they might not otherwise afford, if they fail to meet a certain income dollar amount at the year’s end. That is hard on self-employed people whose income fluctuates. But I will try to make more, not less, once I recuperate.
Oliver has been keeping a careful eye on me, demonstrating how to rest properly.
He’s very good at it.
He likes to camp out under my work table, when he is done running. I thought he needed more exercise and so I made him a quickie obstacle course, out of a box lid, some cardboard boxes with holes in either end, and a cardboard tube.
It quickly turned into a kitty and bunny obstacle course.
Some of the obstacles were harder to pass through than others.
Everyone had fun for a while, and then they all went back to resting.
I had my birthday this week. Mom made me a cherry cheesecake, which we are still eating. It is very good.
I received beautiful birthday sneakers. Now I can run through Cosmos flowers and walk in the clouds. When my mom asked me what I would like for my birthday, my first response was that I would like a new toilet. No one was able to do the lifting on that, but these are much prettier.
Thank you, Mom and Dad. Thank you J.B. too, for the birthday video. I will be sure to watch it once I am done running around. I haven’t started the running yet, but I am working on it.
As a special birthday treat, I got to go the the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew my driver’s license. I meant to go in earlier, but wasn’t feeling well enough. I insisted on reading the whole driver’s handbook before we went, even though my mom told me I only needed to know the road signs and pass an eye test. Poor Mom. She endured much carrying on on my part. We were out a couple of hours, while she was a captive to my ranting. I had myself forgetting everything, having a surprise driving test, where I had to parallel park fifty-two times in a row, which would all somehow lead to my imminent death. In actuality, the last time I parallel parked, I did it perfectly. I don’t know why I get that way. It is my nature.
I was called up just before closing time, and rattled off the answers so quickly, I got ahead of my questioner. I realized at one point I was several answers ahead, and she had stopped asking me questions. So, I said the numbers and the answers. When I stepped away, my mom was laughing at me. I didn’t know anyone could hear me. She said the guy behind her said, “Wow.” I passed my eye test too.
There was a small holdup in getting my custom-printed eyeball fabric from Fabric on Demand, but guess what? The pupils are black! Hooray. These should work for me. I haven’t had a chance to test them out yet, but I will. I think I need to make the whites of the eyes bigger. This could lead to some custom-printed novelty toys, and should help me make more of my characters. I’ll see how it goes…when I’m done resting, which I am obviously not doing. I was up until 3:30am last night, which didn’t help. I was happy I had a “no-obligation Saturday” ahead, but I was still wound up.
Another kitty showed up here, a big tabby-and-white cat. I think he is abandoned. Santana’s mom made up a flyer but no one claimed him. She’s going to make an appointment to have him vetted. My kitty friends next door have been inside for the most part. Three of them came to visit once, for pets, and Scooter popped over a couple of extra times to say hi. Fish is missing though. I am worried about him and hope he is okay.
I had a request recently for another batik Hug Me Slug. A customer adopted three of them, three years ago, for his three nephews. Since then, he has gained a forth nephew, who keeps trying to steal “Sluggy” from his brother, who loves him too much to share. So, we needed another slug to come to the rescue.
I made a test slug first, the one above, who is over in our shop at the moment, although someone just wrote to say he’d make a perfect birthday present for his daughter. I wanted to make sure I had the same pattern, since I have adjusted my patterns since then.
I sent him some photos of batiks to choose from and then made the one above, with a pretty apple green fleece heart. He is on his way, and I hope he restores peace on earth.
I also posted the fleece Hug Me Slugs I had ready, in all different colors, orange, yellow, purple, watermelon, red,
and in all different sizes, 7, 8, 9, and 12 inches tall.
I had another special request for a Hug Me Slug with a headband. A man wanted him for his girlfriend, who was organizing a marathon. He had to be an athletic slug. I wasn’t sure how that would work, since slugs don’t have foreheads. I managed to attach it over his eyes. He called him a “little runner slug” and I added that to the hang tag.
I am plugging away in Slug Land. Oliver Bunny loves to come running in when my workroom door is open. He sits in the hallway like a couch potato, but once the door is open, he is in there, well, quick as a bunny. I caught him on video, getting excited about running inside, dashing in and out.
There is a small bowl of pebbles, meant for potted plants, under my work table, that he enjoys playing with. But then, he enjoys playing with whatever he can get into in there. I have to watch him.
The menagerie have been keeping me busy. These are members of my kitty fan club, below, who, when they are free, wait for me on the borderline between our house and theirs. Sometimes they get impatient and come over.
Santana has been being so good about going to the back step and sitting there, when I ask him to, which I do, when the cats come closer. He has had too many squabbles and injuries. Last weekend, I thought we were doing great. The cats all came over, while I was walking Jude, and everyone seemed to be getting along. Trouble and Santana even went exploring together in the back yard. No problems. I was happy and thought they were finally making friends.
The kitty crowd even watched me set up our laser Christmas light, which must have been even more exciting for cats than a laser pointer. They were sitting in the driveway, staring up at the tree I had “decorated”, admiring it.
Then, the next morning, I heard cat noises. I jumped out of bed, ran out in my pajamas, and Trouble and Santana were in the driveway. Santana was badly hurt, three deep, cringeworthy punctures under the base of his tail (I will spare you the photo I took to get a better look). Ouch ouch ouch. I felt terrible. I found fur next to the back step, where I taught him to go when the cats came over. That made me extra sad, since he must have been trying to be good. Trouble had a little blood on his leg, but he appeared to be okay. I checked him over as best I could and didn’t see anything. He may have been coming to look in the back door, or maybe he thought it was fun to sneak up on Santana, who didn’t think it was fun, again. I don’t know.
Santana was bleeding a lot, and seemed to be in a bit shock. I called his mom and we flushed out the wounds. He went to the vet for a Convenia antibiotic shot. He was shaken for the first day, and tired, but the next day he was in a good mood. He is doing well now, and has even come up with a new game to play with me. He hides between the railing and the bushes by the back step, and waits for me. He jumps out when I come up the steps, and meows, like he is saying, “Surprise!” I wonder if he learned that from Trouble, who likes to sneak up and jump. They seem to do okay during the times I am around, but when I am not, in the early morning before I get up, and in the evening when I am inside and busy, are when the problems happen.
The cats are closed up for now, and no one seems to be home next door. Santana is probably happy about that too. I hope a cat sitter is coming this time. I haven’t seen one, but I can leave some food if I have to. I kind of feel like I am taking care of animals in every direction sometimes. I start when I get up and I am still doing it until late at night, while trying to fit work and errands in between. I did get another tree planted though. Go me.
I will post about my Spoonflower fabric samples in a separate post, since this one has already grown so long.
These 12 and 7 inch Hug Me Slug plush toys are in our shop right now. They are burgundy, purple, lavender, red, fuchsia, and mauve fleece.
I made my 800th toy shop sale this month. I want to reach my 1000th. I have those 200 toys in progress!
My 798th sale was to a little girl from the United Kingdom. Her dad had given her a Hug Me Slug. She took her slug to school for show and tell, and told the kids she came all the way from the United States. She saved up her own money to adopt a second Hug Me Slug. That is a great compliment.
I found some novelty print fleece pajamas on clearance and grabbed them to take apart to make toys. That seems a little wrong, but I liked the unusual, flamboyant designs and colors. I found throws in orchid fleece, which I have been looking for for years, and in cornflower blue, another unusual color.
I ordered a color map printed on Minky fabric from Spoonflower. They make custom-printed fabrics and I wanted to see if the Minky fabric would work for my toys. It is super soft and nice, but the colors don’t saturate the fabric all the way though. So, a little white shows at the base when stretched. I don’t know how that will look on seams or on my stuffed animals yet, since that may part the pile and show the white. I will check it out. There is enough white around the one-yard section, on which the color map is printed, for me to use to see how much the fabric stretches, but I will need to print another color sample to get a better idea of how much white shows at the base when it is stuffed, since I don’t want to cut up the color map. I’ve seen examples online, but I want to see it in person. It is a bit of an expensive experiment, but they don’t sell seconds for experimentation, unfortunately.
At the end of the day, I have some TV time with Oliver and Henrietta. After months of lying on my chest, staring into my eyes, Oliver is getting more independent. He wants to be petted on the bed now,
and the first thing he wants to do lately is jump into Henrietta’s carefully curated assortment of cat toys. He pushes them all around. Henrietta has collected this particular group of favorites, and generally does not let anyone play with them.
I tried giving Oliver one of them, separately, and Henrietta left her nest of toys to go sit on the one I gave him. He took the opportunity to run back to the others. They are both stubborn.
She decided to try sitting on Oliver, and then sitting next to Oliver. At first, he ran at her, and now they have agreed to share.
Josephine came along to investigate and neither was willing to do any additional sharing.
The bigger toys, the Pillow Pets, make excellent bunny “bumpers” around the edge of the bed, to keep Oliver from hopping off the edge when I get sleepy. Oliver likes to groom the yellow bunny’s ears for him.
Meanwhile, Jojo has decided she likes Oliver’s bunny bin. She spent a whole day in there, taking a nap. I think she wants to be a bunny for Halloween.
Oliver fits more comfortably inside to nap than Jojo.
He didn’t care too much that she wanted to visit. He spent the same afternoon in the hallway instead.
Trouble, next door, decided he likes pets. He is worried about the camera here.
He rolls over, he likes pets so much. He comes looking for me at least twice a day when he is loose. He and Santana, another neighbor kitty who hangs out here, were doing okay for a while, even sitting in view of each other, as I went back and forth petting each of them.
Then they had a few weeks of fighting. Both are the kind of kitties who don’t let things go. Some negative experience must have set them off. I am using some positive reinforcement. I have been keeping an eye on them while they are out, congratulating each one for being good and staying apart. It seems to be working pretty well. I have been luring Trouble into the woods, away from Santana, for pets, and calling Santana over to our deck or porch. They seem to be calming down again. Knock on wood.
Santana loves to be told he is a good boy. Praising the good behavior has worked best so far, at helping them get along. We’ve been through this before with Santana and another kitty who liked to visit. Santana gets angry and holds a grudge if he hears the word “no” or is scolded. He doesn’t forget it easily. I am careful to avoid that. Treats and catnip toys have worked wonders at keeping the peace before. I saw Trouble and Santana sitting near each other when I looked out this morning, with no to-do, but I lured them apart anyway. I hope that means we are making progress.
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Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! I spent yesterday stuffing catnip into toys. I still have a catnip-induced headache, but the kitties were happy. Santana received his very own catnip salamander. I think he likes it.
The salamander is brown with polka dots on one side, and green with polka dots on the other. I’m not sure I have his legs going the right way. I was modifying a pattern, Simplicity 3953. It may no longer be in print, but there are some to be found on Etsy and eBay. I scanned the smallest version and made it a little smaller. Then I flipped and redrew parts of it in Photoshop. But you could use it as is and just fill it with catnip.
Santana loves getting special presents.
I wrapped the presents for everyone else. The cats needed a little help opening theirs. Oliver Bunny didn’t want to be bothered. I opened his wicker ball for him. He pushed it with his nose and grunted at me. I think he was more in the mood for a nap. It is unusually warm here and gray.
I received such a nice message this week, from someone who adopted a Hug Me Slug, and who has been having a rough time with stress and illness. I was touched that she read my blog, from the beginning, and found it calming. I hope she will keep feeling better every day, and that the package I sent her will bring her some joy and comfort. And, wow, someone made it through my blog. 🙂
I’m not sure what to do on holidays. I know what to do before Christmas, surely, but not what to do on Christmas. I feel like I should get back to work, immediately. We opened some presents, I ate some candy, and we’ll have dinner later. I sat outside for a while, with Henrietta. I’m trying to make a holiday of it. I would read a book, but my head hurts. Holidays make me feel like I am waiting around.
I should be good at relaxing. I have these fine furry examples all around me.
