They're Not Hummers But They're Cute

It's been nearly a year since Izzy came into our home and it's nice to see that she and Ozzie are now best buds. Izzy is the first female cat we've had and she's definitely more lap-kitty than 7-year old Ozzie. It's great to go away to do a show and come home several days later and have the cats look like, "Well, gee, why are you here?"

Big show in Columbia, MO, this coming weekend. If you're out and about, stop by the Missouri Theatre in downtown Columbia and see all the fantastic art at the Beaux Arts Bizarre.

Hummingbird fact for today: Though their intelligence makes hummingbirds more challenging to trap than most other birds, it also seems to minimize the stress they feel during capture and data collection.

Hurry Up and Wait

This is probably the toughest part of the year in an artist's life. The spring and summer shows set their deadlines for applications between Nov. and Mar. So we hurry up and complete applications, take pictures, resize pictures for each application's requirements, write checks for jury and booth fees, and put them in the mail. Then we sit and wait. And wait. And wait. Some of the shows provide a "notification by" date, but then they don't adhere to that date. It is totally exasperating not being able to plan our time and (hopefully) income.

We did learn that we will once again be at Silver Dollar City, this year in October, with the Best of Missouri Hands. That was really a fun gig. I had to create every day, out in the open in front of people. At first it was a bit intimidating. But people are so open and asked wonderful questions and we had a great time with the interaction. We're looking forward to October!

Little Izzy misrepresented herself. At first she was all snuggly and cuddly. Now that she's familiar with her new home, she's acting more like a cat - independent and rather haughty. She and Ozzie are becoming friends and playmates, so I guess she just doesn't need her humans as much as she did when she first arrived.

We're just about ready to head west. We've got tons of garden art packed and I'm still working on creating new pieces. Looking forward to seeing my son's home in Ventura and visiting Terrie's mom. I think Terrie's son might be a bit upset. Grandson #3 will be born (via c-section) while we are gone. It can't be helped though. As I stated before, we have to submit applications to shows and then sit and wait to see if we get in or not. We happened to get accepted to three shows on three consecutive weekends that happen to be in March. Terrie is a "hands off" mom/in-law/and grandparent though. She doesn't believe she should intrude in their lives and if they need something, they will let her know. I think her son is secretly glad that his mom is busy with this new art life - because if she was bored, she could be a real pain. She's disappointed she has to wait to meet grandson #3, but she's also excited about this trip we're taking.

We're "teaching" a community education class on hummingbirds next week at the local high school. That should be a fun evening!

Hummingbird fact for today: The hummingbird has the largest brain, relative to size, of all birds, at 4.2 percent of total body weight.

Online Shopping and Holiday Gifts

I saw a report on the news this week that more and more people are shopping online. For someone like me, this is a good thing. Think about the doors the internet has opened. If you're not close to one of the shows I'm doing, or if you are but can't get there, now you can view and/or purchase my functional garden art. Through the magic of the internet, I can learn of your order, package it, arrange online for it to be shipped, and you receive it - and we never meet. Wow. It truly is amazing. And speaking of that, I hope you will stop by my Etsy store. We have several nice pieces that would make terrific gifts for the people on your list :-)

The Metro Arts Two Rivers Expo in Des Moines was a fun show to do. There were fewer people attending than I had anticipated, but those who came out in the cold and spitting snow liked my items. The organizers were very good to the artists, too, and that always adds to the experience. We hope to do more shows in that area.

It's been a sad week here. Our yellow tabby cat, George, suddenly got sick. He failed to respond to any of the medications and just kept getting worse. We lost him on Thursday. George was more like a little dog - he'd follow us from room to room, sleep on the bed, jump up on the chair and talk to us. We rescued him from the animal shelter and we are very appreciative of the time we had with him. We miss the little guy. Our black cat, Ozzie, also feels the loss.

Hummingbird fact for today: It is not necessary for a hummingbird feeder to be red. A new feeder or a feeder in a new location can be accented with a red bow or red ribbons to attract the birds. Once they have located the feeder, the red can be removed as it is no longer necessary.

Doing Nothing Requires a Nap

I love watching cats. Their movements are so graceful. When they stretch, they stretch all over. They spend the day doing nothing, and then take a nap to rest up. We have two cats - a yellow tabby and a black one that probably has some Siamese in him. They were pound kitties that we adopted. We have a mixed marriage - I'm originally from St. Louis and my wife was from the Kansas City side of the state. So our blonde cat is George (for George Brett) and our black cat is Ozzie (for Ozzie Smith). One minute they'll be snarling and glaring and swatting at each other. The next, they're curled up together on the bed napping. Ozzie is a touch-me-not. He sort of yips when you touch him. George likes to be with his people, but doesn't like to be held. I just learned this week that George will come when I whistle. Maybe he's just a dog in cat fur.

Today's hummingbird fact: Hummers flap their wings from 20 to over 50 beats per second. This rapid rate accounts for the audible “hum” we associate with them.