Accept No Substitutes

I know I have shared this message with you in the past but I feel this message bears repeating. Apparently these imposters are still around and you need to be careful you don't get fooled.

Don't say I didn't warn you.



Happy Easter!

This Easter greeting was one of the postcards I found amongst the treasures I picked up at an auction sale a few weeks ago.

I'm not sure what the "S" before the word "happy" means - seems odd, doesn't it?

Here's what the back of the postcard looks like (click on the photo to see a bigger version).

Unfortunately the stamp has been removed, taking the postmark with it so I don't know what year this was sent. I love the comment, "I suppose you are busy gathering sap".  Ah yes, spring in Ontario!

I'm hoping to attend two auctions this Easter weekend, looking for more treasures.  Hope you are doing something equally enjoyable!

And So It Begins

As I write this, it's the 12th inning of a tie ballgame.  The Blue Jays' first of the season, against Cleveland.  They tied it up in the 9th after being 3 runs behind for most of the game.

Welcome back to the boys of summer!  We have high hopes for this year, after they had one of their winningest spring seasons ever.  On this first day of the season, it's easy to believe that anything is possible.

Behind the Scenes

Here are some photos from behind the scenes at last night's filming of "Animal House Calls" on CTV/CP24.

Yonhee did really well, all things considered. She was very nervous after 45 minutes in the carrier in the car but didn't make a peep the whole way there, just lay down and tried to nap.  When we arrived, we met up with another foster parent, Daria, who had brought along Dulsie.

Dulsie and Daria

Dulsie was as calm as could be, she was out of the carrier and hanging out on the table in the small boardroom where we waited until it was showtime.

I thought Yonhee was better off staying snug in her carrier until it was time to go on air.  I'm sure she would have disappeared somewhere if she was let loose!

Other guests on the show were a rabbit (for the segment on why it's not a good idea to bring a rabbit home for Easter if you're just going to dump it in a shelter a month later)

and three cute little kittens - here's Leonard cuddling up to host Ann Rohmer just before they went out to do a promo tease a few minutes before the show actually began.

Alas, didn't get a good photo of Ms. Rohmer, who is just as nice in person as she appears on TV. She is also very considerate of the animals, she knew Yonhee was nervous and made sure not to keep her on air for longer than necessary.

Grooming the kittens pre-show

There was also a boston terrier/pug mix puppy that was as cute as could be but moving too fast to be photographed.  His handler was warned to keep him away from the rabbit, who might bite!

Here's how close we were to the studio:

Yonhee was quite squirmy when she was on screen but she looked beautiful (according to this unbiased foster parent, anyway!).  When her turn was over, it took me and 2 of the very kind crew members to get her back into her carrier, which we spent several minutes doing just off camera.  I was sure she was going to get loose and disappear in the studio somehow but luckily, that didn't happen.

Marion from Abbey Cats was the spokesperson and did a great job.  Here she is on screen with Ann and Dulsie:

The Abbey Cats hotline has had at least one call about adopting Yonhee already, from someone who saw her on air, so that is positive.  We'll see how things work out. That person will need to be screened to see if they are a suitable candidate. 

In the meantime, Yonhee is very glad to be home safe and sound.  I'm sure she's thinking, "hmm, a ride in the car but no needles and no medicine, what was that all about?"

Yonhee the TV Star

Yonhee, the Siamese cross cat I have been fostering for the past few months, is going to be on TV tonight.  One of Toronto's local TV stations (CTV/CP24) hosts a weekly program called "Animal House Calls" every Tues night at 7 p.m.  The theme of tonight's episode is the fact that you don't have to go to a breeder and pay a lot of money to get an exotic cat, you can often find one at an animal rescue.

Here she is, ready for her closeup, Mr. DeMille!

It should be a fun experience. Hopefully she will sit still and show how sweet she is, rather than squirm and try to escape her handlers. We'll see how it goes after an hour's drive while cooped up in a cat carrier, then let out to sit under the bright lights in strange surroundings.  Could be good, could be very very bad.  Wish us luck!

Catching Up

Having spent most of my weekend making art, like this:

and this:

(it took me overnight to realize the reason her face looked a little odd was because she was missing her eyebrows!), I am catching up on chores today.  A trip to the bank at lunch and after work, groceries and laundry.  Phew, this being a responsible adult stuff sure is tiring some days!  I'd much rather being playing with paint.

Making Bookmarks

I've started making my own bookmarks for the books I'm reading.  It started with "Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin.  I had watched a video on YouTube of Tim Holtz demonstrating a technique and tried it out, then wondered what to do with the tag.  I added the lettering and a crown stencil and voila, a bookmark.

The black smudge was the result of me playing around with some ink, which absorbed instantly and wouldn't spread (live and learn). I would have turned it into a crow, which are mentioned often in the book, they are used to carry messages back and forth, but it looked more like a bat, which I don't believe are mentioned at all in the book.  Ah well, c'est la vie!  When it comes to art, you don't always know how your creations are going to turn out.  If I squint, I can pretend it's a crow in flight. :)

I'll be reading volume 2 of that series next, "Clash of Kings", I'll need to make a new bookmark for that one.  But first, I am just starting Stephen King's "11/22/63" which revolves around JFK's assassination.  Here's what the tag/bookmark that I made today for that volume looks like:

Haven't read a Stephen King novel in quite some time, I am really looking forward to it!