Friday, September 25, 2009

Cats vs. Dogs

I have noticed the big differences between what dogs actually like & what the 'pop culture' says; it's the same with cats. I cannot find a site that compares the two, so I'll put my view on it here.

THE POPCULTURE VIEW
Dogs love meat, they are very loyal, they can play rough but that doesn't mean they're hostile towards their playmate.

My dog LOVES dairy, SO MUCH that I call her a cat/dog. There IS a commercial where a kid is in a stroller eating ice cream & there's a dog that gives the "sad puppy" face & gets to lick the ice cream-great, but it needs to be mainstreamed. I have always had cats & I researched awhile when choosing a dog breed & yet I NEVER read anywhere about dogs' superior love for all things dairy. Ice cream and white cheeses(Asiago, Monterey Jack, Parmesan) are her favorites.
Loyalty, hhhhhnnnmmmmm...My dog is most loyal to the oldest person in my household and it's not me. I have watched "The Dog Whisperer" & I understand dogs better, pack leader, etc. I'm still not #1.
Puppy-Housing, is what I call it; I notice they regularly check by snuffling/happy sneezing, that they're just playing; they are somewhat like boys in the house, not noticing any objects nearby & knocking things over.

Cats: "love dairy/milk, are not loyal, & are too 'girly' to play rough."

SO NOT TRUE. Exhibit #1 I have only had 1 cat that would drink milk regularly, over several decades & generations of cats. Cheese, again more of a popculture myth; offer cheese to a dog & a cat, it's probably the dog who will gobble it up.
Exhibit #2 I've had 2 cats that ONLY sat in my lap, not anyone elses, just like the popculture describes as a lap dog; both were Siamese, and this breed IS said to be the most dog-like. Also my Mom's cat would insist on eating from her plate, very rarely did she ever do this with anyone else. My sister's cat would eat brocholi off her plate not anyone elses.
Exhibit #3 Night-Crazies, like puppy-housing, the cats would suddenly duck(almost like the puppy bounce)their eyes would look wild, & they'd run full tilt around the place. The hallway is a favorite place to begin, running then jumping off the couch arms, the hall walls; chasing over the couch was not unusual. A few times things were broken by the cats; also they love to grab the other fall to the ground & kick with their hind feet. 'Boxing' is something I've seen, it's when 2 cats are up on their hind legs & the cats start smacking at each other, nails out; quickly & almost like fighting, the giveaway it wasn't fighting-NO PUFFY TAILS. I heard the nails tearing........but it was only in play.

Cats and dogs are opposite in many ways, this can complicate things when in a mixed dog & cat household. It's good to know what to look for: dog is friendly=ears are down. Cat is angry=ears are down. Dog drops to ground=open to playing. Cat drops to ground=cat's going to attack. The proper way to approach a dog=under the chin. Proper way to approach a cat=the top of the head. IF YOU CONFUSE THE TWO, prepare for a hostile dog and cat. A dog actually likes under the chin, even from strangers, top of a dog's head is felt almost like an attack. A cat knows it kills by going for the throat, & thusly reacts if a stranger attempts such a move; on the back of their heads though, is a friendly & relaxing massage.
I've not seen a side-by-side comparison, especially explaining how the two have totally opposite signals. A cat raised as a kitten around dogs won't be alarmed by the difference in signals, neither will a puppy raised around cats; what occurs is the cats become doggified & the dogs get cattified, each taking habits from the other. That can be a cat that sits down head first, like a dog, or a dog that loves to wrestle & kick with the hind legs.

Either way, it's not the end of the world, it's just dogs & cats living together.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Roses in Pitcher














A small bouquet of 3 HP Reine Victoria, scented geranium-Balm, whatever that means & tiny salvia. Old Country Roses pitcher on a tablecloth I made; basically turned the edges over & sewed lace onto it.


Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Ruby's Hats


























These hats I made, the grey and blue ones I made entirely, cut the brim from a stiff polyester craft felt bought at Joann's. The blue hat has a crocheted crown, the brim is covered with taffeta(manmade). The grey hat I used that wonderfully soft polyester micro-suede, I lined the inside with lavender scrap cotton left over from another project. Both the blue and grey hats are too big for the mannequin head, I have a fat head, I can't fix that, so....

The green hat has a frame I bought here;
they have awesome 'raw frames'. I also used some Vogue patterns, but as usual I made several changes. I noticed that "summer" hats are either wide-brimmed or veiled & small. I bought veiling from here.
Also vintage veiling from here
The above has vintage forget-me-nots, in velvet and paper, there are many flowers with labels that say: Made in West Germany, Made in France, etc. I put forget-me-nots on the green hat above, the lily is new from Joann's. What looks to me like rosebuds can be found in many shops that sell vintage trims, sometimes these are called 'cactus buds'. They are made of a vintage plastic and are flocked to varying degrees with green, little 'slits' are cut out and rose-ish pinkish color can be seen.

The veiling I pin on while wearing the hat, difficult but to have the veiling cocoon around the face how I like means having to shift it around and use clothespins, then sewing the veiling on by hand. It helped having actual vintage hats to study, and some of those had veiling only past the eyes, some looked like the veiling was permanently folded back over the hat, like lace.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

September & Deformed Latin

September is Latin for #7, just like October means 8; as a child in school I'd get confused because I knew octo meant 8 like octopus, but the numbers didn't match. The 1st month of the year is now January, Decca label & name =10, also the 10th sign is Capricorn. The French pronunciation of it makes the 'p' silent, they say 'set'; I call it deformed Latin (see elsewhere too) because that's what it is, over centuries the official Roman language took on regional variations & accents, & this became Spanish, French, Portugese, etc.

Anyway, my real reason for posting was because I'd just listened to an astrologer's podcast, I like her & I like the way she lays things out. The problem I have is she is using 'astrology software', making March Equinox=the sun's first day into Aries; this is 2000 years OUT OF DATE.

Short sidenote: Australia & every country on that side of the equator should change their calender so the Northern Hemisphere's December is the Southern Hemisphere's June. We do this on a smaller scale-jet lag-by adjusting the hours to the region.

Back to our regular program: September 1st Sun is in Leo, Saturn is still in Leo. My favorite astrologer is saying Saturn has been in Virgo & is about to finally leave this sign. So it's been very 6th House, limits, reality check, health, medicine, etc.

Sept 2nd Saturn moves into Virgo joining Mercury. So past as prologue-she fore-warned & it has been Leo that's been all shook up, tested, getting smacked by reality, & wanting to get out of their current situation/mess. I'll take a guess & say Leos everywhere do not like where the boundaries are sitting & have been feeling boxed in, trapped, frustrated, obstructed. Luckily Uranus has been in Pisces & has been chipping in & Leos may only now be noticing this. The astrologer has Uranus in its' actual sky position & does say Uranus is in Pisces, changing things there in very unexpected ways.

Neptune, Jupiter, the Moon are all in Capricorn, & Venus is in Cancer. Mars in Gemini. These are literal positions though, tracked with Starry Night Enthusiast. Most astrologers dismiss reality & rely on very outdated star charts that have been changed into software. It is too much like the Banksters, like Enron-not factual, a group lie, which is itself a 12th House specialty. I did politely bring this up with a few astrologers but they seemed quite content where they were. I prefer reality, facts. I don't even understand why they continue to get it wrong(literally) & preferring a group lie, or delusion.