A Dream Realized

The holidays are upon us already.  I’ve been busy working on some projects out in the craft room. None of which I can post right now.  Shhhh! Christmas presents.  I’ll post more about that after Christmas.

That being said, I’d like to share a little story.  Ever since I was a teenager I wanted to be a writer.  I made several attempts at writing only to hit a road block pretty quick.  It’s not an easy task that’s for sure.  I tried several different genres, many different plot lines and gave up.  Until Tortie.

Tortie is our tortoiseshell cat.  We adopted her in 2011.  She was at an adoption center inside the Petco in Napa, California where we lived at the time.  I was hesitant in adopting a cat after having one that though we loved him immensely, we ended up having to give him up due to behavior issues that we couldn’t resolve.  So, along came Tortie.  She was sweet, beautiful and we were taken by her almost instantly.  She was a year old and had had a litter of kittens.  She needed a home and we adopted her. Though I’m sure if you have had a cat before you know they adopt you.

What a joy she is and she is the inspiration for the book I was finally able to write. She’s cute. She’s quirky. And we just love her.  One night as I was reading in bed and pondering why I couldn’t make the writing thing happen, Tortie jumped up on my bed.  She had cute little habits that had me giggling in spite of myself. As she looked up at me with that little adorable face of hers I asked her, “I wonder what your life was before you were rescued.” And that was it, my muse.

So, I started writing.  The work in progress I fondly called “Tortie’s Maybe Story”. I have never been so inspired and dedicated to a task as I did with that book.  To make the time to write and write consistently I was up at 5:00am every morning so I could write before I had to go to work. I worked on my lunch breaks as well.

During that time as I was approaching the end of the rough draft I had an appointment with an editor through our local independent bookstore.  They had a series of events called “Blind date with and editor”.  The appointment was to be a half an hour but we ended up discussing my rough draft for a little over an hour.  She was very encouraging and we met a few other times after that.  Her life took her to Israel for a couple years so I went at it alone in editing and proofing.  Because the book didn’t really fit any mainstream genres (at least in my thinking) I decided to self-publish. Wow! What an experience.  I can honestly say it took more time and more work than actually writing the book.  After a few little hiccups along the way I am excited to say that my little book is published and ready for distribution.

I’m pretty jazzed about it!  I received my author copies yesterday and couldn’t be more thrilled.

Now for even more work.  And something I’m not really comfortable with. Promoting the book.  Yikes!! That means people might read it!!  Yes, these are the thoughts of a very self-conscious writer.  So, here goes nothing (or maybe a big something!).

If you are interested in checking out my book you can find it on Amazon at Toffee-An Adoption Story. 

Side note: I saw on Facebook this morning that it is Giving Tuesday.  This is a day devoted to charitable giving through your time, money, goods or voice.  I would like to take part in that by giving $1 from every book sold to Whiskers, Tails, and Ferals in Napa, California.  This is where we adopted Tortie from and her sister Candace as well.  They do remarkable work in finding forever homes for homeless felines.  And we are so happy they helped us get Tortie.  This 1$ per book donation/promotion will go on through Christmas.

Check it out! Buy a copy! Support a cause!

And thank you from Tortie and I!

My favorite photo of Tortie

Keep on stitching my friends and writing as well!!!

 

Tracy (and Tortie)

For more about Tortie, visit her Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/tortlebutt/

And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tracywrites/

Happy Holidays!

 

Sunday Morning Crocheting

I woke up this morning to a wet world.  Every bit of rain we get here in California makes me happy.  All we’ve heard for the past couple years is the word “drought”.  So, waking up to the sound of rain in the night or a wet patio in the morning thrills me.  It also made for a cozy time of crocheting this morning.  It’s not often this apartment is quiet but this morning I found the living room blissfully peaceful.  So, with coffee, biscuit with honey and my yarn and hook in hand I curled up in our big squishy chair and settled in for some crocheting.  I contemplated putting on the television or some music but sometimes I just like the meditative act of crocheting.  The steady movement of the hook working with the yarn can be quite soothing and helps me to think.  So, this morning I did just that.  It was wonderful.  Those moments are few and far between but I do take advantage of them when I can.

Candace

My companion on this chilly morning was Candace, one of our tortoiseshell cats.  She is lovely and so very sweet.  She lets me crochet for a while and then gives me a look and meow to tell me that it’s time for her to cuddle up.  She is indeed like a little baby sometimes.  One of her favorite places is snuggled up in my arms against my chest.  She’s a nervous cat and is usually fidgety when she’s laying on me.  She kneads me… and needs me.

We got Candace when she was nine months old.  She’s a rescue cat that we adopted from a place here in Napa called Whiskers, Tails and Ferals.  Because we had adopted our first Tortie (aptly named Tortie) they waved the adoption fee for her.  She came chipped, vaccinated, and spayed just like Tortie.  At the adoption center she was very scared and wouldn’t let me touch her.  In fact I really had doubts as to whether she would be a good fit for us.  We knew if we were going to adopt again that we would need a cat that would be a good companion for Tortie and would be able to get used to an active household. It did take some time but she has turned out to be such a little lover. Still a little skittish but overall a really beautiful addition to our family.  On January 5th we’ll have had her for three years.

This morning as I was taking a break from crocheting I was thinking about how we got her and I know that there are so many cats our there that need homes.  I could easily be that “crazy cat lady” because I would love to give them all homes.  But, two is enough.

If you have ever entertained the thought of getting a cat there are many places out there that adopt out cats.  Below are some links to some good resources.  I hope you’ll find them helpful.

Petfinder – National adoption website

Whiskers, Tails and Ferals – Napa –  If you are in the Napa, CA area

Furry Friends Rescue – Dedicated to the rescue, sanctuary and adoption of companion animals

Petco  and Pet Food Express – Both have adoption events

I hope you’ll check out these links and consider adoption or even fostering an animal until they can be adopted.  You’ll be happy you did!

And so I leave you with Candace.  

As always Stitch On!!  And if you can do it with a cat…all the better!

Knitting again

I’ve taken up needles and yarn again.  It’s been since my mom was in the hospital in early July since I last worked on anything.  I just don’t think I’ve had the heart. It’s been an exhausting time both emotionally and physically. So, much so that the fibromyalgia that has been my companion for 17 plus years has reared it’s ugly head and taken me down.  During those times finding joy in the things I love to do is not an easy thing.

So, I decided I needed to get back the needlework for myself. To fell better. My daughter and I were at Michael’s and I came across the Lion Brand Brandagram yarns.  They are Woolspun colors that are prints and mixes and very easy to match.  I have a use single colors out of fear of not matching multiple colors up. This was on one of the end aisles and has four yarns side by side in the same color scheme.  So, all you need to do is put those ones that are grouped together on the shelf and you’ve got matched colors and patterns.  There is a booklet I got that has an easy scarf and hat set that uses one skein each of the four yarns in the scheme.  My 16 (soon to be 17) year old daughter liked the blues called Ocean.  Very easy pattern with beautiful results.  Given that the yarn was a dollar off each skein and I had a 20% coupon it was quite a deal.

So I bought this:

Spent a little time doing this:

And ended up with this:

          

Of course Candace (the cat) had to get into the mix of things.  She’s not a big fan of me crafting because it doesn’t leave much room for her on my lap.

Anyway, that’s it.  Didn’t take me long which is what I wanted.  I just wanted a little project that could get me back into the swing of it and encourage me to do more.  After-all it was Mom who taught me to do all these crafty things and I really can’t (and won’t) let fibromyalgia get the better of me.

Next to work on…..maybe one of the numerous projects that I have to finish up. Or some socks. Or….who knows.  But, I will keep the momentum going.

 

Stitch on my friends!

 

Winding It Up!

I love, love, love crocheting and knitting.  I do a lot of it!  And…I’ve got a lot of yarn.  Small amounts of some colors, large amounts of others, all different textures.  I love yarn.  A new skein and a new project;  maybe a fiber I haven’t worked with before or a pattern that will challenge me thrills me. Of course, along with that comes some pretty messy hanks of yarn.  If you are a knitter or crocheter you know what that’s like.  Bags and bags (or drawers or boxes or baskets) of skeins that are hard to work with because they are really no longer skeins.  Frustrating to say the least.  I’m a bit lazy about winding it into balls and usually get pretty annoyed with the ball rolling all over the place.

Well, for Christmas this last year my mom got me a Boye Electric Yarn Winder.  Coolest thing ever!!! You just wind the yarn through some guides, secure it and turn it on.  In minutes you’ve got a nice center pull ball of yarn.  The balls are nice and loose so that the yarn comes out of the center easily so you don’t have a ball of yarn getting away from you.  Which, in my house, is an invitation for the cat to play (with the yarn, that is).  

I love it!  Thanks Mom!

So what I get is yarn that begins like this:

 And ends like this!

And this is how it works….

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Have I said that I love this yet?!  I do.  I’m not sure what other brands are out there.  I know there are some with these wire arms that extend out.  Looked too complicated for me.  This one was nice and I’m so glad someone got it for me.  I do try to use up yarn that I have already before going out to buy more so this makes that more appealing to me.

Thanks for reading and as always…..Stitch On!!

Tracy

Something for the cats

I have two cats.  They are both tortoise shell colored and fabulous cats.  Cute, personable, loving and absolutely beautiful.  One is Tortie (we were so original with that name) and one is Candace (she came to us with the name).  While both are tortoise shell they are very different in both appearance and personality.  Tortie we adopted when she was one year old.  She was rescued from a field with a litter of kittens. She is stocky with dark coloring, short hair and tail and it looks as though she is wearing a light colored mask.  Candace on the other hand is long and sleek with longer light colored hair and long tail. We adopted her at about nine months old. Tortie is a bit on the grumpy side but loving and Candace is very skittish and loves to snuggle with her mom (me).
If you have cats you know that all you have to do is put down a box, bag or basket and within minutes you have caught a cat.  They can’t resist containers.  Yesterday my mom gave my daughter and I large basket for our crafting stuff.  We brought them home, put them on the living room floor and within 5 minutes we had caught two cats.

So, I called my mom and told her the baskets were great but with cats in them we couldn’t put much in them in the way of crafts. She laughed and said it would give her more reasons to buy baskets.  

This prompted me to get busy and finish up the cat bed for them that I’ve been crocheting.  I had intended to have it done by Christmas but with working 50+ hours a week during December that didn’t happen.  Anyway, it had started out as a Cat Cave but wow! it was a lot of work.  I started out with a pattern and had to alter it quite a bit given the cats are pretty big. It was worked in four strands throughout.  Yesterday when I set it down to take a break on it Tortie hopped in and I found a new way to finish up.  Now it is a cat bed. Tortie seems to like it.  Candace only went near it once and that was to see what Tortie was doing in it.  She gave her a look that said “you are ridiculous!” and ambled off.

Making my people and cats comfortable and happy.  That’s what I’m all about : )

Tracy

Side note: This used up quite a bit of yarn from my yarn stash including some beautiful variegated yarn my friends mom gave me.