grumpycat

I participated in the elevated envelope exchange, where my chosen theme was "cats of the internet."

Now that two months have passed since I mailed them out, I think it's safe to say that this isn't a spoiler anymore. 

So I sent grumpycat envelopes.

You can see they have varying degrees of grumpiness...because I drew/painted each one individually.

Actually, I took the photos before I completely finished them, I ended up painting the background turquoise on half of them (to match his eyes) and coral on the rest (to match his adorable little nose).


Well, practice makes perfect.  I think I did twelve of them, in all.  I didn't have quite that many partners, but I did a few extra for people I knew would enjoy them.

The surprise inside the envelope for each of my partners was a handmade grumpycat notebook.

I finally decided that I could offer them for sale, too.

And then, since I had so much practice drawing this silly cat, I decided to make a textile design of his ridiculous face.  Grumpycats everywhere!  You can see the fabric I designed here.

I've got another extensive cat post in the making...maybe early next week.  There will be more cats than you can count.  :)
Until then, hug a feline - and then slap a band-aid on the resulting scratches you sustain.

Taco Tuesday...gravity...pah!

Taco defies gravity during his waking hours
(by generally ignoring all the rules of physics)

and it's a practice I'm sure he brings with him into the dream-world.

But he can also sail through the air while he's only half-conscious. 

He's a very talented kitty.

blame it on the neighbor

The other day I found something unusual hanging on the railing.




















I can't explain it, but I thought it might be leftover from a very hearty (drunken?) cinco de mayo celebration.

But a new neighbor moved in next door on the first...soooo...maybe they are hers?

I really enjoy a good mystery.

cookie guard

I love cookies.

I also love Taco.  But he was guarding my cookies.  (The box in the background.)

Oh, well. Guarding cookies was boring.

five stamps gets you across the Atlantic

I had a recent realization that my two ounce, letter-sized envelopes could cross the Atlantic Ocean with five first class stamps.

So, of course I had to use five different stamps.

And then.......
I thought I should start putting my recycling tips on the back of each envelope.

I recycle 6" by 9" envelopes when I can, but hardly any one sends me mail in that size.
So I feel a little bit like a hypocrite, sending out these brand-new envelopes with tips for recycling on the back, but, hey...if it gets that particular envelope recycled and re-used, then it worked.

I think the post office probably dislikes my re-use of envelopes, but they usually have to slap on a sticker strip for the sorting barcode on the manila envelopes, anyway.  And those peel off really easily.
I like peeling those stickers off.
 Makes me feel accomplished, or skilled. 
Or maybe I just like things that peel easily, like clementines or hard-boiled eggs, or pistachios...when they're easy to crack open, anyway.

Taco Tuesday...he's not that innocent

Taco, it turns out, is a furry little thief.

I knew he had a stockpile of bottle caps under the fridge, but I had no idea he was hiding all of these other things!

Under the fridge, we found:
31 bottle caps
5 cat toys (Taco, you're allowed to hide your toys if you want to)
2 writing instruments
2 lip balms (nooooooooo, not my precioussssssss)
tweezers
a clothespin
a ring
a rubber cork

...for a total of 44 things under the fridge.  I had been looking for that marker! I had wondered where my ring went!

I still need to know where else he is stashing his toys - there are at least ten of them still missing in action.

post office in kihei, maui, hawaii

For those people who love to see post offices - here is one located on the island of Maui, in the state of Hawaii.
The post office boxes are accessible outside, because the weather is ridiculously nice, year-round.
I thought that was pretty cool.

Sorry, that's just some unsuspecting postal patron in the shot.  And PALM TREES!

You can see the wall of post office boxes just under the overhang.

And yeah, that giant cart of mail is just hanging out. 
Waiting to be sorted. Outside. In the lovely weather.

That little silver half-circle door in the wall is where I threw my postcards. 
They arrived at their destinations before I went home.


Even the post offices look better in Hawaii.  *sigh*
What a great vacation. :)