Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Semi Wordless Wednesday - Love to Cleo

Cleo was our Queen.

We miss her. Iris lay alongside the cat carrier after we came home that day. That very sad February 9th afternoon. She sat there all day.


She misses her Cleo momma.


And we do, too. So much. Her absence is a subtle, sorrowful ache that brings a sad, very sad tear. Many tears, actually. She'd been through so much...too much to type here. I always knew that I loved her, we all did - but I do feel sorry that she ended up in the background of our life. She was a quiet girl, a proud girl, and a very loyal girl. What a girl. What a special girl. No matter how subdued, she was very much part of our lives.

I decided that I needed to make a Cleo Pillow. One that lay amongst the pillows and the cushions that she loved to lounge upon the couch area. Sometimes the pillow takes away our breath....


as we imagine her there.

Oh, Cleo. We miss you. And, we love you. We hope that you are basking in the sun that is kitty-paradise with your soulmate Sam in the most perfect sun spot of love. Love to you.

xo, the Z's

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Wanna See My Peaches????

Thought that might grab some attention - haha! Check em' out, my Golden Peaches collection - all named after Oscar nominees. My first one, Cate, sold in a flash. Here are three others:


Ellen/Juno


Phillip - as in Seymour Hoffman


...and Daniel - as in Day Lewis.

Nothing like a little fun to brighten the weekend - and a reminder that "sometimes Life's a Peach".


For more pictures and info on my recent blueberry additions - please click here.

Happy Weekend Everyone. xo

Friday, February 15, 2008

21 Months and 21 Minutes


Today is our 21 Month LID "Anniversary"...steadily creeping toward the 2 Year Mark.

Yesterday was Valentines Day. It was a day that Cupid decided to shoot U-S-C-I-S in the heart - and we felt the love.


Bracing ourselves for a long-ass wait to get re-fingerprinted (we were there for hours last time), jzboy and I both took the day off and enjoyed a leisurely and decadent breakfast (at this place) before getting in line. We dragged our feet a little but eventually arrived at the insititution with reading/writing/listening materials in our pockets.

Immediately we were greeted by the comedian receptionist guy who looked at us suspiciously. "You two look like US Citizens", he demurred. We explained. He nodded. We were given numbers #500 & 501 then waved through to the next level.


Thankfully the federal workers swapped out the cloying Celine Dion in Concert vid for something with Steve Martin. The new selection was an english version with, of course, english subtitles. After about 10 minutes, we were asked to sit in line with our backs to the screen. Ah well...I guess we could still listen.


It must have been Cupids Arrow because the Biometrics team was all smiles, wearing Valentinesy beads and had a gentle touch when pressing hands to fingerprinting screens. Maybe it was a little romantic in a way. I'll have to think on that. But whatever it was, it moved me to writing some glowing feedback for the group before I decended the 2nd floor workspace. Livescanning was just a walk in the park this go around and for that I was very grateful.

We were out of there in 21 minutes and off to enjoy the rest of our Valentines Day just the way we wanted.


Thanks Cupid.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Goodnight Old Girl


We love you so dearly, Cleo, and only hope that you are with your lifepartner, Sam, snuggling in the sun right now. For hours and hours and hours...and hours. Your bliss is our hope.

Our tears remind us of how much love you brought to our lives. And, how much we loved you.

xo

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Love Letter

Took me a little longer than usual, but I finally got around to writing up all of my thank you notes for so many great Christmas gifts that were sent our way.


Back in the day, I would get those puppies written and into the mail before the New Year. Yes, I was teased for it - but that was just my way. Not this year, though. This year I needed some extra time post-holiday to gather up my energy before I could write my notes. Perhaps I needed a little extra time before I could actually feel truly grateful. Time for the haze of disappointment and anger about another holiday spent childless to lift.

Know what I mean?

Our families have been really great to us and have continued to bestow upon us some excellent books, $$ toward the "baby fund", enough quilt fabric for 10 Bai Jia Beis and countless trinkets for the child that they ((too)) look forward to meeting someday. This wait is hard on all of us - family & dear friends alike - and that is something I have to remind myself of during these periods of self absorption. Check out this killer Girl Scout doll that BabyZ's most-excellent Auntie gave us for XMas:


She can't wait for her neice to meet our family, I just know that is true.

Long time readers of this ol' buttercup blog know that music is very important to me. It is important to all of us, but a lot of times it functions as a lifeline for me. I want to thank my Walternatives bud for trading cd mixes with me almost monthly last year. Thanks to her I now know the difference between Nancy Griffith and Patty Griffin. Making Pies, baby!


Atomic Mama introduced me to the lovely and amazing Nouvelle Vague 80's mixes as well as the killer bits and pieces of DJ Shinky. Jessi - oh my bud, Jessi - has sent so many mixes. Now that is a lady who loves her some new music! Thanks, Jessi, for telling me all about Cat Power, the Shins & Kelley Deal 6000 (now I know why they sound so 80's - Breeders! Pixies!! I was right!!) Fliss, another bloggity gal noticed my "Soundtrack for a Waiting Mother & sent us a couple of cds full poignant tunes that she thought would be good additions to the list. All of this music means so much. Thank you, thank you!!

Ok, now back to the handicrafts. Kimi, a local waiting parent, who has her own online sewing patterns shop called New Conceptions, gave us these very swanky shoes as a baby "comin' around the corner when she comes" kind of gift.


I think that Auntie Kimi gave us these back in August?? Sorry to be sharing so late, but damn! the corner is just so far in the distance these days. Somehow I lost track of the cuteness. Pause for a moment, tho...can you believe that she made these shoes herself?? Her-own-Damn-SELF?? Sweet!

Another near and dear bud, Jules, has sent some very special things to us that she has thoughtfully embroidered with her rad-ass, self proclaimed Big White Machine. We love them. The love onesie:


...and the Rockstar outfit:


Thank you Jules! Please go visit her shop called pinkpolkadotz.com and see all of the excellent things that she can do with that Big White Machine.

All of this love in such a scattered post can only lead to the randomness of how close that I've become with my LID Secret Pal, Jen. Random only b/c we met online via our agency LID Yahoo group as complete strangers who would never have met otherwise - We are family now. She and her hubs just got back from Ethiopia with their daughter, Amara, about a month ago. Jzboy and felt so fortunate to hang with the happy family last weekend. Here is the newest member of our circle, Ms. Amara:


Isn't Jen GLOWING??

What a sweet little peach Amara is. Jen roasted up some Ethiopian coffee beans for us to enjoy and sent us along our merry (and very BUZZED) way after sipping the delicious french pressed liquor. Amazing. The baby, the new family...and the roasty-toasty beans. Sweet.

Ok, moving right along. So out of the blue this past week we got a call from the infamous Atomic Mama. She & her hubs were planning a crazy roadtrip & wanted to know if they could drop by? Uhhhh, yeah! Batten down the hatches and pull out the Dim Sum, y'all...the queen is coming to town!


Oh how I wish these guys lived closer. We miss them already.

AMama made the most spectacular blanket for our baby2be. I think that she has been paying attention to one of my many color affairs - Pink and Red. The best. And, cherries! Sweetness in the most unique, styling, fun & quirky way - a lot like the designer herself. You tha' bomb, yo.


Thank you to dear ol' DSue - for burning me a copy of Kitchen Confidential onto cd. Anthony Bourdain RULES, most definitely. What a MAN. I actually looked forward to getting in the car each morning to hear the next installment in spite of my long commute. Your gift truly propellelled me through the December morning blahs. You rock, my friend. Thank you.


Ok, I think that I've gone on long enough. This is the lengthiest post I've written in some time. It needed to be done - I needed to remind myself of those thankful places in my life. They are there. They are here. They come in strange packages and from far away places sometimes. Oddly enough, they even come through the computer occasionally.

I know that I was very specific with my thanks above, but what I really wanted was to say outloud and to whomever is reading how grateful I am for your presence. Please accept my thanks for all of the much needed laughs, the surprising inspirations, the empathy, the motivation to keep on keepin' on, the shout-outs, the LOVE...and the support as I branch out into other endeavors (etsy & all that).

Maybe it is a bit late, but my words of thanks are so real and true. Big Ol' LOVE to y'all.

Oh yeah, and Happy New Year.

xo

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Want to Win A Prize????

If you find yourself a Gambling Type - go check out this link to a Voting Promo within Etsy. No purchase is necessary - alls ya gots ta do is vote. Consider it practice for the upcoming primaries...

The California Crafter's Club of Etsy (CCCOE) has asked for members to make an item for their Etsy Shop that was inspired by the topic of "Science". My entry was Paige:


...the bespectacled Wild Carrot that dreams of Library Science.

The unique (& very cool) thing about this contest is that the Voters are the ones that are up for prizes. Lucky voters, you are, because these excellent prizes were made by a very cool woman who uses vintage LP vinyl in amazing ways!

Click here to view all 27 entries in one place at quirkynberkeley's blog. All voting needs to be done on the etsy link at the top, but it is easy to see the widely varying entries...inspired by Marine Biology, Phrenology, Astronomy & Wild Veggies all at once.

Go, scope it out. You might win a prize!! Polls are open til' midnight, February 8th.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Why the Rain Rocks - Part Deux

GREEN Hills to gaze at on the way to work...for a limited time only.




And cozy fires at home after an hour long commute through a rush hour downpour:

Wax on Wax Hoff



Really, you've got to try "Waxing Hoff" - click here if you are up for the challenge.

It is a game of skill.