Meet the Family: Simon

Simon is a devilish cat of many nicknames; SimoneyBaloney, fattie, kiki, and I'm thinking of testing out Ghost Face Kittay on him.

Simon recently put out a personals ad in the local paper - this is it:

Large and in-charge, I'm one big ginger with lots of loving to give. Don't let my curves fool you, I'm all muscles kitties. I enjoy eating, torturing field mice, eating, climbing shit, sneaking up on the dogs and jumping on them when they least expect it, eating, and curling up by the window for naps. I'm open to both kitties and dogs who are willing to pull me around on the floor by my ears, or in general, just a good cuddle buddy. 

Simon's been known to be malicious - when he doesn't get his way of late, he has taken to pooping in the sink. But Joe disciplined him pretty well after the 5th incident, so we are hoping he just goes back to doing what he does best, eating, napping, and killing mice.

light it up...

It's December & that means it's time for Channukah - The Festival of Lights!

Joseph and I went to a Channukah party in Olympia, and when we got back home around midnight we discovered Simon stuck about 50 feet up on a tree to the side of our driveway. I have never heard a cat mew so despairingly before. Joe climbed the tree and branch after branch broke off as he ascended. I was standing underneath it shining a flashlight up at him while simultaneously shaking because I was so scared of him falling. But - he is quite the monkey on a tree. He finally reached Simon, and managed somehow to climb down with him most of the way and then tossed him down for the last 10 feet or so. My hero! Simon thanked him by pooping in our sink about an hour later. Clearly, the cat has some behavioral issues we must work out.

In other news, winter in the woods means that you will lose power. If there is a strong storm, chances are the lights will go out, the electricity will go off, and it will be blacker out than you can even imagine. We've begin to learn how to prepare for these times. The wood-burning stove gets pre-set. The flashlights and candles are accessible. You make the best of it and get cozy with the guitars. I wanted to make my own candles to stockpile, so I've started out making beeswax candles, which I have deemed to be the easiest starting point. I'll work my way up.

Honeycombed beeswax candles - Start off by getting sheets, or foundations, of pure beeswax. You want them to be room temperature or they will crack during the process of making them. You can try warming them up if they are too cold with some source of heat for a short time - like a blowdryer or direct sunlight (Not so much of that up around here now!)

Place a piece of candle wick on the foundation sheet around 1/8' to 1/4' away from the edge facing you. Place one end of the wick even with one side of the sheet and allow the excess to hang over the other side. Start at the middle edge of the foundation and fold the edge of the sheet over the wick to encase the wick with honeycomb. Fold the edge gently, working evenly from the middle out to the sides. Then start rolling - for those of you who make sushi - it's the exact same thing. Or, for those of you more medicinally inclined, it's much like rolling a joint. Roll evenly, not too tight, not too much pressure.

When you have rolled the entire sheet, trim the wick to about 1/2" in length. Now light it, and enjoy!

These candles are dripless and they smell ah-mah-zing. I highly recommend making some for your home. Happy Holidays everyone!