Ceridwen’s Cauldron

…but I swear it’s true.

I was sitting at the computer yesterday and noticed that all three cats were crammed, close together, in the window. I ran to get the camera, but by that time Tybalt had moved, and Jake figured there was something up and turned around to get out of the window.

But all three of my cats! Getting along! Sitting together on a crammed ledge!

Jake’s even been spotted playing with Miho. He pretends he’s trying to kill her, but we know differently — no hissing, no tail-lashing, no biting. Just batting at one another with unclawed paws? Yeah. You’re playing.

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(For those that missed it, or are procrastinating, I’m looking for stuff to write. Ask me five questions in the comments. If you’d like me to ask you five back, let me know!)

Today’s questions are courtesy of Bec!

1-What’s your best quality?

My eyes. No…wait…my legs.

Seriously, though, I’d say my best quality is my commitment to and love for my friends. I like to think of myself as a good and loyal friend, and treat those around me as family.

2-What’s your totem animal?

I’ve debated about how to answer this one, but I think in the end I’m not going to. I do have a totem animal, but it’s not something I want to talk about on a public blog. I’m usually open for discussing it one-on-one, provided I know the person I’m talking to.

3-What is your parents’ greatest gift to you?

They always told me to follow my heart, to do the things I really wanted to do.

4-How did you fall in love with Scott?

I met Scott in my first year of university. He went to high school with a bunch of people that I started hanging around with, and he was in my English class. ‘Round about November I began to suspect that the quiet guy had a crush on me. We started dating in February. That’s how we met. As to how I fell in love with him…that part just kind of happened on its own, I guess. He was smart, quiet (to my loud), funny…we were a good match.

5-What would you do with the money if you won 10 million in the
lottery?

Unfair question! When I win 10 million, I will let you know! In all seriousness, it’s hard to say. My parents would have a summer home outside of Halifax and a winter home somewhere warm. I’d have a house, and a car, and a nice long trip. I’d do some nice things for my friends. And save some. And that would pretty much take care of it all, I think.

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Behold! One of the results of my recent crochet obsession:

Pattern can be found here.

Note how the left slipper is nicer than the right. That was the second one I made. I’d gotten the hang of it by then.

I made some other things too, but they are SECRETS as of yet.

And now I’m done with crochet. I made some things. It took me two days. I got bored. I moved on. This is how it is with me and yarn.

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I give you, Cats in a Window in Autumn:

I’ve been trying to take this picture for weeks, but they kept coming over to see what was up when I turned the camera on. Finally I went out of the room and turned the camera on, then came back. For once, they hadn’t left the window to find me.

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Behold! Fabrics for a fabulous new quilt!

I spent a good part of yesterday afternoon and evening cutting, but I still haven’t even got the pieces half-finished (though I am close). I always forget how much time this step takes. It’s the worst part of the whole thing, really. The last step of the prep-work, which is keeping me from sitting down and really-truly starting.

Soon I will be ready to begin. Soon.

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Today’s questions brought to you courtesy of Luanna!

1 – Would you go back to the maritimes?

Yes. Maybe not ‘in a heartbeat’ as I once would have said. I have too many things on the go here, too many good friends. But I do want to go back someday and live somewhere near the water on a decent piece of property. That’s my Retirement Dream. It has become a Retirement Dream since I’ve realized it’s Not Happening Any Time Soon. This makes me a little sad — part of my soul is left on that coastline, and I’m not whole without it.

2 – Besides people, what is your favourite thing about Montreal?

The FOOD. So much good food! So inexpensive! So multicultural!

3 – If you were candy, what candy would you be?

Every Flavour Beans. ‘Cause sometimes I’m all sweet and candy, and other times…

4 – Which of your cats would you like to be and why?

I would be Miho. For her grace and agility, and for her lack of regard for consequence. (”You may spray me later, but I still got to eat all the big cat’s food!”)

5 – If you could make me do one thing, what would it be?

I would make you enjoy your return to school.

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Started the New Quilt today. Pictures to follow, which will mostly just be of fabric, I think. Maybe a few of the cut squares, so you get an idea. It’s fall and rainy which means it’s time to get introspective and craft-happy again.

I am beginning to understand people who pray before beginning creative endeavours. In fact, I think I’m going to become one of them. There are so many little ways that the project can go wrong and in my case already HAS gone wrong — a mis-cut seam here and there mostly, nothing major. Just enough to be frustrating. If it were enough to be major, I’d be in tears right now. And praying that I could fix it, frankly, which seems the wrong way to go about things.

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I’m wearing my corset again today.

With a blouse this time, o’course. It’s chilly.

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This is tomorrow night. It’s the same lecture series that brought Ray Harryhausen to Montreal. That event was a lot of fun and this one promises to be as well.

Scott and I are going. Who’s going with us?

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Scarlet asked me some questions as per yesterday’s request…

1- why did you leave the Maritimes?

I think it was always a given that we would, because Scott wanted to find work programming and at the time (don’t know about now) there weren’t a whole lot of tech jobs in Halifax. We figured we’d wind up at Nortel (whew. Dodged that bullet) but ended up coming to Montreal instead.

As an aside: Those who look at the unemployment rates in the Maritimes and think “why don’t they just leave, then?” should take note: we do. In fact, we’re one of the most mobile populations in all of Canada. Which is a shame, ’cause it means our home province is losing a generation of talented individuals that could theoretically bring industry back.

2- why did you choose to play a saxaphone? (as opposed to any other
instrument)

As a teenager, I played guitar — my father currently has my classical acoustic. About 4 or 5 years ago, I was working through “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron (a book about breaking down creative barriers) with a group of online friends. At the time, I was walking by the music store near my apartment which has saxophones on display in the window. One day it occurred to me that I’d like to play the saxophone. I have no idea where this desire came from, so I wrote about it to my creativity group. And got the response:

“That means you need to start. Now.”

I figured they might have a point, so I rented a sax and started taking lessons.

I still have no idea what made me want to play saxophone, other than it’s a pretty, sexy instrument with a great sound. It’s also fairly easy to play (well, easy to play badly, hard to play well) though I didn’t know that at the time.

3- Have you picked a starting point for your Nano writing yet?

Nope, because I’m not doing Nanowrimo this year. Though I wish everyone who is taking up the crazy challenge all the best.

4- what inspired you to start quilting?

I’ve always been crafty, and my grandmother (on the Young side) is a crafter of note. She taught me how to knit and how to crochet and eventually how to quilt. She set me up with my first applique pattern, and helped me sew it together and get it started quilt-wise. (That quilt is actually still unfinished, about 17 years after I started it.) I can still knit and crochet (at least a little), and I used to be very big on cross-stitch (which I taught myself to do) but I like quilting best. I’m not sure why this is — perhaps because there’s so many steps to it that I never really get bored. Also, the fact that a quilt is practical — it’s usable art — is a big plus for me. There’s something about the tradition of the quilt that appeals to me as well. Quilts are very North American as an art form. Also they have structure, but allow a lot of room for creativity — you can pick a pattern and choose your own fabrics, your own block size, your own layout and come up with something different and beautiful every time.

Whew. I’ve gone a long way from where that question began, so I’ll stop.

5- when is the next concert?

The next concert has a tentative date in late March, with possibly a brief show at the Happening in December. I will say no more for now, ’cause the dates are still veeeeery tentative.

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