Cat training and Mum's wee bit of news

Well it's not exactly training but we did get a leash for our cat Dolphin so he could safely go outside. He has actually taken to it without much of an issue. We just have to be ready when he leaps after a fly! Of course now he meows at the door waiting to be taken outside!

And now to my wee bit of news.....David is soon to be joined in the publishing world by his wife!! Yes ..me....I have had a knitting pattern accepted by an online knitting website called knitty.com

Obviously it's small potatoes compared to the hubby but it's major for me ( I do get paid a wee amount for this). It will be out in the summer issue and will have photos of Maya wearing the design (which is a skirt but I can't publish any pictures until the design comes out online).

So now I'm officially a knitwear designer! I'm already planning submissions to other places!

I have also just set up my very own knitting blog which will be called Shetland Trader (well there is nothing on the blog yet but I'll link to it once I put some stuff on there). I'm using Maggie's picture above as my wee trademark signature and hope it will become some kind of business for me in the future. The website that is publishing the pattern will allow me to provide a link to blog/website hence my being prompted to finally get around to doing what I had been meaning to for a while.

Yipee...I'm so excited!

Alligators in the desert!?!

Yes it's true they really have alligators in the deserts of Colorado! We stopped by on our recent trip with D's students to the college's retreat-like campus in the mountains.
So I have to tell you that Maya and Sage did actually hold a wee 3 foot alligator...where are the photos?...well it was one of those 'you have to buy our photos for $20 deals'...so you'll just have to take my word for it...(stingy parents)

So the real deal with these guys is that they were originally brought in to clean the tanks of the Tilapia fish that are farmed here (and which is still the main business at the reptile park) and now they breed them there also.

No this isn't our new luggage!

The kids had fun watching all the tumbleweeds blowing around and were wondering how the owner of this house was going to get out!

Yes we own our very own tumbleweed now!

Desert light. I don't have photos but we also visited some natural hot springs with the students and got to bob around in the hot water while the sun cast it's golden light on the mountains.....sooo relaxing...even the kids chilled out!

Birthday Boy

A Few Snapshots of Sage on his 6th birthday!

Sage and his pet Rancor!

Sushi was of course requested for the birthday meal...

...and happily consumed!

Maya's birthday picture.....this is a Jedi called Shakti by the way!

Sage the Sarcastic!

Sad news about Girly

I'm afraid there's some bad news to announce. Our well-loved cat, Girly, died yesterday. It was all quite sudden and bizarre and made for a miserable day.

For a little over a week she'd been getting nosebleeds. They'd come and go, but throughout she seemed to be just fine. She didn't act ill. She ate normally and was her nervous, lovely self. But yesterday morning, while I (David) was at work, her nose began to really bleed. Gudrun and the kids bundled her up and took her to the vet. It was clear straightaway that the vets thought it was grave. They tested her blood and found her clotting slow. They also gave her an epinephrine injection to close up the bleeding. They wanted to keep her in, so Gudrun and the kids had just arrived back home - I was there too now - when the vet called to say that Girly had gone into cardiac arrest.

The vets think - they're not really providing any other answers - that Girly was poisoned, probably by some sort of rat poison that she found someplace, or by contact with a mouse that had recently been poisoned. This is a bit hard to understand, considering the apartment we live in and Girly's unadventurous behavior. But there it is. That's what happened.

The kids are very upset about it, of course. Maya in particular was devastated. It was hard to watch, especially as they came back from the vet quite happy to have put her in caregiving hands. So when the phone rang with that news none of us expected it at all.

So, anyway, we're going to collect her ashes and eventually release them - perhaps back in Massachusetts.

Maya's latest artwork (and one of Sage's too)

Rock Star, Rude Dolphin, Razzamatazz Skirts and Rocky hike!

This really needs no explanation!

Hi! This is Maya. Here is a picture of me and my rude cat Dolphin. Even though he is sometimes rude i still love him.

Spring-like days recently tempted us out for a hike in a nearby canyon.

Actually no razzamatazz skirts anymore as the one I had posted pictures of is too similar to the design being pubished by Knitty.com so I had to take it off for now!

Capoeira

So for those of you who don't know about Capoeira (pronounced Cah-Pah-Way-Dah) here is a brief description. Capoeira is a blend of martial art, gymnastics, dance, music, singing, portuguese language and culture. It came out of the slave culture in Brazil and breakdancing is said to have been inspired by Capoeria movements. One 'plays' capoeira.


Maya and Sage started taking classes about 5 months ago and absolutley love it love it love it!! ( a direct qoute from Sage). Compared to the other martial arts they've tried this one seems a lot more fun and less like a martial art in terms of the HI-Yah kick action factor!


So the photos here are from a special Capoeira event held twice a year where students recieve their new cord (belt) after being tested in class. Its an opportunity for mestres (masters) and other teachers or graduated students to come toegther and 'play' capoeira. In order to receive your cord you have to go into a roda (pronounced hoda) with a mestre or teacher and demonstate what you know by playing capoeira with them. The littlest kids were the first to go and of course looked very cute with the grown ups ( who slowed down their movements).

Maya and Sage warming up!
The roda with students, mestres and teachers.......playing traditional instruments and singing in a call and answer fashion.
Sage getting his new cord.......unfortunately I have no pictures of him in action due to bodies standing in the way!


Maya in the roda showing off Pointe Pe Cruzado ( not too sure about spelling of that one).

Maya getting her cord!

Have to say David and I were extremely proud of the kids for getting up in front of so many people (200+)...don't know if I could have done it! This last shot (not a very good one )gives a snippet of the more advanced stuff that goes on (note guy on head on the left). Infact there was a whole demonstation from the mestres and teachers of all the very cool contortions they could do. I did get it all on video but don't know how to put video clips on the blog......Jamie? Gerry? Anyone know?