11/18/12

Thoughts on Being a Grown-up

Lately I've been thinking about what quilts I'd like to make next year, and it occurred to me that my to-do list holds a lot of ideas and patterns for wall hangings, door hangers, table runners, and the like that have holiday themes.  Some of them are actually matched up with fabrics.  Only, I never work on these because I have a white board on my wall that lists all the projects I'm working on, and I'm determined to work on each one every month.  A worthy goal, no doubt.


Then it occurred to me that I could decide to give these projects a rest during certain months of the year and do something holiday related.  What a concept!  For example, I'd love to make something for Valentine's Day.


Or the 4th of July.  In fact, I already have a project lined up for the 4th of July.  I just never get to it.

Or how about Halloween?  Wouldn't that be fun?  I have a table runner all ready to go.  All I need to do is sew it together.


And, heck, with Christmas right around the corner, wouldn't it be fun to make a table runner for myself like the one I made as a gift last year?  I mean, really, wouldn't that be great fun?


Only, I'm keeping my nose to the grindstone working on the projects on my white board because I'm being so terribly responsible and rule-abiding.  

But then, I asked myself, "Just who makes the rules around here anyway?"  And then it occurred to me that these are someone else's rules, not mine.  It doesn't really matter whose rules they are, and there's no use expending energy trying to figure it out.  I just know that these are not rules I made up for myself at any point in time.  They are ways I keep myself organized, but really, isn't there more to life than being organized?  And rule-abiding?  I hope so.

Then I recalled this time when I was returning to college full time after a long absence.  It was pretty exciting. I'd worked full time while Mike went to school, and then I raised two babies to school age.  Finally, it was my turn, and in celebration, I decided I deserved some back-to-school clothes.  My mother always took me back-to-school shopping when I was a kid, and I started school with a few days' worth of new clothes.  So I continued this tradition for my first few days back at school as a full-time student at the Big School.


Once I had my spiffy new clothes for my first few days back at school, I knew I had to wait until the first day of school to wear them.  That's the rule, right?  Only then, I wondered who made up that rule, and I realized it was my mother's rule.  Only just then, I happened to BE the mother!  So I made up a new rule, to-wit:  They're my clothes.  I bought them with my own money.  I'll wear them whenever I want to.  Pretty good rule, huh?


So today I was thinking more about my to-do list, and my holiday-themed projects waiting in the wings, my white board, and my rules, and I decided that it would be okay to put the white board projects aside for certain months and work on things that are totally unrelated...just for fun.  Quilting isn't a job...not for me, at least.  It's supposed to be fun, and so why not make it even more fun by choosing to take time off from the "regular stuff" and doing something wild and crazy...like a Christmas table runner for Christmas?

So that's my new rule, and it's a good rule for me.

I know there are folks out there who feel bound and determined to finish every project they start before moving on to the next one.  If it's one's own rule and not somebody else's rule they're living by, then I say more power to them.  We should all live by our rules, especially those among us who are grown-ups.  We are all grown-ups here, aren't we?  But honestly, if it's someone else's rule, as grown-ups we should really ask ourselves it it serves us well.  If it's not...make up new rules.  I promise the sun will come up in the morning.  And it will rise in the east, just like always.

So, speaking of grown-ups...this is our grown-up cat, Gracie.



Gracie is taking another 14-day course of antibiotics to clear up a bladder infection that has been causing her grief.  The medicine happens to be in pill form this time around, and if you've ever tried pilling a cat, then you know it is challenging, to say the least.  So Mike and I bundle her up in a towel, kitty burrito style, and then shove a pill and a half down her throat.  We've done this three times, and it gets a little easier every time.

Tonight we were congratulating ourselves on how well it was going just after releasing Gracie from her burrito wrap.  As we were watching her saunter toward the door, I heard a little click on the floor and realized that Miss Gracie had cheeked her meds and spit them out when she thought we weren't watching.  If I hadn't heard them hit the floor, we would never have known.  Until we discovered them later.

What do you do with a cat like that?  So we bundled her up again and gave her the pills for a second time.  Sheesh.  Guess we'll have to keep a closer eye on her from now on.  I sure hope this medicine works this time around.  I hate to think what any future medicine might require.

21 comments:

SewCalGal said...

I like your planning idea. I need to work on something like this for me.

As far as Gracie spitting out her pill, I wonder if you gave her a single bite of a kitty treat, after she took her pill, if she'd want to swallow both? For my old cat, I used to rub her throat for quite sometime...but Gracie is so smart she knows how to sneak it past you. Have you tried crunching it up in her food?

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Quilting Babcia said...

Hey, if we're retired we get to wear purple and there are no rules at all! That's why I don't count my stash - who cares anyway? Someday I won't be able to afford to buy more stash, so if it's on sale at half price and I really love it now, I'll be elated to open my closet one day and find all that wonderful stuff just waiting for me! Rules - thinking seasonally - Bah-Humbug!
BTW, Gracie is a total sweetie, and I don't envy you having to medicate her. Every time my sister's cat comes to stay we end up having to give her meds. Requires heavy leather gloves plus swaddling after she bit right thru hubby's thumb nail one evening.

Rachel said...

Rules-We don't need no stinkin' rules (You are SO much more organized then I am!)...Apparently Gracie is smarter than you thought...LOL.

Sher S. said...

I find that rules are made to be broken and I've given myself permission to do just that. It is freeing to do, most of the time. Sometimes I feel guilty for breaking the rules and give myself a mental tongue lashing.
Gracie is such a sweetie, she is smart as a tack too. I guess just keep doing what you're doing, she knows it's for her own good she just doesn't like it.

Kirsty said...

Atta girl1 EMBRACE THE CHAOS! As for Gracie...She's so cute, but tricky! Mind you, I wormed our three the other day. I was congratulating myself that I'd managed to get all three of them pilled when I noticed a greyish, saliva covered dot by the chair... Problem was, all three cats had walked by the chair and I had no idea which one had done a Gracie! Eek! I didn't want to risk guessing the culprit in case I double dosed, although my money is on Lil' Fluff, so I'm having to wait another 5 weeks before I repeat the pills. But this time I'll be ready!

Dana Gaffney said...

You probably know better than I do how to pill a cat but, I remember doing this and after getting the pill in we would use an eyedropper to get some water in there too, it made them swallow.
The upcoming Christmas show made me stop everything and make a wall hanging, maybe you need to have linky parties for the other holidays so you'll ignore the board and make something fun.

Mommarock said...

Being a grown up means you can do what you want right?? Well for the most part. Still gotta pay taxes and bills. But on the fun side of life. I was thinking last year I was making some sort of Christmas plans that involved making more Christmas presents.. It didn't happen. I thought maybe I could do better this next year. Like one a month or something. I did none this year as I was stuck trying to work on my hand made hexie quilt. There must be something better I can do next year.

Denise :) said...

Great points! Why *do* we 'bind' ourselves to rules that are needless? I think that's conformity for conformity's sake. LOL! That was the whole reason I totally *embraced* the NewFO Challenge! Of course, I have no problem leaving a project unfinished. Enjoy your white-board-free months!!

We had to pill Gwenenevere for a while. I'd rather give her a shot (it was easier). The best method I found was holding her scruff, forcing her mouth open, and pushing the pill down the back of her throat until her reflexes made her swallow. Not particularly pleasant, but highly effective with nary a 'cough up' incident! :)

SJSM said...

We purchased a pill shooter fromour vet. It looks like a larger plunger mechanism for a shot delivered by a needle. The "needle" end has a bifurcated rubber tip. You place the pill in there. The plunger is pulled back. You open your kitty's mouth using their built in "hinge" stick the rubber tip in the mouth and shoot the pill in. The pil goes to the back of the throat. The cats natural reaction is to swallow. Our cats eventually figure out what is coming and try to get their tongue up. Then it is a timing issue.

Good luck. My kitties are gone now and I'm taking my time before going on a kitty hunt. I'm thinking at the next kitten season we will be ready.

Susan

legato1958 said...

Oh, I do know how you feel. My Whiskers is the same way. I slip a little pill to her, and then sort of clamp my hand over her face (so she has to keep her mouth closed, and hold her and sing to her , until she swallows. Then I give her a treat immediately. I think the idea above where you squish a little water from an eye dropper in her mouth after the pill, makes sense. She will swallow, and have some liquid for the pill to do down easier.
Sending prayers for her recovery!

Diane Wild said...

I just got exhausted reading all your rules or lack thereof. Pilling dogs is so much easier than cats but the technique is the same. Jam that pill as far back as you can and massage the throat so they swallow. I'm sure you do that being a veteran cat mama.

Rosa said...

Great idea.My to do list is to begin quilting my tops,there are seven and I handquilting them.
Love your runners,just beautiful!.

Happy sewing.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Look at all your projects...wow. Mine looks worse and of course I'm blaming it on NewFO.....someone led me down the wronggggg path....giggle. I struggle to get one block sewn a month. Geewiz, I'll never finish at this rate. I'm think about switching projects myself. Good idea...keep them fresh without starting a new one.

Let's all scream 'Rotate" the UFO!

Lyndsey said...

I glad you raised the subject of quilting rules because I was wondering where they came from. I was taught as a child to finish one project before I started the next but the reason behind the rule was so I didn't waste money on materials I never used because I didn't complete the project. Becoming an adult meant I could buy my own supplies and run as many projects as I like. I tend not to have a huge number of projects on the go but I like to suit what I work on to my mood.

Now this started me thinking about stash reports. Are people upset / concerned when they have added to their stash rather than using it up or is this a good thing. Guess I'll just keep buying fabrics that I love so I can use them in my projects. If I don't use them up quickly I'll just have them around for longer to stroke and enjoy before I turn them into something.

Good luck getting the pills into Gracie. Unfortunately it is just a case of working out what method works best for you and your cat. Hopefully this lot of antibiotics should sort out her problem.

Tish R said...

Speaking of kitty pills, when our lil furry man needs to take pills we always use Laxatone tuna flavored lubricant (it is for prevention and elimination of hair balls) we put some on the pills and shove it down toward the back of his throat, because it is so molasses like - it sticks to pill and goes down easier. Course every once in a while the lil guy also cheeks it too - so we reapply and down it goes. It works like putting peanut butter on a pill for dogs - if you've ever done that. Also keeps in the frig for whenever we need it too.

Nita said...

Ya! Grown up Girls Rule! hehehe...get it? Rule? hehehe

Lee said...

LOL, smart Gracie, love the look she has in that photo! I pictured you having Gracie do what they do in institutions (seen recently on a show called "Jail") but don't know how you'd get her to use her pinkie claws to hold her mouth open and show around her teeth. It was funny to think about ;) And I have no thoughts on being a grown-up...I don't want to be one...so today I took my 14 yr old son to Gamestop and bought LEGO Lord of the Rings and then played XBox for a few hours. So play with whatever project your heart desires :)

Snoodles said...

Lots of great ideas here...I'm sure Gracie is ecstatic, looking over your shoulder. :)
Rules? Hummph. Growing old is optional, as is following rules, in my book. Heehee!

kc said...

congratulations on growing up enough to realize you're grown up enough to make your own rules or not, if you choose. the only rule I really try hard to follow is the Golden Rule (that, and reuse or recycle) and so far, that's worked out pretty well!

They make little pill pockets for dogs - I think they have the same thing for cats - and they taste so good the pups gobble 'em up. here's a link:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2755242&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo

They're made by the same people that make Greenies - and they are really good! good luck!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

My mother (the schoolteacher) always taught me that rules are made to be broken. Sew, break away and enjoy yourself. Gracie sounds like a few dogs I've had. Sneeky little thing.

Kate said...

I like your thoughts on rules. It's funny how we get caught up in our own "rules" and don't even realize it. Your NewFO challenge this year helped me break out of a few of mine.

Hope Gracie gets better soon.