We were so happy to see one another that we set some mood lighting. Yeah, I'll just leave it at that. You can fill in the rest of the story however best suits your personality. Try to keep it clean, will ya'? This is a family blog.
Speaking of family, the little gray ghost is back. She's been skulking around the house like she did before we left, which makes it pretty darned hard to get an in-focus picture of her. Mike said it best when she came into the bedroom yesterday, took one look at us, and fled in a panic. "Oh," says Mike. "Maggie was caught being alive again."
It's actually a little heart-breaking. It's pretty clear someone abused little Maggie in her former life, and it makes me wonder how she really got that cauliflower ear of hers. Was it in a fight? Or did someone do that to her? While we were traveling, I approached the little trash can that was next to her one morning while she was munching on some treats. I wanted to throw away the RV park information sheet that I had rolled up like a newspaper so that it would better fit in the trash can. She glanced over her shoulder, took one look at that rolled up paper, and then vanished in panic.
Just this morning I stroked her as I walked by, but then felt a cough coming on. When I put my hand up to cover my mouth, she did the same thing. Good grief. She's such a tiny little thing...it makes you wonder about some people. Anyway...we're trying to be as consistent as possible with her and hoping she'll be able to develop some trust over time. This morning she and Smitty bumped noses again. He seems to have lost interest in chasing her, but when she hisses at him, he sometimes forgets his manners.
So, I was hoping to get some sewing done today, but I'm afraid all that organizing and cleaning up put me off the mood. I'll get to do some tomorrow, however, after I take Smitty to the vet for his annual check-up. I've been doing plenty of hand-sewing...so much that I believe I've made my hand a little sore. I finished two more blocks for the Live, Love, Teach quilt. This is the original block submitted by Colleen and Brynnley.
Here it is rendered in fabric and floss. I decided to give this one a little color too.
Then, you might remember that I had to redo this one from Emily and Abbey. This is their original submission.
Here it is rendered in fabric and floss and with signatures added this time.
That makes 43 of 56 blocks completed. Wanna see what a stack of 43 quilt blocks looks like? I had them hanging up from a clip, but the stack is too fat for that now.
Okay, so if I'm going to get my 10k steps in, I need to do some treadmill time, and I was going to try to get a little housework done so that I can spend the day sewing tomorrow. And that's what's going on at this end. What've you been up to while I've been away?
8 comments:
So sad about Maggie, it does sound like she was abused by people either someone who had her or while she was on the streets. She will learn to trust you it just takes time and love and you've got that.
Having two recue furries who were abused - they still react to certain movements or sounds. But they do like to cuddle and share my sewing space.
Our boy reacted like that when we first got him. He was only 6 months old at the time, but had spent some time on the streets after being dumped by a breeder. After 10 very pampered years with us, he still runs for cover if we move unexpectedly or he hears certain sounds, and sometimes if he gets really upset/startled, he will hiss at us. The rest of the time, he is a big cuddle bug and demands attention. What we found helpful when we first got him was giving him safe play time. We used long strips of fleece or wand toys, and flick/wiggled them at him when he was hiding behind something (usually a curtain or a blanket covering the side of the bed). It helped him build confidence in an environment he felt was safe. He'll play with us out in the open now, though he still loves to hunt things from behind the curtain. :)
It is sad that Maggie is more skittish again but I hope that doesn't last long.
Poor Maggie, hopefully she'll become more comfortable with time. Though they can have long memories. My Mother had a dog that had been abused and the only people in the family she would ever let get close were my mom and my niece. She liked to see the rest of us, but would never get close enough to be petted.
My Gracie is a skittish thing too. We've had her for almost seven years now and she still panics whenever one of us walks towards her. She is okay if she is on something like a chair, the coffee table or one of the cat trees. But, if she is on the floor, it's pure panic and she runs away. I have talk to her and walk slowly to calm her down. She barely trusts me to let me walk by. She doesn't trust Dan. At all. I think she was kicked by humans before we adopted her and that thought makes me feel very sad. It doesn't help that she suffered brain trauma from being hit by a car (which is why she lost her front leg). By the way, this happened before we adopted her.
It's so horrible to think that someone abused Maggie. I hate that. But she will eventually come to see that you are the Alpha cat & not an abuser at all, but the treat dispenser!
The 43 quilt block stack looks very cool. :)
poor Maggie. My Angel is skittish, too. If she comes to us on her own terms, she is sweet and lovable. She is not a curdled and runs if you try to pick her up!
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