Cats and houseplants

lilo the cat eating houseplants

Spider plants, tremble in fear. The highlight of Lilo’s week, other than escaping out the back door and hiding under the deck a few times, was the other night when we had our first frost. I brought in several my houseplants from outside to keep them from getting frost-killed and stuck as many as I could in the kitchen sink to … Read more

Sewing: How I mended a duvet cover and added ribbons so the duvet wouldn't slip

ties to anchor duvet in duvet cover

I’m still working on mending some things that Lilo the cat ate before she was taking medicine for her fabric-eating compulsion. This project is a duvet cover that she nibbled near one of the corners. I sewed a seam around the hole, at an angle that connected the side and bottom (using white thread, below). I trimmed off the excess … Read more

Upcycling 101: The Annual Garbage Gleaning

Lilo checks out the pizza oven

It’s that time of year again, when consumer goods grow on the curb and around dumpsters as if by magic, all sitting there just ripe for the picking. In other words: the leases downtown are almost up, university students suddenly realize they have no desire to move all their crap with them, and they end up throwing perfectly good stuff out as trash: … Read more

The best cat toy ever — and it’s free

After years of searching for the perfect cat toy, I’ve finally found it. It never fails to entice Lilo into a play session, and unlike with most toys, she doesn’t get distracted after two minutes, but keeps playing until she’s tired out. She loves it so much that she’ll play with it by herself if I leave it lying around. … Read more