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July 14, 2018

Cat-topia

Cat-topia
By Lisa M Furbush

I always joked that one day I would be the crazy cat lady… little did I know that it would come true and my fiancé, Sean, would join in the fun.

I have always loved cats (and dogs!).  When I was little we had Muffin and Pandy. They were indoor/outdoor cats and very independent.  Pandy lived to 18 years old and Muffin...well he had 9 lives.  I have no idea how old he was when he crossed the bridge.
Me at Halloween (as a mouse!) with Muffin
When Pandy passed, we picked up twins, Ping and Pong (super cute!!!) to learn hunting and cat stuff from Muffin. They were the best little friends a girl could have! 
Me doing homework with Ping.  He loved to do paperwork.
 At the same time, my grandma also adopted a sister of Ping and Pong’s and her name was Meetoo.  When my grandma passed, Meetoo and Puffy (her second cat) moved in with my parents and me.  We had five cats for quite a while!  Unfortunately, Muffin, Ping, and Pong passed and Puffy and Meetoo reigned the house.  Meetoo managed to  outlive them all and moved with me when I bought my first home.  Here is her picture on her 18thbirthday.  It was a very sad Christmas when Meetoo passed at age 19.

Meetoo on her 18th Birthday.  There are no words to express how much I loved her!
Ping, Pong, and Meetoo were in my life for so long – I didn’t know if my heart could love another fuzzball.  Well, as fate would have it, a friend realized how broken hearted I was and literally showed up on my doorstep with Luna the summer after Meetoo's passing.  It was love at first sight.  She is one of the most unique cats I have ever met.  She acts more like a dog than a cat.  She will fetch, she will talk, she waits by the door for your return. She is a wonderful companion and I am so grateful we found our way to each other.

Ms. Luna
Yes, we got her a stroller!
Such a princess.

Now, my fiancé and I had our own places.  He always had dogs but two little cats appeared at his work office and he started caring for them.  He built them a shelter, brought them blankets, and fed them…and fed them….and fed them…. constantly.  We named them MJ and Stella.  MJ clearly knew how to be a cat; Stella, not so much.  It was impossible to touch her.  When winter came around, in CT, one of them started wheezing.   He managed to catch both of them and we brought them to the vet.  We essentially were told that if we left them outside they wouldn’t last the winter.  So, Sean adopted two cats and brought them home!  We had them fixed (or so I thought) and they lived happily ever after in a beautiful home where they were fed off our plates and enjoyed steak, salmon, pork, basically any carnivorous product.  Our little garbage disposals.  Stella is almost better than a dog, but she will not lick the floor.

MJ and Stella - inseparable.
In 2016 we decided to merge households… in Georgia.  I had accepted a dream job offer and Luna and I left Connecticut.  In 2016, Sean, MJ, and Stella made the journey down the east coast.

The merge of Luna, (now 10 years old), MJ (probably 8), and Stella (probably 4), continues to this day. Now, I had never ‘lived’ with Stella, and noticed that she didn’t act quite right.  Sporadically, you’d watch her screaming at the top of her lungs, looking for some love from MJ, and marking certain areas of the house.  NO ONE wants to live with that craziness.  I brought her to a local Georgia vet and thank God, I did.  Unbeknownst to me, when Stella was originally fixed, the 80 year old vet my fiancé used, only found ONE ovary… well that certainly explained a lot.  My new GA vet, for a few pennies, 78,100 pennies to be exact, did an exploratory surgery, and found the withered nonfunctioning ovary and removed it. He also found… or didn’t find a kidney. She’s a wee bit of a freak of nature. While I still cannot pet her, hold her, or sit in the same room as her, she’s a beautiful, long legged, carnivorous, feline with an incredible personality.
Stella after her second fixin'.  :)
Last summer, while Sean was hanging out on our back patio, a pipsqueak cat appeared.  He had no tail, was all cut up, hungry, and looking for affection.  Needless to say, he adopted us.  He wasn’t interested in coming inside so we made him little tents all over the patio for him to rest and stay dry.  This eventually led to his name, Scout, because like all good boy scouts, they know how to set up tents and camp.  



Scout is now a 4thdependent in our household, has had his medical ‘tail’ of woes, and has now become fond of coming in for breakfast and dinner and a little loving.
I don't think he's afraid of coming inside.... Scout.
It’s quite a crew and there is never a dull moment.  Sean is looking forward to moving and adding a puppy to the mix.  I can’t begin to imagine the nuttiness that will ensue. 

I hope you are all having a crafty happy summer!

xoxo


Lisa

July 1, 2018

16th Challenge - Sponsored by Createful Heart

     Welcome to our 16th Challenge here at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies.  Please do not forget to check our rules. Thanks!

     We are saying a fond farewell to Karen this month and wishing her well in all her future endeavors.  It's sad to see you go, Karen.  :-(  On the other hand, we are welcoming Lynn H. to the team!  So happy to have you with us, Lynn.  :-D  Here's her bio info:

Hi, I'm Lynn and so excited to be here as one of the designers for 2 Crafty Critter Crazies.  I'm a retired pre-trial probation officer and  live in Texas (and no, I don't wear boots and a cowboy hat all the time).  I live with my two critters - Jim, the hubs critter and Rambo,  a four legged, burst of energy, dachshund critter. 
If you look at my blog, you'll notice I do a LOT of critter cards!  I just can't think of anything cuter than animals and I love them all.  I'm looking forward be being part of such a wonderful design team and challenge blog.
     You can find her wonderful blog at Creative Crafts by Lynn.

       OK, now let's get to what you all want to know - our winner of the prize offered by Sparkle n Sprinkle for our June, 2018 challenge is:


# 22 - Hazel  
with this fab card.


Congratulations!  Please email us at 2craftycrittercrazies(at)gmail(dot)com so that we can arrange to get your prize to you.

We've also chosen these as our
DT Favorites:

Lori - #28 *Vicki*

Who doesn't love watermelon in the summer!  When I was a kid my friends and I would spit the seeds out into the grass as we devoured our watermelon.  I love that the base of this card is a slice of watermelon with a nice healthy bite out of it!  That penguin is just as cute as can be and I love how he has gotten seeds everywhere!

CarolG - #42 Sharon R
I love the arty look, creative use of embossing powder,
 and the quirky images with the fish.   I kept going back
 to Sharon's three Artist Trading Coins and got inspired.


NanaConnie - #99 - Jennifer S.
I love her coloring on the image,
the gingham paper background,
and that fantastic scrunched ribbon bow!

Ine - #19 Jackie T
Love the chickens, the expression on their faces, 
and the way  they've been placed on the card.  :)

Teresa - #54 AJ
Her spotlight technique, in contrasting pink, is stunning. 
It really caught my eye! (Wink) 

Not only is Shell's lovely focal image colored beautifully, 
but the background paper was hand stamped with each image being gorgeously colored in carefully highlighted hues. So much loving kindness went into her creation! Love it!

Favorites Ladies, please take this badge and add it to your blog.  

    
Now, the July Challenge!


 We're sponsored this month by Createful Heart and here's a little bit about them.  The four images used by the DT are the prize for this month!

Createful Heart Design
Hello and Welcome to Createful Heart Design! My husband and I create cute and wonderful digital images - for all of your card making, scrap booking, etc.  Just print and color in by hand or we have a few pre-colored images available; soon to offer more!


Here's a little more inspiration from our team to encourage you.  



                         


Donna is on a break.


     You have until 8 p.m. (Pacific time) on July 25 to enter your project.

        If you have any problems with the Inlinkz, please leave us a comment or send an email and let us know.