Ta da! At last...

It's done! It's finished! Well...not exactly. Yes, the mosaic is done and I'm happy with the outcome. Neighbors have been gracious with their appreciation. It was a wonderful challenge. And here it is...the planter box mosaic:

Now I know what you're wondering. "What is she going to do with the mess around it? Clearly the setting doesn't do justice to the amount of neck strain that went into that project." And you would be right.  It detracts from the art don'tcha know. So - yes, I have plans for that, as soon as my back recovers. It's all very hard labor for a cranky old lady.

Mostly, however, instead of facing cactus and jade plants and having to muck about in the dreaded thicket, I am planning more mosaics while the weather is nice. Unfortunately, tiling requires a certain temperature range that seems harder and harder to come by lately. It's either waaaaay too hot, or too cold. Like Goldilocks and her porridge, it has to be juuuuust right.

Next project...tally ho!

Help feral cats in Los Angeles

Anyone who knows me is aware of my wish that all domestic creatures had good homes with people who love them and care for them. Well, feral cats may not have (or for that matter want) homes with people, but they are better off not breeding more feral kitties. Not only do they face predators and other hardships, but an overpopulation of cats is not good for the safety of birds and other small creatures. I know that first-hand from the feral cats that show up at my critter station and sometimes get lucky by killing a dove. Despite discussions with them outlining the rules: it's an all-you-can-watch area, NOT an all-you-can-eat-buffet, the cats don't seem to subscribe to the notion. So, there is a petition going around to encourage Los Angeles to be more proactive in supporting trap/neuter/return programs to curb the explosion of kitties. Please sign the petition and share, share, share with friends.

Their appeal is as follows:

Nearly 10 years after the L.A. City Council committed to making the city a no-kill community, the struggle continues. Although the 90% threshold was achieved for dogs four years ago, lifesaving efforts for cats have been much more challenging. However, a program currently under consideration would likely push L.A. over the top.

The greatest barrier to saving more cats has been a legal injunction preventing the City from any involvement with trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs. As a result, the number of young kittens entering L.A. shelters is on the rise in recent years, overwhelming available resources.

Last month, the City released the details of its long-awaited Citywide Cat Program, which allocates funding for the surgical sterilization of 20,000 free-roaming cats annually, over and above those funds already allocated for residents’ pets. The process is simple: cats are caught, evaluated by veterinarians, sterilized, vaccinated, and returned to their original location. This promises to be a game-changer without hampering any of the progress already made—overturning the injunction and paving the way for L.A. to become the largest no-kill community in the country.

You can read more and sign the petition here:

https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faction.bestfriends.org%2Fpetitions%2Fthe-citizens-of-los-angeles-support-their-community-and-cats%3Fshare%3D39076eb0-1544-41fc-964b-ddb0b8fc1283%26source%3Demail-share-button%26utm_campaign%3Dadvocacy%26utm_medium%3Dctrlshft%26utm_source%3Dcs_email&data=04%7C01%7C%7C89fbb0f85d63490f9a9e08d893b156c1%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637421737151364038%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=2MTJh8gV7l6Lig3no3rM1GRBAlctwLrCW66Ka3j33%2Fg%3D&reserved=0

Again, please sign the petition and share, share, share with friends. 

Well...I lied.

The last post on my planter box mosaic declared that there would be no more posts until it was done. Sorry about that, but I lied. I am soooo close to done, and yet it seemed there should be a mention about the fiddly bits that take time to fill in. When you have a curvy design and don't have specialty tiles to fit those curves, then there are bits that need filling in. Now some mosaics will simply use grout to fill in those pesky areas that drive people like me crazy. While that is a viable option for many smaller areas, I prefer to try to fill those spots -- a least a bit. Once the piece is grouted of course, absolutely no one will be going by and pointing out all the areas that could have been better planned. Grout is not only the cement that holds the piece together physically, it is the cement that pulls the design together. 

If you look for the brilliant white areas, you'll know what I mean. The gaps are simply too big. This afternoon was spent cutting pieces to try and fit in those areas, and was by and large successful. There will be more cutting and pasting tomorrow, and if I'm lucky, this puppy should be finished by Tuesday or Wednesday. 

Now, there is one additional worry -- and I try to simply view this as an experiment (though I will be sad if it all falls apart). I'm tiling on cement board and did prep the surface with mesh tape to cover the seams and thinset. But here's the rub: cement board expands and contracts differently than actual cement, and this flexing can cause pieces to fall off. Time and rainy season will tell. Fingers crossed.

And without further ado, the ALMOST but not quite finished mosaic:

If you're having trouble seeing the areas that need filling in, just click on the picture to enlarge it. And yes, no more until the finished product.

Elvis is alive and well and living in my neighborhood

My neighbor has the divine bliss of living with Elvis. No -- not THAT Elvis. This Elvis. 

 

He's a beautiful, lovable, sofa on legs. I am so lucky to be able to play with him from time to time, though since he's a bit like a freight train coming at you, you should either be very strong, or sitting down. He likes nothing better than to cuddle, he'll bring his blankie or other offering to you to admire, and if you scratch his head vigorously and give him a great ear rub, he's yours forever. (A good butt rob doesn't come amiss either). 

Everyone should be so lucky to have such a sweet neighbor.

Mosaics are so much fun

The weather has turned mild and sunny. Perfect for working on the planter box mosaic. Being old and creaky, I can no longer hunker in for a 10 hour session, but putting in an hour before the sun set felt so good. It's coming along. The tricky bit will be integrating the background to the main design. But here it is so far:

 

  I promise not to post on this again until it is finally finished.

Ninja doing her best modeling poses and a cat in need

Yes. Ninja is still very much with us. No. She has decidedly put up her cute little beak at the very idea of the new house even though I've tried tempting her in with food and, the latest trick, putting her water dish just inside the door to get her used to the idea. Apparently, buying her a split-level home with amenities such as a nesting box and roost do nothing for her. The good news is that she is now perceiving me as less of a threat and more as a trusted servant. She'll come within 3 feet when I call for breakfast and afternoon snack. Today, she allowed appropriate social distancing and gave me her best modeling poses:

I suspect if she could do a duck face, she would.

Now on to Tesla - a beautiful cat in need of a permanent home pronto (though fostering would be helpful too!!!). Lifeline for Pets is putting out this urgent plea:

We are reaching out to you to see if you can help network this sweet but shy girl. If you know of anyone, you can refer them to our website to fill out our adoption application, www.lifelineforpets.org/cat-adoption-application-revised.html. Tessy’s  story is also on our website’s Adult Cats page, at www.lifelineforpets.org/teens--adult-cats.html. Just scroll down a bit there & you will see more pix and her cute video.

 

We had Tesla (and her twin sister) from a baby, but it took awhile before they found a home because they were shy. At last, a nice gentleman adopted them. Then, in 2020, the man passed away and the twins ended up at a local kill shelter, even though they should have been returned to us. They were understandably very confused and frightened. Finally, they were released to us. Fast forward to them first being boarded, then taken to the vet for exams, then to our cat den. Finally, they each went to foster homes (they were not bonded).  Tesla relates well to men, probably because her original owner was a man. She loves to be petted by her foster dad, even though her foster mom lives there, too. She would do well as a single cat, no dogs, and a quiet home. Dontcha just want to run your fingers through that fur!

 

Resurrections are real.

I am so lucky to have a wonderful friend who brings me joy in so many ways. Turns out, she also has an amazing husband who knows how to resurrect almost anything that needs fixing. For example, in my last post, I went through the misery of having the tile saw break down and die just as the mosaic for the planter box was underway. Long story short, the tile saw is now working because this man is a machine whisperer. He also took care of the broken laminating machine (never used and yet...). But those items truly pale in comparison to the resurrection of Gertie. 

Gertie, to those in the know, is a 1923 Dodge Brothers Commercial Car. It is a beauty. And the loving work he put into the restoration is phenomenal. Words do not do justice, so here is the proof that loving craftsmanship exists.

Now on the roof, note the perfectly curved pieces.

 

I'm not particularly a car buff, but I would definitely be happy to tool around town in something so classy.

Murphey's Law in action...

Yup. I FINALLY got around to uncovering my tile saw that had been sitting idle for way too long. The mood was right for taking beautiful large-ish tiles and cutting them into tiny pieces and diamond shapes. The planter box I built was finally prepped and ready to mosaic. The weather was perfect for not only standing in front of a wet saw, but also for slapping tile on the surface. It was a grand plan.

The first day, I was able to cut tile for a solid three hours. Things were going great guns UNTIL the pump broke down and simply would not work. OK - a little research and turns out you can use a pond pump (who knew?) just as well. Quick trip to Harbor Freight and home with a pond pump. Hooray -- it worked. And I learned you can put the pump in a bucket of water and not in the tray which gets dirty really fast and can clog the pump. Terrific.

Things went smoothly for roughly 1/2 hour and then -- oh no. Did the fuse blow? No problem. Headed to the fuse box and fiddled with that for 20 minutes and still the saw would not turn on. Multiple attempts to revive it were to no avail. Looks like the motor just blew out.

To the computer to see if there are tile saw repair persons/parts nearby. No. Quick search for a potential new saw. Several sites recommended DeWalt. Fine. Where could I get one in a hurry and look at it to make sure it was what I really wanted or if I should try to  find parts for my old one. Found 20 authorized dealers. Of those listed, over half were out of business and the others could order it for me but there were none set up to look at and measure. Sigh. Then inspiration. I called a tile place in a nearby town on the off chance they would have one. And they did!! Okay- things were moving now. 

When I got to the store, the most delightful and patient man showed me the saw, described the features. let me make measurements, and was interested in what I was using it for. He then asked if I wanted to see the fabrication/design portion of the place (where the public does not go) so I could see some of their equipment in action. I was like a kid in a candy store! There is a thing called a wet jet that cuts shapes you design on the computer, and then the jet does the rest. Those huge magnificent mosaics with specialty cut designs are made by that enormous machine. They also had an assembly line of stone being cut in perfect squares and packed to sell. I confess in that moment, I fell in love with that lovely man for taking the time to show me the inner workings. 

On the way home, armed with measurements and information, I decided to try and salvage some of the day by starting the planter box with the pieces I had cut. Since it gets dark so early and the beautiful weather we were having started to turn chilly, I didn't get very far, but this is the beginning. Of course, until I get a new saw or fix the old one, get it all set up, and wait for the weather to improve, who knows when I'll get to it again. So the project that was going to take a week or two is now projected for a month from now. Again -- sigh.

So it's started:

Quoth the Ravens..."No photos allowed"

As those who visit know, I feed birds and squirrels in what I call my critter station. Among the wonderful birds that are attracted to the station, there is an entire platoon of crows that visit. I love the crows. They are so much fun to watch as they try to stuff multiple peanuts in their beaks or wash them in the bird bath. They are less fun when we have to clean the rain gutters jammed with peanut shells. But I digress.

One morning as I was watching over my flock from the kitchen window, two huge glossy crows glided down. They dwarfed all the birds there, including the banded pigeons. Then it dawned. Not crows -- ravens. Magnificent, elegant ravens. Where's the camera? OK, flick back the curtain and oh -- they flew away. Mmmm. Just to make sure the species ID was correct, as they flew I watched their tail feathers -- sure enough, wedge shaped. The calls they made were correct for ravens. How exciting!

Next morning, they came again. Quick, grab the camera, slowly push aside the curtain for a clearer shot and NOPE. Gone again. I have stalked them for 2 weeks now and they always know when I want a photo. My guess is they are wanted in at least 3 states and don't want their covers blown. Respect.