That crocheted blanket? To.die.for. I’m a knitter first, but taught myself to crochet a few years ago. I love trying new patterns, and the colours Fred used are perfect! Is that a simple granny square design or some other fancy schmancy stitch? Really, really beautiful, my compliments to a fellow stitcher!
Fred actually didn’t make that blanket – I ordered it from a seller on Etsy (who doesn’t appear to be on Etsy any more) back in 2013. The listing described it as “Granny Square Afghan Throw Soft Tones Handmade Crochet.” I asked Fred if he could tell me anything about the pattern and he said it is “Granny Square-ish” which doesn’t sound very helpful to me, but I am also not a crocheter, so maybe it is. I took a couple more pictures of it. Maybe someone out there can tell you more about it!
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Wasn’t that tornado the tipping point for how many permanent residents to have, as there are only so many you can round up for safety in time?? So glad it all turned out okay for Crooked Acres then!
I think the tipping point was actually having 14 permanent residents (which, although I loved every one of them, I never want to do again. It works well with the right 14 cats, I would imagine, but when you throw an Archie and an Alice into the mix, someone’s always mad or scared.)
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I wonder which of the black kittens will wind up looking like Khal.
and
It’s Diego. I was just coming here to say what a “Mini Me” Diego is to Khal. Love to see a picture of them together, but maybe Khal wouldn’t like that. Don’t want to upset the Khal. =^..^=
It is 100% Diego. He’s going to grow up to look exactly like Khal and I think he has a lot of the same calm energy that Khal has. With Isabella hopefully moving home later today, we’ll likely start letting the kittens roam the entire house starting this weekend. I’m hoping to get a picture of Khal and Diego at least near each other!
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Thanks so much for the Maggie update. I still marvel at the video Robyn posted of a pack of kittens (Maggie’s six or so along with several others) take her down like a gazelle.
I love that video SO MUCH!
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I wonder how Dorothy is doing. Her posts don’t seem to have been updated in a few years now. Is it possible she “moved” to Instagram?
I think Dorothy is doing fine – I’m Facebook friends with Andrea, and I see an occasional picture of her. If I think of it next time I see one, I’ll ask permission to post it here!
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I have been watching a lot of “Simon’s Cat” on YouTube lately, and I just LOVE the kitten character. It occurred to me last night that little Pablo is the “live action” version of this cartoon kitten. Fluffy and gray and a little bit o’ the loon in his face! Maybe you should e-mail some of his looniest pictures of him to the author; he’d probably get a kick out of it.
I LOVE Simon’s Cat!
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An acquaintance of mine has been keeping me up to date with Los Mewchachos, so I dashed off the following bit. Hope you like it!
Coming soon to Netflix, it’s Los Mewchachos: The Fast and the Furriest!
Alejandro: The driver. If it has wheels, he can drive it. If it has wings, he can fly it. Once managed to evade state troopers when his RV was clocked at 110 MPH. Loves him some h*ckin mariachi. Lusts after Carmelita’s mint condition 1959 Plymouth Sport Fury convertible.
Javier: The idea guy. Lady-killer deluxe. Carmelita’s boy toy. Three girls asked him to prom and he said yes to all of them. He lived. Got straight As in school despite never turning in homework or taking a test.
Pablo: The nerd. Gave up 36 x 36-square Sudoku because it was “too easy”. Never met an alarm he couldn’t disable, a safe he couldn’t crack, or a lock he couldn’t pick. Thinks Alan Turing, Ada Lovelace, and Grace Hopper should be canonized. Appears to be loopy, but actually is thinking about five things at once and can’t understand why you aren’t.
Diego: The muscle. Big, gruff guy with a heart of gold. Got kicked out of the Boy Scouts for beating up the other members of his troop…all at once. The only guy allowed to tease Pablo and he’ll dust anyone who tries, except for Carmelita. Addicted to baking shows.
Carmelita: We all know who’s in charge here. Does all of the engine teardown and rebuilds for Alejandro’s machines. Likes Javier, but doesn’t know if she wants to make it permanent or if he’s just a placeholder while Diego makes up his mind. Touch her car and die.
I love this SO MUCH. How do we get this made? Should we start a Kickstarter? With no one filming anything at the moment, we’re going to be seriously hurting for entertainment in a few months. This could be just the answer!
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Alejandro, in mid-leap, yells “Outta my way, I got places to be!”
And then he said “Oh wait, is this where I meant to be?”
“Outta my way I got places to be!”
I mighta taken a nap on the couch in the kitten room, and I mighta snatched up Alejandro for a cuddle, and he mighta stayed there and napped with me. But I can neither confirm nor deny this rumor.
“Oh, who is THAT? He looks kinda nuts!”
Diego came over for a cuddle.
Does Pablo adore his mama, do you think?
I moved the cat tree in my bedroom so that it was at the end of the bed, and it took Diego about 10 seconds to realize…
he could almost reach the ceiling fan pull!
Javier says “Guys, come on in! There’s plenty of room!”
Alejandro’s still not entirely sure about this whole being held on his back like a baby situation.
Awww. Look at Javier’s blissful little face!
What could possibly go wrong here? (She did not, in fact, knock over the lamp, much to my surprise.)
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When she’s not catching chipmunks and bringing them into the house, Alice likes to hang out in the top of this cat tree, which is located on the screened porch, and keep an eye on things.
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Previously
2019: I love how Laura’s casually climbing up that scratcher.
2018: Adoptions pending!
2017: But nothing shall stop Mama from her thlurrrping!
2016: Susie said “Why you floofin’?” And Archie said “I’d like out of this terrible room, please.”
2015: Psst! Louis, your zipper’s showing. People might figure out that you’re really a monkey in a cat suit!
2014: Norbie & Puff (now Hook) updates!
2013: All I found was Khaleesi looking at me, yawning, and saying “Is it dinner time yet?”
2012: “I lubs my sister.”
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: This did not end well.
2008: THEY ARE SO FREAKIN’ SWEET.
2007: Maxi, as you can see, was quite displeased.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
I’ve followed your blog for years and I adore seeing all the cats and kittens go to wonderful forever homes. I know they can’t always be adopted together.
For whatever reason (the Great Isolation, most likely) two of the pictures today are just not making the right impression. Reading about how the lovely Isabella is likely going to her forever home today and then seeing the picture asking if Pablo adores his mama is a huge ouch. You want the answer to be “no” because they’re about to be separated forever. The picture of Javier being bathed by Isabella is equally sad. Don’t get me wrong – the pictures and the blog are wonderful as always, but there’s just something off today for me. Sorry. 🙁
That being said, I *really* hope Isabella’s, Javier’s and Pablo’s new humans share updates so we can see all of them happy. This group has grown to be a particular favorite of mine, so if their humans read this, please share! (I’d love to have a fluffy grey kitty like Alejandro or Pablo. I do have a big, fluffy black Bear kitty.)
Sorry if it started off your day on a down note. Those pictures were actually taken last week, and I wanted to work them into a post before Isabella left. A more accurate depiction of her relationship with them these past several days would have been pictures of her hiding on the countertop to avoid them, hissing if they get too close, and ignoring them, but I generally avoid taking pictures of that. She’s more than ready to leave, and in my experience kittens are puzzled for a while when their mother is gone but bounce back pretty quickly.
Ah, thank you, that actually does help and I appreciate it.
For the record, I fully realize that my reactions are silly (also out of kilter) and I attribute it to being the only human in the building for the last several weeks. (Thank the gods that I have my cats! <3)
I do want to reiterate that it was certainly *nothing* to do with the pictures or the blog. I'm absolutely thrilled that all of them, even Mama Isabella, get to go straight to forever homes without a stop at Petsmart. It just hit me wrong and I commented largely to get it out of my head.
I've been a fan/follower for several years and you've made me want to foster once I move to a place it'll be allowed. Thank you for that and years of wonderful cats and kittens. 🙂
Wait! Is that a “ceiling fan” ceiling fan pull? How meta, Ha!
Ha – yes it is!
I am definitely not an expert, but my grandma used to crochet. That afghan looks like it is a basic granny square. A half double or double crochet after a small flower to get started and all.
This website https://www.allfreecrochetafghanpatterns.com/Granny-Square-Patterns/Easy-Crochet-Granny-Square-Patterns
has a bunch of patterns so maybe one will match (I didn’t look through all of them).
Thanks for the close up of the crocheted blanket. I *think* I’ve seen a similar design in one of my books!
Diego, in the “coming over for a cuddle” picture, looks like a budding therapist, prepared to listen and dispense kitten advice.
Actually, the afghan is not a basic granny square. A basic would be square all the way through with a consistant number of stitches. This one is round until the last two rounds and the end round still isn’t basic. It should be fine with a pattern for a decent crocheter.