Official Volunteer!

Me in my cool new shirt!

Hello beautiful people! I am proud to annouce I have officially grajeeated from Humane Society Volunteer School! (I always loved how Jethro said grajeeated on the Hillbillies~ha!)

Yesterday I had my personal interview & we went over my designated duties. When I came I had a list of areas I wanted to work in but I left with a completely different job! I am a "Greeter" & "Computer Attendant". The coordinator told me they were REALLY in need of volunteers in those areas & though I would prefer to "Cat Socialize" & tidy up Kitty Cities I was happy to help out where they need it most. I will be greeting people as they come in, answering any initial questions & directing them where they need to go. I'll also be helping potential adopters fill out forms & look up "on deck" animals on the website that aren't showcased out front. I'll be doing this for a 2 hour shift twice a week. Our new facility is so big apparently people come in & just don't know where to go or what to do first. If they have to wait around for someone to help them they might get frustrated & leave & we DON'T want that! So...that's what I'm going to help with. I can always kitty cuddle & socialize any other time I want so that'll be fun! And 1 of the Kitty City's is right by the front entrance where I'll be so I can pop in there & love on the kitties when it's slow. I was also put on the "TAG" list which is the Animal Transport Team that drives animals to other shelters & rescue places when needed. And of course I'll keep making kitty nap pads & bandanas for the doggies. I brought all my nap pads with me to the interview & they let me go around & place them wherever I wanted in the kitty cities. One kitty jumped right on top of one & lay down! So sweet.

Well, that's my news for today. Hope to get a new painting done by the end of the weekend! Had a lot of back-to-school meetings & things this week so haven't had much studio time. I'm ready to do some fun fall themes! xoxox

Frida & Her Kitties

Just wanted to post my painting I finished last night. I love doing Frida paintings, especially with cats! I decided to give her a whole lapful of them in this one! I'm really happy with how it turned out & love the colors. Frida & Her Kitties is up for auction on EBAY right now! Purrs & goodnight.

Cat Nappers & Doggy Bandanas!

Thought I would show you my latest crafty creations ~ cute little Cat Napper Pads & Doggy Bandanas. I'm scrambling to get as many as I can finished before I head to the Humane Society tomorrow for my animal handling class so I can bring them with me. They're easy & fun to make & the gal at the H.S. said they LOVE to get them! It's another way I can volunteer right here at home. The kitties can always use comfy little pads to nap on & maybe they will look more adoptable if they're lounging on fashion fabrics - ha! They always try to keep bandanas on all the dogs too, especially black ones. They say a black dog's face just gets lost in that dark fur & bright colored bandanas help by drawing attention to it!

The Cat Nappers are reversible with different fabrics on each side. I like to put fleece on 1 side (what cat doesn't like fleece?) but it's a little harder to work with because it's stretchy. So what if it's a little crooked? The cats won't care ~ it's warm & cozy! I do have to give my sister credit ~ she made the red, white & blue ones on each end plus others not pictured.

I finished the commissioned painting I was doing so hopefully I'll get busy with some new paintings. School just started yesterday for my kids so we're back in to the busy schedule mode (& trying to keep my son caught up with his homework)! Have a great week! xoxopurrrrxoxo

Volunteer Orientation Completed!

Hi everybody!

I went to my volunteer orientation at the Humane Society last Wednesday & now have 2 of the 4 steps done before I can start volunteering. Step 1 is filling out the application, Step 2 is the 2 1/2 hour orientation session & now I have Step 3 ~ Animal Handling Training & Step 4 ~ Personal Interview left. Sounds like a lot of stuff to go through just to volunteer but I'm glad they are so thorough about it. They've really put a lot of thought & research into the best ways to care for the animals & increase adoptions so I applaud them for that. I don't mind all the training. I did it all before back at their old building so I already know a lot of it. The orientation went great but I was dreading the video I knew we were watching. It showed the euthanasia process & I kept having to look down at my feet & hold back tears! Even the man next to me was sniffing! Oh boy... Anyway, I have Animal Handling Training next week & then my interview & then it's off to work! I'm gonna have a hard time trying to decide what I want to do! There are SO many possibilities! I'm leaning towards Cat Socializing (of course!), Catvocate, Business Office Helper, Housekeeping (laundry/dishes), Enrichment & TAG (transport animal group). I once drove 9 kittens to the Boulder, CO Humane Society. My daughter & I made a fun road trip out of it & then spent the night with my sister in Denver! I'd also like to start fostering kittens if I think my 2 resident cats won't flip out about it. I wish I had a separate little building I could keep stray & foster kitties in until they find homes! Maybe I'll win the lottery & make that dream come true!

On the art front: Just mailed off 2 paintings today & about to start on my commissioned one. Then I'll get to work on some fun fall themed creations!

By the way, I think our Humane Society logo could use a little updating don't you? They've had this one forever & it's kinda lame. I think since they have a new building they need a new logo to go with it! Maybe I should give them some ideas! Hmmmm...

Rocky Mountain Cat

Hi all & happy Sunday! Just wanted to post my new painting I finished last night. It was inspired by my recent visits to beautiful Colorado & the mountains! "Rocky Mountain Cat" is available on EBAY right now! Have a great day!

Finally Catchin' My Breath!

My new St. Francis!

Man oh man, July just FLEW by for me! I can't believe it's already August! I know most moms look forward to their kids going back to school but I dread it. I miss the stress-free summer with no schedule, sleeping in & NO HOMEWORK to help with. My daughters are pretty independent with their schoolwork & I don't usually worry about their grades but my son's one of those that might not even do his homework if I didn't tell him to. He's lucky if he even knows what his homework is. Starting high school is going to be a real challenge for him but he's a great kid & I'm sure will get in the groove & do fine.

July was just a flurry of activity for our family & I knew it would zoom by in a blur. Somehow all our summer trips got scheduled for this month ~ 4th of July weekend in Kansas City, trip to Denver to visit my sister & family, family vacation to Colorado & then we had friends from Chicago visiting all last week which included an overnight trip to Kansas City to take our girls to the Jonas Brothers concert. They had a blast & were bouncing off the walls talking about it afterwards! The picture above is my new St. Francis ~ a Jim Shore creation I snagged for 1/2 price at a Hallmark store last week! I just LOVE it (even without any cats on it)! Seems Jim could've found room for a cat on there somewhere. Guess he was going with the wild animal theme.

My husband took the kids up to Abilene, KS (his hometown) for the weekend to hang out with grandma, grandpa & cousins while he attends his high school reunion. I opted to stay home & catch up on housework & painting. It's nice to have the house to myself for a few days now & then. I'm hoping to crank out a painting or 2 by the end of the weekend. I think one will have to have a mountain theme! HAPPY SATURDAY TO ALL!!!