Our New (fur)Baby

We had been talking off and on for awhile about getting a second cat. We thought it might be nice for Rex to have a companion, since we are gone for a long time during the day.

This is Little Bit. He came with the name Vicente, but since he's so small, we think Little Bit fits him better. We think he is about 8 months old. He's really playful and a bit of a snuggle butt.

We are not sure how it's going to work out. Our first cat, Rex, is not happy about the new guy and Little Bit is very pushy for someone who is out weighed three to one. We are keeping them apart when we are gone and whenever they get too worked up. It seems to be getting better, so I hope that they can come to an agreement.

Checking in for a Good Cause

I know, I know, world's worst blogger, but I have a favor to ask.

In January, we got this 11 pound pile of fuzz from Lost Dog and Cat Rescue and can't remember what it was like before him. Lost Dog is a non-profit no kill shelter and they place about 2,000 pets a year that would otherwise be euthanized into loving homes. We absolutely adore Rex and would love to help the folks who helped him. Please take a minute and click through to help Lost Dog and Cat Rescue win $15,000.

Three Day Weekend

I love me a three day weekend - it gives me a chance to do "projects." Today I was bound and determined to tackle the dining room chairs. I bought the material to recover the chairs on the last three day weekend, so it was time.

Altogether, it took me about 2 hours to do all six chairs, so this is definitely an easy project for an afternoon.

Here are the tools you'll need: Scissors, a screwdriver, a hammer, a heavy-duty stapler and staples. For the material, I got two yards of decorator fabric off the remnant table at the fabric store for $4.97/yd. I had more than enough to do six chairs. The amount you will need depends on the number and size of your chairs.
Turn the chair over and unscrew the seat from the frame. Say hi to Rex; he was helping.

Center the seat on your fabric and put one staple in one side. Pull the fabric tight to the opposite side and staple. Then you can add more staples to each side. I used about four or five staple to each side. Once you have done two opposite sides, then repeat with the other two sides. The only tricky bit is the corners and you just have to fiddle with it a little bit. This is what it looks like when it's done.Then you just have to screw the seat back on the frame and you are all done! Here is a before and after picture of the chairs.

Meet Our Fur Baby

The end of 2010 was rough for us and we couldn't wait to see the back side of it. However, we did start 2011 off great with the addition of our fur baby, Rex. This is the first cat for me, but Jim has had several cats before.

On New Year's Day, which happens to be Jim's birthday, we went to the pet adoption held by Lost Dog and Cat Rescue at the PetSmart store in Seven Corners. We had made a trip out to the Fairfax Animal Shelter on December 30 and met a couple of cats there, but ended up not taking one home because we couldn't get a good feel for them. I planned to go back on the 31st and pick one while Jim was at work, but when I got out there, the shelter was closed. This information was nowhere to be found on the county's website, by the way. I was really disappointed, because I wanted to get the cat as a birthday present for Jim and the adoption fee is only $30 for an already fixed cat.

Jim liked two of the cats at the PetSmart adoption more than the others, although they were all cute. The other top contender was a pretty black and white girl, but she was currently on an antibiotic eye drop and we didn't want to start off with a kitty that needed meds. So we settled on Rex and we couldn't be happier. We brought him home and started him off in the guest room, where he promptly hid under the bed, but by the end of the day he was ready to play and explore the rest of the house. The rescue's best guess is that he is about 8 months old and we love him to pieces.