Bizbee's been sick, but we think he's going to be OK!

 Last Tuesday night we realized that the baby, Bizbee, wasn't feeling too great.  We got him into the vet's office on Wed AM and he was running a high fever of 105º and they thought he might be a victim of what is commonly called "bobcat fever", aka cytauxzonosis, a highly-fatal illness that runs rampant around here.  It's a tick-borne illness and bobcats are the carrier of the tick.  

We had to leave him there and he was put on IV fluids and antibiotics.  He was one sick little cat.  Well, not too little, he weighed 7 pounds and they were pleased that he's a big boy and up to now, very healthy.  We visited him on Thursday and got him to eat for us, which was huge, and again on Friday.  Sat AM they called and wanted us to bring him home for the weekend and see how he does.  

We're giving him his meds here, 2 different things, one is 3x a day and one is 2x a day so we had to write it all down so we don't get it screwed up.  LOL

While his blood tests are not showing the cytauxz organism, they really think he has it and is fighting it off.  They've seen a lot of these cases and says he has the look about him, especially in his eyes.  We trust our vet completely and she has the nicest staff, they all love Bizbee to bits, he came from there and they know him well.  

We were SO worried, and our house felt really empty without him.  It's wonderful to have him home, even if we have to take him back tomorrow morning for more tests and treatments.  I hope they let him come home again, but we'll have to see what they say.  

Here he is last night, resting up for bedtime.  :)  He's guarding my little pile of fabrics that are waiting to be washed.

 And this is Bizbee this morning- see how he's working on that bandage?  Lil' brat!

 I just love when cats yawn.  :)

 Yep, we're all tickled that he's home!

 It's been a very unproductive week between running back and forth to the vet's office and spending lots of time with my parents.  I have absolutely nothing to show off that I've made. 

Lots to show- received swap items, weather predictions and more!

 First, the weather prediction- we cut open some wild persimmon seeds.  See the spoon shapes?  That means we're likely to have a very snowy winter.  If they were knives, it would mean cold, sharp winds.  Pretty cool, huh?  It's usually pretty accurate, too.

 I just recently received my FLiQS quilt from my wonderful partner, Jana/megmormel.  I just love this little circle/rainbow quilt, it's darling and so well made!  She also included a mug rug and some salt water taffy, she lives on the Eastern Seaboard.  It's delish and I just loved everything, thank you so much, talented Jana!

 Lovely, isn't it?  She pegged me very well, she knew I loved rainbow/bright colors and those lovely grays in the background are the perfect foil for the brights.

 The back is darling, too.  She embroidered and pieced the label. 

 In the Bitty Block Bee, bouncypoodle/Pattiann picked sunflowers for her theme.  I made her this screen door block with a view out onto a farm scene.  The cute fabric is by Wilson & Wilson Folk Art Co, here in Eureka Springs.  It's several years old and I've been hoarding it.  :)

 The door opens....

 A few little 3D touches...

 I let the fabric do the sunflower work for me this time.

 And the other block I made for Pattiann- the center is full of seeds, all outlined by machine.

 Since the FLiQS quilt I made has been delivered, I can now show off the label.  It's a kaleidoscope quilt so I thought I should make a kaleidoscope label.  My partner was mollyjolly/maria and it turns out, she's always loved kaleidoscopes, which I didn't know.  Lucky coincidence for us, I think!

 I used a piece of Kaffe Fassett fabric, embellished it with beads and covered it with heavy vinyl.  Added a tiny binding and then stitched it on to cover the end of the hand-appliqued base.  It will swivel up so she can see the words.

 This is the front of the quilt, almost all Kaffe Fassett fabrics. 

 And this is the wonderful mug rug I received from Jodie/jm1122 in the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap!  I love it, it's got 2 sea turtles on one side and a fun octopus on the other! 

 She also send me generous pieces of her background fabrics because she knew I really liked them and treats for the dogs and cats, how sweet was THAT? 

Bizbee highly approves of the treats and has taken over part of the computer armoire, 

I think he likes my mouse!

 

So it's been a busy few weeks around with great stuff arriving in the mail and ooohing and aaaahing!  I hope you've been having fun, too.  I'm trying to think of a project to get me going.  We're going thru some issues with my mom and her health right now and I could use a distraction.  I'm tossing around using some of my bitty blocks to make a perpetual calendar. If I can BEAR to use some of them, that is, and if I can make myself actually make a real decision, I'm turning into a waffler and I hate that!

Finished Doll Quilt- FLiQS and some cute Bizbee-ness!

Had to start out with a cute shot of the boy sleeping on the doll quilt before I got it quilted. 

And here it is, quilted..... I just enhanced the light circles by quilting inside them and carrying it into the border. 

Here it is all finished....

...with a hint of the back showing.  

For a change, the binding worked well with the front and the back, yay.  The backing is cool, looks great up close, click on the photo for a closer view.

I haven't made a label yet.

And here's Bizbee snoozing on the quilt in the rocking chair.  

He obviously doesn't appreciate the lamp being on and shining in his eyes.  :)

He got neutered last week and came home from the vet, same day, 

feeling fine and playful and full of beans!   We were glad to get him back, 

we missed him that day for the whole 6 hours he was gone. 

Happy Labor Day!  I hope you are all off doing something fun instead of reading this blog.  :)