Untitled 275

Untitled 275.  Pastel.  Approx. 8" x 5".  Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

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When it was incredibly cold last weekend and there was no heat in my apartment all that time, I had my warmest blanket (cheap Army surplus wool and nylon that I use for yoga) out on the couch...

What is that little pinkish-white spot in the blanket?

Hmm...let's take a closer look:

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In other news, a teenage boy rear-ended me while I was at a stop sign today. I don't think they should be allowed to drive...

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 273

Untitled 273.  Pastel.  Approx. 9" x 12".  Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

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The orange members of the family.

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It's been quite an eventful week or so.

During a period of record-setting cold (e.g., -12F at nights, around 5F during the days), a gas line malfunctioned in the area, and 7200 people, including me, were without heat or hot water for about 40 hours.  I ran my oven and three space heaters continuously and all those kept it at about 55F in the house. We're all really hoping we are going to get a break on our electric bills this month (it's the same company for the gas and the electric.)  

For one of those 40 hours, the power went out as well. The experience was really unbelievable in that kind of non-stop cold.

Then, Gadjo decided to have a very severe flare-up of his FHS (Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome), his worst episode ever. It has lasted about a week now (as opposed to his second-worst episode, which was maybe a couple of days; and most of his episodes, which are maybe a few hours). He hasn't been having many problems with FHS at all for a long time now.

I brought him to the vet yesterday and we are going to try various things to bring him relief. Right now we're doing a trial of steroids. Surprisingly (to me), it seems to be helping already.

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Mojito is doing great now, by the way! (My animolecules are taking turns lately to drain my energy and wallet, and worry me to death.) He's completely recovered and enjoying playing in the snow--his favorite thing (other than fetching tennis balls in the lake).

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Baby, it's cold outside!

Yikes. (International readers: this is Farenheit!)

Must find your brother and stay warm...

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Gadjo has been quite naughty lately. He's been doing a lot of this:

And opening the pantry doors at night and chewing open the dog food bag. He doesn't eat it, he just seems to find it a fun activity. Every time he did it, I had to add another piece of duct tape...and then I ran out of duct tape. And then he started chewing through the duct tape. And then I had to bungee the doors shut...which is working so far. But I have no doubt he'll figure out how to remove the bungee sooner or later. 

Probably sooner. If you have a Siamese, I bet you know what I mean. They are the border collies of the cat world.

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Happy Festivus

...the holiday for the rest of us. (George Costanza.)

All the little kids around here must have been thrilled when they woke up. It has been an extremely dry winter so far. Then, last night, Festivus Eve, it started snowing...and it snowed all night...and today it's a White Festivus! 

If only it weren't so bitter cold. But this is Mojito's favorite weather, and seeing him enjoying it so much makes me smile.

Happy Festivus!

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Brrr!

It was a very cold day here, and it's an even colder night.

(Oh, how I love Fennec's little curled-up back feets.)

The weather gods...they have laughed at me for begging them the other day to keep it warm all winter:

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I didn't get much sleep last night, because Mojito gave me a scare: he had had a couple of days of some diarrhea, then last night it was the worst yet, and then...he vomited. 

Mojito is 7.5 years old...and has never vomited before! (Lucky him.)

I worried all night...and of course today he was fine.

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This weekend is the last Open Studios 'till next year!

Well the first weekend of Open Studios has come and gone. I didn't get as many visitors out here in Gunbarrel as I used to get in north Boulder, but it wasn't bad. 

Please come by for a visit this coming weekend, your last chance for Boulder Open Studios 2012!

Here's a couple of photos of Fennec as strangers were filling the apartment. You can see how utterly terrified he was:

Noise and strangers tromping in all day... Fennec slept through it all. He was literally in the middle of the room like this, in a kitty coma, all through both days. He didn't even open his eyes when strangers came in, sat down on the sofa next to him, and rubbed his tummy. He just purred a bit, smiled, and curled up his feets to show his contentment.

(As you may have guessed, Rumi was the ambassador/Master of Ceremonies of Open Studios at my apartment, Mojito was the announcer, Fennec found it all to be one big lullaby, and Gadjo hid under the bed.)

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Last Wednesday the weather forecasters were actually spot-on, and it dropped fifty degrees or so in a few hours, to the point where I had to find the box containing my parka, wool hat, mittens, etc. It snowed. It was realllllly cold for about four or five days.

So, Wednesday, I turned on the thermostat for the first time since I moved in here in June and...nothing. No heat. Nada.

I have very bad karma for these things. The heat anywhere I'm living always malfunctions when I'm home alone, and it usually also happens at night or on a weekend, when you can't get someone to come take a look at it.

Two space heaters to the rescue. (I got someone out here late Friday afternoon and they fixed the furnace problem. Today is the first day the temperature outside got back to normal.) The kitties baked themselves near the space heaters pretty much full-time:

...And also practiced group warmth.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

She promised me ice cream

The snow and extreme cold continue. (As I write this, it's 3 degrees F, with a wind chill of -14. I have to leave for work in a few minutes.) I was desperate to do something in bright colors, since around here we're only seeing in monochrome. I had a lot of fun doing this in a completely in-the-moment, deliberately childlike way.

I knew that the foxes and deer in our neighborhood have been getting bolder and bolder... But today I was genuinely shocked to look out the window and see a fox, in broad daylight, taking his sweet time to sniff and stroll around my yard and all the neighbors'. They eat cats around here... (Our Jellyroll never did come back.) I didn't have my camera, but my neighbor/artist/friend Sam has a photo of a couple of them on her roof here.

The deer, too, beautiful though they are, have become more than a nuisance in our neighborhood, eating cherry trees, roses, and garden tomatoes with equal relish. Woe betide the human who takes a casual walk down the sidewalk in fawn season...there's a matriarch who doesn't hesitate to charge you, even with leashed barking dogs at your side. I used to think it was kind of funny...until it happened to me. That's when I realized those things are big. And those shiny black hooves look pretty sharp too.

Must...stay....warm. Must....stay...warm...

$115.00 - She promised me ice cream (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com