Monday, March 31, 2014

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Almost Three

Henry is a getting to be a teen-age pup.  He will be three on Monday.  He doesn't seem to care that the years are stacking up.  Henry still gets crazy excited when one of us comes home.

He also lets us know when he needs a little extra love....like during the recent 5.1 earthquake.

There wasn't much damage here - other than one of Stephanie's ceramic pitchers but Henry seemed to think it was a good time to cuddle up close and personal with his human mom and dad after discovering that barking doesn't stop the aftershocks.

And finally, yes, Henry still reverts to his little tiny baby bed.  He has always liked it better than the grown up beds scattered hopefully around the house.  They just don't interest him.  Silly boy.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Kitty Damage Times Ten



What can I say. Cats love to use furniture as scratching posts. We've been good - we've purchased kitty scratch goodies for the doors, for the climbing structures, for the floor. They do use them but the favorite by far is the couch. Sooooooo tempting!  We finally gave up and purchased a neat new sofa. It is so comfy. And since the old set is retiring (instead of sitting under an all-concealing-cover) I decided to give the internet "cat destroyed couch" suggested fixes a shot. 
So, here is my start point. Yes look closely. It is pretty bad, right?





 

I have fabric reclaimed from the matching throw pillows to cut up use for my experiments.  Of course, now that I have purchased a great new couch - just two weeks from delivery - I realize I still have well loved kitties who like the idea of a fresh kill couch. Ah well.

So here is how it can be done.  I used a fabric glue that is both flexible and stretchable.  I cut the fabric attempting to match the designs (with varying degrees of success). I glue hemmed the fabric where it seemed appropriate like exposed corners and glued the piece in place with a ribbon of glue along the under edge.  Then I pinned the glued section in place to give it a little tension and support while drying. Then when dry, I went on to the next section.
This worked pretty well, but is not going to be an option on our next sofa since it is a light solid color and without forgiving - disguising patterns.Henry and cats, Otto and Vivika can't figure out why it is a big deal. After all, Henry gets to rip up his stuffed squeaky toys. He has done it tons of times and this is just one couch.  I'll try to explain again before the new sofa arrives.