Best PIctures of 2018

YEAR IN REVIEW

November 8-10 New York to see Mike Birbiglia's show "The New One." It was my second time seeing it -- I highly recommend it! i am sure he will film it someday so you all need to watch it.

Hilma af Klint show at the Guggenheim

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 18-28 Seine River Cruise (Paris to Honfleur and back). Avalon was the cruise company -- very nice boat, great food!

One block from the hotel where we stayed the first night.

THE LOUVRE

Add caption

HONFLEUR

VERSAILLES

OMAHA BEACH

VAN GOGH

All around the town they have placards of his paintings at the site where he painted it. There is a Stairway at the end of this alley that comes from the street above. The building in the painting with a bright orange roof can be seen through the little space in the trees.

MONET

It was very overcast and a little drizzly when we were in the garden.

ROUEN

NOTRE DAME

All manner of horrors are advertised to sinners on the center arch of Notre Dame.

MUSEE D'ORSAY

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 9-14 California to visit Aunt Carolyn and my cousins

June 6-10 Shoemaking workshop. From pieces of leather to shoes on my feet! If you want to try it, check www.cordwainershop.comwww.cordwainershop.com to see if there are upcoming classes near you.

May 1-3, I took the Megabus to New York ($42 round trip!) for a work-related workshop but also saw a play ("Lobby Hero") which was very good. 

For the past two years I've been sewing weekly. My closet is now 90% my own handiwork.

Just a few of the things I've made.

Vacation Snaps Made More Fun With Prisma

Prisma is my favorite app. It makes my pictures look like what I would draw if I had more time and talent.

I visited my Aunt and cousins in Santa Barbara, California. I don't know any of the people in these shots; I just like scenes of everyday life.

DIY Tall Pet Gate for Cats

After inheiriting my mother's cat very sweet snuggly cat, Dillon, I discovered that he is a major jerk to other cats. He tolerates Georgie but really does not like Kam. He was a farm cat and has tangled with wild animals ... He doesn't back down from the hiss and swat that my indoor cats dish out.

After several World War III fights, and a serious fear that Kam will end up severely traumatized and/or severely injured, I determined I needed to divide the house up into sections.

At this point you're probably saying why would you even keep him, why not find another home? Why? Because he's the best cat in the world except for this little problem.

But, issue #1: my downstairs sort of open plan... doorways but few doors. And upstairs, the cat would be stuck in one small room. I wanted the kitties to have a more room to roam yet stay safely separated.

My first thought was to find a baby gate or pet gate. I Googled "tall pet gate" and the tallest I found was 44 inches. If you have a cat you know 44 inches ain't going to cut it. And they weren't very wide anyway.

My solution: 72" x 16" wire shelving components, zip ties, and cup hooks! The zip ties bind the shelves together to make z-fold "gates" to keep the cats apart.

The cups hooks on the walls hold the gates in place but also allow me to swing one panel open to get in and out. It's not beautiful but it does the trick.

Light can pass through, I can see what they're up to, and they can see each other. (I'm still hoping that someday they will tolerate each other.) I  switch the cats between the areas so nobody starts to think of any particular section as "mine." Each section has a litter box and food/water station.

The gates are completely removable in case I need to get furniture through the doorways, if company comes over, etc.

On the upstairs gate, I even fashioned a little cat door. One of the six foot panels is actually a 4-ft piece and a 2-ft piece. The 2-ft piece is at the bottom and only connected with zip ties on one side. The other side is connected with removable clips.

The  72" shelves were $10 each
(Rubbermaid makes two different kinds -- one seems pretty expensive but there is a cheaper version that is fine for the DIY pet gate, available at Home Depot and Lowe's.) The shelves come 12" and 16" wide. I used a combination of widths to span my various doorways.

100 4" zip ties and 8 cup  hooks cost about $10.

If the internet won't provide, make it yourself!  One trip to the hardware store and Voila, tall pet gate!