On Monday evening last week, I stopped at PetSmart to get cat food and flea stuff. I also stopped to look at the cats and kittens in the adoption area.

I looked into each cage and read the tag describing each cat. Abigail came to the front of her cage and looked at me with her big eyes. I kneeled down to get closer, and she gave me her neck to scratch.

I was a goner. The eyes, the purring, the soft hair, the tag that said she is a "cuddle bug" sold me. 

I missed Cleo so much. I need a cat to hold and cuddle with. Jasmine is Bill's cat, Mia is mine but she doesn't like being held or sitting on laps, and Maya is skittish and hasn't chosen a person yet.

I cried the rest of my way through the cashier's line, to my car and home. Bill saw I was distraught and wanted to adopt 9-year-old Abigail, and so he said "What's one more!?"

Abigail came home with me Friday evening, two nights ago. She's still getting used to the house, the sounds, and the other 3 cats. She's friendly to Bill and me, and she purrs a great deal.

So far it looks like Mia is intimidated by Abigail (which is surprising since nothing bothers Mia), and Maya thinks Abigail is her BFF (best friend forever) and follows her from room to room.

The photo is her "mug shot" from the PetFinder.com website. Big eyes! And a big stomach—as in overweight. She weighs only 14 pounds, but to me she looks bigger and feels heavier (my Mom thinks I'm just used to Mia and Maya who aren't large). Abigail waddles and sways left and right when she walks. We're working on her weight issues.

But she wasn't there.

I missed her and cried quite often. I wanted to hold her, talk to her, feed her, pet her.

On a Friday (furlough day from work) in early August, I went kitty shopping. I wanted two and Bill wanted kittens. They didn't have to be from the same litter or shelter or be the same age. They just needed to be "right" for us.

After hours of "shopping" local shelters, I still hadn't found the "right" kitty. I called Bill and he agreed to go that night to a Petco in Fremont to see cats available for adoption by Purrfect Cat Rescue. We found the purrfect kittens!

Both are Dilute Tortoiseshell cats, but not from the same litter. Maya is more white and has a smudge on her nose. Mia is more grey with long legs and a long tail. They are similar in size, but Maya is older by 6 weeks.

Maya was 16 weeks old when we adopted her. She was rescued from inside a wall in an abandoned house, and the wall had to be torn down to get her out. Maya is skittish, especially when you walk around or there are sudden loud noises. She spent 95% of the time under our bed during the first two weeks.

I don't know Mia's history, but it doesn't seem to have been traumatic. She was 10 weeks old when we brought her home. Her name was Vidalia (like the onion)—incoming cats were being given vegetable names when she was rescued. Bill suggested Mia (probably because Maya-Mia sounds much like Mama-Mia, but he said it was for women's soccer player Mia Hamm), and I thought Mia (for Mia Michaels the choreographer) was a great name!

Maya's is one year old today! (I subtracted 16 weeks from the day we brought her home to get an estimated birthday date.) She's a happy girl—still skittish, but getting a little less so each week.

Jasmine is 14 years old this month. Cleo would have been 14 too.

As soon as Mia met Jasmine, she was determined that Jaz would be her BFF (best friend forever). Jaz growls and sometimes hisses, but Mia holds her ground cuddling with Jaz until she either gives in or goes somewhere else.

Sometimes Maya likes to cuddle with Jaz, but not often. And Mia is usually also there.

Most of the time, Mia and Maya are snuggling in the same cat bed, grooming each other or wrestling.

Mia is a petite, athletic, fun loving girl. She likes to cuddle behind my head, rub her face into my hair and drool. She doesn't suckle—she just drools and looks like she's high on drugs. She doesn't like to sit on laps or be held or cuddled, except when she's snuggling in my hair.

Maya is a chubby, sway-backed, runner. She runs down the hall and back again, down the hall and back again. She runs away when you reach your hand out to pet her. She runs away when you're walking around. Under the bed is her haven and usual destination.

But when you're sitting and quiet and still, she'll come lay next to you. And she'll purr and be happy to allow you to pet and scratcher her head, behind her ears, her chin, her back, her sides, her belly and her feet. When she is picked up, she melts into your arms. She's soft and cuddly and makes you think that she really does like affection after all…until the next time you're up walking around and she runs away!

• 2 Tbsp olive oil (or oil of choice) - less oil with ground beef
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped (or red bell pepper or combo of green and red)
• Choose one meat:
  • 2 large skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
• 8 oz. La Victoria Mild Taco Sauce (or taco sauce of your choice) - Salsa can be substituted but don’t also add onion and bell pepper listed above
• Choose one or more:
  • Tacos: 8 corn tortillas, fried in oil or steamed in microwave
  • Burritos: 8 wheat or flour tortillas, steamed in microwave
  • Nachos: Corn tortilla chips
• Extras:
  • Pinto or black beans (refried or whole), heated
  • Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Tomatoes, chopped
  • Black olives, sliced
  • Sour cream
  • Lettuce, chopped

In large pan on high heat, saute onion in oil until almost clear. Add bell pepper and meat and mix well. Reduce heat to medium, stir regularly, and cook until meat is 1/2 done. Add taco sauce and reduce heat to simmer. Stir regularly and simmer until meat is cooked and sauce is desired consistency.

Serve as tacos, burritos, and/or nachos with your choice of extras.

About 8 servings.

1. Backup the files!
2. Change to the directory you want to make the changes in.
3. Then, to make sure the right filenames will be changed, list the filenames using the following sed command (modify "2003-*.php" and the sed search and replace strings for your situation):
   
   for filename in 2003-*.php; do echo $filename | sed \e 's/\-/\_/g'; done
   
   
4. When you're sure the above sed command is listing the right filenames, change it as follows (modify "2003-*.php" and the sed search and replace strings for your situation):
   
   for filename in 2003-*.php; do newname=`echo $filename | sed \e 's/\-/\_/g'`; mv $filename $newname; done

Note the use of the backtick character (`) (also known as backquote) which, on my keyboard, is located to the left of the "1" key. The backtick character is used in addition to the single quote character (').

[Update January 4, 2009] I totally forgot that I could have used the "rename" command instead of sed! There is control over which underscore in a filename is changed. More about renaming files using "rename".

• Size: Each panel is about 46 inches x 61 inches (excluding tabs)
• Fabric: 100% cotton; variety of brands and colors
• Pattern: 12 blocks are from one of these books: Quilter's Mix and Match Blocks: A Comprehensive Handbook 2004 and 365 Quilt Blocks a Year (Pertetual Calendar) 1999
• Backing: Cut from a set of sheets we replaced recently
• Date: start July 13; finish December 20

Here they are! My Quilt Block Curtains for the craft room! Today I bought a thicker and better quality curtain rod. The rod in the photos is slightly bent from the weight of the curtains and moves when the curtains are opened or closed!

The stained glass look was a pleasant surprise!

The curtains have a backing cut from the set of sheets we replaced recently when I bought new sheets.

I felt good with this setup. But it didn't leave much workspace on the table.

So, on the day after Thanksgiving while Bill was working, I cleared off the bookcase in our bedroom and moved it into the craft room (thick felt pads on the bottom of the bookcase made it easy to move!). Then, I added the containers of fabric sorted by color. (Cleo is testing access to the cat bed!)

Ah, workspace on the table! I'm inspired to work on a project when I see it!