What a week. So much going on. Creative Cafe is gearing up, getting ready to ship next month which means craziness. I have been working for the last couple of months with all of the project designers to make sure we have a wide variety of cool things to make at the art bar. You can see some of the projects here, here and here. It's taking more hours than I imagined, but I truly enjoy the process. I'm really excited for this to ship and reach stores.

I know we are going to be seeing and hearing a lot more about it all in the next month. I am hearing from stores who are remodeling and making a fun hang out for their art bar. I can't wait to see pictures of what is happening. If you have any pictures or links to Creative Cafe stores getting ready for this grand opening, I'd love to hear. I will share here as I get more information and details to pass along. Also for those of you who are sad and think you won't be able to participate if you don't have a store near you, I know there are several online stores who are making plans to bring Creative Cafe to the public in their own web way.

When Alison and I created this concept, in what seems so long ago, we wanted everyone to benefit from the concepts behind it and that includes the online community. While it might look a little different online, there are still lots of ways to create that inspiration and sense of community fun even on the web. So be on the lookout for more information here on my blog for where you can find that, even if you are satellite.

On a different note, I wanted to introduce you to a new member of our family. Meet Zorro. We have had kitties and cats since we moved to the country, 100's of them. They have all lived in the shop and the barn. For the last couple of years, the girls have been begging to get a house cat. We've talked about taming one of the "wild" ones and considering how that might work, however, it has just never worked out. Just when we start to make progress either the cat disappears or something happens to them.

One day I was walking from the house to the shop and heard this very odd noise in our oak tree. After careful inspection, I realized it was a cat I had never seen before. She was obviously stray and had wondered upon our yard. She was desperate and had tree'd herself to get away from all the other fluffy friends we have around here. When I walked up to the tree, she jumped out and landed right in my arms. It was obvious she was displaced and scared, but not like any other of our barn cats. She was cultured and fussy about her self. She had no feline social skills to interact with the other cats whatsoever. She ran quick to the door of the house and wanted inside. So of course the kids took her in and she quickly made herself at home. I knew based on her actions that she came from another house. So I told the girls not to get too attached, while we looked for her owners.

That was about 2 months ago. We checked newspapers, called all the neighbors and have been reading bulletin boards looking for someone missing her, with no success. She seems to be MORE than happy with the love she's getting here, but what cat wouldn't. She stumbled across a place with over 30 other cats and she worked her way quickly inside to her own special kitty food. Pretty smart cat!

We named her Zorro after her unique calico black mask on her face. There is something very intriguing about her. She is fussy and particular and is quite opinionated, but the perfect house cat for the most part. She has not had one accident in the house and I have to say, we are not all that careful. She is just smart and very good at getting what she wants. We didn't have to train her or work with her, except for the fact that she likes our new sectional for working on her nails. We have since bought a scratch pad for her with a little bit of catnip...or should I say Marty calls it something else.

The girls are truly enjoying her. We have a set routine with her where she comes in early in the morning just in time for Delaney to love on her before school, something very good about that for a kids routine. Delaney really requires extra lovin' and we have found that Zorro has been such a sweet thing for her day to begin with. To think that she just appeared in our tree, kind of makes you think she was a family gift. At least that is the story I'm going with....

It's pretty cute when Delaney tells me that Zorro is grounded for the day and can't come in the house because she was a naughty girl. One morning Delaney was taking a bath before school and Zorro found a nice resting spot on the stack of towels inside the towel cupboard waiting for Delaney. Still not sure how she managed to get in there.

The other day Delaney said, "mom, our life is a lot happier since Zorro found us." Kind of makes me wonder where she was, before she came here and why it is that happened, but I have decided that is not what is important, but more so that we understand where gifts come from and feel blessed.

Comments

[Linda Albrecht]

Ohh, Zorro is so sweet. She definitely found your family for a reason. A little extra gift from God. She is a lucky cat! Linda