Bailey

~ Bailey born October 11, 1998 Passed away Wednesday July 20, 2011 ~

I was going to begin this last night, but between the pain I was feeling and the loss of what I wanted to title it, I am beginning it a day late.

It's a funny thing how we always look for just the right title or banner when we want to post something new. Something of special importance. Yet, the most important thing of this post is Bailey, so that is simply what I've chosen to call this. It is fitting and I'm sure he would approve.

We acquired Bailey from a lady by the name of Nancy. She was a rescuer who would go to the local shelters every day and look at the times remaining on the animals cages. With the aid of her husband, she built a small barn & run for her rescued kitties and at her own expense, looked after them and tried to find homes for them. She did this with a lot of success as well.
We were looking for a play companion for our Jakey at home so went to see Nancy and brought Bailey home. Ironically, Jakey just passed away a few months back - Feb. 12, 2011. A double loss which is leaving me more than a little bit dazed.

Bailey was a unique puss. Small and determined, hard on walls and furniture and oh yes, on Jakey at times too. Due to his diminutive stature, I think he felt he had something to prove, and he picked the biggest boy in the house to make that point. A Napoleon Complex of sorts. It caused me a lot of concern over the years we had him, but if I could trade any of this sadness right now to get him back, ornery and all, I would do that in a heartbeat.

We knew something was amiss a couple of months ago when we found a mess on the carpet in the dining room. Since we have three other cats in the house, Trey, Darius and Milo, the last kitty we thought could have ever caused this mess though, was Bailey. Bailey was the fastidious one. Bailey was the one who would go back and make sure everyone else's stuff was covered up in the litter box. His nickname...Mr. Clean.

But we couldn't imagine the others doing this either, so after a lot of trial and error, we did finally face the fact that it was indeed Bailey. And by this time he had gotten so much worse.

We took him to our vet yesterday and learned that he had also lost a pound in a very short time, his heartbeat was rapid and he had what she called a mammoth murmur. All this on top of the creeping senility which was making him forget where things were - and worse, starting to fear inanimate objects like carpeting on stairs and certain toys. While we didn't feel it was time to lose him, Mother Nature had other ideas and she was calling all the shots.

I have never had to do anything like this before in my life. In fact, I've long been an advocate of letting a pets little clock tick down on it's own. Barring pain of course. If they were suffering then that had to be stopped. As we walked into the vets office I had flash back's of the tiny kitten he was and how happy we were to have saved his life. And now here we were all these years later about to take his life from him. When we talk about justice in life, so many times I have to ask where?
So hard!

Physically, Bailey was fine. To all outward appearances he looked the picture of health! He had so much energy and liked to do all the things he's always done. There were seemingly no changes except for the disease that was stealing his mind.

Bailey had also been through so much with us. Two cross country moves riding shotgun with us in the suv and not a complaint out of him. He was a trooper that's for sure. He provided more than a few laughs over the years too... He loved Xmas...the gifties from his own stocking, the little treat of egg nog on Xmas Eve and some turkey and gravy Xmas Day. How empty those days will feel now, even tho' we have our other boys, there is that upstart Bailey hole which will not be filled. Oh gawd this was so hard! It is hard now as I type with tears in my eyes and a painful lump in my throat.

I am not a religious person. I'm not sure I believe in afterlives or anything of that nature, but if there is one, I am hoping that Bailey is there and that there are lots of his favorite things. He loved to play with springs and little furry toy mice. He could amuse himself for hours with a little plastic curly thing. We were never at a loss of what to buy him...

I could reminisce for hours here but there are space and time restraints. Besides, I will continue to get sadder still and I need to start my healing process for my other little guys sakes. They are mystified too as to where both their brothers have gotten to.

Rest in peace Bailey. And if you've joined Jakey, go easy on him okay? =) We love you so much and will never forget you.

Birthin' bears - Confessions of a Teddy Bear creator

~ Mama Bear Marta gives a warm welcome to all ~

I have elected to let Marta do the formal greeting and introduction. She's always had such a smart way with words. Being the most cultured and highly respected matron of the house, she makes sure the rowdier denizens keep their manners.
She and Marigold rein in the upstart boys, both of a feline and ursine persuasion. I wouldn't have it any other way. There will be no clambering for laps to sit on, nor will they toss themselves about the beds.

~ Marigold Lockes, Goldie to her closest friends ~



So just what is a "teddy bear creator?" you may ask. Well, there may be some variations on how we define the term, but in general - a bear creation is a bear created from scratch by just one person. And our bears are not toys but are Artist Teddy Bears made exclusively for collectors...though I have made exceptions for very young 'collectors', using a more durable and cleanable material and making sure that things like eyes and ears don't come loose from excessive loving.

There are no assembly lines in my craft room, neither are there anyone else's patterns for the most part - just taking ideas from what's in my head, by way of my memories and then creating it from the materials I put together.

My exception to this was in my beginning when I got a classic 1903 teddy bear pattern and modified it to my own liking. That and the pattern I found in a Peggy and Alan Bialosky book I brought home from the library. Oh, how hard those first bears were to make back then, but how quickly I learned by simply having a love for the task!

As artist bear creators, first we need to design our pattern, draw it out onto the fur - I like to use German mohair, but I've sometimes used good quality synthetics. Then cut out the pieces, pin, sew, stuff and assemble the bear itself. It's always important to take special care creating the faces. Others have referred to the face as "the soul" of the teddy bear and I concur. I cannot name my bears until I see his or her face, at which time introductions are made.

So here I go off on yet another adventure - but not a new one, oh no! Not at all! It is the reinstatement of my teddy bear business. I find myself yearning to once again create something that someone can love. And those with teddies know the feeling is mutual, but it's a guarded secret to protect all involved. From the first teddy who held us up when we took our first tentative steps, to the bear who whispered in our ear that they'd be right there waiting at home when we returned from our first day of school and the bear who we perhaps soaked with our tears as we told them about the anticipated date that didn't happen.

Creating bears was something that I've had to put on a back burner for far too many years and I've missed it greatly. The joy of creating a small furry being, watching the little faces emerge and introduce themselves to me...a feeling like none other!

The fun of making the paws just the right 'plump' - the ears set just right...the nose...aaah, the beacon of the friendly face, all sleek & shiny.

And deciding on a ribbon. Plaid, striped, patterned or plain satin? Over sized or understated? Tails? Bow or knot? Or beads! What about a strand of beads for the little girlie bear? Or a lacy battenburg collar with a pretty clasp! You see that even here as I post about the creation I'm already opining on options. It is an obsession but one that all adds up to Herr Bears personae when the deed is complete. Those are the easy things - the dressing up and dressing down...a look of aristocracy or a woodsy denizen. I'm ready to dive into this. In fact, more than eager to begin tomorrow if I could.

But there is still so much yet to do before I can proceed! So much homework to see how things are done today as opposed to my older methods. I have discovered a plethora of talent out there. I am humbled by the workmanship I see. I can't hope to compete, but only bring something different to the 'adoption tables'. Over the course of the last few days I've visited so many wonderful sites and I want to give them their just due by mentioning them here. As an appreciator of all things bear, I would be remiss in not at least doing that.

The first I found, and most helpful as well, was Teddies By Laura Lynn. Laura has put together a wonderfully informative site which I spent the better part of an afternoon pouring over. Being a bear creator lends nothing to knowing how to use WEBPLUS X2 I'm afraid. This is a new learning curve embedded in that old one.

The second site I liked very much was The Vintage Magpie, a wonderful place that will take you back to times past. And another...oh my competition is strong, tho' I don't think of them that way, is Jennylovesbenny. Jenny's creations are so sweet and conjure visions of pretty tea cups and berries and cream in a delicate china bowl. I will be listing these creator/artists' site on my site as well.

In years past, I always shopped locally for my bits and pieces. All the makings were relatively close at hand. And I had a shop to sell my bears in, or a consignment shelf in others shops, and it was just the right pace for me in an otherwise busy life. Now Jenny has provided me with the things I will need.
So here we are again - moving around from country to country, city to city and state to state the last 25 years hasn't allowed me to have an outlet long term, so I'm now about to try my hand on the internet. Watch for my new upcoming website where you may browse the pages and pick who you'd like to adopt and bring some whimsy and warmth to your home.

And there, as here I also hope to include a little of the history of bears, and have links to places where you can enjoy a tale or a poem two.



Hopefully it will all be ready soon, this place that's so new I haven't even a name yet.



Or why not search by creator? Use the following link for that.





And best of all, a place to talk about life with bears, and load up on ideas and supplies to bring those ideas to life. Now it doesn't get much better than that!

Living With Kitty - Times Three

Oh yeah! Times this by three & you have my mornings! I suspect it even might include a bat, which might explain the pounding headaches some mornings.

This is a wonderful little piece of work entitled 'Wake Up Cat' and was done by the English animator Simon Tofield. Mr. Tofield works for an animation company called Tandem Films. This film won Best Comedy at the British Animation Awards. I just fell in love with it, hitting so close to home as it does.

Also the evening ritual...or afternoon, or morning or mid morning or...well I think you have the picture - the program you want to see comes at a time that just isn't appropriate for kitty.



And then of course there's the "let me in situation", which in Simon's video, the kitty actually does cross the threshold and come in. At our house, that's rarely the case. At out house they pat and paw, stretch and rub against the glass, mewing plaintively until someone takes pity and puts down whatever they're doing to goes to let them in. At which time kitty looks at us as if we're totally daft then turns and walks in the other direction. I think they are programmed to do these things. .




We used to have a kitty by the name of Dobie. Dobie wasn't allowed 'outside' outside, but was allowed in our screened-in porch. And 95% of the time, this was the best of both worlds for him...a place to enjoy the breeze and smell the smells, occasionally chasing an insect who was unfortunate enough to think the screened-in porch was a great safe place to take up residence. Dobie lived for those moments and was quite happy in his inside outdoors - until some human had to go to the outside 'outside' and mow the lawn or rake the leaves. This was unacceptable behavior! Leaving him behind while they walked in the grass? Gack, no!




















He needed to work out some deal here so he was included in the excursion. First was the caterwaul. Well, that didn't work! All the human did was move further away from the screen so he wasn't heard! There needed to be some way of attracting attention. Running up and down the screen? Well that worked when we were tiny but resulted only in getting hollered at as he got larger...something about 'don't rip the screen, bad boy!' or something like that.




Okay, so tears in the screen weren't acceptable - humans have so many rules - 95% of them inane. So how about a pluck? He would pick-pick on the screen to get our attention and if that didn't work he would stand on his head. A fella's gotta do what a fella's gotta do.

I sure miss you, Dobie. You were truly one of a kind. I think of all those times I told you to be a good boy and get down off that screen and I would suck it all back right now for just one hour more with you. RIP my beauty. Having just four short years to share with you was not nearly enough time. I hope there are plastic springs in heaven and angels who know how to play 'fetchies'.