Filet crochet tablecloth

So, I forgot to post this in between weather events (we are on our third or fourth week of daily storms).  In fact, this has been done for almost a month now!  It even has stains already - pickled beet brine and ice tea, to be exact.  Oh yeah ... this was made to be on our table, not as a gift.

Fleur-de-Lis filet crochet tablecloth

It may block out a bit larger.  I still have not blocked it for lack of a place to lay it out, much less pin it out ... but it is about time to clear the table again and give it a nice soak-wash in the dishwater.  My mom discovered early on with me that dish soap/detergent works best for getting food stains out of cotton.  For the record, ketchup, barbecue sauce, soy sauce, and any red juice or wine WILL end up on my shirt still.

My dear kitty boys

I have been quiet for a few months, and this is one big reason:

Chester and Bourbon, early February

My dear kitty boys have left me after over a decade together.  I found this pic on my memory card this morning.  The digicam's date timestamp says early February, and Chester passed on at the end of February after never adjusting to the new house.  Bourbon seemed okay, until early May.  He had been greatly enjoying his senility, but when he missed a jump on a Friday evening we knew he was on his way out.  He died a few days after, while I was petting him and talking to him.  I had known Bourbon since he was a kitten - he originally belonged to a friend of mine whom I housesat for when I lived in the barracks.  Chester had been in my house up in Tennessee since he was a little ball of "mew" with too-big ears.  Chester was almost thirteen, and Bourbon had just passed his fifteenth birthday.

I am still trying to get used to life without my kitty boys, and seeing this on the memory card brought a wistful tear to my eyes.