Building the cheshire cat

Thanks to my friend Tomoko for sending me this cool Cheshire Cat :)

Lots of Christmas stuff in
-my Etsy (in English,et en Français),
-  Dawanda (English,Français and Deutsch) and
- Alittlemarket (en français) shops.

SHOP EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS!!!! Don't wait till the last moment!

Please order BEFORE the following dates to avoid disappointment
Belgium: Dec 17th
Europe: Dec 10th
Rest of the world (USA, Canada,Australia...): Dec 3rd

IMPORTANT
These dates are RECOMMENDATIONS only based on our experience with shipping during the Christmas period. Packages sent to countries outside Europe are occasionally delayed by customs, this is out of our control and we request that you factor this eventuality into the delivery time. It does not happen often, but it can happen.

All my items come in a giftbox!
 

Because I have nothing better to do...new nail polish set

These days I don't get to buy too many things for myself...nothing useless and just for fun anyway. And somehow, the less you buy, the less you want...But when I heard of a nail polish advent calendar, my "want mode" switched back on instantly. And fortunately for me it was not too crazily expensive either. I mean 42 euros for 20 nail polishes and 4 caviar ball bottles seemed like a good deal to me.
If you've been looking for that Ciaté mini mani set, you probably know it is quite hard to find if you're in Europe. But I found it on QVCUK where it was sold out at first but you could sign up to be on a waiting list. I didn't have long to wait and today my package was in the mail.
The postman must have heard me screamed too ;)

 You get a little bottle behind each door. The bottles are smaller than regular Ciaté bottles, but if you're like me, you never use up a bottle of nail polish anyway.

I had to try the caviar manicure right away. I won't bore you with a tutorial as there are  literally hundreds on youtube
I am not very skilled at applying polish in general, but that look was fairly easy to achieve. It's really fun and cute...and it does stay on better than I had hoped. It won't last for days though.
On the whole I like all the colors minus 1 or 2...but even those could look cool with other colors...so I ordered some nail stencils too (here).

And as a bonus, this package also made Pepita happy ^_^

CREATIVE HANDS FOR GREEK ANIMALS IN NEED!

Here is a call to all Animal Lovers and creative souls!!!

My friend  Anna from Annuk Creations loves animals, she has been helping cats in Greece. Here's a way you can help too.

The Greek Animal Wefare Society is organizing a Christmas Bazaar in order to raise funds for their wonderful activities of helping animals in need. As you know, dear friends, Greece is going through very difficult times, and of course animals are suffering too, since it is getting increasingly difficult to raise funds for helping stray and homeless animals, for medical expenses, food and neuterings!

***IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF YOU COULD HELP TOO!***
Even if you are living abroad, you can give your contribution for the Christmas Bazaar! You just need to get creative and create something handmade, or if you have something you have already created and that you would like to donate for the Bazaar, you can mail it directly to the Greek Animal Welfare Society! Any other items (in good condition) are welcome too!
Your package needs to arrive by the end of November. The Christmas Bazaar will take place in December.
If you have any questions, please contact Anna. Send your creation(s) to:

Ελληνική Φιλοζωική Εταιρεία
Αγίων Αναργύρων 34, Νέα Χαλκηδόνα, Τ.Κ. 14343, Αττική

ELLINIKI FILOZOIKI ETAIREIA (Greek Animal Welfare Society)
Agion Anargyron 34
Nea Xalkidona
14343 Attiki
GREECE

Greek Animal Welfare Society homepage

You can find the relevant post on the Greek animal lovers blog Planitis Gia Olous! (Planet For All) here (in Greek). 

If you are contributing with a handmade creation, please blog about it and write the link to your post in a comment on Planitis Gia Olous! here, or if you need any assistance, just contact me and I will be happy to help! :)  

Hope to see you at the Bazaar! :) Let's join creative hands for our furry friends in need!

 That's the little package I am sending :)

Shop early for Christmas

Shop early for Christmas
12%off in my
Etsy
Alittlemarket
Dinafragola
SHOPS
If you want to buy in my Dawanda shop, please request the 12% in message to seller. I’ll either refund you through Paypal or send you the corrected invoice!

More little pumpkin heads or Halloween at Casa McBain

 I managed to put the hat on Daget. She was less than pleased and this is the best photo I could achieve.

 Diego (aka Mister Chu) was not too thrilled either.

 Oddly Eugénie didn't seem to mind at all. She even went for a snack with the hat on.

Pepita had to supervise ...of course ;)

Happy Halloween!!!!

My little Pumpkin heads

The other day I was thinking that getting a pumpkin hat for the cats would be a cool idea. My friend Ana from Mysterious Cats made one for them.

Gazette was super cool about it, I guess he thinks it's comfy to keep his head warm during a nap.

Doudou (aka Voldemort):  stylish and elegant.

Frank Kitten was less enthusiastic but still agreed to pose for a photo or 2.

And Pepita, well...let me quote her :
"I ain't no stinky pumpkin, I wanna be a gorgeous fairy for Halloween. I'll go pee on something now".

Halloween

I made lots of new things for Halloween this year. You can find them on

- Etsy in English and en français (in US$)
- Dawanda in English, Français und Deutsch (Euro)
- A Little Market en français et en Euro

A day at the seaside

Save lennox the dog

Some of you might be aware of the story of Lennox, the dog confiscated and imprisoned for 2 years by the Belfast city council.
You can read all the details of this sad story on http://savelennox.co.uk/
Now Lennox is scheduled to die on Monday. He never did anything wrong, he spent 5 years of his life in a loving family, no one ever complained about his behaviour.

For some reasons, some people on the Belfast city council want that dog dead. Personal vendetta? Personal agenda? No one knows. This story is laden with all sort of irregularities you would not expect in an European democratic country.
Here's my letter to Ms O'Neil, the agricultural Minister:

Dear Ms O'Neil

I have been following the campaign to save Lennox the dog, I have heard that it is within your power to set him free to go and live his life out somewhere else. This poor animal has prayed on my mind time and time again and I will never forgive myself if I don't at least try and help him. I do not understand why this dog is classed as dangerous as all dogs have the capacity to harm if not brought up properly and in the correct surroundings and  it seems Lennox was taken from a loving and caring family. 

The killing of Lennox should be postponed until the Belfast City Council has been investigated.It is not with a light heart that I question the authority of an elected authority, but the Belfast city council actions are dubious at best, they have clearly  abused of their powers here. This case has so many irregularities, so many questions NEED answers.

- Why is a warden , who lied in court, still working for the council? 

- Why was the same judge allowed to rule twice in the same case, without ever hearing the defense nor allowing them to show their evidences? 

- Why is the Barnes family NOT allowed to see their dog? 

- Who is behind the threats and intimidations of the Barnes family and their supporters ? Are they the same people who "troll" forums, discussions and Twitter with elements from court hearings that were not divulged to the public?

- Why did the Belfast city council try to have websites and Facebook accounts supporting the Lennox Campaign closed?

- Who is behind the anti-Lennox website and campaign llaav.com? Is the Belfast city council using public money for their own agenda? That website is highly suspicious as it is hosted in the UK...but its IP is protected by an Australian privacy business "Privacyprotect.org". As you may know it is very unusual for a website not to disclose its owner and location.

To anyone who has been following the story, this looks just like a personal vendetta from the part of  a supposedly democratic council.

To tell you the truth, I think Lennox has been killed already, either through injection or through mere neglect. Why would the Belfast city council not allow Lennox family to see him one last time? Why won't they return the body to the family? What have they got to gain by acting so cruelly? What are they hiding? Why won't they let Lennox be rehomed in another country despite all the firm and legitimate offers?  We can only speculate as the people of that council are also champions at opacity and imagination runs wild among Lennox supporters.

I guess it is only a matter of time before the truth come out, let's hope Lennox can still be saved.

Karma is a bitch!

The kittens turn 3

 The birthday boys!

Yes, it has already been 3 years since I moved and the kittens were born. Today Bob and Frank turned 3.
They were not very willing to pose together for a photo...it was a bit like :
-No I am not standing next to Smelly!
-And I don't want to be next to Farty!

So I had to trick them...one inside and one outside ;) You can also see Pepita in the background.

 And some pix of the garden and house.

 I put hearts in the windows today...

And a little picture of baby Zoé, Bob and Frank 's sister who's sadly over the rainbow bridge already.

Pepita the new kitty

Pepita is the new addition to the family.
I had seen that fluffy cat roaming in the neighbourhood for some time but assumed he (I thought it was a boy) belonged to someone.
She was quite shy and would run away when I went out...then she started to come and eat the food I put out for an outside kitty.
And last February we had some unusually cold weather  and she wouldn't  leave the garden.

One morning she jumped inside the house and checked all the rooms, and then went quickly back outside.
But that night I found her leaning on the bay window, shivering and looking very miserable. I let her in and she immediately went napping in a basket in the study.

She didn't look too good. She was pretty dirty with matted hair that I had to cut. I took her to the vet and it turned out she recently had a  miscarriage and some of the dead fetuses were still inside her, rotting :(  She had some emergency surgery and a heavy dose of antibiotics...and now she is doing great!
Thriving really, must have doubled her weight by now. She eats a lot, loves ham,cuddles and warm radiators. She is also very bossy and a little bit possessive. She loves cuddling when I watch TV, putting her little nose right on my nose and making little "I love you " eyes.