Cat Lady No. 279...Purrsonal Assistants

Cat Lady Teri learned to knit and crochet as a girl, then got sidetracked for a few decades. She recently took up knitting again and enjoys the company of her purrsonal assistants, past and present.

Current helpers are The Twins LeeLou and Zuzu. They arrived as teeny tiny kittens in a Pop-Tart box on Mothers Day 2006, courtesy of Teri's daughter. They had been found in a culvert after a rain storm and the mama was nowhere to be found.

Teri explains: "For being twin sisters, they couldn't be more different. ZuZu is probably 12 pounds of solid muscle and still afraid of her shadow but can be a sweetie when she is in the mood. She tends to be a watcher more than a lover though. LeeLou is maybe 8 or 9 pounds of pure sugar. Loves to sit in my lap or lay next to me in bed. She is my main knitting assistant."

Teri's angels are Red and CC. "Red was an old cat when he adopted us and ...towards the last month of his life, he suddenly started jumping into our bed - I even woke up one morning with him on my pillow. One night I sat up and was petting him in the bed. [Hubby] Brian asked me what I was doing and I said, 'petting Red' to which he informed me that there was no cat there. I swear, I could see and feel him as clearly as I see this computer screen. When we woke up in the morning he was not around - which wasn't unusual, he came and went on his own schedule. But we never saw him again. Brian and I believe that he went out into the woods and died. I strongly suspect, that it was at 2 or 3 in the morning, when he 'visited' me. I never have had an experience like this before or since."

"CC was the sweetest, smartest cat I ever owned. She liked to play fetch - she would bring us a fuzzy glove that she liked and we would throw it and she would run and get it. She loved to talk to you and I don't believe that she had any idea that we did not understand cat language - she obviously understood us. She did hate to travel though. We drove from Milwaukee to Tallahassee when we moved ... I had gotten her kitty downers ...she was completely stoned, couldn't really open her eyes, but never stopped meowing - for 20 hours. She was hoarse by the time we got here. When CC died at age 16 I was heartbroken..."

Teri has started a knitting group on Ravelry.com called the Amazing Flying Squirrel Karma Team. Current projects include an afghan for a grandmother's 100th birthday, making gators (kind of a cowl for men) for the soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, making an afghan to be raffled to raise money for RAINN, making lapghans and afghans for residents of LANDAHAM State Psychiatric Hospital and making a support blanket for a friend that is going through some rough times. "I am very proud of this group and the work we are doing!! Members of Ravelry.com are welcome and encouraged to stop by (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/amazing-flying-s
quirrel-karma-team) and help with a project or offer moral support. "

Thanks for all your good works, CCL Teri (that's Crafty Cat Lady Teri)!