A Stitch In Time

The Mammas got together on Saturday at Judy's house to put our quilt together. We had a pretty good turnout with 8 Mammas and a couple of Pappas to make an even 10. Pappa Bill helped set up and acted as gopher. As we requested, a couple of members brought samples of their talents. Charles and wife Tammy came by to show us his step stool and offered to make some for us.

Cindy brought some examples of her flower arranging expertise and offered her services as well.

Because we had so many hands, we split up into 2 groups. Debbie, Judy, Gail, Susan and me worked on getting the quilt together.

The squares had to be layed out in a pattern and then labeled so that each row could be moved to the sewing room.

After each row was sewn together the seams had to be ironed. Murphy's Law had a hand in getting the quilt together. After the squares had been sewn into rows we found that some of them had been inadvertently transposed. So we got familiar with the seam rippers to take the squares apart so they could be sewn in the right order.

While we were busy in the sewing room, Susan helped Marjorie and Cindy with the stocking kits. They had to make patterns then put together the material, buttons, ribbons, etc into a kit. Those kits will be handed out so they can be worked on at home by the Mammas or anyone else who has some free time and would like to help.

All in all we had a very successful day. We now have 5 kits and the quilt top has been completed. It wasn't all work, however, we did take a lunch break. We all brought something for a pot luck which was enjoyed by all.

After lunch we adjourned downstairs for a short meeting. Join us at our next time when we complete our quilt. If you've never tied a quilt before, this is a great place to learn! When: Saturday, March 28th 10am - 2pm Where: Gail's house in the forest. Bring: A pot luck dish, Your idea for other projects. Remember, whatever your passions are in life; it may be crafty, doing research, writing, cooking knitting, being organized... the list is endless. Please join us and bring us your 'Passions'! Along with working on the quilt we will be putting together more 'craft' packages, making fabric note cards and making book marks (the scrapbook way).

Please Join Us And Bring a Friend!

Please email any questions, comments and ideas to: mammasonamission@gmail.com

Fine Tuning Our Mission Plan

We will be meeting once a month in various homes. This month will be an exception, meeting more often to get projects planned and establish a foundation before the busy months of summer arrive! Our next meeting: Where: Judy Forbes' home. It's the log house on Stewart Dr. When: Saturday, March 14th at 10am Agenda: Completion of our first craft quilt which entails ironing of the squares and then sewing them together. Others can be preparing materials for our next quilt and stockings. We will also be establishing a more detailed plan for the group's projects. Contact: Susan Tvrdy with any questions Bring: Pot luck lunch item along with anything you may have from our scavenger list. Now that we have this website, Debbie Cluster will not be sending as many emails regarding this group. So it is important that you subscribe so you can be notified whenever a new post has been added. If you need any help setting this up, just call me. I will bring my laptop to the meeting on Saturday to help you get subscribed and familiar with the site.

A Mission For Fun

We do more than sew, knit and trap feral cats. We also like to have fun and if that includes a bit of the vino well we're there! Our coffee social group created a spin-off group "Mammas On A Mission" and now there's:

Noni's was the location of our inaugural meeting. They are a new establishment in nearby Priest River. They opened their arms and bottles for the 10 members who attended.

Owner Jen, welcomed us with open arms.

We caravan'd over from Stoneridge to Priest River, about a 20 minute trip. Leaving at 5:40pm the sun was setting and we got to see a female moose grazing along the side of the highway. One of the advantages of living in a rural area.

6 Women Who Wine and 4 brave men who tolerate us.

It didn't take long for our group to settle in. Noni's offers about 6-8 appetizers that are all very yummy. So we decided that we would order different ones and share. Their extensive wine menu guarantee we would find something to enjoy. Even it we didn't like wine, they offered beer, tea and Henry Weinhardt sodas. Introducing the Winers:

Margee and Frank

Sue and Bill

Stoneridge Gal and Pal Patty. Unfortunately Stoneridge Guy and Patty's husband Denny were working so Patty was my date for the evening

Marjorie and Dave

Susan and Dave

Our first meeting was a success for our group and for Noni's. They have even agreed to work with us in creating a Women Who Wine Special. For a flat rate they'll create a menu for our members. Can't wait 'til next month! Check the calendar for the date of our next meeting. Tell a Friend!

I tawght I taw a puddy tat!

If Tweety Bird lived in Stoneridge he would say that a lot whenever he passed by the maintenance building. It seems that a stray female cat took refuge in the large building. Our grounds keeper, Darcy, welcomed the stranger because, as it turned out, she was a good mouser. Feeling sorry for the cat, Darcy started feeding her. Apparently she must have had company... the male kind. So what happens when a stray female meets a stray male? Yep, you guessed it... little stray kittens. We now have 6 stray or feral cats. If you do the math these 6 could potentially turn into 40+ by the end of the summer. We certainly don't need that many cats roaming around our community. Patty worked with Darcy last summer as a gardener and knew of his dilema. She saw an article in the local newspaper about the annual "Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Day" and thought that this is just they type of activity for Mammas On A Mission. What's a Feral Cat? Well, according to Wikipedia: "A feral cat is an unowned and untamed cat separated from domestication. Feral cats are born in the wild and may take a long time to socialize, or may be abandoned or lost pets that have become wild. They should not be confused with the wildcat which are not descended from domestic cats. A stray cat (or alley cat) while unowned, still exhibits temperament similar to that of a pet.^[1] In popular usage, these terms are sometimes used interchangeably." Sunday, February 22nd was the only day that the local veterinary clinics were doing the spay and neutering for free. That meant that we needed to get traps set on the Friday before. Patty lined up 4 traps from a local trapper and we had to pick up 2 from Priest River Animal Shelter.

Stoneridge Pals Patty and Bobbie picking up the traps from Priest River Animal Shelter.

We got our lesson is setting the traps and proceeded to get the 6 of them ready. We were advised to put the traps in an out of the way spot and cover them with cardboard so the feral cats would feel comfortable going into them.

Patty, Bobbie and her husband Steve getting the traps ready to set.

Maggie and me setting the traps.

Traps all set and ready to go.

When I checked the traps Saturday morning we caught 2 and one got away with a belly full of food. Somehow it had managed to get the entire can out of the trap before setting it. When Patty and I checked them again that afternoon we got only one more. We could only hope that we would trap the last 3 before 7:30am Sunday when we needed to load them up and take them to town.

They spent the night in Patty's garage, out of the elements. Somehow we managed to get the remaining food out of the cages without releasing them. "No food after midnight" were orders from the vet to prepare the cats for surgery. After loading our 3 captives, Patty, Bobbie and me checked to see if we got lucky enough to trap the remaining cats. No luck. We would have to settle for just the 3 of them. We headed for the Rathdrum Animal Clinic and arrived at around 8:30am with a half dozen more groups with more feral cats.

Our 3 captives. It turns out that one of them was the mother.

Patty signing them in for surgery. Getting the cages tagged. Here they get moved back to the holding rooms.

The clinic continued to take in cats until 10am. Patty picked them up later that same afternoon and they recovered in her garage. Monday they were released. In Tuesday's Coeur d'Alene Press they covered spay day. Kootenai County alone got 260 strays which amounts to $26,000 worth of procedures. Because 80% of the cats captured were female it prevented at least 1,000 unwanted kittens.

From Mamas to Mammas

We have been getting together now for just over a month. Did any of us imagine that it would turn into this? We have a name, an email address, a website and most importantly a Purpose! This blog will be used to keep the information flowing. It's a great way of sharing what's been going on in and after our meetings. Why has the spelling changed? So as you may know, I volunteered to be the webmistress of this site. I have my own blog Stoneridge Gal so I have some experience, what little it did to help in this case. During our last meeting we agreed to use "Mamas On A Mission" for our name. Note Mamas only has one 'm'. I wanted to use this spelling to be different. So I started by establishing our email address, mamas with one m. Next I started to set up the blog. When I entered our name I got "This name is not available." I thought, "No Way! There has to be a mistake. Who else could have stolen our name!" So I checked it out for myself. And I'll be damned, there it was. Another group of ladies already had our name. Mamas on a Mission: "Our desire, which has become our mission, is to work with the Oregon Zoo to create a room that is solely designated for breastfeeding moms with their children. This space would allow moms: a place in which they can ensure that their children will effectively nurse; where other children are safe while mom is nursing; where mom and baby are not exposed in inclement weather; where breastfeeding moms who need to pump can safely go; and where women can relax in private should they desire the option." Actually, I thought this hysterical considering the fact that 99% of our group is well beyond our breast feeding days. So as of today, shout it out from the hilltops we are Mammas On A Mission. TWO "M"s if you please. Our official email address is mammasonamission@gmail.com if you want to submit information or have any questions.