How I Know Cats Built Boston

Have you ever been to Boston? Do you live in Boston? In either case, my prayers are with you.

I went for a Hero Arts event last spring and my brave friend Libby drove us around.

Let that sink in. Libby DROVE. In Boston.

Boston is actually built so that you cannot drive. I don't know why Boston hates cars, but it is a fact that they've thrown everything they've got against any hope of a normal transportation experience.

But I do have a theory on HOW Boston was built so that you cannot drive, and I'll share that below.

But first, a little more fun with that Blue Belle Versafine Clair Ink.

Now before you get mad - I have to confess that I accidentally used a retired set, so to make up for that - I'll give this one away during this post. But I've linked you to a similar Power Poppy set in case you're still mad. :).

This is actually the first thing I did with this ink, and it's how I found out that the blue separated. I was watercoloring this image, and when I flipped it over to glue it down, I noticed a little pink and purple on the back. Not as much as with the alcohol, which is why I tried alcohol for the video yesterday, which worked even better. Lots of people asked how I found out that the ink did that, so now you know!

I paired the ink, which is waterproof - yay - with some new Old Holland Watercolor that I purchased before Christmas. People were raving about these particular pigments (listed below), so I thought they'd try them all at once. No half measures, people! Other than that, I kept it pretty simple. The mat around the watercolor paper is actually another piece of cold press watercolor paper that I just used direct to paper with the Blue Belle ink pad to get that textured look.

Power Poppy OLIVE AND OAK Clear Stamp... [ SSS ] Tsukineko VersaFine Clair BLUE BELLE... [ SSS ] Old Delft Blue [ BLIC ] Old Holland Blue [ BLIC ] Manganese Blue [ BLIC ] Old Holland Classic Artist Watercolors [ BLIC ] Da Vinci Cosmotop Sable Mix F Brushes... [ BLIC ] Escoda 1548 Versatil Travel Brush Set... [ AMZUS ] Escoda Versatil Brushes [ BLIC ] Fabriano Extra White Cold Press... [ BLIC ] Whisper White Cardstock - Thick [ SUP ] Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up! [ SUP ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSW | SSS | ELH | MFT ]

So back to Boston. Here's how I know cats built Boston.

Cats are creatures of habit. My cats do everything the same way every day (with breaks for smashing things by knocking them off surfaces), including the "routes" they take in the house. For example, every morning when I get up and open the door of the bedroom, Maddie runs out, and does a single, counterclockwise circuit around our house, which is sort of set up like a donut.

When we are sitting down or sleeping, they take exactly the same routes to get up on our chairs or beds. They always approach us from the same side - no exceptions. However, the approach is the most complicated, Bostonian route possible. Sometimes it involves stepping in the eye of another, innocent, non-destination human or cat in the process. Again, super Bostonian. Let me illustrate.

So part of the daily routine is both cats sitting on me while I'm trying to work. Maddie's preferred perch is my neck. Splotch likes to get on my desk and plop down between me and my keyboard, tipping over dramatically so that I have to catch him like he's going through a feline Ropes course.

But neither of them just hop up where I am. Please see this diagram of how they arrive at their destination. Splotchy's route takes him behind my monitor. Maddie likes to include an aerial component involving the card catalog.

Now note that they are approaching from my left side. My theory is that their little lizard brains know that most humans are right-handed, and so if it all goes to hell and I try to catch them and eat them instead of buying them food from California and special blankets for them to sleep on - they have a better chance of getting away if they approach from the left side. I'm ready for my Nobel Prize on this issue.

Next - time to sleep. Again, both cats sleep on me - Splotchy across my neck and Maddie on my legs. Splotchy's route includes a loud meow and some scratching on the cat tower. He requires an invitation to get up on the bed (a light hand pat on the mattress) after his LOUD PRONOUNCEMENT THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO BE ON THE BED, and only then will he hop up. Maddie does her route silently, and dramatically flops down on me like she's been working all day in the coal mines, when what she's really been doing is sleeping on her special bed in my office.

And finally - the proof to my theory. Cat-built Boston.

I'd also like a Nobel Prize for that, thank you very much!

So here's my watercolor video of this card. I hope you enjoy it. To enter my giveaway of the gently used stamp set in this video, leave me a comment on this post with what you are going to do this weekend. All online orders also get extra entries, as usual. You can place your order here, using host code 4SNBQJUA. 

And speaking of winners - here is the winner of the Crafty Friends stamp set - please email me your shipping address!:

Loveyameanitbye.