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By Jean, on December 22nd, 2010
We were thrilled with the response to our Spay-ghetti dinner and the Craft Fair. (So thrilled that we are already planning the 2011 event!)
Now we have even more to be thrilled about. Our friend Ryan Knowles has once again obtained a donation for us, this time in the amount of $2,500.00!! This makes Ryan our single biggest contributor and there is no way we can thank him enough for his efforts on behalf of our feral cats. He is a remarkable young man!
A few days later an entirely unexpected donation came in from the social club at Meyers Norris Penny. Who knew that Casual Fridays could net $1,220.00 for the feral cats!?
Our vet bills for 2010 may well be the biggest to date, but thanks to these generous souls and to all the others who have been so generous over the year, we are going to be going forward into 2011 with a greatly reduced debt load. No debt and money in the bank would be a lovely position to be in, but we are grateful for what we have and don’t expect even more miracles than we have already experienced in 2010.
We are wishing all our friends a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year, and we look forward to seeing all of you again in 2011.
By Jean, on November 22nd, 2010
 We have a proposal up on the Aviva Community Funds site, hoping to get funding for ongoing low cost clinics for low income people in the Cowichan Valley. YOU CAN HELP! PLease go to http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf10542 and register and then vote for us. You can vote every day and we would love it if you would do that — we could fix several hundred cats and kittens with that funding, and greatly reduce the number of abandoned or surrendered kitties in the Valley while improving life for the cats and kittens that we would spay/neuter and vaccinate.
We would be even more thrilled if you would pass this link on to every one on your Facebook friend list, your Twitter buddies, and your e-mail contacts — with a request that they do the same thing to get the word out! The only way we can get this funding is with a huge show of community support — and we are counting on you all to provide that. Thankyou so much for your support!
By Jean, on November 17th, 2010
As promised, a 12 serving sized version of the salad dressing we made for the dinner:
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup corn syrup
3 T grated Romano cheese
2 T dry pectin *OR 1/2 cup mayo
2 T beaten egg
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced parsley
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Pinch dried oregano
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Combine all ingredients in blender and blend well. Chill for at least an hour.
The salad we served was inspired by the Olive Garden house salad — mixed greens and lettuce with sliced red onion, pitted olives, grape tomatoes, rings of mild hot peppers, garlic croûtons and a good sprinkle of fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Combine and toss with the dressing.
Hope you enjoy it!
By Jean, on November 7th, 2010
Less than a week to go! Next Saturday, November 13th, we will be at the Moose Lodge doing our thing! We have a good group of volunteers lined up for both parts of the event but can always use more! The craft fair could use a few more people to work at taking admissions, helping out with the silent auction, working the sales tables for the bake sale and the rummage / book/ craft tables. Donations for the sales and auctions would be appreciated, of course. But most of all — WE STILL NEED AN EMCEE/AUCTIONEER!
And speaking of the auction — there will be a quilt or two in the auction. Pictures will go on the Facebook page and on the events page in the next day or two.
By Jean, on October 24th, 2010
We are going flat out, getting ready for the Christmas Party. We have a new location this year and a new format for the event. We will be at the Moose Lodge in Duncan on November 13th, we will have a one day craft fair rather than the two days we have done in the past, and this year we are adding a “Spay-ghetti & No Balls Dinner” to the fun.
Of course events like this are only as good as the volunteers who put them together and we could use a lot of help to make this the best Christmas Party yet! If you can: sell tickets, put up posters, invite all your Facebook friends, collect donations for the auctions and prizes, bake goodies for the bake sale, make some craft items we can sell, we could sure use you! If you have other talents and could help set up tables and booths or take them down at the end of the day, could work a shift in the kitchen, wait tables, collect admissions at the door, we can use you! And if you can help us find an auctioneer who would be willing to donate an hour or so to our cause we would be extremely grateful — we have a chef, we have musicians, we have a bartender, but we still don’t have an auctioneer… Any takers?
By Jean, on September 6th, 2010
We have been lucky enough to be able to continue the scrap metal drive with Steel Pacific through the month of September. We are hoping that even more people will check out that pile of interesting stuff behind the garage or the barn and give us a call. If it is metal it can be turned into money to apply to our vet bills and we want it! Even very small amounts — much less than people would normally be paid for — will be added to our total and will be a significant help to us. If you have a lot, please call us so we can make whatever arrangements might be necessary to get the stuff moved. One guy has already donated a car — a bit of a hassle to get it moved, but it happened and we are delighted! A few more of those and the vets in the Valley will be very happy. And we will be able to get back to work doing what we do best, spaying and neutering feral cats.
By Jean, on August 29th, 2010
 Cow at the Fair Great day at the Cobble Hill Fair! Perfect weather, nice people, that midway smell of fried food — what more could you want? Make a point of going next year — this is a tradition well worth preserving!
It is always great to meet people who have only been a voice on the phone and fun to hear all the cat stories from people who stop to chat. And then there are the other cat stories! As a result of one lady stopping by, two of our helpers at the booth left the Fair and took a quick trip over to Shawnigan Village to look for the cat with kittens at the recycling dumpsters. While they did not see the kitties, they did see a food dish and talked to a gentleman who reported that there is a lady feeding and catching the kittens. We would love to talk to her! If anyone has more information about this, please call or send an e-mail or make a comment on this post. We might be able to help.
By Jean, on August 21st, 2010
We are pleased to be switching our web site over to a WordPress site, which will allow us to do the updates immediately as they happen. This may take a couple of days, so please have patience!
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