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Why the black cat mascot?

Well for one I am huge animal lover but I myself have always been owed by a black cat. The black kitty I now have is the 3rd black kitty I have had in my life. When I was young I had one we named "Inky". Inky was a sweet and kind creature who stuck with me for many years. Always by my side and there to greet me when I came home from school. She was later mauled to death right in front of my eyes in alley behind the home I lived in with my parents here in Miami Florida.  I never have forgotten her but felt I left her behind since we moved from that place where she was buried under a mango tree.

Many years later I would get married to a wonderful person whom almost 17 years later I am still proud to say is the true love of my life. My mom's cat had kittens and they were all starting to get ill. One by one they started to die and it was sad for the momma cat and our family to see. The mother was a grey striped tabby cat and all but one of her young looked just like her. That one that was not like her or the others was solid black. I took this baby away from her mom thinking strongly it was the mother who had the problem causing the tiny kittens deaths slowly one by one. 12 ½ years we had Misha until Cancer took her away from us and brought her back to sit the rest of her days in the lap of the Lord's.

Almost one year to the day we got another tiny young solid black kitten Punumpkin (Whitties, Whittles, Peenie, Peen and Monkey whom we also affectionately call Misha II) and today a little more than three years later she is the mascot you see throughout this website. To me she is magic and she makes me happy, so in some way having her throughout the site I hope will make everyone who surfs the many pages are made happy to.

Click thumbnail image above for a closer look

Here she is all curled up in a salad bowl. Believe it or not she prefers to eat salad right from this same bowl.

What is Rafia?

A large palm tree grows leaves that can be stripped and dried to create raffia strands. Raffia, like jute or hemp twine, is a natural fiber that can be woven like straw, tied like silk ribbons, or packed like Styrofoam pills. Milliners, crafters, and florists enjoy using the grass-like material for a variety of projects and gifts.

The creamy-brown colored lengths come from a specific palm tree that originally grew only on the island of Madagascar. Raphia farinifera actually has the largest leaves of any palm tree, so it is a logical source for fiber. The fibrous leaves are cut off and torn apart in parallel lines to yield very long strips of raffia. The tree is now cultivated specifically for harvest and export in East Africa, as well.

Crafters value raffia for being soft, durable, and easy to dye. It can take the place of cord, grass, leaves, fabric, ribbon, stuffing, floral string, and even paper. A wide variety of hats, mats, baskets, bags, and twine are made from natural raffia. Often, it is invaluable to outdoor projects because it doesn't

What is the difference between wicker and rattan?

nterestingly enough, enough people have asked this question to warrant its inclusion on many furniture companies' FAQ lists. There is a definite difference between wicker and rattan, but you're going home with a wicker recliner or rattan dog bed nevertheless. What we're really talking about is a product versus a process.

In its original form, rattan is a relative of the tropical palm tree. Rattan starts to grow upwards like a tree, but then bends back to the ground and snakes through the rain forest like a vine. After a few years of growth, the rattan vines are cut into 12 to 18 foot (about 3.7 to 5.5 meters) sections and hauled away for drying. Furniture companies who specialize in wicker or rattan furniture often have processing plants in the Philippines or Southeast Asia to treat the rattan and ship it out to large furniture manufacturing plants in America. North Carolina has a significant number of wicker and rattan furniture companies.

Rattan is considered to be one of the strongest woods available, since its grain grows vertically instead of forming the concentric rings of most other hardwoods. The straight rattan is usually steamed and then bent into the desired shape through the use of specialized shapers. Once the rattan has dried, it will retain its shape forever. These rattan poles are often used to form the frames of what will become rattan or wicker furniture.

Here's where the difference between rattan and wicker lies. Rattan is a specific material, but wicker is the general process of weaving rattan or other materials into finished goods. A rattan chair is definitely made from rattan, but a wicker chair may use other materials such as straw or bamboo slats around a rattan frame.

There is no material on Earth called wicker. Some manufacturers may even use the phrase cane furniture in place of either rattan or wicker. It is essentially the same thing as wicker, but the material used in the weaving may or may not be rattan.

Rattan vines may also be peeled mechanically to form thin slats for weaving. The curved outer layer is also used as a decorative trim to hide the rough seams created by the wicker process. Bamboo may also be used for trim, but rarely as a form. Bamboo is hollow, which means it often cracks when steamed and bent. Rattan is solid, which makes it an ideal material for the lightweight but solid furniture we commonly call wicker.

What's a Test Probe?