Cheers

So awhile back I mentioned to Femblog that I was working at developing my sock yarn remnant stash - you know, for baby socks and stuffed animal clothing. She offered to send me some and they came today:


You will note, that there are other things that came in the package (and there was chocolate but that didn't make it into the house). I naively believed that she would send the yarn by itself, or perhaps accompanied by a card. The yarn looks kick-ass and if I pack fast tonight I'll be using some of it. There was a bookmark with cats on it that has made its way to my current reading book. The book in the package - Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French is hilarious.
Sample day:

Monday
Morning: Slept.
Afternoon: Slept.
Evening: Ate grass. Scratched.
Night: Ate grass. Slept.

I laughed so much at this book - I made Cory right away and told him it was soooo funny - his response after reading the book: "sweetie, you're funny" - I don't know if that means he liked it or it was funny that I liked it so much.

And then there was a postcard pointing out where there are girl guide cookie sales - it is probably a good thing that I currently live in an apartment - zero will power to say no to kids selling things at my door. On the back of the card she wrote that she couldn't resist sending me more than yarn - well, once I figure out what to send back there will be a return parcel, even before getting the package I was thinking of what I could send as a thank you... We'll call it a swap and I owe you.

Tomorrow I head off to Denver for the SRCD conference (Society for Research in Child Development). I'm excited, but now I have to pack. I'm not bringing any knitting (I know, sacrilege) because my wrists are acting up after knitting the second monkey sock very quickly. Yep, I've got the sock bug - now I just have to get them out of the drawer and use them and worry less about ruining them.



I will, hopefully, be distracted and busy enough such that I don't notice the lack of yarn for 4 days. We'll see...

Wordless Wednesday: Plant edition

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
13/03/2009

Cat update: getting along better - bad vocalizations have decreased, not sure if snuggling has resumed

Cat Dental Extraction #1

There is a problem with being proud of how well your cats get along - when they stop doing so, even for a few hours or days, your ego takes a hit. I don't know why I feel personally responsible for how well our kitties get along - all Cory and I have done is make sure that we got them at a young impressionable age, and at the same time, from the same place. For the past 4 years (almost) they have gotten along splendidly - with only occasional fights that amounted to nothing really, only a bit of hissing and running away.

But yesterday Zoie had her dental (it went well and cost a lot less than I was expecting, and she only had one tooth extracted). She came home with "vet smell" and Ellie didn't like it - never mind that she was clingy while Zoie was away (they've never been apart - they even got spayed on the same day...) Ellie didn't like Zoie, she smelled funny. We were expecting this, afterall, Zoie was still feeling the effects of the procedure and medications - but we didn't expect Ellie to stay pissy. Now Ellie doesn't like the way Zoie's breath smells - she goes up to Zoie, smells her breath and hisses then runs away growling. Hopefully this means that they will go back to normal as soon as a) Zoie's breath smells normal (whatever that is) or b) Ellie gets her own bad breath (Friday).

I was woken up several times with Ellie hissing and it wasn't fun this morning either. No fighting, but a lot of bad vocalizations. The sad thing is that Zoie is meowing at me more and looking at Ellie - she doesn't seem to understand why her friend won't snuggle. We are snuggling her even more than usual but it still breaks my heart to see the poor interactions. Hopefully they will be back on better terms soon. I think it is ridiculous how affected I am about the poor interactions but I can't change it.

This fighting between the cats just reinforces the fact that we have to take both cats in when we go to the vet whenever possible. We'd been doing that before because we figured it was less stress that way - their personalities mesh well - Zoie hides at the back of the cage and trembles and Ellie sits at the front and tells the vet to go to hell or worse (she's all meow and no bite though - she spits and stuff but never even scratches the vet). All in all the vet figures that Ellie has a better stress reaction because her heart rate doesn't increase during annual examinations, but Zoie's at least doubles.

K, enough about the cats... Knitting news, I finished a second sock - the one on 00 needles - only to find out that because I switched needle brands the second one didn't fit and I had to rip back to the heel. The new brand doesn't hurt my wrists so I'll go up a size and see how that goes. But even the first one doesn't fit well - the problem is my arches - they make my instep really high and I've now had several pairs of socks that fit poorly in the ankles. These ones would fit if I lost some ankle weight - I should loose weight anyways, so hopefully some will come off of the ankles...

Tapped

Bottled water is a problem - and I think it is a bigger problem than I thought before. This YouTube video is a trailer for an upcoming documentary about the issues surrounding bottled water and water rights - in the US... but similar things are likely occurring in Canada - and some of the issues pertain to the oceans, and thus are global issues, not American issues. I found the trailer over on Shivaya Naturals.



If the trailer interests you, I suggest you read The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. There is a chapter or two in there about plastics. Overall it is a really good book that I'm not sure I've talked about here. Each chapter is somewhat stand alone - this is a good thing for someone like me who would read a chapter each day on the bus. It covers things like what would happen to our bridges, oil plants, water systems, if suddenly humans disappeared. And it talks about how long our effects would show on the earth.

Wordless Wednesday: Bench

12/03/2009
Canon Powershot SD1100IS

Mitered Square Blanket Update

The seaming is complete - I now need to add a border and I think I will be putting a fabric backing on it to prevent stretching. I love how colourful it is. It was laid out neater but then Cory walked all over it on purpose.



And folded



I'll give the dimensions once I put a border on it - I'll be doing a garter stitch picture frame border in several colours. I want to use up more of this Decor yarn. Ellie still approves of the blanket and has been supervising the placement of blocks and the seaming.

Pi(e) Day

Happy Pi day everyone (pi equals roughly 3.1415 and today is 3/14 - in 2015 I think the mathematicians will call a national holiday).

Mitered square blanket progresses - I will likely post pictures tomorrow. So much sewing - I miss knitting. But this multiple project thing doesn't work so well for me, I like the process but I like seeing progress - so a single project at a time gives me the most pleasure it seems...

Side note: the whale thing that I knit for my headphones - yea, Zoie decided it was hers and took it, headphones and all that night - twice. So it is now hers, minus the headphones and plus a cat ball that has a bell in it. The eyes are sewn on really well so it is good to go for now but today or tomorrow those eyes are coming off because Zoie gets violent with her toys.

Wordless Wednesday: African Violets

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
24/02/2009

Everyone in the blog-o-sphere seems to be posting pictures of crocuses and saying that spring is on its way. Well here in Calgary old man winter is exerting his dominance again - more snow and no signs of spring. We had some warm-ish weather for a few days but it was really just a teaser.

The time change was a bit of a pain in the arse but at least now there is sunlight when I leave work (always a bonus) and the cat still thinks that the time hasn't changed so she doesn't wake me up before the alarm (definitely a bonus).

The cats both have dental work scheduled in two weeks - that will be painfully expensive (I figure $900-1000 per cat) but it is necessary - they will both need extractions. I'm glad that it is soon because then it will be over with. I'm having a fair amount of anxiety about the process. I'm just thankful that we have the money right now - though redoing the flooring will be delayed as will the spinning wheel. It is just as well with the spinning wheel because I seriously don't have the time. In terms of yarn money... well I've got some nice stuff in a box beside me that I want to use before I buy more - which is hard now that I'm looking on etsy and reading even more blogs - the list on the side is out of date.

I'm still a bit sick - mainly just coughing during the night and blowing my nose more than often during the day. And so far Cory isn't sick... (crosses fingers that it stays that way).

I took a break from seaming the mitered square blanket and knit up this little guy.



The pattern is a free pattern - Moby Dick (second one is a ravelry link)by Brenda Burrell (ravelry link) of Artemis Adornments. Quick, easy and kinda cute. Mine has a bit of a pointy head, not sure why - but with earbuds coming out his mouth I think he looks great.

Cheers!

Wordless Thursday: the I forgot yesterday was Wednesday edition

01/03/2009
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi

PS - The kitties immediately started chomping on the flowers - mainly the leaves but also some stems. Last night Ellie couldn't find her favorite toy to play fetch with so she brought Cory a piece of a leaf...