Happy _____________

Tomorrow is my birthday, but my family is making today "My Birthday Observed" for reasons of scheduling. That's fine by me. But today marks a very special anniversary: Exactly one year ago, I was leaving the gym and spied something small and white darting around the parked cars in the lot. When I realized that this was a kitten and it was alone, I started trying to catch her. I enlisted Rachel and Dad to bring some smelly wet food and a carrier, and once they showed up with the goods, the actual capture of the kitten was easy.

We weren't planning to KEEP Hazel-- we already had three cats, so we were going to just foster her. But she started purring when we brought her in, and didn't stop for several days. How can you say no to a sweetie like that?

And so, what would have just been the day of her rescue turned into the date she got a permanent (purr-manent!) home.

She has grown to be pretty big at about 12 pounds, though she's still tiny compared to the boys. And even though she's the youngest cat, she has the oldest, biggest voice, and lots to say.

We love you, Hazel!!

And also Happy Birthday to me.

it's nice having a camera

The Chinese Pistache in the front yard has been growing a lot and I thought it would be fun to take a photo every day and see its progress. I've focused on one particular branch. Yesterday:


Today:


In knitting news, I've finally gotten a pic of my Picovoli in its finished state. Not a GREAT picture, taken in the computer room with indoor light and stuff, but whatever.



And one final thing, a treat. Banzai went into the closet in the computer room (the only walk-in closet upstairs, and ironically the one that is NOT attached to somebody's bedroom) and seemed to be pursuing something. I watched him put a paw in the wire drawer where some of my fabric is stored, and then proceed to put the rest of himself in too.

Yawwwwwn.

I love pictures of cats yawning or otherwise engaged in having their mouths open. This is Timmy, on Rachel's bed.
I made myself a shirt, Picovoli, but I haven't taken any pictures of it since I finished it. I do have one from when I was working on it and hadn't decided how much longer to make it:

I like it, and it fits well. I used size 5 needles and four skeins of Lion Brand Microspun for it, which feels really nice but tends toward splittiness while knitting. It's also 100% acrylic, so it's not the BEST for garments, but whatever. It reduced my stash.
This is a top I may well make again.
Rachel and I both have gotten new assignments at Pearson (used to be Harcourt), so that's good. It's not a job I've been pining after or anything, but it'll be money, and we'll be working together (ish). We start Wednesday--THIS Wednesday--so that makes me wonder whether they were, you know, planning to get some scorers? Was it a case of divine Providence for them that we called? What a mystery!

Cutie

It's been really hard lately to do much of anything.
My Cutie, best friend of almost 20 years, has gone. He isn't suffering anymore, and for that I am glad, but I am utterly distraught. He was the most gentle and loving cat in the world, and he admirably tolerated such things as my childhood, a mother who chewed off his whiskers, and having to get shots in his eyes. There were many times when we thought the end was close, but he pulled through and outlived any of our expectations.



I think it was about three years ago that Rachel was home alone with him (Mom and Dad were visiting family, and I was in Austin taking a summer class), when he took a very bad turn and she took him to the vet to be told that he had a tumor, and wouldn't last long, so she should take him home and spoil him. At his age, he had little chance of surviving cancer treatment and even if he did, his quality of life would greatly decrease. It wasn't worth it. So we spoiled him, and he stuck around for it longer than we thought he would. Every day with him was a gift.

I've finished the knitting on my Market Squares bag, and that seems like such a worthless accomplishment.
But I think it's good, in my grieving, to keep on doing productive things instead of hiding under my covers all day and wishing I were dead too, so I'm trying.

Bummer and WIP

I finally got my Winter issue of Interweave Knits...


So I wrote them an e-mail as per the instructions on the website. They must be sick of hearing from me about this damned issue. Oh well! It's not really my problem!


At least the Market Squares Bag, which I started yesterday, is progressing nicely.

Banzai is inspecting my work. It's his job. I love the colors I've got, and I'm doing the tiers in a different color sequence because the final color (an off-white not seen in this photo) wasn't added to the project until after I'd started on that beige there and the two next to eachother lacked contrast and that just wouldn't work. And don't worry, according to somebody on Ravelry (I forget who), even the off-white color of this yarn felts. Huzzah.
This is such a learning project for me. Hem, entrelac, felting. And I'm finding that wool is really a pleasant yarn to work with.

Some knitting, but mostly cats

KNITTING

I finished another string bag and it has already been put to that most noble purpose of carrying a yarn store purchase, since we ate lunch at India Oven today and were so close that we had to go to Yarnivore. I spent $40. I am weak. But from that I should get a bag, some socks, and some playing, so it's not TOO bad, right...?

CATS

Cutie, now 19.5 years old, has been climbing the stairs mom made him to get up onto her bed to enjoy the sun that comes through the window and warms it. I love pictures of Cutie sleeping. He looks so peaceful and his back paws are crossed.


This cat below lives in our neighborhood and likes to hang around our yard. I guess she's probably about a year old or so.

Two examples of "Cozy"

Timothy has found my pillow to be juuuust the right size for himself. It's the kind that has an indentation in the middle, and is good for supporting my neck while I sleep, but Timmy discovered its secret other purpose of cat bed. Such a clever boy.
Oh yeah, and remember how I sometimes knit? Well, I've actually got a FO to show, but it's tiny.

My favorite lip-balm, Burt's Bees, had become lost! I was pretty distraught and for a week or so went around with dry lips. My Mom, my hero, bought me a new tube and I vowed to never lose it again, so I made a cozy. Not much later the old tube showed up, but oh well. I used a minuscule amount of Sugar 'n Cream in countryside ombre, and US size six needles. I saw it as an opportunity to play with double-knitting, and I really like the way the yarn makes stripes when I used so few stitches. Now it's attached to my keychain so I can't leave home without it.

Eventually, I'll post photos of my brand new socks! Won't that be nice?

Stripey wrist-warmers

I did not knit these. All I did was cut the holey parts (the feet) off some knee-socks and then make a ruffly edge with the sewing machine. But they're cute anyway, and I like that this photo includes my Banzai inspecting my work.

So many pictures.

Heh heh heh.
These are very belatedly posted, even though they were finished and given to their recipients before Christmas. But... uh... well, no time like the present to post them!


And I'd like to say that Ravelry has inspired me to get on the ball about this stuff (I can be found there as Angeluhh) but it didn't. It was Cutie. I took some cute pictures of him with my parents' camera today and then borrowed said camera to get the pictures off it and found our Christmas pictures too.



Cutie turned 19 on July 4th and he's my inspiration. I thought he looked super sweet rolled up like that. I love you Cutie.

But here are some things Ravelry DID inspire me to photograph (I am so bad at the taking pictures):
Needle Roll that I made when I'd just started knitting.



And my Shapely Tank that I've been wearing a LOT this summer (see that unfortunate color pooling? Yeeeeah.):


And finally, my Lutea Lace-Sleeved Shell, which I've also been wearing a lot but which I washed in the washer making it fuzzy. I need shots of me actually wearing these but something > nothing, yes?


And now finally, my Work-in-Progress.

I love the way this yarn looks in the feather & fan pattern, and it's easy enough I can work it in front of the TV or whatever. The only concern I have is that my yarns so far are two different dye lots, but that didn't really dawn on me until I had gotten quite far into skein #2 and said, "Oh my, these don't quite match." I'm debating whether it's noticeable enough to rip out... which I do not want to do.