Happy Birthday Bert

August 14, 2004 was a big day in our family but at the time I didn't know it. That was the day a cute little bundle of energy was born.

3 months later this little bundle came to live with Chief and me and he told us his name was Bert. Bert has made our lives much fuller and taught us many things.

Bert showed us how to do his best Yoda impersonation on the first day he came to us.

It took a few days for Chief to get used to this little guy but soon they were sharing everything including meals.


Bert learned how to sit and would spend long lengths of time sitting up just looking at the world

He loves to watch TV but has decided Craig Ferguson is his favorite.

Bert and Chief love to play with each other. Just like all little boys they play hard and they play rough.

After a hard day of playing Bert loves to relax and watch more TV.

Bert has been a great hunter lately. He helped stop 2 mice from setting up housekeeping. This great skill came from hours and hours of practicing catching the little gray mousey.

One of Bert best skills the past 6 years has been to pose for pictures. Tell him you have a camera and he strikes his best pose. Or should I say - I tell him I have a camera because as cute and full of energy as this little guy is - he's scared of people. No one gets to meet Bert which is just a shame.

So little guy - sit back and enjoy your birthday. Today you'll get some special treats and big snuggle time. Thanks for agreeing to be a member of our family and bringing so much joy.

What Goes on In That Little Head?

Bert is a strange little kitty. He's got all the energy in the world and a love for life that you can't believe. He's a happy little boy but, he's a scare little boy.



I think things went "wrong" for him when he was young and he got a deep inner ear infection. During that whole time period he spent much of his time having vets poke at parts of his body he didn't enjoy. He ended up with a fear of strangers. He also ended up with bell's palsy on one side. His eye doesn't blink and his ear doesn't wiggle around.



This no blinking eye thing makes for great pictures of him "winking" but it made him very protective of his eye and he hides from the world. When its just the three of us in the house (Chief, Bert and me) he runs around like a maniac, getting into all sorts of trouble. Poking his head into anything and everything.

Sometimes he doesn't fit into the places he finds so well but that doesn't stop him. If I call his name he appears almost instantly from wherever he's sleeping or hiding.

But usually, I don't have to call for him because he's always near. When I sit and knit he's on top on me or in the rocker next to my chair. But, with all with wanting to be around me and Chief, he needs to protect his bad side.

Bert needs to be where he can make a quick escape in case there's a strange noise outside. He doesn't like to be held too long but loves to be pet if he's got his feet on the ground or a solid surface.

Bert is one cool kitty and I'm glad he's part of my life - even if I can't figure out what's going on in his little head!

You don't need to understand me - just love me. - Bert

It's my fault

Simulated view of what I saw at 4:16am this morning.

MOM! THE FOOD BOWL IS EMPTY! - Bert

All's Well That Ends Well

Back in Shakespeare's day the part of the lady was played by boys. Women were not allowed to act until Gwyneth Paltrow decided she wanted to act because she fell in love with Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love - 1998). But that's another story.

Today in our production of Romeo and Juliet the part of Juliet will be played by none other than Bert.

All good actors have their own dresser. Bert is no different. Chief works endless grooming Bert in preparation for the part.
And grooms - and grooms.


Finally Bert's prep is completed by Chief and Bert is ready for his close up.

The crowd anxiously awaits the beginning of the play and they are especially looking forward to the balcony scene.

"Romeo, Romeo, where are you, Chief?" - Bert

"Oh how embarrassing! I can't believe I blew my line!" - Bert

Well - it looks like Bert won't be pursuing the acting career much longer. This Comedy of Errors is over and it appears to have been Much Ado about Nothing. Measure for Measure this may have been a poor Winter's Tale but I'll end here - As you Like it.

On the Mend

It's been 1 1/2 weeks since my surgery and I'm definitely on the mend. I've managed to make a couple things in the kitchen (although I was totally worn out after) and I've had my 2nd post surgery Dr. appointment today.

The Dr. says everything is mending as it should. We removed the stitches and I have permission to stand lightly on my foot. AND take a real shower!! I still can't walk on it and doing anything more than getting to the kitchen and back to beyond current capability but we're moving the right direction. I have another appointment in 2 weeks and that will tell whether I'm ready for work or not.

In the meantime it's lots of naps, lots of TV, some knitting, and lots of cuddle time with "The Boys".

I like taking naps on your lap, Mom. - Bert

Any Horizontal Surface

Sunday I put up the ironing board to block some past projects - a couple were on last post. As usual I didn't quite get around to putting it away. The rule in our house is: if there is a horizontal surface it will be covered with my junk or a cat or both. I couldn't believe that all of Sunday the board remained clear.
Monday same thing. The board remained clear.
Tuesday things started to happen. Every time Chief would walk past the board he'd put both front paws up on the board and check it out. He'd then walk away.
Tuesday night he finally found out it was a horizontal surface.

Mom, why didn't you tell me this was a place to sit? - Chief

Yea, fine. Whatever. - Bert

You know I could get used to this. Long - padded. Good to stretch out on. Good kitty rest. - Chief

Well, here it is Wednesday. This new kitty rest is JUST right! Thanks Mom. - Chief

I hate to tell him I'm taking it down tonight. Poor Chief.

FYI - Bert still hasn't figured out its a place to stretch out. Cute but slow.......

Best Sleeping Positions

Every once in a while you look at your world and decide some changes need to be made. You have an old car that costs more to fix than its worth. You have piles of things on the table so it can't be used. You're in a loveless marriage and need to get out. My world is not so dramatic.

My big thing I need to change is my wardrobe. I think its time to make a new night gown. This one is over 15 years old and looks everyday of it. Mom is probably rolling over in her grave seeing me wearing something this raggy!

I may not have made a new nightgown lately but I have made progress on some knitting. I found a Lace Edge Hat pattern I liked and made it out of Malabrigo. It's yummy and wonderful. After I made the hat I decided to come up with some gauntlets that would match. First one is done and of course I didn't take any notes on my increases and such so I've been going a little slower making the second one. Turns out I have enough Malabrigo to make a small scarf also. Once I get the scarf finished I'll write these up and share them with you all. I'll also hunt up the hat pattern source so you can make a complete set.

While I've been knitting the Boys have been doing what they do best - sleep.

Bert likes to sleep on top of the TV cabinet. Here's his favorite pose. I know its because the the heat that comes from the cable box in the cabinet but its still pretty funny.

Even when he hears something he manages to check it out without losing "The Pose".

Once he's sure everything is safe and there's no real live person coming into our cave he relaxes and settles down to some serious sleeping again.

Don't ya just love the hind foot action!

Meanwhile, Chief sleeps where Chief sleeps best - on the recliner between my legs.

The black thing on the bottom of the picture is my laptop. I can handle Chief on the right arm of the chair, Bert on the left arm, the lap top of (of course) my lap and knitting in front of the computer. What else do you need!

Life is good around here if you ignore my nightgown!

Let sleeping kitties lie

Two days off with rain and dark skies meant I didn't go work at the other house cause there's no electricity up there and it's hard to see what you're doing in the dark. So, I hung out with the boys and did some knitting and working at this house. I managed to fill a large garbage can sized recycle bin and half a garbage can. Maybe some year I'll get through all Mom & Dad's stuff. but - I won't hold my breath!

I see you down there big kitty! - Bert

ZZZZ zzzz- Chief

Mom, I don't think this thing is big enough to be a scarf or shawl yet. Guess you have to keep knitting and letting me sleep in your lap. - Chief

Yup, Chief has been very good at keeping me company while I knit billions and billions little sock yarn squares to make a scarf or shawl or ??? we'll see what this thing grows up to be one of these days.

Here is hair, there is hair, everywhere is Bert Hair

Last summer we added a new member to the family when my cousin's daughter got married. It was a long awaited event because all of us really like the groom. They are the perfect couple. Well - they aren't the perfect couple anymore. Life happens but in this case - life happens in a wonderful way. The perfect couple is now a perfect family.

Layla joined the family this summer and we all got together Labor Day to meet and greet at her Aunt's house. She is 7 weeks in this picture. Our family always seems to do things in a big way. Layla is currently at the 98% in height and weight for her age. I'm guessing she'll graduate college on a basketball scholarship when she's 7 or 8 years old at this rate!
But she is beautiful, sweet and will be raised very well by her fantastic parents. Best of all her grandma is a knitter so between the two of us (mostly her grandma!) she will be covered in cozy knits while growing up!

Speaking of "covered in" I have a problem in my house that I try to ignore. Bert is not a big cat. He is only 9 lb. He is a short hair cat. But- he is a British Shorthair which means a very thick coat. Apparently that breed also means the thick coat regrows itself daily. I get tons more hair off Bert with short hair and only 9 lb then I do off Chief (a Ragdoll) with long hair and a big 18 lb. Go figure!

This morning I combed Bert's back. Straight back from his neck to his tail. Didn't comb the sides. Didn't comb the belly. Nothin' but back. Every stoke of the comb brought up more fur - lots more fur.

Here's a shot of the fur taken off Bert's back this morning. I'm sure I could have gotten more if I kept going.

It's no wonder I have a coating of fur on everything I own. I actually went shopping for pants the other day and ended up with cat fur on the pair I tried on in the dressing room where they had never even seen Bert. It's sad but I do love my little boy and a bit of fur isn't going to stop me from stritching his back whenever possible. But this doesn't answer why he is always laying around with his belly and feet in the air. He must be so hot with all that fur!

Being a knitting blog I should throw in some knitting. Here's a red cabled vest I've been working on. It's done but I haven't had the time to write up the instructions or block it. The picture is kind of bad on purpose - I don't want to give away all the details until the pattern is ready. It will be for larger sizes because there just aren't enough things that go over 48". If I can't find what I want - I'll make it and hopefully find time to write things up and share my designs with fellow biggies.
Today - off to hunt up yarn to finish a shawl I've been working on. Wish me luck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Bert!

It's my 5th birthday today so Mom said I could do the blog. She says she'll post another one later but this one - is mine!
Here I am practising my "what a cute kitty I am" look. It gets Mom every time. All I have to do is hear her say my name and I come running to jump up on the rocking chair at say "HI" to her. Sometimes I get treats but most of the time just a quick cuddle . I like cuddles.

Mom left a tote bag on the floor and its the best ever! I can roll on it and guess what -

It has these things that hang off it that are perfect for grabbing and playing with AND it matches my fishy.

Look - here's my fishy on the tote. Don't they look perfect together? I love my fishy.

Well, I have to get back to my busy schedule. I think Mom is going to get me a special treat for my birthday. Birthdays are fun!

Staycation

First off - sorry about the bad picture. While I was driving this week I noticed the car was about to roll over to 50,000. I grabbed my cell phone and managed a picture while driving in rush hour (do not attempt this at home!) . However - in the process, as I took the pic a car decided the 1/2 car space in front of me was his and I had to hit the brakes. Result - bad pic.

50K miles later I still love my "car". It's a Saturn Vue (SUV) and I was very worried during the GM trauma this past year when they talked about Saturn going away. Luckily it was sold and will still be around for us. People who own Saturns tend to be loyal. Just ask my cousin (on his 2nd), my Aunt & Uncle, my Dad (well- you can ask but he wouldn't remember), or other friends who have Saturns. We love them. I loved my L200 and when I got a good deal to trade up - I jumped on it. Here's to 50K more years.




Today I went for a ride over to the area St Paul . There's a spice store (Penzey's) over by the Yarnery and I decided a road trip would be fun. Penzey's is about 4-5 blocks east of the Yarnery so I headed over there first. Easy parking (15 minutes) because it is a bit away from the main Victoria/Grand shopping area. I didn't plan on being in too long so 15 minutes worked well.

I ran in, browsed for spices, grabbed a catalog as they have great on line store, and left a few minutes later with some needed spices. I don't know if I'd ever make a special trip there again but, I'm on staycation and it was an adventure.

Somehow on the way back I ended up on Summit Ave. (one block off Grand) and found a few homes for sale that I thought might be big enough to hold my stash and other junk (precious bits of life memories).





What do you think? Would you be able to find enough room here for the stash? Just think - top floor could be all crafts. One room for the stash, a room for a knitting retreat, one for sewing, one for the knitting machines..... I'm sure with today's economy the price would be nice and low and easy to finance. Maybe you like a stone house instead.





This one is for sale also. That front jut out area on the right - looks like a great place to have a knitting group meet. Just saying....


These pictures were also taken with my cell phone while driving. I discovered its much easier to take pictures while driving if you are going under 30 MPH and nobody is trying to cut you off!





You may have noticed- no mention of what I got at The Yarnery. Well.... after driving down Summit I turned right toward the freeway and after I was partway home I realized I didn't go back to Grand and stop at the shop. Guess I'll have to make another trip sometime this week.





Knitting Pictures



There are no knitting pictures.
I started making the Bella Mitten and decided I didn't like the look I was getting. RIPPED.
I started knitting knitting the Fake Fair Isle Hat - didn't like the 2 colors I picked out - RIPPED.
I started a sock-Bloomin' Socks . The yarn is OK for the pattern but there's so little knit that I didn't bother to take a picture.

So, of course, when there's no knitting pictures - throw in a cute kitty picture.
For some reason Bert has decided this week that he loves to sleep on the humidifier. It can't be comfortable, can it?
The only thing he likes better is in the winter when the humidifier is running and he tries to attack the source of the mist.

It's my special place and I WILL protect it! - Bert

Oh - FYI - work managed to go 6 hours without calling me with a problem. This was after I told them I would not be available cause I was going up north where the cell phones dont' work. Small lie but I really want to ignore work for a week! The reason for calling - they couldn't find the password to the voice message on the phone. That would be the post-it note that was left attached to the side of the phone right where I showed them it would be. Oh - nevermind.....

The Amazing New Cat Toy

This week I gave Bert a new toy. He loves it. He played with it in the Cat Cottage.

He played with it in the Cat Cottage for a long time.

He played with it outside the Cat Cottage and returned it to the cottage.

It fascinated him for a very long time.

Bert played with this new toy for 3 days before he got tired of it.

What was this great and wonderful toy that can hold a little boy's attention for 3 days? You're wondering where you can get one?

Simple, go buy a bag of candy wrapped in foil. Eat the candy and make a foil ball out of 4 of the wrappers. Toss this ball to the kitty - sit back and enjoy the show.

Why do we keep buying cat toys when our throw away stuff makes them just as happy!?!?!

It's A.......

The project is in the hands of its new owner so I can post pictures but first I have to say a HUGE Thank You to Deb - LosetheMittens on Ravelry. A couple weeks ago Deb was in town for a class and as it happened my Ravelry knitting group was meeting the one night she had available. I drove past downtown on the way to the group and picked up Deb. We had a quick supper at Culver's cause there aren't any where she's from and everyone has to try Culver's at least once. Then - on to the knitting group. We had a great time. I got her home.

This week I got a surprise in the mail. Deb sent it a new book. I absolutely love reading topical books - knitting mysteries; quilt series; etc. This book is "The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club" by Gil McNeil. It's a novel about a lady who is newly widowed and in need of a fresh start. I know I'm going to enjoy it and THANK YOU DEB!!!

It's a....... Afghan

I hang out on the She-Knits Podcast group on Ravelry a lot. Sharon started her podcast a while ago to create a cyber-knitting circle. When Ravelry came along she started a group where we have small talk everyday and -well- we are a chatty group. Over the past year I've come to know several of the ladies and had a chance to meet some, including Sharon, in person. We all care about each other as much as we would if we lived in the same town. When all this latest financial garbage hit Sharon's family I decided she needed a hug from the group. I send messages to several of the ladies and asked for 8" squares out of a cotton blend (wool itches her).

Within a short time I was receiving mail from all over the country as well as Germany, Japan and Puerto Rico. Chief helped sort the mail and he thoroughly enjoyed checking out the packages with plastic or tape.

Num, num num. I can't get enough plastic to chew - This is good stuff. - Chief

Once all the squares arrived, I crocheted around each one to give them a border and make it easier to stitch together. Lorri (LJWT on Ravelry) came over one Sunday afternoon and helped decide where the afghans should be and helped stitch it together.

All the squares have special meaning to the maker - there's a tree of life with 9 leaves- 2 for Sharon and her husband and 7 for their kids. There's a square on the top using the design of one of her bag patterns. There's one with 9 hearts for her family. I made her She-Knits logo.

There's a Queen Owl square because through some silliness on the forum Sharon became our Queen Owl. There's a fish because Sharon tells everyone to -keep on swimming.
Each square - a special meaning.

We needed one more square so Chief got in the act and knit his own square to add to the afghan.

Sharon opened the package Thursday. Part of the instructions were to turn on her podcast equipment before opening the box. If you want to hear her reaction you can listen.

It's amazing how connected we can be to people we don't even know in person. The Internet has created a new version of pen pals. What great is- I get a chance to meet some of these pen pals in person. Stitches Midwest I met some and I'll be seeing them again this year. I'll see Sharon again. In the meantime - she has a hug from the whole group.

Naptime

The boys have started taking naps together again. This spot is Chief's napping place. I guess Bert decided it was pretty comfortable and Chief is such a loving boy he'll snuggle with anyone.

He'll even give Bert a good bath in the morning. Bert is such a baby!