Chief takes over

Mom is busy so she said I could write a post. So all you kitties out there, get your Mom & Dad's out of the way and I'll tell you how to get extra cuddle time. I have Mom totally under my control and she doesn't even know it.

Step 1 - Get Mom's Attention. Sit on the arm of the chair while she's working on the laptop and stare at her with big blue eyes until she can't stand it anymore.


Step 2 - Once she has decided you're not going to give up, she'll help you get into the sweet spot between the computer and the arm. This spot is very comfortable for sleeping and Mom will even pet you while she is working on the computer.

Step 3 - After a while you may need to get her total attention because she's too busy with the computer and not petting you enough. Get up and crawl onto her chest where she can't ignore you. This will get you the best petting time.

In the meantime, Bert is very happy in the kitty cottage in his special spot. He just doesn't have the cuddle time thing figured out yet.

Leaking Brain Day

I read other blogs that have random posts and thought - what a good idea. Some days there are so many things bouncing around my brain I can't come up with a topic. Today is that kind of day. I haven't posted for a bit but really have nothing to post so today is -open up the gate and let the random stuff leak out.

1. I've had the week off and have done virtually nothing productive. Sure, I loaded up the car with donation stuff and drove over to the Bible for Missions store; and I finished my flying saucer socks; and I caught up on sleep and down time; and I got quite a bit done on a sweater; and I got a lot done on my pi shawl; and the laundry is being done as I type and the kitchen was cleaned but - when you think about it - that's a small list compared to the time I have had to do things in. I usually end up doing a lot less than I plan on. It's just the way life is.

2. You can make a meal with virtually nothing in the house. Last night I had noodles, canned diced tomatoes and the usually spices, etc in the cupboard. I made a pretty pretty sauce by adding cupboard stuff to the tomatoes and cooking them down for an hour. Problem is- I have to go shopping today or starve. That's really nothing in the house. Really. The refrigerator has a few cans of pop, condiments, and one bagel. The freezer - one egg muffin; package of corn; and ice. That's it. Really. And I like to cook. I just hate to go grocery shopping.

3. A friend has been having a lot of problems getting her Husqvarna sewing machine fixing (Hi, Toni). This whole story has really bothered me because I was a dealer when I had my shop. I never had a customer wait as long as she has for parts and then have the machine not work properly. I had a great repairman and parts were in within a week - not a month or longer like her took. Toni lives in a totally different state and I am no longer a dealer so I am not able to help her but the story makes me very sad.

4. There are somethings that are so totally unexpected that they give you the giggles that turn into a belly aching laugh - that's a good thing. Last night on Mythbusters Jamie and Adam were testing how far a sneeze will go. They had to make themselves sneeze "on command" and then have the resulting sneeze particles show up and be able to measure the distance. Their method was to use snuff and just before a sneeze came to get some food coloring in their mouths. The result was colored sneezes and leftover color on their faces and in Adam's case, on his mustache. I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time. Chief and Bert both came in the room to see what was wrong with me and I had Chief so worried he kept meowing and pacing until I managed to stop crying and laughing. If you want a good laugh check out this Youtube video of the show. The colored sneeze starts about 7 minutes in. But- go to the bathroom first; it's that funny!

5. I mention above there's been knitting this week. I have been bouncing between projects each with a different needle size and different technique. This keeps the fingers from getting tired and the mind from wandering too far. Right now I've got a lace pi shawl; garter stitch sweater; simple sock; a knit version of Rust Goes Green bag; Tree of Life afghan; then when I have nothing else going on I'm still working on my sock yarn, mitered, haven't decided what it's going to be project. I tell people it's going to be a shawl but - who knows. People have been donating their sock yarn to the cause and right now I think I have enough for a huge shawl or an afghan or???? We'll see.

6. Bubble Spinner is a huge time suck. I noticed a friend was playing it on Facebook and thought I'd give it a try. BAD MOVE! It's one of those games where you have a cannon to shoot different colored balls and try to hit 3 or more to make them drop off the group. The normal group is colored balls coming down from the sky but this one has the group in a circle in the middle and when you hit the circle it spins around based on where you hit it. I've been playing - just one more game - a lot this week. The link above is for the game at deadwhale.com you can try it there or on facebook if you belong. But be warned - it's very adictive!

Finally some knitting

I did some blocking this week so I could finally call a few projects complete and get some pictures taken. I block a bit differently than some people - I use an ironing board and steam iron. This all started in my machine knitting days when some projects just needed to have the knit "killed" to become a fabric instead of a knit. This technique works great when blocking wool shawls and some other items. For the wool shawl I actual touch iron to shawl after misting quite a bit with a water bottle/mister. The other items are misted and then the iron sort of hovers over the items without actually touching it. Works great on seams. Once they are "steamed" I set them on a flat surface to dry and finish blocking. Using this technique means no pinning or blocking wires.

The one problem with this technique is - well - the iron board is left alone for a few minutes while I bring the completed item to the flat surface and get the next item. I usually don't come back to an empty ironing board and have to reclaim it before I can continue.


First up - my first cousin twice removed had a first birthday party today. (For those of you trying to figure that out - it is my cousin's daughter's daughter)

About a month ago someone at my knit group brought in some hats she had made from Bernat Baby Jacquard. I totally fell in love with the yarn and had to make something out of it. So- the project I had just finished for the party became a Christmas present (it's a little big) and I ran out to get some Baby Jacquard to make something.

I made 2 things. A little vest using a couple patterns and some ideas of my own. It has a couple little green flower buttons and ruffled sleeves. I love this yarn the way it makes little flowers without having to do anything except knit.

The second item to go with the little top/vest is a skirt. The skirt is on the Bernat website in the free patterns for this yarn. It's so cute and was very quick to make. The ruffle is just knit/purl and decreases, very easy.

I had a simple surgery procedure this week and needed to take it easy for a couple days. The first day I hunted up some green stash cotton and Susan Anderson's Ribbit pattern (another free pattern).

Mom of birthday girl loves frogs so I thought it would be fun to make this cute little guy to give to the birthday girl. He was quick and a big hit - especially with the Mom!

Back in April I made a short sleeve vest/top from the Drops patterns that I planned on wearing to Yarnover. We ended up with very warm weather so the top never got blocked and finished. Well, it's finished on except for button, which is typical of me. I've been wearing one sweater for about 15 years and it still doesn't have buttons.

The yoke of this top is all bobbles (actually mini-bobbles) and the body has cables running down the front next to the button band and down the middle are a more complex cable. Yarn is Woolease cause the budget is a bit tight and this yarn is a good basic budget yarn.

Don't look too close at the button band cause you can see the string I based the button band together with for blocking.

Actually - maybe you should look at the string. When you are making something that splits like a cardigan and want to be sure things line up right, the best thing to do is baste the two sides together for blocking and they will match once it's dry and ready to wear.

One more item. Quite a while ago I knit the Haruni Shawl. According to my Ravelry page I finished in April. Well, it got blocked this weekend too - finally.

It's out of Knit Picks Telemark yarn. Thicker than the recommended but it works and will be a nice warm shawl on cool evenings.

There's a few more items but I won't be posting them until I decided what I'm going to do with them. There's the Christmas present for our little 1st birthday girl; several accessory items that will either be submitted to magazines or I'll be doing a self published accessory booklet. We'll see what I decide.....

Coming Soon

There's a couple things coming soon...

1. I've been knitting but things that I can't post because of a few people that read the blog. This weekend all will be revealed and I can post pictures after that.

2. I had a simple day surgery procedure this week that ended a long time problem. This means coming soon is healthier, less problem filled me. Sorry not much in details but this is the Internet and it's very public. Some things are best left a bit private.

Knitting pics and cats pics later this weekend - stay tuned........

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.

Cats and Computers

Yeah, I know... still no knitting pictures. I am knitting and being quite productive. It's just that, well, pictures of knitting blobs that you can't tell what it is aren't too exciting to me so I just can't get enough excitement going to set the knitting out to take a picture. Soon - I promise.

In the meantime let me tell you about the boys and the computer.
The boys love the laptop. I'm guessing it's because of the warmth. They always head toward the heat. Here's the proof.

Chief and Bert on 7-17-10 - sitting on top of the laptop together.

Chief and Bert on 7-19-10 - sitting on top of the laptop

Yup, you guessed it. Chief sleeping on top of the lap top.

For a change, because I'm using the laptop, Chief sitting on top of me next to the laptop

Some things just seem to fit together. I'm guessing when I put the laptop back on the chair next to me I'll find a cat there within 15 minutes. Any bets?
Update - just before I published this, Chief crawled up on my lap to cozy down next to the laptop. Life is good.

A Tale of Two Kitties (and two mousies)

Once upon a time, long, long ago, I read about a wonderful breed of cat and knew someday I would have a Ragdoll. They were everything I wanted; a companion, lovable, big and fluffy, could be trained. Just perfect for me. Then Chief came into my life when he was 3 months old. He picked me. I went to the breeder to meet the kitties she had. They were all cute but he crawled up on me and snuggled into my neck with the biggest purr. He wouldn't leave me alone. How can say no to that! Jamie could, that's who. She was an old cranky kitty who was still in mourning for her "sister" when Chief came to live with us. She missed Jessie who had dies a few months before and just wanted to be left alone. Chief had other ideas and tried so hard to be her friend. He hugged her, licked her, tried to play with her but nothing worked.

After Jamie died Chief did the next best thing. He made friends with the mice that got into the house that fall. I would find Chief walking down the hall with a mouse next to him, just like buddies. That's wrong, it's just wrong! This event happened a couple different times with a couple different mice. I know they were different because I physically and permanently removed each mouse as it happened.

Then came Bert. Mister bundle of energy. He took care of Chief's need for a buddy and they became the best of friend - inseparable. Time pasted and we moved into a different house. No mice in this house, only the occasional fly or other bug that would amuse the boys for a while.

Earlier this week I came home from work and headed down the hall. There in the middle of the hall were two blobs. Crap! Bert's been at it again. He likes to play vacuum cleaner and suck up every bit of fur left on the carpet. He gets so excited about sucking up the little fur bits that is whole butt wiggles like a Labrador puppy. After he sucks up enough fur and condenses it in his tummy, it comes back up in the form of a tight fur hot dog (sorry that's the best description I could come up with without being gross). So, there it was in the hall, two dark fur hot dogs. Bert had been busy.

Unfortunately, looking closer at the blobs, they turned out to be a couple dead little mice. ICK! This brings up a couple questions- 1. How did one, much less two mice get into the house when I've been without them for many years? 2. Who did the deed of protecting the house from these intruders? The first question bothers me because I want to prevent more from coming in this fall. But the second questions has me curious. Chief would just as soon make friends with the mice so if it was him; his size probably scared them to death. Bert runs away at any noise in the house or outside so he would probably see a mouse and go hide under the guest bed. Guess I'll never know. At least the mice are, for now.