Saturday, February 26, 2011

All I Have To Say=Knitting and Cats

My blanket is finished!  I don't really know the measurements but it's much bigger than a lap.  I added a crochet border (my first ever!) to clean up the edges.  The yarn was nothing special and is very soft but a bit heavy.  I used larger needles (size 10) so the blanket has a lightweight quality to it because the stitches are larger.  The colors are masculine because I knitted it for Mr. Grumpbump.  However, my grandmother is in the hospital having surgery and I've decided to give it to her.  She's not picky about colors.

Mr. Grumpbump is the lump in the blanket

Full Size

Crochet Border Close Up
I'm in love with my Wii game, Just Dance 2.  I wish they had more downloads for it.  I love pop music, but I can't listen to it in the car.  In the car, I like to listen to talk radio; I think it has something to do with conversation.  But when I'm working late or leaving work for the day, I pull out my earphones and my phone is my music player.  Pop music puts me in such a good mood and instantly erases the stress of the day.  Funny, it only works after work - before work just makes me depressed because I'm stuck inside all day.

Mr. Grumpbump says I take too many pictures of my cats.  He's right.

Delilah Bug

Miss Mace
Nothing new on our house purchase.  At this point, we would just like to be in the house by June.  How great would it be to have a pool during the hottest part of the year?  So excited.....

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Many Hours In My Day

I bought a new cat toy at CVS of all places.  I know this is not a very exciting opening line, but keep reading.  I went to PetSmart to buy dry cat food and litter.  I always sneak a peek at the cat toys section but I don't give in to temptation very often.  I know my cats are older and, quite frankly, not really interested in most of the stuff they sell.  The only exception is the Cat Teaser, which we use infrequently when Delilah (mostly) or Macy express interest in it. 

I recently saw a show on Animal Planet, and its name escapes me, but there was a segment about a woman who owned four cats and she made her own toys to stimulate her cats.  She took plastic bottles and poked holes in the sides and then put cat treats in the bottles.  Her cats would play with the bottles in attempt to get the treats out.  She also had this wooden box with holes in and it served the same purpose.

PetSmart does not have this wooden box but I look every time I visit.  It's the only thing I would consider buying.  So I left PetSmart with just my food and litter in hand.  But I had to stop at CVS to pick up human supplies.  I can't help walking around CVS, even after I've got everything I needed.  And in their pet section was the wooden box!  It comes with toys inside.  Of course, I bought it.  

I made several other stops before getting home and I was starving when I finally pulled up.  So I unloaded everything but didn't make any moves to introduce Macy and Delilah to the new toy.  Of course, Delilah threw up after I got home (so I had to clean it up - not Mr. Grumpbump, who was sleeping after working 12 hours last night).  Then I made lunch.  I finally got around to putting the toy out for Miss Macy's benefit (Delilah was sleeping with her favorite human, Mr. Grumpbump).  Miss Macy comes running when I shake the cat treat bag, and I placed a few treats where she could get to them.  The rest I put inside the box and watched the smartest cat in the world dig around to get her favorite treats.

It took no time for her to figure out the box

Macy spies her treat
We have a completely signed contract for the (pool) house.  Now we settle in for the wait for the mortgage holder to give their blessing.  Mr. Grumpbump is going over to the new house tomorrow morning after he gets off work in order to measure the areas in the kitchen for the appliances.  We looked at refrigerators and ranges on Saturday at a scratch and dent store.  We are considering a blend of stainless steel and black appliances.  Mr. Grumpbump is going to be responsible for the refrigerator and range and I'm going to pay for the washer and dryer.   Mr. Grumpbump has been working overtime hours whenever possible so he can save up enough to buy the refrigerator of his dreams (stainless steel, french doors, and icemaker in front).

My lap blanket has morphed into a real blanket.  I'm working on my last two skeins of yarn and I have decided that I will use the blue color to crochet the edging.  For some odd reason, I run out of the black yarn much faster than the blue.  The yarn is the cheap red yarn (soft) brand, which I bought for a grand total of $8.00 (thanks to Michael's 20 percent off coupon and my $5 gift card from christmas).  

It's almost done!

Sunday is winding down but I've been up and about since 7:00 a.m. so this day has felt luxuriously long.  I'm going to knit a bit more today and then finish the laundry and start to worry about work in the morning.  I should have gone into work this weekend but, as usual, talked myself out of that idea on Saturday.  Today should have been a crappy day because I was at Starbucks drive-through and they gave me the wrong drink at the pass.  I didn't figure it out until I got home and took a sip.  I tried to salvage it but I ended up pouring it down the sink.  I sent an email through their website (which I frequently do when I get poor service at stores) and hope to hear from them soon.  I really only want a refund of the cost of the drink.  Mr. Grumpbump just laughs at me when I tell him I wrote them a letter because he knows it means I went on the website and bitched.  He knows me so well.

I leave you with a picture of Delilah Bug wrapped in blanket while I hold her like a baby.  Not her favorite past time, but she is so damn cute I can't help myself.

Delilah Baby


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Left vs. Right

I learned how to knit continental, thanks to another class hosted by Sip and Knit.  I asked Mr. Grumpbump tonight if he noticed I was knitting differently.  He was, of course, very confused because he does not make a practice of analyzing my knitting style.  So, I showed him that I could knit with (a) the working yarn in my right hand (English) and (b) the working yarn in my left hand (Continental).  Surprisingly, he was underwhelmed by my new skills.

I'm still working on the striped lap blanket; I've knitted about two-thirds of it.  The whole thing is the knit stitch, so it's the perfect project to practice my continental knitting.  I've not touched any other project, although the only other things on needles is a second sock (why are they soooo hard to finish?) and a dishcloth.  I've asked a friend at work to give me a good beginner crochet project for me, which I hope is not a dishcloth.

Mr. Grumpbump and I have made an offer on yet another house and it's a short sale.  So, we are in for three to six months of waiting for the seller's lender to approve the contract.  We are very hopeful for this house because it is in really good condition, with tile floors and travertine counter tops in the kitchen and bathroom.  Oh, yes, it also has a pool!

Finding My Treasure

Now that my shawl is complete (yarn purchased during the Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl in March), it is just hanging out in my foyer until I de...