Monday, June 22, 2015

Virtual Cat Collecting

There's  an app for the iPad, it's a Japanese game called Neko Atsume.  And the goal is to collect cats by feeding them and buying them treats, toys and furniture.  Oh, and the whole game is in Japanese.  So you have to rely on the pictures to figure out what to do.  


Mindless, but so cute.  Yes even Japanese internet cats make me happy.


Sunday, June 21, 2015

It's Next Time!

Whew!  That was a very looooooong break.  I'll just say "I'm sorry" and move on to the latest and greatest.

Most importantly, let's catch up on the cats!  My trio of gatos: Delilah, Monkey (a/k/a Pepper), and Macy.

Delilah - still grouchy, much more lazy and possibly going deaf.  Still the head of household

Monkey is a fierce hunter at night and a lovebug in the morning.  She's a real talker too.

Macy is just too sweet for words.  Also begs to be let "out" into our garage.


I've not totally abandoned my crafting.  During the holidays, I knitted a bunch of hats, based on a super easy (and free!) but oh so cute knit pattern (Slouched Tuva Hat).   Easily one of my all time favorite patterns and definitely a go-to for gift giving.

I also started focusing on crochet.  I made a granny square project bag, which I use to cart around my current crochet project (African flower blanket - more later).  I love the completed bag so much, even with all of its flaws (my lining/sewing skills are less than average).  I started a second bag, but it's been abandoned for now.

Granny Square Project Bag
I have moved onto the African flower motif (to be sewn together as a blanket).  Why do I choose colors that I think are fabulous in the store, only to start working on them and find that they are pedestrian and retro (not in the good way) together.  The project is coming together nicely and I should be able to finish it within the next month.

African flowers

The only thing in my way of needlecrafting is my job.  My life is consumed by work.  I am miserable.  I am doing the worst thing possible, catching myself saying things like "if I can just make it through this month" and "if I can just get through this next deal, then..."  I am always putting off living my life.  I'm not doing anything proactive to change things. I'm a negotiator and a procrastinator, so in my mind, I'm working on the solution, while still getting through my day.  However, when I really examine what my life is and how things actually are, you know, in the real world, then I cannot' really argue with that truth.

This rationalization is the way I convince myself that things are fine; I compare it to looking in the mirror.  I look in the mirror every day, while I brush my teeth, put on makeup, do my hair.  I see myself but I am never looking that closely or with a critical eye.  So I can tell you superfluous items about how I look (maybe I'm wearing lip gloss, maybe I'm wearing my tortoiseshell glasses, etc.) but I will not tell you or admit to you that my clothes are fitting too tight or my makeup line is visible.  That's too much information; too much to process or control or fix in whatever time I have.  I just ignore and persevere.  This is a stupid way to live.  I think I'm fooling myself.  But I'm really heading for a crash.



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...