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 decide if I should gift it to someone or if I'm keeping it for myself.  I think I want to make another one of these shawls (pattern is called Nostalgia Shawl on Ravelry).  While it was an easy pattern, the lacy part required some attention and I think ripped back those sections quite a few times before I actually got it right.   

I started working on a crocheted poncho.  Ugh!  I know you are thinking, "Poncho? Not a good look".  I plan to change your mind!  The colors are very nice and the crochet is very....holey?  Is that even a word?  I should have the first panel done very soon and will post a picture.  

Lately, my knitting/crochet projects are picking me, instead vice versa.  They appear on my radar, and I am lucky enough to find or have the perfect yarn for it.  Of course, nothing I make is perfect but I'm good at ripping back, starting over or just moving forward with the pattern, depending on how the pattern will best be served.  

A bit of this has spilled over into my life.  I never had an confidence in my work, so I worked extra hard to prove...what?  I'm not sure.  I only succeeded in making myself sick with worry and stress.   I decided that it was finally time for me to leave my job, which I hated anyway,   I started doing contract work and, for the first several weeks, I was loving life.  The change of scenery, the new workload, it was all working out for me.  

And then, suddenly, it was not working.  And I realized that it was never the work I hated, it was the atmosphere of the job.  But I was good at what I did simply because I am good at what I know.  Once I realized that, which I could have never done while still at my original job, I was ready to go back.   Try explaining that to your ex-employer.  "I had to break up with you in order to see how much I needed you."  It's a bit like dating.  Only I treasure someone wanting me for my mind so much more than for my body (as if that would ever happen....).  

I have to run to finish the first panel of my poncho - meeting a friend for coffee and knitting tomorrow and I want to be able to show off some of my project.  

Diets Are Challenging

I feel remarkably calm.  Of course, I take this as a sign that all hell is going to break loose.  I live my life constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.  But somehow, this does not paralyze me; instead, I see moving on with my life, such as it is, as a challenge.  And it turns out that I like challenges.

Wait, that doesn't mean that I am ready to rock climb or sky dive, so don't go getting any crazy thoughts about that!  I meant that I made a decision to leave a steady job that I had held for six years, and try something new.  While the new job is not a huge leap from my experience, it is with a major company and I stepped into a corporate world that is foreign to me.  I'm working on a contract basis, and so the end result remains to be seen.   There are benefits to having a short term assignment (less stress, less ownership) and I'm not panicking (yet) about what I might do when the assignment ends.  I can't say a whole bunch about it on here, only because I have stuff in the works.

And I'm back to purchasing more yarn.  No more yarn diet, which lasted a few months. I actually made several projects with existing yarn so I don't feel like a total failure.  Of course, it's not a real failure because I get to play with such nice yarn.

Projects that I'm working on currently:  Summer Shawl (using Cascade Sunseeker yarn in blues and purples and a bit of sparkle), Poncho (using Lion Brand cotton in teal, mint, brown, silver and blue), and my stash project, Sea Turtle Blanket (using acrylic scraps).  

I know I can do better on my projects if I was better organized.  I bought a yarn winder and swift and it's my goal to have everything organized by the end of the month.  The other goal is to fix up my foyer and re-hang the pictures to create a better focal point for when people come over.  Also, it would probably help to remove the empty boxes strewn about, which are there merely for the cats' enjoyment and playtime.

Next post will include pictures of how my projects are coming along.

Take My Hat, Please

Adopt Me

Free to a good home. 
This beanie.  
Made with Holiday Lights Yarn (Acrylic, Wool, Polyester) 
in Christmas Green colorway.  
Just send me an email.

First day of daylight savings time, felt like a million bucks.  To have even a few minutes of sunlight at the end of the workday is an amazing feeling.  My motivation propelled me into going into the garage, cleaning off the bike, putting air in the (deflated, I'm sorry to say) tires, and taking a spin around the neighborhood.  It's a very small step, but at least it is in the right direction.

I finished my shawl.  Well, it's off the needles. I want to block it but it's acrylic but I was told that you can steam block acrylic.  I would prefer to use a handheld steamer but those things are $150 on Amazon.  I guess I will have to try it with my steam iron.

I've got to get to work early tomorrow for a staff meeting and I have lunch plans with a former co-worker.  And then I really want to try to make it to Tuesday night Sit and Knit.  My job gets in the way sometimes of the more important things.

Projects Are My Life

I have the strangest anxiety.  I get anxious that I will never be able to knit/crochet all of the yarn I have in my stash.  The tiny little part of me that is an optimist, well, she's sure that we can use up all of the bits and pieces with a stash-busting project.  However, in the interim, I want to start some real projects - as in sweaters - and you know, that means MORE yarn.  The additional yarn is 100% mandatory because you cannot use big box retail store yarn (i.e. acrylic) for your first sweater.  Nope.  It must be soft, luscious and a natural fiber (maybe wool and cotton?  something appropriate for Florida).  I have to temper my anxiety of my ever-increasing stash with my desire to push my knitting into new projects.

On the weeknights, I've been knitting dishcloths to use up my cotton yarn stash; I had a former co-worker text me and ask me to send her a few.  I hope to have at least four of them to her by the end of the week.

I'm so very close to finishing my latest shawl.  I really love the pattern, but unsure if the yarn really works with it.  The yarn looks so fun in the skein but knitted into the pattern, I feel like it loses some spark.  Plus, it's an acrylic yarn so I don't know if I will be able to block it.

I've got two other WIPs ongoing (my gay pride party bunting and my short row scarf).  However, after the gray metallic shawl is complete, I must start a new shawl that I saw at a local yarn store.  I bought super gorgeous yarn for the shawl. The cake on the right is the official colorway from the 2016 Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl.

Lovely posing by two of my four feline roommates means you get to admire their beauty.  Monkey is our gorgeous tabby cat who turned 3 years old in February.  Monkey loves to be petted and rubbed and she's a good pal to Flower, our newest cat.    Macy is our tortie and we adopted her in 2010.  She's the solitary cat and normally you can find her in her cat bed, which is under the computer desk in the craft room.  She hangs out with Mr. Grumpbump while he watches tv in the craft room.

Macy

Monkey

My completed projects (mostly hats) are overflowing from my dresser floor.  I am going to use this blog to start giving away some of the completed projects and some of my old/extra pattern books.  Maybe help increase the traffic to the website and/or clean out my collection.  

Not happy to be losing an hour today (Daylight Savings starts) but I will put up with it because now the days will start to get really long.  It will no longer be pitch black when I get home from work.  

Projects

It's 61°F in Florida.  I am trying to wear my hand knits, but now I'm burning up.  But my hat is so cute.

I'm currently obsessed with knitting hats.  Crochet is okay, too.  But I found that my gauge in crochet is so way off and I have a better feel for my knitting gauge.  Ha!  I love how I type that as if I really know what my gauge is.  The only thing I know for sure is that I knit loosely and I typically have to go down several needle sizes.

I am also working on a scarf, a Missoni blanket, and finishing my cruise shawl.  My next project is to make party bunting for gay pride.  That's a commissioned work for which I will receive no pay.

Flower Power

My latest project is a crochet ripple (wave) pattern from Jan Eaton's book, 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns.  The book lists this as one of the easiest of the crochet patterns, so it's perfect for after work or at knitting group.  My projects all come down to the level of ease for me.

About halfway complete

I think it's very pretty.  While I did not choose the colors, and I am using a random stripe generator for the colorway, I am really pleased about how it is progressing.

Since we adopted the new kitten, Flower, I have been super vigilant about keeping my projects out of her reach.  She chews, and possibly eats, anything she finds on the floor.  I've never had that problem with the other three cats.  They are disinterested in my yarn, which causes me to question if they are really cats.  Flower, or La Fleur as Mr. Grumpbump has started calling her, is all kitten, all the time.  She is constantly baiting the Monkey Cat to play with her.  She can entertain herself for hours with the cat toys scattered throughout the house.  And I have been awoken by a kitten biting me, first without the teeth and, when I don't respond, with teeth.

Calm before the storm

Flower will be spayed in October.  The vet discovered that she has a umbilical hernia so that will be repaired at the same time as the spay.  Flower is still so thin, even though she eats like a horse, and I hoping that she will start to bulk up after the spay.

My washer is broken. I am super pissed off about it. Repair guy will be here on Monday and I just know it will cost too much.  All because I washed a bathroom rug.  The rug was not super shaggy but all the discards and threads clogged up the machine and I think it broke the drain pump.  I really hate this washer and I am pissed that I have to pay to fix it.

I am also pissed off about my life.  Very few good things about it right now.  Holding onto those good things like a crazy woman because I feel myself thisclose to going nuts.

Outnumbered Two to One

Two weeks ago, we welcomed cat number four to our house.  For whoever is keeping score, that's felines 4, humans 2.  And Mr. Grumpbump did not have a choice, or a chance.

Number Four is a black and white tuxedo female kitten, approximately 2 months old. That makes Mr. Grumpbump outnumbered Five to One in the females vs. males demographic.

Mr. Grumpbump was fairly annoyed with me, and he essentially did not want to deal with the kitten. But this story has a good ending.

First, let's see how adorable this kitten is:

Her name is Flower, after the skunk from Bambi.

Also because the white tips of her front paws remind me of petals on flowers.

After two weeks, she's got the hang of our schedule and she is allowed to roam the house with the other cats.  Delilah and Macy stay away from her because they are either too old or too shy to deal with scampy kitten.

Monkey, who is only two years old, was at first so mean to Flower.  She hissed and growled when Flower tried to play or get anywhere near her.  I was super bummed about that because I was sure that Flower and Monkey would be great playmates.  I should have just relaxed because within a week, Monkey had a breakthrough and these two chase each other around the house, although it is usually really really late at night.  They are destined to be great friends.

As for Mr. Grumpbump, he has been bitten by the love bug.  I know he likes her because he's given her a nickname, La Fleur.

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.

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.

Until Next Time

Summertime is in full effect here, and I would like to go swimming but I have to wait out the afternoon thunderstorm that is headed our way.  I managed not be a total lazy bum this weekend - I got up and went to the grocery store, did the laundry and cleaned out the cat litter boxes.  

We're are still a family of five, two cat guardians (me and Mr. Grump) and the three feline overlords, Delilah, Macy Gray, and The Monkey.

Macy likes to lounge with us in the living room

Yes, I posed them but Monkey and Delilah lay like this for a while

The most gorgeous face in the cat world

Delilah has some health issues that we are mostly attributing to get up in years (she's maybe 11 or 12?) - her weight dropped off dramatically and we had to start her on medicine to regulate her thyroid.  She put the weight back on and we are trying to monitor her more closely.  She's not as active as she used to be, more lethargic but not in a scary way.  Just an overall lazier way.  She takes after me, or I take after her.  It's hard to get a picture of her sitting upright, she does a lot of laying down.

Macy is a robust cat, who rarely has any issues, and The Monkey, well, she's still a kitten so she's all over the place, not to mention a really effective huntress.  

I'm working on a ripple (baby) blanket right now, as well crochet place mats.  I don't have any big projects ongoing.  I have a Missoni-style blanket on the needles, but it's been sitting untouched for a while.  It's hard to knit a blanket when it's ridiculously humid outside.

Stash-buster baby blanket

place mat made from t-shirt yarn (fun project; I've made two; have two left to finish)

My sister-in-law visited the UK this month and promised to send me some yarn from Ireland.  I have to wait and see if I actually get it.  I found the most beautiful cowl pattern and I hope I can use that yarn for this project. 

Not my project - this is from the pattern page - it is simply beautiful
I will find the right yarn and the knit the hell out of this

Chaos Postponed for the Weekend

It's a Saturday evening.  I am outside on the porch, listening to music, drinking some wine and crocheting.  Delilah is fast asleep in the chair next to me, while Monkey is running around hunting geckos.  

It's deceptively relaxing.  I have a huge week at work coming up that I am not prepared for and that I forecast may be partially disastrous.  If I could just calm myself by realizing that it is not the end of the world, that (any) failure is just that..and not the end of the world.  I have never been able to self-manage myself, and I am not sure why I think I could start now.  Is it just the lies that I tell myself to get through the day without melting down, so I can struggle internally to stay in control of my emotions?   Yes.  Yes it is.

I finished my basic ripple socks.  They are cute and I think I did a good job with knitting them to a good size (instead of my normal baggy oversized socks).  The only issue I had (and had nothing to do with me) is that the two skeins didn't match!  They were The same dye lot and I started each sock from the middle pull.  On one sock, they tied the yarn together, so there must have been a break but they didn't match up the color way.  It's not that bad because it was at the end of the sock (I knit cuff down so the color mismatch is near the toes).

I think I will be digging through my closet to locate an old project...a ripple scarf or shawl.  I put it aside early last year to work on my various ripple afghans.  It's time to get that thing off the needles.  

There will never be enough time to get to all the projects I want to do.  Stupid work for interfering with the important stuff.

Perfecting My Technique

Very grateful for the slow transition from Florida winter to mild and overcast Florida spring because I'm having a hard time with my budget lately.  Any additional expenses, like having to run the air conditioner, would max out my already-strained budget.  I'm clinging to breakeven mode every paycheck but only by a sliver; I feel like the good guy in the movies, who is hanging on to the side of the building by just enough to keep him from falling to the ground below.

It helps to keep my mind off it.  I'm very good at running away from things that bother me.  I was working on another chevron afghan, but only made it about one-third of the way before I got really bored.  I picked up my smallest needles and starting knitting socks again.  

I tried to hide the fact that the left sock is smaller (but it fits better) than the right one

I'm trying out a new heel with these zig zag lace socks

I've got my sock mojo working for me right now.  They are not perfect, but I love finishing a project in a few weeks.  

So all my sock yarn has been getting a second look these days.  I'm really trying to perfect my technique.

Pretty soon, we should be coming up on the end of Monkey cat's first year with us.  I'll work on getting a picture retrospective because she has grown so much in the last year and she's just a perfect (or so) fit.

Delilah

Macy

No Lunch For Me; Don't Want To Spoil Dinner

Sunday mornings are the best part of the week.  I feel like I have the whole world in front of me.  It inspires me (sometimes).  Today was a good Sunday; I was inspired to cook.

Well, cook might be a strong word.  I was motivated enough to go to the grocery store, Publix, because I wanted to make a pot roast.  Let me just stop right here and tell you that Publix is the best grocery store around.  I know they are more expensive than everyone else and I just don't care.  As long as I get twice-a-month paychecks, I'm shopping at Publix.  And also, as an aside, my main focus for going to the grocery was to buy eggs.  Yes, I should have walked out of Publix with a carton of eggs and a penny in change for my $2.00 splurge.  But that's not what happened.  This is Publix we are talking about.  It's just so darn clean and organized and all the displays are practically begging me to buy a week's worth of groceries. And the Buy One, Get One display?  I cannot avoid it.

So before I get the eggs, I had to go look at the roasts in the meat section, and then down to the produce section, where I pick up red potatoes, celery, carrots and onions.  While I'm there, I figure I'll get a few tomatoes and lettuce for a quick salad.  Then I remember we may need coffee creamer and, look, I'm at the yogurt section, where I toss in a few to treat as my dessert later.  I finally grab eggs, and then head over to the deli meats, where I grab some bacon for breakfast, said bacon being BOGO.  And orange juice, I must have it with breakfast.

Yep, I left Publix with seven bags of groceries, $62.00 lighter, and I didn't forget the eggs.

I finished my potato chip scarf.  It is better described as a ruffle scarf.  The name potato chip is because you can't make just one (and this is my second one).  The first time I used a cotton yarn in a nice mild red color, but I felt like the scarf was too flat.  This one was done in an acrylic sparkle yarn I got at Hobby Lobby.  Much better suited for the project.

I'm also working on a baby blanket - the shower is next weekend, but I am very confident that I can finish this in time.  I've made this baby blanket twice before.  This time I'm using a 50/50 cotton and acrylic yarn, held in double, and the blanket feels dense.  I love the feel of this yarn.  It's another Hobby Lobby yarn, Baby Bee Hushabye.  It's a gradient blanket so one color feeds into the next.

So, this Sunday, I've actually accomplished enough to make me feel like a productive member of society.  The slow cooker is on and my pot roast is cooking with all those wonderful vegetables.  The house smells great - dinner will be very good tonight.

It All Comes Out the Same in the End

I had put off posting anything new because I was finishing the best knit work I have done to this point.  My Missoni inspired lap blanket.

It only took me a few months of evening and weekend knitting to finish.  I gifted it to my brother and sister-in-law because it reminded me of their style.  It's hard to tell firm this photo but the blanket is a pretty decent size.  I forgot to measure before I shipped it.  

I am  working on a baby blanket now.  It's got to be finished by next weekend so I am under a bit of pressure to finish in time.

Our holidays were very busy.  Mr. Grump's family was here with us over several weeks in November and December.  We were ready for them and decided a few weeks before (in September) to purchase new furniture for the living and dining room space.  Our house is an open floor plan and the living/dining/kitchen space all spill into one big space.  And since Mr. Grump sold the pool table, we knew we needed an actual dining table.

We bought a faux leather sectional, a dinning room table with six chairs (that was very uncharacteristically optimistic of me), a recliner for Mr. G., an entertainment center, and a chest of drawers for the bedroom.

We had a garage sale to get rid of our old micro-fiber couch and loveseat and the kitchen table.  I couldn't find a cute bistro set for the kitchen nook area so I went with a couple of chairs and a end table.  The chairs were purchased on Wayfair.com and they can serve as additional seating in the living area (which they did when we had all of our company).  Mr. G. spray painted the end table black and now it looks brand new.

We are holding steady with our three cats, Delilah, Macy and the Monk.  Everyone seems to be getting along as the house and back patio area are big enough for everyone to enjoy their own space without bothering the others.  Monkey does have her kitten moments when she is in everyone's face and the two older ladies just have to deal with her.

Macy

Delilah

Monkey, a/k/a The Monk, a/k/a The Monkatron

Speaking of the feline goddess, I have to go serve my masters by cleaning out the litter boxes.  If I told you how much time I spend researching kitty litter, you would want to slap me.  My favorite brand of litter changed their formula so I'm testing out some new stuff.  My biggest issue is the Monkey cat, who refuses to cover her poop and that sends me scrambling all the time to clean up because, no offense, but shit stinks.

The Ugly Baby

My super secret project is over.  And no longer super secret.  Why? Because the project is so ugly.  I am very disappointed in all aspects of this project.  The colors, while looking gorgeous wrapped up in skein, did not go well together.  On top of that mistake, the pattern I chose highlights the colors in all the wrong ways.  This project was intended to be a gift but now has forever home with me and the cats.

Then, a miracle happened.  Or maybe it is just the natural outcome of spending so much time with the project.  Like a mother who births a less-than-adorable baby, I started to love this ugly project.  

The colors are not well represented in this picture but even if they were it would not make this any better.  I have analyzed my choices and believe that this particular ripple pattern is appropriate with three colors or less.  

Remember, just like any good mother, I am allowed to describe my progeny (taking serious liberties with the definition) as ugly, less-than-perfect, or even hideous, but all others be warned should they voice the same opinion. 

My next lap afghan looks great on paper.  

September Recap

I feel like when I leave my house in the morning, I'm taking a big huge breath, as if I'm diving underwater, and then the second I get to work, I am going at double speed to get everything done.  When I clock out at night, that's the only time I can let out that breath and start to decompress and relax.  I never seem to get done what I should have and I feel like I've left so many things undone, that's it is just a matter of time before the HR people come by my desk and tell me to pack my stuff.  The worst part about these feelings is that my job is that I'm trapped.  My family unit relies on my salary to pay all of the bills.  I really cannot complain because if I don't have this job, we are broke.

It doesn't help my stress level that it appears every time we turn around, there is something new to pay for.  Delilah had surgery on her ear to cauterize a hematoma inside her ear.  We took her back to the vet around day 12 after surgery but the vet wanted to wait at least two more weeks.  So 30 days after her surgery, Delilah's stitches were finally removed.  Now, she has a crinkled left ear.  I am still worried about her because I think she's dehydrated (she's had diarrhea), so I purchased a bottle of unflavored Pedialtye from the store and I've been giving that to her mixed with her food.  

Delilah relaxing after Sunday morning cat nip

As for the cat-formerly-known-as-kitten, Monkey is just barely seven months old, and she's as big as Delilah.  When I catch a glimpse of Monkey running through the house, or hunting geckos and roaches outside, I can't believe this full-sized cat is the baby I brought home five months ago.  And she's still not done, I'm sure.  I think she will rival Macy in terms of size.

Still Growing!

Macy is the stable, static cat being of the house.  She never changes, but she has evolved into a lap cat but only with Mr. Grumpbump and only when he sits in his old green recliner.  If I walk into the room, she turns to me guiltily and jumps off his lap and runs away.  She's the only cat in the house that hates the brush; she howls and screams in terror when I try.  As a result, she's the sheddiest cat ever.

Always needs to be brushed.

Mr. Grumpbump sold his pool table a few months ago (which the cats miss terribly) so we decided that it was time to fill the space with a more appropriate dining table.  A few weeks ago, we spent an afternoon furniture shopping and purchased new seating for the living room, a table and six chairs for the dining area, a new recliner for Mr. Grumpbump and a new dresser for our bedroom.  The furniture should be delivered by the end of the month and we will then have a garage sale to get rid of some of the mis-matched pieces that we have accumulated.

Mr. Grumpbump also painted our front doors!  There was a time that we considering purchasing new doors for the front entrance, but we really could not afford them.  Even though a very good friend of ours offered his installation services for free, the materials were too much.  So Mr. Grumpbump spent the weekend painting the doors and now they look better (not great, but much better).  I can live with them.

Cranberry and gold is actually a good color combination

As for my knitting/crocheting, I'm making time for it every night after work in order to work out the stress I've built up during the day.   I'm still working on the super secret lap blanket, which I hate so much.  The colorway is all wrong but I'm so far into the project, I just have to finish it.  I've crocheting some cute coasters, because I had extra cotton yarn and they are super easy and fast to do.  I have a feeling that a lot of friends/family will end up with coasters for gifts this year...

Springtime in the Fall.

I'm still super excited about knitting and crocheting but I'm not sure what my next project will be.  I need to finish this hated lap blanket so I can move forward.

I Found My Thrill

I have put aside my secret afghan project and started knitting hats.  The thrill, yes there is a thrill to knitting, of finishing a project in one evening has given me a second wind. 

I have to go to the craft store today because I promised to knit a hat for a guy at work.  He is a Steelers fan, and I need a yarn close to the Steelers yellow.  Also, he wants earflaps, so I have to a free pattern for that.

One of the hats knitted up really big, because I used the wrong needles.  I am going to buy some elastic thread and try to fix the brim.  The hat could work as a slouchy hat if I could tighten the brim.

The other hats are nearly perfect and I will be gifting them to another co-worker.

I am finally unwinding after a very stressful two weeks at work.  I really needed this three-day weekend.

Surgery Updates

Saturday afternoon and the sky is darkening.  We are supposed to get lots of thunderstorms this weekend and it sounds like/looks like they are starting to roll in.

I am very far behind with my workload, and I probably should go into work this weekend to make a dent in the paperwork.  However, I'm fairly confident that I will not be doing that.  I plan to stay far away from the office because my anxiety is at a very high level; I'm hoping that by staying away from work, I will relax just a bit in an effort to give my attitude time to adjust to a more tolerable level.

On the kitty cat front, Monkey made it through her spaying surgery without any complications (thank goodness).  I was in a panic over Monkey's refusal to keep her e-collar on.  Mr. Grumpbump did not ease the situation as he sent me regular text updates of Monkey's paw caught in the collar or how she pulled it up into her mouth and was choking on it.

On my way home from work, I bought an inflatable e-collar.  So we replaced the plastic one with the inflatable one and Monkey went to town again.  Wiggling and pawing at it with no rest.  I eventually took it off of her and tried to watch her.  All night.  I woke up every hour to look for her and check on her.  My fear was that she would pick and lick at her incision area.   Mr. Grumpbump and I even considered boarding her at the vet for the day, while we were at work.  Believe me, it was all very dramatic and high tension over a tiny kitten's spaying surgery.   We knew that we were making a big deal over it but we were very scared.

To Monkey's credit, she didn't really make any fuss over her incision.  I ended up leaving her at the house, in our bedroom behind closed doors. I was nervous and I should have just had faith because Monkey was fine and is fine.  She appears to be healing normally and really doesn't show any interest in messing with the suture area.

One day post surgery wondering why all the fuss

Nothing really stopped Monkey; she was her normal bouncy self just a day after and she was so happy to be back at home with her pals, Delilah and Macy.   Macy and Monkey are so cute together; Monkey is definitely the annoying little sister to Macy's shy sensible nature.  Monkey just wants to be around her big sister cat, you know?

Went looking for cats and found this

Now, to our other cat with recent surgery, Delilah.  That poor girl has been in an e-collar for ten days.  Her left ear is all stitched up like Frankenstein's monster.  Mr. Grumpbump took her the vet yesterday for removal of the stitches.  Unfortunately for her, she has to wait another ten days to get them removed!  Mr. Grumpbump and I decided to remove the e-collar for the weekend, while we are around to watch her.   However, when we go back to work on Monday, the cone will be back on and believe me, Delilah will be in a shitty mood.  To which I say, join the club.  Mondays suck.

Free of the cone! 

Nervous Nellies

I am at the SPCA clinic.  They just took Monkey kitten back.  I have to wait and see that her pre-op blood test comes back clean to ensure she can tolerate anesthesia. 

Both Monkey Cat and I were shaking.  I will be so glad when 3 pm gets here and she can go home with Mr. Grumpbump.

Forgive Me

I just installed the blogger app on my phone so maybe I will post more frequently to my blog. 

I am having a freak out this evening because I have to take Monkey to the SPCA vet clinic tomorrow to have her spayed.  I feel like a shitty guardian because she has no idea and she will probably freak out, I will cry, and I will be anxious all day.  I definitely could not handle children. 

We had to get Delilah in the vet on Tuesday to have surgery on her ear.  She had a hematoma from a ruptured blood vessel.  Her ear will never be normal, it will flop over even after the stitches are removed.  She is tolerating the cone of shame; I think she is slightly depressed because if it.  Also, we have had her on antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and pain medicine.  Way more medicine than her poor tummy can handle. 

The Charlie Brown blanket is done and I have moved on to my secret project.

I might start two new hats.  More on those projects later.