That's What I'm Made Of

Before you think that I drink, eat, sleep, and sweat cats and knitting, I have to clarify that I heavily edit everything I publish on this blog.  Very personal information is verboten; you never know who your audience is when your blog is public domain.  That's the reason why it seems like my mind has two channels:  (1) Kitties and (2) Knitting.

With that out of the way, I can happily tell you that I have started another knitting project.  A co-worker is having a baby and the baby shower is scheduled for March 9, which doesn't really give me much time to finish a project.  I found a cute and easy pattern called Gradient Garter Baby Blanket and ran over to Michaels on President's Day to get the yarn on sale.  Unfortunately, the store's selection was not very good, so I had to compromise on the colors.  I ended up with white, yellow, pink, lilac, and mint, which will be the order of the colors on the blanket.  The pattern is knitted holding two strands of yarn together.  You knit a sold block of color and then phase into the next solid color by using one strand of each color yarn.  I should make a real dent in the project this weekend because the whole blanket is knit using only the knit stitch.

Tigger continues to make me laugh.  Tonight, I am watching him stalk Delilah, who is still skittish  when he gets too close, but I feel Tigger making some headway in their relationship.  Delilah would love to have a friend to play with, if she would just let go of her bitchy exterior.  Tigger got distracted from his pursuit of Delilah by something under our love seat.  I watched him circle the love seat several times, stopping only to stick his paw underneath it to grab at something..

I thought there was a toy under the couch, and, trying to be helpful, I moved the love seat back.  What a surprise to see that toy under the couch was a lizard!  And Tigger pounced on it as soon as I cleared the path for him.  He chased the lizard across the floor, under the pool table and then I watched the lizard disappear into a pile of brown butcher paper we have on the floor (the short story behind this - Delilah loves to play with the paper, she loves the crinkly sounds it makes).  I'm scanning the area for the lizard, hoping I can help him escape, when I see that Tigger got a hold of the lizard's tail.  The tail is separated from the lizard's body but still wiggling around!  I cannot lie; that was a bit disturbing.  I grabbed my cell phone and shot this grainy video (sorry for the yelling).

I found the lizard hidden in the folds of the butcher paper, so I carried it to the patio and set the tailless lizard free.  I hope Tigger forgives me for ruining his fun (and his snack).  You see, I managed to get the lizard's tail from Tigger because he was going to eat it.

Morning Comedy

I don't know when it happened, but my cats' schedule is all messed up. 

Typically, mornings start at 6:00 a.m., and I immediately get food for the kitties.  They are non-stop meowing and chirping and whining already.  After they finish their food, there is a mad dash for either the back door or the sliding glass door in the bedroom so they can go outside.  They are in and out all morning until I leave for work.

However, in the last 10 ten days, the schedule has been bumped up an hour.  Now, at 5:00 a.m., when Mr. Grumpbump wakes up to go to work, the cats are in a frenzy to be fed.  Being their well-trained guardian, I wake up around 5:15 a.m., and immediately prepare their food.  After gorging on their breakfast, every single cat goes back to sleep (Macy's in her new condo, Tigger on the couch, and Delilah is either on the guest bed or our bed).  I get ready for work, and as I am making my final rounds to leave, that's when the cats suddenly arise from their naps and start to congregate at the doors. 

Typically, this is met with a "No, I'm leaving.  You can't go out." speech.  However, I still had a few minutes this morning so I relented and let Miss Macy out.  In the words of Pretty Woman, "Big Mistake.  Huge."

After five minutes, I need to leave, so I go out the sliding glass door to hustle Macy inside.  Of course, while I'm doing that, Tigger makes a break for it.  I come around to the back door, bringing Macy with me.  In the meantime, Delilah has heard the commotion and wants to join in.  As I'm running Tigger into the house, there goes Delilah.  Delilah is small enough for me to grab, but as I bring her in through the back door, Macy runs by me.

ARGH.  Macy will not let me pick her up so I have to corner her and direct her to the back door.  Of course, when I open the door to herd Macy in, Tigger is sitting there.  Luckily, I yell at him to get back, and he backs aways as Macy slips by me and into the house.

Finally, I have success and all the cats are back inside.  I tell each of them to go back to sleep, which is met with blank stares and no action.

And then, of course, I'm late to work because I left the house 20 minutes later than normal.   No matter, it was the best part of my day so far. 

Five is Good Number

One of our neighbors cooks every Saturday and it always smells so good.  Almost motivates me to cook.  I think this week they are grilling.

Once the warmer weather starts, I'm going to miss having the fresh air in the house.  Since we moved into the house at the end of August, we didn't have that long before the weather started cooling off. And, because the winter has been so mild, our windows and patio doors have been open as long as we are home. I love this house because, on top of the fact that it belongs to us, it feels so open and airy.  What a difference from our former one-bedroom apartment that made me feel so confined.

We are switching from Brighthouse cable to AT&T U-verse today.  Just waiting on the technician to get here.  We currently have AT&T for our cell phone provider.   The change was motivated due to our cable and internet going out on Superbowl Sunday, beginning with the half-time show and ending at the fourth quarter.  Mr. Grumpbump had to listen to the game via his cell phone by using the I Heart Radio app.  When I asked Brighthouse for a $25 credit for this disruption of service, they countered with a credit of $2.63.  I'm still "negotiating" with them for my $25 credit.  U-verse is promising us a lower monthly bill, free DVR, HD channels, and some premium channels (for one year).  I read the reviews on U-verse and they were complimentary and positive, so we decided to make the switch.

I'm still working on my latest ripple stitch afghan.  I think I will try to make it a bit longer than the previous two, if I have enough yarn.  I'll have a lot of the red, beige and cream yarn left over (since those color blocks are smaller than the chocolate brown) so I'm trying to find some patterns for that purpose.  I could knit this pattern with my eyes closed; I've almost forgotten what it is like to have to read a pattern.

A constant fixture on the couch

In October, a co-worker told me about a cat looking for a new home.  She called him a "kitty" so I assumed this was a young cat.  The lady who owned the cat had a small child who was highly allergic to the cat and she needed to re-home him.  I listened to the story but didn't volunteer to take him (surprise, surprise).  I got the impression that he had found a new place to live.

In December, this co-worker emailed me and told me that this "kitty" was still looking for a home (the cat was forced to live outside due to child's allergies).  I feel a pang of sadness but I knew I could not convince Mr. Grumpbump to let me have a third cat.  I did not respond but, in January, this persistent co-worker asked me if I would be willing to contact the cat's owner.  She then sent me pictures of the cat.  Wow.  He was a cutie.  And all of sudden, my mind started playing over all the scenarios in which I could adopt this cat.

After wearing down Mr.Grumpbump (who was behind the literal eight ball in that I let him move his pool table into our dining room and therefore take over the whole living space), I called the cat's owner and on Saturday, January 28, 2011, I went to her house and brought back Tigger:

Tigger, a/k/a El Tigre, a/k/a Mr. Man Cat

Turns out that Tigger is not a kitty, he's eight years old.  And his owner was giving him up after raising him from a kitten!  Tigger was very unhappy for the first two days, which is completely reasonable, seeing as I removed him from the only home he had known for eight years (albeit the last four months he spent in isolation outside and away from his family).  His owner told me that he was a very friendly lap cat and a real lover, so I had hope for him.

After the first few days, Tigger started to show signs of loosening up and relaxing.  He is a purr machine; he purrs while he sleeps, purrs while he eats, purrs when you pet him.  We kept him separated from the girls for the first 10 ten days, and he was living in our bedroom and bathroom.  I started letting him roam around the house while Delilah and Macy were out on the patio.  Now, three weeks later, all cats are leaving out in the open.

Delilah and Macy have not warmed to him (if they ever will), but Tigger is a trooper and he tries really hard to play with them and to be around them.  He's without his front claws, so he is at a disadvantage should there be a brawl, but the girls don't seem to realize that.  When he gets near to them, they hiss or growl, but Tigger stands his ground.  He doesn't move away, and it is Macy or Delilah who turn and retreat.   

When I first brought Tigger home, I had an arrangement worked out with his owner that in the event things did not work out with us, that I would bring Tigger back to her.  We decided to check back with each other in two weeks.  Of course, I've already told her that we are happy to have Tigger stay with us and that, while things aren't perfect, they are perfect.  

Now, I need to work on getting him a new name.

Planet of the Cats

Warning.  This will be a cat-intensive blog post.

Miss Macy had her dental cleaning on Friday.  I had an estimate from a vet for this procedure and it was upwards of $600.00.  This is very budget-unfriendly; I just put this on the back burner.  Macy seemed to have no problems with eating, so I felt comfortable with this decision.

Then we moved to our new house, far away from Macy's vet, and time for her annual wellness exam came and went.  I couldn't find anyone I knew to recommend a vet so I called the local SPCA, which is associated with the County's Animal Services Department.  Turns out they have a vet clinic and very reasonable rates.  Macy had her annual wellness exam, and the only issues were her weight (she needs to lose a pound) and her teeth.  The vet told me that she would need a cleaning and some of the teeth would need to be extracted.  The estimate was less than half of my original quote of $600 plus.  So we scheduled the cleaning.

The morning of the surgery, I bought Macy to the clinic and saw at least 30 other owners and their animals waiting in line (although most of them were probably there for spay/neuter - the clinic will not treat any animal that isn't fixed).  Macy was so miserable, meowing and carrying on.   Macy was one of the first animals called in and it was in the moment I handed her to the vet tech, that I started crying.  Poor Miss Mace is something I say a lot (in relation to Delilah's grumpiness towards her).  But I was saying it that morning.  Poor Miss Mace doesn't know what is going on and she's scared.  Of course, Macy pooped in her cat carrier, but I was prepared and scooped it out before I handed her over.

I was told that the clinic would call me if there were any complications or questions during the process.  I called the clinic but left a message with the vet tech.  I never heard from anyone and tried to reassure myself that no news meant good news.  I left work at 4:00 p.m. to go pick up Macy.

I arrived at the clinic at 4:30 p.m. and told the nurse at the desk that I was there to pick up Macy.  She told me that Macy would not be ready until 5:00 or 5:30 p.m.  Another couple was there at the same time as me to pick up their dog, who had also had a teeth cleaning and they were told the same thing.  While they patiently waited, I stomped out of the clinic and went to my car to call my husband.

When Mr. Grumpbump answered, I was already in tears and the first thing I said to him was "I should have paid the extra money."  And burst out into dramatic wailing.  Mr. Grumpbump is telling me to take deep breaths and calm down.  I told him that Macy would not be ready to go home until 5:30, but this was unacceptable to me and I was going to march back into the clinic and demand that my cat be released from this prison!

Honestly, the clinic people were not very friendly to me (I was pouting and visibly upset) and about 5:15 p.m. they processed Macy to go home.  Macy had four teeth removed and they prescribed pain medicine (to be rubbed on her gums) and an antibiotic (with a syringe so we could get it down her throat).  With the amount of animals they must see on a regular basis, their procedures are in place for reason.  I couldn't help but feel like I was in the animal welfare clinic because there was almost no personal service for me, the human, guardian, and the person footing the bill.  I believe that they took good care of Macy and she seems no worse for the trauma of it all.

Macy came home with a shaved front leg and now she looks like she's wearing a boot on her front leg.  I haven't been able to get a good look at her mouth.  We can't get anywhere near her with the pain medicine but she doesn't appear to be in any discomfort.  The required antibiotics are a bitch to get in her mouth.  Last night she spit up most of it (I think the taste is off-putting).  I posted a note in a cat forum and found out that I was administering the medicine wrong.  We were putting the syringe in the front and putting the medicine down her throat (and then she spit it back).  However, when we put the syringe in the corner of her mouth and shot the medicine across her throat, her reflexes kicked in and she swallowed it.  Success!

Macy and her fur boot

I have two water bowls inside (one is a fountain that has continuously running water) and there is a water bowl outside by the pool.  Delilah still insists on drinking from the pool.  I caught her this morning.  She spreads her back legs out and firmly plants them on the concrete as her anchor and then she lowers the front half of her body into the pool.

Delilah is very thirsty

No Coffee For The Mace

Mr. Grumpbump is now proficient with our stove-top espresso maker.  There is nothing I like better than my husband making me a cup of coffee.  I pretend to be inept at the whole process and ask him to "help" me.  The cup I'm enjoying now is super yummy, which is made all the better because he's also cleaning up the percolator too!   I let Miss Macy smell my coffee but she was not interested in it all.  Her loss.

We hired an electrician to put up our ceiling fan and track lighting in the kitchen nook.  It is so nice to have actual overhead lights in the living space instead of relying on table and floor lamps.  The fan will come in handy once the Florida weather heats up.  Mr. Grumpbump also installed a light in the front hallway so he can maneuver the front bedroom in the morning (he keeps his uniforms in the front bedroom closet).  

Ceiling Fan front and center - kitchen track lighting visible in background

I've made some progress on my latest ripple afghan.  I've switched up the color blocking on this one so there more color changes than with the previous two.  Basically, it means that I have a lot more ends to weave in. While I enjoy the pattern immensely, I think I might retire it for a while after I finish this project.  

Fall colors for my winter project

  

Miss Macy has a new sleeping position I like to call Nautilus (because she's curled around like the seashell). She's constantly sleeping on or near my knitting project.  Macy has to have her teeth cleaned this Friday (Feb 3).  The teeth cleaning will involve the pulling of some back teeth that are unhealthy and potentially harmful to the Mace.  I hate to do that to her and trust she will forgive me someday for this but I'm very nervous about it all.   If you are reading this, please keep my Mace in your thoughts and wish her a speedy recovery.

Definitely cuter and fluffier than the real-life nautilus

No Delilah on today's entry because she's just too mean to me these days.  Unless she's asleep, Delilah treats me like her servant and yells at me whenever I approach her.  Then she runs away.  

Cat Tales

Ugh.  I love and hate Sunday nights all at once.  Sunday nights mean I have to go to work in the morning, but they also represent my last little bit of freedom before the work week.

I've started my third version of the Ripple Stitch afghan.  I've changed up the striping on the pattern just a bit; not sure how it will turn out.  I think the colors (chocolate brown, beige, burgundy/wine and cream) are reminiscent of fall and autumn and hope they work well together throughout the entire project.  I'll know more as I knit more rows of the pattern.

Macy supervising my progress.

Delilah made me laugh this morning.  She was out on the patio and I was checking up on her when I saw a familiar sight.  Delilah had her tail in the pool, while she was drinking water out of the dish Mr. Grumpbump set out for her (it's actually a plant dish, but Delilah insists on drinking water out of it so that's what it is now).  I was able to grab my camera to document the moment.

Tour de Grumpbump

Early Saturday afternoon here in Florida and the temperatures are back up in the 70s, although it is overcast right now as I sit on my patio. Maybe overcast is the wrong word; there is a lot of cloud cover and you can't really see the sun or the sky. Just light gray and white clouds everywhere.  I'm waiting for Mr. Grumpbump to get back from Lowes.

Since receiving a bike for Christmas, Mr. Grumpbump and I go out on Saturday mornings - he runs, I bike.  It's the first opportunity I've taken since moving into this house to see the neighborhood and the houses around us. I enjoy riding and would be willing to do more exploring of the other subdivisions on this side of the main roadway.

La Bicicleta - Yo quiero un (como se dice... "basket")

But today, I realized that I could right my bike to the Farmers Market just a mile or so from the house.  The only problem is that I have to cross a MAJOR roadway to get there.  There are plenty of sidewalks to take me all the way to the shopping center where it is hosted every Saturday, I just have to be very careful about the traffic when crossing the road.  Once I get across the street, the sidewalks keep me away from the cars and I'll feel very safe.

My trip today yielded some beautiful tomatoes and cucumbers.   But there were so many other good fruits and vegetables (strawberries are in season, the onions and peppers were so bright and colorful).  I'll have to get a basket for my bicycle so I don't have to stuff everything in a knapsack.

Dinner Tonight

I'm still getting used to riding the bike.  I know they say you never really forget how to ride (which is true) but as I have aged I have become less sure of myself (physically).  I'm very aware that should I crash on this bike, I could hurt myself very badly.  I don't take my hands off the handlebars, and even the process of looking around can cause me to very quickly over correct.  I need more practice before I will feel confident on the bike.

The Color of (Grumpbump) Money

I finished my second slouchy hat in time for the two days of cold weather here in Florida.  I love this hat and this time the yarn I used is perfect for the project.

Back of the hat -

Just a bit of slouch

I'm starting another ripple afghan.  I'm not feeling the love for it as I have previously, but I attribute that to slouchy hat pattern that I can complete in just a few days.  I'm going to have to really focus on this afghan because I think the colors I picked are going to pop.

Mr. Grumpbump got his pool table.   But the story definitely does not end there.  Mr. Grumpbump was supposed to set up the pool table in the dining room space of our great room.  Days before he bought it and had it moved, I made him assure me that he had measured and that it would work in the dining space.  After the movers got here and unloaded the table, they spent about an hour re-felting the table. I was in the bedroom with Delilah, trying to keep her out of the way. When Mr. Grumpbump revealed the table to me, I was very upset.  The table was HUGE and much too big for the space. I did not hesitate to tell Mr.Grumpbump of my displeasure.  

My solution was for the pool table to go into the garage. Mr.Grumpbump pouted and said he couldn't afford to lose the space for his car (my response to that?  Let's sell your damn car.).  One thing was certain - the pool table could not remain in the space.  After mulling it over for a day, we decided to compromise. The pool table will remain in the house, in the front room, but we turned it 90 degrees.  The benefit to this is that you don't see the pool table the second you walk in the front door.  It still takes up most of the great room, but I can live with it and it is sort of cool to come home and play a game of pool (even though I suck at it).

Mr. Grumpbump owes me BIG for this concession

We are going to move the furniture all around this weekend to come up with the best layout for the room.  You can see that the loveseat is up against the pool table. I'll post final pictures to show how we will make this work.

No Yarn Was Harmed During the Making of this Blog

I made white wine sangria today.  I was tipsy after only two glasses and promptly passed out on the couch.

I spent way too long in Michaels today, trying to decide what yarn to purchase.  They had a 50% sale on Country Loom, and I loaded my basket with 10 skeins of it, imagining I would knit an afghan.  However, this yarn reminds me too much of Homespun and  I had a terrible time trying to knit with it.  I put it all back and moved onto a new Bernat yarn called Waverly, which had the most beautiful colors and was so soft.  I couldn't think of a pattern to make with it so I put it back too (although by searching their website, I found a beautiful pattern so I might be going back to purchase it).  I ended up going with the Loops & Threads Impeccable Yarn (acrylic) in order to make my favorite ripple stitch afghan.

I'm still working on my second slouchy hat.  I hope I can finish it before Tuesday because the temperature is supposed to drop on Tuesday.  Hoping this hat will fit better than my first attempt in cotton.

Macy in the middle of my knitting

Tomorrow, Mr. Grumpbump gets his pool table (another Craigslist find).  The delivery company is not only going to move it for him but they will also re-felt it. I believe it's got a green felt now, but Mr. Grumpbump is going to have it re-done in a wine felt.  I'm happy for him because he's very excited about it.

I'm going to take all of my leftover stash yarn and start knitting an oddball blanket. I must be saving these remnants for something, right?  I also have a drawer full of leftover sock yarn but I don't know what I can do with it. I'll have to search Google and Ravelry for ideas on how to de-stash this.

It Really Feels Like A New Beginning

I'm so grateful for this three-day weekend. My weeks are completely absorbed by work - it's all I focus on, to the detriment of my personal life.  (At work, when we tell someone that they need to "focus" we are referring to the urban definition of Fuck Off 'Cause You're Stupid.)

I've evolved from spending my weekends just vegetating, sleeping, just trying to recoup some bit of energy sapped from the constant stress and pressure of my job, with a basic enjoyment and happiness for spending time working on the house.   We still have a few pressing items to fix/fill in....we need to install lights in the hallways, bedrooms, and the living area.  We are relying on floor and table lamps and it is just not cutting it.  I'm constantly borrowing a lamp from the front bedroom in order to knit and read in the living area.  Mr. Grumpbump tried to install track lighting in the kitchen nook and while the tester said that there is power to the  strip, the light will not work.  In fact, we have a ton of switches and wall sockets that either (1) don't work or (2) don't appear to belong with any fixture.  Basically, we need an electrician to come in and map out the switches and wall sockets.  I have bugged and nagged Mr. Grumpbump to find us an electrician.

I'm currently knitting Slouchy Copy Cat Hat.  My first attempt was with a cotton yarn and, although the color is HOT, it was not the best choice because cotton has very little give, even with the ribbing on the band.  The hat stretches easily and does not bounce back. I'm going to wash it and see if I can shrink it a bit.  The pattern is really cute because it has the feel of a cable but it's just a stitch being passed over two knit stitches that gives it the cabled look.   I love the decreases at the top (you can't see them in the picture) and the way it gathers at the crown.  I actually have a red poncho that my mom gave me and I wore it and my slouchy hat to work several days this week.  Cheeky!

This color is fabulous but cotton is not the right yarn for this  project

I have another slouchy hat on my needles, this time using a better-suited yarn (wool/acrylic blend).  I've only just started but I have a feeling this fit will be better than the cotton.

I bought two closetmaid storage container to put in the bedroom closet so I can organize my yarn stash.  I wanted to buy faux wood storage cubicle units (6, 8 or 9 cubes) and Mr. Grumpbump and I were in Target, attempting to pick them out (white, natural or dark), when Mr. Grumpbump got all miserly on me and tried to steer me towards the plastic storage solutions.  I hated that idea because there is no way I would want some plastic tubs out in the open in the house.  However, comparing the prices, figuring that I would store these containers in the closet anyway, and realizing that I would have more money leftover to buy more yarn, I went with the plastic 3-drawer containers.   Tomorrow, I'm printing my Michaels coupon and heading over to the store to get more yarn.  It's nice not to have yarn all over the house in shoeboxes, wicker baskets, paper bags, and plastic shopping bags.

Are you ready for cat pictures? First up is Delilah. She's in love with the back patio area now that we have cushions on the chairs. She's claimed the lounger and at least three of the four chairs. She loves napping on them.

Delilah knows how to make herself comfortable

Delilah is checking out Alfred, the garden frog (gift from my mom at Christmas)

I think Macy has really blossomed since moving to the new house. Macy loves to sit in the patio area and watch the lizards run around.  She doesn't roam the house with Delilah around, but she is not shy about hanging out with us while we watch tv.  She's usually on the couch with one of us. When she's really relaxed, I can get her to let me rub her belly while she naps next to me. And she purrs so much now.  I feel like we have really done right by her when I hear her purr.

Macy's usual spot

Worth Staying Up For

Mr. Grumpbump's blanket is finished!  This ripple stitch pattern is my absolute favorite; it seems that no matter what colors you pick, the blanket is so striking.  Definitely something I will do again.

Completed

I've started on a new project, which I chose based solely on the ease of getting in on my needles and the quickness of the knit.  It's called a Baktus Scarf.  I'm using sock yarn to knit this and I will probably buy some beads to add to the ends of the scarf (a lot of the scarves are made with tassels at the end).  If this turns out as cool as I hope, I might use up my other sock yarn to make this very easy knit.  Right now, it remains to be seen how it will turn out.

On Tuesday after work, I'm going to attend a knitting group meeting at my local bookstore.  Because I am under so much stress at work, I now fight even harder to get time for knitting.  I have to make time to knit on a semi-regular basis and I get very angry when something else takes time away from knitting.  I work it out in my head every day as to how I can  get more time for knitting.  Is there a job for me out there that will allow me to pursue my hobby?

Two Dolls