Reading the Label

I had an amazingly relaxing day.  It was glorious.  We didn't get any rain at all today, even though Hurricane Isaac is moving up towards us.  Ugh.  I just read the news reports and they are predicting tornadoes for us Sunday and Monday.  How am I supposed to go to work when my kitties are at home by themselves?  I will be so stressed.  It's a good thing I'm getting my relaxation in now.

I bought a dishcloth pattern book at Michaels (I'm not sure why I did that - I think it was the pretty pictures).  My first dishcloth from that pattern book is finished:

Basketweave

I really need to finish the hat I'm knitting for my brother; I've been procrastinating with it because I'm not sure I understand the decrease for the crown.  It doesn't help that the pattern is written in Finnish.  I've been searching the internet to see if someone can further expound on the decreases, which are confusingly written (possibly because of the translation from Finnish to English).

Oh no!  The pattern is gone.  Seriously, it was linked on the Ravelry web page and now the author has marked her blog as "private".  Shit.  That's what I get for procrastinating.  I'm searching the internet to see if someone has it saved.

I think I found the meat of the pattern in someone's project notes.  It's just enough to allow me to finish the hat (I think).  I'd better finish this thing up soon.

I just had the weirdest case of vertigo.  Sitting here at the kitchen table, scouring the internet for a piece of that hat pattern.  Yuck.  That didn't feel good.

I've switched food for my cats again!  I was feeling guilty about feeding them crappy food.  I haven't noticed any health problems, but they are all older cats and there are simply no positive things to be said about Friskies dry cat food.  I bought two small bags of Purina's Pro Plan (one is hairball control, the other is for urinary tract health).  However, after reading the labels on those, their ingredients aren't much better (wheat gluten, corn meal, no real meat).

So we are on our third brand of cat food, called Indigo, which is all natural ingredients (no wheat, no by-products).  The cats all love it, which is amazing considering the amount of change I've put them through.  In addition to the dry food that I set out daily, every morning and evening, I give each cat 1/6 of a can of wet food.  This means I go through a can a day.

Again, I was feeding them Friskies.  I mean, I am feeding them Friskies, but I switched to the pate version (which is so much stinkier than the meaty chunks, if you can believe it).  The pate version has no wheat gluten, so it's a tiny bit better for them.

At the wholesale club, I can get 48 cans of the wet food for $0.46 per can.  Compared to $1.59 to $1.99 per can of the higher brand cat food.  And I read those ingredients, and didn't find them that much better than Friskies.  Obviously, there was a big discrepancy between the dry foods, so I switched.  But I am satisfied with the wet food and the nutrition it provides my cats.

Surprisingly, not one cat turned up his or her nose at the new wet food, even picky Delilah.  She did take some cajoling to get her to look at the new food, but she quickly ate it up and by this evening, she was enjoying her share.

The most beautiful cat in the world

Also, shopping at the wholesale club allowed us to pick up another box for Miss Macy.  Mr. Grumpbump and I spent at least 10 minutes going through the free-box selections in order to come up with something that would suit Miss Macy's needs.

Say Cheese!

I can always count on Mr. Tigger to be hanging around, so it's easy to take his picture.  Except when I try to catch him in a pose, he decides he needs to make a beeline directly to me.

Catwalk

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

My First Cake

Please don't tell Mr. Grumpbump.

I went to a yarn store today at lunch.  Not a big-box craft store, but a locally-owned yarn store with fancy yarns I've only read about (on Ravelry).  Don't even bother asking if I purchased something. Of course I did!

The front of the store contained a lot of needlepoint yarns and notions, but the two back rooms were dedicated to knitting and crocheting.  The employees at The Black Sheep were so nice to me and helped me find the perfect yarn for my next project.  I also bought some locking stitch markers (I've been using a safety pin and I'm sure that I'm going to stick myself one day) and some cable needles that match my interchangeable needles.  But the best purchase was the fabulous Malabrigo yarn, which was spun into a "cake":

This is a cake

It's hard to tell in the photograph but the yarn has varying shades and tones of red and should knit up very nicely.  I'm planning to knit a zigzag shawl (I love those chevrons/ripples).  The yarn was a ridiculously expensive purchase ($22 per cake - and I have two).  But I don't regret it for a second (as long as you promise not to tell Mr. Grumpbump).

I finished the second of my crocheted chemo hats (this color scheme is a mirror image of the prior one).  I like the pattern but will need use a smaller hook (size F) for my next attempt.  With this hat, I tried another flower pattern, but I don't like the way it turned out (my sewing skills suck).

Chemo Hat

The crochet hats can be done in one weekend - crochet is fast but it uses almost twice the yarn that similar knitting projects would use.  I am currently working on a chemo cap now (tight to the skull and without a floppy brim).  I picture it with a gigantic crochet flower so I'll have to track down a good pattern for one.

Finally, a picture of Ms. Delilah to make your day.....

The Lady Delilah

Crazy Old Man

Mr. Grumpbump has a new soccer team.  He's in an over-40 league and previously belonged to a team that practiced/played about 30 miles from our house.  That's a lot of driving; not only to play in games but to practice/scrimmage every week.  This season, he joined a new team, one that is much closer to our home - probably 10 miles away.   He's very happy when he's playing - even if he gets injured, which is all the time given that he is an old man (he's 45).

And, to honor his time on the previous soccer team, Mr. Grumpbump is making me go outside with him and take pictures of him in his old uniform.  Right now, he's running around the house, collecting his old uniform, looking for comb so he can style his hair, and grabbing his soccer ball (presumably to pose with it).  Yep, this is who I am married to.

I finally finished a crochet project that doesn't look like a hot mess.

Chemo Hat

A co-worker (who crochets hats for chemo patients) gave me this pattern because it's so simple, in that it only uses one type of crochet stitch (single).   I got the flower pattern from this website.   I'm going to crochet the reverse of this (all pink with grey stripe and flower) but with a size-smaller hook.

I also finished my slouchy hat, which is to be sent to my sis-in-law.

I need a mannequin head for pictures - candles don't work

Hoping it looks better on her head

I think I might try to take the bus to work three days a week.  Yes, it would take me more than a hour to get to work, but I could knit/read while traveling.  If all goes well, I could relax before I get to work!  We'll see because Central Florida's mass transit system is not exactly top-quality.

Modifying and Tailoring

I'm knitting a hat with some cute pink bamboo/wool yarn.  It's for my sister-in-law (who, according to my brother, has a very small head).  I went down one needle size on the ribbing and two needle sizes on the psso stitch.   I've knitted this twice before.  The first time was with a cotton yarn and that was a mistake!  Cotton has no give in it at all.  The second attempt was with a wool yarn from my stash and the results were 180 degrees different.  That was perfect yarn for this project.  The pattern is a free one (of course!).  It's called Slouchy Copy Cat Hat.  The passed stitch over two knit stitches makes the hat look more intricate than it really is.

Problem is that I'm not sure my sister-in-law is a "pink" person.  And this dyelot is really pink (the label says "Snapdragon" and I'm not sure how that translates to this really pink color).  I'm sending it to her regardless and whatever feedback I get will determine how I tailor the next hat.

Pink Lady

I was supposed to start a new knitting project (a beginner sweater) but I didn't buy enough yarn for the project.  I need 9 balls of yarn but misread the pattern in the store and only got five.  I can buy more yarn, but, mostly likely, the dyelots will not match.  It should not be fatal to the project but that fact, and because I was swamped with work at the end of the month, meant that I missed the cast on date.  I think I'm going to move it to the end of my project list.  That project list being solely composed in my head so it's very easy to move anything to anywhere since I problems focusing when it comes to knitting.  I don't stay on one pattern very long before I see something else I want to try or when I just want to knit for knitting's sake and that results in me just knitting a washcloth with my stash of cotton yarn.   I'm so close to finishing my third ripple afghan but it's been relegated to the bedroom (the issue with that is that yarn is so tangled that I spend most time just detangling in order to knit a few rows).

I always keeping the current project on the end table next to the loveseat.  Right now, it's the pink slouchy hat.  But that can be problematic because Macy, who loves to lie on top of the pool table, uses the end table as a bridge between the pool table and loveseat.  I have to make sure the end table is fairly clutter-free and stable for her to walk across.   She makes me so happy when she wants to be near me so I encourage her if I can.

Macy's other favorite hangout is her box.  Just a plain cardboard box.  I recently increased her habitat by one by setting out a wicker basket.  Although she just accepts the cardboard box without modification, this is not true of the wicker basket.  She will pick at the reeds and actually pull them up and out.  I haven't heard her do this recently and she's been spotted sleeping in it so I think she's    taken care of all the pieces that were bothering her.

Unfortunately, Macy threw up in her favorite cardboard box and I had to discard it.  We had nothing else to replace it with until Mr. Grumpbump came back from BJ's wholesale yesterday.  Mr. G thought the box was too small for Macy, but I set it down to see if she would like it.

The cat trap is working!

It's definitely not as roomy as her former beloved box.  But she makes it work.   She's utilizing her wicker basket much more for sleeping.  However, for Macy, her box is her hassle-free zone with a special shield around it so she is immune from attacks or other stresses.  I'm not sure that this one will ever be comfortable enough for her to sleep in but she will sit in it and watch us while we sit in the living room.

One of the things that Macy likes to watch is when we can convince Delilah to actually be in the same room as us and we play with her.  Delilah can be so kitten-like when we use the cat dancer toys.  You can get her to put all four paws into the game, where she grabs the ribbon or cloth or boa with her front paws and pushes against it with her back paws.  Delilah doesn't bite the ribbon, instead when she gets a good grip with her paws and nails, she will lick it.  That's what she does when she makes a catch.  She licks her prey to death.

Ferocious!

Success!

 Our pool pump is broken!  And, of course, it is not covered under the home warranty.  The pool is now five days without the moving water and it is a lovely shade of green.  Pool guy is supposed to come out on Tuesday, but Mr. Grumpbump is going to purchase the pool pump separately at Home Depot to cut down on on costs.  The old pump was so loud!  I'm hoping that the new one will be a bit less annoying.   I hope this is the last thing we have to replace for a while.  Since our one-year anniversary in this house will be on August 16, we are trying to determine if we should renew the home warranty.  I don't think it will be worth it since we have all new appliances with their own warranties.  The only variables are the a/c and the roof, but I'm not sure that the coverage would help us with either.   I'm asking Mr. Grumpbump to investigate and figure out if it is worth the expense.

Just Getting Along

Last night, while lying in bed reading, I watched Delilah jump onto the bed and walk over to me, looking for some scratches.  In the evenings, Delilah is pretty friendly, hoping up onto your stomach or chest but only for as long as you scratch the top of her head between her ears or her neck under her chin.  I gave her the necessary attention but wanted to get back to my book, so she quickly hopped off of me and stretched out next to me.   I was surprised when a few minutes later, Mr. Tigger jumped on the bed (on side of me opposite of Delilah).  He stayed in that position for a bit, while I gave me scratches.  However, his real goal is to be near Delilah, so he moved down to the foot of the bed and within a foot of Delilah.  Delilah gave no indication that she was bothered by Tigger, but I know her and she likes to have the entire bed to herself (usually), so I watched as Delilah showed Tigger her disdain but rotating herself around so that she was in the same place but facing away from him.  A few minutes later, Delilah jumped off the bed, followed shortly thereafter by Tigger.

Tigger is my "the-glass-is-half-full" cat because he tries and tries to make friends with Delilah and Macy.  He's smart too because he knows his best bet is with Delilah so I often find them in the same room.  Tigger's plan is to get Delilah used to seeing him everywhere (he likes to eat in her presence, he sleeps in the same room as her during the day) before he makes his big move.  Yesterday, I was happy to see that Tigger took advantage of Delilah's sleeping to get closer to Delilah than I have ever seen.

They are practically cuddling.  This is the closest I've ever seen them and they were like this for several hours.  I love the Tigger so much for his willingess to try and to never accept defeat (or a swat from Delilah).  

Now, Miss Macy, she's been making some strides as well.  I believe we suffered a setback with her (in terms of socialization) when we moved and then when she had her teeth cleaning.  She was more skittish, less accepting of our touch, and only comfortable when she was in her cardboard box.  However, in the last few weeks, Macy has given up her solitary ways and actually comes to sit next to us on the couch.  We are also getting moments of her demanding to be petted, which results in her purring.  I've been late to work because one of these "pet me NOW" moments happened as I was leaving one morning.  I had to stay and take advantage of Macy allowing me to pet her entire body, in addition to her purring like mad and rubbing herself against me (again, rarely exhibited behavior by the Mace).

I've recently tried to ramp up my independent study of teaching myself conversational Spanish.  I've got the Pimsleur CDs in my car which I listen to during the drive to and from work.  While this is very helpful, it's not enough and so I started looking online for (free) help for accelerating my studies.  One website was very useful and gave me the great idea of watching a Spanish soap opera (telenovela) and putting the closed captioning on (in Spanish) so I could hear the language and see the words at the same time.  So far, I've only done this with one episode and I'm watching it over and over.  I can also submit the transcript to an online database that will translate it for me.  Another really good idea is getting some children's books in Spanish.  There are several free online and I might try to download them to the iPad.  However, I know the best teaching I could get would be to try to speak with a native Spanish speaker.  But I don't have any close friends who fit this description.  I'm going to work on that and see what I can figure out.

I have several big projects in mind.  At the end of July, I want to knit a cardigan.  I think I've found an easy pattern here.  And I can use yarn I find at Michaels (red heart is a mass-market yarn).  I also want to finish the ripple afghan that's been on the needles forever and start another one.  But I'm in search of a pattern with more of a ripple (waves)  than chevrons (points).  One big hinderance is that most ripple patterns are crochet, not knit.

I am almost done with a washcloth that I knitted as part of a set.  I made the hand towel and one washcloth.  I didn't realize that the color combination was so Charlie Brown-looking.  You will have to see it as a set when I finish the second washcloth (probably today).  Until then, this is the hand towel.

Mr. Grumpbump's birthday is tomorrow!  He's going to be 45 years old.   I have already given him his presents (I'm very bad about keeping gifts surprises) but I have a card for him and we will probably go to dinner somewhere.

An Explanation

Being over 40, childless, and living with three cats classifies me as a crazy lady.  Being married doesn't save me from ridicule or judgment.   I could argue that having three cats is not in any way related to being childfree, but I'm not sure I completely buy into my own argument.  

Facts are facts, and I'm not having kids.  So all of my emotion and love and maternal feelings are channeled into my cats.  I am not their "mother".  They are not my "children".  I am always aware that they are cats.  

However, I love these guys.  They are every bit my family as are my parents, my brother, my husband, my friends.   Delilah, Macy and Tigger live with me and I am responsible for keeping them healthy, fed and sheltered.  When I think about them in pain or unhappy, it hurts.  I want them to be happy and, in turn, I feel happiness through them.  All of these things define "family" to me.   As I watch Mr. Grumpbump watching the basketball game, and Miss Macy jump up on the couch to settle in next to him, I feel joy and love in my heart because I'm looking at my family.

I am passionate about my cats and love to talk about them.  I try to contain myself with people who aren't as understanding or enthusiastic about hearing about my cats.  I don't show them the almost 200 pictures of cats on my cell phone, although I am polite enough to oooh and aaah over the many photographs of their children no matter what.  

And, then there are the truly special friends who share the same passion for their pets as me; the ones who get excited over a new brand of cat litter or with whom you can share stories of how amazingly serene your cat looks while sleeping.  It is a pleasure to be in their company.

My cats are unique and so different between themselves as a group.

Tigger is so friendly and gregarious.  He enjoys being in our presence and will follow us around the house, to lie down wherever we are.  As the only male (and declawed cat) in the house, he's got to deal with the female bitchiness and takes it in stride.  He never seems to get mad.  Tigger is also a skilled hunter and is very clever at catching the geckos and lizards that live on our patio.

Tigger

 Delilah is so exquisite.  She knows how beautiful she is, and therefore can be as bitchy as she likes.  She wants to be the queen of the house but is confused by Tigger's failure to bow down to her.  Delilah sleeps all day but you would never call her lazy.  It's beauty sleep.

Delilah

 Macy is the sweetest cat ever, but so quiet and shy and keeps only to herself (and her box).  She absolutely believes that her box is surrounded by a force field and she is impervious to pain or harm while in this magic box.  She hates being touched and she dictates the terms upon which you will approach her or be in her presence.  I wish she felt more confident and comfortable, but until then, she has her box.

Macy

I keep these guys in my heart every day.

Chores Are Done; Time to Knit

In my absence from this blog, I finished a baby blanket.  Mr. Grumpbump's niece is expecting her first child, a boy, in September, I believe.  Mr. Grumpbump liked my first Gradient Baby Blanket, so I picked up baby yarn in cute boyish colors (green, blue, purple) and went to work.  I slipped the  first stitch of every row so that the edge would look cleaner.  I toyed with the idea of adding a crochet border, but I was afraid that adding it would take away from the effect of the "bleeding" of one color into other.

Here's the finished product:

For Baby Boy Swanson

I've picked up my ripple afghan to try to finish it.  It's been forever since I've touched it.  I also bought some really cute pink wool yarn for a hat for my sister-in-law.  Apparently, she's got a very small head so I have to force myself to knit it like it was for a child.  For some reason, I always want to knit bigger sizes even in the face of what I'm supposed to do.  It means that everything I knit is always too big (which is why I love blankets, throws, afghans....no sizes to worry about).

Part of my absence from blogging is because I had to get my house organized.  Things were way out of control (laundry, housekeeping, papers everywhere...) and not getting any better until one day I just cleaned one room.  One room.  And all of sudden, I could not stop.  The entire house got  cleaned and organized in a few days.  Mr. Grumpbump helped too (and he is in the process of getting our garage in a manageable state).  And now, I actually make the bed every morning; dishes get done on time; and there are not massive piles of laundry to do every weekend.  We are keeping up with the neat and orderly Grumpbump household.  It is very relaxing in a funny way.  I don't get stressed the second I walk into the house.   Now, I'm not bragging, nor am I saying that my floors are so clean you can eat off of them, because I have three cats and my house will never be completely clean.  I will always have cat hair dust bunnies no matter how much I sweep.  

Miss Macy is the biggest shedder in our house.  It's insane how much hair comes off of her.  The easier way to see evidence of that is to look inside her cat bed.  I wish I could say that she enjoyed the comforts of the soft and overstuffed cat beds we inherited from my stepmother.  No, instead Miss Macy loves her box.  A cardboard box.  I don't know how it's comfortable but Miss Macy runs to that box for safety, for sleep, for her sanity.

Macy-in-the-bo

Pecks of Peppers

I got a plant from my office for Administrative Professional's Day, the politically correct term for for the commonly-known Secretary's Day.  The plant is a type of ivy and it's dying.  I put it inside, it withers.  I put it outside, it continues the death spiral. I water.  No change.  I spritz it with water.  Yep, you guessed it.

However, Mr. Grumpbump seems to have a way with the plants (as he does with the cats, who love him so much more than me).  He started planting all kinds of everything once we bought the house.  There is no real plan to what he is doing.  I know he enjoys color, so anything with a bloom brightens his day.

Although our area has suffered from lack of rainfall, Mr. G has managed to keep some of his garden alive and thriving.

Sunflowers

Lantana

But Mr. G's real promise seems to be with vegetables.  He admittedly went a bit beserk planting peppers because we must have 50 of them growing and so many more flowering.  The majority of the pepper plants are sweet peppers (light green in color).  Yes, you can add them to salads or eggs or stir-fry, but they are not that versatile.   Interspersed with the sweet peppers are a few hot pepper plants, and the peppers on those plants are small and tight and a very dark green.  They practically scream "hot pepper".  I'm not touching those.

We have at least 10 more plants like this.

 Mr. G has one bell pepper plant.  So far, we have picked two peppers and they have been on the small side.  However, they taste great.  The plant has two more almost ready to go.

Bell Peppers

 So, with the garden feeling a little too green, there is a promise of something different.  I have yelled at Mr. G to plant some more damn tomato plants.  Tomatoes are my absolute favorite thing in the whole world.  You see those itty bitty red dots?  Say a prayer that they have lots of babies who grow up to be red juicy delicious.

Grow, dammit!

 The vegetables and sunflowers are growing outside of the patio area, in a small patch of ground called our backyard.  The lantana, catnip and other greenery are growing in the areas to either side of the pool.   With the addition of all of these plants and shrubs, we have fooled Delilah into thinking she's really outdoors and she has stopped her incessant whining at the front door to be "let outside".  Now, she will cry at the back door, which we will gladly open to let her out.  Many nights, she will sleep outside and you can find her in the catnip/lantana area, where she had matted down the mulch to make a nice, comfortable spot for herself.

Delilah

I'm still working on washcloths but I might pick up my scarf project and try to finish it today.  It was 90 degrees yesterday so knitting a scarf seems counter-intuitive.  However, I don't have that much more to go before it's done, clearing space for me to start that baby blanket.

Crazy Colors Scarf

I bought a new computer a few weeks ago.  Mine was just becoming too slow, even after I re-installed the OS and cleaned everything off of it (most stuff I have is stored on an external drive).  Mr. Grumpbump's computer was replaced last November and his prior computer was about 6 months old than mine, so I knew the time was coming.  I'll probably sell the old one on eBay, but I'll have to do a lot of cleanup on it (both internally and externally).    You know with new things you make all kinds of promises to keep it looking perfect and new and fresh.  That's where I am right now.   I am trying to keep it free of cat hair, crumbs and the like.  I'm not very good at sticking with my commitments and typically I just give up.  I'll be abusing this computer in no time.

Friday Night I Said I'm Sorry

I am sorry for neglecting this blog for so long.  I have tried to write a posting several times in the last week or so, but I lose interest so quickly.   I think I have a lot to say but when I'm staring at the computer screen nothing motivates my fingers to move over the keys.

It's Friday night and I had a long, ugly day at work.  I left around 5:30 and hurried home.  Mr. Grumpbump and I made a trip to Michaels.  I bought baby yarn because I'm knitting a baby blanket for Mr. Grumpbump's niece, who is having her first baby this fall (she's having a boy).  While it's true that I have a stash of baby yarn from the last blanket I knitted, I fell in love with some beautiful blue and green skeins of yarn.  I really dislike the Michaels that is close to my home.  The yarn section is always so messy and under-stocked.  I wish there was a Hobby Lobby nearby.  The only one in my town is near my office but generally I have a hard time leaving for lunch.   It is my new favorite big-box yarn store.

The baby blanket I'm knitting is the gradient garter pattern, which I've previously done.  The problem with the last project was that the yarn would get ridiculously tangled.  I'm not making that mistake this time.

As for my other projects, the third ripple afghan is still on needles, having been so long neglected.  I really don't have that much more to finish but other projects keep getting move up in priority.  I knitted these really cute and super simple fingerless mittens.  I made them for a friend at work and we added some buttons to give them a funky, quirky look.

So easy

Left off the "flap" and added buttons

I had to add the felt white flower "button" at the inside beginning of the thumb gusset because there is a gap where the knitting goes from in the round to back and forth.  I could not pull the yarn tight enough to close the ladders that were formed.  I even tried to add more rows but nothing seemed to work.  So I just covered up my mistake.

I'm also knitting a two-color scarf for the same co-worker.  I really should try to finish it this weekend for her.  She will love to model the scarf (as she did the mittens above).  The colors are very bold and eye-catching (pink and green and purple and yellow).

Also on some needles around here are a few washcloths.  Sometimes it feels like I am going backward in my knitting, as if I'm not progressing.  But knitting is also about relaxing and de-stressing for me so I can't be too critical in my thinking.  So I have projects strewn about the house and have not left much room for the cats.

Tigger is a great cat - he loves to be near us.  When Mr. Grumpbump and I are outside of the patio, he goes meow crazy and yells at us to come back inside.  He doesn't like being left alone.

Trying Out New Projects

Just the thought of knitting is enough to lift my spirits.  I really want to knit a hat right now.  Actually, scratch that.  I want to crochet a hat.  My crochet skills are less than stellar but I want to make a garden party hat - very girly, with a cute band around the crown with a flower or other adornment.  I should be working on my ripple afghan (so carelessly set aside while I worked on the baby blanket), but I really feel the urge to work on that crocheted hat.  We'll see how far I get today.

I've started a new diet.  Today is the last day of the first week.  I don't want to go into much discussion about exactly what I'm doing but this is the basic explanation.  I'm really overweight.  I love food so much and I don't get enough exercise.  I like Weight Watchers because that plan allows you a lot of flexibility.  But, with that flexibility, I was having problems starting it and getting weight off.  So, I've gone to a eating plan that really restricts your carb and sugar intake.  It's like South Beach where you eat more protein and vegetables.  Fruit and dairy are out.   The trick is to get a lot of weight off of me and when I reach my goal, I can transition to Weight Watchers for the rest of my life.  I also have to get an exercise plan integrated into my life.

An attorney I work for has been on the same plan I just started and has dropped 15 pounds in five weeks.  My plan involves being on this plan until the end of October, at which time I should be at my goal weight.  I'm not sure how much I will blog about this plan but it is what is happening in my life right now.  I'm sure I will be more likely to write about it if I'm having success with it.  

My first week was hard (without bread! or cheese!) but I made it and there was no cheating.  I'm drinking 100 ounces of water per day and limiting my caffeine.  I've found that the thought of food is almost as good as eating it.  Since I've gained so much weight, I've found that the eating of the food became almost secondary, it was the anticipation of the food that got me excited.  Wow.  That sounds really sick.  But, let's face it, being so overweight is an illness.  Honestly, this time I'm really committed to getting rid of this fat.

Now that there are three cats in this house, I am never permitted to sleep in.  There are all kinds of chirping, meowing, and crying in the house every morning until I get out of bed and feed these beasts.  In the evening, they never bother Mr. Grumpbump (he's usually home before me), but the second I get home there are cats circling me, following me around until I pop open that can of Friskies.   As nice as it feels to be wanted, it's fleeting because once their faces are buried in their cat bowls, I'm but a memory.  They seem to feel more comfortable hanging around Mr. Grumpbump and they find his lap a nice place to take naps.

Delilah stretching after a long tiring morning of napping 

Tiggs just starting his morning nap

Mr. Grumpbump has many fine qualities and he's been working on his gardening skills.  He's got a dozen or more plants in his garden now, which has already produced a cubanelle sweet pepper (sorry, no picture, we already ate it!).  Now we are waiting for his bell pepper to fully ripen so we can eat it up as well.

One peck of (not) picked peppers

Until his garden gets productive, we are lucky to have a farmer's market every Saturday morning at a local shopping area.  Yesterday I bought Mr. Grumpbump a couple honey bell oranges (his favorite), along with the standard cucumbers and beefsteak tomatoes.  I also got fresh spinach and a head of lettuce.  I'm eating salad practically every night for dinner with my protein choice (the latest selections: tilapia, chicken and buffalo meat, all on separate nights).  We are headed to a warehouse store this afternoon to pick up a variety of proteins to keep on hand so I don't get bored with my new eating habits.  Tonight, we are going out to eat at a sushi restaurant, and I've determined I can eat sashimi (fish without the sushi rice) and a salad (dressing on  the side).  I also believe the miso soup is acceptable because it's made with tofu.  So, I will not be depriving myself at all.   We tried this restaurant a few weeks ago, so I am very confident that they have good quality fish.

I've got to go and start that garden party hat.  Just got to find my crochet hooks.

Everything In Its Place

As I sit here typing this, next to me is a puddle of yarn with a tiger cat laying it in the middle of it.  The yarn is the leftover remnants of my baby blanket project.  Speaking of that, here's the finished project:

Not my best work, I'm sorry to say.  I felt like there are quite a few "errors" that I tried to fix when the ends were woven back in.  When I looked at the blanket as a whole, my eye focuses on those edits.  The problem was the yarn - it kept getting so tangled.  I spent more time untangling it than knitting.  What I love about the pattern is the gradient, but I think this works best with pastel or muted colors.  The other nice feature of the blanket is the feel of the yarn.  It was baby sport yarn in the first place so by its nature, it's soft. Once I washed this blanket, the yarn really softened up.  I was so happy when it came out of the dryer and the softness was even more apparent.  

Babies love cat hair!

Our newest cat, Tigger, is a true blessing, if only because he actually uses the various cat accessories that I have wasted money on in the past.  Delilah needs nothing but a bed to lie on and Macy just wants her own corner cat condo.  A reclining scratching post was never once looked at by Macy or Delilah, but Tigger?  He's all over it.  Even though he has no front claws, he will claw at this thing like he's got talons.  

Sometime last year, I bought this cat groom tunnel made by Kong.  I thought Macy might like it, even though I had nothing to back up that assumption.  She might have looked at it once, but it was basically abandoned. Until Tigger arrived.

He's a great addition to our house.  He was the cat sleeping next to me as I typed this blog entry.