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.

All Knitting, All The Time

I finished my fall-inspired chevron blanket.

It was not what I exactly envisioned, but the graphic is eye-catching.  It looks great in person and is lightweight enough for Florida.  I used Lion Brand Vanna's Choice yarn, an acrylic yarn but it feels pretty soft after a few washes.

For my next project, I want to make a Missoni-inspired chevron blanket.  I found (and bought) this great pattern.  KnitPicks is having a great sale on yarn and I found all the colors I wanted in their popular Wool of the Andes line.  After I picked out all of my colors (and was so excited about the project), I realized that Wool of the Andes is not a superwash wool so it will felt if machine washed (agitated).  Bummer.  KnitPick's superwash merino wool is at least $1 to $1.50 more per skein.  And now I'm venturing into a very expensive blanket.  Whatever I decide on, I will need to buy online because I need so many different colors.  I think I might be making a trip to Hobby Lobby soon.  They are the only yarn store in my area with a large selection of yarn.

I recently bought some Lion Brand Heartland yarn (yes, it's 100% acrylic).  I saw it at JoAnn's and I loved the colors and the feel is so soft and supple.  I have decided to use it for a super-secret project.  I can say that it will be a blanket, because that's all I'm knitting these days, and it will be a gift.  I am super excited to get started on it.

Already on my needles is a stash-buster chevron blanket.  The girls in my knitting group tell me it reminds them of Charlie Brown.  

I have been so focused on knitting because my job has become so stressful during this month of July.  I had to cover for several people on vacation and I am now behind on my regular work.  I have developed a sever case of stiff neck along my right side.  I feel broken down.

God Told Me To Quit My Job

I have been nagging Mr. Grumpbump for weeks - we need to flip our mattress.  He ignored me for a long time but we finally did it over the July Fourth weekend.  I pulled all the sheets off and was in the process of washing them.

The sheets puddled on the bedroom floor and to my amazement, Macy curled up in the sheets and made herself comfortable.  This is significant only because Macy never comes in our bedroom; it's just the one room that she doesn't feel comfortable.  She only traverses the room in order to use the cat door to escape outside.  Generally, she avoids it because it's always been the domain of Delilah.

So, I helped Macy out by doing all the other laundry and saving the sheets until the very end.  I didn't like the idea of disturbing Macy's new hangout.

After all the laundry was done, the mattress flipped and the sheets back on the bed, Mr. Grumpbump and I went to sleep.

And to our amazement, this happened.  It has never happened the entire time we have cared for Macy.

Macy on our bed

Macy jumped up on our bed.  And stayed.  This is astounding because Macy has always considered this area to be Delilah's and she would hiss and squirm if you got her anywhere near our bedroom.

And then it got even better.

Macy and Monkey

Macy didn't scatter when Monkey jumped up and the two of them rested as cats do on the bed.  Macy ended up sleeping on the bed with us for the entire night. (Monkey runs around at night and doesn't usually sleep with us.)

We are trying to determine what happened.  It's almost as if a switch in Macy's brain has been flipped and she's got confidence and is self-assured enough to take ownership of a new space in the house.  I'm guessing that it helps that Delilah has abandoned the room too (she did so because of the Monkey).  Whatever the reason, Macy has spent the last several nights in our bedroom.   And when Mr. Grumpbump comes home from work, he finds Macy resting on the bed.  

As far as my knitting goes, I'm nearly finished with my latest chevron blanket.  I'm planning the next one before this one is even off the needles.  

I bought a few books on ripple stitches in order to get some ideas on new stitch patterns.   I'm only relaxed when I'm knitting.  I am convinced this is God's way of telling me to quit my job and just stay home and knit.

Riding The Wave

I'm just resigned to the fact that my needlework crafting skills are limited.  Any project requiring shaping or tailoring does not inspire me and, in fact, I work really hard to avoid starting those projects.  I think I'm so highly motivated to fail that I just can't start the project.

Inspiration is found with ripple and chevron patterns.  So I bought some yarn (the first in a long time) and cast on this long-admired zig-zag blanket.  I'm zooming through the project but I'm not sure of the color blocking yet so there are no pictures for the blog.  I will knit more rows before I photograph as the colors are laid out in a really random design and I'm not sure a photo of it at this point will give a good impression.  I'm really hoping that the more I knit, the more pleasing it will be to the eye.

Lucky for me, Mr. Grumpbump has an affinity for plants because I'm terrible at keeping those things alive.  As a result, we have cultivated a mini-jungle on our pool patio.

South end of pool 

There is a palm in the garden area, along with a bunch of lantana.  I hate the lantana but it grows really well and Mr. Grumpbump keeps it nicely shaped.  In the pots is dieffenbachia (this is the plant from my grandmother's funeral) and Brazilian red hots.

Directly behind house

These are the two hibiscus plants that came with the house.  They are extremely hardy plants.  On the right is our new pot with a dwarf palm in it and the plant on the left of the fountain area is the start of our Japanese boxwoods.  We planted those the first year we were in the house and they took a while to start growing, but they are doing fine now.

North side

 This is the continuation of the boxwoods in the garden area.  In pots from right to left is a gardenia tree, a norfolk pine (we inherited it from my mom), a flowering ginger, more Brazilian red hots, crotons and in the very left corner, a lagerstroemia (commonly known as a crepe myrtle).

Close up of Flowering Ginger plant

Close up of dwarf palm

We also had a yellow hibiscus in a pot but it was growing like crazy so we transplanted it to the side of our house.  I believe at some point we will be transplanting the norfolk pine, the crepe myrtle and possibly the gardenia.   We really don't have a lot of actual yard to plant anything and we are saving room for the possibility of getting a southern magnolia tree.  I love those trees so much and admire them in other people's landscaping.  My mother told me that for my birthday she wanted to gift me the tree.  Therefore, I really need to conserve the front yard for a premium spot for my tree.

Kitten update.  Monkey is over 4 months old now.  She's a spaz and so entertaining.  Macy likes her (to a point) and Delilah hates her (completely).   I will have to post some videos of her harassment of Delilah and her playing with Mace.

Our Monkey Girl

It Doesn't Take Much Time

I lost my knitting mojo for a few weeks, skipping two meetings of my Tuesday night knitting group.  I had no projects going (well, ones I was confident enough in to bring to a meeting).  I managed to knit the back half of a cat pillow, which is shaped like a crescent moon, and started the front seven triangles that will make up the front half.  However, that project looks like Frankenstein's monster knitted it.  The seams are exposed (I was practicing invisible seaming - guess I got an F on that) and it looks like a distracted three-year put the colors together.  That project is definitely for my eyes only.

I tried and failed to start several projects, small ones so that I could feel accomplished quickly and get over my slump.  I wanted to knit so badly, but I could not focus on any one pattern and have enough energy to go find some suitable yarn and needles.  I had knitting depression.

Adding to my distractions was the Monkey Cat.  She's so big now - long and lean.

Adding a cat to a household does mean a one-to-one ratio for increased duties and clean up.  Monkey has seemingly doubled my chores.  Much more poop to scoop.  I have tripled the litter boxes around the house to accommodate this kitten.  That's not the only clean up Monkey requires - she loves to drag in leaves, sticks and mulch from the patio into the house.  Mr. Grumpbump and I are constantly asking each other, "What's in her mouth?" because it could be one of the above or it could be a lizard or gecko.  We save about half of the creatures she brings inside.

There is no question in my mind (maybe not so to Mr. Grumpbump) but I made the right decision in adopting the Monkey.

The Great Kitten Experiment

Today is our first day of sunshine and cool, cool weather in about a week.  There was a whole lot of rain for us in Central Florida, as evidenced by my greenish pool.  Which means I have to re-hire the pool guy and just adjust the budget to carry the service through the spring/summer/fall season.

I've been crocheting dishcloths like a crazy lady.  I found a wonderful simple pattern called 29 stitches and I have made at least six of these in the last week.  I've been very good about my yarn diet (no new yarn purchased) and I'm down to the last little remnants of my cotton yarns. 

Knitted on the left; crocheted on the right

As for Monkey and her adjustment into our household, I am amazed that only two weeks have passed.  The three cats are living relatively peaceful; Monkey is bold enough to follow Macy (mostly) and Delilah around and when they catch her wiggling behind them, there is some hissing or growling.  Monkey is never alone with them and I'm not extremely concerned about the older cats' responses.  I've not seen any aggression by either Macy or Delilah toward Monkey because usually the noises are enough for Ms. Monkey to back up.  She heeds their warnings (so far).   I know that we have a long way to go because as Monkey continues to grow, she might become more confident or inquisitive or just annoying.  Macy seems to be more tolerant of Monkey (go figure), although she seems to be annoyed because she's losing all her favorite spots in the house.

There's A New Girl In Town

Mr. Grumpbump thinks I am crazy.  He said so last night, just before he fell asleep.   His thoughts are that I have no reason when it comes to cats.  

The crux of his pronouncement was our new kitten, Pepper.

Pepper, a/k/a Monkey born 2-24-2013

Ever since Tigger's death, I have wanted to adopt a third cat.  We've been comfortable with two, but Tigger was such a pleasant cat and I truly believe that we can manage three.  Also, I was fairly confident that we would adopt another boy cat since Macy and Delilah barely tolerate each other.  

A co-worker, who sponsored me for the SPCA Meow March in February, told me that a stray cat had given birth in her mother's yard and that they were monitoring her and her four kittens.  She invited me to come see the kittens once they were about seven weeks old.   The kittens (two boys, two girls) were adorable, of course, and I immediately made up my mind to take one of the boys for my own.  However,  during the visit, Pepper seemed to me the most interested in me and was more comfortable being held, petted and loved on than her other brother or sister.  When I texted Mr. Grumpbump a picture of the kittens, he remarked that Pepper was very cute.  I'm not surprised by his comment as she is very similar in appearance to Tigger.   However, she's a girl and I wasn't sure how that would go over with the ladies-in-residence, Macy and Delilah.

So I left that day without a kitten, telling my co-worker that I would discuss it with Mr. Grumpbump and get back with her.  Two days later, Friday, April 19, I picked up Pepper and brought her home.  I took her to the vet that next day, Saturday, and Pepper got a clean bill of health.  

Eight days later, we are adjusting to Pepper's extremely energy and playfulness.  Neither Delilah or Macy have been that welcoming but they aren't aggressive with Pepper at all.  They just voice their displeasure and Pepper decides to do something else.  Pepper is living in our guestroom.  We moved a cat tree in there and the floor is littered with cat toys.  Pepper has not been on the patio; it's still way too much for her and I don't think she has a comfortable feel for the interior of the house yet.  

We love the name Pepper because of her coloring - although she is mainly tabby-striped, there are lots of black  dot marking on her back and belly.  However, a more descriptive name for her personality is Monkey, and that's what we call her a majority of the time.  Here's an example of her frenzied playtime and why Monkey works so well for her.

This means that for a while there will be a majority of time and pictures and videos focusing on Pepper so if you aren't of a kitten-mind, this is not the blog for you.  

And in case you were wondering, knitting is going to be a bitch when Pepper is around.