Knit And Purr

Stingray, Anyone?

2008-09-01T11:56:00.001-04:00

jengransting
Originally uploaded by pusstatmine.

This was the highlight of our cruise! Snorkeling with Stingrays!

T H E W I N N E R S !

2008-08-16T09:57:00.050-04:00

And now, without further ado, are the winners.

The correct number of pets I've had is 30.

Grand Prize Winner: JACKIE who guessed 30!.

Her prize is 1 skein of Wollmeise, the elusive yarn that is so difficult to aquire. This is the Gewitterhimmel colorway.

The winner of the random drawing is STARSPRY!

The prize is this Lisa Souza hand dyed yarn in the Shade Garden colorway.

The FIVE winners for guessing the correct names are:

knit witch for guessing Tiger

Jennifer for guessing Queenie

Dawn for guessing Sam

Kristen for guessing Spot

Doug for guessing Dusty

The prizes are a selection of these Opal & Regia yarns:

Thank you all for participating and I hope all of the winners enjoy their prize. Please private email me your name and address and your prizes will be mailed right out.
For the winners of the names contest:: When you send me your address, let me know your choice of the color of Opal/Regia and these will be given out as I receive your emails.

OK - now for all the pets in my life that I've played with and loved, in no particular order:

Prince, aka Dusty: Beautiful buckskin gelding who used to love throwing me off. His favorite treat was Hostess Twinkies.

Sweetpea: Skunk: Yes, she was de-scented but always had that aroma about her. Not too friendly – liked biting.

Heathcliff: Black guinea pig

Elizabeth: Wife of Healthcliff - black with orange ring around her middle.

Charlotte: Daughter of Heathcliff & Elizabeth - black & orange (what a surprise!)

Greenie: Green garden snake I had as a child. I used to take him for rides on my swing, twisting him around one of the ropes.

Brownie: Greenie's tank mate. He rode on the other rope, and yes, he was brown.

Cup Cake: White and brown wire-haired terrier, with ADD

Big Skasy: A very large sucker fish that was not too pretty looking but he was my favorite fish in our tank. We had him for years.

Simon: Calico cat - at the time we didn't know that calico's were girls. When we found out that he was a she we just kept her name.

Cecil: Kind of a wildish cat I had as a kid. He may have been part bobcat as his tail was in a kinked up shape.

Snowball, aka Kitty-Kitty: A ranch cat we adopted. She thought her name was Kitty-Kitty because the caretaker at the ranch would call out, "Here, Kitty Kitty" when he fed the dozens of cats that lived there, and they all thought their name was Kitty-Kitty. Our Snowball was big, fluffy and white with a small amount of black.

Queenie: A beautiful gray cat (pregnant at the time & we didn't know) that was dumped at the Little League field where my son used to play. So we took her home.

Missy: Daugher of Queenie, a gray tabby

Freckles: Son of Queenie, also a gray tabby

Michael: Sweet, sweet, BIG brown cat that wandered to our house in a skin & bones condition with hardly any fur. He became a big, beautiful, fluffy healthy member of our clan.

Spot: Our first family cat. Beautiful black shiney fur. He loved when my daughter took him for rides in the basket on her bike.

Tiger: A totally wild cat that hid and stole our other cat's food. I used to sit outside and wait for him, with his own bowl of food and gradually he got used to me. Finally he even let me pat him. And he purred. Beautiful medium gray with white.

Little Cat: Black tuxedo cat, probably was bi-polar.

Barney: Part Siamese with gorgeous slightly crossed eyes.

Ben: Cherry Head Parrot, not all that friendly. Used to do pretend biting but we never knew when he really would.

Sam: Beagle I had as a kid. The only outdoor dog we had because he couldn't be housebroken. My Dad built a 2 bedroom doghouse for him.

Joe: Brother of Sam, and shared the same doghouse.

Useless: NO, I did NOT name him. This was the best, sweetest dog anyone could ever have. His former owner was a mean, awful man. My Dad found out how badly this dog was being mistreated and offered to take him and the owner obliged. This dog was my best friend when I was a kid. He was kind of an orange color with floppy ears, and he went everywhere with me including to the library where he sat at the reading table on a chair, with his own book.

Sam: White German Shepherd, who was my wolf the year I dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween.

Loretta: Reddish-brown dog, first dog I had as an adult. She was a great pet and very protective when my kids were babies.

Patsy: An Australian Shepherd mix (blue merle color) adopted from the feed store. She was barely alive and our vet told me not to waste my time on her. She had to be hand fed because she was in such bad shape. She turned out to be a wonderful pet and super great watchdog.

Yote: Siberian Husky with blue eyes prettier than Liz Taylor's. He was the only pet I ever purchased from a pet store. Very good natured and thought he was a lap dog, a little tricky being that we weighed 75 lbs.

Sunny: My present day beautiful orange boy. He loves everyone.

Beauty Baby: My present day beautiful tortie girl and Sunny's sister. She's much more reserved than Sunny, meaning it may take years for her to warm up to you.

and the WINNERS are...........

2008-08-15T09:49:00.004-04:00

Nope.......not yet.

The contest is officially closed, and all of the lucky WINNERS will be announced tomorrow!

I have to do ALOT of some very serious work ahead of me today.

Sheesh! Number of pets, NAMES, plus one pick-out-of-the-hat winner....

I must have been out of my mind! (FUN, yes? Yep!)

AHHHHHH......

2008-08-13T23:52:00.005-04:00

I thought this picture would put a smile on everyone's face.

Contest winners will be announced on Saturday!

It's Contest Time!

2008-08-05T16:49:00.041-04:00

Hey, Boys & Girls....It's contest time!

I'm celebrating my birthday this month and I've decided it would be a fun thing to have a contest. This is the deal. Over the course of my life I've had many, many pets. For this contest you have to guess the correct number of pets I've had. All of these pets have had names and were (and are) members of the family. The only pets not involved in this contest are the fish, turtles and snakes that were nameless. The 1st person who guesses the correct number of pets or closest to that number without going over, will be the winner of a wonderful prize package! Leave your guess as a blog comment to this post. I will also pick a name from everyone who enters in a random drawing, for an additional prize. PLUS, I'll put your name in twice if you put my contest button on your blog with a link to this post.

The button is above. Make sure to let me know that you posted it by leaving me a comment with the link. (And please host the button on your own server.)

Part Two: Guess The Names

I will also give out a prize to the 1st five people who can guess any of my pets names. Sunny and Beauty Baby's names do not count in this part of the contest!! Everyone can guess up to 5 names.

The contest ends on August 14th. Winners will be announced on August 16th, along with a list of ALL the pets and a brief description with their name & species.

OH - the Prizes! It will be some very beauteous yarn. Very beauteous. I'm thinking Lisa Souza Sock!, Dashing Dachs, Lorna's Laces, and maybe some Wollmeise - maybe. I may even give choices. And for you non-knitters out there (yes, there may be a few), I'm sure I can come up with something.

No Entries will be accepted from Anonymous posters or people

who do not leave their identity and a valid email address for me to contact.

Only ONE entry per email address, please.

It's Almost Time.....

2008-08-05T09:53:00.008-04:00

I'll have the details up for the C O N T E S T tonight!
In the mean time I thought I'd give you all something cute to look at.

No, they're not mine.

Ultimate Sweater Machine anyone ?

2008-08-02T11:19:00.011-04:00

I'm selling this. I've decided that I have way, way too much stuff and it's time to shovel out.

This is the Bond Ultimate Sweater Machine Deluxe. The box has never been opened. Ya see what I mean about clearing out? I paid $250 at Joann's, don't remember when, and I'm asking $100 for it.

I'm posting this here thinking that one of my local knitting buddies might be interested in this. If no one is interested in this strikingly unbelievable offer I'll put a post up and offer it on Ravely, but I"d rather sell it to someone I know who might like to have this and save them some bucks. Pass the word. Either call me, for those that have my number, or email me at phyl1234@bellsouth.net.

I'm on a roll here. Over the past several weeks I've donated, given, sold, thrown out (nothing good thrown out, I assure you) because as "collector" there comes a time that one's collection becomes unmanageable. I don't know how long this sudden interest of mine will last so I'm taking full advantage of it while it's here.

I Think It's Time For A CONTEST!

2008-08-02T07:44:00.005-04:00

My birthday is coming up. Sheesh! How did this happen - it feels like I just had one! I haven't had a contest in a good while so I thought this would be the purrfect time. Hey, ya don't turn 62 every day, right? (Thank God!)

This contest will involve animals and will be a guessing game.

I'll have the details posted in another couple of days, so check back to get the low down.

One thing I will say is that I'll be giving away some really beauteous prizes. Really. Good ones. Yarn. Wonderful yarn. The I can't take my hands off kind of yarn. The outstanding colorways type of yarn.

I love being a tease.

Come back in a few days and we'll have some fun.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

2008-07-30T22:41:00.046-04:00

Hi there!

Remember me? No, I haven't been to the moon. Just haven't been in the mood to blog. Gee....who cudda guessed!

Ok - the GOOD first.
For starters, Jenna was here in June and then Arlene flew in. We had our usual good time just hanging out, chatting, shopping - you know - girlie fun stuff. Arlene LOVES the Outlet Mall in Dawsonville and she hit that twice while she was here. Jen went to Circus Camp again and had such a great time she went for a 2nd week. Here she is riding a unicycle in their show.

One of our many activities were doing Flying Angels.
I used to LOVE doing these when I was a kid! Funny thing, though - I was never the Angel. (We won't go there, ok?)

I finally finished Arlene's socks. For the knitters out there, these were knitted toe-up with the Baby Cable Rib pattern in Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks book. The yarn is Opal Crazy in colorway 1903 on 2 circular needles size 0 .

I can't believe that I really can knit on a size 0. A couple of years ago I would have thought NEVER. EVER. Yes, I'm only a little proud of myself for conquering the I Can't Do That syndrome. Quite honestly my confidence level was heightened by all the many knitting friends I've acquired since moving here. I look at the beautiful projects that Claudia, Doug, Jen,Steve, Sandy, Katey, Jane Diana and Zina have done and you just drool. Plus, they and all the rest are more than happy to help when I didn't know how to do something. A very generous bunch.

Jen & Arlene went back to South FL and then I had all of 3 days to get ready to fly down for 2 weeks. My son Eddie, his wife Ivonne, & their 3 kids were coming in to visit from San Jose so this was the perfect time for all of us to get together. They stayed a week, and needless to say the house was VERY .....busy.

Eddie and Arlene
Ivonne & Eddie

All FOUR of my Grandkids!
Catalina, Gino, Jenna and Carlo. Oh yes - Jenna is holding Granddog Razzle.

We all went to Everglades Holiday Park and saw this guy from the airboat.

Then on to the gator show. Someone noticed that the gator wrestler was missing a few fingers. I couldn't help but think that he was lucky to have lost some fingers rather than some other body parts..

That's all the good stuff. The bad stuff is bad. My very good friend Claudia lost her husband very suddenly last month. I'm mentioning this for several reasons, We were all so saddened by this because everyone that knows Claudia knows what a wonderful person she is and how much her Irwin meant to her, as did she to him. Over this past month I've known of several other people who have passed away at what I consider a young age, people much younger than I am. It really makes you stop and think about your life, what you want to do and who you want to spend your time with. I also just heard about a friend of mine in Florida that was in a severe boating accident 2 weeks ago. Evidently somehow she got caught in the boat's propeller and was injured extremely badly. I only hope that she recovers in a way that she will be able to enjoy life again. I'm relaying all this because I think we can take life so much for granted. Ya get up, brush the teeth & hair, feed the cats (or dogs) and do all the normal stuff that we all do. I think what I'm trying to say here is ya just never know. My thoughts now are to do things that make me feel good, spend time with good people, make more frequent trips to FL to play with Jenna, Arlene, & Bently and not to let time go by and think, "Boy, I wish I would have done that".
I'm going to try and do all of "that".

Now for the UGLY. The weather here has been U G L Y. Hot, humid, and stormy. BUT, it could be worse. No tornados, no earthquakes, no hurricanes. Life is good.

Jenna Is Knitting

2008-06-05T11:34:00.008-04:00

Last year when Jen was here during the summer I taught her how to knit but it just didn't "click". This year it did. I showed her how to do the basic knit stitch on Tuesday and she hasn't put her project down ever since. She worked on it until 11:00 PM last night. Amazing what a difference a year makes. Believe me, I didn't thrust it upon her. If she didn't like it that would be fine. She said that maybe she'll get SO good at it that she'll be a better knitter than I am. I told her that I hoped she would because then I could go to HER for help! This is going to be a little blankey for Razzle, her teacup Pom. No doubt he'll be wrapped and carried around in it.

Was Beauty Baby Shorn?

2008-05-02T10:40:00.009-04:00

No she wasn't but doesn't this roving look exactly like her? When I ordered "brown" I had no idea that it would be a mixture of "browns" and I really do like it. I didn't realize how much it resembled Beauty Baby's coloring until my Boston friend Eileen noticed. I wonder if natural roving comes in orange? I don't want to leave Sunny out of this.

Sunny enjoying Beauty Baby's new assmat.

I'm An Addict

2008-05-01T12:35:00.013-04:00

This is what just came in the mail today. Yes, it's roving, ready to spin.

Question: Do I KNOW how to spin?
Answer: No
Another question: Do I have a wheel on which to spin?
Answer: No

Hey, I'm LEARNING how to spin and I thought I'd need something to practice on. And it was a special deal. Fairly inexpensive. It's good to practice on inexpensive stuff, since what I spin will not be the best. Hardly. But that's fine - I'll knit it into something. A bunch of good sheep spent months growing this stuff and I'll do my best to show them off as well as possible!

The Laugh Of The Day

2008-04-28T16:34:00.004-04:00

I had to go to the dentist today. Anyone that really knows me knows that I'd rather have major surgery than go to the dentist. I broke a tooth last night and 1st thing this morning I called and made an appointment to go in.

I arrive at my appointed time, 1:00 PM - they squeezed me in.

After checking in, the conversation goes like this:

Dental Assistant: "What brings you here today?"

Me: "I broke a tooth."

Dental Assistant: "When did you break it?"

Me: "Last night."

Dental Assistant:" How did it happen?"

Me: "I was having some Matzo Ball soup."

Dental Assistant: "What's that??"

(I didn't tell her)

ZZZZZZZZZZ

2008-04-13T10:32:00.012-04:00

Now does this look like total bliss or what! I wish I could climb in next to him. Actually I can. Sunny's bed is on top of my bed so he can have some extra comfyness. Beauty Baby has her own, too. What can I say.

Beauty Baby on her "other" bed - the leather couch in the living room.

This is a scarf that I made to send to the troops overseas as part of a community service project that the Atlanta Knitting Guild has going. I haven't done anything to contribute lately and plan on doing more in the months to come. I'm also making an outfit for a Teddy Bear for the Trauma Bear project, which the Georgia Center for Children gives to children who are in crisis situations. The Guild has info and patterns on their web site if anyone is interested.

Yarn Update

2008-04-08T12:24:00.017-04:00

Tempted Handpainted Yarn, in Bad Girl & Glam Girl

Wollmeise Yarn

Yes, I've been buying yarn. Sock yarn. What can I say. I must have enough sock yarn to put the entire population of Asia in handknit socks. As Dr. Phil says, " You can't fix the problem unless you acknowledge that you have one." Well, I DO acknowledge that I have one and so far I haven't been able to fix it. I think perhaps that it shouldn't be fixed. It makes me feel good, looking at all the colors and when you squeeze it, well, it makes me feel even better. There's a practical side to this also, for example there might be a blizzard and I might not be able to get out to any of the LYS to buy sock yarn. Or a tornado might be coming, etc. The yarn IS gorgeous, isn't it?

That Wollmeise yarn is a challenge just to purchase, I might add. It is in such high demand that the owner can't keep up with the demand and this yarn sells out INSTANTLY, as soon as she puts it up on her site. I didn't realize and read the post she put up, saying that new yarn will be offered on Fridays, and just as soon as I had several selections in my shopping cart they all started to disappear! It seems that you must purchase it IMMEDIATELY and go to PayPal to pay, or someone else will grab it up before you can wipe your nose. Amazing.....just amazing. There's an entire Ravelry Group dedicated to Claudia and her yarn, and exchanges go on between the members, and yes, some fighting and jealously as well. Do you believe it? All this over yarn.

THIS is the Cat Afghan Kit designed by Gitta Schrade. It is no longer being sold. And I now have one! At the Knitting Retreat I went to in February Joni brought the one she made and I of course fell in love with it. I since found out that the kit is no longer being sold. Instead of just saying "Oh well", I emailed the designer, asking her if she had any way of locating one of the kits. She lives in Germany and has designed many wonderful things including several other afghan designs. She wrote back leaving me the name and email address of a woman who works for the company that made it, and yes, they put together a kit for me, pattern and all. Granted, I'm sure it will take me the rest of my life to complete this, but I'm SO excited at the challenge.This is the one Joni made. If you look at the border, you'll see mice running around the edge. Just adorable. I just did a swatch to make sure my gauge is right. I knit loosely and CAN'T run out of yarn, plus I want those cats to look GOOD.

Making Up For Lost Time

2008-04-07T09:44:00.013-04:00

I have been a very bad blogger. VERY bad. Oh well. Now I'll play catch up with a montage of what's been happening for the past month, in no particular order. Yes, I've been knitting. This is the hat & scarf that I made for Jenna when she went skiing in Vail with her friend Morgan and family during Spring Break. What a lucky duck! She's never seen snow or mountains like THAT before and had a blast. She did pull a trick on me, though. She called one afternoon, crying, and told me she broke her finger. I naturally went off the deep end, asking her what happened, etc, etc,. She said she just got back from the doctor. And it was her "ring finger". Then she said "April Fool". I wanted to smack her. That was the 2nd April Fool that was imposed upon me that day, the 1st was from my boss, and by the end of the day I wanted to rip someone's ears off. But I didn't.

I've been working on an ass mat for Beauty Baby, in her favorite colors. She's always been fond of pink. I already have the yarn picked out for Sunny's ass mat in a nice blend of blues, but I think he already has placed a stake in the one on the needles. I have to be more careful with those points!
This is Princess, one of my Grandcats in Florida. She's a VERY large cat, probably weighs close to the last Thanksgiving turkey. I don't know how or why but the small bathroom sink is one of her favorite napping places.
Now would YOU be just a little bit leary of patting Rocky, taking those fangs into consideration? You should be! He's gotten better in the biting department but he always seems to snag me at least once on every Florida trip that I make. This last one he only just grazed my right hand. I guess I just like to live dangerously because I can't seem to keep my hands off of him. But I have learned. The best time to do patting & squeezing is early evening, when he's tired and very groggy. I supposed he just doesn't know what's going on.

German Knitting Championship 2007

2008-02-29T22:08:00.001-05:00

ATTENTION ALL KNITTERS! Look at this! Talk about being able to knit like the wind, plus they can look away and keep up the beat! I wonder what would happen if I tried to knit with such speed.....lots of knots?

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE IN THE BIG APPLE!

2008-02-26T23:49:00.034-05:00

Happy 40th, ARLENE!
Bently, Jenna, and I surprised Arlene with a trip to New York City for her 40th birthday!

All she knew was that she was going "somewhere" for 4 days, was told to pack warm clothes, and that was it. Bently told her she was going to NYC the day before they left! They flew into Laguardia, took a cab to The Hilton Midtown, and I was sitting in the lobby waiting for them. She thought that it was the 3 of them going "somewhere" and that it was a shame that I wouldn't be spending her birthday with her. Tee Hee Hee! Little did she know this was all planned months ago. I'll put more pictures up tomorrow but for now here are a few:

A birthday toast!

Arl and Jen shopping at FAO Schwartz

Jenna the Snow Angel

Arl, Bent & Jen in front of our hotel. There's nothing like Manhattan at night.

Arl & Jen skating at Rockefeller Center

Jenna ordered a "Yahoo". Ya see how technology has taken over?

We ate our faces off at The Carnegie Deli. Now THIS is matzo ball soup!

Myself and Jen (the other Jen) at The Rainbow Room

Jenna packed a mean snowball for a Florida kid!

Knitters & The Mountain Meet!

2008-02-19T08:09:00.045-05:00

This is the view from the deck at The Mountain in North Carolina where I spent 3 glorious days. The Atlanta Knitting Guild plans this trip every year and space is at a premium, as there are only 50 spots available. This 3 day weekend was: wonderful, beautiful, outstanding, hilarious, restful, non-stressful, etc. etc. etc.
I rode there with Claudia and on the way up we stopped at Sharon Grist's home for some of her homemade soup. Every year she opens her home to the knitters going to the retreat. Unbelievable. She had 6 different pots of soup, all delicious, and a very homey atmosphere. The weather was just beautiful when we got there on Friday and we were able to get in some knitting out on the deck before it got too cool. Look at that view!

From left to right: Brett, Lou, Stuart, Steve, Doug, and Rob.
These guys are such a fun and talented bunch. I wish I had 10% of their knitting skills and creativity.

Claudia working on her argyle socks. She makes stranding look so easy. I have enough trouble keeping track of a single strand.

Joni, our tour director, with fellow knitter.

Delicious sheep cake that Linda baked. I'm glad I got a picture of most of it before it was inhaled.

Look at THIS! A CAT afghan knitted by Joni. She brought several of these to curl up under. Do you believe the work in this? I love the knitted cats, and if you look closely you'll even see some knitted mice in there, along the border. Now I know why Joni is known as the intarsia queen.

This was a great weekend get-away. I'll be staying put for another month and then I'll be off to Florida the end of March to see my kids, Grandkid, Grandcats, and Granddogs.

Cat Knits BINGO

2008-01-31T15:53:00.000-05:00

I WON Cat Knits Bingo!

The Cat Knits group on Ravelry had a bingo contest. The moderator of the group gave everyone a list of cat breeds to choose from, and we all picked out 25 numbers. Then each day, she picked out 5 winning numbers and posted them. When you had all 25 on your list you had to post , "BINGO" and the 1st person doing so won. I was waiting for just 1 more since yesterday and today it hit. It was the Marbled Cat that did it! There were several other "bingos" also, but I won because I posted 1st. Hey, ya gotta get up early and keep track of these things.

I have no idea what the prize is, but whatever it is I'll show ya'll when it arrives. This really was so much fun!

The Amber Room

2008-01-31T11:41:00.001-05:00

I saw this video on Yahoo News today. Eileen, Jen and Winnie and I saw this when we toured St Catherine's Palace last summer when we were in Russia. It was absolutely amazing.

And The Winners Are............

2008-01-28T20:38:00.000-05:00

When I started The Central Park Footie Contest I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. SO many adorable pictures of pet feet were entered that I literally took hours in the decision process. I did not use a random number generator which I thought would help with equally deserving entries. Instead, I enlisted the help of family members to help choose the winners in each category.

AND NOW, without further ado, are the winners:

THE CUTEST AWARD goes to both RICKY & PHOEBE, owned by Dotty!
Ricky's Mom writes, "Ricky is an 8 year old flame point ginger/siamese mix. He's a stray that we rescued from a local shelter. He's loud and loves to sniff the inside of people's shoes. He steals food whenever he can. I call him the "cat alarm" because he sits at the bottom of the stairs and meows loud enough to wake me up in the morning.

"Phoebe is 11 years old and she's a tortie complete with tortie-tude. She was also rescued from a local shelter. She's a med/long hair and has the tiniest mew. Her favourite way of waking me up in the morning is to sit on my pillow and purr really loudly. If that doesn't work, she leans over, sniffs my face, and licks my eyebrow."
CONGRATULATIONS, on the double win, Dotty!

THE NOT-SO CUTEST AWARD goes to MIA, owned by Megann!Mia is adorable and she won in this category because of her poor shaved paw. Megann writes, "Here's a picture of my cat's foot. Her name is Mia and she's 11 years old. She is currently going through a lot of medical issues right now and her leg is shaved where they keep having to put the IV in. She HATES the shaved part and shakes her leg around all the time and licks it. Sometimes she even stop walking and just stare at it like it's some weird growth...lol We call it her chicken leg for some reason. Please keep your fingers crossed that she will be ok. Tomorrow is x-ray, ultrasound and needle aspiration of her liver day.

Best wishes for a good prognosis and a speedy recovery, Mia!

THE AWARD FOR THE LARGEST FOOT goes to CHIEF, an 80 lb. Dalmatian, whose owner is Marj.

THE AWARD FOR THE SMALLEST FOOT goes to GUS!

His Mom, Kate, writes,"Gus is a 5 year old leopard gecko. He is about 6-7 inches from nose to tail. As with most reptiles, Gus is fairly easy to care for. He gets fed live crickets 3 to 4 times a week, has his water changed every other day, and just lounges around in the "sun" the rest of the day since he is mostly a nocturnal animal. His "sun" is a special 75 watt spotlight and his "moon" is a 25 watt blacklight made especially for reptiles. Leopard geckos are different from other geckos in that they have movable eyelids instead of nictitating membranes over their eyes. They also do not have the ability to climb walls since they do not have the little suction cups on their toes. Every now and again, Gus gets to walk around outside his cage and people are always a little surprised when they feel his feet on their skin. He has tiny claws that pinch a little. He is quite fast too, and we have had a few escape attempts when he's out and about for a walk."

THE MOST UNUSUAL goes to FIZZGIG!
Fizzgig is a bearded dragon owned by Carry.

THE FURRIEST goes to TRIBBLE!

Tribble's Mom, Tanya, writes, "Tribble is a Jersey Wooly bunny who came to us from a confiscation of over 80 rabbits and in spite of such a poor start to life she has an amazing personality and just loves people. She is bonded to Tuxedo (13 y.o. male) and Sophie (~5 y.o. female) and spends most of her day snuggling with them or grooming them. Tribble earned her name because she is small and furry and she "talks". She coos and chatters while she grooms herself; she snores (very delicately, mind you); she sounds the alarm when she gets groomed.
Tribble came to us via the Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society which can be viewed at MN.CompanionRabbit.org."

THE PUDGIEST goes to KEL!
Kel's Mom writes, "I took this when Kel was lying on my bed, keeping me company (I'm recovering from bronchitis) and luxuriously stretching his paws. He has such lovely furry paws with soft black underfur between each pad. He has such control over each toe they're almost like little thumbless hands.

THE MOST COLORFUL FOOT Award goes to TWINKLE TOES!
Her Mom writes," Twinkle Toes is a big beautiful old gal of 16 who is called “Aunt Tink” around the house because she is the surrogate Mom to all the other kitties. She nursed and never left the side of each kitty as they went through their final days of illness including both siblings before crossing over the rainbow bridge. She grooms her kitty friends and never leaves our side, keeping us during illness as well. She is a sweet, gentle and undemanding. Twinkle is the most special of cats and has stolen our hearts, always."

AN HONORABLE MENTION goes to PRINCESS, my Grandcat, owned by Jenna!
Jenna writes, "One day when I was 3 years old there was a park by my house. My mom pushed me in a stroller as she walked around the park. We saw a kitty, very cute, about my age. When we got back to my house we noticed the cat had followed us home. At the time we already had one cat so we had cat food. So my mom put a bowl of water and cat food outside for the kitty. We had two doors, a regular door and a screen door in the front. The regular door was already open so I opened the screen door and she flew rite in my house. Ever since that day we kept her and I named her Princess (I was only 3). Now I’m 11 and we still have her. All she does is sleep, eat, and hisses at our new 11 month old teacup/toy Pomeranian but that is what makes her her. I love her so much and if I could pick any cat in the world besides my other cat I would pick her. Remember when I said I named her Princess and I was only 3, well if I could pick a new name now I wouldn't change it."

It will be difficult to think up a prize for Jenna & Princess, but I’m sure I'll come up with something. : )

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners and THANK YOU to everyone who entered their pets. I received pictures of over 60 pets and I wish I could give prizes to each of them.

I will be contacting the winners to make arrangements regarding sending your prize.

It's time for Sunny & Beauty Baby's evening brushing session, so I will now say Goodnight!

No, I Didn't Forget

2008-01-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

The winners of the Central Park Footie Contest have been selected and will be announced tonight!

This project took much more time than I anticipated, between the choosing of winners to blogging all their pictures. Thank you to all who participated and also for your help to the ones who I had asked to send in some additional photos of your pet.

I would have finished yesterday but I spent the whole afternoon at Knitch with the most hilarious bunch of knitters you've ever shaken a needle at. Time well spent, believe me. I laughed my ass off for 5 hours + got a lot of knitting done. Cures what ails ya.

I Won, I Won, I Won!

2008-01-26T09:16:00.000-05:00

I am SO excited! I WON the contest given by The Knit Witch in celebration of her birthday. Everyone entering had to submit to her your funniest, stupidist or most embarrasing moment. Well, I WON! You can read all about it on her blog, but here was my entry:

My funniest story is about a knitted toy class I took at a LYS several years ago. We all made felted mouse puppets and mine was all knitted up. All I had to do was attach the tail and felt it. I was working away, in class, and proudly held up my mouse when I finished attaching the tail. It was aligned perfectly except for one thing: I attached the tail to the FRONT of the puppet instead of the back! You can imagine what it looked like! Everyone started to laugh and that's when I realized the mistake. My face turned SO red and we all had a good laughing session because of this!

The Knit Witch offered a choice of some lovely yarn OR one of her GORGEOUS ceramic Yarn Bowls. Of course I chose the Yarn Bowl. Yarn I have.....a handmade Yarn Bowl I did not.

Thank you, Knit Witch for having such a great contest to celebrate YOUR birthday!
Here is my prize. These beautiful bowls are available for purchase on her site, so go look!

Prizes!

2008-01-25T19:15:00.000-05:00

I figured I'd post a picture of the sock yarn that will become prizes and soon to be given out in my Central Park Footie Contest. Thanks to everyone who entered and I must say I have my job cut out for me. Lots of adorable pictures. In fairness to all who entered and to their beautiful pets, I'm selecting the ones who I feel are the best in each category and then using a random number generator to choose the winner. There are so many that I consider 'The Best" I felt I needed some help on deciding the winners when several could easily have won in each category.

Stay tuned for the winners, TBA shortly.

Such a Splurge

2008-01-22T12:21:00.000-05:00

I just got the most gorgeous new knitting bag from Green Mountain Knitting Bags. These are all designed & sewn by Martha, an avid knitter and seamstress living in Vermont. I've been wanting one of her bags for quite awhile and they sell out almost as quickly as she puts them up for sale on her site. The trick is logging in EXACTLY when the new ones go up for sale, which is on Thursdays at 8:30 PM EST. I pretty much knew which one I wanted and then pounced on it as soon as it appeared on her site. Got it!

CONTEST! CONTEST! JOIN UP NOW!

2008-01-18T07:18:00.000-05:00

I've decided to have a contest in order to make my destashing efforts become a little more fun. The CENTRAL PARK FOOTIE contest is now underway. Send all entries to phyl1234@bellsouth.net. All you have to do is leave a comment to this post and then submit a picture of your pet's paw, claw, or foot, email the picture to me, and prizes, yes, PRIZES will be awarded in several categories.

CONTEST RULES:
Submit up to THREE pictures of your pet's foot. If you have more than 1 pet you would like to enter, that's fine but no more than 3 pictures per pet, please. Tell the name of your pet as well as a little about them.

ANY type of pet with feet is eligible, as long as it's YOUR pet. If you don't have a pet and would like to enter, you may "borrow" a pet from a friend but you have to reference their name, acknowledging the pet isn't yours.

Prizes will be awarded in the following categories: the largest, the smallest, the furriest, the pudgiest, the most unusual, the cutest, the not so cutest, the scariest, and the most colorful.

In keeping with the theme of feet, prizes will be beautiful, carefully selected sock yarn, all brand new, some handpainted, with yardage enough to make 1 gorgeous pair of socks. (Being that I have a few non-knitting friends, substitutions will be made for their prize, should they win.)

The contest runs from 1/18/08 thru 1/24/08 at 6:00 PM EST.
Winners will be announced by 1/28/08.

So what are you waiting for? Get out those cameras!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

2008-01-16T19:26:00.000-05:00

Just sittin' here, watching the SNOW falling in big, fluffy flakes. Yes, folks, it's snowing in beautiful North Georgia, something that happens probably once every 2 years or so. I'm sure it won't last and I'm very glad I don't have to drive anywhere, but it does look beautiful. I'm curled up with my knitting with Sunny on my lap, Beauty Baby on my left hip, all hunkered down. Now why didn't I knit myself those fingerless gloves?

Orpah & Priscilla

2008-01-11T13:12:00.000-05:00

The yarn spun from the fleece of my "adopted sheep" Orpah & Priscilla is on it's way and I'm SO excited. I already have projects slated out for each of them. Orpah will become a beautiful vest for me and I'm looking for a pattern for a cabled hoodie for Jen with Priscilla. When they arrive I'll update with pictures.

Wait....UPS is here. It may be Orpah!

Lindsey and Sax in matching sweaters

2008-01-03T21:11:00.001-05:00

Lindsey and Sax in matching sweaters
Originally uploaded by crazyauntpurl.

I just had to share this picture with ya'll. This was an entry in a "Knit A Sweater For Your Cat" contest. I don't know if this gal won, but I think she should have!

A VERY Cold Cat

2008-01-03T12:24:00.000-05:00

It was in the 30's today in South Florida and Rocky was a little chilled.

SPIN, SPIN, SPIN !

2007-12-29T10:12:00.000-05:00

I'm SO excited! I signed up for a spinning class at Knitch. I've been OH, SO tempted to try my hand at this because of all the spinners that I know. Granted, the last think I need is another obsessive, compulsive hobby but the thought of actually spinning my own yarn and then knitting something out of it is just too tempting. Maybe I won't like it.....or maybe I won't be able to learn how to do it......or maybe I'll be sitting by the fire spinning on my very own spinning wheel. OH.....did I really say that?

There was Dasher & Dancer & Donner & Blitzen.......

2007-12-27T21:31:00.000-05:00

and PRINCESS........

and TOBY.......

and RAZZLE......

and ROCKY......

Jenna Claus

2007-12-26T00:32:00.000-05:00

As most of you already know, I'm here in South Florida for the Christmas Holiday. Jenna was quite ready to listen for the sound of reindeer's hooves on the roof and that all familiar "Ho, Ho, Ho!"

Rocky was just happy to lap up all of the milk & cookies that were left for Santa.

How do I OPEN this package! It's cat proof! I KNOW it's mine.....

Marty about to cut into the cake he got as a gift for Jenna. Ya think it's BIG enough??

From left to right: Morgan Jenna, Katie, Kylie with baby Amanda Sue.

This is how we all felt at the end of the day.

Clean Towels, Anyone?

2007-12-18T13:53:00.000-05:00

THIS used to be Beauty Baby's favorite napping spot. You can see who displaced her and is now furring up all the clean towels on the rack. Now poor Beauty Baby has to sleep on the floor. At least she gets the sun streaming in thru the window making her a very hot cat.

June Bug & Santa

2007-12-17T11:08:00.000-05:00

My cat Nanny just sent this picture of her beautiful June Bug after their visit with Santa. I wonder what she asked for? If I ever tried this with any of mine I'd be headed for the ER.

Has Anyone Seen This Scarf?

2007-12-17T10:55:00.000-05:00

I took a class several years ago at a LYS and knitted this scarf. The instructor took the pattern out of a book and gave us copies of the pattern (which she shouldn't have done) and I would love to find this book. I think she only had the store copy and had forgotten to order enough for the class participants to buy. I have no idea the name or the author. If anyone has seen this pattern and knows the book it came from please let me know. Of all the knitters out there someone MUST recognize this!

Christmas Cat

2007-12-09T14:11:00.001-05:00

DSC00595_1.JPG
Originally uploaded by pusstatmine.

This was taken several years ago. It was Rocky's 1st Christmas and it seems as if he thought that HE was one of the ornaments.

I can't tell you how many ornaments had to be swept off the floor that year.
At first we didn't see him in there. Arlene was looking at the tree with a strange look and I asked her what was wrong. She said, "My tree is shaking!" Then we saw the culprit. Rocky LOVED the tree and slept in there for hours each day. Thank God Princess didn't go up in there. She weighs over 20 lbs. She's a BBC, isn't she?

What A Contest!

2007-12-06T17:32:00.000-05:00

Gosh! How could I pass up a chance to win a cookbook entitled " I'm Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas" by Marcel Desaulniers and Ron Manville. My mouth is watering as I type.
Debb announced this contest on her blog and I couldn't put up this notice fast enough for her to see!
HERE is a link to the site and look for the post on November 28th.

I hope I win, very unselfishly, because I'll be making all kinds of chocolate things for my friends and family if I do.

Party, Party!

2007-12-05T16:58:00.001-05:00

from left to right: Melissa, Claudia, me, Regan, & Beth

What happens when 2 great gals organize a Holiday party? A GREAT PARTY, that's what happens. Claudia and Jacquie invited a bunch of their knitting & spinning friends for a Holiday party at Jacquie's home and it was such wonderful day. For me it was so good to see a bunch of friends I haven't seen for quite awhile and from the smiles and laughter I know that everyone had an outstanding time. The food was ultra yummy. Claudia & Jacquie made the BEST lasagna and meatballs & everyone brought some goodies to share. THEN there was the Gift Swap which was much milder than I had imagined. Everyone brought in a gift, got a number and when it was your turn you either picked a gift or STOLE someone else's! All in all it was surprisingly orderly and utterly hilarious! There were about 25 people there, several Shih-Tzus, and 2 adorable kittens (who by the way need a home if anyone is interested). They'd make a great Holiday gift.....fit right in a stocking, hanging on the mantle.......

Multidirectional scarf using Noro Silk Garden Lite. . It's a simple pattern and the look of the scarf is really nice.

I finally finished this reversable cable scarf, made with Blue Sk Suri Merino

Why Cats Don't Celebrate Thanksgiving

2007-11-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning to find this card waiting for me. What a way to start off a Monday. Arlene really knows how to put a smile on my face. The trip to Florida went as well as it could but I really do NOT feel all that great. All these suprises. I really didn't think this last surgery would be a big deal at all, but as it turned out it was. More pain than I've had in weeks and really feeling tired, tired. But OH WELL.....I'm in Florida playing with Jenna, Arlene, Bently, Toby, Razzle, Princess and Rocky!
These are some of the things I've been doing:

SLEEPING WITH ROCKY

WATCHING TV WITH TOBY

WE WENT SHOPPING AND JENNA GOT THIS

AND WE ALSO DID THIS

Start Your Engines!

2007-11-18T20:45:00.001-05:00

As a suprise birthday gift for Bently, Arlene & I sent him for an incredible racing day. He went to The Richard Petty Driving Experience where they actually give you the down & dirty of race car driving, take you for a spin at around 150-160 MPH with an experienced driver and THEN you get to drive 8 laps by yourself. How COOL is that! After his race they gave him a printout of each lap and his fastest time was 120 MGH. Not too bad for a Rookie! Bently had such a blast he could hardly contain himself, but as you can see from the picture below they did a good job of containing him in that car. He said he couldn't move a muscle, except the hands & forearms for steering and the right foot for puttin' it to the metal.

Knitting In German

2007-11-14T13:11:00.000-05:00

This is the swatch I knitted from a German pattern that Claudia created. I don't know how she found the time to do all this because she started a contest, each day posting a different knitting term on her blog, in German with the English translation. Then she gave everyone the pattern, in German, and we had to knit up a swatch using this pattern written in German. I, of course, took one look at it and said, "Oh right, sure......I can do this." Not. I have trouble following patterns in ENGLISH, let alone in German. Then when I saw that 3 people had done it and their swatches looked so good I thought that I was being such a baby with a BIG I can't do this attitude. It did take me awhile to translate it but on the 4th try the swatch was done. Hey, when someone says the word contest I'm running in that direction and I always want to WIN. Actually, I think it's not so much as the prize but the thrill of the hunt.

Feeling OH SO Guilty

2007-11-14T09:27:00.001-05:00

Now look at this face. How would YOU feel if you socked this adorable face right in the nose. That's how I'm feeling this morning. I woke up at 3 am, Sunny was sleeping right next to me as usual, and I really had to go to the bathroom. I hated to disturb him but when ya gotta go ya gotta go. That being taken care of, before getting back into bed I noticed the top sheet was all bunched up and decided to fix it. I have a flannal sheet on top of the comforter so the top of the bed stays warm for the cats. What can I say. I picked up a corner in each hand and with outstretched arms proceeded to flip up the sheet to spread it out more smoothly and at that precise moment Sunny jumped up right into my right fist. I thought I was going to die when I heard that "crack" of my fist against his little face. He ran like the wind and I couldn't find him for what seemed like forever. Finally I did the smart thing and went to the fridge, got some deli ham and THEN went thru the house, again, calling him. I thought he may have fled to the upstairs bedroom, his favorite place as it's always warm and out of the way of prying eyes and hands. I started walking up the stairs calling his name, asking if he wanted some ham, waving a piece in the air so he could detect some ham aroma and he met me half way. For ham he comes. He looked FINE. Just fine. Thank God. While all this was going on Beauty Baby was in a ham frenzy, following me around as if to say, "Hey, I'm HERE.....give ME some ham. I LOVE ham!" On quick inspection his eyes seemed good, no bulges, fur intact, nose fine. I wanted to pry open his mouth to check out the teeth but by the way he was eating the ham the teeth were in fine shape.
I stayed up for awhile and did some appreciated patting just in case there was any type of grudge on his part and of course there was none. Upon closer inspection I did notice a very tiny speck of blood on the white fur around his lower lip. Just a speck but enough to have me carry him into bed and make a promise to myself that I'll never straighted up the damn bed ever again.

Our Pets Can Do No Wrong, Right?

2007-11-13T13:15:00.000-05:00

I've been working on this cable scarf for several weeks now and I'm very pleased with the way it's turning out. The yarn is Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino that I bought at Knitch, very soft and more expensive than I'm used to spending but well worth it. Sunny loves it even more than I do as he has decided to use it for an Ass Mat. Now don't think that I'm so cleaver as to think of this expression myself. If you read this blog you'll see a picture of La's cat sitting on HER Ass Mat and I haven't been able to get this out of my head since I read it. An Ass Mat. Her cat has her own personal hand knitted Ass Mat. Gotta love it. MY cats, who I absolutely adore, don't even have their own Ass Mats. Well, until now. Luckily the projected recipient of this scarf doesn't read my blog or they may be a bit less appreciative.

Adoption Story

2007-11-12T13:53:00.000-05:00

Last year I went to a Flea Market and bought this hand sewn bunny. I really had no specific place for it, as is the case with most of my purchases, and put it on the dining room table. The next thing I knew Beauty Baby was right on it, sniffing it all over, circling it and finally came to rest on it's skirt. She slept there all day, went back after her dinner and just wouldn't leave it alone. I moved it into the guest room on the day bed to see what she'd do and yes, she found it and looked rather put out because I had moved it. She sleeps elsewhere now, but does go in there for a nap or two several times a week. Kinda makes one wonder what this bunny is stuffed with.

Yes, there'a a nip in the air and Sunny found the warmest place to nap. He's very brave. He could be a cat pancake if I'm not careful getting into bed. Doesn't he look happy that I've found his secret hiding place?

Nothing New, Nothing At All

2007-11-08T15:28:00.001-05:00

I'm sick of being sick, sick of having pain, sick of not being able to go food shopping or put the garbage out on garbage day. SO I figured I'd look at some HAPPY & CUTE pictures.

ROCKY

Rocky, aka Rock - A - Doo, one of Jen's pets

CLOSET CAT

JEN IN A WILD MOOD

RAZZLE

We Knew We'd Stop Meeting Like This

2007-11-05T21:03:00.000-05:00

The last visit with my wonderful nurse Cathy was last Wednesday. Boy have we been through alot together, we really have. She has tended to me 3 X a week for the past 6 weeks, with many phone calls inbetween, making this whole ordeal much more manageable than I anticipated. I am so grateful for the TLC she's extended to me. Believe me, she has the patience of a SAINT!

My wound machine: GONE (thank GOD) but not forgotten. It did a great job of healing me up but now I have a severe case of contact dermatitis due to the plastic that covered the skin while the machine was on. This plastic film did an outragous job of irratating my skin beyond comprehension over the past 6 weeks. It's BRIGHT RED, HURTS like a SOB and will take 2 - 3 weeks to heal up. At least it WILL heal up but SHEESH......who needed this. The pain meds I'm on don't work on this type of pain but they DO knock me out which is just fine by me. Here I go again.....major kvetching.

The Good & The Bad

2007-11-02T23:24:00.000-04:00

Boy have I been on a roller coaster of emotions since the surgery yesteday. I woke up from the surgery with SUCH bad pain that I just couldn't stop crying. This was totally unexpected on my part. I figured I'd wake up & go merrily on my way home. NOT. The nurses explained that when you have surgery as an inpatient you are given stronger pain meds and they are much more limited when you are an outpatient. I was given a shot, which helped, but she said it would wear off fairly quickly and I could take my regular pain stuff once I got home. Gladys, thankfully, stayed at the house for 3 hours after we got back, just to make sure I was ok. When she left I fell asleep for 5 hours, waking up around midnight. The pain was awful. I HATE pain, not that anyone likes it.
All day today was not great. Every time I move it hurts because, as was explained to me, that any movement usually effects the abdominal muscles, so whenever I go to get up or sit down it HURTS like a bear. Forget about bending over. If I drop something it's going to stay there. Why am I writing about all of this, you may wonder? BECAUSE IT FEELS GOOD TO KVETCH!! Thank you all for listening. I feel much better.

NOW for the Happy Stuff This is the His and Hers Reversible Cable Scarf that I've been working on. I'm so glad that I have several knitting projects going. I really am. There's nothing like the feel of beautiful yarn in your hands, running thru your fingers, and being able to produce something that looks pretty. Aside from taking my mind off the things that are not so good, I feel as if my knitting has gotten so much better. On a personal level, that alone has given me much satisfaction. I don't know exactly how to explain it but it just makes me feel GOOD, GOOD, GOOD.

Raggedy Ann aka Jenna

2007-10-31T14:00:00.000-04:00

As you can see, Jen will be Raggedy Ann this year for Halloween. She looks so cute and I asked her, "What, no red wig"? She said no, that she was doing her own hair. I hope this doesn't mean that she's cracking open a bottle of "Red Penny" by L'Oreal.

Baby Pictures

2007-10-31T13:43:00.001-04:00

I was looking at some of Sunny & Beauty Baby's kitten pix and just had to put this one up. They'll be 7 in November and still are beautiful AND adorable but just look at them when they were babies......

BOOOOO !

2007-10-31T09:09:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!

Claudia came over last night to bring my SAFF yarn and also brought these adorable CAT Halloween Socks. I happen to LOVE socks and also LOVE cats (as if anyone ever noticed that) so I'll be wearing these all day today. I could wait and bring them to the hospital tomorrow and wear them there but I can't wait to get them on my feet.
NOW.....about the SAFF yarn she selected for me while shopping at SAFF over the weekend. I did post a picture of it previously but ya'll just can't really "get" how beautiful these are. The FEEL is such that you just can't take your hands off of it. Really. The gold/brown/ hank of Caravan is 65% wool & 35% camel down and it feels like something you'd like to cuddle up with when you go to sleep at night, as is the Riata which is 48% wool, 36% kid mohair & 16% silk. The hand painted Knitting Notions Classic Merino Supersock yarn is just beautiful as is the Brooks Farm Primero, 100% mohair, which will probably become a soft, yummy scarf. Claudia, you are a gem of a shopper (as well as knitter, spinner, dyer, etc.) And yes, a very loyal and true friend who always seems to go out of her way for people., but forget about all THAT. I only wish I could KNIT like her!.

SAFF LOOT

2007-10-28T23:02:00.000-04:00

THIS is a picture of the goodies I got at SAFF. No, I wasn't able to go. These are MINE with the help of my personal shopper, Claudia. She just emailed me this picture of what she thought I'd like and I'm grinning from ear to ear. Here are her descriptions listed from left to right:
1x Knitting Notions Classic Merino Supersock (100 gr - 420yds) of 100% superwash merino wool. It is hand-dyed and very pretty - the color is called "very berry".
2x Brooks Farm Yarn Riata - each 8oz (365yds) of 48% Wool / 36% Kid Mohair / 16% Silk.Enough to make the Clapotis Shawl (they had a sample there and it looked gorgeous)
1x Brooks Farm Yarn Primero 8oz (500 yds) of 100% Kid Mohair. Enough to make this - Circular Scarf in Old Shale Pattern Stitch (I attached the pattern for you)
1x Caravan (300yds) of 65% wool, 35% camel down. I thought this is a very interesting yarn, haven't seen it anywhere before.

Now I have to get busy and finish the few UFO's I have so I'll be able to dive into this beautiful stuff. Now I ask you.....could she have picked out a better selection? Ah.......NOPE!

I'll Be In Stitches

2007-10-28T11:57:00.000-04:00

This Thursday I'm going in for some outpatient surgery! You may wonder why on earth I would be OH so excited for something like that but what's going to happen is that my surgeon is going to stitch up the remainder of my surgical wound. I'll get the stitches out 7 - 10 days later and I should be all healed up. Wonder of wonders. The best part of this is that my wound-vac will be OFF. Permanently. I am grateful for such a device for the healing it produced but I am SO very tired of having this thing attached all the time, not to mention the extreme pain on the surrounding skin due to the on/off of the dressing & tape 3 x a week. I'll go in Thurs. am and come home in the afternoon. Happy, Happy!

Now for knitting stuff!

One baby blanket finished
Another one finished. This one is a car seat or stroller size.
This is also going to be a car seat / stroller blanket. I love how the pattern is coming out.
The socks that I knitted for Barbara fit her so well. She has this tiny foot, size 5 1/2 or 6 and I was hoping they would fit.. She LOVES socks and couldn't believe that I actually made these. ( I actually couldn't believe they came out as well as they did.)Barbara, the sock recipient, and I.

Yummy Yummy Yarn

2007-10-19T16:00:00.000-04:00

My order from Knitch just arrived and I could hardly open the box fast enough. This is Suri Merino yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas, a blend of silky suri alpaca and soft merino wool. The Suri alpaca breed makes up only about 10% of the population of alpacas in the world making it extremely luxurious and rare, and amazingly it can be hand washed.

This is going to be a cabled scarf for one of my Docs and I can't wait to start it. The ball of yarn feels SO soft and I'm sure as it knits up it will feel even better. The color is "Dusk", a beautiful medium gray even though it looks brownish in the photo.

On The Needles, FINALLY

2007-10-18T09:49:00.001-04:00

I've finally started knitting again, on a regular basis. Claudia's visit, it seems, blew the cobwebs out of my head where knitting was concerned.

I'm about half way thru on this baby blanket I'm making for Eileen's soon to be born 1st grandbaby, so exciting! Granted, it's a very simple pattern but one that I can knit thru taking my Darvocet. I'm using Plymouth Encore, a machine washable 75% acrylic 25% wool blend, 2 strands held together knitted on size 13 KnitPicks circular needles. I'm happy with the way it's turning out.

THEN the scarf that I've started, ripped, started, & ripped more times than I care to mention. I finallly "got" the way to do a proper yarnover and although this picture isn't stretched out enough to really see the pattern, it looks beautious. The yarn is baby alpaca that I got at Knitch.These are the dish cloths I made for Cathy, my wonderful nurse who comes here every other day to do the wound care. Boy did I luck out in getting HER, believe me. She has such a gentle touch, knows what she's doing (not all do) and is such a pleasure.

My Home Health Medical Team

2007-10-18T09:14:00.000-04:00

For those of you who are interested this is a picture of my wound vac. Please keep in mind that the following may be a bit more information that some of you may want, so please have the children leave the room. The way it works is that this piece of rather ugly looking gray sponge is inserted into the wound. The nurse cuts it to the proper shape and to fit just inside, leaving a bit of room between the sponge and the wound itself. Then she puts on this large piece of "drape", a clear plastic film that looks like clear shelf paper with the adhesive on the back - the kind that you pull the edge of the adhesive off as you apply the film. This goes all around the wound covering most of my abdomen to form a complete seal. She then cuts a hole in the center and puts in this round disk with plastic tubing attached which is then connected to the machine. There is a canister attached to the rear of the machine which collects the drainage coming out of the wound. The machine is then turned on with the amount of suction selected on the readout, it starts sucking and then continues all day long (and all night), 24 hours a day.The cats love it, as it makes this burping noise everytime it sucks up stuff, providing hours of continous entertainment for them as they watch the little dabs of "stuff" pass thru the tubing.
The whole concept is very cool and makes sense and whoever invented this deserves to be the millionare they probably are. I was told that this machine usually cuts healing time in HALF. AMAZING, to say the least.
So I continue to carry around my little device until I'm all healed up. At first this was a REAL challange because I would spring a leak in the suction and the machine would sound this loud alarm to indicate that something was wrong. Then my canister filled up and I had to change it out, which is really very simple except that the 1st nurse who came to hook me up neglected to show me how to do this. Anyway, it's fine. We get along well but I can't wait until I'm done with it and can kick it to the curb.

MEOW-ZER!

2007-10-14T18:47:00.000-04:00

HAPPY NEWS TO REPORT! Oh, by the way, I'm Sunny (for those who haven't met me) and I'm taking the liberty of blogging this entry since my Mom hasn't been in the mood. She went to the Doc last Friday for her 2 week check-up and he said that everything looked OUTSTANDING! What a relief. I gotta tell ya, it's really been a BIG adjustment for my sister & I since all of this started. First of all, she was gone for almost the entire month of August and then had that surgery. It takes all of my wakeful energy to tend to her. For whatever reason she definately feels the need to pat me much more often and needs me sleeping as close as possible to her all night long. Her hands are always on me, patting, brushing, pinching my cheeks (facial & hind end). At least I have my own pillow on the bed. She has one along side of her and that's mine. These things are all fine and dandy except that a cat need some private time too, ya know? Anyway, Beauty Baby & I have split the nursing detail, myself usually doing the night work and my sister taking the day shift. For some reason she has much more patience than I do during the day. Perhaps that's because I've been up most of the night on my watch. Here is a picture of Beauty Baby after her shift is over. See what I mean?
At least she can still get around to fix our breakfast and dinner, give us fresh water daily and clean our litter. I don't know what we'd do if she couldn't do THOSE things. I might have had to resort to sniffing around on the kitchen counter top to see if there might be any tasty left overs. I usually check anyway but the good stuff, ie chicken, ham, sliced turkey, cheese are all kept in that giant white lock box.
Our exterminator was here last week and informed us that we had Mice or Rats up in the attic! I'm OH SO GLAD he put bait up there or else I might have been expected to go up and do the extermination. That's where I draw the line. A hunter I'm not. I wasn't brought up to be a hunter. That's why we have strange men who go up into the attic and get rid of all those pesky rodents.
Anway, that's it. Time for a nap.

Knit Therapy

2007-10-10T08:38:00.000-04:00

Claudia came over on Saturday, brought a feast of a lunch from Atlanta Bread Factory and we sat and ate & talked for hours. She also got me into picking up my knitting again. I don't know what it was but I had all these projects whizzing around in my head and when I went to pick up the needles my concentration and ambition went out the window. She also brought the above, 2 skeins of yummy sock yarn and some gorgous yarn she actually spun herself! She suggested that I try a pair of fingerless gloves with her yarn and told me about a pretty pattern on Knitty.com.
Her knitting is SO beautiful it's almost sinful. Beautiful even stitches, patterns without flubs, etc, etc. Also, she solved the mystery of why my yarn-overs never looked right, reason being I wasn't doing them correctly. Good reason, yes?? I've knitted several dishcloths to give to the nurse that comes here 3x a week and the 2nd cloth was a pattern with yarn-overs. It looks SO good and I'm so happy that I finally "got it". I was winding the y/o in the wrong direction. Small detail ....NOT.

Presents

2007-10-10T08:28:00.000-04:00

Boy ya really get good stuff when you're sick. Eileen sent me a very large box of cat gifts! This beautiful cat plate with 2 matching mugs, cat salt & pepper shakers, cat spreaders and this great pitcher.
Marty sent some beautiful roses and Winnie and Beverly also sent flowers. Kim, Gerry & Rich sent a beautiful hydrangea plant. There's something about flowers that can make a crappy day turn into sunshine. THANK YOU everyone for all the cards & goodies! When something like this happens to you I can't tell you what it means when you get a funny card in the mail or when a friend picks up the phone and calls. It makes such a difference. THANK YOU to everyone to has sent and/or thought good wishes for me!

Ok, Here I Am

2007-10-05T19:38:00.000-04:00

Ok, although I'm not looking all that great I decided to take a picture & put it up, pale complexion and sunken eyes and all. I'm feeling better slowly but surely. I even went out to DINNER earlier. Susan, Jane & John picked me up and we had a great steak dinner. It felt OH SO GOOD to get out of this house! I've even looked over my knitting and am trying to decide what to work on. I have so many UFO but I need something that takes no concentrating ability. I"m sure I"ll find something.

Feeling Better

2007-10-03T13:14:00.000-04:00

Well, to update my situation here, my wound-vac was installed last Saturday, The first machine that was delivered was the wrong one and it took several more days for the correct one to be delivered. Go figure. Anyway, it's amazing. I hate it because it's attached 24 hrs. a day and I have to carry this devise around in a little carrying case. It probably weighs about 6 lbs. or so. I LOVE it because my wound has healed up INCHES in less than a week. Many inches.
Oh, I forgot. I had a follow up with my surgeon last Fri and he said that it looked OH, SO GOOD. Boy did that make my day!
Anyway I'm getting used to this thing. Twice the alarm on it went off, indicating either a leak in the suction or something needs attention. Last night it went off at 1am, and all it needed was it's cannister to be changed because it was full. Now I know how to change it in case that happens again. AND, of course, both times the alarm sounded had to be in the middle of the night. That's ok....I sleep during the day.
Sunny and Beauty Baby have been taking turns attending to me. As my friend Eileen said, " The day nurse & the night nurse!" One shows up and stays next to me for a few hours and then the other jumps up as if to say, oh, you can go now. I'll be here.
I spoke with Claudia the other day and will call her to take her up on her offer of her knitting/non-knitting visit. I really miss seeing her along with all the other knitters every week. Hopefully in a couple of more weeks I'll be able to drive and get myself OUT of this house on my own power. What a pleasure that will be. Really!
Anyway, THANK YOU for all your phone calls, shopping help, cat assistance, and good thoughts. It really does make a difference.

The Story of A Tumor

2007-09-26T11:08:00.000-04:00

HELLO!
I finally managed to get to my computer and tell my tale. After my vacation in Europe I had a 3 day turn around and then spent a week in Florida. It was Jenna's 11th birthday + I hadn't seen my family since my Mother passed away in May. I had this funny pain during dinner on Sat. Sept. 1st and thought it was just a gas pain or something. Since it really didn't go away by the time I got home on Monday, I made a Dr.'s appt. for Thursday. Now mind you, this was just an annoying pain. My Doc said he wanted me to have a CT scan to determin what it was. I said, ok, when.....he said NOW. Now?? Ok, now. I walked over to the ER enterance (his office is in Northside Forsyth Hospital in Cumming), had the CT scan, and was told I had a VERY, VERY, BAD looking mass that had to be removed. Everyone kept saying VERY,, VERY BAD, implying cancer but didn't actually say. I couldn't believe all this. I had this slight pain. Now a MASS?
Surgery was the next day, Friday. Arlene flew up and was there when I woke up. Upon waking up, my surgeon said the tumor I had was very unusual, LOOKED bad but may not be. He was waiting for the pathology report. Monday he said the report showed it was BENIGN!
Since it was such an unusual looking thing, he then sent it to the Mayo Clinic for further testing. They agreed. Thank GOD.
As it turns out this lovely turmor I had has 2 types, the benign type & the malignant type, which mimic each other. Therefore it's difficult to determin which I had with obserevation alone.
I came home on the 15th and Eddie flew here from Calif. to stay for the week. I then proceded to get a wound infection which the Doc tried to take care of in his office. THIS wasn't gonna happen. GOD AWFUL PAIN with him digging around. He had me go in the next day for surgery to clean it out and I was back home on Friday.
All my stitches are out and now I'm left with this LARGE wound (9" long, 3" wide, & 3" deep) to heal up. I'm getting this devise called a Wound-Vac, which will be installed tomorrow. It's supposed to heal up wounds super fast. Good. I NEED THIS!
Ok, so that's the story. Friends have been picking up prescriptions, groceries, etc. since I have no idea when I can drive. My friend Marty is flying in Thursday night and will stay until Sunday. Such support. I could get used to all this attention. Sunny & Beauty Baby haven't left my side. All I have to do is call them & they come meowing. Cats do NOT do this as part of their normal behavior. They must know that I need them.
The one thing that I"m very dissapointed in myself is that I've done NO knitting. All these weeks of free time and NO knitting. Several reasons for this. For one, I haven't wanted to. I can't really concentrate too well. Maybe because of the pain meds I'm on?? Plus if I'm not paying attention I'll make a mistake and have to rip. Hate that. I'm on less pain stuff now so hopefully I'll pick up some old piece of yarn and just knit.
Will write more soon, but for now, that's it. (That's enough, isn't it? )

Back To Reality

2007-08-22T15:45:00.000-04:00

I feel neglected.
My bed isn't being made for me twice a day, with chocolates left on my pillow. No buffet breakfast. No entertainment at 9:00 PM. No more trying to decide on which of 7 or 8 entrees to have for dinner. I even have to make my own coffee.
I want to go back!

That's Winnie, Eileen, and I (diving to get into the picture - 20 seconds just isn't enough on those self-timers) just chillin' on deck. Chillin' we were as it was very windy and quite chilly that day. We grabbed those woolen throws they had out on deck and just watched the clouds go by. Yes, we could get VERY used to this life!

I brought this Chocolate Soccer Ball home for my BOSS, who I sincerely hope appreciates the effort. It's not solid, therefore can be easily destroyed by heat, bumping, or objects squashing it during it's many travels. I got it in Helsinki, Finland and carried it VERY gingerly all the way home, in my carry-on. It made it relatively unscaved, all but a small quarter sized indent. Not bad, considering. I'm sure he'll look at it, crunch it with one fist, and gobble it up in 20 seconds flat. But, then again, that's what's supposed to happen!

Our cabin stewardess, Kartini, made these KOOL towel animals every day. VERY creative. This bat was one of her better creations.

Castles, Palaces & More

2007-08-20T17:12:00.000-04:00

Ok folks, just a small viewing of what I've been seeing for the past 2 weeks in Europe. These photos are just a small sample of the hundreds I took but I have laundry up to the sky, work to do for my wonderful boss who let me take the last 2 weeks off to go on this "words cannot describe how wonderful trip", etc.
This is Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, which had been the winter residence of the Russian imperial family until the October Revolution in 1917. We toured the inside and were amazed beyond words.

Frederiksborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark

Beautiful gardens at the Vigeland's Sculpture Park - Oslo, Norway

My travel companions, Winnie, Eileen & Jen at Vigeland's Sculpture Park
Oslo was an interesting city and was made even more interesting when our tour guide told tales of some of the folklore that originated from the area. Our collective favorite was that of the "huldre", a beautiful blond TALL woman who enticed all men who looked her way. They couldn't resist her because of her exquisite beauty. Only ONE problem: the beautiful huldre always wore a long, flowing skirt to hide her COW TAIL! Legend says that the only way for the huldre to rid herself of her tail was to marry, but once she did she turned into an ugly faced old thing! Pity the man who marries the beautiful huldre only to find that TAIL beneath the skirt after the wedding!! Talk about a shocker! (Personally, I'd just keep the tail)

Jen in the Vila Vilekulia cottage, home of Pippi Longstocking.
Stockholm, Sweden.

White Chocolate Swan at the Chocolate Midnight Buffet on our ship.
Yes, I did say CHOCOLATE midnight buffet.

Such a beautiful sunset view from our ship, leaving Estonia at 11:00 PM

I PROMISE I'll write more. Tomorrow. ZZZZZZZZZ for now.

Master Kellen James McFarland

2007-08-02T11:43:00.000-04:00

Kellen James McFarland has arrived, weighing in at 9 + lbs. Is he beautiful or what! Proud Dad Gerry just sent this on his Blackberry and Kim said she's doing fine. Here he is, on a blog, and he's less than a day old. If I wasn't going away tomorrow I'd be in FL to see him before he gets old. Alas, by the time I see him he WILL be OLD....a month old! He really IS beautiful.

Almost Ready

2007-07-31T17:57:00.000-04:00

Only a few more days to go and then I'll be off to London and a 12 day cruise on Royal Caribbean's Jewel Of The Seas. Eileen, Winnie, Jen & I have been looking forward to this for months and now it's almost here. The ports we stop at are Oslo (Norway), Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), Copenhagen (Denmark), St Petersburg (Russia) and Estonia. My camera & camcorder are fully charged. Lots to do before I leave including squeezing Sunny & Beauty Baby to pieces!

Knitted bookmarks I made for my travel buddies

Hide 'n Seek

2007-07-31T17:49:00.000-04:00

One of Sunny's favorite places to "hide" is behind the shade above the tub. He has all the window sills in the entire house to sit on as he pleases, but he has to squeeze himself behind this shade, bending the sides as he goes. Do you think I would chase him away from there? Of COURSE NOT!
Cats can do no wrong.

Such A Deal!

2007-07-21T13:12:00.001-04:00

My delivery from Knit Picks just arrived. When I saw this 40% off sale on ALL of their books, well, you can see what happend. I bought. And bought. Who in their right mind could pass up an opportunity like this! Alas, some of the titles I wanted weren't available so I had to be happy with these:

Mosaic Knitting by Barbara Walker
Selbuvotter, Biography of a Knitting Tradition by Terri Shea
Wrapped in Comfort, Knitted Lace Shawls by Alison Jeppson Hyde
Vogue Knitting Stitchionary, Vol 2: Cables
Vogue Knitting Stitchionary, Vol 3: Color Knitting
Knitting Beyond The Edge by Nicky Epstein
Double Exposure: Knit it Basic, Knit it Bold by Bonnie A. Franz
Little Box of Scarves II
Two-Stitch Knits by Jane Crowfoot
Knitting with Beads by Jane Davis
Debbie Bliss Simply baby
Very Easy Circular Knits by Betty Barnden
Knitting Stitches

I may need to update my contact lense prescription to a stronger power but if I do, it'll be worth it.

Cat Pix

2007-07-20T13:39:00.001-04:00

My beautiful Beauty Baby.
She only sleeps in her cat bed when it's filled with toys.

More Cat Pix

2007-07-20T13:31:00.000-04:00

My beautiful Sunny.
Don't you love watching them while they sleep? (or yawn?)

Finished Blankie

2007-07-17T16:03:00.000-04:00

Another finished project, this little baby blankie. It's sized to use in either a car seat or a stroller. I do emphasize FINISHED because I've been finishing more projects than I ever have. My thing use to be: buy yarn, start project, buy more yarn, start yet another project, and thus went the cycle. Now I actually have many finished objects instead of UFO's laying around the house, which makes me feel VERY GOOOOOOOD. In fact I feel SO good that I may just go out and buy more yarn. (hehehe) I actually have a good excuse this time. There are several birthdays coming up soon and since my knitting has gotten into what I consider the " decent" area of craftsmanship I'm going to knit some gifts for these unsuspecting friends & relatives.
More socks on the needles and I was very proud of myself until last night. I did the toe, foot, and 3/4 of the short row heel without a smidgen of a problem until something happened with only 3 wraps to go on the heel. I dropped a stitch and just can't figure out how to get it put back correctly. I have knitting tonight at Only Ewe And Cotton Too and hopefully someone there will show me how to fix it, and if not, there's always Claudia.

And, don't die friends, but I went to a Braves Game on Sunday. Yes, I actually went to a baseball game and had a great time. It was Stitch and Pitch Day at Turner Field and I went with a group of knitters from Knitch. A great time was had by all: knitting, chatting, meeting new knitters, snacking, and from what I've been told the Braves Won!

New Yarn Delivery

2007-07-07T19:19:00.001-04:00

I have absolutely NO idea how all this arrived at the door yesterday. Maybe I lost my mind for a second and placed an online yarn order??

Hey, it was ON SALE!

Baby Stuff

2007-07-07T19:12:00.001-04:00

This Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Baby will be perfect for a little sweater I'll be starting soon, as I don't have enough projects in the works already. (COUGH)

Yarn, Yarn, Yarn

2007-07-07T15:52:00.001-04:00

I know what you're thinking but I really NEEDED this yarn. I really did. When I was in Only Ewe And Cotton Too I spotted a sample of a knitted baby blanket sitting up on a shelf. The minute my hands picked it up I knew I had to make this. I've never felt anything softer than this Oh My & Heaven yarn and since I know of several babies on the way I had no good reason NOT to get some.

The pattern is for a baby blanket to use with either a car seat or a stroller and is just adorable. I'm almost done with the body of the blanket already and tomorrow I'll get some help with the border. It involves picking up stitches along the edges which shouldn't be that big a deal but I don't want to mess it up!

I was in this shop for the first time the other day and am so glad I went. I also went to their knitting group that meets every Tues. & Sunday. What a great group of knitters! Among them I met Zina, who knits socks like the wind. She really does. Like, maybe 3 pair a week or so. No, I'm not kidding. Aside from the speed in which she knits her work is flawless. You probably are wondering what she DOES with all these socks. Yes, she sells them. THIS is also so cool. She showed me how she does her cast-on and toe for the toe up socks which is the only way she knits socks. Amazingly I "got it", did it, and it looks SO good. Her cast on method is actually called the Turkish Cast-on and for anyone interested you can view an excellent tutorial by clicking HERE. She also knits the most beautiful shawls out of sock yarn. Beautiful stuff.

My 1st Shawl In Progress

2007-07-07T13:47:00.001-04:00

As you can see, I've started my first ever shawl. It's a very simple pattern from Knit Picks and when I say simple it's a great starter shawl project as it has a 4 row pattern with only 1 row that you really have to pay attention to. The yarn is Andrean Treasure, a baby alpaca sportweight in Lilac Heather. I've only had to rip it out 3 times but now I think I'm on the right track. Also, I hope you can see those handmade stitch markers that I'm using to keep me in the correct pattern sequence. Allison made them & I bought several sets from her at the Atlanta Knitting Guild meeting on Thursday night.

North Georgia Expedition

2007-07-07T11:53:00.000-04:00

Susan called last Sunday morning and asked if I wanted to go exploring with her, Jane & John. Of course I said, " Of course", not even knowing where but when exploring new places it really doesn't matter now does it? Susan chauffeured in her NEW truck and drove up to the Sautee & Nacoochee Valley area. Ok, folks.....guess what we found......SHOPPING.......(now THAT'S a shocker, right?) First we went to The Gourd Place where I bought these small painted gourds along with this very cool handmade handpainted piece, which will hang next to the fireplace. Their shop is very interesting, showing the process of preparing the gourds from their natural state to the finished products.
We then found The Country Store which was SO SO cool! As you enter on the right they have this authentic player piano playing away, and you feel as if you just went back in time 100 years. My find was this yummy smelling Banana Nut Bread candle and a tube of Goat's Milk Hand Cream.

Bambi

2007-07-07T11:43:00.000-04:00

Look who came a visiting to MY house this morning. These beautiful girls were just grazing away in my yard, as calm as can be. They were about 12 feet away from my back door and I held my breath as I ran for the camera. I was able to snap a few shots before Sunny & Beauty Baby jumped up on the window sill to see what I was looking at and that was the end of the deer viewing.

Opps

2007-06-22T16:05:00.000-04:00

A few minutes ago I got a call from the Forsyth County 911 office saying that someone from my number dialed 911 and hung up. I told the girl that everything was fine, that I had mis-dialed a number by mistake, hung up and then re-dialed. FIVE minutes later a policeman showed up at my door! I explained what happened and he asked me, " You dialed 911 by mistake?? " TGIF

Hey Mr. Postman

2007-06-22T09:38:00.000-04:00

My Son-In-Law, Bently is a letter carrier. I hope this never happens to him.

It's a Heel!

2007-06-22T09:17:00.001-04:00

I am SO excited, you just can't imagine how much. Last night's knitting at Knitch finally produced a short row heel that I can be proud of. After many unsuccessful tries and frogging I think I finally "got it", thanks ONCE AGAIN to Claudia , the "Knitting Hotline" of many. She also showed me a very simple ribbed cable stitch and now I'm on my way up the leg. I really love the look of these and I can't wait to get a little further up on the leg to see how the pattern looks. YEA!

A/C Problem

2007-06-21T12:14:00.000-04:00

My air-conditioning went out yesterday and for those of you living locally here in NE GA I have to pass along info on a VERY reliable company. Larry Wilbanks of Wilbanks Air (770-887-7911) did some extensive A/C work at my house shortly after I bought it several years ago. When I called him for service yesterday he was swamped with work so he had his brother Stanley (770-889-0293) also in the business, contact me. He was at the house 10 minutes later, found the problem, FIXED it putting in a new part, and was on his way in less than an hour from my original phone call. GREAT service and at a very reasonable price. It's going to be a long, hot summer and if anyone needs A/C service these are the guys to call.

Black Sheep Gathering

2007-06-21T08:49:00.000-04:00

I just saw an article about The Black Sheep Gathering which takes place in the Pacific Northwest this weekend. There are sheep and goat shows, workshops and lots of fiber exhibits but what caught my eye was their Sheep To Shawl competition. The contestants work in teams of 5, 1 weaver and 4 spinners and have to make a shawl at least 20" X 72" in the time allowed. How absolutely amazing. I would KILL to see that!

My Knitting

2007-06-20T22:21:00.000-04:00

You will notice the lack of a photo here. THAT is because I'm STILL working on that !@#$%^& toe-up sock that I've had on the needles for I can't tell you how long. I've had to rip out the heel three times. This short row heel is supposed to be fairly simple but I must have some short row brain tissue missing because I'm just not getting it. I met Claudia and Jen
for knitting on Sunday and they are whizzes at such things. They make very intricate patterns look SO simple to do. DRAT!

Kangaroo Center

2007-06-20T22:07:00.000-04:00

On Saturday Jen, Arlene, Heather & I spent the morning at the Kangaroo Center in Dalton. The grounds there are just beautiful and all 80+ acres are loaded with flowers, unusual birds, and of course, kangaroos. They have a tram that takes you around the grounds to see all the animals and then you wind up in their arena to see them close up. Jenna & Heather just HAD to go over and hug this deer!

Jenna In Ga

2007-06-20T21:44:00.000-04:00

Jenna just went back home to South Florida after spending 2 weeks here. We had SUCH fun, as usual. We went to the
Chestatee Wildlife Preserve. We had never been there before and it's really a neat place. Not all that large but they have many different wild cats from small to VERY large including lions and tigers. This large camel greeted us as we entered.
She also went to Circus Camp and actually learned how to ride a unicycle, walked on a tight rope and did various aerial acts. She rode the unicycle in the show the camp put on at the end of the week! Cool stuff!Jen wearing her clown nose during dinner at Outback Steak House.

Steak Pizzaiola

2007-06-20T21:10:00.000-04:00

Ok, Ok....it's only been 3 weeks since I've been on here. My friend Barbara actually thought there was something wrong with her internet connection because she couldn't access any new posts. I told her that was because there weren't any!
To start catching up, the above is a picture of the most delicious dish my friend Marty made while I was still in Florida. He's a great cook and Steak Pizzaiola is one of his specialties.

Marty in the kitchen at his Hollywood Beach Condo

The Laugh of the Day

2007-05-28T19:20:00.001-04:00

I'm here at Arlene's house in South Florida and when I went to take a shower I noticed a new shamppo sitting on the edge of the tub. It's always nice to try new things when staying at someone else's house so I was going to use it after I showered. When I picked it up to see what brand it was I saw the following:

It's a good thing I looked. I might have had a craving for a rawhide chewie!

My Mom, Babs Glass

2007-05-24T10:39:00.000-04:00

This is a tribute to my Mom, who passed away yesterday at the age of 87. She was in her early 20's in this picture, taken in Brooklyn, NY where she grew up and lived a very varied and full life even after being stricken with polio in her early 30's. For the past 3 years she has lived with my daughter & family, Arlene, Bently & Jenna in South Florida and will be greatly missed in our day to day lives. Our vacations together took us to Disney World every year since Jenna was small. Mom went on every wheelchair accessable attraction there and among her favorites were It's A Small World and The Kilimanjaro Safari ride in The Animal Kingdom. We are all going to miss you, Nana.

2007-05-20T22:42:00.000-04:00

My afternoon of knitting at Knitch was wonderful, meeting several new people & finally being able to browse around in this wonderful yarn shop. Claudia was nice enough to show me how to do a short row toe on these toe-up socks and it took all afternoon for me to "get it". When I got home I immediately started another sock using that same technique just so I wouldn't "lose it". The top one is the one that took me all day to do. The bottom one in the photo is the one I did "all by myself". THANK YOU CLAUDIA!

I met Melissa today and saw all of the adorable stitch markers she makes, all done individually by hand. I also got this great take along bag for small projects (like SOCKS). I love the size, the fabric & the color so home it went.

Finished Socks

2007-05-19T23:19:00.000-04:00

I finally finished this pair of socks. One was done months ago and the other, sadly to say, has been waiting for me to finish off the toe for I don't know how long. These were going to be gift for a friend of mine but there are a few spots that are much less than perfect so I"m keeping them for myself. (That's a good reason to keep them, right? ) These were knitted in Koigu, 100% Merino Wool. I really love this yarn. It has a great feel and it comes in SO many beautiful colors.
Tomorrow I'm spending the afternoon with a friend of mine along with several friends of hers at Knitch, a yarn shop in Atlanta that I've always been anxious to go to. Talk about getting a knitting fix! A day of knitting, chatting, chatting about knitting, & shopping. What could be better!

Jane

2007-05-18T14:18:00.001-04:00

Jane
Originally uploaded by pusstatmine.

Jane is around 13+ years old and is the sweetest cat! She runs out to greet me as I walk down the driveway and just wants to be picked up and patted. She, too, is on meds and usually is good about letting me give her the pill but lately she gets mad. Poor baby. I wouldn't like it either. At least we're still friends.

Millie

2007-05-18T14:15:00.001-04:00

Millie
Originally uploaded by pusstatmine.

I'm cat sitting this week for MY cat sitters Heather & Joe. This is Millie, a beautiful girl who is very afraid of people she doesn't know well. She's being a very brave girl because I have to give her meds twice a day and she'll let me pry her little mouth open so I can pop in the pills. She's very sweet and is as soft as silk.

This is June Bug, a very friendly girl who meows and rolls over for any type of patting & attention she can find.

2007-05-09T12:31:00.000-04:00

Just got back from NYC last nite. SO much fun! This is the view of Central Park from The Top Of The Rock where they just opened up the Observation Deck.

Eileen & Jen during dinner at The Red Eye Grill. On the table in front of them was our appetizer of "Dancing Shrimp", one of their specialties. SO very good. Jen lives in Midtown and was an excellent tour guide with her suggestions for eateries and such. It was great to have REAL NY pizza, REAL NY bagels, NY Chinese Food and, of course, street pretzels.

After seeing the play Inherit The Wind. we had dinner at The View Restaurant in the NY Marriott Marquis Hotel at Times Square. Great food with a revolving panaramic view of the city.

As you can see the weather was perfect. This was the view from our Circle Line Boat Tour of Manhattan going down the Hudson River and along the East River.

Organic Cat & Dog Food

2007-05-09T12:28:00.000-04:00

I sent for a sample of the organic cat food and guess what......they won't eat it. (What a suprise). Back to Fancy Feast in their favorite flavors : chicken, chicken or chicken.

Organic Cat & Dog Food

2007-04-30T13:27:00.000-04:00

My wonderful Cat Sitter Heather just sent me some very interesting info on pet food.
The Healthy Holistic Pet and Newman's Own Organics Premium Pet Food has information on dog & cat health & nutrition, foods and what types of things go into "regular" pet food. After reading up on this you may never want to feed your dog or cat regular store bought food again.
You can get free samples of the food they sell, so you can try it out on your pet to see how well they like or dislike it.
I sent for a sample and will post how well it goes over with Sunny & Beauty Baby. I never really knew what the term "by-products" pertained to but if they really do contain things like rancid oils, udders and animal parts that seem like they should be deemed as waste material rather than food I 'm switching over to something that sounds healthier, not to mention more palatable.

Mother's Day Trip

2007-04-30T10:38:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day is several weeks off but boy am I looking forward to that weekend. I'm going down to FL to see my Daughter Arlene (pictured above), Granddaugher Jenna and of course my Mom. Oh yes....Bently, Princess, Toby, Rocky and Razzle too.

Baby Blanket

2007-04-29T15:33:00.000-04:00

The baby blanket I knitted for Kim's shower is done. Kim & Gerry's baby is due in early August and, yes, it's a boy. I'm sending out the blanket tomorrow via UPS in time for the shower next weekend. (Boy they better be careful with THIS package!) I would have loved to go but I'm meeting my friend Eileen in NY for a long weekend of gabbing, eating, laughing, and doing NY stuff. I'm really looking forward to seeing her as well as meeting her daughter Jen for the 1st time. Poor Jen. She definately will see her Mother in a new light. Eileen & I know each other since we were 12 years old and we get a little "silly" when we get together, (definately an understatement!)

Orpah & Her Lamb

2007-04-28T19:59:00.000-04:00

My adopted sheep, Orpah had her lamb! This big, beautiful ewe lamb was born on April 26th and weighed in at 10 1/2 lbs. I can only imagine the beautiful wool that she'll produce as she grows. She was born on the Schacht Fleece Farm. in Bloomington, Indiana. Boy do I wish I lived closer!

New Yarn Delivery

2007-04-24T17:24:00.000-04:00

The doorbell just rang and behold! A new delivery of yarn. The purple is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport which I'm going to use for socks. I've not tried sport weight before and I wanted something to get me away from those small, size 1 & 2 needles. The baby blue is some Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace that I got for a baby sweater. That dark gray tweedy looking yarn is Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton, appx. 1/2 cotton & 1/2 wool, very soft and of course the Opal & the Cherry Tree Hill self-striping yarns are all for more socks. I also got 2 pair of size 0 (yes, you read that right) Crystal Palace bamboo circular needles. I've used sizes 1 & 2 but for some of the super thin sock yarn I really needed a size 0 with the way I knit so loosly. If I only could tighted up a bit I'd be So happy using a little larger needle but no go. Actually I'm happy that I can make it thru a whole pair of socks using a size 1, a big accomplishment for me. I usually use KnitPicks needles but since I fly so often I'm now switching to the bamboo. I really don't think it would make a difference passing thru security because let's face it.....a long, thin VERY pointy object taken onboard a plane can cause a problem no matter what it's made out of. I've been lucky so far and haven't been bothered at all but there's always a 1st time. But for now I have to decide which of these projects to start on next. I may have to close my eyes and just pick. Such decisions for someone NOT good at decision making!