Beary Crazy!

I must be nuts. I am hankering to make another baby bobbi bear. Despite all my grumblings about Latte's bear, I want to make a third. For whom? No idea. WHY? No clue. I enjoyed making everything except the head. Latte's turned out really nice with the alpaca yarn. Having an unstuffed body dangling off my needles is really cute. Oy. NOT a reason to make another! Must keep telling myself that. Seeing how happy Latte was about the bear dissolved all my frustrations. And he does look much cuter with ears and a face. :) Maybe Latte's bear needs his own teddy bear. A smaller one, maybe in a fine chenille or a rustic cotton. I'm thinking a simplified pattern using lightweight yarn. Ooooh!

Picovoli

Making good progress on my Picovoli shirt. I tried it on last night and it seems snug/fitted, so that's a good thing. I was going to do four short rows and ended up ripping it all out because I realized 1) I need more of them 2) I should have inserted my right needle purlwise for all wraps, regardless of if I am knitting or purling. I decided I will do about 12-14 short rows, making it worthwhile (i.e. it will actually make the boob area roomy). But if it's supposed to be fitted, maybe I don't want too much room, lest I have poopie boobage.

It was nice trying it on. Made all my work worthwhile.

Weekend

We are Border Rewards junkies. Specifically, we are BR coupon addicts. Borders sends us coupons weekly and we love using them. So much so that we tend not to buy anything, or save our purchases for a future date, until we have a coupon. Oh dear. Yesterday's purchase was our first non-coupon transaction in months.

Last night, we had dinner with Frappie, Latte, and Mark. Delish. We also met Fluffypants for the first time. She is such a cutie. The coloring on her hind legs really looks like she's wearing pants. And her fur is so soft and fluffy. I especially love how she will lay flat on her back with her paws in the air and snowy white belly exposed. What a cutie pie. Roary was much smaller than I remembered. She's tiny but definitely in charge of the house. She marched around like a security guard while we hung out. Moe is well, Moe. :) He does not seem as pudgy as he looks in pics. Maybe the camera really does add 10 pounds!

I found the perfect book for Latte's bday. It was a gift from my kitties to her. Stuff on My Cat started as a website and has clearly gained popularity. She was cracking up at the pictures, just as I was. Nobody else seemed to enjoy the pictures as much as we did. Old farts don't know funny when they see it. :) We also gave her that stupid bear who tormented me for months. He looks much cuter with a face and ears. Latte seemed to really love him, which is nice. It makes all my torture worthwhile. The head doesn't look as bad when it got a face. Whew.

We got home pretty late last night, after 1 a.m. I gave the kids some kibble in hopes the snack would delay their wakeup call. No such luck. Davis was annoying the crap out of me beginning at 6:30. Fine. I fed them. Except Davis was starving because he snubbed his food. So he was relentless in bugging me. I resorted to closing the bedroom door, which led to scratching sounds on the door. Finally giving up, I got out of bed, opened the door and found our Buddy waiting for me. Oy.

Short Rows

I am working on Picovoli and can't decide if I need short rows. Consensus seems to be that even busty girls may not need it since the shirt seems to fit well. I am using DB Cathay as recommended in the pattern. While others are using the same yarn, there's a good portion of people who used Knit Picks' Shine. Since my obsession with short rows began earlier this week, I have actually noticed how I tug on the front of many of my tops since they seem to ride up. I think I need short rows. The girls want short rows. Now I need to figure out the optimal placement. I probably won't do as many as dicated by my girls--just a few methinks.

One True BFF

The QE and I will be celebrating 11 years together next week. Yup, 11 years. It feels like my life didn't begin until the day I met him. We essentially grew up together, from college kids to "real" adults with a mortgage and full-time jobs. QE is the balance in my life. My sanctuary of peace. From day 1, he has brought this calm to me. Being near him dissolves all my worries, stress, fear, and anxiety. I knew from our first date that he was THE ONE. I didn't want to admit it, but I definitely thought and felt it. His flair for design, color and symmetry still awes me because I suck at those things. He is the best shopping buddy around and is responsible for most of my wardrobe. My QE takes great care of me. I am truly blessed to have him in my life.

Motherhood

My sweet Gemma is a mom. There is a woman who feeds cats in the train parking lot and I ran into her yesterday. She knew about Gemma and said she likes to hang around the train tracks. The woman said Gemma is a mom to three kittens, two boys and a girl. The daughter was hanging around because she was hungry, and she looks just like her mom! Adorable. So my dear Gemma is getting fed. She's obviously not spayed. I'm not sure I like this. Well-nourished cats tend to have larger litters, which obviously defeats the work and purpose of rescues. This woman said she has humane traps but is afraid to use them (other cats will see their friends getting trapped and won't go in). Well, isn't neutering even five cats better than none? I told the woman that I was able to pick up Gemma, so getting her to the vet shouldn't be an issue. And that I would be more than happy to pay for the spay. Gemma's kittens look almost old enough to be parents themselves, so I hope some vet visits will take place amidst all this feeding. It's actually quite irresponsible of that woman to feed the cats. They are learning to depend on humans and losing their hunting instinct. And by feeding them, the kitties are healthy, strong, and robust in their breeding.

I still love Gemma. Maybe if I open my car door they will all pile into my car for a trip to the vet. :) "Come on kittens! This lady is taking us to the vet!"

Diamond in the Rough

I was waiting at the train station as usual, before daybreak. As I was knitting, I thought I heard an unusual sound. Hm, no matter. Back to knitting. Next thing I know, there's something furry rubbing against my legs and a loud "ra-ow!". Sitting before me was a black and white kitty with green eyes. Raow! We started talking. What are you doing here? Raow! Shouldn't you be afraid of humans? Not all humans are nice, you know. Raow! Raow! I put my knitting in my bag and my bag on the ground. She immediately went to my bag, got on her hind legs and peeked in my bag. My, aren't we brave and outgoing. I brought salmon for lunch and thought maybe she smelled it. I shared a bit of my salmon, some crackers and some cheese with her. Gem wasn't interested in any of it. All she wanted was attention. She kept raowing and rubbing against everyone, in hopes of getting attention and affection. Some mean woman goes Ugh, I hate cats. So I did kissy noises and sure enough, Gem came. She comes when called!!!! Our kids don't even do that!!! I told Gem again that she needs to be careful. She is so outgoing and trusting. I am concerned for her well-being and safety. Hopefully people who don't like cats will ignore her and not kick her or anything. I picked her up. Yup, she let me pick her up. As QE eagerly pointed out, "someone" we've been with for almost four years still won't let us pick him up. Gem looked right into my eyes and headbutted me endlessly. She showed us her belly. White belly with black markings. She was relentless in her affection. Train was coming. I scooped her up again and carried her to a grassy patch where I gave her a few last words about being careful and I hope to see her again. She sat there as the train arrived and people boarded. I kept looking back at her and she sat there, watching. One guy got off the train and headed towards her (the bike rack) and she immediately tried to befriend him. As much as I could see, he ignored her. I really hope someone takes her in. She's too friendly and outgoing to be exposed to all the evils of the world. QE said we can't keep her. She has cute little white paws, black legs, and I think an extra finger on her paw. Adorable. I will happily sponsor Gem and get her initial vet stuff done if someone would give her a loving home. She's such a sweetie. Gem the lovebug. I can't stop thinking about her and her little raow. Maybe if she's there tonight I'll bring her home. It has to be fate, right?

Take this J-O-B

So the other day at work, I was on the phone with my beloved QE. Blah blah, chit chat.

ME: Guess what?
QE: What's that honey?
ME (excitedly yelling): The Mega Employment comes out this Sunday!!!!

HR is across from my office. Their office goes quiet. Ooops! LOL

Our pudding is 9 years and 1 week old today. She's a cranky old coot, but still purrs when I hold her. I love to hold her over my shoulder like a baby and rest my head on her shoulder. She smells so nice and is so soft. The world is a-okay when I nestle into her shoulder. sigh. :)

Apple of My Eye

Mini me, you complete me.

I haven't had much time to tinker around with the mini, and it's taking a while to adjust to new settings and methods of doing things. It's so darn cute though!

Angel had a good birthday, I think. QE said he sang Happy Birthday to her during the day. He went to the store looking for mini cupcakes but none were to be found. Instead, he picked up the next best thing, Oreos. After dinner, we called her downstairs to the main level by rustling the Oreo package and as she sloooowly came down the stairs, we sang to her again. Unimpressed, Angel made it very clear that it was her birthday and she wanted some Oreos already! We gave her crumbled cookies and she probably ate the equivalent of a quarter of a chocolate wafer.

Happy Birthday Angel!

Oh my pretty blue eyed girl
You are my little choux
I love your pretty head
And your snowy belly
Your beautiful voice
And sassy attitude
You are the perfect package

Happy birthday, my precious princess!

September 1. What a great day. My first Cabbage Patch Kid's bday was September 1 too. Everyone who knows us knows that our furry kids consume our lives and hearts. Our worlds revolve around them. Angel was my first love. My first furry friend. And boy did she train me! Despite her cattitude, she's a wonderful little girl. Her momma cat must have been a great girl herself to have taught our sweet Angel how to be a good kittycat. It seems like only yesterday that we met Angel at an animal rescue adoption fair. She was crying relentlessly in her carrier until her foster mom took her out to meet the world. Those blue eyes and meezer voice captivated everyone there. We were there to see another cat but couldn't take our eyes or attention off Angel (how could we, with all the crying?!). QE fell in love with her "cute paws". Yes, that was the deciding factor--cute paws. Every day I celebrate Angel in our lives. She is an absolute delight and has such a colorful purrsonality. I can't believe our little princess is 9! May she live a long and happy life.