SPIN, SPIN, SPIN !

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.......

and PRINCESS........

and TOBY.......

and RAZZLE......

and ROCKY......

Jenna Claus

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?

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

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?

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 !

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

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

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.