April Goals....

Well, today is May Day, or better known as May 1st.  In a way, I am glad that April is done.  It was a hard month and a real roller coaster of emotions for me.  I hinted that I would post April goals way back in this post, but obviously I never did follow through.

April was filled with projects but most of them were not ones I should have been working on.  I did manage to start and finish the Multnomah.  For the record, I hated this pattern.  It was full of errors and omissions and that does not make for mindless knitting.  Which this pattern should have been due to all the garter stitch and the feather and fan repeats.  I loved the finished object but more than once I was tempted to frog and rip.  A photo shoot, more like a parade of FO's will appear this week.

I made myself a scarf from some beautiful Manos that Amy had send to me as a birthday present.  I also make a beautiful cowl from some Malibrigo that Amy had sent me as well.  I did finish sock one of the March socks and cast on sock two but they are still just staring at me.  I didn't have the energy to work with little needles and small yarn but I may be able to tackle them again now that things are returning to normal.

So, what are my May goals:

• Finish the March Socks
• Start and Finish the April Socks
• Start the May Socks
• Finish the Red Hot
• Finish the Red Robin
• Realta Afghan - Continue to work on the components (this is a marathon not a sprint)
• Cast on the Traveling Woman
• Finish the Friday Night Knitting Club
• Finish the Big Switch
• Work on my weight (I want to loose 3 to 5 pounds - OR get into the 14's comfortably)
• Get to know Sassy

There are a few others that I may add after I think about them.  I have been working on doing more things for myself lately (pamper wise) and I have been doing well on the mani/pedi portion.  I really want to pick a signature lip color and stick with it, so I'll keep you posted.

Eraser should be home on Friday and I am ready.  I miss her so much and I want to thank all of you for you kind words and thoughts.  I had forgotten how much she had wormed her way into my heart.  I have found some pictures of her as a kitten and I will be posting one last tribute to her.

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful Sunday and start your week off on a positive note.  I'll be fixing healthy dinners for SF and myself.  I need to share some of the treats I have been fixing.  They are low cal and yet packed with flavor.

My To Do List for the week will include a post on some of the recipes, the pictures/details of the FO's, the tribute to Eraser and a sneak peak at the crochet work for the Realta....it is stash busting of some ancient acrylic (Red Heart/Lion Brand/Caron) so don't stick your tongues out.  I am making it for Zoe.  Stephanie will be able to toss it into the washer and dryer and move on.  I'll make an afghan for SF and I with some Cascade 220 later in the year...

Friday Fill-Ins 2011-016

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And...here we go!

1. Pardon me, I'm not quite myself today.

2. Today I will be leaning on SF a good deal.

3. I was surprised to find that I really like chocolate covered bacon.

4. People watching is one of my favorite forms of entertainment.

5. Hi, my name is Lisa and I'm Knitter, not a fighter.

6. Ice cream goes hand in hand with summer afternoons.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to allowing myself the time to grieve and have an Irish wake for Eraser, tomorrow my plans include a little house work and time with SF and Sunday, I want to sit by the pool, cold beverage in hand and enjoy the day!

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And as a cat, you know I am most able
To decide anything for myself.
Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon replied the whiskered angel,
But I must come slowly
For my human friends are troubled.
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.
But don’t they understand? asked God.
That you’ll never leave them?
That your souls are intertwined? For all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is… forever and ever and ever.
Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat.
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them.
I just am… forever and ever and ever.
Author unknown

Rare Monday Sighting

Today was scheduled to be a day for me.  The office was closed and I had only planned three things:

1. Take Eraser to the Vet
2. Get the car inspected (and washed)
3. Renew the registration for the car

That all sounds simple enough right?  So it seemed to me as well.  I got up with SF, amid all her protests that I should sleep in since it was my day off.  I wouldn't hear of it because I wanted to keep the regular hours that I am accustomed to so I would be certain to be ready for bed at the correct time.  Somehow, that first cup of coffee in the morning while she is getting herself ready is much more enjoyable.  We have time to chat a wee bit and she is in a good mood.

After she left, I fixed my breakfast and started a load of laundry.  I was only planning on washing what I needed for a three-day work week and holding off on the rest until this coming Friday.  The load finished while I was cleaning out my knitting bag.  It had become stuffed with WAY too many patterns and items I was not utilizing for any of the current projects.  I promptly placed the clothes in the dryer and began to gather up the things I needed to accomplish the THREE things on my to do list.  All very organized and efficient things to be doing.  Dryer finishes, clothes get folded, hung or laid out to finish drying.  Off I got to get showered, dressed and generally presentable.  So far everything is going as planned.

Now anyone with a cat can tell you that what you wear to take said cat to a vet's visit is interesting.  In Eraser's case, she sheds quite a bit more than normal when she gets nervous, so I never wear white or black, as her fur shows up far to easily on those colors.  But today with the cold I wore dark green corduroy pants, my cowboy boots and a black log-sleeved tee shirt from the last Lone Star Rally.  Seemed safe enough to me considering the weather and the fact that we were going to a feline specialist.  So, no make up since cat fur sticks to that and makes my face itch.  I scooped up the pet carrier and before Eraser knew it she was safely locked inside and we were headed out the door.

We arrive at the new vet, Feline Medical Center, with plenty of time to complete the new patient interview and history gathering phase.  They have a wonderful front staff that instantly put me at ease and listened to Eraser's issues without any negative feedback.  The vet herself was wonderful.  My thanks to Dr. Julie Molitor would not be enough if we are able to get Eraser back to "normal".  The "house" cat, Isabella tried to be nice to Eraser but she was not really in the mood to make new friends.  Dr. Molitor patiently took more history from me and as we talked, we discovered some potential issues that we agreed merited closer investigation.  Now, for those of you that don't deal with Her Highness on a regular basis, you will not understand the strength and aggression that she gains when she visits the Vet.  She becomes extremely hard to handle and has drawn blood on more than one occasion.

This visit was no exception.  The tried Feliway to make the exam easier but Eraser would have nothing to do with it.  It calmed her for about three seconds.  End of discussion.  We placed a large bath towel sprayed with it over her and then the Vet and I worked in tandem to examine her.  She only got bad one time and that was when the Vet needed to look at her teeth and gums.  Blood was drawn from the Vet but not too much or too bad of a bite.  We agreed that she needed to be sedated so that they could get a blood sample and a urine sample without stressing Eraser or anyone else out too much more.  Thirty minutes later the visit was concluded.  It took just over two hours to get all of it done.  I'll spare you all the details, but I certainly hope that the test results tomorrow show us anything else that will help get her back on track.

Off to get the car inspected.  Should be a snap since the car is only two years old, right?!  Guess again my friends.  I lug Eraser and my knitting inside and get comfortable.  About thirty minutes later the tech comes in and advises me that the car cannot pass due to a faulty gas cap.  Seriously, a faulty gas cap and I had to lug all the stuff back inside and call SF for the nearest Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer.  She was wonderful.  She located one about five minutes away and even verified that they had the correct part before I drove there.  Another twenty two dollars later I was headed back to finish the inspection and get the car washed.  Once again, I lug Eraser and the knitting inside.  This time the car passes and in thirty minutes we are all finished and back in the car once again.

Eraser falls asleep from all the stress and the ride home is quiet.  I drop her off and then go tot the laundry mat to wash all the cat bedding.  Part of her "issue" causes this weekly trip.  After that, which was not scheduled, I drop off the bedding and head to the Kroger's to renew the registration.  I stand in line for forty-five minutes only to be informed that they no longer provide that service.  A thousand horrid words wanted to escape my mouth but they didn't.  I head back to the HEB and when I got to the Courtesy Booth there was no one in line.  BONUS!!!!  It took about five minutes and then I did a tiny bit of shopping and headed to the next stop.  I had to go to PetSmart for some canned cat food, a second litter pan, a scoop and a special litter.  I must really love this fluff ball.  Finally done I got back home at 4:45 PM.  I left home at 8:00 AM to start the day of three errands.  Not exactly how I planned to spend my day off.

Starting this evening, Eraser and Sassy get 1/4 cup of dry food and two table spoons of wet food.  Before I go to bed all food is to be removed.  They are no longer free feeders.  Ms. Eraser went up by almost two whole pounds from last year at this time.  They will get food two times a day and that is that.  They will need to learn to eat when the food is out.  We should have all the test results back by the end of the week, so i am hopeful that we can get to the bottom of the issues and get them all resolved before anything else develops.

Keep your fingers crossed and send healthy kitty mojo to her....

Christmas set up and the Cookie Mouse

Eraser will not be amused with this post

Just dashing by to share this link.....Eraser will not be amused!

Tuesday Temptations

I thought I would lead this post off with a few pictures.  The first two are of Eraser and Sassy.  For some reason they both slept this way with one paw shielding their faces.  Odd but they are cats, so they do things that we humans do not understand.  The third one is a glimpse of the Red Hot front and back pieces blocking and drying so that I can assemble them at some point today.  The second sleeve is almost done so I can block them for assembly as well.  The fourth one is of some roses that SF gave me on Valentine's Day 2010.  I selected three of the buds from this arrangement and hung them upside down to dry out.  When I am sad, down or frustrated I just need to see them on the side of the bed (retreat room) and they make me remember that it will all be okay.  The fifth and final one is of a Mourning Dove that was sitting on the fence outside the kitchen window last week (Friday the 24th) during a very heavy downpour.

As for the temptation portion...well, I have been culling my recipes and putting them in order so that I can find them faster.  I want to start using the crock pot again and that is what prompted the actions.  Fall equals crock pot cooking to me, so I needed to get ready.  I love coming home to the smell of dinner that is ready.  Crock pot cooking is hearty and most of the food sticks to your ribs.

There will be more later today, I just wanted to get this portion up and off my mind....

Happy Birthday Eraser

Happy Birthday Eraser!  You are eight years old today and I love you more now than ever!

Wednesday

Well, it is indeed Wednesday - AKA Hump Day.  Not including the Friday Fill-Ins posts I have been quiet as of late.  Not intentional I can assure you.  It seems that every time I think about posting, I am either not near the blasted PC or I am in the middle of something else and when I am finished the post has evaporated from my thoughts or slipped off my radar.  Miss Ginger brought up this issue in her blog.

So, what have I been up to that has kept me so preoccupied?  Well, first, I finally finished the Diagonal Granny Afghan.  And I want to emphasize FINISHED!  This was one of the UFO's identified for the Finish-A-Long Contest.  So, I listed four projects and I have completed two of them.  I will be picking up the Red Robin later this week and we'll see if I can get it done before the August 13th deadline.  I hope so but I will not be putting undo stress on myself to get it done.  The object for me was to get the motivation I needed to get some of these older projects finished so that I would fell better about starting some new ones.  Not to mention the boost to the ego one feels when the project is finished!

Not too bad for yarn picked out and purchased in 1983.  She was started in September 1983 and restarted on July 19th.  So, it took me ten days to get her finished.  Not as fast as I had expected but the border was a pain in the ass.  I was finished with the border last night but I had to weave in all the ends (two per row) and that was finished this morning.  She will get a spin in the washing machine later tonight and will most likely end up as a donation to Warm Up Winchester for Amy to get in to a person that needs it.  And trust me, it is SUPER warm.

I finally made it to one of the CLACK meetings.  These gals/ladies are a HOOT.  We meet every Monday at the Panera in Webster (I45 at Bay Area Boulevard) from 6:30 PM until they kick us out or you need to leave.  I took the Clementine Shawlette with me, as I didn't really want to haul the afghan out in public.  Especially for my first appearance.  I was amazed at the diversity.  There were socks in progress and while my preference is making them on two circulars, I was amazed at the number of younger women hooked to their dpn's.  There were some wonderful women that are newer knitters and they were so proud of their work.  It was amazingly refreshing for me, especially since my own daughters have no desire to learn.  And, sadly I could have been the mother to many of the women that were there.  But, I'm okay with that because I know I started hatching them young and will be a very active woman for a long time to come.

Last Friday SF and I went to the first showing of Salt.  Now I will admit that I am not always a huge fan or even a fan of Angelina but I LOVED this film.  The costumes, the action, the plot and the intensity were all spot on.  I may need to see it again, as I fear that I missed details.  I was like that with Gone In Sixty Seconds as well.  I had to see it twice at the cinema and then purchased the DVD.

SF is back on her diet as well.  She had been on it prior to meeting me and was in the maintenance phase when we were dating.  Since I moved in she slacked off a bit and gained back weight.  That was in stark contrast to the pattern I was on when we met.  I lost two more dress sizes after moving in but have since slacked off a bit since the last race.  I too have now added back pounds/inches and have re-focused my workouts to conquer the trouble spots.  I will not go back to the previous size I was.  Mostly because it is not healthy but more importantly I refuse to buy that size ever again.

I also received my Pimp My Queue Swap package from Paula.  Look at the pictures!

Yep!  I was spoiled and so was Zoe.  The cute little bag with the hearts is for her.  I can hardly wait to get it to her.  Bonus, since it is cloth Stephanie can wash it whenever it gets dirty.  The object of this swap was for your spoiler to pick an item from your top ten projects in your Ravelry Queue and supply all the needs to complete it.  That included the pattern and needles.  I have been wanting to make Green Gable for as long as I can remember and I was so happy to see that this was the chosen project.  I have it with me today and will be casting on as soon as I can.  I love the color of the yarn.  It is Caribbean Sea and I think it will look great against tanned skin and make the blue in my eyes even better.  I can't wait to get this one under way and done.

I have also been reading The Beekeeper's Apprentice for the Out of the Box Reading Game on Ravelry.  I can blame/thank Martha for this.  Martha is another wonderful woman that I met via a swap.  She supplied me with these goodies:

The Scavenger Hunt Swap was so much fun.  The yarn for the Clementine was in this package.  That is how long I have wanted to make it.  The breakdown of the contents can be read in this post.  That goes back to Miss Ginger and how the world of blogs touch our lives.  I have had the honor and pleasure of meeting so many wonderful women and men through connections from the Interwebz.  Looking through the Scavenger Hunt Swap blog, I came across this one from Leah.  And I will admit that I have been remiss in reading her blog and not posting comments when I do read a post.  Something I will rectify with my next visit to her blog.

I can also now share these:

They were photographed much better by AHJ on her blog.  Of course, if you are on Ravelry you can get the details here.  If you knit and you knit socks, then you should really check out the RPM pattern.  It is quick to learn and they are a lot of fun with variegated yarns.  I have made them twice with a third pair on the needles.

The last thing on my mind at the moment is Amy's post from yesterday.  I am still working on my Ten Things but I hope to get them up by the end of the week.  I think I will share the list with SF, as I think we watch a little too much TV sometimes.  Read Amy's post and see if you have ten things to add that are different and need to be shared/aired.

One last thing before I get back to real work....tonight I am going out again without SF.  No, there are no problems in paradise.  One of our favorite places is having a wine tasting event again tonight.  They are offering some of my favorites this go-round, so I wanted to go.  SF cannot have any adult beverages during the initial phases of her diet, so told me to go without her and have a good time.  Plus it starts at 5:30 PM and she would never get there before it ended since she doesn't get off work until 5:00 PM and it would take her at least an hour (with no bad weather and no traffic hardships) to get there.  Twist my arm a little harder please.... Seriously, I love the fact that we have so much trust in our relationship that we can both encourage each other to do things like this.  So, I will be taking both the Clementine and The Beekeeper's Apprentice with me to the event.  I doubt that there will be knitting after the tasting begins but it will be there as back up should it become necessary.

I leave you with pictures of Sassy and Eraser, as they have been plotting my demise since I do not share their beauty and majesty with the public enough to suit their egos.