Whiskers on Wednesday

What says Halloween more than a black cat ruling the roost?

All three of our cats are on a diet, so they will not be trick or treating this year, Onyx has a problem with her knee cap slipping (I thought she had an inner ear infection she was sooooo clumsy). When I took her to the vet about how clumsy she was, the vet said she had to lose weight or her knee would give out totally (she weighed 14 pounds, nothing compared to Jack’s 22 pounds), so all three cats had to go on the diet (especially since Jack was the fattest and the laziest.) They have been complaining vociferously, letting us know that they are not getting enough to eat. The three cats now share a can of cat food every morning (mixed with chondroiton/glucosamine) and then they get 1 cup of dry food in the evening (so they let me sleep). The diet is working though, Jack, the fattest of the three of them has lost the most, and he now likes to play again. Onyx is still being pissy about it and has lost the least. Jill now looks great and does not need to lose any more, so I have to make sure she gets to eat first every morning or Onyx would eat it all and poor Jill would wither away. Why isn’t it as easy to put myself on a diet as it has been for the cats?

Happy Halloween

Accomplishments

I finally have accomplished what I listed in my Fridays Fill-ins for the weekend (a first for me). Friday night we went out for sushi to celebrate my daughter’s new job (she is very lucky; she quit one job because she did not like certain aspects of it and had a new one a week later). On Saturday we hit Linen ‘N Things for drapes and miscellaneous items (they are closing so everything is on sale), picked up groceries, cooked dinner, and I made time to knit (the beanie I started for SFS is done, I just have to weave in the ends, pix tomorrow). And on Sunday the new drapes were hung, my room was cleaned, and I had time to knit which is always a good thing.

I also got a box packed for Socks for Soldiers that I will be able to mail off tomorrow, after I get the ends weaved in on the cap. I was able to find the individual packs of peanut butter, they are sometimes hard to find or too expensive for my budget. I also saved all the shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bottles from when we stayed in the hotel and packed those.

Isn’t life good?

I just found a contest on Nautical Knitter, its very easy, vote, post, and comment. Go here to enter.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Right now, I'm feeling headachy.
2. Home in my chair is where I want to be.
3. How does one _decide whether or not to get out of bed in the morning__?
4. Knitting keeps me on track.
5. Please don't be so critical of others.
6. Hugs and kisses from my dog and cats fills me with joy.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going out to eat with my daughter to celebrate her new job, tomorrow my plans include shopping, cleaning cooking and knitting and Sunday, I want to nap, knit and clean some more!

New Counters

Lookie lookie-


Granite counter tops that I ordered in August were installed Tuesday. I love them and it means I can finish putting away kitchen stuff. Oh boy!

I mailed off my AHEDS swap partners stuff, lots of goodies, I hope she likes them. Now I am going to go pretend that I am a gourmet cook and play in my kitchen. :-)

Blah, blah, blah

Do you know how some days you just can't feel it? Not blogging, not reading, not housecleaning? That's where I am at right now.
But at least I am knitting more often, it has gotten to the point that I feel guilty if I sit down to watch a TV show and do not have knitting in my hand. I am working on a ski-type cap for Socks for Soldiers and a dish cloth that is almost done.

A few posts back I stated that the best recipe I had tried recently was Grace's Skillet Supper and a few people have asked for the recipe. I found it on Grace's blog here. My family loved it and when I asked them if it was a keeper, they said most definitely.

I finally finished the dishcloth for my swap partner, I found it here and while mine does not look as good as Marie’s does, I think it is okay and I enjoyed knitting it while my daughter prepared the kitchen for the new countertops (which was a really crappy job to). Here is a picture of the one I did. . .








I also bought her some very cute stitch markers, however my pictures of them really suck.There is avery cute little black cat, a headstone, a scary ghost and a pumpkin with a spider web on it. I got them on Etsy from Scary Merry I got a set of Starbucks frappcino markers for myself. She pays a great deal of attention to the details and they are well worth the price. :-)

Can you tell which of the pictures in this post I took myself?? I wish someone would tell me what is wrong with my pictures, what am I doing wrong?

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Follow the yellow brick road(isn't that original).
2. Books and knitting is something I always take with me on vacation.
3. To achieve your goals, you must work hard and persevere.
4. I have a hard time making a decision (I blame it the fact that I am a Pisces) is something I'd like you to know about me.
5. I have a large heart.
6. Hope floats (and so does fat).
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going out to dinner, tomorrow my plans include meeting a friend for breakfast and housework, and Sunday, I want to knit and read!

Topic #5 AHEDE

If you could go anywhere at all to enjoy a wonderful fall vacation - where would you go and why? Somewhere you've been? Somewhere you've heard has amazing fall colors? Somewhere that's LESS fall-like than where you are?

It has been very cold here this weekend, I actually had to turn the heat on Sunday morning, and it was 51 in the house when I woke up. Brrrrrr. So I want to go somewhere less fall like, a beach where I can snorkel, sail, and lay in the sun. Such as Grand Cayman, (7 mile beach in this pix) or Key West. I love the sun and sand, a great place to regroup, read, and have fun, drink, dance and knit. :-)

Friday Fill-Ins and Dish Rag Tag

Well, our team was not the last team to complete the relay race on Dish Rag Tag, but we certainly were not first either. Though the box did not get lost, it was misplaced for a week or so, but it magically reappeared and we proceeded to move it along. Go Cotton Conquerors! Everyone worked well together and tried to encourage whoever had the box along the way. It was a good team and I enjoyed working with the group; it was fun and I can't wait until next year's race.

I forgot to mention that I read the new Maggie Sefton book, Fleece Navidad, the other night, I enjoyed it as much as her other books. She will be in town next Saturday to sign the book. I can't wait to met her.





1. One of the best concerts/plays/movies I ever saw that I really didn't think I'd like was Mama Mia, I laughed, I cried, and I sang.
2. Grace’s Skillet Supper is a recipe I recently made (or meal I recently ordered) that was delicious!
3. It's time for a nap.
4. A marguerita on the rocks is quite refreshing.
5. If I never hear the word freakin again, it'll be too soon.
6. To one side of the curving road was a bridge, and on the other was a deep gully.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleep and knitting (in no particular order), tomorrow my plans include finishing the desk we built in the loft and knit and Sunday, I want to read and knit!

Whiskers on Wednesday

New Yarn

I ordered some yarn from Elann and received the box last week,
they ship much faster than I expected. I got some fun yarn, some serious stuff and a couple just to try (that I am not sure I like) but I cannot wait to start knitting. Look at the great colors. I was hoping you would be able to read the lables, however, the light sucks in this house, we are still changing out fixtures. and I am a crappy phtographer, but I am practicing. :-) The first one is called Highland Bulky and it is very soft and will make a wonderful hat and scarf combo or a sweater.

This is a heather color, Highland Chunky, soft and poufy. Of course I like it, so I only ordered 3 skeins of it.


This is Cotton Joy by Needful Yarns and I love the color, but I am not sure if I like the yarn, which is sad since I bought a lot of it.
Koala is Italian and is very soft, a blend of wool and alpaca; I love the color.




The yarn below is called Bamboo Fusion, a blend of bamboo, cotton, and a touch of acrylic (this will help the garment keep its shape, you know how stretched out cotton can become).How in the world did I manage to get one great picture when the rest are so bad??

Topic #4 AHEDE &. . .

So, for this week's topic - we have a little quiz. You need NOT get the questions correct for it to count - just post the answers somewhere in a post this week.

Q1: Where did the idea of Jack-O-Lanterns originate?
C) Ireland

Q2: Halloween is the 2nd most successful commercial Holiday - what's the first?
A) Christmas

Q3: What is the intense fear of Halloween called?
B) Samhainophobia

Q4: The mask worn by Michael Meyers in Halloween (the Movie) was actually a mask of who?
D) No one - it was an old hockey mask

Q5: In 2004, what was the most popular Halloween Candy?
A) Candy Corn

And finally - tell us what YOUR favorite Halloween Candy is! I'm a Candy Corn person myself - can make me SO sick to my belly, but man I love it! Just the plain old kind though - not the many other flavors and colors there are today!

Chocolate is always my favorite candy, doesn’t matter if it has nuts, nougat, caramel or anything else in it, I just love chocolate.

Guess what, I found my knitting needles and all the paraphernalia that I normally keep together! I was so happy; I hated the thought of buying all of that stuff all over again, with so much money tied up in it. It’s funny, when I started knitting, I did not think about the cost, just that it was something to keep my hands busy, but now when I had to think about replacing most of my stuff, I was in a panic.

I went back to work today, but I was so rested after five whole days of not working (I did not even turn on my work computer) that it’s okay. My daughter’s boyfriend and I built most of the computer desk that we put in the loft area. It wraps two walls, but my daughter and I will have room for all of our computers and not be constantly bumping into one another. I need to put some finishing touches on it and then we will be able to unpack another 20 boxes. Ohhhh boy!

Happy New Year and Friday Fill-ins (late)

Happy New Year (or at least Happy New Fiscal Year). Overtime is done (for a week or so) and them I get to start compiling data for management, which is very tedious. However I am so lucky to have a job that provides me enough income to feed my family, care for my pets and put a roof over our heads, that I will quit complaining. And the best part is, I am off until Monday (Note- I wrote this Tuesday evening, but was way too tired to post)

Now that I am no longer working 7 days a week, I can complete some of the many projects I have started, and maybe start a couple of new ones. Biiig problem though, I cannot find my knitting needles, not my set of Options, none of my DPs, or most of the accessories that go with them. ,While we were living in the hotel, it was all contained in a bag that my daughter had gotten me for Christmas last year. Now that we are in the house I cannot find them anywhere, which will be affecting my knitting. So tomorrow, I will be tearing all of the closets apart looking for them just the fact that I am not sure where they are is driving me nuts. Picture me chasing my tail.



1. October means apples, flying kites, hot fires, and leaves.
2. I don’t know what scare me!
3. Leaves are falling all around, it's beautiful (as long as I am not the one doing the raking.
4. My favorite horror movie is I do not like any horror movies because I saw one (the Bride of Frankenstein) as a child and have hated them ever since.
5. Family get togethers = good memories.
6. It was a dark and stormy night the last time I lit the fireplace.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to cleaning the loft, tomorrow my plans include building a new desk/computer area and Sunday, I want to knit!