Territory Wars - Kitty Style!

Oh yesterday evening was fun. Oh yes. Let me set the scene:

We had just eaten dinner (one of those TGIFriday's frozen pasta dinner things - very tasty) and had some ice cream. I was working on Rachel's sweater, Noel was reading. I noticed a lot of pacing by the kitties, particularly Poe, who seemed to be engaged in running toward the litter box and then running away from it.

Let me put in here that over the weekend, we made a decision to go with one of the covered litter boxes, not because of smell issues, but because we have some Olympic-worthy litter flingers in the house. These guys can get litter EVERYWHERE and often do. So! We got a nice new litter box with a top on it, and the cats had seemed to take to it. I thought. I decided to play National Geographic and observe, because something was obviously up. Here's a sample of what was happening:

Poe goes into the box.

Loki follows him to the door of the box, and thwacks at Poe's tail with his paw.

Poe jumps out of the box and runs away.

2 minutes later, Poe reapproaches the box.

Loki, sprawling in front of said box like Mufasa, King of the Lions, glares at him.

Poe runs away.

3 minutes later, Poe gingerly approaches the box yet again.

Loki ambushes him as soon as he tries to get in the door.

Kelli swats Loki with a magazine.

Poe, thinking he's somehow in trouble (he's very skittish!), runs away.

Poe poops in the bedroom.

Because Loki won't let him in the litterbox, because apparently it's the center of the universe now and is up there with the Playboy Mansion in real estate desirability, but HELLO it's full of cat poop.

I went online for cat help forums and Noel and I discussed at length what measures could be taken to topple Loki's Reign of Litterbox Terror.

We are very scientific and intellectual and smarty-smart about this whole thing. After all, just getting these guys to use the litterbox in the first place was a major ordeal, requiring careful observation of kitten behaviors, having a controlled environment in which to make one change at a time til we figured out the issue (namely, they preferred peeing on paper and so we put mostly paper in the litterbox, slowly changing to more litter/less paper until they got used to the litter.) See? Very sciency! Very hypothesisy! Even the vet commented on it, and said we could be Cat Whisperers! (Except Poe claws my face every time I try).

Anyway. So we debated and discussed and tried to figure out what to do. We came up with a solution of sorts:

(1) Take the lid off the box, since Loki and Poe both love enclosed spaces. This will make said litterbox less attractive as a Fortress of Solitude (although we will be subjected to more litter flicking).

(2) Put out another litterbox in a different location, because Loki, as all-powerful as he seems to think he is, can't be in 2 places at once. I really wish we didn't have to resort to this, since they were just fine using the same box before. Perhaps if they don't use Box Deux I can take it away.

(3) Buy Poe a taser.

Isn't my life exciting? Don't be jealous! There's enough cat poop to go around.

Howdy and crafty photos

So much has been going on! Oh the craftiness. My fingers have been extremely busy lately working on all kinds of stuff (and I remembered to take pictures!). Will wonders never cease?

First, I did a little bit of clothes shopping. Now those of you who have known me for more than 93 seconds know that I am NOT fond of clothes shopping, because I'm....well, let's call it frugal. Because I am a seamstress, I HATE buying overpriced, poorly made clothing that doesn't fit me well. If I'm going to buy poorly made clothing that doesn't fit me well, it can AT LEAST be cheap. Let's hear it for the Goodwill!

I went there last week to buy a few pairs of jeans and whatever else I could find that was inspiring. I ended up buying 3 shirts and 2 pairs of jeans (at $2.50 each. wow.) Not bad. I'm having to do some work on one of the pairs of jeans, but they're Tommy Hilfiger, and also, did I mention they cost $2.50? Yeah.

I also picked up a cool shirt/sweater thing. It's really colorful and fun, and matches everything (nothing?) so it's very versatile. And the shape is flattering. I think I might use this shirt as a template for sweaters and other things I make for myself, to get the same fit. Here's what the fabric looks like:

Funky, no?

I've also been channeling my inner HGTV host and bought a $10 chair for my newly revamped sewing/writing desk. Here it is in its Old Floridian Beige glory:


I took off the cushion and started painting the frame a lovely teal color, because that's the way I roll.

Woo hoo! And because I refuse to let someone's retinas NOT sear while in my house, I covered the cushion in chartreuse velour. Voila:




Now one funny thing that came from overthinking (as many of my mistakes do): I was meticulous about not putting paint on the top of the seat of the chair, so that the fabric wouldn't stick and the paint potentially chip if I ever wanted to recover the cushion. I got into the corners and around all the visible areas well, leaving the beigy color showing on the top of the seat pieces (see above photo of the chair for clarification, or if you're bored enough).

So! Imagine my surprise when I put the cushion on, and realized that the seat cushion doesn't cover ALL of the wood of the seat pieces! Huh. For a second or 3, I actually thought somehow the paint had gotten wiped off of the back seat, and looked over my person to make sure I didn't have a big teal streak on my leg. Then I thought that it must have been sabotage. Perhaps gnomes, or evil fairies, or poltergeists (paintergeists?). Then I realized that no, I'm just a moron and didn't paint that spot.

But it's not noticeable! Really! See?


Yeah. Needless to say, that got fixed. The chair is now finished and has been used by everyone in the house, particularly Poe, who enjoys leaving black fur all over the green cushion.

I've been sewing a lot too lately - fixing Noel's work pants, modifying some jeans of mine, and making a fun baby hat for some friends who were moving (and are going to miss the SEC a LOT there in Nebraska). No pics of sewing...yet!

Next in our cavalcade of craftiness, we have knitting. I've been a sock knitting machine lately, and also terrible at the photo thing because I have a beautiful pair of new socks sitting in the drawer at home, unphotographed for posterity. Here's another pair that I'm almost finished with. This yarn is Berroco Sox, and was a birthday gift from my sister (she gave me a gift certificate to http://www.supercrafty.com/ - great site! Go buy some yarn! Or another gift certificate for me and I'll go buy some yarn!)

I'm almost finished with them, and then I need to get to work on holiday knitting, because as far as knitting timelines go, the holidays are virtually around the corner!

Speaking of holiday knitting, my sister's birthday was last week and I'm crocheting her a sweater. This yarn is gorgeous! It's some kind of eco yarn (I am so bad about yarn names!) and it's got a great luster to it. Rachel, I hope you like the color (it's a bit lighter than in this picture). The pattern is Aruna from Berroco.

I did my gauge swatch and was so pleasantly surprised to get the same gauge as the pattern. That never happens! So I happily started away, and got about 4 inches of the back (pictured above) done, when I held it up and thought "My sister is not ginormous, and yet this sweater is." The back piece, which was supposed to measure 24 inches, was coming out at around 30 inches. Um....that won't work. So I had to frog the whole thing and crochet the sweater that's 2 sizes smaller, to get the right measurements. OY. I don't know what voodoo happened between the gauge swatch and the actual sweater but WOW it was a doozy.

So!

It's coming along nicely now and measures exactly 24 inches. Go team!

Also? I like the wrong side of the fabric better so far. I asked Noel for his opinion, and he chose the wrong side as well. So I may just make that change in the pattern. :)

p.s. That's my ergonomic crochet hook, a christmas gift from a coworker. This thing is wonderful, and cuts down tremendously on the tendonitis, which severely interferes with my drinking and eating of homemade bread.

Good news! If any of you decide to collapse in a heap in my presence, I can help!



I'm official (again). This certification was through work, and lasts for 2 years, which is really nice. (The last time I got certified it was a yearly renewal, which is just...a lot to remember).

But please don't collapse on my behalf, just so I can have practice. Really.

We're watching out for Hurricane Bill down here, hoping he doesn't come for a visit. Will keep you posted!

Back to the birthday sweater now! Maybe there's some CSI or Poirot on....

Whew!

Can I just tell you how thrilled I am that today is my (work-wise) Friday? Wow. This has been one crazy week! Today was orientation, which is always somewhat hectic, but for some reason today was worse than normal!

Also we were handed down changes to our benefits plans at work from the Bigwigs, which includes a change in the severance pay policy from 60 days payout to 2 weeks payout (and you're expected to work those 2 weeks, so how exactly is that a severance package? You're working and getting paid. That's normalcy, people. Not a "benefit.") Anyway. Noel thinks this is the harbinger (oh, I love that word!) of more layoffs to come. Sounds feasible, probable even. We'll see.

Harbinger. HARBINGER. Sorry I just LOOOVE that word! You just don't get to use that word often enough in conversation. That or loquacious. Or verisimilitude. ooooooh.....verisimilitudinous. heh.

Anyway. Sorry to be so loquacious. HA!

I'm getting ready to take on another furniture refurbishing project, which should be simple. Damn. I just jinxed it. Anyway. Should be fun! Damn. I'll post pictures. It's a $10 goodwill chair that will be FAAABULOUS when I'm done!! DAMN.

OH! In other news, for those of you who like to cook (and those who don't really, but enjoy the benefits of cooking!). My dear sister gave me the easiest bread recipe on the PLANET. Sersely.

DELICIOUS EMBARASSINGLY EASY BREAD RECIPE:

3 cups self-rising flour
3 tbsp sugar
12 oz. beer

Mix together into a dough, put in greased loaf pan, bake about 45 min-1 hr at 350 degrees. Slice, devour.

I've used lime beer (Bud Light lime?) that leaves an interesting taste. I think so far my favorite experiment has been using Strongbow Hard Cider in it. YUM. Rachel said the main key point there is to use something effervescent/carbonated - somehow that gets the self-rising part of the self-rising flour going. I wonder how champagne would taste in it? Hmmm.....maybe for New Year's?

We've had about 4 loaves of this in the past 2 weeks. Oink. OOH! And you know what's really tasty? Mixing margarine and honey (about 50/50) to make honey butter, and eating that on fresh baked bread. OH MAN that sounds good. Might have to make another loaf tonight.

Hear that muffled screaming noise? That's the sound of the seams of my jeans, crying out in agony and terror.

Guess it's about time to head toward the house now. Pictures, coming soon to a blog near you!

Better (and worse!) living through chemistry

Sorry for the delay in blogging. I know, I know. It's been over 2 weeks! Many apologies. I do have excuses though! Let's see...

(1) Noel's kids are in town visiting, so time for blogging has been limited. (1st part true, 2nd..not really).

(2) I've been busy at work and therefore had no time for writing posts. (Ha).

(3) I've been totally uninspired. (This is true).

(4) I've been on a veritable cocktail of medications that have made me alternatively droopy, sad, angry, tired, and unconscious. (This is also true, and possibly the cause of Excuse #3).

Let's discuss chemistry for a second. Modern medicine tends to revel in medications - pills, syrups, shots, whatnot. I myself am not averse to taking pills to make myself feel better. In fact, I am known for taking Flintstone Vitamins With Iron because they seem to be the only vitamin/supplement capable of keeping my iron count at an acceptable level. Plus they taste good.

However. There comes a time when one must draw the line.

As some of you may know (here comes the TMI part) - I've been having....let's call them lady issues. Of the painful cramping/crying variety. These issues have gotten worse in the past few years, to the point where I was willing to go on medication to hopefully eradicate the root problem, which can't be confirmed without surgery (and would be treated with this same medication, so what's the point in surgery?). Anyway. My doctor put me on a daily pill for said lady issues (not getting into specifics here, but it rhymes with Baz). These pills were supposed to make me less moody.

I lost track of the number of times I cried during the month I was on these stupid pills. Sersely. I would cry at ANYTHING. Noel caught me on the computer one day looking at animal rescue shelters, fighting back tears as I read about this one Large Cat shelter who had taken in a terminally ill lion who died after a year of residing there, and how much he loved sitting under the tree, and how he at least had 1 year of his life that was full of caring and love. And I cried.

And I cried retelling this story to some coworkers a few days later.

Reminds me of a time (years ago). I was talking to my mom & sister about how depressing/morbid Disney movies can be, and they, upon not believing this hypothesis, were subjected to me telling them about how sad Dumbo is when they bring Dumbo to his mom, who's been locked away for being a mad elephant, and she puts her trunk through the window and rocks Dumbo before they take him away from her. And the tears began to flow, ladies and gents. And I even managed to have my mom and sister crying. Because we're all a bunch of animal-loving saps.

Anyway, I digress.

So! These pills = extreme moodiness and weeping at work.

I was considering going off of them, because let's face it. 5 days of severe pms is still better than 30 days of moderate pms.

Then last week happened. Last week was full of searing pain in my head. Like Lou Ferrigno was squeezing my head like some kind of exercise ball. It HURT. I took advil, I took tylenol, I took excedrin migraine. Nothing worked. By Thursday I was in such pain that I went to the urgent care center. I thought it was a sinus infection but the doc said it was a textbook migraine, and gave me 2 prescriptions, 1 for nausea and 1 for pain. I went to get the prescriptions filled, and folks, this doctor was NOT kidding around. He prescribed Hydrocodone. Which is that stuff that people get addicted to and sell behind the Wal-mart. I will not be selling mine, nor will I be developing an addiction to it, because this stuff knocks me out cold. After 3 days of it though, my migraine was rapidly waning and life began to return.

The side effect of this medicinal unconsciousness was that I didn't take the other pills. The Moody Pills. Which, as you know, must be taken every day, 24 hours apart. I missed 2 days. And realized that in those 2 days, I hadn't cried over dead lions or lost puppies or Hallmark commercials or the cat walking away from me when I wanted to pet him. Huh.

So I decided to stop taking them. I just quit. And I feel much better! Whew!

In other (differently boring) news, I've been knitting and crocheting a LOT. I've been making socks like crazy for some reason. I'm on my 4th sock in 2 weeks. Not sure what's going on there, but I have to say I like it. I'm also working on a few crochet patterns, and am already thinking of holiday gifts. Gotta get an early start!

It feels really good to just get stuff cranked out. I tend to procrastinate on projects when I want them to be perfect, and so it's hard sometimes for me to get over the fear of something not being what I imagine, and just let go. I've found it very liberating to realize that even if this sweater I'm designing isn't perfect, you know what?

I can make another sweater.

WOW. What a concept!

Ok, this has been a blog post about really nothing. Sorry to bore everyone to tears! Much is in the works behind the scenes that I hope to be able to share soon, but until then...you'll have to suffer with posts about my medical problems and yarn. Sorry.

Lions and Tapirs and Bears, Oh My!

Two weekends ago, Noel and I decided to go somewhere. Anywhere! Must get out of town! Must embrace the open road! Etc!

So we google mapped to see where was a decent destination that (1) was within easy driving distance, and (2) was a place we haven't visited yet. Jacksonville jumped out as a good choice, because we'd only passed through on the drive to Orlando in April, and didn't spend any time there.

So! We planned out a very short trip - one overnight stay, see some fun stuff, come back and pet the kittens. Well-rounded and thorough plan!

We started by going on priceline.com and finding a hotel. We found an AWESOME hotel - the Hyatt Regency Waterfront (right on the St. John's River). The staff was so friendly, and gave us a 14th floor waterfront view. Gorgeous! And it only cost $65 a night, plus incidentals. Thank you, Priceline Negotiator! (Judo chop!)

Pretty Room:

Fancy Pants Bathroom:

Lovely view of the city:

Rooftop Pool and Hot Tub: (swanky!)

Requisite Thing In Sky (a chandelier in one of the hotel's ballrooms):

There was much luggage (for an overnight stay - NOTE: Much of this was yarn):

The hotel even had a bar with cool wavy glasses, I guess so you could feel drunken vertigo before you start drinking! Saves time and money!:

We went to a really nice Irish pub called O'Brothers. Fantastic service, phenomenal food. The waitress even gave Noel a shirt for free because they had sold out of the one he wanted. They had some different ones and gave it to him! Cool.

I had one of my very favorites, Bangers and Mash. They even wrote the name of the pub in mustard. High falutin'!:

We found a dive rockabilly bar with a cheap pooltable, so we stopped for a drink there. (Noel skunked me soundly in pool that night!):

We also went to the Jacksonville Zoo while we were there. I hadn't been to this zoo, and am a professed zoo snob - I only go to ones with big enclosures and happy animals, because if I see unhappy animals I spend the next few months having Dora the Explorer animal release fantasies (except without the talking backpack). So! Anyway. We spent a nice afternoon at the Zoo, which was very nice! I really liked the way it's set up (by region), and is easily walkable (unlike the San Diego Zoo, which is so hilly in parts you feel like you need oxygen tanks and a sherpa).

I had fun taking pictures of the various wildlife we saw there.

Lions!! 3 of them, 2 females and 1 male. Lounging. In the sun. Like 2 other cats I know. Ahem.

In the Asian section (gorgeous gardens and a neat Zen bridge & pond), they had some impressive komodo dragons: (This guy was at least 6 feet long!)

Some cute little monkey whose name/species I don't remember. Let's call him Walt:

Flamingos! So happy! So fabulously pink!:

Ooohh, next up, the rare Homo Sapiens. This particular example seems to both fear and enjoy water. Note the umbrella for rain, but close proximity to the fountain...curious.

Just for you, Rachel, a tapir!:

This is one of my favorite pics from this trip. This is a Capybara, a very large rodent. This guy was about 5 feet long and came up right in front of me and posed for the camera. (singing) Faaabulous!:

OH OH! Here's another of my favorites!!! JAGUARS!!! They had an awesome exhibit that looked like a South American temple (as in, Aztec or Mayan) and a viewing window where 2 of them were napping. HOW CUTE ARE THESE GUYS!?!:

Silverback gorilla. This guy was huge. And fuzzy! But possibly mean, so I'm not going to tell him how fuzzy and pettable he looks:

They had a giraffe feeding station, and a baby giraffe that was only about 7 days old (this isn't him, he was segregated in another pen). Aren't these guys sweet?

Oooh...alligator hiding in the plants! (It isn't algae, it's a small aquatic plant according to the signs). He's in stealth mode I think:

A sleeping black bear. Isn't he almost huggable (but not quite)?:

HUGE owl that reminds me of Sam the Eagle from the Muppets:

This was some little exotic bird that....I don't know what it is, but isn't it cute too? LOVE the green head:

A bobcat!:

Ralph always hated his annual trip to the proctologist:

All in all, a wonderful trip and a great 1.5 day getaway!

It's Official.

I am divorced. It was finalized today.

Just so you know....

Goin' thru the Big D and don't mean Dallas...

It's been over a week since I posted, and honestly I had no idea time was passing so fast! For shame.

Life here has been a bit stressful and emotional lately. I'm going through the Big D and have my divorce final court date thing on Monday morning. This has been very difficult, dealing with the emotions and hurt and tears that come from separating. It's not fun. But it is something that I'll get through, I am already stronger because of it, and life goes on. And really, that's all I have control over - my own emotions and reactions, and that's where I have to start.

I'm also having a hard time controlling my emotions lately because of a new medicine my doctor has put me on for various...lady issues, let's call them. Which means the level of hormones floating around my bloodstream is enough to make a crocodile cry REAL tears. Or kill someone. Or both. I certainly have been extremely moody, and am so thankful to my friends who have been so tremendously supportive to me throughout all of this. Thanks, y'all!

Sigh. On to other things.

So the organizer of my knitting circle is leaving us! (She also just got divorced) and is starting a new life. In Asheville! Small world! So I told her about the fun things to do there, good restaurants, yarn shops, etc. If you see Amy around town, tell her Hello! We will miss her tremendously.

Our knitting group is meeting on Monday and I'm glad - it'll be good to get out and see some friends on The Day Of My Divorce, and also maybe drink something and knit a bit. I now have a ton more yarn, because Amy is destashing in preparation for her move. I'll have to take a picture of my new yarn - she has excellent taste in quality yarn, so I walked away with some gorgeous wools and ribbon yarns and such. Some even especially for Project X! Lovely lovely stuff! Also enough sock yarn to make about 4-6 pairs of socks!! Because you need wool socks in southern Georgia! But they're stripey!

Right now though, my interests seem to fall along crocheting lines. I've been so busy with the crochet hook, it's kinda ridiculous. I made a shawl for my grandmother and shipped it off to her (she loves it). I have a photo here somewhere and will post it. I also made myself a newsboy cap (very fun! But sweaty because it's wool and hello, it's hot here, but I wore it anyway).

Here's Grandmother's wrap:

Light and airy, so she can wear it/use it during all different seasons. It gives me so much joy to send something to someone who is also a crafty type, and knows the time & energy that goes into it, and shares her appreciation. I love that. :)

And in my designing efforts, I'm finding crochet to be an interesting medium, namely because for indecisive crafters like myself, it's easier to rip back crochet and redo it, without feeling you just wasted 9 gazillion hours of your life and then dropped a stitch when you're trying to pick up all of the live stitches that are there waiting to commit little knit stitch suicide by unraveling themselves. Oh no. Crochet is sturdy! And only has 1 live stitch at a time!

So I designed a soap holder/scrubber thingie and whipped it up in less than an hour. People might be getting these for the holidays, because (1) they're fast, (2) they're practical, and (3) they're super cute! So act surprised, people.

I'm also designing a sweater for myself in crochet. It's a wine color and will be a v-neck that's basically a short-sleeved cardigan that only has a button below the bust line, so it'll be a bit flowy. I'm intrigued by the idea of crocheted garments that aren't super-stiff and that also don't look like something someone would hide toilet paper under. I'm using pretty yarn and a huge hook, so it's soft and flowy so far, and fitted. I'm very pleased so far, and am taking careful notes so that when I'm finished, I can submit the pattern to the yarn company and see if they want to publish it!! I feel there's a dearth of pretty, modern crochet patterns that don't make a person look like a potholder. Or an afghan zombie.

I will take pictures of all of my projects at some point soon!!

Oh, and on another cool note, a friend of mine chatted with me online the other day from Algeria! ALGERIA! (Hey Christy!). She looked at this blog, loved the blue hat, and commissioned me to make one for her. Hee hee. I love making those hats - they're so fun. Also I love it when people like my stuff enough to purchase it. Makes my fingers feel smiley. :)

It's very dark and overcast here, and we've had rain for a few days now. Fits my mood for the most part - rather dour and gray, but knowing that there's sun behind it, just waiting to peek through.