You’ve grown so much since you arrived…
…but you’ll always be my Kitten Girl!
Happy birthday, Mayhem!
“The big kitty said I should look wistful and ask for tuna. Is it working?” -Mayhem
Monthly Archives: May 2008
Kreature feature
As some of you know, Jeanne is now blogless (hopefully this is a temporary condition), so she gave me permission to post this exceptional picture of her cat Kreature modeling baby booties. Apparently the secret to such successful modeling shots is to sneak up while your cat is asleep… too bad my cats wake up every time I even think of moving. Oh well. Project details are available over on Ravelry.
*zzzzzzzzzzz….* “Wha….?” *zzzzzzzzzz…* -Kreature
On Monday, I knitted a slightly modified java jacket in order to keep frosty glasses of beer and other summer beverages from freezing my fingers and melting all over the place.
I know, you’re so surprised that it’s black, right? 😉 Actually, the black makes sense, as it doesn’t show coffee or chocolate stains, which has been a problem with my white and black java jacket.
“I am so not amused. And you are obviously far too easily amused. Hmph.” -Chaos
This, that, and the other thing
Karen’s celebrating her birthday with a haiku contest (it must be haiku contest week, eh?) – leave her a birthday haiku comment by midnight CDT, May 30, and you could win some yarn TBD.
Julie’s celebrating her quitting smoking anniversary with a contest. Leave her a comment by June 2 about something you’ve accomplished that you didn’t think you could, and you might win some Socks That Rock or Spunky Eclectic yarn!
Go vote for Pam’s dress over at Kaboodle and let her know that you did so – you could win a $20 WoolGirl gift certificate!
Kerry needs help naming her new pair of parakeets. The contest runs until the parakeets are named. The prize itself is also unnamed, but Kerry promises it will be good.
Please send good vibes to Not An Artist’s kitty Guinness, who is not doing well right now.
Reading Update
Bitten, Stolen, and Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld, Books 1-3) by Kelley Armstrong. This is an extremely well-written and involving series. The first two books are told from the perspective of werewolf Elena and the third book is told by witch Paige.
Many Bloody Returns: Tales of Birthdays with Bite edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner. If you’re a fan of Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, P. N. Elrod, Rachel Caine, Tanya Huff, or Tate Hallaway, you’ll find a new short story you’ll enjoy!
If Angels Burn: A Novel of the Darkyn by Lynn Viehl. Huh. Not quite sure what I think about Viehl’s stuff. I’ll get back to you on it.
Under Cover by MaryJanice Davidson. Steamy fluff set in the Twin Cities. The book is broken into three sections, each featuring a different main character, but all spun off of the same main event.
Hot Stuff by Janet Evanovich and Leanne Banks. As usual, Evanovich’s non-Stephanie Plum stuff is merely mediocre.
The Kitchen Witch and My Favorite Witch (The Accidental Witch, Books 1-2) by Annette Blair.These are sweetly enjoyable romances, light on the paranormal.
Romancing the Dead (Garnet Lacey, Book 3) by Tate Hallaway. Madison witch Garnet’s vampire fiance is missing…
Good Timing Update
Last Monday when I finally got home from work, I found a prize package from Cathy-Cate in the mail! Talk about good timing. (However, good timing for receiving a package does not necessarily translate to good timing for taking pictures; that’s my story for why these are exceptionally crappy photos and I’m sticking to it.) I now own a gorgeous skein of Wollmeise (I didn’t have any!), along with some tasty treats, a handy stained glass style notebook, a great black kitten card, a knitaholic magnet,and some shea butter lotion. Oh yeah, and something that Chaos obviously loved and obscured.
*nom nom nom nom nom* -Chaos
Yes, ’tis sad but true – Chaos cannot control himself around soaps containing natural oils and slowly licks such soaps into oblivion. This leads to some rather complicated soap storage strategies.
“What sort of delectable kitty treat do you have there, big kitty?” -Mayhem
“Back off, May. No soap for you!” -Chaos
No soap for you, either, Chaos!
“Alas. That was some darn tasty soap!” -Chaos
When thwarted re: the soap, May made off with the yarnaholic magnet and the photoshoot came to a screeching halt.
“Refrigerator magnet! Mine mine mine mine mine.” -Mayhem
Dyeing for summer
Wendy’s giving away a cute green iPod Shuffle. To enter the contest, leave her a comment with a summer-themed haiku by midnight EDT, May 29.
On Saturday, Jeanne and I headed out to Deb’s to do a bit of dyeing. (Check out Deb’s pictures, too, including one of me.)
Excuse the blurry pictures – sometimes I swear that the “anti-shake” feature on the camera introduces as much blur as it prevents… Probably it’s just me! Anyway, here’s Jeanne working on the last skein of the day.
Deb and Holli relaxing…
And our finished products. Care to guess which two skeins I dyed?
Were you right? 🙂
As you can tell from the pictures, Saturday was nicely sunny – but it was only in the low 60s. Still, this is much better than last year, when we had our air conditioners on by mid-May!
“Shhh… maybe Mom won’t notice me in the cooler and I’ll get to visit Sammy and Tig and check out their ‘Cat Wheel o’ Fun!'” -Mayhem
“What do you mean, there’s not room for the sorbet with me in the cooler?! How could you even tell I was there? Hmph. You never let me have any fun.” -Mayhem
More purr-sonalities
Thanks for the great comments yesterday about the “feline-alities,” with apologies to Mel for posting that word again – I’m not sure you’ll appreciate today’s terminology, either! 😉 Just in case you dog owners were feeling neglected, never fear – the “canine-ality” test was first.
Several of you noted (either in comments or emails later) that the neurotic cat purrsonalities were woefully neglected. Catherine’s comment reminded me that Jeanne once pegged Chaos as a Terrorist. Too true. His perfect purrsonality type would be Anxious Terrorist, with a dash of Mama’s Boy thrown in for good measure. And really, who wouldn’t pick that purrsonality type from the shelter?! 😉
“Who are you calling a terrorist, Mom?! Perhaps you’d like to reconsider that statement?” -Chaos
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how ready I am for this (US) long holiday weekend… although I had no idea it was Memorial Weekend until, um, Wednesday of this week… Anyway! I’m not going to post on Monday. Have a great weekend!
Ice scream socks
Interesting – some pet shelters are using a feline personality test as part of their cat placement efforts. You can see the list of nine “feline-alities” here. I think May’s primarily a Party Animal, with maybe a bit of Personal Assistant thrown in. Chaos seems most like the Executive, but none of the types really address how much he loves me and dislikes almost everyone else – including growling when the phone rings, and hissing and growling at visitors…
Now there’s LOLCAT IRL – I would probably be laughing too hard to walk or take a picture if I saw that mural!
Hmm – you can buy a knitted dissected frog or rat on etsy. If you’re feeling more DIY, you can buy a pattern and knit the frog yourself. Who woulda thunk it?
Wow, it’s obviously been too long since I did a reading update!
Reading Update
Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb. Mmm… Roarke…
Maiden Rock: A Claire Watkins Mystery by Mary Logue. Claire is a deputy sheriff in western Wisconsin, by Lake Pepin. This mystery was primarily about meth and meth addiction.
The Outlaw Demon Wails (Rachel Morgan Book 6) by Kim Harrison. The sixth book in the urban fantasy series about witch Rachel Morgan has some really shocking developments!
Dates from Hell by Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong, and Lori Handeland. If you’re a Kim Harrison fan, this is worth reading for the prequel to Dead Witch Walking.
Like a Charm by Candace Havens. The previous books in this series have all focused on the witch Bronwyn. This one tells the story of another Sweet, Texas, resident who isn’t a witch but rather a sort of ultimate librarian.
Ill Wind, Heat Stroke, Chill Factor, Windfall, Firestorm, and Thin Air by Rachel Caine. I read Caine’s Weather Warden series straight through, in about five days – it’s clever, compelling urban fantasy with nary a vampire or werewolf to be found.
A Bone To Pick: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery by Charlaine Harris. The second Aurora Teagarden mystery is another pleasant sort of read. (And completely paranormal free!)
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips. What if the Greek gods, somewhat dwindled in power, shared a house in modern day London?
Knitting Update
Back in August, I started a pair of plain socks from Trekking 126. I actually finished knitting them ages and ages ago, but just couldn’t bring myself to sew down the picot edge. Finally, I ripped back the picot and knitted some nice simple 2×2 ribbing. Ahhh…
“Oh, look – more socks. Well, I guess they are sort of stripey…” -Mayhem
“…so I shall deign to grace them with my presence.” -Mayhem
*sigh* “I suppose no other socks will ever compare to the wonder of the original stripey socks. How annoying.” -Mayhem
Cat box turtle
Thanks for your kind thoughts, everyone – yesterday was another somewhat crazy day at work, enhanced by a migraine. Bless my migraine shots! Today – hey, at least I’m working from home, right?! 🙂
Holly’s having a “What dreams have you deferred?” contest. Leave her a comment about your deferred dream and you could win a very cute handsewn tissue cover (it has a face!).
Over the weekend, the weather was nice enough to go out walking. It’s finally starting to look like spring around here!
The grass and dandelions are thriving, but many of the trees have taken a more cautious approach – can you see how bare some of them are back there?
Hmm… I wonder if the owner of this car is into the fiber arts?
No time for a leisurely stroll, apparently…
Even the turtles were out sunning at Lake of the Isles.
Speaking of turtles…
“100% hybrid cat box turtle? Why is that funny, Mom? You aren’t making sense again…” -Chaos
Work beat me up and left me for dead yesterday, and all you get…
is pictures of a cat with a wet head. Better luck next time? 🙂
“You can’t really tell that my head is wet and my fur is mussed, right?” -Mayhem
“Right?! Darn that tempting shower anyway.” -Mayhem
Bibbity boppity boo
Whew! I wove in the ends and sewed the button on the second bib during my lunchtime pedicure on Friday. I even had enough time to drop the bibs in the mail before heading back to lunch.
I know, kinda boring. Here’s the “artistic” shot:
Lest you think that this lunchtime finish meant the kitties escaped bib free – I did finish the first bib around 11 pm Thursday night.
“Oh oh – I sure don’t like the look of that. I’m outta here!” -Mayhem
“Well, drat.” -Mayhem
“Ok, now I’m really outta here! Run away! Run away! Rampaging bib on the loose! -Mayhem
In which I reveal the Mother’s Day card I received
Nicole’s hosting her Second Annual Bookwyrm’s Birthday Blog Bash! She’ll be offering three prizes: one each in the categories of knitting, reading, and writing. To get more details and participate, head on over by May 21.
Ok, since I decided that the bibs must go in the mail today, I stayed up way too late in order to finish knitting the second bib. As part of that, I sacrificed the time I was planning to use to write a witty, insightful post for y’all… not buying it? Darn it. (Yeah, I can wait for the snarky commentary to die down.)
Um… Look! Over there! The kitties gave me a Mother’s Day card! Wasn’t that sweet?
There were a lot of smudgy footprints on the envelope, so I’m sure it’s authentic. 😉
“Of course it is! Love you, Mom!” *purr purr purr* -Chaos
I hope everyone has a great weekend!