Friday Observations!

Just some random observations:
-I was up at 6:30 a.m. to water what little bit of watering I could do to keep some plants alive. As I was carrying a bucket of water out to the forsythias out by the roadside, I noticed there were 12-15 larvae crossing the road. I looked up and sure enough, the poor catalpa has leaves stripped off. I am sure these are "catalpa worms", although they are not worms but larvae. By-the-way, if you are a crappie fisherman, this would have been heaven to get the "worms" so easily. But......where were they going and why?

-In the middle of the day, it is advisable to just stay indoors. I cannot breathe in this heat. It just takes my breath away. Even Patty is panting by the time she goes potty and come into the house. Noodles is staying in during the worse part of the day.

-In spite of the heat and thanks to a/c I am still knitting and spinning.

-I really appreciate my friends. Although I have much gratitude, it was just a little bit annoying to get so much company all at once. I know my close friends have been worried about me, but please, I am fine and I am busy.

-My friend GK came last week and she really helped my move out of the stupor of selfish pity-pot. She didn't expect to be waited on, and we were able to go to our own spaces. She loves to read, and she rested and read a lot during the visit.

-Finally recuperated from her visit, I got an email from another friend about coming to visit me. I assured her I was fine, and that GK had just left two days before. So she and another friend showed up on Monday night. Sigh! This time I had to cook and "attend" to them. I had to blow up the air mattress.

-So last night I went to knit night to try to catch up with "goings on" and with my knitting. I feel like I have not been keeping up with my daily requirements.

-I downloaded a good book from NetLibrary and have been spinning some happy, joyful, blissful pretty merino roving. It is a thriller called Doomsday Key. It is really good. I have read other books by this author with these characters, but I really like listening to this one. It keeps you excited and "on edge".

-I am only about half-way through with the linen stitch scarf. I am plugging along with those damn fair isle socks. I am about half-way through with the foot part of the #2 sock. Almost there.

-My friend that came this week brought a watermelon. We halved it and she took some home with her. I ate my half yesterday. I was hungry for just wet and cold. It was so good. Isn't watermelon one of the most perfect fruits? And my possums and raccoons like the leavings.

-I take Patty for last trip outdoors around 10 p.m. For the last two nights there has been a big armadillo nosing around in the back yard. Patty doesn't bark or show any interest in the critter. She just looked for a few minutes and then moved on. I think most dogs would be barking and yapping and acting like something was invading territory. She is one strange dog!

-I noticed that ragweed is beginning to bloom! Great! If heat isn't enough, then add a little ragweed to the mix!

-Enough rambling along. Maybe next week I will be back to normal again. At least I am not moping around. I was having a lot of trouble focusing for any length of time. Now I am able to spin and knit for longer periods of time. I even listened to podcasts on Sunday as I got to spinning again.

-Try to keep cool. In about 3 months we will be complaining about how cool it is becoming.

Odds and Ends

This is the granny-square baby blankie all stretched out on the blocking board. The colors are not very true. I used left-over sock yarn. I like it, and think it is really pretty. It was easy, easy, easy. This is a walking stick that was on the screen for a coupla days. He/she was really pretty. I love the color green of this insect, but could not get the color shooting from the other side of the screen.

My friend GK came to visit for three days from the Wichita area. I have known her for many, many years, and I know her reason was to comfort me. She says she just needed to get away from home for a few days, and that this was the time she could get off from work. Today is her birthday, and she is celebrating with a group of her children and grandchildren.

Today I washed Patty squeaky clean and gave her a little bitty trim. I did her nails, too. She looks and smells so much better. She actually went to sleep while I was doing the trim work around her feet. I don't know if it is normal with her breed, but the hair on her feet grows really fast front and back and in between her toes.

My friend CJE and her husband AE are leaving for Borneo for three weeks on Monday. They want to see the orangutans before they are all gone. They are also going to see flora and fauna. We have had major discussions of what knitting she should take.

I just can't seem to get back to my normal routine. I am behind in my work on fiber objects, and spinning, but I don't seem to focus when I sit down long enough to knit. I need to do a load of laundry, too, and sweep the floors. I think I am going to take a nap.

A few days after Baby died I bought Noodles a new scratchy pad and sprinkled catnip on it. He is so happy. Yesterday I found him like this.

How does a 17 pound cat fit on such a small surface? But he was sound asleep and never knew I was taking his picture.

I promise not to bitch about the heat. But when August hits 100 degrees actual temp and feels like 107 degrees with the humidity, it just takes my breath away.

So I will leave with this quote:

"What dreadful hot weather we have! It leaves me in a continual state of inelegance."

-Jane Austen

A Weird Thought

I sometimes get some weird thinking going. I was looking at something today, and the phrase "Stick To Your Knitting" popped into my head. Okay. So I googled it, and most of the responses were something that Archie Bunker would say to Edith.

Most of the responses were that it was a phrase used to tell people to do what they do well and do not try to diversify.

Also I found one reference that was interesting. Instead of trying to find out about something you are unfamiliar with, just stick with what you are familiar with.

Now.........

Aren't most knitters constantly looking for that perfect pattern or perfect yarn or reading about a fiber that seems really interesting or on and on and on? I do not know many knitters that just stick to one thing. I do have one friend that will knit socks until the cows come home when she is busy, busy, busy. But I can show her a new pattern and she will incorporate that into her repertoire.

I do not know too many knitters that are static and typically just do one thing with one yarn. I am not talking about monogamous knitters that do one project at a time. I am talking about a knitter that just never explores a new avenue or who never becomes curious about a new pattern.

So what is it with this idiom that seems weird? Knitters never stick to one thing. If we get tired of knitting sweaters, we knit a scarf or a hat or some socks. Or we run to the LYS and get a fiber fix and then ideas start flowing. We do like to diversify.

And one other thing. In a knitting group, I think everyone talks about everything. We talk about food, children, parents, sex, books, politics, local gossip, and just about everything.

So there is my commentary on "Stick To Your Knitting". I know that it is strange to persevere on something as silly as this. But it kinda seems weird to me. I think it may be a cultural expression, but it needs to be visited.

Philosophy is a wonderful thing. So curious knitters keep on doing what you do best.

Baby is Gone!

Baby used to lie in the bird bath by this fallen tree when she was very young. I always looked out the back door, and there she was. This picture shows she was very blessed.

I would like to think of her this way rather than the sick little kitty she had become in the last few weeks. She was very happy and very much loved.

I am very sad, and will not be writing for a little while. I will be back within a few days. I just need time to get used to her being gone, and I need to tend to Noodles. He was the one who yelled and ran into the room where I was. I knew he was letting me know what had happened. I had to call him into the house after our little funeral. He will be looking for her for a coupla days. He did not do real well when Sissy died, and it took him a few days to get over that.

Blessings to my little kitty angel.

Sigh! That's All I Can Do!

Baby is still with us. Somehow she is still hanging on. One day I am ready to dig her grave, and the next day she is out and about. Thursday I took one look at her and decided that that was THE DAY! I cried and moped around and acted awful all day. I ate junk food or anything I could get my hands on. Just emotional eating.

I got dressed and went to the knit group. I ordered a batch of Hugo's macho nachos, and shared them with Colleen. After about an hour and a half, I had to go home.

When I walked in the door, Baby was out from under the bed and waiting in the kitchen. She meowed. I tried to feed her some things, but she just turned up her nose. I finally drained as much juice as I could from one of the cans of cat food, and she ate about a tsp or so of that.

Friday morning she is outside sitting in the flower bed. About 9 am I decided it was just too hot for her to be out in the sun. I fixed her another batch of juice from the can, and she ate that. I couldn't get her to drink any water, so I opened a can of tuna fish and drained the water from that. She drank about a tsp of that, so some fluids anyway.

She stayed under the bed all day, and was really wobbly when she tried to walk. I am thinking, How is she managing all this? She would not eat a thing after the morning round.

This morning she was sitting under her favorite tree and watched Patty and me walk around the yard. I came into the kitchen and decided to try the juice from the can thing, and I turn around and there she is standing in the kitchen doorway meowing!

Today she is eating a lot. I have gone through two cans of food draining the juice out. A while ago she actually ate some of the food. Not much, but a little bit. I squirted two ccs of water into her mouth this morning after she ate the first time. I ate a grilled cheese sandwich on raisin bread for lunch. She actually ate some of the melted cheese. Cheese is her favorite people food, but she hasn't eaten any of that for over a week.

So today I have been listening to podcasts and finishing the second single ply of the bison/alpaca blend. I finally gave up trying to make a pretty yarn. The bison is so nubbly. It just makes these little pill-y things, and I can't make a smooth, pretty yarn. Once I gave up on that, it has been so much easier to complete. Tomorrow I will get right onto plying the two singles and be done with that mess.

Then I think I want to spin something pretty and fun and just joyful. Something that will not be a chore to do like this one has been.

I knit some more on the linen stitch scarf. I finished a pair of itty-bitty socks for someone's baby. I don't know who's baby, but they are cute. I am really close to being done with the granny square crocheted afghan. Once I decided to quit when it is big enough for a baby, it became a do-able project. Our minds are a wonderful thing-aren't they? I need to get busy with some dyeing, but it is so blasted hot.

A while ago when I walked out to the mailbox and let Patty out for a little walk, I think it became clear there are two times of year that are not pleasant to be outside. One is in dead winter and it is really cold and windy and gray. And it doesn't ever warm up during the daytime.

The other time is now, when it is really, really hot, and the heat index is hovering around 110 degrees. The humidity actually makes it hard to breathe. I can't enjoy gardening, or mowing, or doing anything outside.

So my time right now has been hovering around poor little Baby, trying to make sure she is cared for, and going through some grieving time. I felt super guilty yesterday when I ran to the store to get more cat food. The clerk was telling me her youngest son starts school in two weeks! I just couldn't believe that kids have to go to school in this heat and so early. She was showing me the list of school supplies they have to have, and it is so amazing to me! She has been trying to find sales and places to get this stuff at the best price, because she just doesn't have the money. It puts my grieving and carrying on in a different perspective, and I felt so guilty driving home.

So have a safe rest of the weekend. Stay cool and keep on knitting. Christmas is around the corner.

WeHow Long Until 2012?

Okay, I am going to go out on a limb and sound really weird. This is one strange summer. We have had over 8 inches of rain in July! This is July, the month when we have drought! We usually get around 5 inches in a month in April, the beginning of our rainy season.

Have you looked at the map lately and noticed the heat in on in Podunk, South Dakota! I don't think people in the far north or in the northeast have a/c. It is now the season of looking at the heat index. Again, living in the middle South means we count humidity as heat producing. I don't have to tell everyone it is just plain hot. I have to do any yardwork in stages and try not to overheat.

Baby has been back to the doctor again for a follow-up. I really thought she was getting better. She eats and drinks fine, she potties fine, and she has been outside more in the last few days. She is communicating more. She has not gained any weight back, and is still pretty bony.

Her bloodwork was not good. She has lost more ground on the platelets and her hematocrit. Her hemoglobin is fine now. The doctor and I had a very serious discussion about what I want to do. I think what hurts me is not knowing what else to do. I have to have some hope, and I have to be a "mommy" and try to keep her eating and comfortable and happy.

Dinner is almost done. I am going to close now. Be well, and be cool-wherever you live. I hope you have a/c.

Yes-It's Still Raining!

We almost had a brief day of summer for two days. It was humid and sticky and very warm. Not as hot as normal, but hot enough.

Today we are raining again. My girlfriend told me that there is more rain totals in Kansas than here, so I guess I won't complain. My yard looks like a jungle, and it is out of control now. I try to mow in between the rain, but I missed it by one day this week.

I spent all day on Saturday with my friend CJE just putzing around. We went to the grand opening of our friend JE's yarn shop. We bought some pin roving and I bought some more sock yarn to dye. We ate lunch. We went to a farmer's market, and to one antique mall. Just putzing around.

Yesterday I woke up with a stomach bug, and I just didn't feel well at all. So I cleaned the front room and hallway floors, and swept out the kitchen. I got all hungry for something, but my crackers were yucky. They smelled awful. So soup and toast worked. Later in the afternoon I baked a pound cake and put some peaches on that. That was good. I woke up this morning at 4 am with a stabbing pain in my stomach. So I sat in the recliner and slept until almost 8:30am.

We had the most interesting light display last night about 11 pm. I was trying to find a comfy place in between cats and dog and trying to settle my stomach down. That's when I saw the light show outside. Imagine the old fashion kind of cameras that had a shutter lens. It would be a nanosecond of that, and then normal light. Then another change of light. I finally decided it had to be some kind of weird lightening. It didn't flash like lightening does, but just changed the light in the sky.

I am almost finished with the granny square addiction afghan. It will be for a baby-somebody's baby-and I am stopping at around 36 inches square. I think that is adequate size. I am spinning the buffalo/alpaca blend that I had carded some time ago. I am almost finished with the waist decreases on the handspun sweater, and soon to start the increases. I started another pair of baby socks. And I am using the linen stitch scarf as my carry around project. It is easy, and quite calming. I find it almost mesmerizing when I get into the rhythm of the pattern. Not anything else new.

Happy Monday! Have a good week!