My Christmas Sweater and Cat Adoptions

Hello there! Before the holidays are too far behind us, I wanted to show you the photos of me wearing the Christmas sweater I knit for myself last year. As you may or may not remember, by the time I finished blocking it, weaving in the ends, etc., it was too warm to get a photo of how it looked on an actual person.

Well, I had a few chances to wear it over Christmastime, and I have to tell you, I am so happy with this sweater! It's comfortable, it's cozy, and the neckline is perfect (which is not always the case for me). I felt so special the times I wore it out to a play, for a coffee get-together with one friend, and a lunch with another. 

The pattern is Yule Do, by Isabell Kraemer, and the details are here on my Ravelry project page for it. I can highly recommend this pattern - once you get going on the yoke, it makes complete sense, and the yarns I used were two that I wish I could afford to use all of the time!

Let me know if you decide to try it!

*****

In cat adoptions news, two exciting tidbits from the last couple of days.

Yesterday was my regular volunteer day, and there were two kitties available for adoption. They were, of course, both perfect. One person had made an appointment to come in and adopt a cat, and she arrived a bit late, but knew which kitty she was most interested in. Things went smoothly, and as she was leaving the adoption center, another young woman was standing outside. She asked if she could see the remaining kitty. I told here that unfortunately, only approved adopters were allowed to actually meet the kitties. She said, "Oh I was just approved yesterday!" so she came in to see the remaining kitty.

After spending about 10 minutes playing with him and cuddling, she said, "You know, I wasn't sure how long it would take me to meet the kitty who was for me, but I just know this is my cat!" And it really was love at first sight for both of them! She ran home to get her cat carrier, and when she returned, she showed me that inside was a little blanket she had recently crocheted for the carrier for her new cat - convincing me even more that this was a perfect match!

So both of those things made me happy, and seemed like a good start for 2026. But then two other things happened that made it even better - one is that I was the person to process the first two adoptions of this year! I didn't even realize it until I got a note from the adoption coordinator congratulating me. So that was a nice surprise.

And then today they sent out an e-mail to all of the volunteers with yearly stats and such, and at our location alone, we managed to find homes for 187 kitties! Isn't that just the best news of all? I cannot tell you how happy that made me, and what a good start it was to my day.

I just hope I can keep these things in mind as then year goes on and the world gets more and more ... worldly? You know what I mean!

I hope you have some news or some experience today that just makes it all worthwhile for you. See you next time!