Well, I'm Back

I didn't really mean to not post for so long, but I got involved with finishing a couple of books that were coming due at the library, knitting away on a pair of socks, and trying to keep my mental health on keel. But I'm here now, so I'll give you a little peek from while I was gone.

Here we have an upset, scared, betrayed, and angry Miss Esmeralda at the vet's office. It only took three years, one new carrier, and an hour and a half of chasing her to make this appointment happen. But it did, and she was declared in perfect health - even good teeth! - and we came home where she hid for 2 complete days until we saw her again.

As I've mentioned, she is really afraid of everything. So any time before that we tried to get her to the vet's office, it was unsuccessful. I wasn't too worried, because she never goes outside, and she lives with two healthy cats. But we have been thinking of adding to the family, and we realized that there is no way that would happen if she wasn't up to date on her shots.

The whole thing was traumatic for both of us, and I felt so awful, betraying the trust she had finally given to me. Now we're back to baby steps, but I am glad to know she is as healthy as I suspected. And unless she suddenly shows signs of being sick, we don't need to repeat the experience any time soon.

I did finish the first sock of the yarn from the February installment of the Farmer's Daughter Fibers subscription, and I am well into the second. The yarn is a slightly brighter red than this photo shows, with the wine-colored mini, which is just a lovely combination.

I've also added to my Cozy Comfort Throw, but even though it is a good chunk of work, it looks nearly the same. I'll probably only start showing progress on this when there's a substantial amount to show, since it will take me a while, and moves along kind of slowly.

But I do like how it's turning out, and it's using up a lot of scraps, which is a good feeling.

So that's what has been happening around here. We had a nice Valentine's Day, going out to breakfast at one of our fave places, and had a yummy Chinese noodle dinner last night for the Lunar New Year. 

And of course I have spent A LOT of time watching the Olympics, as I'm sure a lot of you have. Not being athletic at all, I am constantly amazed at how accomplished the athletes are - even those who don't win a medal. Think of how good you have to be to simply make the team in the first place!

So now you know what I've been up to and how things are going. Time to hit "publish" on this, and get ready for a trip to the dermatologist. Since I had that basal cell carcinoma removed from my back this past August, I was supposed to return in 6 months instead of a year. Hopefully this time the appointment will be completely uneventful. 

I hope the rest of your day today and rest of the week go well. I'm hoping I'll be back again before another week goes by, but just in case, take care!

Valentine's Day 2025

Hello and Happy Valentine's Day! I know that a lot of people have a lot to say about this day, but at our house we love it. As I've said before, I was raised to see Valentine's Day as a day to be happy for those you love - be it family members, friends or romantic partners. So it's always been a happy day for me, with a special treat thrown in. The Tim and I sometimes get little gifts for each other, but we always give each other a card.

This year, Valentine's Day is bittersweet, because it would have been Pip's 14th birthday. But we know he'll still have a good birthday, especially since some of our other kitties he is with now have also had birthdays on this day, so I know they are enjoying it together.

I have some special treats for Milo the Koodle, Alfie, and Esme today, as well as a flavor of canned food they particularly like that I will give them for dinner. I did find a little gift for The Tim today - a bottle of red pepper cooking oil. He is a firm believer in the hotter the better, and I'd never seen this kind of oil before, so I figured I would get it for him. It was a little splurge, so I saved it to give him today. 😊

Today in Philadelphia is also the big parade to celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl Championship. It should be fun. The last/only other time they won, back in 2017, we went to the parade, and even though it was really really cold, it was a blast. This year, The Tim has to work, and I don't want to go on my own, so I'll watch it on TV with the kit kats, while being warm and cozy inside. When the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, I couldn't take a day off to go to the parade, so I'm hoping they will manage to make it happen again so we can go to one of those, then I'll feel like I've managed to be a true Philadelphia fan.

The weather for the weekend looks to be icky, so I have every intention of staying in and being as cozy as possible. My sweater project - which I abandoned for most of January - has been picked up again, and I started a pair of socks the other day, so I have at least two knitting projects to keep me busy. And I have two books from the library to occupy me as well, so even if The Tim decides to nap most of the weekend, I have plenty to entertain myself!

Not much else to report. I did find a little mini chocolate-raspberry ganache cake from one of our fave Italian bakeries around here to have for dessert tonight, so that will be a nice treat. And we will likely drink a toast to our sweet boy, who sadly couldn't be here for his 14th birthday on the 14th. 💔

A person commented on a social media post that she didn't understand why people had pets, because when they die it is so heartbreaking. Well, hello - when anyone dies it's heartbreaking if they meant something to you, right? I didn't want to point that out because a) duh, and b) why acknowledge dumbassery, right? (Maybe that should be a mantra for the next four years ...) Let's face it, people are weird and I often don't think they consider how things sound typed out as opposed to spoken out loud.

ANYWAY. 

Have a lovely Friday, whether you consider it a special day in any way or not. It always leads in to a weekend, and for most of us, that is a good thing. So enjoy your Friday, have a good weekend, and be the person you would like if you met yourself.

Heart Day

Hello there! I hope you are having a good Valentine's Day if you enjoy celebrating it. We do celebrate, usually with cards and treats, but the primary focus of the day is this guy's birthday:

Today, Pip turns 13 years old! Yep, he's a teenager, so now he'll probably start ignoring us, get lots of piercings and tattoos, and roll his eyes whenever we make a joke ... 😊

Later we'll have a cheesecake and presents, and the kit kats will get some special treats to celebrate. Pip is well worth celebrating, as he is an amazing kitty, and it would be hard to find a cat who is sweeter. So Happy Valentine's birthday, sweet boy, we love you!

Today is also Ash Wednesday, which signals the beginning of Lent for Christians. When I was a kid, I would always agonize over what to "give up" for Lent. Since my birthday was always during that time, I didn't want to give up anything that could jeopardize my birthday celebration or my birthday cake, so it was hard. (I was a good kid, but I wasn't any kind of ridiculous sainted child who was *that* willing to sacrifice something!)

******

I just spent about an hour with a guy who came to the house to give us an estimate on a new front door. I have no idea how old the current door is, but we have wanted to replace it since we moved in. Now that we have some money saved up for repairs, etc., it was time. One nice thing was that the estimate was much less than we had expected. Even though the door is not standard, because of course it's not - nothing in our nineteenth-century house is, so no surprise there. Still, it's always just a matter of waiting to hear it whenever someone comes to check something.

As would be the case, the guy left after giving the estimate. And now Alfie is bereft. Alfie loves nothing more than having workmen come to the house. He has to be with them the whole time, and rubs against them, purrs, etc. Fortunately most people who have shown up have been animal lovers, or amused enough to not mind him terribly. However, the guy today was here for a while, and I think Alfie thought he was going to stay for lunch or something. So the fact that he left was quite upsetting. Alfie has been pawing the door and crying ever since. Even Esme was compelled to come downstairs to try and comfort him, but it just isn't enough. So please keep Alfie in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time ... 😝

Alfie: "If you are reading this, please contact PETA and let them know how neglected I am. As you can see, I'm nearly skin and bones from starvation and neglect."

Our poor house - we've lived here now for 30+ years and never had the available funds to do much fixing up or repairs that weren't absolutely, immediately necessary. Now that the mortgage is paid, we can start to get things done. I can only imagine the house breathing a sigh of relief - "The roof and now maybe a better door! They do love me after all!"

*****

Today I am hoping to get some things organized as far as my knitting projects are concerned. I'm trying to be more conscious of what I am making and why, and part of that means keeping better track of everything. I have a "system" that I think will work, and I'm going to do my best to set it up today. Who knows, I may be abandoning it in record time, or it may actually help, but I won't find out until I actually give it a try.

Are any of the rest of you having a sudden desire to knit every single thing in the world right away, or is it just me? I generally see things that I might want to knit and am happy enough to wait until one or more things are completed. But lately, I see something I like and instead of seeing it in terms of a down-the-road project, I feel like if I don't make it NOW or SOON, I just won't survive another day. Fortunately, most of the time I don't have the yarn on hand to make it, so I just wait for the feeling to pass. But this has never been something I've felt before, and I can't say I enjoy it. Like all of a sudden I have knitting FOMO, but I know in my heart that a) I probably won't care by the next day, and b) most of the things I see are not the kind of things I would enjoy knitting or that would fit in my wardrobe anyway. 

I'm sure it's some kind of temporary insanity on my part. And it is true that a lot of it is a "this moment" kind of feeling. So temporary that it's forgotten when the next amazing thing comes along. That's usually not my M.O., but especially the past few weeks it's been the case. 

However, it does mean that trying to get organized today will make me aware of what projects I am enjoying, and that should help to get me back on track. I'll try to take some photos, so I can show all of you what is happening knit-wise around here.

So enjoy your day one way or the other and if nothing else, feel free to give yourself a treat in honor of Pip!

A Special Day

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I hope you will treat yourself today, even if no one else does. ❤

Today is also a VERY special day in our house - today is Pip's 12th birthday! 

We actually celebrated with cake, presents, and treats on Saturday, but today is the actual day we have designated as his birthday. Since I don't get home on Tuesdays until after 6 p.m., we didn't want to rush his little party, so Saturday it was.

But today he is getting all kinds of extra attention, kisses, treats, and all of the kitties will get something special for dinner to celebrate.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PIP!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest, most affectionate, most talkative boy ever! Lover of a good cuddle, crinkly toys, a warm bed, kitty igloos, sunspots, and birdwatching. The best ever at welcoming any new family member who shows up, and who loves it when people come to the house.

Pippy, you are truly the best, and words will never be able to express how we love you and how special you are.

Please give your furry and other family members a hug and/or a kiss today to help us celebrate. 😊

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love Valentine's Day (or rather, "Valentime's Day" as I called it as a kid), and always have.  It was always a fun day in our house - my parents would give us cards, and usually some kind of treat or little package.  It was always just a day to be happy and try to make someone feel better, rather than a day when you had to be part of a couple, or give elaborate gifts. 

The Tim and I have pretty much the same kind of observance, but with a birthday party added.  Four of our cats over the years had their birthdays on Valentine's Day - not that it was their actual birthday, as far as we knew, but based on what the vet would tell us when we went took them the first time, it seemed like they were born in February - so why not February 14???

Our only Valentine birthday kitty now is Pip, and he was quite pleased with himself this morning.  He'll likely have a good day, since The Tim is home today, so Pip can provide constant narration to the various happenings at home.  Then tonight all of the furballs will get treats, and Pip will get a catnip heart I found the other day (well, it will be *given* to him, I'm sure it will be community property pretty quickly).  The Tim and I will celebrate with birthday cake!  It's win-win for all of us.

Then there's only one more day of work until a long weekend for Presidents' Day.  Works for me. :-)

What's Happening?

As I wrote that blog title, I realized there used to be a show called that, and it's still on what we call one of the "lesser channels" on TV.  I never watched the show, but I do remember it.

Which is of course, apropos to nothing.  Which is of course not a surprise.

Moving on, I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day.  At our house, Valentine's Day is also the birthday of Jetsam and Pip.

Jetsam turned 11 and Pip turned 5, and they are two of the sweetest creatures ever to live on the earth.  We usually celebrate, but The Tim had to work the closing shift last night, so we have decided to have their treats and presents this weekend, since it's a long weekend, and The Tim will actually be off two of the three days.  

We usually also celebrate Valentine's Day by exchanging cards and small gifts, often just treats we both happen to like.  And I usually bake a cake or brownies to celebrate both Valentine's Day and the kitty birthdays.  This year, I had absolutely no opportunities to get a card, much less anything else.  And I couldn't even dig up any decent materials to make a card.  So I mentioned to The Tim that we might want to skip it this year, and he said, "Don't worry about it."  So of course he gave me a card, and the kitties gave me this bracelet.

I already have one of the original Lokai bracelets (the white one) that I wear all of the time, but The Tim said the kitties gave me this one because it's red (and then also because it supports AIDS research).  So that was a nice surprise.  And I feel kinda bad that I didn't even have a card, but such is life.  

Then, yesterday was a really awful day at work.  When I left work, and took a cab home (because walking is too far with the crutches, and I can't maneuver the bus with the crutches either), there was a huge traffic jam on the way.  I was getting annoyed with the cost of the ride going up while we were just sitting there, so when we got to a reasonable distance from home, I just decided to get out there.  I was really tired by this point, and decided I had no energy to bake brownies or anything.  On the couple of blocks on the way home, I knew I would pass Carlo's Bakery, where we had gotten a cake for our anniversary back in October that was really wonderful.  So I stopped in and got us one of their strawberry shortcakes (image from their website).

I knew it would still be OK for us to have tonight. and I was pleased with myself for thinking to stop there.  And then I got home, and The Tim had made brownies!  Trust me, neither will go to waste ... but one would have been more than enough ...

So though it was not a "usual" Valentine's Day, all's well that ends well, and we'll enjoy it and enjoy our long weekend.

Moving on from that long and rambling story, I read this article the other day, and thought it was worth sharing.   I know that I am doing much better than I had been, once I told myself that I needed to pace things, since it appears life lately is becoming a marathon, not a sprint.  Recently, Kym's post talked about the same thing, and had some good suggestions for all of us.  I mentioned one thing to her that I have found helpful, and she replied she was going to try and do it too.  I have started to disconnect from all social media after 8:00 p.m. in the evening, and it's been really helpful. (OK, I'll admit I still look at Instagram, but I'm mainly talking about Twitter and Facebook.)  The reason behind this is that it keeps me from getting worked up, which was causing me to have problems sleeping.  (And not being a great sleeper to start with, I didn't need any more things contributing to that!)  Just this one thing alone has been really valuable for me.  I spend the evening being calmer/calm-ish, and sleep better.  And sadly, there's plenty to read about and hear about the next day anyway ... In any case, I thought maybe sharing these things might be helpful to others.

On the knitting front, I have two more projects going.  No pictures though, since the days have been so cloudy and I haven't been able to get indoor pictures that are worth posting.  I've started another pair of socks, Hermione's Everyday Socks, a pattern I've been meaning to try, and am enjoying.  I dug into my stash for some yarn and am using some from Black Bunny Fibers - from 2007, when Carol (Ms. Black Bunny Fibers herself) was dying a colorway called "Unity" and was using the profits to support the first Presidential campaign of Barack Obama!  Anyway, the socks are coming along nicely and I'm enjoying working on them.

My other project is a resurrection of sorts - Delaware River Waves, also using Black Bunny Fibers.  (What can I say, I love Carol and I love her yarn!  She is a talented knitter, dyer, wonderful friend, and overall badass.)  I had been going along OK on this project, and then one of the cats attacked it (I seriously don't remember which one), and my attempts at repair made things worse.  So I had to admit that frogging was the answer.  I wasn't sure if I would start over with the same pattern, or try something else, but I recently got it into my brain to try again.  As of this moment, I don't have a lot done, but it's working out OK, so hopefully I will have a nice lacy scarf for my efforts soon.  The pattern is one from Rosie's Yarn Cellar that was never published, but which makes a lovely scarf, called Ocean Waves.  The sample in the shop was always one of my favorites, and even if this version doesn't make it, I'm determined to knit it someday!

And that's what's happening around here.  What's new with you and yours?

A Love-ly Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

(photo from Clean + Green)

Today is another holiday that people just seem to have to whine about.  Not me, I'm a big fan of Valentine's Day.  Maybe because I grew up thinking it was a fun day to give someone a card or little gift, and have some chocolate, rather than thinking that because "they" say it's about having someone to be romantically, hopelessly, in love with, if you were not in a true relationship, there was something wrong with you.  Some of the best Valentine's Day cards and gifts I ever got were from my parents, so there you go.

So, I hope you have a lovely day.  Even if you don't do anything extra special, each of us has been loved and/or has loved, and to me that's worth celebrating.

Another fun thing in our house is that today is also Jetsam's birthday (7th) and Pip's birthday (2nd).  In truth, we don't know the date either was actually born, but based on what the vet told us at the time they were both adopted, they were likely born in February, so we chose the 14th.  (This was also the day we used to celebrate the Garden Kitty's birthday, for the same reason.)  And so, as usual, we will have cake to celebrate (The Tim was off today, so he baked a chocolate cake), and the kitties and Dug will all get some treats, and the two birthday boys will get a present each.  They are such good kitties, they deserve everything and anything.

Jetsam and Pip napping together

They are very sweet together, and have become good friends.  Both of them are heat-seeking creatures, so they tend to spend a lot of time curled up together (as in this photo) during the winter.  I don't know that they will ever be the pals that Jetsam and Garden Kitty were, but I know that Jetsam was very happy when Pip joined the family, and he was no longer an only kitty.  And Pip thinks Jetsam is really cool.  :-)

So I hope today will find you feeling happy and finding a reason to smile, even if just for a few minutes.