It's Fall...Time For Little Joys

It doesn't take much to make me happy, especially in the Fall.

8 hours slow cooking in a crock pot - happy!

Apples and gluten-free crumble in the oven?

Mmmmm, happy...

How about a birthday care package from a good friend?!

Chris, Chaos and Mayhem sent pressies for my birthday! There are 2 books, both with a Minnesota twist, some "Socks That Rock" in "Fairground" (mmmm...), some Cherry Tree Hill laceweight Suri Alpaca yarn in a discontinued colour (pink!), a coaster, stitch marker and...this knitter's best non-human-or-feline friend in the whole world - pink Post It Notes! Gandalf tried to snack on them, but hey, I'm faster.

Thanks Chris! Packages? A very big joy. And being thought of for your birthday? An even bigger joy!

And speaking of Gandalf -

"Gandalf, come here for a sec. You have goop in the corner of your eye."

"OK Mae."

And finding a comfy place to snooze?

Always makes Atticus happy. Actually, he can pretty much snooze anywhere, and he's happy.

"Gandalf, hold still!"

"No Mom, I gotta go and let everyone know that Auntie Raven shaved her head! And I'm thinking you need to vacuum, cause there's fluff on the floor!"

"Yeah well, whose fault is that?? ...mouthy little cat...i'll get the vacuum out all right..."

That's right! And as promised - a link to Brian's "Luxography" blog, where you can go and have a look at the pictures he took of the big event. Raven did exactly as she said she would - cut off her more than 5 feet of hair, all in support of cancer research, and the Annex Cat Rescue. So go, read all about it!

And you know what's going to be another little joy?! When I get to show you an FO next time around that I'm absolutely tickled about.

I LOVE the Fall.

From 5 Feet to 0!

Oh. Hello everyone.

Mom said I could take over the blog writing today, and for good reason! I have stories!

So, guess what?! My Mom? She's not my real Mom! I KNOW! I was surprised too. I thought for sure she was like, the first and all. But no.

It turns out that not only did I have a cat-Mom, I also had a foster Mom! Well, I says, Gandalf, you are one lucky kitty then.

Do you know what a foster Mom is? Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway. She's a nice human who looks after you after you are born, until she finds your forever Mom. Cool, huh?

I'm lucky, I still get to see my foster Mom. She's my Mom's friend Raven. I call her Auntie Raven. Because I can.

Last week, Auntie Raven did something pretty cool. Like way cool!

Lookie for yourself!

(Photograph courtesy of Beau Monde Photography - http://www.beaumondephotography.ca/)

She has really, really long hair. About 5 feet! Can you imagine??

Well, Auntie Raven decided that this year she would make a huge donation - she decided to cut off ALL of her hair for charity.

You can read all about it here - http://sites.google.com/site/ravengoesbald/

And she did it! Last Friday, she had it all cut off! And she collected all kinds of money for the Terry Fox Foundation for cancer research, and my favourite charity, the Annex Cat Rescue. I really like the Annex Cat Rescue, because these are the nice people that rescued my other-other Mom (I know it's confusing, but stick with me).

That's my cat-Mom, the other-other Mom. Auntie Raven helped her when we were all being born. I think I'm number 2. I was known as Number 2 until I was named Aston (I know, it's bad enough I have all these Moms; now I confuse you with my names. Stick with me, humans.). See, I was born during the World Cup, and Raven and my foster Dad Simon thought we should all be named after some English Football (or soccer) Clubs. Then my Mom named me Gandalf because in the first picture she ever saw of me, she thought I looked more grey than black. But when she saw me for the first time, she said I looked like a Gandalf, and decided to call me that anyway.

Anyway. Look at me! Look how cute I became!

"Hi."

And this one too!

"Hello."

If it weren't for the kind people at the Annex Cat Rescue, I don't think I'd be here, people. My cat-Mom would have stayed on the cold streets of Toronto, and I probably wouldn't have survived very long. But, they really care for cats, so they rescued my cat-Mom, and me and my cat brothers and sisters.

And then when we were big enough, they found all of us new and loving forever homes!

Here I am meeting my new big brother Atticus!

He only looks tough, but he's really cool once you get to know him. It didn't take us long to become friends. See?

By the very next morning he was letting me eat out of the big kitty food bowl. My sister Mae, even though she loves me now, took a little longer to come around though. But not too long!

So. Wow! Can you believe it? Auntie Raven cut off all of her hair, to not only help humans with cancer, but to help all the kitties at the Annex Cat Rescue! Thanks to them, I have my Mom, who's the coolest, and my big brother Atticus and big sister Mae, who I really love. And I have a nice warm home, my Blankie of Invisibility, lots of toys, and good food. And I get treats! And I get to tease Big Guido the outdoor cat from the window, (hee hee, he got shaved! neener neener Guido's a baldie, Guido's a baldie...! whoops, sorry, got distracted) and he won't come after me and give me a whack or two! You know, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the Annex Cat Rescue and Auntie Raven.

That's why I'm so proud of my foster Mom. Not only did she help me live, but she's doing some really good stuff for other cats too!

And before you say - hey Gandalf! This is a knitting blog! Well. Um. Hey! My Mom knit Auntie Raven a beanie cap to wear! And she's going to knit another one too. But I don't have a picture of that. Next time, I'll have Mom post a picture of it.

Me happy.

OK. Bye!

Good To Be Home!

Hi! I missed you guys! I realized just how much as I caught up on my blog reading.

Thanks to EVERYONE who wished me a happy 40th birthday! There were some who unfortunately didn't leave a return contact e-mail address - so to all of you, thank you! It's nice to be thought of so kindly.


I wuv my blog friends!


I had a great time visiting with my sister and sister-in-law, and of course - the little man Finnegan.

"Oh, Auntie Brigitte! Come back! I miss you! Look at me! Look at ME! LOOK AT ME!"

Finnegan is so funny.

Finnegan in the morning: OMGIT'SAUNTIEBRIGITTEIHAVEN'TSEENYOUINSOLONG! ILOVEYOUILOVEYOUILOVEYOU!

The Little Dudes in the morning: Hey. Hey. *whack whack* Hey. Nope, she's not getting up. HEY! HEY! Lady! We're HUNGRY! Hello?

Finnegan when you come through the door: OMGIT'SAUNTIEBRIGITTEIHAVEN'TSEENYOUINSOLONG! ILOVEYOUILOVEYOU! ILOVEYOU!

The Little Dudes when I come through the door: Oh. Hi. *yawn* *stretch* Nice day? Good. Oh look, it's almost 5pm. You know what that means.

Finegan when I'm knitting: Please Auntie Brigitte, may I sit on your lap? Please?

The Little Dudes when I'm knitting: Comin' through. Sittin' on your lap, move this thing. Hey! Did you POKE me with your needle??! Watch it. Sheesh...

OK. Maybe they're not that bad... Wait. Yes they are.

But they were happy to see me, and they were well looked after and spoiled by their Auntie Raven while I was away. Mae even allowed Raven to PICK HER UP. Amazing for the little Miss Shy Girl.

Aw Shucks!

Look what I received from both Lorraine and Michelle!

Awwww....!!

I'm supposed to nominate 4 fellow bloggers in return - but why stop at just 4?

Let's see... There's of course Lorraine and Michelle themselves - Lorraine is such a good friend, I know I'll always have a laugh (we have the same twisted humour...). Not to mention she's a really good cook. And such a cool Mom... And Michelle? Totally buy my Avon stuff from her if I lived in the US. And believe me. I'd be her best customer!

And then there's Carrie K., I love her wry sense of humour, and we ALWAYS have something to talk about (and talk, and talk and talk...), she's a great shoulder to lean on; and my lovely, wonderful friend Chris, whose blog brightens my day and who's there to support and encourage me no matter the issue (we're both gluten-intolerant. Oh, and computer geeks. As a matter of fact, our lives are parallel in so many ways, it's twilight zone-ish.); Anne for being my source of all things Jamieson's, as well as being a friend (how lucky is that?!!); Shannon for trying out new stuff and having *such* a cutie puppy; Tracey for her humour, her adorable kids, and for being a fellow redhead; Bridget for her hilarious stories and writing style (not to mention having the coolest name. In my humble...); Michele for being a super knitter (not to mention modest) with the most talkative, yet strangely inanimate, housemates; Carolyn for inspiring me to knit on with my Starmore projects, and being so passionate about hers (wow, go have a peek - she just picked up a 1st and 2nd prize at the Alaska State Fair!); Jewel for being...Jewel - always funny, always kind, and with great taste in colour (pink!) - and Mia of course; Nicole, who expands my mind and makes me smile with her thought-provoking posts, and an adorable kitty; Brenda for encouraging me that I will be a better sock knitter (one day), and for sharing some pretty yummy cocktail recipes... And last but not least - Marina. For being Marina - one heck of a traditional knitter, and someone I can e-mail and say - "what the hell!", and she'll know EXACTLY what I'm referring to.

WOW. You guys make my day! I'm very lucky.

I thought this would be a very fitting Memory Lane picture this time around. With my sister looking over, I'm about to blow out the candles on my Smarties birthday cake! I would be...2? By the looks of it. (Man, was I really that blonde?!!).

"Mom's home."

"Really? Get away from my butt."

"Well, I'm going to say hi to her. You guys just lie there like lumps."

No, really, they were happy to see me! And there was very little destruction while I was away, although Gandalf did discover my latest tomato hiding spot... What is it with that boy and tomatoes??

Have a great week everyone!