Winthrop and Bella

Malcolm sure does love his box.

Dozens of soft, comfy places around the apartment, yet he gravitates towards his Grocery Gateway delivery box, that sits on a hard table. I tried putting in a liner from one of the cat beds? He was having none of it, and was seriously offended. I removed it, and he resumed napping in his happy place.

I knit precious little over the summer. As you can well imagine. Most of what I did consisted of small, mindless projects. To be honest with you, I don't think anything I may have started during that time survived the wrecking ball. Either too ambitious, or not ambitious enough... Everything was in fits and starts.

I'd decided to do a little yarn stash re-org, which was very therapeutic. I thrive on organizing, reorganizing, and making things look organized. I'm weird that way. I figure it's a bit like Christmas, rediscovering yarn you'd forgotten about, and neglected projects you'd hidden away. A few of those neglected projects found their way back into my WIP bin. I was quickly reminded why I'd hidden them away in the first place. *sigh*

One of the forgotten yarn stashes I'd found was a bunch of "Felted Tweed Aran" from Rowan. Nice stuff - soft enough, good colours, and just enough of a wool content to keep my inner yarn snob satisfied. Of course - no clue why I'd purchased it in the first place. May have even been a gift, who knows?

So, I made this!

Cute, huh?! A pretty simple and easy knit, it's call "Winthrop". Interesting construction, knit in one piece from the bottom up. The sleeves are knit separately, then attached as you reach the underarm. From there, decreases are made at regular intervals by simple k2tog's until you reach the neckline. It makes a lovely A-line, swing jacket that fits very nicely! The neckline's a bit large for my liking, so I'll be adding a button or two up top to keep it from riding down my shoulders. It was a quick knit, I think I'd whipped it up in a couple weeks, give or take.

But that Felted Tweed Aran? One slippery yarn, let me tell you. Probably because of all of the (*gasp*!) viscose in it. Oh. And the other, uh, issue I have with this yarn? The 25-freakin' % angora. God love the little bunnies, but man oh man - never will I use a yarn with angora in it again, unless it's a yarn that has pictures of angora bunnies hopping around on the label. Sheds ridiculously.

But yay for a finished piece of knitting!

It's been exciting these past few weeks! Sasha, my neighbour Brian's dog, has a new baby sister!

Her name is Bella.

"Hi Bella, well aren't you just the cutest little ki..."

"STRANGER DANGER!! STRANGER DANGER!!"

"No Bella, I'm your Auntie Brigitte!"

"I need an adult!"

"Don't mind her, she's a bit...um...high-strung. And slow. No Bella, this is our Auntie Brigitte! She comes over in the evenings when Dad's at work to let me outside."


"Really?"

"Yes, really. Now say hello, and be nice."



"OK, Sasha. Hi Nice Lady! Don't mind the mess around here, Daddy's renovating!"



"Much better Bella. Now, Auntie Brigitte and I are going outside for a bit."



"You don't want to use my box, Sasha?"

"No. No...I'm good, kid."

"She's right behind me, isn't she? Going after my tail? Can we go now?"



"...eeeeeeeeheehee...!"

Now that she's used to me, she's a little cuddle-muffin, that Bella. She'll run up to the door when I come down in the evenings, and purr like a machine. She's so cute! And she'll

"Hey! Remember us?? HEY!! Mom! MOM! Dammit... Hey Brigitte!!"

Sasha, who had a few litters of puppies at a puppy-mill before being rescued, is very patient and gentle with Bella. And Bella? She sure loves her some Sasha! Sleeps with her, follows her around, plays with her tail. And Sasha just lets her. Once she gets tired of it, she'll put her in her place, much like she would have with her puppies. It's really something to see.

"I for one would like to meet this Bella. She sounds cute."

"You're not helping, Gandalf!"

"So, can I come up and hang out with you and the dudes for awhile, Auntie Brigitte? You know...at least until Bella's finished running around and falls asleep?"

I have some major cleaning to do today. Brian ripped out some walls yesterday, and I now have a fine layer of dust in my kitchen and living room. Ugh. Time to bring out Mr. Scary (the vacuum), and Mrs. Less-Scary-But-Not-By-Much (the steam mop). The guys are gonna love that.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

So It's Really Been Awhile...Whoops

I really had no intention of letting my blogging go for as long as I have.

What can I say? I've been having a tough time focusing lately. There's been a lot on my plate, and a lot I've had to deal with. Sometimes I find myself a bit overwhelmed by it all, and I shut down. Which means to say I keep to myself, mopping and being unproductive and anti-social. Probably not the best way of dealing with things, but it doesn't happen often. It's not a state of depression, it's more that my brain can't cope with the overload, and decides that instead of playing 52-pickup, it's going to just work it out in time. Like unraveling a tangled skein of yarn.

I think what triggered it was my visit to an Orthopedic Surgeon in late January. I have developed extensive inflammatory osteoarthritis in my knees, and it's particularly bad in my right one. So bad in fact I need to have knee replacement surgery. The surgeon was very surprised to see such extensive wear and tear on someone as young as I am. But there are 2 problems.

Firstly - because I'm only 42, they're reluctant to perform the surgery. I'm too young, and the replacement joint will only wear out and need replacing in x-amount of years. OK. So, how bad does it have to be before my age is no longer an issue, I asked.

"So bad that your quality of life is impacted to the point you have difficulty or cannot perform everyday tasks."

REALLY??? And right now, my life is so hoppin' that I can barely keep up??? I left, shaking my head thinking - wow, this is nuts. I face not being able to do the things I love to do in the summer - long walks, cycling - because as it is now, I'm not in enough pain to justify surgery??

I have to say, that did not make me happy. Enter brain, not being able to wrap itself around this.

And secondly? All that doesn't matter because of my polycythemia. The lovely bone marrow disorder I have that wreaks havoc on everything. Because I'm at an increased risk of hemorrhage, and my hematocrit is too high, I'm not a candidate for surgery anyway.


Win-win.

Brain mush.

So, needless to say, this put me in somewhat of a funk. I absolutely hated the feeling of having no control over my life. It just didn't make any sense to me. Yes, it could be a lot worse. But for the first time in my life, that thought meant nothing to me.

"Mom was bummed."

But, little by little I worked it out as best I could. Enter my GP doctor to the rescue. She's sending me to a sports medicine clinic, and to physiotherapy. At least I can try and get some mobility. At least I'm doing something. The damage to my knee is irreversible, but I can at least try to make it easier to live with.

And, to help my health along - I did do something good! (See? It's not all bad!)

Lookie!

Wow Brigitte, fruits and vegetables?

No sillies! They're the raw ingredients for my new toy.

My Omega Juicer, the Cadillac of juicers. Mmmm...green juice...

I was having a hard time with my appetite, and as a result, I wasn't eating properly. Some days, my stomach wants nothing to do with solid food. So, I scraped together my pennies, and bought this lovely model. And it is without a doubt some of the best money I've ever spent (next to yarn, of course). It's quick, quiet, and easy to clean. And - it gives me the nutrients I need.

This morning? I had an apple, pear, carrot, swiss chard, collard greens and parsley cocktail.

Mmmmm...appetizing green juice...

It may not look all that appealing, but trust me - once you've tried it, you'll love the difference it makes.

And that's a good thing!

So, did I knit while I was contemplating the meaning of life these last few months? I made some hats for my neighbours who both work for Canada Post. And I plugged away on Fulmar (I know! Can you believe it??!), socks, and other stuff that got started and then frogged. Lots of that stuff... And I made this too -

Oooo, pretty lace scarf! It's a pattern from Fiddlesticks Knitting, one of the 3 Necks-to-You designs. I used 2 balls of Fiddlesticks Knitting Silken Merino in Twilight.

And something else as well, which I'll show you next time.

Good things always come in the mail.

Meet Mavis the Monster, knit just for me by the wonderful Michele. She's a hit with the Little Dudes, although I think they're running her ragged.

"So anyway, I was all - you do that Gandalf and I'm gonna tell Mom! - and he just turned his back on me! ME! It kinda made me sad that he'd diss me that way, but being that I have hopes of one day being a Manly Dude like Atticus, I didn't let my emotions show. But it's hard you know. Is it OK for a boy kitty to cry? Mavis? Are you listening to me?"

"Oh yeah...the ladies always come over to Gan... Whoa, getting a little fresh there, Mavis."

"Let me tell you, it's sooo nice having another girl around here. We can gossip and play with Mom's makeup, and do each other's hair, and...hey, I hope you're not my friend just 'cause of my brothers!"

"Wow Mavis, I'm flattered! It's been awhile since a young lady has asked me out on a date. So...do we hold hands? I think I should ask my Mom first though."

Thanks for listening everyone. And rest assured I'm dealing with things now. Not to say I won't have my funky days, but I now believe that in time, it will get better, and things will work themselves out.

Things Are Starting to Look Normal Again

Now. Where was I?

I think I was in the middle of knitting something a month or so ago, then stopped for some reason. Oh right. I moved. Again. (Have I mentioned I'm never moving again? Ever?)

Last weekend, I was finally able to do something I haven't been able to do since well before Christmas.

I brewed a pot.

3 teabags of Tetley Bold.

And pulled out a project that would require some amount of concentration on my part.

Donegal.

I scooched Atticus further down the couch.

Scooch, Atticus.

"Hey!"

Sleeping kitties?

Check.

And check.

(That's Malcolm's new favourite spot, on the window sill right behind the couch. He can watch the squirrels without too much exertion.)

And so I parked myself on the couch, kept the remote close by, watched TV and knit.

It was wonderful.

Wonderful, because being the creature of habit that I am, I was able to reassure myself that everything is as it should be. I missed being able to work on my knitting, in particular the more involved projects.

Not to say I've been doing nothing. I've managed to work on some socks, and some stocking stitch stuff. As I was unpacking things, I realized that I have approx. 592 winter hats, and only 4 pairs of mitts. What's more, I seem to have lost a pair of "everyday" mittens that I'd made a few years back that I could wear with 2 of my winter coats. I'm sure they'll turn up in a cupboard or buried in a snowbank in the back yard at some point.

So, I whipped up these guys:

Using some Blue Face Leicester Aran wool from Fleece Artist that I picked up dirt-cheap from The Naked Sheep before it closed down. It was actually a thrum kit for mittens, but thruming is probably only second to intarsia for knitting techniques that make we want to vomit. I used my standard mitten pattern, and decided to do a flare cuff instead of a ribbed one.

I'm very happy with the results. And the colour! I don't know if I would have necessarily even looked at that particular skein had it not been on sale, but I'm glad I did. I love the finished product.

Yay me! And yay for getting back to normal.