Sanity is Overrated

"Take it back!!"

"NO!"

"Take.It.BACK! Say it!"

"NO! You're a big...fat...oooof...OK!!!"

"Last chance squirt!!"

"OK! OK! You don't have a crush on the dog next door!"

"That's better...and what are you?"

"I'm a poodle! GETOFFMENOWMOOOOOMMMM!!!!"

Ah yes, just another morning here with the Feline Family.

Remember when I decided to knit smallish stuff, because I just couldn't get in to knitting my larger, current projects? So, I knit socks, and squares for my Lizard Ridge blanket, and the odd piece that didn't work out... And I thought - well, may as well knit something small from my Ravelry queue. I decided the perfect "little" project would be the Kittiwake hat, from AS' "Aran Knitting".

See, it's deceptive. It's a hat, with simple cabling. But it's a Starmore hat, knit with Scottish Fleet, the coarsest, tightest yarn known to man, and small needles. AND. Just because. I decide to knit it in NAVY BLUE.

*sigh*

The ribbing just about did me in. You know, there's a reason my Fulmar gets worked on only now and then. Cabling with Scottish Fleet can be a bit rough after awhile. What made me think this would be any different?!! Well, it's coming along, and I'm more than half done the first chart.

I have been able to pick up St. Aula once again. I should have some significant progress to show you soon! The boy's interest has moved on to something else, allowing me to knit without worrying about a banzai attack from out of nowhere...

"Hello World!!"

This week, I've been keeping a low profile. It's been busy at work, and to keep my sanity somewhat intact, I've been relaxing, and not stressing myself out over the little things. This is the time of year when Project Managers suddenly realize that the end of the year is coming, and all of the stuff they've been putting off has to be done. NOW. And my group, who handle all the technical and network part of these projects, is down to half of what it was a year ago, with the work load being heavier. Not only do they want it done NOW, their project is THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE.EVER. You do what you can... I'm fortunate I have a job, and that I can work from home. So, I take the small victories where I can get them, and don't sweat the small stuff.


Like Mae on the furniture.

"This isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Or getting up from the couch to find that I've lost my spot.

"Sorry lady. We're squatting here now."

Or wondering why I had to leave the leftovers out.

"Wow, human food ROCKS!"

More Malcolm, Less Knitting

If you came to see some knitting updates, well, you'll be disappointed. When there is a kitten around, knitting gets done is snatches. Those green mittens I was working on a couple of weeks ago? Yeah, they're frogged. Way too big for my small hands... So let's see. What did I work on...

* St. Aula one slow round at a time. Malcolm loves flopping yarn.
* Stealth knitting. Here and there. Again with the floppy yarn.
* Delores? Probably a few stitches. Malcolm managed to bungee jump into the bag of yarn, and getting him out was an ordeal. He thought it was all in good fun.
* I'll 'fess up to having started Kittiwake. I figured small project, a lot of oomph. But in navy blue? Seriously. But it will be done.
* Socks. And only when the boy is asleep, because he thinks DPN's are excellent for grabbing at. I can't tell you how many times he's managed to pull a needle out. Many times. Many, many times.
* And one other stealth project...shhhhhh.

I have found my knitting mojo, but I will never be a one-project kind of girl. Can you tell?

Malcolm is the funniest little guy to have around. And let me tell you, he can wrestle with the best of them. Although he hasn't learned yet when to take NO for an answer.

Mae doesn't always think he's so great to have around though.

"Hi Mae! You awake?!! Wanna play?!! Let's play! Let's play! Let's play!"

"Go. Away."

Mae has never been a "morning" cat. Actually, she's always a bit grumpy when she wakes up from a nap. If she's woken up from a nap, watch out. Malcolm still has to learn that. I'm pretty sure Malcolm thinks she's the top cat. He only needs to be shown once by her that he's out of line, and he'll respect it. He's allowed to sleep next to her, as long as he doesn't try anything silly. Because Mae? Doesn't do silly.

Malcolm often picks wrestling matches with his brothers. Especially Gandalf. But, being such a good brother, Gandalf will play with him, and for the most part, it's good, harmless fun. Occasionally, when he's had enough, he'll pick Malcolm up (who will only go kicking and screaming) by the scruff, and bring over to the kitty bed. The first few times I saw that, I did panic, but I've since learned (thanks to the vet and my friend Raven), that it's harmless. Now, I've mentioned before that Gandalf has stepped in to the role of Surrogate Kitty Mom. He loves Malcolm. So much so, that when he thinks he's in trouble, or if he thinks Atticus is being too rough (which he never is, but what do I know!), he'll come to Malcolm's rescue.

So. As the boy grows, he finds new places to explore. And he's a smart one, let me tell you. Much smarter than the rest of his siblings were at that age. He figured out pretty quickly that if jumps up on the chair, he can then jump up onto the table, and get a look outside the kitchen window. He learned how to get down the hard way though.

"Look at me!"

"Atticus, how do I get down?! Oh, hi Gandalf!!! Whatcha doing?"

I'm in the other room, when I hear the Malcolm Screech of Protest. I just made it into the kitchen quickly enough to see Gandalf, with Malcolm by the scruff, on top of the table.

He then jumped off the table with Malcolm still in his mouth. I nearly had a stroke.

Malcolm was fine; more pissed off than anything. He whacked Gandalf in the head, and ran off. I guess Gandalf figured that he needed "rescuing". Malcolm learned pretty quickly after that how to get off of the table on his own.

"Uh oh, here comes Gandalf..."


"Dude. I really don't think he liked that... He punched you good."

Kittens...Cats...

Most of the time, nothing but Gandalf will do.

*snuggle*

*snore*

Much like Gandalf at that age, he thinks it's much cooler to eat the big kitty food, and to hell with the kitten stuff. Which is fine...but I still have to watch out for Atticus.

Kitten food goes right to his hips...

So, I really hope to have some actual knitting progress for you next week! Provided I'm able to get in a few hours here and there.

Have a great week everyone!

Sock in the Dryer

"...that kid... Finally, I have him parked in front of the TV, watching "Dog Whisperer". Why he likes watching it, I don't know. Must be Daddy. Whatever. If a dog can keep him settled and calm for a bit, all the better for me."

I'd forgotten how much energy a kitten has. I'm pretty sure Atticus has as well. He's stepped into the role of Really Big Brother with all 4 paws on the ground, much to the relief of the Big Brother Gandalf.

"Phew, was I that nuts when I was a kitten?!? No way. That kid doesn't stop. He's awake, he's asleep, he's awake, he's asleep... Aw, look at him though! My little kitten...that's right little boy, chase your sister's tail. Atta boy..."

"You're an ass Gandalf!"

"...Eeeeeeeeeheehee!..."

Maybe it's the distraction of Malcolm, or the time of year, but I just can't seem to get motivated to work on any of my projects. It's not that I've fallen out of love with them, I just can't seem to sit still long enough to work on them. So maybe it is Malcolm... Anyway, I don't want to add to my pile of WIPs, so I started a small, non-sock project, to keep me busy while I wait out the hum-drums.

Ta da! Mittens!

It doesn't look like much yet, I still need to make the embellishments. It's going quite quickly, and despite being moss stitch, I am enjoying them. It's just what I need right now. They are from the Mission Falls booklet "Smitten", and I'm making "Blossom" in Pistachio. They have floral accents, which may or may not be applied, depending on how convoluted the crochet turns out to be. I like the look, but whether my meagre crochet skills are up to the task remains to be seen. I'll give it a try; who knows.

I have to say though - my spare room is a MESS. I went through nearly every scrap of yarn I have in order to find something small I could do. I'd think of a pattern, but wouldn't find a suitable yarn. I'd remember some yarn I had, but wouldn't find a pattern. And on...

"...where'd that nice lady go? The one that told me how pretty and good I was all the time?"

"Mom?"

"No, not Mom. The tall lady that brought us those furry toys."

"Auntie Chris? She went home to Minneapolis. She was visiting us, but you know. Chaos and Mayhem..."

"Ah. Well. That's no good Atticus."

"I know. It blows. But, I guess they would have been lonely without her. Whatever."

Ah, the furry toys. That have, along with the crinkly balls, disappeared into the Kitty Toy Vortex. 6 toys. Nowhere to be found in the apartment. I really don't know how they manage to do it. It's like socks in the dryer, I suppose. I'm pretty sure they've been pushed under the fridge and stove. Regardless. I'll be the one to hunt them out... Malcolm can still get stuff from under the couch and other small spaces, but even he can't fish the toys out from under the fridge and stove.

"Atticus, why does she always follow us around with that thing?"

"I know. Just look cute. Maybe we'll get a snack or something."

Atticus may have NO clue what the laser pointer is all about, and also couldn't care less, but he sure loves his crinkly balls. And with the kitten food snacking he's been doing of late, he needs the exercise he gets chasing them around.