Purling Oaks

I think cats can read...

Look what my twin, the Marvelously Evil Stacey, sent me!  She's so creative.   I love the stitch markers!  They are very cool (or should I say hot?) and quite seasonal with the "bite me!" and the SOS08 markers.  Here's the whole package with the very clever handmade card and hollyhock seeds.  Thank you, Stacey!  I know exactly where I'm going to start a few this week. 

I think Black Dot can read.  She was VERY interested in Stacey's stitchmarkers.  And here is what she was trying to do to the black marker..........

It was a lovely day on Monday.  We had very low humidity, blue skies, and temperatures right around 80 degrees (F).  I made a bunch of calls and emails for the basement-related reconstruction, read through the great studio re-organization contest entries, and then ran errands and did some shopping in Madison in the afternoon.  When I returned home, I wandered around the yard, camera in hand, primarily to properly blog my Stacey-gift.  The cats were following me and DH as we discussed the chain-sawing of several large trees that fell in the recent storms.  Blue and White Dot were wrestling, as they do regularly, and I was able to capture the fun with the video feature on the little camera.  Watch for the hanks of fur on White Dot's paws.  Fuzzle enters into the video near the end to check out what the boys were up to.

Please enter the CONTEST!

Fixation with footies

I decided on the ankle socks.  I'm using this pattern (pattern number 6) with Cascade Fixation Spray in Harlequin.  I started out with US 3 dpns and 56 stitches but that was ripped just past Rockford.  I'm now using 48 stitches and US 2 dpns.  The yarn is very stretchy and this combination seems to fit over my foot without too much extra fabric.

Our trip to the Chicago-area was worth the time and effort.  We attended the Ordination of Deacons held at St. Cletus Parish in LaGrange......since the ceiling of Holy Family Cathedral fell in several weeks ago. *yikes*   This was the first Mass I've ever attended and I found it to be quite interesting.  The Archbishop of Chicago was there, too, to add to the special nature of the event.  According to DH, it was about twice as long as a typical one.  A friend and former (two-levels up) supervisor (now retired) was ordained as a Deacon yesterday.  Definitely a career-change, don't you think?  I think it is an interesting path to take, especially for a guy in his late 50s. 

Since I've been thinking of potential new careers I may want to take up in about five years or so, his achievement has altered some of my internal stereotypes of what paths are open to me (or anyone).  Not that I'm thinking of the church as a career now, but this new career of his is *so* different than the one he held with my employer.  It makes me realize that I should expand my horizons.  He's was so happy yesterday....I'm so glad for him and that DH and I were able to witness the ceremony.



As you can see in the first photo, the irises are in full bloom.  I have two more patches of irises just like those.  So, I'll say it again, I would love to share some rhizomes with you (and you and you and you) later this summer.  I have to divide these irises and I have no idea where to put them all.  Please email me or leave a comment if you would like some for your garden.

Hot date Friday

DH and I had a hot date this afternoon. 

We burned a brush pile!  I just couldn't resist the funny.  We have a burn permit but you can only burn between 6 PM and midnight.  Probably because it is more likely that the volunteer fire department members are home and not working away from the area.  DH has been battling buckthorn in our woods.  It is an invasive tree species that will take decades, if not forever, to eliminate but he's making great progress in the woods behind the house.  Buckthorn saplings pulled up last fall made up a big part of this brush pile.  What did I do?  Well, I enjoyed the fire. 

The cats enjoyed running around today in the lovely weather.  (Yes, I'm still knitting the brown bag project so no knitting photos.)  (You get cats, instead, like any good knit blogger would give you.) 

Fuzzle and Blue in the violets and a Fuzzle Glamour shot, just so Fuzzle's girlfriend knows she is still around.  And the pear tree is blooming.......

Fuzzle Face

This evening I took my own advice and walked in the woods.  Earlier today we had sun, but the rain clouds were moving in so it was overcast and a little cool but with temperatures in the 50s it was still comfortable.  The trail through the woods is actually mostly a loop that will take the traveler up, along, and then down the ridge that the woods reside on.  It is probably a mile of trail but it is "real" trail with obstacles like rocks, sticks, soft earth from rodents digging, and a fallen tree or two.  I surprised at least one turkey and about six deer.  I'm also discovering the muscles that support my knees.  It was a good walk and I'm going to try to do it *carefully* every day I'm home until the mosquitoes get too thick for sanity.

I was informed that Fuzzle doesn't get much face time on this blog, so here is a paw-washing photo or two from this afternoon.

Fuzzle wondering why I'm not petting her.  (Look at the pretty Fuzzle, not the messy sun porch)

I've done a little change-around here at Purling Oaks to try to lighten things up.  Spring is here, you know.  Really. 

Squirrel scrutinizing

Yes, by golly, it is a slow day here at Purling Oaks. Here are Fuzzle (stretched out), White Dot, and Black Dot observing a local squirrel who, once again, is emptying the bird feeder. The cats make very interesting noises when they watch the birds or the squirrels.

I am on about day two of a cold. My cold. Drats. Darn air travel, doorknob, or whatever! I'm hesitant to do anything crafty since my brain may be about as clear as the rest of my head. I just finished reading Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. I really enjoyed the book especially since the protagonist is a middle-aged (for the storyline) woman. Often the female heroine is a young and fit twenty-something. It is nice to have a different model presented.

Saturday recap

Saturday was a gorgeous day with the exception of the temperature. I did some cleaning and lopped a few limbs from the Laundry Monster. Don't worry about LM....he hides under a bed and regrows those limbs in a week or less. I even *gasp* exercised with this yoga DVD. I borrowed the DVD from my massage therapist because we were talking about energy levels and intention. This yoga session was good, though different from the more "standard" types of yoga I've practiced before. I'm certainly *feeling* the yoga today. *g*

Before I rolled out my yoga mat, I saw Fuzzle and White Dot observing one of our raiding squirrels. It is funny how they are sharing one seat in the "gallery." The felines are all friendly to each other but they rarely share adjacent space.

Earlier this week, before this ultra-cold weather, the icicles formed on the eaves. They are a pretty display, but I don't want to walk under them anytime!

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I also worked on the Fuschia Felted Bag yesterday and finally attached all the handles in the correct places. Yes, I had to re-position one handle. I inserted the lining and found I'll need to make the lining a bit larger. I think I will just cut the current lining and add a panel or something along that line of thought. My original measurements must have been a bit off. A nice surprise came in the mail at the end of the day. Joan sent a bountiful box of goodies as my prize for being a fortunately selected commenter in a contest she held on her blog. Thank you, Joan, for the t-shirt, yummy lavender-scented bath goodies, gorgeouse sock yarn, and hot cocoa mix. I'm going to have a steaming mug of hot cocoa this afternoon.

Cats and Carrots

Today is my every other Friday free of "work" and, so far, free of any adverse moon influence that has been going around and touching me this week in ways better forgotten. Friday has been a pretty productive day as of posting time. *fingers crossed*

The four kitties were transported to the vet for their annual check-ups and shots, first thing this morning. Blue's on the right and Fuzzle, White Dot and Black Dot also in their transport boxes but black cats are very difficult to photograph. Take my word, they're there. There was a symphony of protest all the way into town to the vet's office. DH thought they sounded like frogs in a pond just after sunset....MEOW, meeeeooowwww, Meow, MEeow, meOWWWW, and so on. I'm glad it was only five miles. Everybody passed Dr. Ron's inspections. We had scheduled this event for last week Saturday, but my DSIL's mother passed away so we attended the wake last Saturday. Rachel was too young at age 67 to be lost to cancer. She leaves her husband, two daughters, two son-in-laws, and four grandchildren.

After a haircut and some laundry, I made my way to the garden. It has been a good week since I've been able to get out there. It shows. Here's my micro greens....well, *ahem* er, rather, my MACRO greens.

But, they will still be fine for a salad tomorrow night with grilled pork chops. I harvested my Kolasco Paprika peppers that were ripe. I'll dry these and grind them for a yummy paprika for cooking. I'm going to try to save the seeds since I can no longer find this variety. The original seeds came from Shepherd's Seeds but Renee Shepherd sold the company and the new company hasn't carried them since. I'm hoping the seeds will work next year but I'll be on the look out for more. (hint, hint) I also pulled a few carrots to sample this evening. Yes, you are seeing purple carrots. I think they are "Purple Haze" but I'm not sure because I didn't make good garden notes this spring.
Fresh carrots are very flavorful and beat out "store-bought" bagged carrots for flavor every day. The purple carrots look different but taste the same as an orange carrot.

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And for knitting progress, here's the Baby Kimono as of the typing of this post. I intend to finish and block this tomorrow. I hope everything else cooperates so it happens.

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I'm going to save the bread baking photos for tomorrow. However, I can tell you, the bread smells delicious as it is cooling.

Saturday snoozing

Today has been a very low-key day. DH is under the weather and I'm recovering but with occasional set-backs. The cats have been in the same energy flow, as well. White Dot and Fuzzle rarely snuggle so this was definitely a moment to record. They were out on the sunporch during the rain showers when they decided to have a buddy-snooze.

I've been relaxing and surfing today---reading blogs, looking at knit designers, and looking up trivia as I think of it. My knitting vocabulary has been expanded....I think I now know what a yarn cake is---I've been calling them yarn balls. Am I being gentrified? If I make a yarn cake, will my niece and nephews think I have an Easy Bake Oven? Probably not, they'll correctly think I'm just being silly.

I viewed a lovely cardigan by Jean at Golden Purl. It is her first effort at designing her own sweater and I really enjoyed her description of the process she went through as she knit it. One of my other favorite designer blogs is Mind of Winter. Julia designs and knits items that are body-conscious but in a very nice way, and also writes pattern, book, and yarn reviews. I always leave her blog with something interesting to think about.

I worked a bit more on Sonnet and if I get off the Internets, I should be finished with the main body and casting on for the sleeves before Memorial Day.

Happy Birthday to the kitties

When we bought our house two years ago, this is what I found when I walked around the house with the electrician. Such cute little kittens. We don't know exactly when they were born but we are guessing it was sometime this week. G.G. has gone but we still have the other four living with us. Blue is on top of the pile, Singer/Black Dot is the black kitty on the left, White Dot/Star is on the right, Fuzzy is the gray-ish kitty and G.G. is at the top of the photo.

Mirror, mirror in my mind....

Some progress was made on Sonnet this weekend. I'm certainly not a speedy knitter but, like the turtle, I make my way slowly but surely to the finish line. I am at the midpoint of the underarm of the right side. I'm pretty pleased with the texture of the fabric and it looks about the right size. As you may remember I modified the pattern so the neckline is more modest. At this point, I've used about 1.75 skeins of Rowan summer tweed - I purchased ten skeins in all. Looks like I better go looking for a few more skeins if I want long or even 3/4-length sleeves!

I did some cat food shopping on Friday and found a new brand with a canned food variety that made me laugh so much I had to buy it. Turducken for kitties! Can you imagine?!! Actually, the label has the first four ingredients as meat/protein so it is a quality food. The cats gave it a "one-paw" up rating....they enjoyed it but didn't polish it off completely. We give our four kitties one can of food between them for an evening treat---otherwise they eat dry food. Fuzzle wasn't so sure about the packaging......

Crazy Aunt Purl wrote recently about body image and dieting--or rather not dieting but eating with an intent to be healthy. She touched on a topic where a lot of blog readers live --- she had 362 or so comments just for the first post on the topic. I have to say I live there, too. The photo of me knitting in the airport really surprised me. Do I really look like that??! That image doesn't match my internal image of myself at all. Nope, not at all. My internal image is not quite so, um, triangle-shaped! There's no quick fix for the woman in that photo or the woman reflected in my brain's mirror, sigh. I am thankful for Runagogo (or Walkagogo, in my case) and for blogging that made me connect with my inner --or should that be my outer-- self-image. That photo is still in the front of my mind when I'm making food choices. The map of heart disease from the February 2007 issue of National Geographic also made a huge impression on me. Yeah, I live in Wisconsin, which had lower than average deaths between 1999 and 2003 but, for some reason, that map has been influencing my food choices to some degree. I think I'm going to print it out and stick it under a refrigerator magnet.

Here's a little doo-dad measuring tape I've been keeping with my Sonnet project. I love that it has an automatic retracto-button and can you see the little spool at the end of the tape?! Very cool little crafty gadget.