Friday, January 30, 2015

Another goodbye

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Yesterday we said a sad goodbye to the last our cats, Phoebe (1998-2015). She had been struggling with thyroid issues for the past couple years, so we knew her time with us was coming to an end. I had told myself that when she was having more bad days than good ones, it would be time ... and this week was that week. Very sad but she had a good long life and passed away peacefully while getting her ears rubbed. She was in heaven even before she got there. :)


I've had to euthanize a few pets in my lifetime. It's a decision I hate making, but a necessary one as I feel suffering is even worse. I would much rather know that my pet died peacefully and without pain, surrounded by people who loved her than ... well, the alternatives. We'll just leave it at that.


Of course, it was sad waking up this morning without an animal to feed, walk, or water for the the first time in 30something years. On the other hand, for the first time in awhile, I did not wake up in the middle of the night needing to puff on my inhaler. When I was a child, I was terribly sensitive to cat dander ... by the time I reached my teens, the irritation seemed to disappear. Now my asthma is back full-force and it occurs to me that the allergens that used to bother me -- dust, cat dander, dairy products -- are back in play. We shall see.


When we were talking to the vet before Phoebe's passing, he noted that she was polydactyl, that is, double-pawed, and asked us if we were aware that meant she descended from the Mayflower. He said that a double-pawed cat was brought over on the ship and thus double-pawed cats today are all descended from that cat! I did a bit of journalistic research, and while I couldn't find specific evidence that polydactyl cats descend from one specific Mayflower kitty, I did learn that polydactyl cats were introduced to New England through ships coming from England and they're more common here than they are in other parts of the U.S. Through my father's side I descend from a number of Mayflower passengers -- I'm something like a 16th or 17th generation New Englander! -- so it's quite fitting that our beloved cat was a real Yankee, too.


 

Friday, January 23, 2015

Crazy socks!

Crazy socks!!!

 

Well that was some break from blogging!

I've actually been quite busy ... that and there just hasn't been enough daylight to take good photos. Not only have I been knitting like crazy, I've also been sewing like crazy. I usually knit in the winter and sew in the summer, but since turning 50 in November, it's like a creative lightbulb went on in my head and I can't stop making stuff. My 2015 resolution is to buy no new yarn ... and yes, I was running around town on December 30, 2014, stocking up for the year, which my son informed was kind of cheating. But whatever. So far I've been good, and those socks above? I call them Crazy Socks. A couple days ago I spent some time sorting through my leftover sock yarn, grouping it by colors and winding it into 10- to 15-gram balls. Then I weighed up 50 grams of yarn per sock, bagged the yarn, and now I have enough wool to knit thee pairs of wackadoodle socks this winter. However, I don't think the pair above are looking too crazy. They're actually kind of ... artistic? Cool? Pretty? What's fun is remembering what I initially knit from the yarn. For example, the turquoise is CEL Alpaca Sox I used for my stepmother's Monkey socks, which she loves. There's some leftover yarn from socks I knit for an ex-friend--I try not to think about her too much, LOL. Then there's a bit of yarn from a project I can't even remember (the dark teal). Hmmm.

Other stuff I've been working on ....



 

Project bags I've sewn for knitting ...

Owls, pattern by Kate Davies

Another Owls sweater, this one for me!

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A new hot water bottle cover, pattern by Helen Stewart of the delightful Curious Handmade podcast from London. I made the heart out of leftover flannel I used to sew a pillowcase for my son at Christmas.

I have other projects to show and tell. But for now, it's good to be back. :)