Morty's Adventure

As most of you know, I feed and care for a managed colony of stray cats in the neighborhood. There are about ten who visit my feeding bowls, and about half of that ten have chosen to call my yard home. We have a great routine going, but every now and then, and new cat wonders into the territory to disturb the peace. Sometimes they accept the newcomer, but more often they....well, don't. Since about two weeks ago, a yellow tabby cat has been straying into our yard, causing a rift among the residents. So far, all that has happened is stand-offs, posturing, and a few hissy fits, but fortunately, no real fights.
Today, as I went to the fridge for my much needed fix of diet coke, I glanced out the back window to see the yellow cat had come back. Since I love cats, and am fascintated by thier behavior, I decided to watch him for a while. He was sitting on his belly on the bottom step of my shed, nibbling on a blade of grass. I stood there, amazed at how much he looks like my Morty, when it hit me that none of the other cats were paying attention to him. That's odd, I thought to myself. I know they do not like the newcomer at all, so why are they just letting him sit in "their" yard and eat "their" grass. I wondered if he had been accepted into the group, and was mentally scheduling a neuter surgery for him, when he looked up at me. Wow, he looks so much like Morty....wait...OMG, it IS Morty. We had a tiny rip in the screening material on our back porch, and he had torn it big enough to wiggle out and escape. Luckily, he's not a roamer, and was still in the yard.
Well he's back inside now, and the pet door leading to the back porch is locked until Dave gets home and we can fix the screen. Happily, he's not begging to get out, but I know we'll have to fix it as quickly as possible, because his adventure will wear off, and he'll be ready for another one soon. Ah, cats...

Sharing Photos

Not much to report today. I took these two photos yesterday when I went out to feed the cats, and I just wanted to share them with my readers...

This is the summer blooming rosebush I mentioned in an earlier post. It was covered with buds, which have now opened to reveal the lovely pink roses picured here.

As I was leaving the feeding area to go back into the house (and out of the heat), I glanced over to notice one of my hostas, the one I purchased at the beginning of spring, had bloomed. What an unexpected, and pleasant, surprise!

Crocheting With Max

Tuesday, I had the house to myself after Dave's long weekend. I tidied up the kitchen, but wasn't really in the mood to clean, so I got out my crochet and put in a movie. As my afghan began to grow, Max decided it was the perfect spot for a nap. It didn't bother me, because he left plenty of room for me to turn my work without bothering his royal highness. So Dave came home to see Max and I watching Shrek and crocheting together. Sadly, I found a mistake, and ended up having to unravel most of the work I'd done, but I still enjoyed my relaxing day.

A Great Deal

I love going to Tuesday Morning. Looking though the store is such an adventure because you honestly never know what you'll find. Once in a while, you come across a sale that is just too good to pass up. I found such a sale my last visit. I was actually looking for a cat tree to replace the old one on the back screened porch. It is so covered in hair and dust that no amount of vacuuming has cleaned it up. New cat furniture is so pricey at Petco and Dave thinks the do-it-yourself items from Walmart aren't durable enough to hold our big moose cats (and he's probably right lol). So we decided to check Tuesday Morning. Since their pet section is right across from their crafts, I just had check for yarn. Normally, they don't have much, but there was a nice surprise waiting for me this time. I discovered 5 hanks of Araucania Pamaire solid, which is a high quality 100% Pima Cotton yarn, in a burnt orange color (The color is much more subdued than the photo portrays, but I included it anyway, because this is such a great shot of Morty). According to the lable, each hank is normally $12.99, but I got them for $5.99. So now I am the proud owner of 915 yards if pima cotton yarn. I bought them planning to knit myself a Liesl cardigan, but I think I want to browse through my patterns again before I decide for sure. This is going to be so much fun...

Another Magazine

Well, I just got through subscribing to another magazine. When I first started knitting, I subscribed to several magazines. I love getting magazines so much, but I was tired of the huge stacks piling up. I finally picked out my favorite, which is Interweave Knits, and let the others subscriptions run out. Today, I checked my email and discovered an opportunity to get a free issue of Interweave Crochet. Since I've been doing more crochet, and Interweave Press puts out beautiful magazines, I decided to subscribe. When I get my free issue, I can opt to cancel the whole thing if I don't like it, but I have a feeling I'll keep it. At least for a while.

Merlin's New Haircut

Merlin got a new haircut tonight. When we got him from the shelter back in 2004, he had been shaved. I was appalled, because he has such beautiful hair, but later I figured out why they'd shaved him. His hair is thick and cottony, and tangles very easily. Ideally, he's supposed to be brushed daily, but he HATES it. As a result, his long hair stays knotted up and uncomfortable for him. The only option is to cut it short twice a year. We used to send him to the vet for this, but because of his temperament, he has to be sedated, causing his visits to be quite pricey. Also, even though the groomer at my vet's office is very professional, and good at her job, I just sometimes worry (probably unreasonably) about so much sedation. We decided last year to do his hair ourselves.
Knowing how he is, we went to Home Depot and bought a pair of long leather gloves, the kind welders wear. Hair clippers for pets can be bought, fairly inexpensively, just about anywhere. That first haircut we gave him was terrible, but we were so proud of it. His hair grows so fast that in no time it looked just fine. Since then, I've learned that getting his hair perfectly even isn't going to happen, but if I consentrate on making him look uniform it works better. It doesn't take as long, and is therefore less stressful for him....and us.

Knitting Garterlac Dishcloths

I recently tried a new dishcloth pattern called Garterlac. It's based on entralac knitting, but done in garter stitch. This is a technique that has always intrigued me, but I lacked the confidence to try it. Dishcloths are perfect for this situation, because they provide a way to try new patterns in a small project form. I personally find this less intimidating than starting a big project, using a method I'm unfamiliar with. If it doesn't turn out well, who cares? It's a dishcloth.
After knitting just one of these cloths, I knew this pattern was a winner. The designer does a great job writing this pattern so that its easy to follow and understand, and the multiple directions in entralac knitting showcase these variegated colors beautifully.
Yesterday, I decided to try a little experiment. I took a full skein of variegated Lily cotton, hoping to get a garterlac and a ballband out of the same skein. It looked like it was going to work, but I ran out with three brick sections on the ballband to go. Luckily I had a similar color to finish it off, but even if I hadn't I think it would have been ok. Ballbands look fine with multiple colors.
More information, and the pattern for the Garterlac dishcloth can be found on the designer's blog. Just click here.