Mememememe

Thanks for the kind comments about Claude. I have to admit that we don't yet miss the stench of his foul kitty breath (okay, maybe it wasn't that foul...nope, it was), but we do miss the rest of him.

World o' knitting
My project-starting ability seems to have overpowered my project-finishing ability again. Right now I have 2 scarves, 1 stole, 2 socks, a baby hat, and a surprise object on the needles, and I just got some more yarn for Annie Modesitt's corset tank top and for a Baby Surprise Jacket. I blame it partly on my miniscule attention span and partly on Ravelry. Oh, Ravelry. So many patterns to queue, so much to read, and so little time.

And other stuff
I saw this meme on She Knits By the Seashore.

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
Finishing up a BA in Music and getting ready for grad school. I'd finished a science degree already, but couldn't figure out what to do next, and since I'd racked up a bunch of music credits as electives I decided to apply them to a general Bachelor's degree. It seems like things haven't changed much...ever since our move to Seattle I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with life, and meanwhile I've been taking voice lessons and enjoying them immensely in those moments when I'm not wailing about being too tense to sing properly or something. There's no grad school in the picture, though.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Practice music. Meet the doctor for a physical exam. Meet the hurdy gurdy player to practice some different music (for this). Work on a talk for class. Um...practice more music?

Still left on the list: That damn talk. I hate public speaking to begin with, and I can't seem to focus long enough to scrape together 5 minutes of talk-worthy material, even though I know the goal of the talk is to practice public speaking. My brain refuses to play along. Naughty brain! Come on, brain, work with me.

The brain has responded. It has said, "Neener neener nyah nyah".

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Berries. Potato chips. Oranges. Chocolate. Ice cream. Other fruits. Baby carrots.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Pay off our loans. Set aside a chunk for retirement. Fix up the house we used to live in in Rhode Island. Buy a house here with a fabulous view, efficient kitchen, and enough room for visitors, yarn, CDs, cats, and a ginormous cat tree. Earthquake-proof the house. Build a ginormous cat tree. Travel. Visit my parents. Fly the in-laws out here. Send the 4 of them on a nice cruise. Donate to charities. Go to concerts. Figure out how to protect the in-laws' driveway and fence from silly drivers who are trying to make a u-turn to go to the cafe next door. Study more music. Learn to sew.

5) Places I have lived: British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, more Ontario, Rhode Island, Washington state.

6) Who I'm tagging: anyone who reads this.

See you later, dude

Claude passed away peacefully this afternoon. M and I were there to keep him company. I think in his next life Claude wants to keep his cat status and goofy personality but will negotiate to be the size of a Great Dane just so he can keep Chester and all other tabbies in line. Failing that, I think he'd be happy just to prance around in a catnip field somewhere, harass the local critters, and maybe catch an opera now and then.

We'll miss you, little guy.

Stupid cat*

Claude, our poor cow-cat, has been going through hell during the last few weeks. After his abscess drain and e-collar were removed, he perked up for a couple of days, but then lost interest in eating. The vet noticed that he had lost a lot of weight and looked a bit jaundiced, and was concerned that he might be developing hepatic lipidosis, so we tried a couple of different feeding methods, but he hated them and just seemed to get sicker. We ended up taking him to the local animal critical care clinic, where they hooked him up to a nasal feeding tube. He still doesn't like the tube, but at least he has stopped vomiting his food. The vets are still checking him out but suspect it's either pancreatitis or lymphoma. If it's pancreatitis we're hoping that he'll pull through if he's given some supportive care, but if it's lymphoma then things don't look good.


Claude getting down with his dapper self on a good day.


*Okay, fine, not stupid cat. Darned cat. Darned cow-cat who, less than a month ago, was bouncing around like a rabbit and smushing the inside of his ear all over my nose when he wanted me to wake up and give him his breakfast. Darned cat who was as capable of moving in a straight line as a broken shopping cart. Darned cat whose wildly waving tail of destruction could create chaos on a clean, empty tabletop. Darned cat who was full of piss and vinegar when he didn't want attention, and completely in our faces and all over our laps when he did. And darned me for wishing, despite everything else going on the world these days, that he were still well enough to be like that now.

More spinning and then some

I opened I can has cheezburger just as I took a sip of something, and nearly ruined my keyboard.

more cat pictures

In spinning news, I bought 4 oz of a wool-silk blend from the LYS. Here are some singles; this stuff is going to keep me occupied for a long time.




I try to comfort myself with the thought that, if we ever have an apocalypse, then as long as I have that drop spindle and the roving I can make my own dental floss.

Here's how it looks plied (yeah, I refused to ply it on the drop spindle...I just wish there were a way to do S-twist with the Lendrum regular flyer). Sorry about the poor focus--our camera doesn't like close-ups.