Runs With Needles

Snow day!

When I woke up this morning I peeked outside and it was a blizzard! The news geeks were telling me to stay off the roads. I called in to work, cranked up the electric blanket and went back to bed. I felt like I was 8 years old again! I love snow days. :)

It was a blizzard until about 3pm. Then, the sun came out! I took the puppies outside to play and (of course) snapped some pictures. I haven't uploaded them yet, though, so I'll share them next time.

I've been knitting the two tone pink blanket lately. Here's a pic:

Smile for the close up:

I haven't been knitting as much as usual lately. I picked up Jodi Picoult's latest book from the library and am totally engrossed in it. I always love her books and this one is no exception. It's called "Vanishing Acts".

Look what I picked up at the store yesterday!

Isn't it gorgeous? And the best part?

Now, let's just hope that I can keep it alive. :)

Sue stopped by and called me out on something: "You can take a picture of spilled pickles but not your two tone pink scarf?!"
So, that picture of the two tone pink blanket is for her.

Pioggia commented that dogs eat everything. Yes, they do and Samantha is an odd one. She loves fruits and vegetables. She just adores carrots!

Kimberli and Beth both stopped by and (I think) it was their first time here. Welcome!

Ruinwen also stopped by and yes, it's great to have something off the needles!

Now I'm off to watch "Survivor" and knit!

posted by Kathy at 3/31/2005 06:59:00 PM | 6 comment(s)

A nearly perfect Sunday. :)

What a wonderful day! It was warm and sunny and I was able to knit for several hours today. Zee Red Scarf is finished!!!

What: Zee Red Scarf
Yarn: 1.5 skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in the color Cranberry
Needles: Size 10.5 straight
Lessons Learned: Go slowly on the dropped stitches, it's very easy to mess them up!

Here's a picture of the scarf and the coat I made it for:


Of course, now that I finished the scarf, it's supposed to be 70 degrees tomorrow. I'll take the warmth, though. Zee Red Scarf will just have to wait for the next cold snap.

I am now down to just two projects on the needles. The Purple Blanket, which I haven't knit on in ages and the Two Tone Pink Blanket, which I don't even have a picture of! (Bad blogger!) I recently bought some Peaches 'n Cream yarn and want to make a washcloth. I can never have too many of them and think it would be fun to make my own. I've been downloading patterns for them and now just need to get the patience to try something new!

Sue stopped by to comment on my feelings about running. I think she feels the same way that I do. :)

When I got up this morning, I looked out the front window and saw this:



I resisted the urge to start singing Baby Blue. ("Baby blue, Like the Colorado skies..")

The dogs and I spent some time outside today, enjoying the almost spring like weather. I know we'll probably get more snow this spring, but it was nice to imagine that summer was on its way.

I learned a very important lesson today: When putting a pickle jar back into the fridge, don't lose your grip on the jar! If you do, very bad things will happen:



The pickle jar didn't just fall to the floor (but didn't break, yay!), it hit the bottom shelf in the door and broke that. What a mess! I said some very bad words when this happened. I had just made a yummy lunch:



and had to delay eating while I cleaned up the mess. I did find out that Samantha likes pickles. The other two dogs wouldn't go near them, but Sam ate all the spilled pickles! Crazy mutt.

This week at work is going to be insanely busy. I'm not expecting to get much knitting time in until the weekend. :( Why must I work? It just gets in the way of the fun stuff!!

posted by Kathy at 3/27/2005 11:04:00 PM | 7 comment(s)

Snowy Saturday

It was a wonderful lazy Saturday around here. I got up fairly early since someone was coming over to pick up a piece of furniture I listed on Freecycle. Then I took a three hour nap. It was the perfect day for napping: cold and snowy.

This evening I watched the new version of Little House on the Prairie (it was very good) and knitted. I worked on Zee Red Scarf and the Two Tone Pink Blanket. I don't have pictures, though. I was too lazy to take them. Next time, I promise.

Speaking of Little House, I know that I've mentioned that I'm a huge fan of both the books and the original TV series. So is my best friend, J. (We actually met on the playground, playing Little House.) J is traveling this weekend and unable to watch. I taped it for her tonight. I think we're both big dorks. :)

The dogs also got some time to run outside today while I worked on my car. I have a mouse problem with my car's air filter. The little bastards make nests in it and chew it to bits! So, I cut a piece of window screen and made (I hope) a mouse proof air filter. Wish me luck!

Pioggia, Rabbitch, Anne-Caroline, Kitt and Rebecca all stopped by and said hello.

Piogga enjoyed the dog article I linked to last time. Check out her blog. She's knitting a tree, yes a tree! It's very cool.

Rabbitch offered me some green cotton. I'm rather suspicous of this offer.....

Anne-Caroline question the name of this blog and wondered if I really knit and run. Two words, Anne-Caroline: hell no! :) I do not run. I hate running. I detest it with every cell in my body. When I was in high school I had a sadistic gym teacher who was a runner. She tried to convert us to running and I bitched about it every step of the way. Several years later I befriended a runner and he convinced me that it took 3 months to appreciate running and to get that 'runner's high'. I was stupid enough to believe him and was a runner for 3 months and one day. At that time I told him I was sure that the 'runner's high' comes from inhaling exhaust fumes and not from running. Ever since my running experiment (which was in 1994), I do not run. I might run if my house was on fire. But other than that? Nope. Not gonna do it.

Anne-Caroline: your comment link took me to a KAL blog. Do you have a personal blog? If so, let me know so I can check it out.

Kitt offered sympathy on my frog pond experience. Thank you!

Rebecca also swung by and complimented my furry monsters. (Thank you!) And good news, Rebecca and Kitt, I've stayed out of the frog pond! (And now I probably just jinxed myself......)

I'm heading back to the couch and my knitting. With luck, I'll finished Zee Red Scarf soon!

posted by Kathy at 3/26/2005 10:08:00 PM | 1 comment(s)

A fitting tribute

I forgot to include this link in my previous post, so thoought I would give this link it's own post. :)

I read Craig Wilson's column at usatoday.com every week. Craig's dog died last week and he wrote a tribute to her for this week's column. Before you click here ,make sure you have kleenex handy.

And thank you to Craig, for articulating what us dog lovers feel.

posted by Kathy at 3/23/2005 09:39:00 PM | 3 comment(s)

Slow and steady wins the race.

I'm slowing down my knitting. Obviously, I need to, since I've been frogging much more than I've been knitting.

I've been working on Zee Red Scarf and am making nice progress on that. I also took the two shades of pink yarn and am creating a blanket out of them. This blanket will have random stripes, since the horrible frogging accident caused many different lengths of yarn. :) I'm afraid I can't share pictures until next time. My camera batteries are charging and I don't have back ups.

I'd like to thank KnitNana and Rabbitch for making room for me at the frog pond. KnitNana is even sharing her lily pad and giving me cookies! (What did you give me, Rabbitch? :) )

Pioggia and Brandie both suggested chocolate to ease my frogging pains. Would you believe I don't have any chocolate in the house? Yee gads! What kind of woman am I? I'm sure the Chocolate Police will be arriving any second now to take away my second x chromosome!

Speaking of Brandie, this is her first visit to Runs With Needles. Thanks for stopping by!!

It looks like KnitNana and I need to make room on the lily pad for Happy. She's run into a problem that I frequently have: making a mistake at the beginning of a project, but not catching it until much later. Hang in there, Happy! (Oh, and have one of KnitNana's cookies.)

Leah also stopped by with puppy stories! (My favorite kind of story....besides the one where I win the lottery and become a knitting maniac.)

And yes, I'm now moving into dog talk, for you non-dog lovers. (Are there such people? I can't believe that there is.)

Anyway, Leah's dog also loves fetch, but he perfers tennis balls to frisbees. Samantha loves tennis balls too, but she goes through them too quickly. Her jaws are so strong that just some simple chewing on a tennis ball breaks it in half. So, she gets frisbees. For some reason, she doesn't destroy them as quickly.

Leah also mentioned her dog's command of the English language. I know the feeling. I can't say the following words in my house: car, truck, go, ride, walk, play, fetch, out, treat, bone. Samantha has even caught on to the spelling of "car". I now use 'automobile', but I'm sure she'll learn this word, too!

Rabbitch also mentioned the horizon shot in a picture I posted last time. I know what she means! When I first moved to the plains, I had the same sensation (of falling off the end of the world), but now I love, love, love it! I love the plains more than I ever thought I would. And the best part is that when I look to the west, I can see Pikes Peak and the entire Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.

Here are some more shots of Pikes Peak .

I'm so lucky to live where I do. I hope I never take it for granted.

posted by Kathy at 3/23/2005 09:17:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

I'm really tired of hanging out at the frog pond.

I did not get to knit all week, but late last night, I finally got the chance! I stayed up late knitting last night and then knit for most of this afternoon.

I worked a little bit on Zee Red Scarf:



However, I had some pink yarn in my stash that was calling to me, so I decided to whip up a two tone pink scarf. I was using size 17 (yes, 17!) needles, so the scarf knit up very quickly. In fact, after just a few hours, I had this:



Just after taking this picture, I bound off.

This is where something went horribly, horribly wrong:



Somehow, I dropped a crapload of stitches when I was binding off. So, I frogged back. Then I dropped more stitches and frogged back again. Finally, I got so frustrated that I ended up with this:



:: big sigh ::

My mother was right: haste makes waste. I was trying to get this scarf finished before dinner and look what happened. Let this be a lesson to me!

So, let's sum things up.......I didn't get to knit all week and when I finally did, I messed up the bind off and ended up with nothing. It's a good thing that it's the journey of knitting I love and not the end result! :-)

I did watch a movie this afternoon: Open Range. I fully expected to like this movie. I enjoy all of the actors, I enjoy this type of movie, but guess what? I was bored out of my mind. The story just moved so slowly and the movie never really interested me.

I also watched a Little House DVD today, so all was not lost. :)

Sue, Rebecca, Happy and Kristen all stopped by the blog. I'm glad I could point Sue to the Freecycle link and I hope Kristen likes the chicken! Rebecca runs the Say No To Ponchos webring that I just joined. The webring is just in good fun, so if you do wear ponchos, don't worry. I won't boot you from reading my blog. :) I just believe that if I wore a poncho the first time they were in style, I'm too old to wear them this time!

I was camera happy today, so if you don't enjoy puppy pictures, you'd better stop reading now.

Out of my three dogs, Samantha is the only one who likes to play fetch. And Sam loves to fetch!








Kishka enjoyed just running around in the fresh air:



Then she enjoyed a nap on the couch:


Mr. Max came inside and found the sunbeam on the couch:


Tomorrow it's back to work. I'm hoping to have time to knit before next weekend. I may give Zee Red Scarf another go around tonight, but part of me is afraid to knit after the pink scarf incident!

Until next time, stay out of the frog pond!

posted by Kathy at 3/20/2005 08:47:00 PM | 6 comment(s)

A brief detour

Today's post has no knitting content. If you're an animal lover like me, please go read about Trucker.

Birdsong, Leah, and Kitt all stopped by and commented on Freecycle and my quest to rid the junk from my life. I hope you all have wonderful experiences with Freecycle, too.

Jenifer also stopped by to welcome me to the Mile Hi Web Ring. Thank you, Jenifer! (If her profile was public, I would link to her.)

Today I am playing Molly Homemaker. Once that is done, I will knit. :)

posted by Kathy at 3/19/2005 12:19:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

Reality bites.

I've been a horrible blogger and knitter this week. I haven't done either since my last post. Don't you hate it when the responsibilites of life get in the way of the cool stuff?

On the up side of things, I think I'm the last person to discover the wonder that is Freecycle. Ever since my life imploded last fall, I have been getting rid of a lot of my 'stuff'. You know, that stuff you bought because you had to have it and now you don't really want it, but it just sits around. I'm a packrat, so I had a lot of stuff! I've sold a lot of it on eBay, but now that it's getting down to the nitty gritty, I'm posting it on Freecycle. I only want to have material things that are absolutely necessary (like yarn!) or that mean something to me (like the china that's been handed down through my family). It's been a tough road for me, but I feel more 'free'. (Am I making any sense or am I in a caffeine induced delerium?)

I'm also hoping to move into a different house this fall, so all of this pairing down will make for an easier move!

During my blog absence, I've had visitors! Thanks for stopping by!

Sue, Leah, KnitNana, Pioggia, ttbookjunkie and Happy all reassured me about Zee Red Scarf. Thank you, ladies!

Happy also asked for the recipe for the "lemon-lime-garlic-horseradish chicken" that I spoke about last time. This is actually a recipe I made up one evening when I bored with my usual chicken recipe. If I may say so, I made up a good recipe!

Lemon-Lime-Garlic-Horseradish Chicken

• Place boneless, skinless chicken breast in bottom of shallow baking dish (I usually cook two servings at a time.)
• Pour over one cup of lemon juice.
• Pour over one half cup of lime juice.
• Sprinkle breasts with paprika.
• Spread small amount of minced garlic over each chicken breast. (I use the garlic that comes in a jar.)
  
• Coat entire breast with horseradish.
• Bake until done. I bake mine for about 30 minutes at 450 degrees. However, keep in mind that I live at 6500 feet and that affects baking.

That's it! It's very yummy and smells great, too. :)

I am very happy that tomorrow is Friday. I don't have any committments this weekend, so am hoping to spend a lot of time knitting!

posted by Kathy at 3/17/2005 09:36:00 PM | 6 comment(s)

Zee Red Scarf, version 2.1

The red yarn did not defeat me!

And a close up....

After I took these pictures, though, I realized something. This is a bit wide for a scarf, no?

It will have to do, though. I refuse to frog this dang scarf again!

When I was at the store the other day I picked up my first knitting magazine!

There's a blanket in here that I want to make. I'm not sure I'm skilled enough to do it, but I may try!

Some of the knitting chicks were discussing which knitting books they like. (I think it was the chicks, if not, then I don't remember which group it was!) Besides my two most recent purchases (see entry below), I also own these two books:

I bought the "I Can't Believe I'm Knitting" booklet when I was first teaching myself how to knit again. It's excellent for a first knitting book.

The "Encyclopedia of Knitting" book is beyond awesome. (Awesome? Jeez, can you tell I grew up in the 80's? :) ) I received this book as a gift. Last fall I was going through a divorce and during this already horrible time, my beloved cat died. I went to my mailbox one day and there was a huge box from my best friend, J. Inside was a bunch of yarn and this book. :) It was the perfect present and arrived at just the right time. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful friend in my life.

In blog news, did you see what's new on my sidebar? I have BUTTONS!!!!! The always helpful and very kind Kitt made them for me. Thank you, Kitt!!

The link I posted in my last entry drew quite a response. Kitt, Sue, Mel, Kristen, elvewhimsies, and Leah all commented on their visit to the site. I'm glad I'm not the only one with a morbid fascination!

The lovely spring weather we were having has given way to this:

On nights such as this, I enjoy spending time in front of my fireplace.

Okay, so it's not a fireplace, but it's the closest thing that I've got!

Disclaimer about the above pic: I change into sweats and pink fuzzy slippers after work. I live alone. I can get away with it. :)

For dinner tonight I made my lemon-lime-garlic-horseradish chicken!


Max thinks it looks yummy!

(Max did not get any chicken, btw.)

And now for some shameless critter pics:

I love the expression on Max's face here. It's just too bad he's standing by the garbage can and Samantha's butt!

Here's the gruesome twosome:

Here's Romeo, looking quite irritated that I woke him up!

I really like this picture of Parker in the shadows.

Happy knitting!!

posted by Kathy at 3/14/2005 10:34:00 PM | 7 comment(s)

Curse of the red yarn

The red yarn is cursed. Of this, I am certain.

This afternoon I cast on for another ribbed red scarf. I messed up in the first five rows and had to frog (again). I cast on (again!) for (yet) another red scarf. I couldn't keep my counting straight and messed up the ribbing. (Counting to four...who knew it could be so hard?).

At this point, I gave up on ribbing and decided to try a drop stitch pattern. I cast on and screwed that up around row 15. I set the needles down before I gouged out my eyeballs and walked away.

Why can't I knit tonight? I'm so frustrated. This has never happened to me. Ack!

I think I'll frog the red scarf (AGAIN!!!) and start on something totally different tomorrow. Obviously, the red yarn and I were not meant to be friends.

On a totally different topic, I'm transfixed by this website. I find it absolutely fascinating.

No snow flying here yet, but it's gotten cold. It was 70 today and it's now 28. My electric blanket is on and warming my bed right now. :) I'm giving up on knitting for tonight and heading to dreamland.

posted by Kathy at 3/12/2005 10:58:00 PM | 7 comment(s)

Rib-bit

It's a sad day in Kathy's Knitting World. Zee Red Scarf is no more. It's gone to the Frog Pond.

I had to get my brakes changed today and took my knitting along. While I was trying to fix my criscrossed stitches, I found a large hole that I had overlooked in the first few rows of zee scarf. So, I frogged the whole damn thing. Very sad.

I've casted on for another red scarf, but haven't started it yet.

Leah has also had the twisted stitch problem. I hope her outcome was better than mine. Leah also likes my knitting bag. :) (Check Jo-Ann, I got mine on sale!!)

Kitt agrees that my knitting looks lonely and suggested I take it to work. I've thought about that, but I don't have time at work to knit. I usually eat lunch while working and spend any break time I do have outside. It would also be too tempting to have it there. :)

Melanie was unable to comment on the blog (thanks, Blogger!!!), but we exchanged some nice emails. Melanie has also twisted stitches, so was able to commiserate with me. Thanks, Melanie! She also took a quiz on her blog and inquired about what kind of knitter I am. Well, Melanie, I seem to be a knitting guru. Imagine that!


You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can't imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.
http://marniemaclean.com

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

It's a gorgeous day in Colorado: sunny and warm. However, Weatherbug is telling me that a winter weather advisory goes into effect at midnight and we're going to get several inches of snow. Yikes! I must watch the news tonight to see if such folly true.

No pictures in the blog this time. I want to get outside and enjoy the day!

posted by Kathy at 3/12/2005 04:51:00 PM | 0 comment(s)

Is it Friday yet?

I seem to have gained a new level of efficiency in my life lately. I used to work 40 hours a week and struggle to keep my house clean. Lately, I've been working 50 hours a week, knitting almost as much as I'd like, reading a good amount, keeping the house spotless and finding time to play with the dogs. How on earth did I do this? I have no clue, but I'm not complaining! I'm just enjoying the ride. Life is good. :)

Speaking of knitting, I think my projects miss me while I'm away. Here's my knitting bag, sitting in the front window:



Looks lonely, doesn't it?

A couple of nights ago my purple blanket had a horrible accident. I was engrossed in The Amazing Race and about 15 stitches jumped off the needle. :( I had to frog about 10 rows in order to pick them all up again. The blanket now looks like this:



I'm a bit bummed out about this project now. The feeling will pass and until it does, I've been concentrating on Zee Red Scarf:



I'm pleased to report that my purling is now almost as fast as my knitting. Yay!!!! I really like this scarf. However, there's one problem. Look what I did:



See those crisscrossed stitches? How on earth did I do that? And how the heck do I fix it?!?!?

I came up with a blanket pattern today for the 3 skeins of yarn I bought last month:



I don't know when it will go on the needles. I need to fix my scarf first.

I had several visitors lately! Thanks for stopping by, I love reading all the comments.

Thank you, Kitt, for the purl encouragement. My purl stitches have gotten a tiny bit tighter. I guess it will just take time. And thank you for the puppy compliment. I'm a very neurotic proud dog mommy. :)

Rabbitch also complimented the furry monsters (thank you) and cracked me up with her comment about what some knitters manage to accomplish before breakfast.

Leah is also a new purler (Is 'purler' a word, or is it just in the Kathy dictionary?) who's having the same tension problems that I am. Keep practicing, Leah, we can do this! Leah likes the red scarf (thank you) and asked about my Knitting For Dummies book. I don't know how the Dummies book compares to the Idiots book. I've never looked at the Idiots book because I buy Dummies books on just about every subject out there. :) Leah is also a Little House on the Prairie fan. That makes her very cool in my book.

Thank you to Pioggia for the welcome back and for the encouragement in venturing away from the garter stitch.

Jane and Birdsong both made very kind comments on my Chris LeDoux post yesterday. Thank you. I'm glad to know I'm not totally off my rocker in terms of being sad at the death of someone I never met.

What would a long blog post be without showing off the puppies?

I took a pic of Kishka tonight and when I uploaded it I discovered that she was sticking out her tongue at me!



The nerve of that dog! She's been docked five Milkbones!

(Yeah, right, I'm wrapped around her furry paw and she knows it.)

The girls look quite possessed in this picture, don't you think?



And, finally, while I was knitting, the girls were having a Nylabone chewing party!




Tomorrow is Friday. For that, I am very grateful. Saturday is supposed to be near 70 and sunny and I plan to spend some time outside, soaking up the sun.

posted by Kathy at 3/10/2005 10:34:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

A voice that will be missed.

My favorite singer, Chris LeDoux, died today. This makes me sad.

I'm not a person who follows 'celebrities' and lives for their every move. I couldn't care less about their personal lives. That's why I'm so surprised at how sad I am about the loss of Chris LeDoux.

Chris LeDoux's music spoke to me. My favorite song in the world is one of his: Western Skies. Whenever anyone asks me why I live where I do (in the middle of nowhere), I point them to this song.

I think I'll spend this evening knitting and listening to my many Chris LeDoux albums. A fitting tribute, I think.

The regular blog will resume tomorrow.

posted by Kathy at 3/09/2005 04:08:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

Back in the saddle again

I'm finally back in the land of cyberspace! I can't believe how much I missed the Internet. Kind of sad, really.

Since I was Internet-less over the weekend, I had a Little House on the Prairie marathon. I watched two DVD's (six hours) worth of Little House. Yowzers! That's a lot! I have to say, though, I still love the show.

Thank you to Pioggia, Amanda, and Melanie. They all wished me luck and told me to hurry back. Thanks, girls! :)

I had many visitors while I was away!

Leah sounds like she was just as excited to learn how to purl as I was. :)

Jane appears to have stolen my cat. Seriously, her Tiger looks just like my Parker!

Speaking of cats, blufelicia warned about the Code Enforcement group for cats. I think I'm in trouble.......

And, Rabbitch stopped by to compliment the kitties and to say hi. Check out Rabbitch's blog if you need a laugh. She's a riot!

On to knitting news.....

I started a new project!




I call this one....Zee Red Scarf. (For some reason, this scarf makes me talk in a bad French accent.) It is the first project where I have used something besides garter stitch. Very intimidating, but I think it's turning out! Since I started this scarf, my purling has gotten faster, so that's a good thing. However, my purl stitches are looser than my knit stitches. Anyone know how to fix that?

While I was reading blogs tonight, I came across a site about unraveling sweaters. I never would have thought of doing this! What a fantastic idea! I still have tons of sweaters from my life in the The Great White North that I haven't worn in years. I think I'll unravel some of them!

I bought two books over the weekend: Knitting For Dummies and Stitch 'N Bitch. When I checked Stitch 'N Bitch out of the library for the third time, I figured it was time to buy it. While browsing at the bookstore, I decided that Knitting For Dummies was worthy of my time, too. Both books have already been very helpful to me.

I have three dogs. I also have six dog beds. (You do the math.) Yet, the girls both have the same bed picked out as their favorite. It sits next to my computer desk and one of them is always there when I'm in the room. Here are two adorable shots I took this weekend:






It's good to be back online, but now I'm off to knit!!

posted by Kathy at 3/07/2005 08:09:00 PM | 4 comment(s)

I interrupt this blog to bring you an important announcement.

My modem on my home computer is dead. I will not be updating this blog until I replace/repair it. Wish me luck. :)

I will be knitting, though and so should you!!!

posted by Kathy at 3/05/2005 11:12:00 AM | 3 comment(s)

Practice, practice, practice

I worked a very long day today, so didn't have much time to knit. I want to make my Wool-Ease scarf in a ribbed pattern, so I practiced today:



I think I know what I'm doing! Yay! As long as the practice goes this well, I'll start the scarf this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by, Pioggia! I'm glad I'm not the only one with the pregnancy supersition.

In non-knitting news.......

I caught some flak here at home for my repeated mentionings/photos of the canine residents of this house. It seems that the noise I heard last night was the Kitty Hotline Phone ringing and my cats are ticked off! They want a piece of Internet fame, too!

Here is Parker:





And this is Romeo:






Romeo is my newest pet. I've only had him for a couple of months. He's eight years old and I found him at the Pikes Peak Humane Society. He's still adjusting to this hectic and noisy household, but he's quite a snuggler. :)

I can't mention cats without showing off Simon:



Last fall I had to make the gut wrenching decision to let Simon's suffering end. He was just 14 years old and the first pet I ever owned on my own. I rented my first apartment and adopted Simon on the same day. Simon will always occupy a little corner of my heart.

Rest in peace, little buddy.

posted by Kathy at 3/02/2005 11:32:00 PM | 4 comment(s)

Blogging with Beethoven

I just want to say that I LOVE Beethoven's 9th. Absolutely love it. :)

In knitting news.....

P's blanket is blocked and finished! Yahooo!!!!



What: P's baby blanket
Yarn: 3 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun in the color Regency
Needles: #15 straight
Lesson Learned: Never, ever knit such a blanket on straight needles again! My wrists still hurt!

I'm packing this blanket away until P is further along in her pregnancy. (I never send baby gifts before the 5th or 6th month.....it's a superstition of mine.)

I also worked on the purple blanket tonight. I didn't take a picture because I didn't make a ton of progress (I was caught up in The Amazing Race.) I plan on doing a lot of knitting this weekend, though. Look at what a picked up at the library today:



It's Classic Movie Weekend at Kathy's house! :) (Also known as a darn good excuse to sit on the couch and knit!)

While at the library, I also picked up this book:



It's got wonderful sketches and instructions so I think it will be very helpful during my quest to master different stitches.

Birdsong stopped by the blog today. My purple blanket is very popular! I'm glad more people are discovering this awesome pattern. And thank you for the compliment on my blog name. It literally just hit me and I knew that it was the right name.

Jane swung by and shared in my purling excitement. :) Now, I just need to get the courage to actually purl on a project!

A note to any Firefox users: they've released an update. Go and download it here. And if you don't use Firefox, check it out. It's an awesome browser!

posted by Kathy at 3/01/2005 11:56:00 PM | 1 comment(s)