Adjustments

Well, the "thing in the wall," I guess, has found its way back outdoors. It's been over a week and I don't smell anything unusual seeping from the walls of the den, so we can put that saga behind us. Thankfully.

Adjusting back into a 40-hr work week has been difficult. I feel like I haven't seen J in about three weeks. I haven't knit a stitch. My energy and patience for almost everything have waned. Strangely, in some odd ways, I'm feeling more productive, but in others, remarkably less so. It's a strange middle ground and I know that things are not going to get better.. ever, really. So, I need to prioritize, find peace and strength in times where I'm roaring on the inside and unstable on the outside. I need to carve out little niches of time that are for me only.

But enough complaining, as I actually have exciting news that I haven't shared with you yet! My fiber (from my sadly empty Etsy store) made it into the Spring 2009 Spin Off Magazine! How cool is that?

Anyway, in one of my oddly productive ways, I've started making these tiny little batts. They are usually a bit over half an ounce and I think they're fun and really, really cute!

There is Something Alive in My Wall.

For the last three, no, four, days, the kittens have taken to staring at this particular wall. At first, of course, we wrote it off to the kitten crazies. (I can't tell you how often I've walked into the room and Pig has been on his back feet catching nothing between his front paws.) Runt is prone to being overly curious about everything, so staring at the wall, really, just seemed the next in line of her unexplainable hobbies. Then, we started tossing around the idea that perhaps it wasn't CRAZY, but maybe they were having a religious experience? Do kittens have those?

Last night, as J napped on the couch and I, instead of deciding what to knit, poked around on Ravelry, I heard scratching. I look over the "the wall" and Runt has curiously twisted her head, her eyes gazed upwards. Next, we hear a thump. A couple more minutes of listening and I know we've got something...alive. In our walls.

Seeing that it's been there now for four days, I'm pretty certain its end will follow the path of every other animal that's been caught in a wall: look for path outside, scratch at the wall, look for food. What, no food? Death. Decomposition. Unusable room due to death stench for two months.

I sent J on a man mission today to find whatever animal has lodged itself within this wall. I have three cats. Three. I shouldn't have to deal with ANY animal problem. Three cats! What am I feeding them for?

Pig is staking out the wall, now cutting in front of whomever happens to be closest. Runtlet is doing belly dances and flips around the ottoman, pretending like she doesn't care (though she's the watchman). I have three cats and a husband. I shouldn't have burrowing animals in my wall. It's a bit... disturbing.

I just hope it's big and fat and had some reserves before it kicks the bucket.

And because I don't just want to talk about death smells, it seems that my carder and I are on speaking terms again:



Ack! The game has started! I can already hear the helicopter outside!

Spring Fever

See, the thing about spring is that you can have a room full of options and still be indecisive. Should I work on the front panel of the Fair Isle Yoke Sweater? Or start a pair of socks? 13 hours later, and I still haven't made up my mind, so I've done nothing. Great, isn't it?

I did sprain my ankle falling down the front stairs Wednesday morning. No, Q was not involved--I just fell on my own graces. This morning was the first day I've walked without a limp, but it my ankle is feeling better.

I'm also on the hunt for the dress. You know, THE dress. My very amazing husband has even given the okay to spend an ungodly amount of money finding one. We'll see. I looked through a bunch of websites and haven't found it yet. I'd prefer something vintage, knee-length with a nice, summery print. Either blue or green. And it has to be spectacular. I will know it when I see it, but I haven't seen it yet. I did find this beauty at Nordstroms, but I hate that it only comes in navy, so I'm still looking. I'm scoping out the vintage site where I found my wedding dress--if it worked once, it'll work again... right?

March Charity Knitting

A snap of my March charity knitting. I've completed one baby hat and 5 afghan squares. Once all those annoying ends are sewn in, they'll be going to their new home in Durham and then donated to local charities in need. I hope to complete more in April, but with the recent changes afoot here, we'll have to see.

I finally saw a bird in our new bird feeder. The kittens were instantly on the feeder. I imagine their reaction was something similar to the coyote looking at the roadrunner, but seeing only juicy, tender meals. At least it gives them something to do other tha playing Tarzan on the couch.

Impromptu

I think the most amazing part of nuno felting is how something so organic, so freeform can become so beautiful. It's well worth all the rolling and arm aches to see wool and silk mingling to form a solid fiber. This is my newest creation, made with a coworker yesterday afternoon who wanted to learn to do it herself.

Our felting engagement became quickly an impromptu dinner date. Her husband came over and we shared a spur-of-the-moment dinner (isn't that the best kind?) and a bottle of wine, good conversation and I then spent the rest of the evening pulling out different yarn and sharing my passions with someone who shared my fiber-y enthusiasm.



Our new (squirrel-proof, at least according to the box) bird feeder is hanging up outside our living room window. I have yet to see a single bird feed, but J said earlier that there had been several... and that they had caught the eye of two curious kittens.

I start back in the real world this week, my luxuriously long weekends now gone. With the economy the way it is, I am lucky to have a job that wants me to work MORE, not less. I'll need to spend the next couple weeks readjusting my time, my time management and my priorities. It has been, however, a beautiful weekend to end with.

Making Butter

What do you do on a rainy weekend?

Make butter!



Making butter is really easy. I followed some online tutorials , but basically, you start with heavy cream and shake and shake and shake until you end up with butter. Not only did I get two delicious crocks of butter, we've got buttermilk for pancakes tomorrow morning!

In knitting news, I've finally cast on for for the Fair Isle Yoke from Stitch in Time (warning for link-followers--it takes you to Ravelry which you'll need an account for to see the pattern.) I've also got the yarn for Katarina which is part of the Knitmore Girl's podcast's knit-a-long. I'm not typically a joiner, so we'll see how my enthusiasm keeps up.

Other than that, it looks like it's shaping up to be another weekend of house cleaning and laundry. Not much else to do when your 5-day forecast looks like mine.

Congrats!

Congrats to Monique! She was the closest to guessing my stash mileage. Monique, would you be so kind to email me (lapoliknits at gmail dot com) with your address and I'll see that your squishy, beautiful sock yarn hits the mail this week!