Category Archives: Those Cats

Alongs, Contests, KALs, Reading, Those Cats

In which I post about contests, books read, Saturday Sky belated, and yarn dyed (yes, some cute cat pictures are included)

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Limedragon is having not one, but two contests! The first is a Sock Hunt – guess which color of Opal in which pattern Limedragon will knit first and win a skein of Opal Petticoat. The second is a Dragon Hunt – from a selection of pictures, guess which picture contains the elusive Limedragon and win a skein of Habu Silk-Stainless Steel laceweight.

Becky is having a contest – guess what Mark Twain is reading in the picture and let her know what you’re reading to win a bookish prize when she gets back from vacation.

Don’t forget about the Think Pink Challenge, which is trying to collect 1000 knitted or crocheted pink scarves by October 15 to be distributed to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

I’m starting to fear I may never catch up on Bloglines… I’ve been getting things ready for my vacation, hoping that Chaos is recovered before next Saturday so that I can actually go. He’s very lively and is eating Science Diet ID for cats with intestinal, um, issues. Hopefully that will have him on track in a few days… but he’s also licking away the fur at the base of his tail, which is not good. I think we’ll be back at the vet tonight…

Reading Update: Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes. Keyes’ books have focused on the five Walsh sisters, and now it’s Anna’s turn. Very well done chick lit!
Snow Blind by PJ Tracy. This is the fourth mystery about two homicide detectives in the Minneapolis Police Department and the eccentric software geniuses of Monkeewrench. The entire series has been excellent – highly recommended, but you should read these in order. (Monkeewrench was the first book.)
Lime Ricky by Jill Winters. Totally trashy romance with a hint of mystery, and I devoured every minute of it! *fans self*

You may or may not have noticed, but I’m terrible at being part of Saturday Sky – I forget or am too lazy. But I actually remembered this week… I just didn’t manage to post it. Improvement? Or not? Anyway, this was taken Saturday at 4:30 pm from inside my car. The rain was heavy enough that the windshield looked clear.

Remember a few weeks ago when Jeanne, Deb, and I dyed some more yarn? Well, I finally wound up one of my self-striping skeins, made by special request for a friend:

“I don’t know why the big cat said I had to come up here to check out the yarn and report back to him. Hmph.”

Speaking of Chaos and Mayhem, they seem to be getting along pretty well. Here Mayhem nurses from Chaos… Um, yeah, there are some challenges to this endeavor!!

“Maybe she isn’t very bright… At least this way, she stays still so I can clean her properly!”
Contests, Knitting, Those Cats

Finally Friday – whew!

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Ok, I added this contest sort of late yesterday, so it will be a repeat for some of you: Cara is having a haiku contest – leave a haiku containing the word “sock” plus three other special words (listed in her post) in her comments before September 23, 11:59 pm EDT. Six winners will receive sock yarn and one of the coveted orange Chibis!

Duchess is having a ballband dishcloth contest. There are lots of ways to participate! Registration to participate closes September 27.

Julia is having a contest about your experiences knitting for men – part of the prize is Alice Starmore’s Sweaters for Men! Leave her a comment by 5 pm PST, September 25.

The final SRP standings are out! Congrats to Tiffany, who read the most by number of books and by number of pages. I came in third in number of books and fourth in number of pages. Big thanks to Kat for a fun summer contest/program!

Wednesday night, Deb and Jeanne came over to knit and meet Mayhem. Deb is so focused because she’s knitting Eunny’s new sock pattern, Bayerische. You should go over and see the amazing work Deb did on setting up the charts for herself – while having a migraine. Wow.

I’m not sure what Jeanne is focused on. Maybe wishing she was wearing her warm and toasty Lara? Anyway, check out the amazing sock yarn she dyed!

Edit: I was knitting my MagKnits pattern – hence no pictures!

Chaos hung out and kept an eye on all of us… although he seems to be taking a break in this picture.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzz…”

For scale, here’s a picture of Mayhem in the same location:

“Rainy days and Fridays always get me down.”

Following tradition (since between the two of us, we’ve accumulated five kittens in the past three years!), Jeanne brought along a Kitten Warming Present:

“I don’t know May, are you sure pink is your color?”

Jeanne also brought along a Kitten Warming Loan (this toy is good until about nine months and then they lose interest):

“It keeps going round and round and round and… I feel woozy.”
Contests, Randonymity, Those Cats

Of Harlots and vets

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The Yarn Harlot documented her visit to Eau Claire – and she got a much better picture of Jeanne, Deb, and I than the one I posted (we’re holding the sock)!

V is having a contest – she’s collecting 12-18 yard lenghts of DK or lighter weight yarn for a blanket. Everyone who sends yarn will be entered to win a $25 gift certifcate from Little Knits.

Vicki Knitorious is having a constant comment contest – if your comment happens to be her 6000th comment, she will send you a prize.

Cara is having a haiku contest – leave a haiku containing the word “sock” plus 3 other special words (january, one, rock(s), jet, fall, sheep, wool, feet (or foot), knit, yarn, pirate, fest, dude, fantastic, worm) in her comments before September 23, 11:59 pm EDT. Six winners will receive sock yarn and one of the coveted orange Chibis!

Forgive me – I am once again behind in bloglines. Let me know if you have a contest or knitalong starting! I usually get caught up over the weekend… Y’all are just too busy being interesting! I’m still knitting my MagKnits project, tweaking the pattern, and I can’t really blog much about it. Secret knitting makes for boring reading – sorry! So, back to cats. 😉

According to the vet, Choas is stressed, plain and simple. Sigh. He got an antibiotic shot and some tuna flavored liquid antibiotics to take daily for five days to help his messed up insides heal. And he was prescribed a bland diet of tuna and mashed up rice for the next several days. The vet might be on Chaos’ payroll, too, along with some of y’all. Hmph.

The vet also confirmed what I suspected – Chaos needs to lose about 2.5 pounds! Poor guy. Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that May was trying to nurse on Chaos’ jungle pouch. Hmm. Maybe that’s making him stressed?! It would me.

Oh, the vet did float the idea that Chaos might not adapt to Mayhem enough and that maybe he would be best as a single kitty…. 🙁 But Chaos is washing her, which I think is promising. I think that I might have made things worse by moving his food to the top of the fridge to keep May out of it – I think that really confused and trauamatized him. I’m not giving up hope yet, but I am starting to worry about taking a vacation with things this unsettled here at home.

I really want to thank all of you – you’ve been so helpful and reassuring while I’ve been angsting about this. Your support has been wonderful and much appreciated. You guys rock!!

So, I ask y’all – does this look like a stressed cat?!

“Cleanliness is very important, Mayhem. It will give you a big strong tongue like me.”

“Why do you resist so when I hold you down to wash you?!”

“She’s kinda cute when she’s sleeping, isn’t she?”
KALs, Randonymity, Those Cats

WTF Wednesday – the Hat Edition

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Ok, I’ve been reading about SocktoberFest everywhere and was thinking to myself, “Heh, last thing I need right now is another along to not complete!” But it turns out that SocktoberFest is another of Lolly’s wonderfully no-pressure alongs – simply knit socks in October. That’s it. No tricks. No gimmicks. Well, I can manage that – I always have a pair of socks in my purse. So I’m in!

It’s 39F here right now – brrrrr!!

Hopefully I’ll be taking Chaos to the vet in a little bit – let’s just say that his digestion has been, um, messy, for the past day and I’m a bit worried. So, to distract all of us, I present the Hat Edition of WTF Wednesday.

Of course, even if he’s not feeling up to snuff, Chaos had to get in on the photo action (butt on left) – so did May (paws on bottom).

But I’d hate for y’all to miss out on a good picture of those hats, so here they are again in all-too-vivid color:

Apologies in advance for any nightmares you might have as a result of that picture… In this next picture, do you think she’s saluting? Or about to cover her eyes to escape the horror? (Or is she a he??)

This picture reminds me of something or someone, but I’m drawing a blank. Twiggy maybe?

Crocheted bobbles in lovely 1970s colors, anyone?!

Alas, I don’t think these pictures cheered Chaos up.

“Is it time to go to the vet yet, Mom?”

Even Mayhem looks concerned…

“He’s going to be ok, right Mom? I know he’s kind of crabby, but he’s fun to tease!”
Contests, KALs, Randonymity, Those Cats

The contest edition

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Whew! Brace yourselves…

Craftlilly Jennifer has a nice list of KALs and contests for you to check out.

Keohinani is having a model your socks contest. Deadline is September 30, 12 pm, Hawaii Standard Time.

Celtic Kelly and her husband Moose will be Walking for the Cure on October 1. She’s awarding a prize (probably Fleece Artist) to a random sponsor for this good cause!

MrsPao is having a “What flavour crisps does James Bond eat?” contest to help her husband Pao make it to Google’s number one hit for that topic. A winner will be selected randomly after 9 pm GMT, October 31 – knitters can win some lovely Fyberspates sock yarn or non-knitters will receive other non-yarny goodies. (Hee hee, I just participated by posting that link! Woot woot.)

Teyani is having a “guess how many skeins of fiber she’s dyed since the beginning of the year” contest. The winner will get to pick a skein of Chasing Rainbows Superwash Sock Yarn; contest runs through September 24.

Andi is having a contest – she’s giving away a goodie bag to the first commenter to guess Baby K’s name.

Geraldine is having a caption contest and is giving away copies of her vegetarian cookbook. The deadline is September 30.

Check out Zimmermania – a knitalong that starts September 23 and features the patterns of Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Have I mentioned how impressed I am at the amazing breadth of contests and knitalongs y’all come up with?! Very cool. Keep on sending them in to chris at stumbli……

To finish off my crazy busy week last week (well, crazy busy for me at least), I went to see Greg Brown at the Fitzgerald Theater Friday night with my friend Wendy. Somehow Wendy scored amazing seats – 5th row, main floor center. Damn. I think the last time I saw Greg Brown at the Fitz, we were second balcony, obstructed (a genteel way to say the seats were behind a massive damn pillar!). This show was way heavier on the blues and less folksey than I’ve experienced at a Greg Brown show before. Good show, but I think both Wendy and I were ready for some more up tempo music that never arrived. Probably my favorite part was Greg’s second song of the evening, a no holds barred political song that had everyone laughing and cheering.

I spent the rest of the weekend lounging around, reading, not cleaning, drinking mochas, knitting up my pattern that will be in the December MagKnits (I need to finish tweaking and take a few pictures), and just generally recuperating from last week. I need to start getting things together for my Knitblogger’s Tour of the West – can’t believe I leave on the 30th already! Oh yeah, I stubbed the #$*^&!! out of my left pinkie toe on Saturday. I’ve never had a stubbed toe turn such amazing colors in such a short time…

Ok, ok, I know you’re all actually just here for the cute cat pictures! 😉

Mayhem is about as sweet and wispy as she can possibly be – to give you an idea, those little pokey hipbones there? About 1.25-1.5″ across! Awww…

*purr*

She and Chaos had a pretty rough weekend… Although poor Chaos is on a diet – he snuck a pound or two on while I wasn’t looking these past few months!

“Ha! I have the best spot! That big kitty is out in the cold!”

May also practiced her posing – the pressure of being a knitblogger’s cat!

“Because, really, aren’t I the cutest of them all?”
Contests, Reading, Those Cats, Tunes

“When the villagers come to my door, I will hide underneath the table in the dining room.”

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Reading update: Slow week reading here! Dead Wrong by J.A. Jance. In the latest Sheriff Joanna Brady mystery (Arizona), she’s coping with a staff shortage, murder, and being 9.5 months pregnant.

Last night I went to the Triple Rock Social Club to see one of my very favorite bands, the Mountain Goats. (This post’s cryptic title is from their song “If You See Light.”) It was very, very traumatic for me, staying up that late and being out and about! Fortunately, I had good parking “carma” and then snagged a prime spot to watch the show when I got inside. They basically played their new album Get Lonely in order, with a few detours (Heart’s “Barracuda” was the best!), then played some of their older stuff. (And Leah, the new stuff was mostly excellent live – it had a lot more zing than on the cd.) It was a great show, especially considering it was the first stop of their tour! But damn, did I feel old – I was probably one of the 10 oldest people there… This was the first time I’ve been to a show at a bar since the Minneapolis smoking ban went into effect last year – I know it’s been controversial, but it was amazing to not need a shower after a show and also not to wake up with a “hangover” from second-hand smoke.

Largehearted Boy is having a Get Lonely contest! Could the timing be more perfect?! 🙂

Time for a decent picture of Mayhem – she’s purring and making happy paws because I’m looking at her, the sweetie. She definitely has the stealth tabby thing going, as well as maybe being a “smoke” (check out section 2 in that link). Her eyes are actually a sort of gold amber, not the green that they’ve appeared in photos.

*rumbling*

I think Chaos and May are playing now. I’m hoping that’s what it is! Either that, or she’s running for her life much of the time. I caught Chaos giving her a bath this morning. Awwwww… (No, there isn’t a picture – it was 5:30 am…)

“Ha ha! I got Mom’s spot and that big kitty isn’t anywhere around!”

“But why am I feeling so nervous? It’s as if someone’s watching me…

Contests, Knitting, Randonymity, Those Cats

SoC staff not responsible for any kittens procured as a result of this blog

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Kate is having an amusing contest: the Look Back and Cringe Contest. On your own blog, explain to her why you don’t want 80s fashions to come back. Leave Kate a comment with a link to your post anytime through September 24th.

Kate, I don’t need to tell you – I can show you. Just say no to big hair that took forever to achieve, high-waisted pleated jeans (Zena, anyone?), stirrup pants (fortunately, I was too tall to wear those successfully), knee-grazing tunics, shoulder pads (I already have a linebacker build, thank you!), and all that. Been there, done that, not going there again! 🙂

Thanks to everyone who’s been sending me contest and swap information! Keep it coming – send an email to chris at this domain.

Knitting update: Yup, I still knit. But gosh, it’s a bit challenging to knit with a kitten around – I’d forgotten about that! I’m about to bind off my first Regia Silk sock and I’m still plodding along on the border of my moderne log cabin baby blanket. Ummmm… Oh! Did I mention that I entered some socks in the Minnesota State Fair? Jeanne talked me into it and really, how could I refuse when she was willing to drop them off and pick them up from the Fair?! (Thank you, Jeanne!) I entered my Chaotic Black Lagoon socks (toe-up, using Maeve’s Cherry Blossom Lace pattern and Sundara Black Lagoon yarn). I got full marks for general appearance, color, design, condition (even though I ran out of time to block), and materials used, but only 35.5/40 for workmanship. Here’s what the judge had to say: “Beautiful Knitting – This was an extrememly competitive lot this year. Watch out for twisted stitches during grafting.” Interesting, since these were toe-up, no grafting required – but obviously I need to switch to the Turkish cast-on, as mine is leaving a row of twisted stitches.

Tink and I are doing a mix cd exchange and Tink is way ahead of me (I’m still working on the mix). Along with the cds, she included some lovely little shells from Florida. Thanks, Tink! Chaos was intrigued by the shells.

“Mmmm… oceany…”

Big thanks to everyone who’s provided info and handholding during the cat acclimation process!! Here’s another picture of May and the catnip mouse:

*kick kick kick kick kick bite bite bite bite bite*

But eventually… the mouse flew from her grasp.

“Oh oh…”

And though she be but little, she is fierce. – William Shakespeare

“Take that, big kitty! I’m not afraid of you!!” – M
“Good grief!” – C

Contests, Randonymity, Those Cats

Wandering through WTF Wednesday

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Cherry Tree Hill Yarn is having a contest to create designs for their solid sock yarns. Socks must be received by Thanksgiving.

I’m clueless about this tv show (you know me and the “doesn’t watch television” thing), but there’s a Grey’s Anatomy knitalong starting if you’re interested.

Ok, for WTF Wednesday, from the misguided advertising campaign files… Is coffee the first thing you think of when you see this sign?!

Me either.

I swapped some yarn with Danielle for one of her very cool little jars – imagine my surprise when I opened the package to discover not just the jar, but other goodies, too! Danielle included a ball of Peaches’n’Cream cotton from the MDK bag o’ yarn she received (bib or dishcloth with this yarn from the source of all such cottony madness?!), as well as some tasty chocolate, a cute card, lovely stitchmarkers that she made (they’re in the jar), and a package for Chaos. Thanks, Danielle!

When I presented the package to Chaos, he got busy.

“I’m sure this would be easier with opposable thumbs.”
<
“Probably much easier…” *mmph*

But with some assistance, he eventually persevered.

“Neener, neener, May, I got catnip mice!”

And so of course May got right up there and took one, because all the mice are all for her now…

*fight fight fight bite bite bite*
Festing, Reading, Those Cats

In the company of knitbloggers

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Special thanks to Mouse for my newly modified sidebar avatar!

Scout’s launching a new sock (and more) club – read all about Scout’s Indie Swag Club, which is going to have a very limited number of members to start with. You can sign up Wednesday, September 13, 9 pm EST. Anyone want to take bets that all the memberships will be filled by 9:10 pm?!

Celtic Kelly is starting a Fall Equinox to Winter Solstice knitalong involving tweedy yarn – check it out!

Reading
Men and Other Mammals by Jim Keeble. Interesting twist on British chick lit – would you call it “lad lit”?! Not a life changing book, but I did read the whole thing at least. (Why, yes, I am utterly lukewarm on this book!)
Cue the Easter Bunny by Liz Evans. I think this is probably the most recent book about British PI Grace Evans. I much enjoyed this and wish the first book from the series would hurry up and get here!
Dating Dead Men and Dating Is Murder by Harley Jane Kozak. The only two books (so far) featuring LA greeting card writer Wollie Shelley. I am eagerly awaiting another book! Bless the serendipitous browse through the actual physical library – I usually come across some great stuff.

Ok, back to the Harlotation on Sunday in Eau Claire. We saw many more folks than I’m going to remember – so please forgive me and leave details in the comments! Vicki Knitorious (with Deb of Wound Too Tight here),

Jeanne of k3tog (really, she isn’t always so serious – trust me, and check out the cool striping yarn she dyed),

CursingMama and Mr Motorcycle (so brave to come along),

Beadslut (ohmigod, she has a decent picture of me!), KnittyMama and KnittyBaby, Catherine of Yogurt and Granola, Jess of Mikknit, kmkat,

Christy of Purling Away, Stephania of Moraie Knitting, Kelle of Knits and Giggles, and many, many more…

And now for something completely different, I thought I would try to illustrate the size difference between Chaos and Mayhem… Note that her collar hangs loosely on her neck… and that her tail is the same length as Chaos’ tail. Poor stubby-tailed Chaos!

*crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch*
Alongs, Contests, Those Cats

S is for…

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Hold that thought! 🙂

MrsPao is having a contest for her first blogiversary! Come up with a mnemonic for her cats’ names (Jasper, Ariel, Merlin, Perdita, Ophelia, Phoebe) by 9 pm GMT on Tuesday, September 12.

Jeanne is having a contest – guess the number of socks in her sock pile before midnight, September 15, CDT.

Ok, so where were we? Oh yeah… S is for Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

Yesterday, Deb, Jeanne, and I (along with many other Twin Cities knitters) journeyed east to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to see Yarn Harlot Stephanie.

First, we met a lot of great knitters and knitbloggers – more on that later this week. Then we walked to the Temple of Free Masonry to hear Stephanie speak.

She was, of course, terrifically funny. She showed off her Olympic sweater (the heap by her feet in this picture, as I was too slow with the camera) and her Icarus shawl:

Then Stephanie signed copies of her books at Yellow Dog Knitting (we provided the Leinenkugel Honey Weiss – thanks for the tip, Louise!):

And graciously posed for a picture with us (pretend I’m not in this picture, because it is a horrific picture of me! What the hell am I doing back there?! My simple photoediting program didn’t have a red X or dot to put over me – drat.):

Curious about Chaos and Mayhem? Chaos likes to keep a close eye on May, whatever she might be doing…

“What are you doing in there?!”

Um, yeah, two guesses, Chaos…

I’d like to say that May is unconcerned about Chaos, but she keeps a wary eye out, since he’s been trying to beat the crap out of her. She is safely shut in the bathroom when I’m not around to supervise! (It’s funny how sleek she looks in pictures, because she’s still got some kitten fluff and is amazingly gangly.)

“Man, that big cat is crabby! I wonder where he is right now…”