Luscious Fibers, Food and Life

August Buttons

 

I got my August buttons yesterday. This month's theme is a sailing. For those of you that may not know, I'm in a button club and once a month I receive a fun treat in the mail - three creatively designed little buttons.  I think I've been a member since it started, over a year ago, so I have a nice collection of buttons.  Check out Thimble's button club here.

In other news, a friendship between Kuba and kitten (I know, I know we're working on a name) is starting to bud.

Getting Comfortable

So it seems the kitten (still no name) is getting more comfortable in his new home.  He slept with us all night, right between us actually.  Of course this made me nervous because Grant is such a sound sleeper that I worried Grant would rollover, squish the kitten and not know any different. I tried moving the kitten to a different, safer spot a number of times but he always returned to the cozy space between us.

Kuba and the kitten's relationship is getting better.  We did the whole separation thing and we've moved past Kuba's insane growling and hissing at the sight of the kitten.  Now Kuba seems to be having internal conflict of whether to love or hate the kitten.  Kuba watches him intently. He watches him foolishly jump around and play and I can tell Kuba wants to play and be silly too.  So Kuba runs at the kitten to play, the kitten jumps and then Kuba hisses him. This cycle occurs repeatedly, mixed with displays of showing that Kuba's the bigger cat, mixed with cries of wanting the kitten to come play with him.  I can tell it's a bit of a roller coaster for Kuba (and the kitten too) but I'm hopeful they'll come through at buddies.

Why is Kuba so interested in the bathroom?

Do you seem him intensely staring at the door of the bathroom?  Perhaps it's because this is what's on the other side...

Today Grant and I picked up the newest edition to our family.  He is 8 weeks old and appears to be healthy.  His first visit to the vet went well.  We had no idea what he looked like, but we love that he's gray. I think we're partial to that color.  We got him from a co-worker of a friend of ours. He's a farm kitty, so we hope he'll be hearty and strong.

He doesn't have a name yet because we thought we should get to know him first.  We're taking suggestions if you have them.

You can see more pictures of him at flickr.  More new kitten stories to come, I'm sure.

Under Cover

 

I had to post this pic for my brother James, one of Kuba's admirers, and for my niece Sarah, who appreciates all my kitty stories and pictures.  Kuba has shown special interest in hiding under the covers lately.  Living in a new and strange home, I think he finds comfort being hidden in a warm and cozy place.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure Grant appreciates the fuzziness Kuba leaves behind. However, as you can see, the Kuba still gets his way.

A Twisted Topper

So I started knitting the twisted top child's hat with the super socks & baby  yarn by Tess. After a couple false starts, the hat is knitting up nicely.  The yarn is dreamy and so soft. I think it will be perfect for the little boy I'm knitting it for...not too hot, not scratchy and machine washable - yeah!

In other news...I'm still quite ecstatic about the shift in the house and I'm hopeful about the senate. I'm happy that Santorum and Rumsfeld are on their way out. Things are looking up...

Grant left today for the Harm Reduction Conference in California.  I'm sure he'll have a busy, but great time. I'm happy that he's working in a job that he feels so passionate about.  For the next few days Kuba and I will be enjoying some quiet bonding time.  Speaking of Kuba, while I was having some tea, he was having a little snack too.

Thankfully I was done with the milk and there wasn't much left in the pitcher.  Ok, well I'm off to bed. More tomorrow...

A life lost

As many of you know, my cat Oliver has been dealing with end-stage cardiomyopathy for the past few months. Diagnosed as a kitten, he was given 3-5 years to live and I was so happy when he made it to year 5. I was hopeful he'd continue to beat the odds. Going into year 6, his disease progressed dramatically and the last few months have been difficult.  However, even through the past few months, Oliver was a happy and loving cat.  Lots of lap resting, a little knitting needle playing and I always got nose kisses at least twice a day after I gave him medications. He's been taking medication all his life, so he was pretty good about taking them, but even I was surprised to receive kisses each time.

He was a wonderful pet and companion, and he loved everyone he met. Thank you for your support over the past fews months and in the days to come.  You're a caring community, which I appreciate dearly. I'll be back soon...

More photos of Oliver are on my flickr kitty set.

funny kitty pics

Doesn't that just make you smile?  I was going through iphoto recently and found a number of kitty pics that made me laugh or I just liked.  Maybe they'll bring you a Friday chuckle...

1. say aaahhhh, 2. oliver, 3. smile pretty

There are a few more on my flickr. Have a good weekend!

weekend roundup

Ok, so let's get up to date...

Around 3am Friday morning some noise under my bed woke me up. I looked under there to find Oliver, clearly looking freaked out.  It was obvious to me that he wasn't feeling well and was frightened. His pupils were dilated and he wouldn't come out from under the bed. I wondered if he and Kuba had been fighting and he had gotten is hiney kicked. Eventually I coaxed with out with his carrier (he loves getting inside the carrier), checked him out and didn't see any wounds or blood and decided it was his heart so we headed to the animal hospital. It turns out that he had fluid in his lungs (due to being in end stage cardiac failure) and he was having trouble breathing. Oliver stayed in the hospital, hanging out in an oxygen tent, until Saturday when he was breathing much easier. They up his diuretic to take care of the extra fluid from his heart and hopefully he will maintain good breathing. The pink bandage is from his IV. He slept most of the weekend and appeared to be feeling better.

On Saturday I hung around the house with Oliver and did some knitting. I got further on my sock. You can see I finished the heel flap and turned the heel. Now onto the tough part...the gusset. On Saturday I received a package from my one skein pal. It was a beautiful skein of mohair/wool in a colorway named sun-baked earth. Isn’t that a fabulous name? Perfect for me! She also sent a lovely over-sized postcard and for a sock key chain. What a great way to use all those bits of sock yarn.

Lastly, on Sunday Grant wanted to go to the bike store so I went to the knitting store which is right down the street.  I picked up some Rowan Cotton Rope (on sale!)and the book Rowan Cotton Rope Collection because I fell in love with the hat on the front cover (Tishka Hat). I'm knitting the hat in blue with a mint trim (see below) for a friend, but I also got some yarn to make one for myself in colors that will hopefully match my clapotis which is also knit in cotton.

That should bring you up to day or at least to Monday :)

Catching Up

It's been a while and sadly not too much has been going on. I've finished a few projects and will post that information next, but first I'll start by introducing my new kitten, Kuba. Yes, Oliver has a new friend and they seem to be getting along nicely as you can see in the photos. Hopefully the newness won't wear off and the two will remain buddies.