Attitude is everything

So, it's been awhile... about three months if anyone is counting.  Probably not, but a girl can dream right? :-)  Basically I've spent all this time not blogging... just living.  Since I last wrote a post I have had to make some big changes in my life, specifically with my diet and exercise.  At first I really wasn't happy with these changes.  I didn't think things were fair; Why should I have to work so hard to be healthy when it seems like most everyone else has it easy?  Bad attitude?  Um, that would be a resounding YES!

My husband and I also lost our kitty just a few weeks ago.  Molly was the first pet we had together and she truly was part of our family.  Losing her was so horrible... and I think it is really only within the past week or so that I have been able to be at home and not feel like something very important was missing.  It's amazing just how integral to your life a 17 year old cat that yells at you for food can be.  It's been a pretty rough few months around here...  and I have had a whole lot to think about.

With so much on my mind, there wasn't a lot of time for knitting or spinning or anything really.  I don't think I touched a project for at least a month if not two.  I just couldn't settle down enough to enjoy the process.  I did do a fair bit of reading during my blog hiatus.  Maybe that was because it would occupy my mind so I didn't have to think about the serious stuff that was going on.  I read The Hunger Games, The Help and a whole bunch of other less serious books on my Kindle.   It was really nice to get back to reading for awhile.  In middle and high school, my nose was constantly in a book and quite honestly I really miss having all that free time to read.  Nowadays I seem to read voraciously for a few weeks and then switch to some other form of entertainment for much longer periods of time.  I think that's because when I'm knitting, spinning or weaving I can talk with people or watch tv and still keep my hands busy.

I find more and more that I can't just sit and watch tv, I need to have a project to work on.  At parties I almost always bring a simple project to work on so that I can chat with people and not be completely immobile.  It's funny that I used to get so annoyed at my mom for not being able to sit still and watch a tv show without getting up 5 million times to fold laundry or organize something while she was watching.  Apparently it just took until my 30's for that particular genetic foible to kick in...

With that I have been able to get into crafting of all kinds again in the past month.  I finished up a sock yarn shawl which I still need to block and take final pictures of and have started another small project for a friend of mine.  I also took an advanced weaving class and learned about using a pick up stick to make warp and weft floats in my weaving.  It's a neat technique especially because no matter what, the two sides of your woven project are always different.  I'm hoping to weave and spin much more this summer when the heat makes me not want to drape anything knitted on my lap.  I also have a afghan I am slowly crocheting.  That would be a very good summer project as well since the blocks are only 12" by 12". 

To go back to where this post started: In reflecting on everything that's happened in my life recently... I think I've grown a little wiser.  Admittedly, it's hard to change your mindset from feeling like a victim to realizing you are really blessed.  It's even more difficult to understand that the struggles you have been handed in life can mold and change you into a different and better person.  But, I have had wonderful people surrounding me and praying for me through all of this and my attitude has truly made a 180.

So, if you need the cliff notes version, this blog post is a very, very long way for me to tell you: 

Life is good and I am back on track!

Ten on Tuesday: Ten Things I Love About My Family

The Molliwog

I know this is about family, but I do have some very close friends (and animals) who I consider to be family in addition to those both biologically related or via marriage. You know who you are :-)

1) They are always there for me... whether I'm happy, sad, or indifferent. 

2) They love unconditionally despite my (many) shortcomings.

3) They put up with me constantly talking about whatever knitting, crocheting, stamping or other random project I'm working on.

4) They are extremely generous with their time.

5) They are willing to tell me things I don't want to hear, but need to hear anyway.

6) They are ready to give me an opinion and advice whenever I ask for it, or they think I need it.

7) They are excellent at encouragement and suppport me in whatever new thing I want to try.

8) They make me stop and think, not just go through my life in my own bubble, focused on my own issues and wants.

9) They hold me accountable for my actions.

10) And last but not least... they are all wonderful, hilarious, loving people and I am very blessed to have them in my life!

A Very Happy Birthday Card for Mr. Harley Kitten Shurkus

In honor of her very cute kitty's 3rd birthday, my favorite crafting instructor, Jenn Shurkus, is hosting a raffle on her blog.  In order to enter we needed to make a birthday card just for Mr. Harley and send it to her.  I'm coming in just under the wire and submitting it just after midnight on April 13th rather than on Mr. Harley's birthday, but I think he'll forgive me.  I had a pretty long day and he is a very sweet guy.  

Materials I used to make this card:

• Stampendous - Kitty Silhouettes clear stamp set
• a muse - Happy Everything clear stamp set
• Ichiyo- Cat with long tail stamp (not the real name, couldn't find it online)
• a muse square note cards (unavailable)
• Shake it Up - mini mat stack papers
• Memento Ink - Tuxedo Black
• Dew Drop Versamagic Ink - Pretty Petunia
• Spica Glitter Pen in Olive
• a muse olive ribbon
• foam tape
• mono adhesive
• patience of a saint

So, while this wasn't what I had planned to do originally, it came out nice and I am happy.  I need to exercise my paper crafting and stamping juices more often... this card took me way to long to finally figure out.  Oh well, hopefully more stampy goodness to come in the future!

 I hope you had a wonderful birthday Harley!!

Edited for spelling and grammar issues.  Apparently, one shouldn't blog tired ;-)

$2.00 Worth of Endless Entertainment and other Farmer's Market Adventures

I never would have thought that picking up a little can of cat grass at the Farmer's Market at Longfellow's Wayside Inn last weekend would provide my husband and I with so much entertainment...  As you can see, Molly REALLY likes her cat grass!  Actually, she gets so into eating it that she picks the whole container up, noms for a bit and then drops it on the floor.  This of course leaves a lovely little pile of dirt for me to clean up and that's kind of hard to do when you are giggling :-)

So, I bought this cute little plant from a couple of tweens who were selling inexpensive pet treats at their little stand at the farmers market.  Their set up was so cute I had to take a picture of it (see below).  While the market was fairly small I was ok with that since I didn't have a lot of time to wander.

Here are a few pictures of the the stands I visited while I was at the market.

The Wayside Inn had a table featuring lots of homemade baked items.  I picked up some blueberry scones, a single serving apple pie (which was way more than one serving) and some corn rolls which were made with corm meal that was ground at the inn's Grist Mill just a little down the road.  The Grist Mill has been in operation since 1929 and is a beautiful place to take pictures.  People commonly get wedding photos taken there if they get married at the Martha Mary Chapel across the street.  Click here to see an online tour of historic Sudbury.  You can even print out the tour and follow it by "foot, horse, or coach." :-)

My day would not be complete with out seeing some baby alpaca. Soooo cute!  Plus they are from a very local farm called Twillingate where is the future I could arrange to purchase a whole alpaca blanket (fleece) to process and spin.  So much potential!

I got a nice handmade memo basket for my dad for father's day from the people at this stand.  I filled it up with a bunch of locally grown veggies, a sampling of the herbs from our garden and other various items I bought at the farmer's market. 

I think the best find of the day was this HUGE cherry tomato plant I got from a farmer based in Bolton.  It was only $16 which is think is a steal!  What was great was that there were already little red tomatoes all over it that were ready to be picked so we could enjoy them right away.  Since putting it out in our garden the plant has produced a bunch more, so I'm really happy.

Well, that's about it.  I would highly recommend checking out the Wayside Inn Farmer's Market if you are local.  The market is running every Saturday this summer from 10am-2:30pm through October 2nd.  I definately plan on going back every few weeks to see what is new and get some more of those delicious corn rolls. 

Since it isn't so big you may want to plan to do some other things in the area as well such walking the Tour of Historic Sudbury I mentioned above, walking the Garden in the Woods in Framingham, or rent a kayak or canoe and navigate the Concord River from the South Bridge Boat House in Concord.  There are lots of things to do in the area, so you can really make a day of the trip if you are coming from far away and do a little bit of planning.

You too can experience the joy of bathing your cat!

Our poor kitty was so hot today that she chose to sleep next to her cat bed :-(  So, to help cool her off, I gave her a bath.  I'm not sure if she appreciated it or not.  You be the judge.

10 on Tuesday - Ten Places That Make Me Happy

1. On the island in Maine
2. On the sailboat at the Cape
3. At knit night
4. Taking a nap with my kitty (anywhere)
5. Kayaking down the Concord river
6. Rocking in our rocking chair on the patio
7. In a hammock
8. Anywhere with live choral music
9. Driving down the highway with the windows open and radio blaring on that "perfect" day
10. Anywhere with my hubbie

She's a Helper!

So, Molly really wanted to help me spin up my roving tonight.  She wouldn't leave me alone, especially when I want to take pictures of the whole process.  No, she insisted on making her presence known and documented.  You can see a finished picture of my first completed hank of handspun on my photoblog by clicking here.

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Little Things That Make My Day

So, there's no Ten on Tuesday subject this week and I kind of missed last week's entirely... so I thought I would do my own in an effort to pick up the blogging pace.  Here are 10 Little Things Can That Make My Day:

1) Starting a new project - Whether it be knitting, crocheting, stamping or whatever.  There is just something exciting about starting something new.

2) An attentive purring cat - Molly is NOT a lap cat, so whenever she chooses to lavish attention on me, it's a good day.

3) A beautiful sunrise/sunset - I don't know what it is, but whenever I see a particularly pretty sunrise or sunset, it seems to alter my mood for the better.

4) A surprise visit from the iced coffee fairy - You know who you are and I am always grateful.

5) Comments left on my blogs - Hint, hint... :D

6) When that awesome smell in the hallway when I come home is actually coming from our apartment - I am so fortunate I have a hubbie who can cook and is not afraid to try new things in the kitchen.  Brian's Peanut Chicken and Heavy Kodo Stew from the MMO Cookbook are my favorites.

7) Checking things off of my to do list - Sad I know, but I get a thrill when everything is done.

8) Getting a new achievement in World of Warcraft - Yes, this is a bit specific, but when you haven't played in a few weeks and then your computer croaks, you realize just how happy you got about silly things like these.

9) Chocolate - Enough said.

10) Having someone favorite one of my projects on Ravelry - It's a nice little pat on the back, usually from a complete stranger, but it's nice to see that people like my work.

Ladies and Gentlemen... I am READY for Christmas!

All cookies have been baked, all knitting projects finished, all presents wrapped, now time to relax and enjoy Christmas.  Here are some pictures to help put you in the Christmas spirit.

Our tree, finally with some presents under it.

Pretty pretty bows and paper.

A fine example of the cat humoring me.  I'm amazed I made it out of that one with my skin intact.

I am Meowcutus of Borg.  You will be assimilated.  Resistance is futile. 

What's this white stuff?

I happened to snap this really neat picture of Molly checking out the newly fallen snow this morning.  She really likes our new bed and spends much more time in it then she did in the old one.  Due to its height it offers a perfect vantage point to checking out the goings on in the playground.  So, I can't say as I blame her.  From what I'm hearing we probably got the least amount of snow in the area at about 4-5 inches.   Surprise, our parking lot still isn't cleared over 12 hours after the storm stopped. 

10 Things I Am Thankful For

This is such a great 10 on Tuesday. For most of November I kept on seeing people on Facebook and Twitter talking about all the things they are thankful for. While I know I could do at least one status update a day with something or someone I am thankful for, I just didn't seem to find the time to actually do it. So, I guess this week's 10 on Tuesday is my opportunity. There have been so many awesome things for me to be thankful in the past year. Here is just a small list of them:

1) All the wonderful people who are part of my life - I can't even begin to list all of the people who are dear to me, so I'm not going to try.  Some people I see everyday, some less than once a year.  I am so blessed to have such caring friends and family, thank you all for being there for me.

2) Warm, purring cats - To me a house without a cat isn't a home.  I have had a kitty in my life since I can remember and for 4 years we did without, which was very difficult for me. Whether I'm reading in bed with our Molliwog rubbing her face against the pages of my book or having Winks purr like a madman when I stop by to feed him when Brian's folks are away... these cats just mean the world to me. 

3) The smell of a good campfire - I'll admit, I'm a sucker for certain smells and the scent of wood burning is one of them.  Good thing I married and Eagle Scout and I was a Cadet in Girl Scouts.  Between the two of us, if we need one, a good campfire is an easy undertaking.

4) The taste of freshly baked bread - To quote a co-worker of mine, "I never met a carbohydrate I didn't like," and since I'm home on vacation and have some spare time this week, I've been cooking a lot.  Today I made spice bread and it is just so good hot with a little pat of butter.  I love my bread machine; now I just have to remember how it works.

5) My hobbies - They might sound distinctly unimportant in the scheme of things, but knitting, paper crafting, photography, blogging and computer games really make a big difference in my life.  They de-stress me while forcing me to be creative and laugh at myself.  There is also the added bonus that they are all social in some way.  I play World of Warcraft with several of my friends, so that gives me a chance to spend some time with them during the week when I normally couldn't see them.  Almost all of my paper crafting projects happen when I'm in a class of mostly familiar faces and my knitting introduces me to all sorts of small businesses and other knitters as I look around for some beautiful new yarn I have yet to discover.

6) The exquisitely soft feel of Malabrigo - Ok, forgive me, I'm going to step into my yarn geek persona.  If you told me a year ago that I was going to absolutely drool over certain types of yarns... I would have thought you were crazy.  However, a tactile obsession has befallen me sometime since I started knitting in earnest.  I. Love. Soft. Yarn.  All I do when I go to a fiber store is touch things.  I can honestly say I have picked up a gorgeously dyed skein to put it in my basket, only to put it down when I notice it's just not soft enough for me to knit with.  So sad.... but, at this point I know my weakness.  To me the perfect illustration of what is soft (yarnwise) is how Malabrigo Worsted feels.

7) The generosity of others - It always blows me a away how generous people can be.  Just this week one of my friends' parents gave us a beautiful four poster queen sized bed.  They were moving and didn't need it so they generously said we could have it.  Now, my husband and I have been married for over six years now and for those six years have been sleeping in a full sized bed.  Our old bed was great, don't get me wrong, it was just a little tough to establish peace where covers were concerned....  Another example is how quickly Brian and I found ourselves with new queen sized sheet sets and a comforter after mentioning our new bed's imminent arrival.  I mean really, we didn't even have time to go out any buy any for ourselves!   

8) Music - I don't think I can say how much am am thankful for music and do it any kind of justice.  It has played such a large part in my life for so many years that I don't know how to begin.  I have yet to find a musical genre I don't like at least in some way.  From classically written movie scores to musicals and Metallica, I really enjoy a wide range as both a listener and performer.  Music is just the perfect way to express all kinds of emotions that are hard to convey by words alone.

9) All the beauty that surrounds me - Spring flowers, blazing sunsets and birds calling in the early hours of the morning; the sound of children playing on the playground outside our window.  These are just a few of those tiny things that bring a smile to my face everyday that people often overlook.  Even I forget to take time out for them on a busy day, but when I have a change to slow down and relax, they creep back into view.

10) My wonderful husband -  I couldn't leave him out now could I?  Love you honey!

kittenz!!!!

Aren't they sooo cute!!!! B and I have been feeding these little monsters for the past week or so and they are adorable! Now, I know I can't have one and all seeing as we are allotted one kitty per our apt. complex's rules (stoopid rulez), but that doesn't mean I can't love them anyway.
















We (or really I) have named two of them. One has an eye that likes to close a lot, so both B and I agreed on "Winky" for that one. I thought "Smudge" would be an excellent name for the one with a very pronounced smudge of white on his/her nose.
















As for the other two, I haven't come up with anything yet. One is mostly white with blacks spots and he is very curious and likes to stalk us in the nearby foliage. The last one is mostly black with a tiny little bit of while on his nose and he is very skittish. We really only see him when we've put out food and backed far away, whereas the other three come out and hang around with us when we are quite close.
















So, anyway, these guys are being very well cared for by Brian's folks and for last week, us. It seems like a pretty good life for four kitties without their momma.

It's nice to see that so much gets done around here when I'm out...

our new napkin holder

Isn't she such a helper? The whole couch was free... and she made a bee line for the napkins. Figures!

It's been a pretty relaxing weekend. Yesterday I turned the heel on my first sock and it actually looks pretty good. I was really happy about it because I was able to follow the directions and it came out fine. I was worried I would have to go to the store to get help after getting stuck. I'm currently working on the decrease of the gusset and soon will be back to the easy knitting of the foot section.

In between knitting sessions and general housework I had a play date with my friend's son last night and we went grocery shopping for our little bbq for a handful of friends we are having over tomorrow. That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll remember to take some pics tomorrow when folks are over. I wish everyone a wonderful Memorial Day!

you know your kitty isn't feeling quite right when....

she looks like this.... poor baby!!!!! She looks like she just woke up and needs her coffee. I couldn't help myself. She was just too cute not to take a picture of when sitting on my desk. She ended up having a not happy belly later on in the day... :-(

our little helper

Recently I have started putting Molly up on the desk when I get home from work becuase she generally hovers around my chair and meows at me as I am going through my usual "I just got home from work" ritual. Within the past week or so, I thought, " why not have her up here on the desk where I can pet her more easily?" I can check my email, look for new patterns, log a little Wow time.... how can this be bad?

Well, today she apparently decided that I needed help playing WoW and jumped right up on my chair and the desk while I was over talking with Brian on a mini gaming break. It was so weird... Strange cat, but we love her soI guess it works out ok in the end ;-D

Molly the infuriated

so.... you want to know what you cat looks like after her first bath by your hand? Well, I have a treat for ya!

Actually she was quite good aside from the gut-wrenching yowls when I had her in the sink. Those always make me feel horrible. The funny thing is that I thought she would hate me the rest of the night. Nope, she's been all over me since her bath... maybe she's sizing me up to see how easy it would be for her to kill me in my sleep. I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow.