Bits and bobs make for a very long post.

Another random post for Saturday. I'm mostly working on getting the barn-raising blanket together, but here are a few other things going on around Chez Wandering Cat.

1. Tux.

As you know, Tux went in for some blood tests yesterday. A glucose curve to be exact... basically what they do is take test his blood sugar throughout the day - before breakfast, after breakfast, after insulin injections, etc. 

However, after they did the first test (blood sugar was 13 - still high, but lower than it was originally, and he hadn't eaten yet or had insulin) - he refused to eat. Anything.... At.All. 

He got his first insulin shot, but still refused to eat. That, coupled with the stress of being at the vet, meant that his blood sugar had spiked to 23 by early afternoon. And if he wasn't going to eat, the test was absolutely useless. So the nice ladies at the vet took some more blood and sent to the lab for a fructose test.

I picked him up and brought him home where he proceeded to pig out.
  
There is good news though. The vet's office called this morning. The fructose test was good! We are cleared for surgery so I'll call and talk to the vet on Monday and schedule the actual surgery date! 

And once again, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all of you - without you support, I doubt this would be happening. We've already spent almost $400 on tests, and we haven't got to the surgery yet. Every skein of yarn you've bought and every pattern you've purchased has made this possible.



2. A little holiday cheer.

Another thing I have to say thank-you for is this beautiful little Christmas gift from Araignee.

For any of you who follow her blog, you'll know that she helps her father (known as Daddio) with his quilting projects.

They do the most beautiful work and I'm truly honour to be gifted with one of the gorgeous pot holders they made this year.
Of course, I'm not going to use it as a pot holder - it's far too pretty for that. I'm going to hang it on the wall as part of my holiday decor.

She also included one of her handmade cards. I love it. It's little surprises like this that make this season so special.

 (And keep an eye on your mailbox Araignee... your prize yarn will be mailed after Christmas, but I came across something on the internet today and I'm having them send it directly to you!)

3. One green thumb, one brown one

Readers will recall my lovely goldfish plant... which looked liked the picture on the left this summer - nice and big and full.

I brought it inside, well before the cold weather, but I noticed over the last few weeks it was dropping leaves. Sadly, it was doing much more than that...

Now it's a sad shadow of itself as you can see from the picture on the right. I had to cut away half the vines because they were dry and crumbling. Whats left seems fairly healthy, so I'm hoping I can save it.

In the meantime... my mini rose bush was also brought in before the frost. It had gone into hibernation, but looked nice and health otherwise.

Then the weather got really cold, and I turned the heat on in the house. Now the darn thing is sprouting all over the place. Even the little viney bush I planted with it has started to green up and grow again!

4. Being sensible.

I took another look at my Christmas gift list, and decided to take a few things off my knitting plate to give myself some breathing room. So yesterday after picking Tux up from the vet, I did a little shopping.

Apparently my family likes plaid!

I still have the man-socks to finish. There's a small bit of dolly clothes sewing to do, but I won't actually be seeing my brother and the girls until the weekend after Christmas, so that bought me a few days. There are some presents for friends to finish too - but I won't see them until January. I was planning on getting everything done before Christmas, but it does tend to sneak up on you, doesn't it?