Monday crash

Other than laundry, Monday has not been nearly as industrious as the rest of the weekend. My knee definitely needed the break, and I've been feeling a little under the weather. Either I've suddently developed some fearful allergies, or I've got another cold.

And I'm not the only one who's not quite up to snuff at Chez Wandering Cat.

 

 Tux is doing his best to make him feel better, but poor Rocky has has a rough week. It started on Tuesday with some erratic, but persistant sneezing.  At first I thought he might have just gotten into an irritant - the cat is so darn nosy, and we've been outside quite a bit. But soon enough, it got worse. I didn't think you could tell a cat was stuffed up, just by looking at him - but you can. The poor buy had dull, glassy eyes, and just looked miserable. Normally a pretty boisterous cat, he just wasn't himself. I never thought I'd miss his yodelling. 

He's doing a little better now. We got him some meds, and he's been enjoying little kitty saunas.... apparently cats can benefit from a vapouriser, just like humans can. Since we don't have one, we've been bringing him into the bathroom whenever we have a shower - he gets to snuggle up on the bath mat and enjoy the steam - and it seems to be helping. He's not sneezing as much, and he's got a little more spring in his step. I've even heard the odd yodel or two.

hopefully, we'll both be back to 100 percent soon - in the mean time- Tux is always free for a comforting snuggle.

Green, green, every where green!

The plan was to mostly chill and relax today, but I really needed to get my veggies planted. I'd used up all the top soil I'd bought in the front gardens, so I needed to run out and get a few bags.I planned to pick up some containers for planting, since my knee wasn't really up to digging out the a garden plot this year.

However, when I got to the store, they were sold out of the ones I wanted - and the others we're priced well out of my budget - especially since I only planned on using them this year. But I guess that's what I get for leaving it to the last day of the major planting weekend in this area.

So, I grabbed an extra bag of soil, and resigned myself to digging the garden on one knee (or on my butt - that worked too!)

The hardest part was clearing away all the weeds. The area was definitely a garden at some point, but apparently the last tenant or two had no interesting tending it. There was quite a bit of mint mixed in - hard to say if it was deliberate or not - wild mint does grow around here. Pulling all the weeds took the better part of my afternoon - but it smelled good while I was doing it!

And in the end, I ended up with the most adorable little veggie plot...

I started out of just cherry tomatoes and yellow beans, but some vidalia onions, purple peppers and strawberries may have found their way into my cart with the new soil.

Honestly, it's probably going to be too much for the little plot (and I've been told tomatoes and strawberries don't always mix well) but it was fun! I'll expand and sort everything out properly next year. I've hung onto all the containers from the garden centre, because I'd really like to stat from seeds next year.

I put up the little green wire fence to keep the boys out - but hopefully it will keep the neighbourhood bunbun away too.

In addition to gardening, I managed to finish up the first sock of a pair.

The pattern is Pair of Hearts. It's a freebie that's been in my queue for quite a while.

The skein of olive Celtic Cat has been sitting on my table, staring at me since we moved in. It needed something nice and simple (the hearts show up much better on my foot than the blocker), and I haven't made myself a pair of socks in quite a while.

It was destiny. I change the cuff to a picot instead of ribbed, and went down to 60 stitches to accommodate my narrow feet.

The Celtic Cat looks very rustic, but boy is it ever soft! I've been thoroughly enjoying knitting with it. Mom and I agree we'll be ordering more soon - though there's still a few skeins left in the shop.

And don't forget about the long weekend sale - on until Monday! You can use the code FREESHIPPING for free shipping on orders over $50, or you can use VICTORIA15 for a 15 percent discount

Faeries wear boots

For some strange reason, I was thinking the baby shower I was fervently knitting for, was Sunday... turns out it was today. Fortunately, I realized it yesterday, but it meant feverishly working on the second Elvish bootie.

I finished it up this morning - 15 minutes beforeI had to leave for the shower.

This was a fun little pattern and the end result is pretty darn adorable.

I had some trouble with the toes on these, and had to rip back several time - but it was my fault, not the pattern's.

I used some left over House Cat for them. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Gavin wearing them - the little tyke slept through most of the shower, and I didn't want to disturb him.But his Mom thought they were pretty darn cute.

And she's promised to send a few modeled shots.  I had planned on making at least one pair of baby socks for Gavin as well, so before I left I packed up a scrap ball and my needles. By then end of the shower, there was a little itty, bitty pair done (no pics... ooops).

And now I've got the rest of the weekend to knit for myself - and no deadlines!

How does your garden grow?

Today after work, I brought the boys out for a little fresh air while I watered the newly planted gardens.

I absolutely love flowers, and it's so nice to have this new space - it's like a new blank canvass. When I went to the garden centre, I discovered that they had all the pansies and violas on sale very, very cheap - I was thrilled. Pansies are one of my favourite flowers - so I stocked up. I got a few petunias and some allysum for filler - but I just went crazy with the pansies.

 I kept with purple and white to keep it from getting too crazy

 But, I just love the end result. In a month or so, this is going to fill out!

Tux just loves to be outside - he's all over the place, exploring his new territory. But it was hard getting a picture of him. Every time I crouched down, he ran over for snuggles.

Rocky is much calmer, he munches a bit of lawn, then settles down to keep an eye on things. (You can see behind him, I went so crazy with the pansies that I had to put some in the lily garden too!)

I bought some cherry tomato plants, and some beans as well, but they haven't been planted yet. I was planning on digging a small plot in the back yarn, but I won't be on my knees anytime soon, so I'll be picking up a few pots for this year.

The boys don't care how I garden - just as long as they can hang out with me outside. And it's a long weekend here in Canada... I foresee lots of fresh air for the three of us!

***SALE***

In honour of Victoria Day on Monday here in Canada (can you say long weekend?), we are offering your choice of discounts at Wandering Cat Yarns.

You can use the code FREESHIPPING for free shipping on orders over $50,  OR you can use VICTORIA15 for a 15 percent discount starting now till midnight Monday May 20th.
We need to clear out so we can make room for some new stuff coming soon!

And down she goes....

The last few days have been just go-go-go here at Chez Wandering Cat. Work's been busy, I've been busy around the house, and there's a baby shower to knit for this weekend.

I was so proud of myself when I got the front gardens completed last night. All that's left is the veggie garden, which I planned to tackle tonight. That was until this morning...

There I was, walking across the street to my car, enjoying the sun on my face, and the birdsong in the air... thinking about the workday ahead of me....

... when my shoe suddenly decided to go one way, but my foot decided to disagree and go the other way.
Down I went like soft wood timber! I have a huge gash on my knee and road rash all up my leg - there won't be any activities that involve kneeling anytime soon... the veggies may be planted in pots this year.

But for now, I've got my feet up, a nice alcoholic drink at my side (it's medicinal!) and I'm working on baby booties!

 

Honestly, I'm a little unsure of this pattern. I had to rip the two out three times before I got it right. And I think it's pretty wide for a baby foot (and I even went down a needle size). But, I'm going to do the second one anyway and see if it fits. I'm not a baby connoisseur... so maybe it will be okay.

In the pink

One of the things I don't like about having short hair is waiting for it to grow. I'm a person who likes near-constant change. I get bored easy. When I had long hair I could put it up, where it down, braid it - do all kinds of things with it. With my short hair I have two options - bangs or swept back. So I decided to do something crazy... I got a bleaching kit... and a tub of dye...

 and I went PINK!

The really fun part is that this colour will fade in a few weeks and I can do a different colour!

In knitting news, I finally finished up the Glinda Mitts with the leftover Skinny Bugga. For the past week, all I've had to do is the few rows and cast off on the thumb... what took so long? I'll probably get a day or two of wear before the weather warms up again (it's dropped down to freezing, making me glad I didn't plant that annual garden yet!)

And now, time to get back to those elf booties.... Happy Monday!

Three mothers

 There are many kinds of Moms out there, and I wish them all the best this Mother's day. Here's a post about the three kinds in my life right now.


1) My Mom

As you all know - I have the best Mom EVER!!!

Not only did she teach me to knit, but she only ever moderately rolls her eyes when I get a crazy hair-brained scheme like - "hey - lets start a yarn business!"  She's encouraged all my creative endeavours, kept pretty much every critter I've ever brought home, kept her comments about my boyfriends mostly to herself and merely shook her head at most of my fashion choices - it's hard to get better than that!

So Happy Mother's Day!

2) New Mom.

My friend Vickey gave birth to her second son a few weeks ago.

His name is Gavin, and as you can see, he's destined to become a rockstar (just look at those air guitar skills). We are having a little get together next weekend, so I knit up a little present using some Stray Cat leftovers.

The pattern is Mr. Dangly - though mine is highly modified it. I'm going to whip up a couple of pair of booties and socks too...

First up are the Elvish booties. Expect to see a pair of these for pretty much every new arrival - I think they are just too damn adorable! (There's finally a little girl due in September!!!!)


3) Cat Mom

As you know - my children are small, annoying and covered in fur. They only present I got from them this morning was a freshly hacked-up hairball. Oh joy!

I, however, was a good Cat Mom and got them a present. I've wanted to get them a tower for a while, and this one was on sale at a ridiculously good price.  Now I just need to get them a bird feeder for entertainment.

So - whatever kind of Mom you are - I raise my glass to you!