the Akamai Knitter

I can’t believe how this week has flown by. There were some high points and some low points this past week. One of the low points of the week was a trip to the dentist to get a temporary crown. But it was necessary and I survived it.

The lowest point was a call from said dentist yesterday. All he said was that there was a mix up at the lab and that I needed to go in for more work. My mouth was and is still really tender from the previous trip and I kept envisioning the dentist with his wicked needles. By the time the I left the house I was in quite a frenzy.

After the appointment, I felt quite ridiculous because all he did was insert some gooey stuff in my mouth for a mold type thing. It took all of five minutes.  No scary needles whatsoever. Silly Opal.

Noro Sock

I started a new pair of socks and that was a nice high point. I’m just using a simple 60st 2×2 rib pattern. I’m not sure how I like the Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. On one hand I love the vivid colors and the rustic look of it. On the other hand the yarn itself is scratchy and prone to producing yarn vomit when pulled out of the ball.

gratuitous close-up

I don’t plan on keeping these socks, but I’m still not sure who I’m going to give them to. Luckily, I haven’t reached the foot yet so I still have time to decide.

Another high point has been all the beading I’ve been doing. I spewed out about 10 pairs of earrings in one day and I plan on slowly adding them to my shop.  I originally got the charms for stitch markers, but they’re much too big for that purpose.

fire dragon earrings *clickety*

Of course the highest point has been having Sammy here. He’s settled in quite nicely and the other two cats have fully integrated him into their little pack. For the most part he’s continued to show little interest in the yarn and the fiber, but there was an Incident when I was plying.

I keep my Lazy Kate on the floor so the yarn travels from the floor to the spinning wheel. He wasn’t attacking the yarn or anything like that.  He just decided that walking beneath it all was an excellent idea.

All my pretty yarn got caught on his tail.

He was nearly out of the room before I caught him and untangled said yarn from said tail. It was rather difficult to get back on track, but I think he realized from all the yelling and swearing that ensued that it’s best to stay away from the equipment.

Yet, I could not be angry with him for long.  Not with this face. Could you?

sleepy sammy

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

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Pressie.

It all happened very suddenly.  First we noticed she was having a hard time breathing. along with some very disturbing behaviors, and the next we rushed her to a vet clinic that was open on a Sunday. Unfortunately it’s 45 minutes away. Luckily we got there in a half hour.

They worked on her for  what seemed forever, but was really only maybe 45 minutes. They even performed CPR on her. In retrospect I should have told them not to go to any extreme measures, but like I said, it happened very suddenly. In the end, she never did regain consciousness.

The vet said she though that it was probably a stroke or something associated with her heart. I’m just hoping she didn’t suffer for very long. I really tried my best to get her to help as fast as I could and that is providing me with very little solace at the moment.

Words can’t express how much she meant to me.

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It’s a dark and dreary day here in Hawaii. A perfect day for staying in and curling up with my knitting. Before I get to that I thought I’d share a Scheyer update.

It’s our second week with him and he’s actually let us pet him! I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am. It took all I had not to squeal with excitement, which would have totally scared him off into hiding for another week. Let me tell you, this boy has quite the purr box.

Scheyer is very much the night owl. Luckily, I am too and I managed to get a better shot of him as he looked warily on.

In the midst of all this kitten love, there has been knitting. I managed to finish off the three-colored gloves and start another pair.

(Since it’s been such a cloudy day I had to use the OTT Lite for these craptacular pictures.)

Pattern: Annemor #8 from Selbuvotter by Terri Shea

Yarn: Knitpicks Palette in Blush and Cream; Knitpicks Essential in Grass

Needles: Size 2US / 2.75mm

Started: 12/11/07

Finished: 12/26/07

While I really like the results of working with the three colors, I doubt I’ll be trying this again anytime soon. I had a hard time maneuvering the three different yarns with my two hands and it really disrupted my rhythm. This really frustrated me.

I think it also skewed my tension as these came out a lot smaller then my other gloves. I’m hoping that blocking will stretch them out a little. I’m going to have to wait for the atmosphere to dry up (it is very humid here, ick) before I block them though.

As soon as these were off the needles, I threw another pair on.

These are also from the book Selbuvotter. I actually finished the hand while at knit group last night, but when I came home I noticed I left out a crucial part of the design on one side. I just couldn’t live with that, so I ripped it all out.

It wasn’t even that painful since I’m having so much fun with them. Since I have to wait before I can put in an order more glove and mitten yarn, I see this as a chance to give to do more of what I love until more precious supplies arrive.

At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. The other half of my brain is wondering if I could possibly start the Wing O’ The Moth this weekend. That yarn I got for Christmas is really calling me.

I have a litany of justifications as to why it would be perfectly reasonable to cast on. Besides, how much harm could it be to have a weekend project for me? This is supposed to be my hobby after all, not a job.

I see yarn winding in my future.

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We’ve finally decided upon a name for our new addition. It might be considered an unusual name to anyone who doesn’t know me very well, so I’ll give you a little background.

I’m an avid sports fan. I follow college hoops, the NFL, and some baseball. Of those sports, college basketball has been the favorite throughout the years and my team has always been the Duke Blue Devils. I fell in love with the team when they played in one of the Rainbow Classic Tournaments back in the 80’s.

There have been many players that I’ve loved dearly, but what seems to fit our newest boy is the name Scheyer after the sophomore Jon Scheyer. Why Scheyer you ask?

Well, Jon is long and lean, like my Scheyer. Jon is unassuming in his demeanor, like my Scheyer. Jon is a lethal scorer and as far as I can tell, my Scheyer is a lethal hunter. (I won’t share what he hunted down last night.)

Most of all, the name Scheyer is a great pun for shyer. If my little Scheyer is anything, he’s shy. Even though he’s been coming out of his shell, he’s still quite bashful. (I realize that we’ve had him for less then a week and that I might be eating my words in the months to come, but I have a feeling he’ll always be a little meek, especially compared to Quincy.)

So far, little Scheyer has been coming out at night to investigate the living room. He’s also been following Quincy around like a devoted little brother. The pictures in this post were all taken around 2am so I had to use the dreaded flash. That’s why there aren’t many shots with his eyes open. :)

I was pleasantly surprised at how close he let me get to him. I suspect it was because my hands were full of camera, thus decreasing any chances of me grabbing him. He also felt safe enough around me to attack the toy canary in a display of his hunting prowess.

I went a little crazy with the camera last night, so for more pictures of Scheyer, take a look see here.

I doubt I’ll be posting again until Christmas is over and done with, so here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. Take care and please drive responsibly! :)

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Today is the big unveiling of my surprise.

A new refrigerator!

Ha! Just kidding!

Even though I did work hard to get that thing installed (cleaning out the old one was hell), this is not the big surprise I had in mind. The big surprise actually comes in a rather small package.

Are you ready for it?

There he is!

That’s right I adopted another cat. He came with the name “Kaiser” but I don’t think I’ll be keeping it. I’m not sure what name he’ll be given as I haven’t had a chance to really see what he’s like yet.

I first met “Kaiser” on Saturday when I went to see what kind of cats Animal Care Foundation (a no-kill shelter) had. I was immediately besieged by a tiny little calico kitten. When I say besieged, I mean this little tyke would not leave me alone. I thought that was it, that was the cat for me.

Then I noticed a black cat peering at me from beneath one of the shelves they had set up for the cats lounging pleasure. I put my hand out for him to sniff, but he immediately shied away. Still, I was intrigued.

After another 10-15 minutes, the little black kitty ventured back out again and I gently gave him my hand again. This time he came out further to investigate and he seemed to find me up to par as he proceeded to alternately rub my fingers then wash them with his cute little pink tongue.

I tell you, it was love.

But what about the calico kitty? He was still clamoring for attention and he was so sweet! How could I choose between them?

That was when I noticed that “Kaiser” was missing one of his hind legs. Apparently, when he was an even tinier kitten (he’s about 6mos old right now) he got caught in a chicken snare near Kaiser High School, which is where he gets his name. By the time he was rescued, his leg was far too infected to save. But this little guy is tough. He gets around just fine with his remaining three legs.

This is what finally decided me though. The little calico kitty is outgoing and playful. He’ll have no problem finding a good home. Whereas “Kaiser” is very shy and I think that most people might shy away from taking home a three-legged cat.

It’s going to take a lot of patience to get him to trust us, but I’m sure it will all be worth it in the end.

(Most of the pictures I took of him are of him immediately exiting the carrier. I had to resort to the flash since it was dark once we finally brought him, hence the horrid shot of his poor face. I’m hoping that once he gets adjusted I’ll be able to get better photos.)

Once he said hello to Quincy and took stock of where he was, he proceed to take off to the first available hiding spot. Which was my dirty, dusty closet.

I’ve only seen him twice since we brought him home Monday evening, but that’s okay. I’m going to give him all the time he needs. It’s not going to be easy. Patience isn’t actually one of my strong points and I have to continually resist the urge to check to make sure he’s still breathing.

As for the other cats, they seem to have accepted him into the fold remarkably well. Quincy sniffed noses with him and Pressie doesn’t even seem to care that he’s around. I’ve given them lots of extra love to make sure they know they’re still valued members of the family.

All in all, things are going quite smoothly. :)

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