Sunday was an interesting day, problems with the radiator, dogs meeting dogs, wagging tails and more wagging tails, and a phone call from North Shore Animal League. It seems Ms. Anna Banana (yup the pregnant one) and Mr. Banana (he actually has a last name but I chose aliases in order to protect the innocent) had adopted a dog. Yes, people, this is ironically the same weekend we did. So, of course here she is Ms. Gracie.
I think Gracie has some sheepdog in her as she has the coloring but they mentioned she definitely has Whippet. She is the same age as Ms. Layla and it sounds like the same size.
Saturday morning and DH was walking Layla at 7am. A couple of hours later we were drinking coffee, cleaning, and then ripping up the rug from the addition. Here's the thing, the rug smelled like pee, cat pee. Stinky! We pulled up the rug, the padding, and the tacks. Doesn't DH look happy? Especially, when we discovered this stunning linoleum underneath. What's better is that the wallpaper we found when we ripped out the molding was the same colors in a different loud pattern. Next week, we plan on throwing down the floor.
Here's sheepy! I picked up this cute little thing from Target and Layla loves it. She has been tossing it up in the air. Tomorrow, DH will try and bring her to the Verona dog park and maybe, possibly, to meet Sheila and Sunday at stix.
We did stop by Michael's in East Hanover for some framing for artwork we have had for a while. Bob and Marion who work there are so good. When they have the 50% off framing order they were run off their feet. I think it will be the last of things to be framed (thankfully).
I picked her up after work today from Orphaned Pets. I brought her to Petco to pick up some dry food and bowls. Not the smartest move especially when an overstimulated dog is leaping from seat to seat and licking your ear as you cruise down Bloomfield Ave. I also picked up the seatbelt harness while there. She is so incredibly exuberant, bright, and quick.
Well, you have to love this photo a beautiful dog and her sheep squeaker toy from Target. She has been chewing on the sheep for an hour which is better than the knitted catnip toys she was attempting to play with.
As soon as I brought her in the kitties went to the upstairs guest bedroom and hid behind the curtains. They have been slowly exploring the house again. She is a good dog. If the photos help inspire you to participate in the name contest by all means. And I do have to say there are the cutest collars and leashes on etsy (oh my gosh!).Well, you have to love this photo a beautiful dog and her sheep squeaker toy from Target. She has been chewing on the sheep for an hour which is better than the knitted catnip toys she was attempting to play with.
- Thanks to all those who have submitted entries into the contest. Keep them coming!
- I am still working on my paper so no updates on the knitting front.
- I found this cool website which has all the yarns and the colorways with information on the yarn. It is one of those sites to have bookmarked just in case.
- DH put the crate together for our future visitor, yeah!
- I hate when the cordless phone is running low on batteries and insists on beeping every minute to notify me. I will recharge you when I am done posting!!!
Well after yesterday I am still sleepy. The shower was good, but I need to seriously work on my paper and all I have been doing since I got home from work is cleaning. You know it's bad when your procrastination stretegy is to clean when you usually procrastinate from cleaning.
Friendly reminder, I am having a contest. Click here and read about it.
Ultimately, now that my knitting baby blanket #1 is done, I am debating what to pick up next. Options include:
- Wicked pattern in Malabrigo in Orchid colorway
- Baby Blanket #2 in Mongolian Cashmere in sage green
- Baby Blanket #3 in Berroco fluffy yarn (that is not the technical name I just don't remember)
- Arwen cardigan (which I don't have the yarn, but I just looked at Poodle Days and Starry Knits and drooled)
- Baby poncho for Gracie's birthday present (2nd cousin)
- Something else from my stash
Alright, fine, I will work on my paper.
I picked this pattern from Special Knits from Debbie Bliss and I saw someone knitting it over a year ago. As soon as I saw the blanket I knew I was making it for Anna when she was going to have her first child. In October, I selected this yarn, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in buter cream yellow. As soon as I moved into the house I cast on the blanket. I worked on this blanket using eight skins of yarn. (here is my shot from Thursday night)
A little over a week ago, I started the border and made an attempt at blocking. 
I am still working on the other baby blanket. I still need to write a card to go with the blanket.
Today, was Anna Banana's Baby Shower. The theme for the shower was April's Showers Bring Mommy and Daddy a Special Flower. Yes, a gardening theme in pink and green. Each guest was given a white mini pail with flower seeds which they can plant in their garden.
I ordered a special diaper cake. For those who have never seen a diaper cake is diapers shaped to look like a three tier cake. Again, pink and green. And the coolest part - it is totally usable by the mom to be. The cake was ordered from JBug Designs on etsy.
Lastly not pictured here was Bingo Cards which I got from Watermelon Workshop (in fact you will notice the sample is from this shower as she can customize). I ordered these cards because they are already completed and they are all unique. It took a while for the person to win and was so much fun. We had at this party a lot of Russians, an English MIL, my mom, and some co-workers yet everyone was laughing and debating the options. It was a hoot!
Also, we had a baby food contest. What is that? Everyone tried different baby foods and guessed what the flavors were. They tried baby foods. Th foods had stickers on them and everyone got a sheet and then wrote down what they thought the food is including, tendered sweet peas, sweet potatoes, peaches, chicken (tastes like cat food I have been told), prunes, and some others.
The prizes were tulips in matching planters. It was a blast
Ok, so what's up with the photo?
What was on our list of priorities?
-Medium sized
-Good with cats
-Good Temperament
-A mutt (we like mutts!)
-A Female (just our personal preference)
The next stages has been investigating different animals, organizations, talking to our vet, discussing it with each other, and the other night I found a dog I thought was adorable. So, we ran over to Terry's Pet Depot in Parsippany for the Orphaned Pets Adoption Day this morning. Sadly, the dog we met didn't meet our requirements. But, I noticed this cutie happily wagging her tail and greeting people.
Her existing name is Layla. She is 1 year old mutt (I have no idea what her mix is) that recently had puppies (they didn't survive) who migrated here from Kentucky. She is happy, hyper, and friendly. She has a striking resemblance to Blake our family dog who is a black lab mix. She is not in our residence as we are preparing for her arrival as well as worring about integrating a dog into a cat household. Right now, her stay will be on a trial basis, but we think it will work out for the best.
Here's the deal. We are not fans of her name. So, I am going to run a contest (as suggested by DH). I will run the contest until April 1st. Oh here it is, we need a new name. You can make a suggestion in the comments section, you can make more than one, and if selected you will win a prize. I don't know what the prize will be, but it will be good. DH and I will pick the winner. BTW, if we don't use any of the names, we will still pick a winner.
Hints: We like names after famous people. Blake is named after William Blake (the poet). Our cats are, Billie (after Billie Holiday), Ninna (after Nina Simone), Izzy (after Izzy Stradlin and he acts like a rock star), Churchill (after Winston Churchill), and Ella (after Ella Fitzgerald).
Ok- start suggesting!
FYI: In case you haven't heard a lot of pet food has been recalled as it is causing liver failure. Here is a link to find out the name brands recalled.
Well, all night I was hoping, begging, praying for today to have no school and voila, I got the phone call no work today at 5:45am. Of course, this was the same time I was having a dream about taking a walk to 35th street in New York to go shopping (I have no idea I was just walking around). DH of course was grumbling how he is jealous, but I have no sympathy, so he of course continued grumbling. Okay, so it is now 7:24AM (yes people I am blogging this early) because I couldn't go to sleep, so I am chilling with a cup of coffee, learning that Knitty Gritty is on HGTV at this time in the morning, and taking photos of the day's events.
Puffy hugging my artyarns scarf. I know, I know, that is insanity letting her puffiness curl up to the scarf. Actually, the is a spot on this scarf where the yarn was cut (it must have been caught on something at work because I found it on the job as it was unraveling) and I have to mend it. I actually considered frogging and re-knitting because I seriously love this scarf. I wear it with a brown top and it is seriously stunning and I only say that because I find myself hypnotized with the colors.
Then, of course, I opened the front door to find DH cleaning off his car. For those who don't know when DH moved here from the UK he kept asking when it would snow and now the thought of snow he grumbles.
Puffy hugging my artyarns scarf. I know, I know, that is insanity letting her puffiness curl up to the scarf. Actually, the is a spot on this scarf where the yarn was cut (it must have been caught on something at work because I found it on the job as it was unraveling) and I have to mend it. I actually considered frogging and re-knitting because I seriously love this scarf. I wear it with a brown top and it is seriously stunning and I only say that because I find myself hypnotized with the colors.
Then, of course, I opened the front door to find DH cleaning off his car. For those who don't know when DH moved here from the UK he kept asking when it would snow and now the thought of snow he grumbles.
And the most ironic revelation this week: The other day when it was actually 80 degrees outside, I pulled out a chair and read my SP's site in the backyard. I saw a neighbor I have not met and so I boldly walked over and introduced myself. He seemed very nice and had an accent. Yes, I inquired-I had to- because I already knew the answer.
Me- "Excuse me where are you originally from?"
Him- "I am from London"
M- "Of course. Classic. My husband is from Coventry" (And the subtitles in my head said I can't escape from English folks ;)
Him- "Oh, 'right" (His subtitles said Man, how long is this woman going to keep talking?)
Just not mine. Hehe! Well, thank so much to Spring Break I was able to attend the stix-n-stitches snb tonight and I had a lovely time. I picked up some garlic-y goodness gyros from Greek Delights which I haven't indulged in so long, and then, I had some German Chocolate Cake Coffee, and then I knit on Anna Banana's gift. I took a picture of my progress and instead of posting the photo, I am posting a photo of Cindy's baby blanket in progress. The hands in the pic belong to Cindy, Deborah, and Sheila, all oogling the shimmer of the mercurized cotton. It is a beautiful sheen! I made progress AND picked up some wonderful gifts for my SP10. I think she will like what I got as it is the color she said she likes, it is fiber she said she likes, and is enough to make a sweater. And Fran, a regular, helped me pick out the right shade of this particular color as it is also her favorite color.
Ok. So, earlier, I mentioned that Kim would drool over my recent etsy purchase and I say that because if you were obssessed with knitting and skulls like Kim and I, wouldn't glass knitting needles with a holographic image of a skull make you drool. Well, i did, so I splurged. I still need to knit with them, but aren't they pretty? They are from Sunny South Glass.
Well, SP10 has begun, as I have received my new spoilee and I realized I should at least put the link to my SP10 survey for my pal.
I hope everyone is well. I am doing some schoolwork this week with spring break from classes, and I am sleepy from new responsibilities at my job.
Baby Shower is almost here!
Well, I actually owe a few updates and posts which I will attempt to simplify.
Two Sundays ago, I met Chappy's mom and her mom, but no Chappy. I was at stix-n-stitches. Deb is very nice and we are always exchangin emails all the time. I am not sure if I posted this as I couldn't locate on my blog.
Last Sunday, I met Kim, from Yarny Old Kim, and her friend. Kim is so nice and we have also been exchanging emails for a while, and lo and behold we both have a thing for skulls. So, Kim, here is a shout-out, wait to you see what I ordered from etsy (dangerous!).
Now Margaret was chilling out on the sofa, and a circle was formed at sns when Cara from January One walked through the door. I met Cara briefly at Rhinebeck and I had a feeling it was her but the Central Park Hoodie she was sporting confirmed it (well actually, me asking her if she was Cara confirmed it, but still I should get some kudos)
Ok, so Friday night Margaret comes over to hang out and knit. Last week, we watched Gone in 60 Seconds for the 60th time, and this week it was a Bridget Jones 1 & 2. However, once again, one of the cats undermined Margaret's knitting by slicing her yarn for the Odessa hat in half. Thankfully, Margaret has a good sense of humor about this as you notice she is holding up the cut yarn. Unfortunately, we cannot confirm the culprit however our main suspect is orange and white, weighs ten pounds, has brown eyes, and is known as Stinky on the street, if you see him let us know, he was last seen licking himself.
Two Sundays ago, I met Chappy's mom and her mom, but no Chappy. I was at stix-n-stitches. Deb is very nice and we are always exchangin emails all the time. I am not sure if I posted this as I couldn't locate on my blog.
Last Sunday, I met Kim, from Yarny Old Kim, and her friend. Kim is so nice and we have also been exchanging emails for a while, and lo and behold we both have a thing for skulls. So, Kim, here is a shout-out, wait to you see what I ordered from etsy (dangerous!).
Now Margaret was chilling out on the sofa, and a circle was formed at sns when Cara from January One walked through the door. I met Cara briefly at Rhinebeck and I had a feeling it was her but the Central Park Hoodie she was sporting confirmed it (well actually, me asking her if she was Cara confirmed it, but still I should get some kudos)
Ok, so Friday night Margaret comes over to hang out and knit. Last week, we watched Gone in 60 Seconds for the 60th time, and this week it was a Bridget Jones 1 & 2. However, once again, one of the cats undermined Margaret's knitting by slicing her yarn for the Odessa hat in half. Thankfully, Margaret has a good sense of humor about this as you notice she is holding up the cut yarn. Unfortunately, we cannot confirm the culprit however our main suspect is orange and white, weighs ten pounds, has brown eyes, and is known as Stinky on the street, if you see him let us know, he was last seen licking himself.
So, the baby shower is this Sunday. I will be missing Kate Jacobs at stix, but I will have someone pick me up a signed copy. Which means, I will after Sunday post pictures of the knitted projects I have been working on, so that Project A actually has an attached photo (which it deserves). Project B will probably have some photos as that will not be done for the shower (sigh).
Other than that, I am happy to report I am on Spring Break from classes which really just means I don't have to drive to MSU this week but I will be working on papers, papers and more papers.
Project Updates
Project A which is finishing up.
Project B is come to a grinding halt.
Project C is moving along incredibly slowly.
Well, Friday Night Knitting led Margaret and myself to watching Gone in 60 Seconds. DH picked up the standard General Tsao's chicken (extra spicy) for dinner and the knitting was good. Let's see, I think Margaret did work on several projects, while I focused on the Wicked pattern. Actually, I wound up some more Malabrigo. As we were chilling out, Izzy chased Churchill and got his tail stuck on her yarn and took off running with her Rowan chasing after him into the other room. Oh, the kitty madness ensued while we had a good laugh. Pictures below...
DH demonstrating how far the skein went and Margaret on the other side laughing.
So, I will leave you with a photo of mysterious Ella Bean. She is stunningly cute.
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