September 25, 2009
Fragmented Friday
Apparently my sense of self-preservation isn’t very strong since the fact that I can’t feel either hand when I wake up in the morning hasn’t been enough to prevent me from doing this:
Or from frogging it down to the green and knitting it back up again.
This is the Recession of Ought-Nine Sweater, knit entirely out of stash—although I suspect it’s going to be one of those projects where you go in with the best of economical intentions but find you have thismuch too little yarn and have to buy more, which defeats the entire purpose of the exercise. Nothing exotic here; just yer good ol’ Cascade 220 in black, a darker, brighter teal blue than the picture shows plus the pine-y, heathery green left over from the Good-Enough Gansey.
I am, again, completely astonished to find myself designing a sweater on the fly but this time around I have the crutch of the measurements from the Good-Enough Gansey. Helpful, that.
A shout-out to everyone who, after my last entry, was brave enough to share their moments of sheer lunacy, from ironing clothes that were on, to shaking already-open bottles of catsup and chocolate drink, to spectacularly unsuccessfully drinking sugary coffee while lying down, to only being able to think of “cephalopod” in the doctor’s office. Loved every story. Laughed out loud. We are so human, all of us.
Then, an extra shout-out two very special Dear Readers! First, a warm welcome back to Stalker Angie who rejoins us after a few difficult years that put my battles with my Preciouses to shame, but who seems to be doing much better. Long-time readers will remember her from wu-haaaaaaay back when and how I was so pleased to have my very own stalker since I thought it made me a real blogger.
And then there’s Cath who, despite an unbelievable six years of entries to slog through, has read the blog from beginning to end. Blows my mind Every Time, man. Very, very groovy. Welcome to the blog, Cath. Thank you for your lovely, long comment, so funny in some places, so supportive and sweet in others. You will be a grand addition to the Mossy Cottage Knits family.
Swapna commented that there has been a lack of cat stories lately. There hasn’t been much activity going on in the cat-world. Benny hasn’t jumped off the kitchen ceiling lately and we’ve come to a truce about the freezer door (he calls it a “truce;” I call it a “pain in the ass”—he sits on the freezer door and I change my mind about what I’m going to eat so it doesn’t involve the freezer) so the best I can do is this recent picture of Benny lying in a sunbeam behind the microwave…
…and a fuzzy action photo of Joon, who is actually much bolder than Benny, trying to walk down the inch-wide iron banister of the spiral staircase, thinking, I’m convinced, the cat equivalent of “Look, Ma! No hands!” She gets a little ballsier every time she does this. It terrifies the living daylights out of me but it’s one of those situations where trying to fix it (i.e., thundering up the stairs to try to save her) would only make it worse. So I edge closer to the stairs, arms held out, just in case she bites it—but she always does something sensible in the end.
Annie asks why I wash my dishes in a bucket. I have an old-fashioned, huge, undivided farm sink, so I put the dishes in a rectangular plastic bucket in the sink so I use less water. Which leads me to my ultimate confession: That wasn’t the first time I had been thrown for a loop by the transparent cutting board. Sigh.
Egads, Joon! Once again kitty defies laws of physics!
And what a stunning abode you have there Ms. Mossy Cottage!
Posted by: Kristen on September 25, 2009 09:22 PMMore pictures of your house, please. I want to decide which bedroom will be mine. I am moving in, like, tomorrow, dude. That is one cool-lookin' house ya got there.
Posted by: kmkaat on September 25, 2009 11:06 PMOoh, the cats! Perhaps Joon is missing some excitement? Or she finds the stairs too cold/warm/fuzzy to step on...puzzling people, these felines.
Posted by: Swapna on September 26, 2009 12:29 AMOh, Joon. I get all clenched just looking at the picture. No fear, eh?
Posted by: ccr in MA on September 26, 2009 06:13 AMHEY! My info has been saved! First. Time. Ever.
Meant to tell you, but wasn't reminded until just now - I accidentally shot shampoo up my nose at the store the other day, checking out the other scents of my current favorite brand. I immediately thought of you, and how I'd just joined a small, elite group of shampoo sniffers. XOXO
BTW, love the stripes!
I really like the sweater! It's very pretty.
Posted by: Karlie on September 26, 2009 09:49 AMsuch a funny blog you have! Thanks for making me chuckle!
Posted by: sara on September 26, 2009 10:43 AMOh, my son's cat does that on the balcony railing 12 floors up and it ages me years every time.
Posted by: Donna in VA on September 26, 2009 11:13 AMOH THE BANISTER. I have a railing on my bedroom loft which leads - if you're a ballsy little cat with nothing better to do all day than sit around thinking up ways to give your owner a heart attack - to a pair of window ledges which hang out over a 12 foot drop.
And once you're on the window ledge - your owner staring up at you paralyzed with terror for your well-being - you have to TURN YOUR FAT ASS AROUND on the one-inch ledge, in order to make it back to the banister.
After that little incident, I taped a big flap of cardboard up, such that sadistic cats couldn't reach the window ledge.
Some people tell me I'm just being overprotective. Then I point out that the cats have actually fallen off the loft. And not the scary banister part, either - just the regular part.
Twice.
Posted by: Erika on September 26, 2009 12:17 PMWe have a new kitten (just one). It's all become clear now.
Posted by: Lynn in Tucson on September 27, 2009 11:03 AMThank you for the lovely welcome to your blog, Ryan!
Okay, I'm dyin' reading Erika's comment about her cats turning around on the ledge! YES--my cats would SO do this, too... and Ryan, no banister or loft wall would be safe in my house. We have four of the furmonste----er, furbabies *cheeky grin* plus the doglet. Life is never boring.
So, yanno those socks? Those wool socks? I finished 'em, those crocheted wool socks. I wore 'em, those lacy crocheted wool socks. I must say I admired them tremendously, those blue lacy crocheted wool socks---right up to the moment I put shoes on and walked to the grocery store.
*big eyes* Might I just say, "ow"? My feet were patterned for hours afterward, on the bottoms no less! *sigh* I admit I wore them around the house anyway (no shoes!) and now they are in the laundry... cuz yanno... they are my wool socks, REAL socks with cuffs and I made 'em, so I just GOTTA wear 'em sometimes.
But I have a whole nuther skein of that yarn... I think I really have to learn to knit. I don't think socks should be my first project, though; I think I need to practice on a stash scarf or something first.
Honestly, Ryan, I don't know whether to thank you for dragging me over to the Knitting Side of the Force or not, lol... knitting needles won't be in the budget for a while yet, and there's that yarn, taunting my poor cold feet! Whatever is a girl to do?
Oh. Well. Evidently, a girl is to pay attention to her cats, lol... 'scuse me!
Cath
Posted by: Cath on September 28, 2009 11:17 AMYour blog is one of the funniest I read, so I always love coming back!
Your new sweater looks pretty sleek with its stripy goodness.
Posted by: Seanna Lea on September 28, 2009 02:12 PMBenny's fully aware that he's good-looking enough not to have to work it! (My old tabby fell off a 5th floor balcony in the middle of the night once. I raced downstairs panic-striken and promptly tripped over him in the dark. He survived the fall without a scratch, I had 3 days off work with a torn ligament. Go figure!)
Posted by: Caro on September 28, 2009 05:17 PM