splityarn

oh hai! I's a big boy now

It has been just over a year since we adopted that wee sick lil' kitty we named Teek. He started out with us weighing barely two pounds but with sessions in a nebulizer, plenty of meds and love, he very quickly ate his way to health. He's such a healthy eater that he's been on a diet for the last few months. Dude now weighs close to 17 pounds.

I don't know if I've ever met a cat with more personality than this nutter. He's always hamming it up. Every time I post a photo of him on flickr I always feel like I need to add that none of the photos were staged.

Happy Birthday Doodle!

purple is the new green

I was hoping to have Wicked finished in time for a St. Patrick's Day all-green reveal, but she's not quite ready. She's soaking in the sink in fact. Pocketless, but soaking. I still can't make up my mind about that damn pocket.

While I continue to ponder the pocket, I cast on for Mum's birthday present; a Tangled Yoke cardigan in a luscious plummy colour of Felted Tweed. The time pressure is off on this knit as her birthday is today. (Happy birthday Mum! Your sweater isn't ready.)

I'm in love with the colour. It's almost brown, not quite purple. A blending of my faves with Mum's. And it seems someone else in the house likes it too.

too teek-in' cute

Remember that wee, little, sick kitten we adopted last August? Um, yeah. He's not wee anymore. Or sick. Or a kitten really. Dude is now a 14lb monster although still cute as can be.

He and Indy get along just fine. She doesn't let Teek snuggle with her, but he sneaks in a lick when he can and is happy to curl up close to her. But not touching! 'Cause she'll have none of that.

He's a big boy now. (But still snuggly and sucky when he's not biting, which is how we like him.)

happy holidays

Thank you for all the well wishes about the kitties. Bicoe is doing fantastic in her new home and Indy has begun to come out of her shell. She's getting plenty of love and treats and will be back at a normal weight in no time. In the meantime Teek's keeping her busy and providing plenty of entertainment. The Christmas tree has only been knocked over 3 or 4 times, which isn't bad considering we have an 11 lb kitten climbing it every day. No ornaments this year, we'll save that adventure for next year's tree.

And see that? I'm finally seaming up Twist!

apart

Ever since moving the cats into an indoor-only environment, tensions between Indy and Bicoe had increased to an all time high. No amount of Feliway, slow re-introductions or room separations could overcome the hatred between the two. Bicoe couldn't leave Indy alone and Indy was growing more and more withdrawn. It was breaking my heart to see my once playful orange cat hiding in the closet and sleeping her way into depression. She was losing weight and spent any time awake shaking in fear. Something had to be done.

Lucky for us, the Husband's parents are cat people and LOVE our lil' chatty Siamese. This weekend we drove Bicoe down to Cape Cod and transitioned her into her new house. We weathered the most recent Nor'easter getting her adjusted to her new surroundings and meeting her new siblings. She'll have two other cats to chum around with, she'll be able to go outside come Spring and best of all, she'll be looked after by people who love her. And it certainly doesn't hurt that we can go visit anytime we want.

I wish it could have worked out to keep all my furry babies in one place, but it's better all around to share the love, right?

I miss her already.

*Bicoe's backstory is here

DNF again

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to make tonight's NaKniSweMo deadline. I still have a sleeve and a quarter left to knit, plus the seaming, the collar and button bands. Combine that with my change purse zipper shipment arriving today (more of the wee knitting change purses) and I won't have time. I'm going to try for a weekend finish. So instead of a triumphant finished object, how about a picture of the elusive Indy cat.

scene stealer

On the last few trips some of the only knitting I've done has been in airports and on the plane. I haven't made a heap of progress on anything and it's starting to get to me. I have The Husband's next sweater all planned out but I think it will have to wait until we get home from this weekend's trip to Boston. (I know, I know!) In the meantime I'll put the push on to finish this latest pair of socks. The Indigo Moon I picked up in Vancouver sat in the stash for all of a month before I wound it and cast on for the only Christmas knitting I'm going to do. The first sock is finished and I'm about to turn the heel on the second. If all goes well, I'll have an FO to show early next week.

*No socks were harmed in this photo shoot. Apparently kittens don't come with any sense of knitting etiquette.

**Dig Indy! She made it to ICHC

bow to your cute overlord

Ahh, kittens. Bundles of manic energy one minute and crashed out asleep the next. Teek came home quite sick but has been recovering and regaining energy every day. He's gone from the at-death's-door, sneezing blood, sleeping kitten to the "terrorize my new sisters and no I don't want to take my meds and I have toys to play with kthxbye" kitten in under a week. He's still getting some time with the nebulizer, but we're finished with the antibiotics thankfully.

I'm flying to Vancouver this afternoon so I won't be seeing this little guy for a couple weeks. He might be all grown up by the time I get back. Wah! Yeah, well, not really, but behold! The Keymaster in all his cuteness. No kitten pictures for at least 10 days.

Now to plan what knitting projects I'm taking with me. Socks? New Husband sweater? Other socks? I know I'll change my mind about 80 times before I leave the house.

and now we are five

We have been living with two kitties in our home. Indy is a mild mannered, quietly charming orange cat. Adopted and returned to the pet store 3 times before she came into my life 10 years ago, she's a sweet lil' kit. Grew up to be a lot like me. Polite, assertive and cute, but you never know what she's thinking (cheeky too.) Sometimes a little too smart for her own good, she can open a door on her own, never questioning which way it swings.

Bicoe on the other hand is beautiful, talkative and immediately endearing. She is the first cat to win over guests in the house. Always afoot, always chatty, always present. Full to the brim with personality, but not so smart. She's socially awkward with other cats and we're never sure if she is ready to attack or just doesn't know how to say I love you. The previous owners of our house abandoned her (don't get me started) but she was a welcome addition to our family.

The two have never become friends. Bicoe would love to get to know Indy, but Indy hates her with the same passion that she loves tuna juice. When we go on holidays, we can't leave them in the house alone together. One has to go to "camp" at the kennel, the other stays in the house alone.

To bridge the gap between the two, we've adopted a wee boy kitten we've named Teek. (Short for The Keymaster) The hope is that Bicoe can rip around the house with him and expend some energy while Indy will have a companion to keep her company when we're at work. We're taking the introductions slowly. Bicoe is becoming familiar with his smell on blankets and shirts, while Indy has already met him in person a couple times. We’ve loaded the house with Feliway diffusers, but I'm wondering if anybody has any other magic tricks to share to make the transition easier.

senorita Indy

I realize this post will probably push me another step closer to Crazy Cat Lady status, but I have no knitting to show, nothing for Fiberlicious Friday, no Eye Candy Friday pics, nothing. I've been busy in the sewing room, but there's no progress documented. Plus I'm supposed to be packing for a girls weekend of knitting (and drinking) so rather than chase down some WIP pictures, I'm going to distract you with pictures of the cat.

Little Miss Indy turns 10 this week and is now (according to the vet) a senior cat. She started her life as a Pemberton barn kitten who was returned to the feed store three times before I adopted her. Since then she has lived in 9 houses in 4 cities in 2 different countries. She wasn't fond of the plane ride to Austin, but can you blame her? Anyway, Happy Birthday you crazy Triscuit-loving kitteh.

*And because I know someone will say something about the chocolate, no, she didn't eat the cupcake, yes I know that chocolate is bad for pets. (Do you really think I would share a cupcake?)  I put kitty treats behind it to suck her into the shot, but she wouldn't eat them off the plate. Her human food consumption was limited to one blue sprinkle.

leftovers

Whenever you move into a new house, you always find interesting remnants from the previous owners. Fridge magnets under the appliances, lost postcards behind closet doors, matchbox cars in the garden...that kind of thing. Our new house has been no exception. We've found all kinds of goodies in all kinds of odd places. A baby soother under the old dishwasher, a He-Man toy sword tucked behind a built-in bookcase and a Siamese cat in the carport.

Yup, you heard that right. A cat.

I'm not going to get into how angry I was when we learned she'd been abandoned, I've already devoted enough energy to that. Safe to say the old tenants won't ever want to meet me, 'cause I'll kick their sorry cat-abandoning asses and then some.

Our new neighbour had been feeding the kitty after the Losers left and even went so far as to find her a new home a few blocks away. The cat would have none of it though and kept finding her way back to the house. It's her house and she ain't going anywhere. Fine with us! She'll continue to be an outdoor kitty until we get Indy settled in the house and then we'll officially be a two cat family again. We were working on finding an appropriate name for our new spare cat when we settled on "Bicoe." She's our "Break In Case Of Emergency" cat and we're more than happy to have her.

We're having a really crappy week around here. I have a lot of thank yous to send out to RAOKers but they're going to have to wait until we get back from Boston. I'll be back on Monday.