WoW....You can't get enough

toys...do you do the same? I keep buying what I think may be the next super toy for all my furry purries. When I was cleaning this weekend I unsurfaced most of these toys. They were everywhere under something. Stanley like being on the top shelf of the cat tree, Sissy loves her spinners, Pia liked the bird on the end of the stick (picked up on Saturday) and Zorro plays with none of them. I have caught him with the spinner but that is mainly to get Sissy's attention. They are good about using the scratching post by the bathroom and at the bottom of the cat tree.

I'm leaving you now to start on the increase after the 5th ridge of the BSJ. I am watching the movie Away from Her. It is a beautiful and sad story and one many that many of us have faced or will.

Be sure to go over the WoW and check out some of the other members. Robin has a cute post today. Have not had a chance to look at others yet as I have been most anxious to get to this 5th ridge. What a milestone!

Kick in the Arse

That is what my friend Carol did by helping me this Saturday. She came over and helped, well actually did the work, of getting the brackets up so a shelf could go over the LR window so I could hang my collection of stained and blown glass up. While I was cleaning up the area that had not seen the light of day in years Carol was in the kitchen washing the glass. Now that is a friend indeed. I made the star and the 4 rectangle stained glass. The other item were gifts or from glass trips & shows.This is what the LR area looked like when they started pulling up the carpet.



The next picture is after the bamboo floors were in. That opening is where I had the 2nd bedroom opened up to make my stained glass studio. Now it is not as bad as this but I have stopped doing stained glass and have added my knitting stuff to this room.

We took breaks in between and talked about alternate ways to arrange my furniture. (The consensus is that I have too much stuff!!) The breaks were self imposed as I get so sweaty and overheated. Then we went to a late lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. I had a delicious lump crab sandwich and Carol went to the salad bar.

Sunday morning I was up at 6:30 (thank you Sissy for letting me sleep in) and was on a role. I put in more cup hooks and got everything hung up. This will be Carol's first time see what she help do by getting that shelf up. As I showed her around all 1000 sq ft, I came across the very first stained glass panel I made when I took a class. It was made with my daughter in mind as she loves to sail but there was a crack in the body of the boat. So I hung it in the kitchen window. As I continued in glass for abut 8 years I did not use patterns. I made jewelry, music boxes all 3 dimensional with art glass & found objects. It has been hard getting "stuff" unpacked or hung up. I lost two walls that I used to have that held pictures and plates. Not the one where I took the wall out two others. Most of these things are still packed up. Having the floors installed in a overly furnished small 2BR 1 bath 1000 sq ft space was not easy. In addition to having the furniture I had to pack up everything. It would have been easier to move. The floor installers and painters were not happy. Move one side of a room over put the floor down, move it back and continue on. It took a week. The painters took 3 days.

I did start on the BSJ Friday night. I am at the 5 rows part to add in some stitches. The DVD is great. I'm not sure if I would have wrapped my brain around the written pattern. I hope to have pictures soon.

Whiskers on Wednesday

Oh, to be a cat and sleep so soundly. Zorro is the spot that Pia made. BTW, I have not found Pia sleeping here anymore so I guess it is now Zorro's spot.

Last Saturday I was doing a kitty check. I could not find Zorro. Then Sissy gave him up! Sleeping at the end of my coffee table.

Stanley has a better idea. His own spot high up.

Remember to stop by WoW and check out the cats that have their own web page.

Clapotis Finished

I am so glad this is over and done with. I have used up most of the yarn. This is where this will reside...at work on the back of my chair. I will be able to wear it when the AC in the office gets too cold. Even with my work sheet I still had trouble keeping attention.

I was finally able to get a few pictures of the Gold Finches. They are so fun to watch.

I am waiting for my Knit Picks order to arrive with the BSJ pattern. Tonight I am winding up the Hand spun Leicester Longwool & Alpaca 4 oz that my BFF brought back from WVA. It is so scratchy so I hope it will soften up once knit and wash. I am going to start the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf going up a needle size or two. As I looked at the skein closer I saw that it is spun very thin and thick (layman's term) With the different shades and texture I am hoping this pattern works out. If anyone has used this yarn and can tell me what to do I would appreciate it.

Whiskers on Wednesday

This is a short post. My camera battery went dead so the post I planned will have to wait for next week.
This is Zorro last night in Pia's spot!! After awhile I had to get him down. Pia is getting stressed. It started with the fleas and now she is loosing hair on her big, fluffy tail.
This is Sissy's new spot after dinner. This is the only window that lets the sun in and it only comes in at a angle as the sun sets. Smart girl!

Head on over the WoW! I am in the spotlight this week!! Monica you did a wonderful job.

Whiskers on Wednesday

Pia reading my pattern "see this? this is where you screwed up" Pia is always helping me knit.

"Hey, you don't need the instructions...you don't follow them too good"

Another Long, Lazy Weekend....

When I last left you I was debating on knitting up the Clapotis. After 5 tries to get to Row 14 with 17 stitches, one was when I decided to go up to size 9 needle. I am using yarn from a shrug I ripped out. Caron Simply Soft Shadows. 1) I wanted to use up something I has in my stash 2) I like to colorway. This is what I needed to do with the pattern so I could keep track. As I have mentioned before I have ADD when it comes to following a pattern. I will be knitting along and before I know it --I have done what? Which row? So this is my life saver. Thursday-- I was out of work at noon. You think you should do something special when you have extra time. So what do I do? I got a haircut. Short. Feels great, looks, short. I then went home and took a nap! Love afternoon naps. I get up everyday at 5:00 am and I start dropping around 3:30 pm. At work that only leaves me with an hour of work and a hour commute. During the week I do nothing that can't wait for the weekend then I knit and catch up on any TV that I have DVR. This weekend there were marathons of Twilight Zone, Law & Order, Clean Sweep. House Hunters.

Friday-- up early. Coffee and sat outside for a while and the Mocking Bird serenaded me. I stayed off the computer all day. Since it is now my Saturday, I vacuumed and straighten up the place. Knit on Clapppy. It is an easy pattern but you do need to pay attention. Took a nap and drove to my BFF for swim & Barbecue. When I arrived it started to rain so everything was moved inside. Pleasant evening with good food and company. I took Clappy with me and for the first time I sat and knit while everyone got caught up and the kids played around.

Saturday- hey I'm up! Coffee and that damn bird. Checked my email. Started laundry. Only one load this week. Where is my Sunday paper? Oh, it is Saturday. Move some things around to find what is where. I am looking for my gorilla Glue. I have a marble flower/birdbath and gorilla Glue should do the trick.

Sunday-- up at 4:30 thanks to Sissy then same routine. Still looking for the glue! Knit on Clappy on and off. Took an early nap. Worked in the garden cutting limbs and branches that are over the walkway. Filled up a lawn trash bag. Now I need to figure out what to do with the other side that is overgrown with ivy, strawberry vine and weeds!! Looks like the best way would be to take my hoe and start digging them out. Hoe is in the shed. Can't find the keys. I put them in a place I would know where they are. I have looked in all those places and can't find them any where. So I am putzing around. Knit a row or two of Clappy, hung the clock & the cross stitch, below, in the kitchen. I have not hung up anything since I had the whole place painted over two years ago. Oh, do you do this? I look at something that at one time I wanted and now I wonder how much it would be worth on EBay! Then I do a search and find out it is not worth giving up.

Monday- I took off an extra day. Morning wake up the same, Sissy the alarm clock. Today I am going to return some items. I do all my shopping to the right. I drove to the store furthest away. Made a left turn into Petsmart. Returned the flea stop since I did get Advantage. Picked up a thistle feeder for Goldfinch since I have seen them and they have fed here before. Also got another cat toy. Then next door to Michael's. Used my 40% off coupon from AC Moore and got Gorilla Glue, new cashier did not know how to ring in a competitor coupon. Bed Bath and Beyond is in between the two and brought two boxes of my K-Cups for my Kerurig using 2- 20% off coupons. I drive behind the shopping center to a service road to Walmart. This is my 2nd attempt to return the Belkin Starter Kit. It turned out I did not need it to play the MP3 player in the car. It took 45 min for them to figure out how to ring in an online return. This was after I wrote to walmart online and told them of my first return problem. On line service great. In store service- well they do not train. Stopped by Tuesday Morning for the last return, they are closed for restocking. Oh, Tippy's Taco right here so I picked up lunch/dinner. Did one last minute stop where I had to cross the highway! It is a nursery and I was hoping I could get two bird bath tops. Did not have. Picked up a new mat for the front door and Round up. I think I will zap some of those weeds since I can't find the key to the shed!This is the progress of Clappy so far. I think I knit two extra rows and skipped row 6 on the straight part. So now I need to figure out if I rip down and to where, so much for the chart.

Whiskers on Wednesday

I took this picture yesterday morning. A little switch out on their bowl positions as well as the other side of the room. When I got home Monday I had the dreaded invasion of ANTS. So I walk in and tear everything up, spray, but not before I try to follow their trail of entry (never did find the exact place), sweep, mop, twice. Wash everything. Meanwhile, everyone is watching and waiting in the next room wondering what the hell she is up to now. I am not a happy mama.

Every morning and evening I start with bowl #1 (the blue bowl). Every time I have 4 cats at the one bowl. I then put a handful into the next, and so forth. Pecking order, Pia, Zorro, Stanley then Sissy. Stanley is always at each bowl like he has never eaten before and won't get his share. Sissy knows the drill (girls are just smarter)

R to L: Zorro, Pia, Stanley, Sissy

Since this is my first official post for WOW (we won't count last weeks lame attempt) I am going to give you links to past posts to get to know all my furry purries. The Girls, Pia, Sissy, The Boys. A post of the boys father Big Boy

and lo and behold, their mother who I only was able to get a picture of yesterday morning while I had locked myself out of the house and the car. I left the keys on the computer keyboard and my Pela sliding doors do not need a key to lock up. Thank goodness my neighbor's husband was home. She is hoofing it to the bus stop, to the Metro to get to work in DC. A Metro ride to my work in Tysons Corner will not be ready until 2014 or later at which time I hope to be retired.