Random thoughts

I'm a bad girl....

2008-03-09T22:12:00.002-04:00

Neglecting this blog so long. Sorry folks, the shop is eating all my time.

However this: http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=730501
was just too cute not to pas along to folks.

BTW, it's the picture of a cuttle fish, the creature from which a cuttle bone comes from.

And dang if it's not cute.

Time flys!

2007-11-15T23:14:00.000-05:00

I've been busy. Very busy. And tomorrow (Friday the 16th) all my work will be open to the public.
Ok, not just my work, the folks I have helping me with the store deserve most of the credit.

Natural Stitches invites you to join us as we open the doors TOMORROW at 10am!

Way past time....

2007-10-17T23:06:00.001-04:00

For me to post.

But I'm a bit busy with the shop.

You can check out the shop's blog: Knit On

And the shops web page: Natural Stitches

Been VERY busy. The cats are great, Raven is over 16 lbs now! Someday I need to post more kitty pictures.

All better

2007-09-02T17:23:00.001-04:00

Well, Robin, the computer god that he is, fixed my problems with uploading files to PittsburghKnitting so all is well there.

I wanted to point folks to the Fiber Festival that a friend is planning.

And lastly, Natural Stitches now has a blog and I'm off to do some updating on that page.

Keep on knitting!

Pittsburghknitting down

2007-08-30T00:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I tried to upload new files to http://www.pittsburghknitting.com/ tonight and managed to munge a few files. Like the MAIN ONE!

I'll try again in the morning.

Wheee..................................*splat*

On the Knitting Front

2007-07-30T23:37:00.000-04:00

Nine years ago I closed the doors to the yarn shop I had owned for over five years.

Soon I am going to be reopening those doors, in a way.

I have decided it is time for me to once again open and run a yarn store in the city of Pittsburgh. So, like a phoenix, Natural Stitches will be reborn.

I am waiting to actually sign the lease on a space that is perfect. Ok, maybe not quite perfect, but definitely close.

With over 2000 square feet it'll be a BIG place and I'll need to carry a lot of yarns.

I'm willing to entertain any suggestions local folks might have. Though I plan on not carrying much (if any) yarns that you can find at Michael's, JoAnn's, or Pat Catan's.

I can't give any more details, primarily because until I actually sign the lease, I don't HAVE any of the details. *sigh* So stay tuned for future updates!

Wheee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Golden Compass Daemon

2007-07-14T15:07:00.000-04:00

Ok, I had to do this. Is it right? Let me know!

Bad yarn stores

2007-06-23T14:21:00.001-04:00

So, on the flip side, what can make a yarn store a BAD yarn store. One you dread going to?

Feel free to comment or to send me email at: ddancer2 AT yahoo.com

Thanks all!

What makes a good yarn store?

2007-06-23T14:16:00.000-04:00

This is a serious question for the (two?) readers of my blog. What makes a yarn store a good yarn store? What can make it exceptional?

Feel free to comment or to send me email at: ddancer2 AT yahoo.com

Thanks all!

Still Alive

2007-06-13T00:09:00.000-04:00

Yes, I am still alive.

All the cats are doing great.

Buddy has become very snuggly in the evening.

Brigid is still very skittish, but she sleeps at the end of the bed in a kitty bed pretty much every night.

Raven, ah Raven. He's gotten HUGE. He's not even a year old and I think he's nearly 15 lbs! And no, it's not really fat. He's just big.

He's also being Clicker Trained and loves it when we work together.

Sorry for the crummy pictures. I quickly snapped them minutes ago just for fun.

On the knitting front I recently finished a red short sleeved sweater, perhaps I should wear it tomorrow.

Oh yeah, In September I started Medifast. So far I've lost 75 lbs! Yeay!

On the pet front

2007-04-07T02:32:00.000-04:00

Reading one of my favorite blogs, My Life is a Zoo, I came across this listing of pet food companies who are NOT involved in the various recalls. http://www.thepetfoodlist.com

To all my readers who have pets, do take the time to look at this list very carefully. And check it regularly. Seems there are more and more foods and treats being recalled.

If you have a pet that might have gotten sick because of this, please go to Pet Connection and report it. Also to the FDA. We MUST let folks know how bad it is and how important our companion animals are!!!

Still Alive

2007-04-01T01:51:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'm still alive. Sorry I haven't posted but writing isn't easy for me.

The kitties are all doing well. Raven is getting bigger, Brigid is still very shy, and Buddy has taken a liking to sleeping in my lap when I knit. Raven is also learning to be a clicker trained kitty. He can do several tricks and he's only ~10 months old!

Tonight (Well, Saturday) Was my SO's birthday so I invited two good friend over and we had fondue. Both a lovely cheese fondue and a broth one. Lots of goodies to dip, and all were stuffed.

Knitting wise, I'm working on a sweater for the cruise I'm going on on the 23rd. A healing shawl for a friend, the ever going socks, and way more other projects that I can't keep track of! And I'm keeping Pittsburgh Knitting up to date as well.

I'm also doing a lovely pearl spiral rope necklace to go with the little black dress I bought for the cruise. It's lovely.

Ah yes, last but not least, Pittsburgh Knitting has a new logo. And there is even merchandise you can get if you want. Proceeds go to the designer of the logo, my SO, who will be losing his current job end of April. So please support a starving artist.. uhm... programmer... uhm... guy I really like. (Yeah, that's it.)

Take care all.

On the Kitty front:

2007-01-18T16:47:00.000-05:00

Remember the kitty tree I got?

Here's what I found today.

Raven and Brigid at the tip top level.

Aren't they cute???

House Filk a coming!

2007-01-05T01:20:00.000-05:00

Hey to all those filkers who happen to read my blog. Ok, does ANYONE read my blog???

Ah well, on Saturday, January 13th we will be hosting a filking night at the house and all are welcome to come, just email me to let me know you are coming.

For those who don't know what filk is, the easiest way to describe it is "The music of the Science Fiction/Fantasy community."

Some favorite filkers of mine include: Tom Smith, Ookla the Mok, Heather Alexander, and so many others that I honestly can't name them all. Too bad none of the above will be here..... this time. >-)

We start sometime around 5 ish and end when I decide to toss people out.
I'll be providing drinks and snacks, but feel free to bring something for yourself. NO alcohol, please. The house is non-smoking and there are 3 cats who rule the place (But you'd know that if you read this blog, right?) so if you need meds, take them.

Hope to see some folks there!

Rediculous concept

2007-01-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

Today while at K-Mart I was looking for a new LitterMaid litter box as the Mega version is, well, to be blunt, a piece of crap. Actually more like many small pieces. You see, the rake goes down to about 1/8 above the bottom so as it sweeps across it mangles all the clumps into small little pieces that it then collects behind the rake.

I'd gotten one of the older versions at a local store only to discover that it didn't work at all. Plugged it in, nothing.

So, back to K-Mart. They had the following:

You might not be able to read the box, but it's a SEMI-Automatic device. You have to wait ten minutes after the cat uses it and then step on a foot pedal.

I'll ask, how many people are going to watch the dang-gummed box all day and then wait ten minutes after it's used to step on the pedal???? Really? I'm just glad I looked closely at the box! I came very close to buying this without really reading what it is.

I'll note, I could NOT find this product on the LitterMaid website so I'm wondering if this is a very low end (~$70) product that they aren't touting very much?

As it is, I'm still looking for the first/second generation of LitterMaid because my friend has one and says it works well for her. Anyone have other automatic boxes to recommend? Or any other system? I HATE scooping the ^&%*&^(^ cat box!

Kitty Blogging!

2006-12-28T00:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I have a new position for using my computer.

Here are some pictures of Raven hanging out in a little sling that my friend Steel City Knitter showed me how to tie.

Needless to say, it's only marginally better than letting him wander about unfettered. And he's been in this for at least an hour now!

As the cameraman tries to get a shot.

Picture from the other side.

"Hey all you folks out there reading this blog, let me sleep!"

Cat Blogging!

2006-12-06T00:28:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been an interesting half week here at Château Underwood-Stockton.

The house was too empty after Friday and by Saturday I was already on the hunt for a new companion.

Today we found him.

He was called Cairo at the Animal Rescue League but we are likely to change his name as soon as we figure out what it is.

UPDATE Thursday: He is now officially called Raven, as in Native American myth.

He is incredibly affectionate and loves to be in your lap and be cuddled. He's also in isolation for now as he has a bit of a cold. Poor thing, his sneezes knock him over!

Oh, the biggest thing is he is very young..... only 5 Months old! (Which for me is a baby) but he's currently nearly the size of a year old cat. His feet are huge and we expect he'll grow into them!

More Cat blogging:

A few weeks ago I bought the kids a decadent Kitty tree from 7th Heaven and finally got a picture of them using it! Brigid is in the little house trying to decide if she's going to pounce on the Buddy. The purple thing to the right is Robin.

Rainbow Bridge Again

2006-12-01T22:27:00.000-05:00

This evening I had to make another very hard decision. Selina has been with me for at least 20 years. When I got her she was an ugly stupid kitten that I very nearly gave away. Then she turned into one of the most beautiful cats I'd ever seen.
She had both calico spot and tabby stripes. Egyptian Kohl markings around her eyes.
She had the quietest little mew until she underwent radiation therapy for hyperthyroidism. Then she was the most talkative and demanding creature. :-)
She was my precious baby. My favorite. And I miss her so much.

Fifth Wednesday again!

2006-11-27T00:37:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I've been awful about updating the blog. Sorry.

This Wednesday - November 29th is once again Fifth Wednesday Knitting.

Bring you knitting, crocheting, or any other creative endeavor to the Monroeville Denny's starting around 7 pm.

All are welcome!

On the kitty front, I may be losing Selina soon. She gave me a big scare Thanksgiving day and I thought I was going to have to put her to sleep on my birthday! Yesterday and today she was back to her old 20+ year old self so I think, for now, she's doing ok. But I suspect she may not make it to Christmas. *sigh* She's going to be hard to lose, I've had her half my life! (Ok, for those that can do math, you can now figure out my age. :-P )

Fifth Monday Knitting!

2006-10-29T19:06:00.000-05:00

Be there or be bored all night!

This Monday (The 30th) at 7 pm, folks in Pittsburgh, PA will wander to the Denny's in the Monroeville area for a fun night of knitting, eating and looking at other folks' wonderful projects.

Come join us even if you don't know anyone! We love having new folks join us.

Bring you knitting, crocheting, tatting, whatever! All are welcome.

See you there!

Friday Cat Blogging

2006-10-13T01:20:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I exist. Been too hung up on perfection to actually blog anything.

So, here's a picture of Brigid. She's either keeping me IN my computer room, or keeping the bad guys out. Too bad she's asleep. :-)

Totally Exhausted

2006-09-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

I have spent the last three days in an intensive PMC Certification course.

My mind is mush, my bank account spent, and my work pretty darn good. Of course I forgot to bring a camera, so pictures will have to wait til I get home.

But I figured there might be one or two folks who still read this blog who might be wondering what I've been up to.

Off to sleep. I fly back home tomorrow. Oh joy, I get to fly on 9/11. I hope it is very UNeventful.

Fifth Wednesday Knitting!

2006-08-29T20:56:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is Fifth Wednesday Knitting at the Denny's in Monroeville.

So, all you knitters reading my blog had better be there! Or have a really good excuse.

Like you live in California, or better, Mars (and I don't mean PA!)

Otherwise, you had better come or I'll be very sad. :-(

I actually exist

2006-08-15T16:18:00.000-04:00

I keep forgetting to post.

I had a wonderful time up in Alaska fishing with my wonderful family. I came home with ~80 lbs of frozen fish and we coulda gotten twice that easily. But what would one DO with that much fish?

Been knitting, but no pictures. Been beading, again no pictures. The cats are still cute, still no pictures.

But, I do exist.

Oh, I also got a wonderful package from my Secret Pal THANKS!!!! (I have pictures, but the are still in the camera.)

Ack Eek Oop!

2006-07-26T20:46:00.000-04:00

I'm getting ready to go away with my family on a fishing trip to Alaska. I leave on Friday catching a 6:00 AM plane. Now anyone who knows me knows I am SOOO not a morning person. So I am staying up all night. I should be in good shape when I get to Juneau. (NOT!)

I have been running around like crazy trying to make certain my SO can cope with the kitties, the fact that he had recent major surgery and still can't lift anything, and packing.

I have been very bad about posting pictures of the lovely thing my two Secret Pals have sent. My Other Secret pal sent lovely lace weight alpaca and other goodies. My Secret Pal 8 sent me more lovely yarn, chocolate, and other goodies including catnip for the cats. (BTW, the "ball" disappeared in 5 minutes, I have NO clue where it went!)

I hope to get pictures up when I return sometime after the 6th.

Sorry for the lack of postings, life's been a bit non-normal lately.

Pittsburgh Knitting has been updated!

2006-07-15T15:58:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to let folks know there are several new Knit-Togethers and one new blog.
I've also put up dates for the ever popular Fifth Monday/Wednesday!

Pittsburgh folks who have blogs, check them out and make sure they are correct. If you blog isn't there, WHY NOT? You don't have to talk only about knitting, goodness knows I don't!

Folks who host Knit-Togethers, make sure the info is correct. Let me know you still exist and are meeting.

http://www.pittsburghknitting.com is for EVERYONE. Let me know how I can make it better.

Friday Cat Blogging

2006-07-14T10:58:00.000-04:00

Back when Domino was having trouble getting up onto my bed, a wonderful friend made me a cube covered in the same carpet as my bedroom.

Here is Brigid looking very cute, though very evil as well.

Wheee!

2006-07-03T18:48:00.000-04:00

Just an update.
My SO (Robin) is out of the hospital finally. They ended up doing surgery and now he gets to recover. But he is home finally and I can relax.

It's been a LONG 11 days.

Rough week

2006-06-25T21:45:00.000-04:00

The following was sent out Friday in email to friends and I realized that I forgot to blog about it:

For folks who remember me knitting on a Christening gown for my nephew....

Monday I did a sanity check on it and determined that there was NO WAY it would fit (Too small). So I called my brother, apologized and told him I'd see him on Friday.

Well it's Friday night and I'm still here in PGH. Seems my SO(Robin) had a second bout with diverticulitis and is now scheduled for surgery on Monday (The day I would have returned).

So keep him in your prayers, he's cooped up at the hospital bored outta his skull and won't be back for several DAYS after the surgery.

Attention AT&T Wireless customers

2006-06-21T22:04:00.000-04:00

Ok, I don't often bring up potential flame war material in this blog. But the following caught my attention. I just hope that other wireless carriers don't decide to do the same.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/21/BUG9VJHB9C1.DTL

The meat of the article is that AT&T is changing their privacy policy and requiring you to agree to it if you want to continue using their service. Ok, that's fair. Here's the kicker in the policy:

"While your account information may be personal to you, these records constitute business records that are owned by AT&T," the new policy declares. "As such, AT&T may disclose such records to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process."

So, legitimate business practices such as selling your calling habits to anyone willing to pay for them....

Then there is this quote about their new video services:
"The policy also indicates that AT&T will track the viewing habits of customers of its new video service -- something that cable and satellite providers are prohibited from doing."

Wow. Can we say Big Brother is watching what you watch?!?!!

*sigh* I'm glad I don't use AT&T for anything.

SP8 Goodies!!!!

2006-06-14T18:32:00.000-04:00

I got a lovely box of goodies today from my Secret Pal 8.

Here’s the box on my bed. It’s pretty big!

I’ve laid out all the goodies. In the card my SP wrote that the theme was blue. You can see Buddy in the background taking stock.

Here is what was in the packages. A wonderful roving (Note says it’s superwash, can you say SOCKS!), yarn that was hand dyed by my SP and roommate, some lovely chocolates, some really pretty blue beads, cool stitch markers & case(SP, did you make these?), and a neat book I can’t wait to investigate. (Probably whilst eating the chocolates!) And you can see Buddy again, ignore what he’s doing.

And a close up (sorta) of the goodies. I recently got a new tripod and I’m having much fun learning how to use it.

Thank you soooo much SP8!!!

Life got expensive....

2006-06-04T22:19:00.000-04:00

Ok, just my newest hobby. I found five wonderful leaves to paint with PMC+ slip and turn into pure silver. Then I discovered that I ran out of PMC+ slip! So, I’ve made a quick order of lots (10!) more PMC+, but I’ll have to use the PMC3 I have on hand because the leaves need to be done rather quickly or they get ruined.

Here are some photos of recent stuff:

Before firing:

After firing:

BTW, those two leaves are the same leaf. First one I pressed it into a rolled out slab of clay. Second one was painted with ~10-15 layers of slip, that's why it's green - that's the real leaf there.
A big THANK YOU to my SO for getting much better pictures for me after seeing the crummy ones I managed.

The OTHER SP Exchange Questions

2006-05-28T20:50:00.000-04:00

1. My favorite yarn to knit with is:
Superwash wools

2. I really do not enjoy knitting with:
100% cotton, most acrylics

3. If I had a choice, I would banish this yarn from my LYS:
http://www.ozarkhandspun.com/, IMO it gives handspun a REALLY bad reputation. If my publically stating this gets me in trouble, I'll at least have stated my opinion before I die.

4. If I could knit only one more project for the rest of my life, it would be:
Lace

5. My favorite flower is:
Lilacs, Lily of the valley, and Iris

6. My current color obsession is:
Purple!

7. My other interests are:
Spinning, Beading, PMC, Weaving, reading, cooking, and my cats

8. Something I wish I knew more about is:
Pretty much anything, I feel I haven’t learned nearly enough about everything out there.

9. A knitting technique I want to learn is:
Nothing I can think of, since I’ve tried pretty much everything

10. My favorite needles to knit with are:
Addi Turbos, followed by Denices

11. Do you knit socks?
All the time, I only wear hand knit socks

12. Please provide your foot measurements*:
8 ½ size shoe, ankle – 11, foot circ – 9 ½, top of sock to heel bottom – 7, length – 9

13. What was your favorite childhood movie?
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

14. What is one thing in your knitting bag that you can't live without?
Chibis!

15. What is lacking in your notions bag that you really, really want?
More Chibi as I have so many things started I can never find the ones I have.

16. What is currently on the needles at your house?
At the house (As opposed to in the car), The never ending Christening gown (Gotta be finished by June 25th!), Bear rug for my nephew, Angel Island shell for me, and about 50+ other things. (In the car is a pair of socks I just started this weekend)

17. If you could do nothing but knit all day, every day, for the next month (and get paid for it!), what would you knit?
Since I can’t knit for more than 3-4 hours at a shot, I wouldn’t get paid much. But socks. Definitely.

18. Least favorite color(s):
Browns, oranges, and most fall colors

19. Favorite genre of music?
Very eclectic, but new age fits best.

20. Favorite candy or sweet:
Dark chocolate covered candied orange peel

21. What is the most challenging thing you have ever knit?
Lace, and I love it

22. How long have you been knitting?
Since 1992.

Friday Cat Blogging

2006-05-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

I present the lazy cat, Brigid
To live such a life as this one does!
(Her pink belly is from the fact she was spayed in late February and the fur is still a might short.)

No fur flew!

2006-05-09T17:06:00.000-04:00

It's been only four days since the new addition. While there are still rumblings, growls and hisses, I got this shot and didn't hear a thing!

This is Buddy and Brigid.

And my blog is turning into more of a cat blog than anything else! But...she is my new 'baby'.

More "Baby" Pictures

2006-05-09T16:13:00.000-04:00

Ok, We've settled on a name: Brigid. And while she's not technically a baby (She's 2 years old) I was holding her like a baby to get these two pictures.

Enjoy!

A new addition

2006-05-06T21:21:00.000-04:00

It’s been only a week since I lost Domino and the house has been so empty.

Yeah, I know I have two other cats, and I do love them dearly. But they don’t seem quite enough to fill the hole in my heart. So I decided to start looking for another fur ball.

I have a wonderful friend who works for Animal Friends as an adoption counselor so Robin and I traipsed over to their new facility and looked at cats. We got to see a 1 week old kitten that was rescued; though its mommy is still not trapped (They are trying). We then looked in the cages and rooms to see lots of fluffy cats, shy cats, crazy cats and all sorts of other cats.

Deciding to get to know a couple of them we sat in a room. After meeting a few, we found the one we decided to bring home. We nearly came home with two, but I really liked having three cats, so we’ll see if a two year old can get along with a 19+ and 11 year old.

So I present, Brigit (At least, that’s what we are calling her for now) (Sorry for the lousy pictures)

Secret Pal 8 Questionnaire

2006-05-02T22:02:00.000-04:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I'm primarily a wool/natural fiber person. I'm not fond of most acrylics. And I have to be careful with most cotton as it can hurt my hands. I adore sock yarns and lace weights

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
An antique silverware chest from my maternal grandmother (And in over 50 UFOs)

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Avidly since 1991, I consider myself Advanced.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Nope.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Lilac and Lily of the Valley.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Sure do. Love good quality, dark chocolate covered orange peel, but I’ll try anything except white chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
You name it, I do it. Primarily I knit, weave, bead, spin and work with precious metal clay. But I also do origami, cooking, and most other forms of needlework like crochet, cross stitch, etc.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I’m very eclectic, but I like new age a lot. My computer/car/mobile sound device can play pretty much anything

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
Purple. Followed closely by teals, greens, and blues. I don’t do browns/autumn colors.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Long term live-in SO, and two cats (Just lost one, might get another sometime soon)

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Sure. More scarves than the others.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Sock. Hands (Or rather feets) down. :-)

13. What are you knitting right now?
Primarily the never ending Christening gown for my new nephew. And other goodies for him. Also socks. Some sweaters for me. Didn’t I say I had over 50 UFO’s?

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yup.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Addi Turbo circulars, followed by Denise. But I already have 3 sets of those. (See UFO count above)

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Several of both.

17. How did you learn to knit?
Last time was when I got stubborn and a friend showed me continental. It finally stuck.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?
Older than my oldest cat and she’s over 19.

19. What is your favorite holiday?
None in particular.

20. Is there anything that you collect?
Stoneware pottery

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I keep pretty much on top of new books and patterns, so I don’t really have a waiting list. Though I’d love to know when Myrna Stahlman’s Variations is due out!!!
I have subscriptions to Knitters & Interweave Knits.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Dying yarns, I’ll be taking a class on the 11th of May, I hope. (Last one was cancelled)

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Big time. 8 ½ size shoe, ankle – 11, foot circ – 9 ½, top of sock to heel bottom – 7, length – 9

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
11/25

Rainbow Bridge

2006-04-29T16:14:00.000-04:00

Today I made one of the hardest decisions in my life to put Domino to sleep. She's been sick with a tumor for over 9 months and I finally had the courage to make this decision.
She filled my life with love and purrs and kitty kisses for at least 18 years and I will miss her so very much.
Thank you to all who helped me though the last nine months. And for those who have furry critters, please give them an extra snuggle from me.

Some times life just sucks

2006-04-28T23:43:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I am taking Domino to the vet to "discuss her quality of life". Most likely I’ll be coming home without her. She’s started to piss and poop in corners and her newest thing is hiding under my bed.
It’s so very hard when they insinuate themselves so deeply into your heart and soul.

I’ll leave you with a picture I got the other day of all my kids on my bed. Enjoy.

Friday Cat Blogging

2006-04-07T13:39:00.000-04:00

Selina. Now over 19 years old, she acts like she is 6!

Domino. This is a recent photo, you can't really see how skinny she has become, not how big her tumor is. We take each day as they come.

Buddy. This is an older picture as he won't stay still. I kinda like the lighting effect here, he's probably watching a glint of light from my watch.

I almost forgot!

2006-04-06T15:20:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday March 29th, the Fifth Wednesday knitters got together and we had a blast.Believe it or not, I got to meet my Secret Pal! She was a local. How cool is that?
She also shares my passion for sushi!

Here's the present she got me. That's Domino in the background. The squooshy thing is supposedly a Cat bed from Magical Knitting 2, it didn't work out too well, but the cats occasionally use it.

Here are all the goodies wrapped in paper as Domino wanders around checking things out.

More wandering but you can see a hint of pink in the pretty tissue paper.

Ah, look at these yummy yarns. These are two colors of Knit Pick's Dancing. And a lovely spring note pad for making lists.

Thanks again Secret Pal, Yvonne!

My new passion

2006-03-15T20:40:00.000-05:00

Recently I discovered a new creative art, Precious Metal Clay (PMC). In this medium, you work with a claylike material, shape it, form it, and then dry it out. After it is thoroughly dry, you fire it either in a kiln or with a hand-held torch.

I’ve taken three classes and I am hooked!

Here is a piece I did at home, using a torch for the final firing. This piece in real life, is ¾” x ¾” square. This scan actually shows the pattern detail on the stars better than you can see in real life! I am probably going to apply liver of sulfur, which will darken and patina the piece, then re-shine the raised parts.

Enjoy!

Waste of money

2006-03-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

Tonight we went to Lonestar Steakhouse in Monroeville and had one of the worst meals in a long time.

I ordered a special called a Garlic Lovers. The picture showed creamy, garlic mashed potatoes, 5 shrimp, and a steak. The steak and shrimp had a nice looking glaze/sauce with small pieces of garlic in it.

What I got was a steak, 5 shrimp piled on the steak, a white gluey mess of pureed garlic and some totally inedible instant potatoes. The garlic ‘sauce’ was incredibly unsubtle and nearly flavorless except for the tang of MSG. The shrimp were ok, once I divested them of most of the garlic, and the steak was definitely medium when I ordered medium rare. The potatoes, well, they were inedible. They were barely warm, and tasted like instant potatoes with no butter or milk, much less garlic. Our waiter offered to get some hot ones, but I knew heating the concoction wasn’t likely to make them any more edible.

My partner got the appetizer chicken strips with buffalo sauce and stated they were uninspired and not subtle at all. Personally, I suspect that buffalo has come to mean HOT, not spicy. Ah well.

The Amarillo fries were pretty good, once we got the dipping sauce our waiter forgot.

Oh, yeah, this meal (with NO alcohol) came to $35. For that I could have gone to Whole Foods and probably bought two porterhouses AND all the fixings!

Needless to say, we aren’t going back for at least 6-9 months, or more. And this may be the perfect reason to get a nice grill for my nice new house…..come mid-spring. I don’t grill at 35F! *brrrrr*

Yummy Surprise!

2006-02-18T21:50:00.000-05:00

I got another package from my Secret Pal today and it was filled with goodies!

I remembered to take pictures too!

Here's the package before opening it.

After opening it.

Look at all these goodies!

There are two skeins of alpaca, two of a neat ribbon yarn, and lots of pampering lotions and such. In the small box are seeds for Bachelor Buttons.

And Buddy was my helper so I let him play in the wrapping.

Thank you Secret Pal!!!

I'm alive.... sorta

2006-02-18T01:19:00.000-05:00

Seems I caught either a sinus or ear infection during a recent trip. So I'm dealing with headaches and mild dizziness. Whee.... Yes, I'm on antibiotics.

My lovely Secret Pal send me two skeins of Knit Picks' dyeable yarn: Color Your Own so I can make socks! Though with 880 yards I may go for a shawl! But first I gotta find time to dye it. :-)

Domino is still hanging in there. She wasn't doing well when I first got home from my trip, but now she seems better than she was when I left. For a cat who was given 2 months back in October.....
Selina is still deaf, and mooching snuggles anytime she can. Though she's stopped sleeping in the bed with me. *sniff*
Buddy, he's still a totally nuisance. And I love him dearly.

How's that for an update folks?

Oh yeah, the SO is doing well save for an infected cyst on the back that had to be drained three times now. Yuck.

Have a good weekend everyone!

This you GOTTA see!

2006-01-24T23:41:00.000-05:00

An AUTOMATED knitting machine from Legos! If only I did Legos!

http://homepage.mac.com/aklego/iMovieTheater23.html

I'm alive, honest

2006-01-24T00:33:00.000-05:00

I've been knitting. Doing a lot of swearing too. Seems the last, oh, 6 commercial patterns I've tried to knit have ALL had major errors in them. Some even this experienced knitter couldn't figure out a way around.
On one there were corrections, on a tiny slip of paper that had to fall out of the pattern book for me to notice. *Whew* As this was for a special project.
Do beware of KnitPicks patterns, the 3 I've looked at all had errors. The free baby sweater has at least 3, most of them a semi-experienced knitter can figure out. If you start off with an odd number and decrease 10 stitches you do NOT end up with an even number. Things like that.
Does no one proof knit these things any more?

Re. Knit Picks
Seems they have put up a revised Baby sweater with at least one of the major errors corrected (I haven't had time to search my memory for the others.) I applaud them for correcting things.

Ah well, off to knit some lace.

More Template whining

2006-01-12T20:29:00.000-05:00

"You just follow the directions as to where to put what and where on the template."

Ok, guess I wasn't clear, as much HTML as I know, I cannot find these mysterious directions or where the heck in the template I'm supposed to edit. Since I can't SEE the entire lines of html code it's very difficult for me to read and understand it. My attempts to edit the &*^$%*^^% template outside of the Blogger interface and then drop it back in have been quite unsuccessful.

Help?

Template editing help

2006-01-11T00:21:00.000-05:00

Ok folks, I need some help. I keep seeing these wonderful templates folks have and how easily people put things like buttons and other info into their blogs.

Personally, as a web page designer, I find the template creating/editing tool in Blogger to be impossible to understand/use.

HOW do you all do it so easily?!?!?! Is there some magic software out there that I've missed? Some easy to understand tutorial that will suddenly make me a Blogger Wizard? Or are you all faking the ease and it really IS a pain in the butt to make simple changes like putting a Secret Pal Button in my blog?

Thanks for listening to the rant....

Secret Pal 7

2006-01-08T02:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I joined up and now I get to put all this revealing information out on my Blog. Enjoy all you lurkers!

Guess I'll have to keep my blog more up-to-date than I have been. :-)

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?

Definitely. I will use high quality acrylics for babies, and Lion brand does have a few yarns I like.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

Yup to both. I also weave and do beadwork

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

An old silverware chest of drawers I inherited from my Grandmother

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

Avidly since 1992. I’d consider myself pretty advanced.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Not at the present

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Anything floral, but not too heavy

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Yup. Good quality dark chocolate covered orange peel, preferably hand dipped. But I’ll eat most anything.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

Beadwork is a passion, as are weaving and spinning. I’ve done pretty much everything else except stuff with hot glass.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Pretty much anything that isn’t country, rap, or heavy metal. I do like New Age and Classical. I can play pretty much any format put on a cd except MAC software. :-)

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

Purple. I’m a blue/green/purple person. I stay away from most autumn colors.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

3 cats (two very elderly) and one boyfriend. (Do note the order there ;-) )

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Yup to all

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

Brownsheep and most superwash wools. I also knit socks like a fiend

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Most cheap acrylics that squeak. Also, most 100% cottons are too hard on my hands to knit with comfortably

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Lace and socks. And thing for my brother’s baby due in March.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks, hands down.

17. What are you knitting right now?

Uhmm…. I’ll keep it to the top 5 current projects
1. Bear ‘rug’ for my brother’s baby
2. Christening gown for said baby
3. Scarf for myself
4. Socks for the boyfriend
5. Socks for me

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Definitely

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Circulars

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Addi Turbos then Denises (I have 3 sets)

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

A few of both

22. How did you learn to knit?

First time when I was 7 by my mom, last time by a friend from Iceland

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

Non-knitting – about 7 years younger than me, knitting – Probably something I started in 1993, I tend have "start-itis".

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

Cats and parrots, I like Lady and the Tramp from Disney

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Dunno that I really have one

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Stoneware pottery

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Interweave and Knitters

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?

Not that I can think of, I tend to buy them when I see them

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Dyeing yarns. I’ll be taking a class in January.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Very much so. 8 ½ size shoe, ankle – 11, foot circ – 9 ½, top of sock to heel bottom – 7, length - 9

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

November 25

Ugh

2006-01-05T18:44:00.000-05:00

SAD sucks, btw. And Pittsburgh's perpetual greyness in winter has me about ready to jump on a plane to anywhere sunny.

Sorry I've not posted much.

If anyone has ideas on how to fight SAD, let me know. I'm already on an anti-depressant and I've been using a Light Box for a week or so.

Thanks for reading!

Too long again

2005-12-09T17:18:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted.
I never was one for Diaries. :-)

Domino is doing remarkably well. You still wouldn't know she was sick unless you knew how she used to be.

Knitting is still going strong, and I've gone and signed up for the Secret Pal 7 on a lark. I like getting surprise packages. And giving surprises is fun too! Too bad the SO isn’t as interested in them as I am!

Last Sunday I took a class at Crystal’s on pearl knotting so now all I want to do is knot necklaces! It’s very cool and meditative. And the results are stunning. They look a lot harder than they are to do.

Off to figure out who all is getting what for Christmas this year. Happy Holidays to everyone.

Off and Away

2005-11-15T00:05:00.000-05:00

This post is for Lin.

Tonight we (Robin and I) dined at a wonderful place called Rotelli's. The particular location is out in Murrysville which is a 30 minute drive from the new house.

Why'd we go that far? First, we had haircuts and our hairdresser moved to a new salon and this Rotelli's is right across the street. Second, GARLIC!

A friend recently did a lovely post on garlic; you should take a quick read.

Tomorrow we are off to visit Robin's family down in Orlando. Usually around this time of year Pittsburgh is cold and often snowy and a trip to Florida is a welcome relief. However, so far this year we have been in the 60's during the day and I haven't really worn a coat much. Not even a knitted sweater coat.

Last night we went to the Melting Pot - YUM! And I did wear a handknit shawl I'd made last year. But other than that, it's been quite nice outside.

My friend Carla will be looking after the kitties, especially Domino. Who is doing quite well despite the vet's dire predictions. I'm crossing my fingers she'll still be in good health when I get back.

I’m bring various socks to knit while down in FL. Simple easy things to keep me sane (Yeah, right, I’m crazy already, too late)

Who knows, I might even post from FL.

See ya!

sigh

2005-10-24T23:48:00.000-04:00

Once again it's been too long since I posted.

For the most part life has gone on and been on hold at the same time.

Domino has cancer. Most likely. We do know she has a tumor and there is no way we're operating on a 17 year old cat. Besides, it's wrapped around her gall bladder ducts and liver so they probably couldn't get it all anyway. So she is on Predisone twice a day which she LOVES getting, NOT!

On the 17th I was told to expect at most two more months with her. Damn it. I just lost one in June! Domino is my knitting buddy. She loves to sit right next to me and occasionally put her paw out to say "Mommy, can you pet me?" It's going to be hard to lose her. Then again, it's hard to lose ANY of them.

I've been knittng various things, though my last pair of socks are going to have to be ripped out and totally redone. Leg too tight and foot too loose. At least I know what I did and I think I can fix it. One person suggested I give them away and start over. Anyone want them?

Serenity

2005-09-27T23:59:00.000-04:00

I was very lucky to get to see a pre-showing of this wonderful movie. I could do a review, but two folks I sat with have already done better jobs than I ever could.
First, is gclectic's review. And second is UnSpace. Both are excellent writers and don't give any spoilers.

Go see the movie. Even if you never watched Firefly, go see it. If you like SF even a tiny bit, go see it. It is a wonderful movie about some very interesting characters that you will fall in love with. So do, go see it.

We've moved!

2005-09-05T01:00:00.000-04:00

I have been remiss in writing in this blog. Chalk it up to a very hectic move.

The actual move happened the 29th and 30th. Packers came and packed me up, then movers came and moved me. All in all a very stressful situation. Turns out the packers did a horrible job and every box is not only a mystery, but an “Ok, is anything broken?”-hold your breath situation. I've already had words with the company, so I'll leave it at that.

The cats seem to have adjusted fairly well. Going from 3 bedrooms to 6 is quite a jump. Though Domino was ill before the move, I'm keeping a special eye on her.

I also stopped at Knit One, the new store in Pittsburgh, last week and bought yarn for a new project. A yummy, soft, bulky wool/microfiber called Teseo from Dive yarns. It's going to be a sweater for me when it grows up. Once I find the camera cord I'll put up pictures.

Beads are on hold mostly because I need to figure out the space they are going into, set up the bookshelves that hold them, and secure them to the wall. This house has w-w carpeting and that is affecting all the bookcases and such. Whee!

But I love my room, it's all purple! Wisteria is the official paint color, but it's purple. :-) And I love having room to move around in, even if there are well over 150 boxes in the house that need unpacked. (*GRONK*)

Cats Knitting Beading

On the Home, Beading, & Knitting front:

2005-08-14T23:15:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to get my thoughts coherent for a few days now so I could post something to my blog.
Ah well, I'll just have to make due with whatever comes to mind.

The new house is looking good. The paint colors I chose were a bit more vibrant than I had expected, but every time I go there they grow on me. We will see how they are to live with.

On Saturday, five of us went and moved all of Robin's stuff that had been stored at a friend's house to the new place. This was stuff that he was able to leave at his old house after having sold it to a friend. We managed to get it all into a van, a trailer, and a car trunk. After ~4 hours of work, all was done. Whew! And yes, the big strong men did 90% of it.

Today was OCBPA. We met at Panera instead of the usual place and everyone had lots of pretty sparklies to show off. Of course Carla had to out do everyone, she is way too prolific!
The guys worked on cutting holes in cheap doors for cat doors. I'm hoping to solve the “Cat is always on the wrong side of a closed door” problem by giving them their own doors while still being able to close the big ones. We'll see if it works. I bought cheap doors because no way was I going to cut up the nice oak ones in the house! Uh uh!

Ah well, tomorrow is stacking up to be a good day to work on the “Here's how long I've been stuck in the house waiting for workmen to show up” shawl. I have 3 appointments and I expect one will need me there pretty much all day long. Wheeee.....

Knitting Beading

On the Home front:

2005-08-02T23:15:00.000-04:00

I own a new house!
Yeay! Now I just have to deal with all the little things that need done before I move in. You know, painting, carpeting, new alarm system....little things like that. Blblblblblbl

My friend Carla mentioned a nice shawl in a recent post on her blog, so I started it at the new house as a “Here's how long I've been stuck in the house waiting for workmen to show up” type shawl. I'm on Row 30 something. I'll try to remember to take the camera to the house for pictures of both the shawl and the house.

Knitting

On the Cat Front:

2005-07-26T00:24:00.000-04:00

Had to capture these two sleeping so sweetly on the couch.
Do notice Buddy hiding in the corner of the couch looking totally content.
Domino is the black thing on the purple afghan so lovingly crocheted for me by my dear friend Carla (Who needs to get her own blog! HINT!)

On the beading front:

2005-07-25T23:24:00.000-04:00

Today I spent all day in a WONDERFUL class at Crystal Bead Bazaar.
The teacher was Sherry Serafini and she taught a bead embroidered broach.
Every one was different and here's mine.

I've finished the initial beading. Now I need to decide which way is up. :-)
I have decided it will be a pendant, not a broach. So I'll be making a strap to hang it on after I figure out which direction is up. I'm also likely to put more fringe on it as well as hanging off the bottom.

The big cab is a paua shell, the small ones are turquoise. There are also two silver pearls.

This was SO much fun to do and the class was a great experience!

On the beading front:

2005-07-15T11:30:00.000-04:00

I recently bought these neat assortments of beads from Michaels. I got three different assortments. Here's one not yet unwrapped. Note the positioning of the paper wrapper. These are also covered with plastic.

2005-07-15T11:29:00.000-04:00

This is what I got when I opened the package. Note how the small boxes of beads don't meet in the middle! Talk about a rip-off. I'm taking all three boxes back.

On the Dining front:

2005-07-10T22:46:00.000-04:00

My current favorite restaurant to order Sushi in the Pittsburgh area (Yes, you can get decent sushi here, honest) is called Taipei Tokyo. It is in the Monroeville area.

Here is a shot of the sushi bar from my seat.

2005-07-10T22:45:00.001-04:00

This is one of their special rolls, called a Beautiful Roll. It had smoked salmon, cream cheese, and asparagus inside. On top are slices a mango and a wonderful sweet-spicy sauce. They knew I was taking pictures so they gussied up the plate with a “Cherry Tree” of paper thin banana slices, eggplant strips and maraschino cherry centers.

They have two other unlisted special rolls, Pink Lady and another whose name I forget. Be sure to ask about their unlisted specials!

2005-07-10T22:45:00.000-04:00

Here is my main order of sushi. I happen to like rolls, so there are lots of those, plus some tuna and salmon.

Robin (My SO) helped me with a few bites, but I certainly can pack away good sushi!

The chefs did a wonderful job making it look pretty, and they didn't know I had the camera then!

2005-07-10T22:43:00.000-04:00

All gone....

On the Knitting Front:

2005-07-01T02:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday(Wednesday) I started a proof of concept swatch that is turning into a beautiful sweater.

Using Lion Brand's Fun Fur in Capri (It's a striping yarn) for two rows and their Micro-Spun in Lime for two rows, I am knitting HeartStrings' 3-to-2 Any Gauge Sweater. I'm well over half way done with the back and I started it at 1 pm Wednesday!

I'll get a picture RSN. Honest.

knitting

On the Fiber and Bead front:

2005-06-30T23:54:00.000-04:00

I'm buying a new house!!! Yahoo! They have accepted my offer, it is under contract and we close on July 29th!

In preparation for the move I've been sorting through all my yarns and beads. I have WAY to much of both. But never the right stuff for what I want to do now. Ah well.

Wednesday was spent knitting. First at Barnes & Noble at the Wednesday Afternoon knitting. Then off to Denny's for the Occasional Fifth Wednesday(or Monday) Knitting.

Tonight was Beading at Crystal Bead Bazaar. It was a small, quiet group and we had a lot of fun. Joanne has brought in WAY to many pretty new #8's!

There is so much to do in preparation for the move and all I want to do is knit or bead.

knitting

Sigh

2005-06-25T23:57:00.000-04:00

In February I bought some Unscented Bounce dryer sheets that even after being open for a week still had an obvious scent to them. I complained via Planet Feedback and got a pleasant surprise in the mail – a coupon for a free box.
A couple days ago I bought another box, and again it's scented. It's definitely a strong enough scent that I don't think it just picked it up from the other boxes. I also don't really want to complain again since I worry they will think all I want is free product.
Any thoughts on what I should do?

On the Weaving Front:

2005-06-25T23:50:00.000-04:00

It's been way too long since I've updated this blog. Life's been kinda funny since Persephone left.
Today I finally finished setting up my loom and I'm about to start weaving a scarf made from a hand painted tencel warp from Heritage Yarns. This first one is in the Rainbow Iridescence colorway, and I'm weaving with Amethyst.
I'll try and get pictures once it's really underway. I have to rip what I've done as I'm not happy with it. Live and learn. It's going to be a sensuous delight.

On the Cat Front:

2005-06-10T19:16:00.000-04:00

Tuesday was one of the saddest days in my life. Early in the morning it became very evident that Persephone was in a great deal of distress. She wasn't able to stay standing and after giving her a bath with no reaction on her part, I took her to the vet.
Northern Pike Vet in Monroeville PA are the greatest. One of the vets was even crying along with me.
Persephone is now comfortable and no longer in distress, and I miss her a great deal. I have ~16 years of wonderful memories and pictures. But I definitely will miss the furry body and the cheerful “cheep” she had instead of a meow.
To all those who have pets, give them a hug from me.

Martha

On the Cat Front:

2005-06-07T01:09:00.000-04:00

Well, seems my dear Persephone may not be with me much longer. Yesterday we noticed her having trouble walking and moving her rear end.
Today at the vets we determined that either she had a stroke or the likely Lymphoma was pressing on her spinal column.
The fact that she is also exhibiting signs of being blind, make me really suspect a stroke.
For now we are watching her and giving her time to either heal, or not. In 10-14 days I'll likely have to make an unhappy decision.

Damn it's hard when you've had them for 16 years!!!

On the Knitting Front

2005-06-05T00:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I've gone and started three new projects.
I'm still letting my hands recover before delving into the DP sweater again. *SIGH*

I found a neat knit along for a Mystery Stole at:

I've updated my webpage with a new page just for this stole. So far so good.

Second project was going to be a 3-to-2 Any Gauge Sweater from Heartstrings, but the yarn I got isn't behaving at all. So I'm going to return it and start this sweater again with something else.

Lastly, I joined the Six Sox Knit Along and I'm working on a pair for CIC out of some vintage wool from my stash. Once I get them really going, I'll post pictures.

On the Random front

2005-05-26T23:48:00.000-04:00

I have been very remiss about posting, sorry folks.
I've been house hunting and it's taking a lot of my time.
I've also had to stop working on my Pseudo Diamond Patch as the cotton was hurting my wrists. *sigh* I'd thought it was an ok cotton. I'll be back on it after I let the wrists rest awhile.
All the cats are still purring, though Persephone now gets to go in for steroid shots. Good thing she isn’t an athlete!
We are off to Marcon tomorrow! So stop and say hi if you meet up with me.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

On the Cat Front:

2005-05-07T00:37:00.000-04:00

Just as I was lamenting not getting a picture of Domino, in she walked and laid down right on Robin's computer case.
These pictures were all taken in a 10-15 minute time period. Honest!

On the Cat Front:

2005-05-07T00:36:00.000-04:00

Persephone then wandered in and sat on the case, got this one just as she moved away.

On the Cat Front:

2005-05-07T00:28:00.001-04:00

Buddy in his usual spot. When he's not right in your face, that is.

On the Cat Front:

2005-05-07T00:28:00.000-04:00

Selina sitting on the chair. She likes to be near people. Often she will sleep on her 2/3's of your pillow, not allowing you to turn over. And at 13+ pounds, you aren't moving her unless she wants to move!

On the Dining front:

2005-05-05T23:50:00.000-04:00

Today we went to Abay. This is a marvelous Ethiopian restaurant here in Pittsburgh. Yeah, Pittsburgh actually has an Ethiopian restaurant! People always ask me “So what does Ethiopian food taste like?” All I can say is, unique and wonderful.
The food is similar to Greek/Indian/Middle Eastern, yet it is different from all of those. You start out by ordering, we always get a sampler platter for two (or in tonight's case, three). It comes on a round pan on top of an injera. Injera is a type of bread that is similar to a crepe. Think sourdough crepe/pancake and you are very close. You then use pieces of another injera to select bites to eat and enjoy. It's a very hands-on experience. After you run out of injera, you use the main 'plate' injera and enjoy the pieces that have soaked up all the wonderful juices from the various dishes.
If you enjoy good, ethnic foods, you should definitely try Ethiopian, especially Abay!

On the Dining front:

2005-04-24T00:40:00.000-04:00

Tonight Robin and I stopped at a new restaurant here in Swissvale, Ukiah. This small restaurant & bar is definitely worth a stop. The Chef has a unique attitude and the menu shows it.
Definitely ask for the condiments tray! This features several of the homemade catsups, mayos and mustards that the chef creates and changes daily. My favorite was an apple horseradish and Robin's was an asian mayo. Also high on our list was a cumin chipotle catsup. These found their way onto the lovely hand-cut fries, Robin's Ukiah sandwich and my Beef Chimichanga. We started off our meal with their decadent mini-garlic rolls. Deep fried bread that was covered in parmesan cheese, had a vinegrette on top and a tomato based dipping sauce that I've forgotten the spicings of.
All in all an amusement park for the taste buds!
They have a long list of yummy salads, sandwiches, pizza and the usual bar appetizers. The smoke level was ok, the music a bit too loud. Our waitress, Tiffany, was a sweetheart and kept our drinks topped off.
You can find this lovely neighborhood place at: Ukiah, 1814 South Braddock Avenue, Swissvale.

On the Cat Front:

2005-04-23T02:11:00.000-04:00

Today was lots of fun, two trips to the vet.

Persephone definitely has an UTI. So I get to give her pills. Now the vet wasn't able to give her pills, even with a pill gun, HOW am I supposed to???? Any hints would be gladly tried.

Domino lies about her age (17), or so says the vet, he'd say she was 10 or so based on her teeth and general health. She's doing well and I should stop worrying about the little wart-like growths she has. Ah well.

Here's a picture of Buddy in one of his favorite places, Robin's laptop case. The brown thing to the left is a Super catnip cigar that all the kids love to play with.

On the Beading front:

2005-04-21T23:18:00.000-04:00

It's finished! I've been working on and off on this lovely necklace. I kept it at CBB for those times when I forgot to bring a project. :-)
It is a variation of a Coraling technique that I learned from Varvara's first book.
The main beads are a lovely transparent teal. I used a matte AB lime green for accents. Every other branch has a different accent bead alternating between a lime lined clear and a lime lined teal. I think it will match the sweater I'm working on pretty nicely, we'll see!
I think it took, all together, about 20 hours to make. Maybe only 15? I didn't really keep track.

On the Cat Front:

2005-04-18T00:14:00.000-04:00

And last, but definitely not least, here is Persephone. If you check out my webpage, you might be able to see how much weight she's lost. This is due to old age and Kidney disease. *sigh* I hate seeing her basically waste away, but they don't do kitty kidney transplants....

On the Blogging front:

2005-04-18T00:06:00.001-04:00

As you'll find soon enough, I figured out how to post pictures. :-) We'll see how often I do them. They do brighten up the old blog, don't they?

On the Cat Front:

2005-04-18T00:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of Miss Selina. Unfortunately the flash was just too bright and she's quite washed out. Ah well, she's still in one of her favorite positions: Asleep on a Dining room chair.

On the Knitting Front

2005-04-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of the "Pseudo" Diamond Patch sweater I've been working on. The colors are a LOT brighter in real life. The green is a chartreuse color, the blue almost a teal. I think it's working up beautifully.

On the Cat Front:

2005-04-17T23:56:00.000-04:00

Here'e Mr. Bud trying to be cute. I think he succeeds.
He is very difficult to get a good photo of as he likes to hide.

On the beading front:

2005-04-17T23:51:00.000-04:00

I finally finished this glorious piece.
I had gotten everything done except the ties and got blocked as to how "best" to do them.
I've been wearing it a lot lately, it's fun to wear!

On the beading front:

2005-04-10T00:40:00.000-04:00

Been working on this cute little bottle. It started life out as a vial holding a cat vaccine. It now has some pretty lavender and navy beads on it. I really need to get my camera down to the computer I usually blog from. Don't I?

Tomorrow is OCBPA.

On the Cat Front:

2005-04-10T00:34:00.000-04:00

Selina is home again. I got to bring her home Friday night. She's on antibiotics and is still sore in places, but other than some shaved places (which seem to itch a lot), she's her normal grumpy self. Yeay!

Persephone is still on an antidiarrhea medicine which is absolutely no fun to give. Apparently it tastes so awful that she foams at the mouth! It's been ground up and put in a really stinky food paste. Ah well, only a few more days I hope.

On the Knitting Front:

2005-04-07T01:25:00.000-04:00

Today was a long knitting day! First was the normal Wednesday afternoon knitting. We had new folks, old folks, and a great time!

After that a few of us headed to Bonnie's to check out her moving sale, again. I managed to escape unscathed.

Then there was the first Wednesday of the month knitting at Borders which also had a lot of people attend. I got to spend much of my time helping folks and answering questions.

I did get a lot knitted on my MDP (Modified Diamond Patch) sweater. I think I'll have time tomorrow to actually take a picture to show how it is going.

On the cat front:

2005-04-07T00:57:00.000-04:00

Selina gets to stay at the vets a few more days. She is doing well, but her poor old kidneys aren't handleing the anethesia very well. I'm going to go vist her tomorrow when I pick up more medicine for Persephone.

On the Knitting Front:

2005-04-06T00:57:00.000-04:00

After dealing with the cat situation (and before knowing how Selina did with the surgery), I ended up wandering into Bonnie Knits. I was scared, depressed, and in a yarn store. >-)

Bonnie's is moving soon, so they have quite a few things on sale. And buy them I did.

I found some lovely Galway in a nice green – that'll end up felted in something....probably a bed for the cats.

I found some wonderful black lace weight wool. Who knows where that will go. Shawl? Weaving project? Who knows.

I also found some Mikado ribbon. I'd made a wonderful shell last year out of this that I wear a lot in the summer, this will also be a summer sweater.

Lastly, I bought a new yarn that wasn't on sale called Jamaica from Katia. It has a lovely non-repeating soft variegation throughout in yummy pastels. That's already started as a modified Diamond Patch from Just One More Row. How so modified? If you look at my web page, you'll see I did one a long time ago. Seems I am to impatient to go searching for the pattern so I am making it up as I go. :-)

Once I figure out how to easily post pictures, I may do that sometime.

On the cat front:

2005-04-06T00:40:00.000-04:00

All this weekend, Selina was moping and barely moving. When she did move, she seemed to favor her hind right leg. She also didn't want me poking or prodding to determine what was going on. So Monday I make a vet appointment for Thursday.

Monday night she's acting much more like her normal self and between Robin (my SO) and myself, I was finally able to do the visual inspection that I wanted to do.

Oh brother! She'd had an anal gland rupture/abscess. This is not a fun thing, and it really needs immediate attention. So after weaving class we go trucking to the vet's.

Indeed, she needed immediate surgery as the gland was still blocked.

Now, a bit of history. Selina is nearly 18 years old. She has a heart murmur leftover from when she was a hyperthyroid cat. She was also recently diagnosed with two cavities. We didn't want to pull those teeth because of the risk of anesthesia. But now she HAD to go under. Might as well pull those buggers while they're at it.

My usual vet wasn't available but Dr. Martin of Northern Pike Veterinary Clinic made me feel comfortable and assured me that if she felt there was too much risk, she wouldn't pull the teeth.

At 5:30 I got a call saying Selina pretty much sailed through the operation, the teeth were gone and all other things addressed. *WHEW* I get to pick her up tomorrow is she's back on her feet and not in too much pain.

Now if only Persephone would get better.....

(BTW, you can find 5 year old pictures of all my cats on my web page.)

Starting Over

2005-04-03T22:50:00.000-04:00

I'm going to try and resurrect this blog.
One the knitting front: Been working on www.pittsburghknitting.com a lot lately. Also working on a pair of socks from Lorna's Laces sock yarn using the Cascading Leaves pattern.
On the cat front: Selina seems to be favoring her right hind leg. Going to take her to the vet ASAP. Persephone's kidney disease has reared it's ugly head after being mostly dormant since late 2002. Domino is doing great and Buddy is a nuisance.
On the beading front: My newest passion. This weekend I took a wonderful class at Crystal Bead Bazaar on looming and had a blast. Some day I’ll post a picture.
On the restaurant front: This is a new 'feature' of my blog. I'll talk about interesting (or not so interesting) places we go to eat. Since my SO andI tend to eat out a lot, this should be quite active.
Tonight we went to a new place, Cici’s Pizza out in Monroeville, PA. This is an all-you-can-eat pizza/pasta/salad buffet for $3.99. We got there an hour before closing. Not expecting too much, we were both pleasantly surprised by how good things were. The folks working there seemed to be having a great time and the pizza was pretty tasty! They also have some very decadent garlic bread and cinnamon rolls. Yum. We’re definitely going back some time.

2002-08-05T00:41:00.000-04:00

Another long weekend.

Persephone was diagnosed with kidney disease, and is doing pretty badly this weekend. I'll probably be calling the vet on Monday.

Knitting wise I've started yet another project. *sigh* Though I did get some good knitting in on the Helen's Lace shawl I started on the 24th.

2002-07-26T01:52:00.000-04:00

*sigh* It's been a very long week.

The SO has been out of town since Monday and even with the cats, I'm lonely.

Tonight I was updating my LYS's web page and managed to screw something up. But now it's fixed and all is well.
Check out Bonnie Knits to see what I do.

Today I started another new project. Socks from Koigu. Toe up. We'll see how they go, since I'm teaching a toe up class at Bonnies' in September!

2002-07-24T00:34:00.000-04:00

Today I've started this Blog, should be interesting to see how I keep up with it.

I started a new project today. Using Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in Purple Club. Size #8 needles. Elizabeth from Myrna's book. So far it looks pretty good. This yarn is so soft.

We'll see how long this shawl takes.

Random thoughts

I'm a bad girl....

Time flys!

Way past time....

All better

Pittsburghknitting down

On the Knitting Front

Golden Compass Daemon

Bad yarn stores

What makes a good yarn store?

Still Alive

On the pet front

Still Alive

On the Kitty front:

House Filk a coming!

Rediculous concept

Kitty Blogging!

Cat Blogging!

Rainbow Bridge Again

Fifth Wednesday again!

Fifth Monday Knitting!

Friday Cat Blogging

Totally Exhausted

Fifth Wednesday Knitting!

I actually exist

Ack Eek Oop!

Pittsburgh Knitting has been updated!

Friday Cat Blogging

Wheee!

Rough week

Attention AT&T Wireless customers

SP8 Goodies!!!!

Life got expensive....

The OTHER SP Exchange Questions

Friday Cat Blogging

No fur flew!

More "Baby" Pictures

A new addition

Secret Pal 8 Questionnaire

Rainbow Bridge

Some times life just sucks

Friday Cat Blogging

I almost forgot!

My new passion

Waste of money

Yummy Surprise!

I'm alive.... sorta

This you GOTTA see!

I'm alive, honest

More Template whining

Template editing help

Secret Pal 7

Ugh

Too long again

Off and Away

*sigh*

Serenity

We've moved!

On the Home, Beading, & Knitting front:

On the Home front:

On the Cat Front:

On the beading front:

On the beading front:

On the Dining front:

On the Knitting Front:

On the Fiber and Bead front:

*Sigh*

On the Weaving Front:

On the Cat Front:

On the Cat Front:

On the Knitting Front

On the Random front

On the Cat Front:

On the Cat Front:

On the Cat Front:

On the Cat Front:

On the Dining front:

On the Dining front:

On the Cat Front:

On the Beading front:

sigh

Sigh