Cho-cho

We had to say goodbye to Cho-cho on the morning of New Year's Eve. She had terribly scarred lungs, and not so great kidneys, and she had pretty much stopped eating.
I found her on the street in front of my house about 15 years ago. She was adorable. She looked like a kitten up to the end. She slept on my arm almost every night, and nestled her head under my chin and stretched her paws out under my neck, and then she'd purr with a big smile on her face.
She was so agile and light, she'd jump up and hit the light switch on the wall. Her name was Japanese for butterfly, and that described her pretty well.



I am really going to miss her.

Gossamer Stars Scarf

I have finished T's scarf! Yay! My "Sweater Club" pals and I did a Knit-for-each-other-along, knitting Kat Coyle's Gossamer Stars scarf for each other. We bought our own yarn, and I knit T's, she is knitting B's, and B is knitting mine. We all chose different colors of Hempton, which was really very nice to knit with. It had a bit of give, unlike some cotton yarns, and when I wove in the ends, there was enough "stickiness" so that the ends didn't pop out the way they can with cotton. I ran it through the washing machine and dryer, and it was fine. The pattern will require blocking, though, otherwise it doesn't look very nice.



Maybe it's time for some wires?
I sprayed it with water and gave it some steam with the iron.



Rosey is checking it out, and making sure there is a flattering photo of her on the blog.



Tadaaaa!

The Camera Battery!

....was selected and placed in the nice internet shopping cart, and, uh, well, I didn't really order it when I thought I did. Now it's been ordered, and should be here sometime. Until then, ummm....

Here's a photo of Cupcake enjoying his catnip banana (from November).

Read this because there's still no camera battery.

Things I've Done (In Bold) (stolen from knittywhipped)
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (on my friend's rooftop by the ocean in Japan)
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (Mt. Fuji, once and never again)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (lobster)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (short harbor cruise in Yokohama - does that count?)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language (Japanese, and have also forgotten quite a bit of it.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (had to stop though, cause you can't snorkel and laugh at the same time - trust me on this)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Grams, not yards. Grrrrrrrrrrr......

I bought a pattern for some felted slippers to make as gifts. I hadn't really planned on knitting any Christmas gifts, because I never finish in time. However, these are for my friend T's parents in Japan. I love them, they are so kind and generous and they have everything they need and they don't eat much Western food so it's difficult to figure out a good gift for them. I thought the slippers would be a perfect gift. I was going to make the Fiber trends pattern, but they don't really need the double sole. Then I found this lovely slipper on the Drops website. Great, lower yardage, and not too weird looking, or hard to put on - perfect!

I'm knitting away on slipper #1 for Papa, and I think, "Hmmm...I'm going through this yarn pretty quickly...." and then I re-checked the pattern. No, it's not 150 yards, it's 150 grams!!!!!

I know, I know, I should've known better.

Still no camera battery, c'mon Canon hurry up!

Hats

Just finished another Unoriginal Hat, for L this time. I messed up the row count, and I had already frogged this thing so many times, I just gave up and got it done. So there!



Next up, C#2 seems to have outgrown last year's hat, and requested a new one. The problem is C#2 is VERY picky about his clothing. So, his red hat has to have 2 rows of Argyle, not one but, two. Not too small, not too big either. I have started it, but I am not looking forward to it.

I also finished knitting a sock for my knitting guild "Secret Sock Swap". It's very clever, you put your sock yarn and a note with your shoe size in an opaque bag and someone chooses it. Then using the sock yarn in the bag you find a free knitting pattern and knit one sock, and at the December meeting socks and recipients are matched. I'm sworn to secrecy about the sock I knit, so I'll have to post later. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I am dying to cast on and knit the Fairly Easy Fair Isle for myself, but Aunt G's mohair sweater must come first. I think. I know. I should.

P.S. Camera battery has died, waiting for a new one. No photos until then.