My 1st Wearable Garment

Not sure if I ever posted this because I was a little embarrassed by it. It technically fits, but it's too short and the neck is too big. It's been sitting in a drawer since last year. I wore it this week because it was -2. Gah. I got compliments on it. So, ok. I guess I'll wear it.





















It's made of bulky acrylic. I designed it based on a sweater I liked from Kohl's. I did LOTS of math to get it shaped like the Kohl's sweater. I apparently ran out of math when I got to the neck.

The picture is pretty bad, but you get the idea. My photographer decided to take a nap.

Natural Instincts II

Every good story needs a sequel.

Murray, Murray, Murray... this is becoming a bad habit of yours! You're keeping us down! We've got stuff to do!

I can haz sweater?

A friend asked if it was cheaper to make a sweater than to buy it.

No.

But... it fits, and is the color and style I want. Plus, I got to knit it. Hoo boy.

I had some trouble with the sleeves. What a surprise. I had to rip back and rip out. I finally figured out how to attach the sleeves... only 1 re-do of the sleeve seams... getting better!

Murray's Bags are Packed

... and he's ready to go!

And so am I! We are going on a cruise over Christmas break. It's our first one. We'll be in the Caribbean (pronounce it any which way you want - I don't care! I will be warm).

Suffering, as I do, during the long, dark winter months, (Look up Seasonal Affected Disorder... that's ME.) I've been looking forward to this trip like nobody's business. The Monday after Thanksgiving weekend, all my will and energy were bent on the Caribbean. Every thought of mine begins with "on the cruise, we can..."

I cleaned my camera... all the lenses. I bought another set of rechargeable batteries and another SD card (memory). I will not be caught short! My brother in law is looking forward to doing nothing, and said he was counting on me to take all the pictures. OK! On the cruise, I can....

I am actually partly packed. My suitcase is out and has all my summery clothes in it. Lee will pack the night before, I am sure! Must remember quart size ziplocks to keep all my "hazardous" liquids contained.

We leave a few days before Christmas... we have 10 working days until we go. Longest days, ever!

If your pants are tight...

... you did Thanksgiving right! Amen.

We had 2 Thanksgivings... got ourselves invited to friends on Thursday and went to Lee's folks on Friday. The 1st dinner, which Lee discusses on his blog, left us utterly full for 8 hours. I could not eat pie. I took one bite and I felt like that John Cleese/Monty Python sketch... "it's wafer thin..." We figure the fullness was due to the butter, sour cream, bacon fat, lard... and those were only the fats we KNEW about. I'm sure I personally ate the equivalent of a full stick of butter. Or two.

I did NOT have to unbutton my pants, thankfully. I DID have heartburn 2 nights in a row. Guess which nights! Ha ha. And Lee was up super late Thursday because of 2 Cokes and 2 cappuccinos.

















I made 4 pies for Friday. 2 pumpkin and 2 apple/raspberry. I do not care for pumpkin pie, but ended up with and extra one to take home. Have been chipping away at the rest of the apple/raspberry. Pie is good for breakfast, right? Fruit? (I made apple/raspberry because I did not have enough apples for 2 pies, as I was only going to make one, but what the heck, it's Thanksgiving, so I made it 2 with a bag of frozen raspberries I had. Delicious, btw.)

A cat by any other name...

So, Lee and I have been thinking of renaming the kitten currently called War. He is a tuxedo cat. See illustration below... The picture called "tuxedo" is exactly his coloring.

















We have long harbored dislike for common cat names. For example, the obvious name for War would be "Mittens" or "Boots" or "Socks"... or derivations thereof.

We're more inclined to be "funny" or "goofy" or "just plain strange".... but actually we're into obscure pop culture references. Murray is from Stargate, Sibbie is from Homestarrunner.

Here are a few things we were thinking for War's new indoor name... besides "crazy eyes", which he definitely has.

We went through the tuxedo angle...
Lee: Who wears tuxes?
Me: James Bond.
Lee: Butlers.
Me: Penquins. (you see how easy it is to go too far.)
Lee: Alfred. (batman's butler)
Lee: Mr. Belvedere.
Me: Bwa hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Lee: We could call him AC/DC.
Me: Oh, Back in Black! I get it.
Me: Or Angus (the guitarist from AC/DC) because it's a funny name.
Lee: How about Gordon?
Me: ....
Me: .... AH! Gordon Lightfoot?! Bwa hahahahahahahahahaha.

We haven't decided yet. Any suggestions?

And I've been knitting...

This is sweater #3 from the best sweater book EVER! It'll have sleeves. I know it looks small, but it stretches like crazy.


















Here's a detail of the 2 rows of "cabling" up the front...

Cat Eyes.

There aren't many websites that make me laugh out loud, but icanhascheezburger is one of them. I cannot resist cats with laser eyes. Can't do it.

Napping Gardner Style

I never was a napper, until I joined my husband's family. They are notorious nappers. Today, I became completely assimilated into napping culture.

We got home from church around 10:30. Lee went down for a nap right away. I joined him at 12:30, to "rest my eyes." I woke up at 2:30. Lee was still sleeping.

Assimilation complete. Resistance minimal.

Natural Instincts.

Oh hi. I haven't been blogging because Lee has been blogging, and I was having a crisis of words. I think Lee was stealing them from me! Pretty sure. Also, I was feeling boring.

I came home from work recently and flopped onto the bed without taking my coat off. Within SECONDS, this happened. That Murray! I think he missed me. Or maybe his natural instinct was to gravitate to the warmest thing, which in this case, was between my shoulder blades.

















This is also often why Lee and I can't get out of bed on time. When a 10 pound cat flops on you, it feels like 50 pounds...

Speaking of instincts... I think War is missing the gene for reflexive eye closure. I took about 8 pictures of War with a flash, and he never closed his eyes. If he looks greasy, it's because he was... had his ears cleaned out at the vet.





















You can see he seems to be settling right in... sitting in the cat-bird seat. Um, that'd be Murray's spot on the kitty-condo.

Here's how the other cats feel about it... they are less than pleased...

Hissing is decreasing, but Murray and Sibbie are still surprised when they see him. They spend a lot of time watching him.