Hi, All!
Spring is springing in the Pacific Northwest, even if
there was snow on the ground last Friday. We’re getting a few nice days to
break up the rain, so I’m hearing less complaining from my coworkers and comrades.
That’s always a good thing.
We’ve had quite an adventure with our cat Milla since the
beginning of the year. We took her to the vet because she wasn’t eating, and
they discovered a bladder stone and hyperthyroidism. She came though the stone
surgery like a trooper, but shortly after getting her staples out, her skin
became inflamed ALL OVER. Turns out she had a reaction to the hyperthyroid
medication. She’s off that medication and on Prednisone and over the past five
weeks and a lot of angst, she’s turned the corner. She was so bad that we
thought we were going to lose her for a week or so. Her skin is now scabbing over (though she’s
losing fur with her scabs, so her butt especially is getting bald) and as of
this week she’s been acting like the “old” Milla again. We are thrilled and
relieved… except for the midnight howling. But she’s calmed down on that over
the past couple of days. I think that was just her way of telling the
neighborhood that she’s back in town. ;-)
When I haven’t been at work or the vet’s office, I’ve been
playing on my iPad or knitting. I started a sweater for me (12 rows down, MANY
more to go) and have been working on blocks for a charity afghan with some
friends from church. I also found a shawlette design I really like that I want
to do soon (and would probably be more weather-appropriate near-term than the
sweater). The pattern is in Spanish, too, so that’s been fun to figure out
between my 4 years of Spanish 25 years ago and Google Translator. Luckily, the pattern
had links to videos for the stitches I’ve never seen before, so that was a HUGE
help. I did have to construct a question in Spanish to the designer because the
math didn’t add up in my head, so we’ll see what she says. Ravelry is such a
cool place!
I also decided recently that I’m going to start
scrapbooking our wedding pictures (after almost 5-1/2 years). I got them printed
and sorted in order and now I have to gather supplies and get ready for the
next evening crop in April (that will be my test run) and then an all day National
Scrapbook Day crop in May. I don’t plan
on getting super elaborate with the pages, but titles and journaling take time.
And did I mention that I haven’t scrapbooked in over 3 years and had creative
block back then? Wish me luck!
I had a couple boxes delivered yesterday that had
something besides yarn in them. Since the squirrels have annihilated the cushions
of my 11-year-old porch swing, I decided to order a replacement from
Amazon.com. This one is all wood and no cushions. One upside - no “umbrella” cover
to catch the wind and knock the swing over. One downside - no “umbrella” cover
to keep the bird poop and pollen off the seat. It may be a little while before we get the
swing assembled, but we have it. I’m not sure what to do with the old one. The
frame and cover are still in good shape, but do I have the ambition to list it
on Freecycle? We’ll see, I guess.
I guess that’s about all the news for now. Have a great
spring (and summer) until I “talk” to you again!!!
Blessings,
Kristin
