Look at what I've found :)

I've recently begun teaching myself counted cross stitch. Thanks to an awesome how-to video Shawna sent me, it turns out, the hobby is actually pretty easy (and sort of relaxing, provided your cats don't see you doing it!). I was certain that I had my own embroidery hoop stashed away somewhere in a long-forgotten box, and after a short sort through various bins in the attic, I stumbled upon this forgotten storage tote...

I was about twelve or thirteen when I told Mom I wanted to do embroidery like she did. Not one to deny me my small ventures into feminine hobbies, Mom went to the Benjamin Franklin craft store that weekend and picked out a simple, printed-on counted cross stitch kit in what I considered to be the best pattern a mother could possibly pick for her daughter. Did I mention I had a slight cat obsession as a child? Mom bought me a green storage tote covered in "Self Esteem" stickers that had come with a pair of jeans she'd bought me a few weeks before, and packed up everything I'd need to teach myself to cross stitch while away at camp.

I was nowhere near as quick or as skilled as my mom, and I didn't make it far on my project before I had to leave at summer's end. I was surprised to look inside the tote and see everything still there... even the pink highlighter (now dry) I'd used to mark up the chart (as you can see, I crossed out "medium/light grey" on my chart with every intention of making an orange cat, but Mom talked me out of it because of color clash with the basket). Since then I've learned the value of photocopies of patterns in order to keep originals nice and pristine, but this was before the convenience of inexpensive, at-home, all-in-one copy/scanner/printers.

I never was much good at deciphering instructions... just look at the mess on the backside of this! That's some fantastic handiwork right there.

This is definitely not a design I would pick for myself today, but I'm still tempted to cut away the stitches and make another go at this pattern, just for the heck of it. Everyone loves a bit of continuity. I'll have to take a closer look at the holes I ripped in this with my tight, uneven stitching and see if it's capable of a second attempt.

A few home changes.

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. Roy and I wanted to make a few improvements to the house before winter - we built a new porch and installed two new windows in our living room. It's been snowing for the past few days, and the new windows have been amazing. The house is far warmer than it was last year and there are no longer any drafts around the windows.

Next summer, we plan on opening up our living room and expanding it into the office; that small office window to the right will be replaced with a bay window. We also hope to start on a garage/workshop for Roy and a garden in the back for me. Within the next five years, we'd like to save up enough money (and vacation leave) to add a second story onto our home... perhaps make room to expand our little family from two to three?

From Norway with Love Hat

I wish I were better at knitting... this hat I found on Ravelry (and the matching gloves in the picture) are so cute! I'm a fingerless-mitten kinda girl, but still... that hat is fab. I love the colors.

*goes off to practice color changes in knitting*

A Happy Ending

Some of you may recall the tale of this handsome little fellow from Facebook; a local, unaltered male stray who had decided to take up residence with us. To make a very, very long story short, the Humane Society contacted us and said that the supposed owners who had reported a similar cat missing hadn't answered any of their calls, and that, legally, after ten days, the cat was now ours.




Then came the tricky part; catching him. Trying to put him into a crate previously had resulted in several bites on my right hand, as well as scratches all over my chest and neck. I'd rented a humane, live-animal trap two weeks previously, but no matter how much I refused him his usual meal on the porch in place of setting it inside the trap (and feeling awful to do it), our Maine Coon simply refused to enter, for dry food, wet food, or even tuna fish. Even Roy, equipped with cat toys, treats, and a hefty pair of utility gloves to avoid bites, was unable to catch him after several attempts (although he did run off with a toy mouse!)

Yesterday, over a week after getting the all-clear from the Humane Society, I used tuna juice to create a trail leading into the trap. The poor guy was so ravenous that he was eating the strands of grass that the tuna had touched, but still refused to enter. My rental time for the trap was up, and I had given up; we were just going to have to deal with him and hope that, in the months that followed, our cats would stop fighting with him and eventually the amount of vet bills for draining abscesses (and for subsequent antibiotics) would dwindle as well (during fights, the stray is a biter!). I walked around the house to get the hose to clean the tuna-covered trigger, came back around the house... and there he was. Inside the now-locked trap, glaring at me.



It was like Christmas. I quickly called the couple who'd wanted him; they weren't home at the time, but said to go ahead and drop him off in the barn. Initially I was nervous; I honestly didn't know much about the couple, and for a long time I worried that I may be leaving him in a worse situation than he'd been in with us. Once we arrived, we headed toward the open barn. I opened the trap and he slowly came out, curious. A well-fed female calico ran out from under a tractor and began twirling around Roy's legs, purring happily. She saw the stray and purred even louder, eager to say hello. Despite the thousands of places for him to hide, rather than dashing off the moment he was free, the stray sat down quietly and looked around, almost as if thinking, "Well, this is actually sort of nice."

Seeing him sitting there in the barn with the obviously well-looked-after calico, and looking at the sheer amount of space he had to roam, I felt a lot better as I drove off and left him behind. Roy and I both agreed that we'll sort of miss him... but our own cats will sure be happy!

Stick a cupcake in my eye!

I sure wish I knew how to cross-stitch, because this MLP cross-stitch kit on Etsy is the most awesome thing ever! And yes, this show turns me into an enormous five year old every time I see it.