Thursday 13: Scarves, Shots, and Snow

1.    I’m still kind of obsessed with making V stitch scarves.

2.    I finished this one for one of the neighbors.

3.    And this one for another neighbor.

4.    Both kids used their mom’s phone to text me to thank me for the scarves, and their texts were so sweet.

5.    We had our first snow for the season on Monday and Tuesday.  The higher elevations had a lot.  We were fortunate enough not to get very much.

6.    I know for most of you this is nothing, but it’s more than I like to see in November.  It’s still technically fall! 

7.    Nick and I were both off on Tuesday for Veterans’ Day, so that was the day we scheduled Charlie and Mortimer’s shots and checkups.   They weighed in at 24 pounds (Charlie) and 22.5 pounds (Mortimer). 

8.    Charlie and Mortimer are both very good at the vet and mostly just huddled together on the exam table.

9.    We’re both finally starting to feel better, but are still extremely tired, so after Charlie and Mortimer’s appointment, we had a nice, chill day at home. 

10.  Caroline had her shots and checkup yesterday afternoon.

11.  Caroline is normally NOT good at the vet.  Since it was a work-from-home day for me, I was able to give her Gabapentin a few hours before her appointment.  It definitely helped!

12.  This was Caroline’s first vet visit where no one bled.  They were able to do a full exam and even weigh her.  She weighs 12.5 pounds. 

13.  I've already started working on another scarf that I hope to be able to show you next week.  

How has your week been? 

 

Thursday 13: Hi

Since I haven’t blogged in almost three months, I thought a Thursday 13 would be a good way to start back and catch up.

1.    Since cat pictures are always a good way to start, enjoy this one of Caroline.  The bed she’s in clamps to the side of my desk, so she has a comfy place to “supervise” me on my work-from-home days.

2.    Caroline has had a lot of work to supervise during my blogging break.  I got assigned to help another team with a project that had a very tight deadline, so I was putting in some extra hours.  We made it, though, and (fingers crossed) it should be January before I’m dealing with any more super-tight deadlines. 

3.    Charlie does not involve himself in my work. 

4.    Nick and I celebrated our 17^th wedding anniversary in September.  It doesn’t seem like it has been that long! 

5.    Theodore turned one at the end of August.

6.    It’s beginning to look and feel like Fall is really here.  We’ve had highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid-40s. 

7.    I’ve switched to my Fall cards for my buddies with Chemo Angels and Senior Angels.

8.    I’ve been crocheting again. 

9.    I found this tutorial and liked the way it looked, so I made one (with no plan for giving it to any particular person).  I enjoyed making it, and I love the texture the stitches create.  (Note:  I used an H hook and a shorter starting chain for a narrower scarf.)

10. During the decluttering/organizing that we did during the spring and summer, I realized that I have A LOT of yarn I had forgotten about.  I came across this green, which is our neighbor’s (Lori) favorite color.  I asked Lori if she’d like a scarf in that color, and she said yes. 

 

11. When I dropped off Lori’s scarf, I asked if anyone else would like a scarf.  Fortunately, a few people said yes.  I’m almost finished with a pink scarf for one of the girls.  Next up is a light blue one for one of the girls, and a dark blue one for one of the boys.  One of the other boys really liked the original gray one, so I gave that one to him. 

12. We got the cats an ice cream truck (remember how much they loved the taco truck), which they enjoyed.

13. I’m working on catching up with visiting everyone’s blogs and hope to “see” you soon.  

Thursday 13: A Lot of Randomness

This week’s Thursday 13 definitely doesn’t have a theme! 

1.    Theodore is growing like crazy; he has been neutered, microchipped, and has gotten all of his kitten shots.  I think he looks more like a big cat than a kitten in this picture. 

2.    We are still dealing with applying for FEMA aid for the HVAC system.

3.    A FEMA inspector came to the house last week to look at the damage, which we thought might mean progress. 

4.    It did not.  This week, we received a letter that the FEMA inspector wasn’t able to fully assess the damage (which isn’t really surprising since FEMA inspectors apparently do not go into crawl spaces or onto roofs).  They said we’d need to have it inspected by an HVAC company and send that information for FEMA to review.

5.    We sent that information to FEMA in November!  It was a write-up from the HVAC company about the damage, how high the water was in the ductwork, and what was needed to repair it.  We’ll be resubmitting that and hoping that someone actually reads it this time.

6.    I truly think they make the process as annoying and difficult as possible in hopes that a lot of people will decide it’s more trouble than it’s worth and give up. 

7.    There are still near-constant reminders that, even with the damage we had, we were still some of the lucky ones.  A couple of weeks ago, we helped some friends whose house was destroyed during Helene move from their short-term rental into their long-term rental.  They’ve been told it will be a year and a half to two years before their house is rebuilt.

8.    I’ve been trying to crochet a little more, and I finished an ear warmer. 

    

9.    Here’s the link to the tutorial if you’re interested.  (And here’s the right-handed version.)  It was very simple to make.  I used a thinner yarn than the pattern called for, so I had to do more rows, but it was still easy to follow along with the video.

10. Being cold is a powerful motivator to crochet an ear warmer!  The heat was out at work during one of the cold snaps.  Everyone worked from home as much as possible, but some of us had to go in on one of the days when we had temperatures in the teens.  I made the ear warmer the night before that and wore more layers than I ever had before.  

11. Fortunately, the heat at work is fixed now! 

12. I think cat pictures are a great way to end this Thursday 13, so enjoy this one of Mortimer in the living room chair he has staked out as his very own.

13. And this one of Charlie.

Catching Up

I didn’t mean to go so long between posts, but work has been incredibly busy lately.  I just haven’t wanted to sit down at the computer again after staring at a screen for twelve-plus hours.  But I’m trying to get back to blogging now.

Even Caroline, who loves “helping” on my work-from-home days, is a little tired of the long days. 

 There hasn’t been much outside of work lately, but here are a few highlights.

Of course, the flowers are blooming.

A local yarn shop donated the materials for crocheted Pride pins to our local Pride group.  They asked for volunteers to make the pins.  I only took one kit because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to figure out the pattern.  Fortunately, I was able to do it.  

The most exciting news is that we now have groundhogs living in our backyard.  They are so cute!  I’m aware that a lot of people consider them to be pests and work to get rid of them.  However, they’re not doing any damage, so we’ve decided to peacefully coexist with them.  There has been a lot of new construction here recently, so it only makes sense that the groundhogs have had to relocate closer to humans.  If our yard is a safe place for them, we’re perfectly happy with that. 

At one point, I saw seven small groundhogs and two large ones, but lately, I haven’t seen more than four small ones and one large one at once.  So, I’m not entirely sure how many are currently living in our backyard. 

Here’s a video of some of them eating corn.

I’m working on catching up with your blogs, but feel free to let me know what you’ve been up to in the comments.  

A Crocheted Sunflower

One of the fun things about learning to crochet is that your family and friends can ask you to make things for them.  Sometimes it’s something you wouldn’t have thought of making on your own.  That’s how I ended up making the cat couch for my sister.

Last year, Nick’s mom, Susan sent me this link and asked if it was something I could make.  This one is knitted, but fortunately, there are lots of crochet sunflower patterns out there.  Unfortunately, most of them start with a magic ring, which I cannot seem to master.  I think it must actually involve magic, and I’m not magical.  On a side note, if you’re a crocheter, and you have any tips for mastering the magic ring, please share them.  

I finally found this one, that had a left-handed tutorial and didn’t start with a magic ring.  I modified it a little bit by shortening the stem and doing a chain to hang it from the rearview mirror.  I don’t remember how many I chained for the hanger.  I just took it out to the car to finish it and quit when it would go over the rearview mirror, but not hang down too far.  Yes, I did sit out in the car in the rain and crochet.

The flower was curling a little bit when I finished it, so I decided it needed some flattening.  I read a little bit about blocking for granny squares and decided to improvise a flower flattening method.  I lightly sprayed it with water and then set some heavy cans on top of it to flatten it.  It seems to have worked. 

 

It’s not perfect, but overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, and Susan was very happy with it.  

Crochet Cat Couch

I think I’m a very, very slow crocheter.  Back in September, I decided I was going to make my sister, Gabby, a crocheted cat couch.  She first asked for it in 2020.  In 2021, I told her it was beyond my skill level.  In 2022, when The Crochet Crowd released a left-handed tutorial, I decided to give it a try.

My original plan was to give it to her when we had our early Christmas celebration in November.  That didn’t work out.  My next plan was to give it to her at Christmas since we were planning to go to her house.  That didn’t work out either. 

We finally made plans to go stay with Gabby and Amy this past weekend, so I got to work on the cat couch in earnest. 

I had done the gauge swatch back in November. 

I also made the dust ruffle and got started on the couch. 

The pattern was largely a repeat of single crochet, double crochet.  It sounds simple, right?  For some reason, I couldn’t manage to remember the stitch and count the stitches.  I pulled out a few rows, then started relying very heavily on stitch markers. 

It was VERY slow going.   It took me days to finish one side of one cushion.  I also learned that I HATE slip stitching, which the pattern has a decent amount of.  I’m convinced it’s called slip stitching because of how often the hook slips out of the yarn when you do it. 

I’m in a few crochet groups on Facebook, and quite a few people who make the couch say they’ll never make another one.

I looked on Etsy to price them.  They’re all over $100.00, and some are close to $200.00.  I understand why!  I did notice, though, that some seemed to be based on a different pattern.  So, I started looking for more tutorials.  I found this one that I liked.

I finally decided to cobble together my own pattern based on these two tutorials and started over on the couch.  I kept the dust ruffle, though.

I didn’t tell Gabby I was working on it.  I wasn’t sure I’d succeed in making it. 

Fortunately, it worked.  I’m sure you can tell that there are a lot of mistakes.  I have ideas on how to fix most of them, and I think the next couch will look a lot better. 

I was running out of time and energy, so I didn’t make any throw pillows.  And I went really simple for the blanket.  It’s just a continuous granny square based on this tutorial.  I think it might have been a little neater if I’d used a smaller hook.  Next time!

When we got to Gabby and Amy’s. Gabby was cooking dinner, so Amy helped us carry stuff in.  Actually, she helped Nick carry most of the stuff in while I was in the kitchen with Gabby.  As soon as they brought the cat couch in, Amy told Gabby she had to come see what Nick had just brought in. 

Gabby was very excited!  She said she didn’t think I’d ever make it since I had told her it was beyond my skill level.  She and Amy both say it looks nice and looks like something they’d be willing to pay for from a store.  I’m not sure about that.  It’s definitely cute, but there are mistakes and things I could have done better.  But, I’m very glad they like it.   And, honestly, I’m still kind of proud of it, even though it’s not perfect.  It’s the biggest crochet project I’ve done thus far. 

More importantly, their cats like it.

Dobby is their most adventurous cat and he was on it within a few minutes.

I also need to make one for our cats.  Caroline was very interested in it.  She was even on it while I was sewing on the dust ruffle.

Gabby sent me this picture today of another one of their cats, Flitwick, on the couch.  It’s definitely cat approved!

Thursday 13: A Busy Week

I was hoping to post again before this, but since I didn’t, I decided another Thursday 13 was in order.  It has been a busy week.

1.     Duke has pancreatitis again.  We’re not sure how he keeps getting it.  He had it in April, and we’ve been careful about not giving him too much people food since then.  We took him to the vet on Tuesday, and Dr. M. wanted to hospitalize him.  We’re hoping he’ll be able to come home tomorrow.  He’s eating again (always a good sign with Duke) but still has a fever. 

 

They sent us this picture of him today.  He likes everyone there, so he's happy.

2.     Dr. D. had us bring Howard in on Saturday morning and show her exactly how we were giving him his insulin injections.  Given Nick’s EMT background, no one was really expecting an issue with how Howard has been getting his shots.  Howard’s insulin dose was due before the appointment time, so Dr. D. had Nick demonstrate with our syringes and a bottle of saline. 

3.     Everything was right.  I bought the right needles, and Nick has been doing the injections perfectly.  I didn’t demonstrate (Yay!) since Nick does most of them, and I do exactly what he does. 

4.     Howard went to the emergency vet last night.  He started having severe gastrointestinal issues, and I called in case it was something to do with his insulin.  We were there for about three hours, and they gave Howard fluids and antibiotics and did bloodwork.  His glucose level was finally good!

5.     I really liked the vet we saw.  It’s always a gamble at the emergency clinic; most of the time, they’re great, but it seems like when they’re bad, they’re really, really bad.  This vet was awesome, though.  I hope we don’t need to see her again, but I’d be happy with any of the fur kids seeing her when we do need an emergency vet.

6.     I mentioned Duke’s pancreatitis to the emergency vet, in case it was related to what Howard had.  She said it most likely wasn’t and was just terrible timing.  I talked to Duke’s vet (Dr. M.) this morning and Howard’s regular vet, Dr. D., and they both agree that it’s only a coincidence that Howard and Duke are similarly sick at the same time.  Dr. D. was thrilled about Howard’s glucose when she got the report from the emergency vet.  He has an appointment with her next week to check it again, and we’re all hoping the level stays where it is.

7.     I hate that Duke and Howard are both sick, but I’m relieved that we don’t need to worry about the other five cats having the same problem.  That would be a lot to deal with!

8.     In non-vet visit news, I’m going to try to make my sister a crocheted cat couch for Christmas.  She doesn’t read my blog, so I’m not worried about her finding out.  She has been asking for one for two years now, but I’ve been scared to try it.  There weren’t any left-handed videos, but Crochet Crowd posted one recently, and I’ve been practicing the stitches.

9.     It only has three different stitches; single crochet, double crochet, and half double crochet.  I used the half-double for most of the mask adapters I made, so I’m pretty comfortable with that one.  I think I’m getting better at the single and double.

10.  I like the UK crochet terms better than the US crochet terms.  The UK terms seem to make more sense for what you’re doing.  I like the videos from this website, and she gives you the UK and US terms, so it works for me to learn from a UK site. 

11.  I ordered the yarn I’m planning to use, and it arrived this week.  I really like the gray and rainbow yarn in the pattern, but that yarn was more expensive, and I’m not sure my first attempt will be gift-worthy, so I opted for the less expensive yarn.  The gray is for the couch.  The multi-colored one is called Fiesta, and it’s for the afghan and the dust ruffle. 

 

12.  We bought the foam on Saturday after we got back from taking Howard to the vet.  Nick will be in charge of building the couch.  I’m terrible at things like that, and he says the pattern/building instructions make sense to him.  I’m sure the couch will take me a while, so I’m hoping to get started on it this weekend, assuming we manage to stay out of vet’s offices.

13.  We have cherry tomatoes again.  We’re pretty sure 2016 was the last year we planted cherry tomatoes, but we have some come back every year.  I think they should be called something other than cherry tomatoes.  Maybe immortal tomatoes would be a good name for them.

So what have you been up to this week?