Sad news and future possibilites

Regretfully I must note the passage of Katrina (the Cat of cats). After 14 years on this earthly plane she departed to an alternate realm. I was blessed to have her company for 10 years.

 

 

Coming home to an empty apartment has been heart wrenching. Yet I can not envision bringing home another cat any time soon. 

 

On a completely different front I have submitted an application an have been interviewed for a position with HPL's cataloging department. Given the general pace of city actions I do not expect to have any news for about 2 to 3 weeks. It would be nice though as I would not have to work evenings or Saturdays and only the occasional reference shift. No increase in salary, it would be a lateral transfer.

 

Blue moon blues

Christmas was very different this year. I came down with a wicked head cold 2 days before Christmas. Stuffed head, running nose, slight fever the whole package. Because of this I bowed out of the family gathering. I really did not want to give my cold as a Yuletide gift. At least now I can breathe out of both sides of my nose & can now focus enough to both knit and read.
One of the nicest gifts of the season was from a very dear old friend. It was a marvalous rocker and foot rest. What was really niffty was that my Dad had just given me a new floor lamp. The only downside is that a certain cat has now claimed it as her own.

It sort of fits in that the year & the decade is ending in a blue moon. I will be very glad to see the end of 2009.
I am also very happy to get rid of this decade. All in all the turning of the new century was not a success. It brought life changes that were on the whole most unwelcomed. I am continually doubting several choices I made over the last 10 years. I do not seem to be better off in any aspect of my life that truely matters. Day to day survival is my only goal most of the time.
No the last decade will not be missed.

Working days start again

Well the long weekend kept me busy. Took Dad to the airport & relived Mr. Toad's wild ride.

Did laundry as well as cleaned up a few surfaces in the apartment. Yet it is still a mess.

Downloaded pictures from my camera, & wrote up some projects on Ravelry.

Here are the projects currently on the needles. Neither really impress the cat.

Two sided January

January is becoming very busy and rather annoying.

The new quarter started this Monday and all of our students are back in force.
I am trying to get the last 2 textbooks added to the reserve collection. One of which I discovered won't even be published till next month. My poor sweet reference librarians are being swamped with orientation tours. And big surprise some were asked for at the last minute. Currently my most pressing projects are yearly job evaluations. One is due this month and two more next month. This is not my favorite activity as it always results in sleepless nights and lots of anxiety.

I all fitting in some knitting. I only have to work on a thumb hole to finish a pair of hand warmers, and I am attacking scarf production once more. I hope to have enough scarves finished to have a pre-Valentine's Day sale to rise money for the school's herb garden.

My other distraction was going to see the Houston Charity Cat Show last Sunday. Sweet and cuddly bundles of fuzz were everywhere. The show is no longer the massive production that it was a few decades when I was active, but it's great fun. It is still one of the few cat shows that is dedicated solely to charity. Best of all I was able to snag a new feather toy for the Cat of cats. It is the one with a detachable clump of feather that you can whirl around by a string. The dear girl needs the activity. Compared to the others of her breed I saw at the show, my gal is a chunky monkey.

On the subject of yarns

I have actually gotten some knitting done. Mainly I have been working on the mermaid gloves.

Not too far along, but I'm beginning to get the pattern.

In fact I even have a very dedicated friend to encourager me.

I have also pulled together my yarn for my November sweater project. I will be using Berroco's Calico, The colorway has green, yellow & blue.

The real challenge is still trying to remember where I safely put the pattern. If I can't locate it soon I will wander through my knitting books & magazines. I hunt down patterns the old fashion way since I am not in the Ravelry club. One last picture today. I'm ending with her ownself - the Cat of cats.

Toasty Cat

Yesterday I mentioned Katrina's new trick.
This morning I played paparatzi and caught the girl in the act.




She had no comment for the press.

Change will do you good

What a way to start a day.

I had to wrangle my cat into the bedroom. My landlord is inspecting all the apartments today so the Cat of Cats had to be confined for her own good.

She has been quite a handful lately. I got a new rug for the living room & she does not like change.

Nor is she happy about the fact that I am finally getting around to the last boxes from our move. They made up her cardboard tower.

She surprised me with a new trick. She plays peek-a-boo from behind the toaster. I guess it’s nice and cozy there after my breakfast.

On the knitting front, I am only bringing "potato chip" projects to work. Just light no thinking knitting. This week I'm working on a scarf of soft and fluffy novelty yarn. I am still using my baseball needles, even if I am heartbroken over the Astro's season. Ah well, there is always next year.

Look what the cat dragged in!

No, I am not gone for good. Unfortunately my dedication to this blog has not been very good.

Since October last year:
I have a new apartment
Went back to WDW
Said farewell to 2 co-workers
Hired 2 new librarians
Presented 2 puppet workshops
Acquired a new computer
Attended 2 seminars
Survived a nasty birthday

All in all rather busy.
On the other hand I have also been very lazy on the knitting front. Only one or two projects finished, several floating in limbo, and others remain only a twinkle in the eye.

So with the steady nudging of the cat herself, I am gearing up again.