Happy Valentine’s day to everyone!

I didn’t hop on the Knitting Olympics bandwagon. Just too much to do. I am, however, working on a tiny little project that I think should qualify me for some sort of honorable mention. Pics hopefully tonight or tomorrow. At least tomorrow, because this project has to be finished before Thursday AM!

Because Thursday afternoon I’m leaving for a couple of days down on the coast with some friends. All girls, no guys. Yep, #1 Son gets to stay home while Mom goes out and has some fun. That’s a first! I am now praying that there will be no snow in the Coast Range, since I have neither snow tires nor chains. The weather reports are indecisive. It could get interesting.

No update on Captain Kidd. We should know more today either way.

Yesterday morning I took Kidd to the specialist that my regular vet had referred him to. It was a busy and bustling office, but the staff were warm and friendly. A nice tech took Kidd’s history and then spirited him away for a few minutes for mundane things like temperature and weight while I knit rapidly and mindlessly. (Temp, normal / weight, way low)

When returned, Kidd cuddled up close to me and stuck his head up my sweater sleeve. He knows that if his head is hidden, nobody can see him and he’s safe. The original ostrich. I sat quietly holding Kidd and listening to the soothing sound of water running in this kitschy little Christmas village fountain. I’m not sure why it’s still Christmas here, but the sound was calming so maybe that’s the point. For all I know, it’s been Christmas here for years.

After a short wait, Dr. Specialist came in for the exam. He looked Kidd over from stem to stern and discussed his history with me. His suggestion was to start with x-rays to see if that would show anything, although most of the possible diagnoses would probably not be x-rayable.

The nice tech fetched Kidd again and whisked him away to parts unknown. I sat and again mindlessly and swiftly knit away on the basketweave socks. I hadn’t decided whether to go with a short-row heel (more “basket” looking) or a gusset-and-flap heel (more comfortable). At some point during the wait, I must have unconsciously decided to go with a short-row heel because I mindlessly and swiftly knit way past the point I should have started a gusset. I began to like the Christmas display.

Between the mindless knitting and the babbling Christmas fountain, I kept my cool pretty well, I think.

The x-rays were inconclusive. Except Kidd’s stomach appears distended for no visible reason. Certainly it’s not from eating. Dr. Specialist suggested as a next step an endoscopy, to see what’s really going on inside there. I have to drop Kidd off on Monday morning. The procedure will be done on Tuesday. The concern now, of course, is keeping Kidd alive until then.

Dr. Specialist handed me his card so I’d have his office number.

If you get in there and it’s really bad… I started to say, meaning to add please don’t let him wake up. But I couldn’t get that far.

Dr. Specialist said, In that case I’ll call you right away. I think he knew what I was trying to say. He took his card back from me, wrote on it, and then returned it. There’s my home number, he said. Call me directly if he gets into trouble over the weekend.

What a nice man, eh? I don’t think I’ve ever had a vet give me their home number before. Even my regular vet, who I love and who has taken care of my animals for 20 years, suggests Dove Lewis in an emergency.

I shook Dr. Specialist’s hand, thanked him sincerely, and said I’d have Kidd in first thing on Monday.

On the way home from work, I stopped at the store and stocked up on all of the Gerber baby meats I could find: Turkey, chicken, veal, beef, lamb… As far as I’m concerned, if that’s what Kidd wants to eat for the next two days, then that’s what he gets.

The pic is from happier times, last November. When I’m doing “computer stuff” at home, Kidd likes to either curl up under my desk at my feet or sit next to me on my bookshelf. Sometimes he lays on my desk, and runs his tail back and forth over the touch-pad I use instead of a mouse. The distance from the shelf he is sitting on to the shelf behind his head is 15″, so that gives you an idea of his size. He has to crouch to fit. He’s the tallest of my three cats, but not of course the heaviest. That distinction goes to Moo Cow.

As I mentioned earlier, my field trip to Woodland Woolworks was successful!

Oh, right, I hear you say. Like I would drive out there and not find something I wanted! Personally I feel blessed to be within striking distance. Anybody in the general Portland area who hasn’t been out there: you must go! Yarn! Tools! Wheels! Looms! A stash room of sale stuff! Go!

I went, and I was inspired by this: Knit One Crochet Too Ambrosia, a scrumptious blend of 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk and 10% cashmere, in color 713 - a yummy dark eggplant with the unassuming name of Plum. It’s hard to get a decent picture of this yarn in my dark little house, but hopefully you can get the idea.

Not your traditional sock yarn? Maybe not, but doesn’t it look cozy? And so soft! I made a pair of alpaca socks for a friend, and they’ve worn very well. I know my sockapaloooza pal loves soft things, and I suspect a little luxury would be a nice surprise!

Now I just have to find the perfect pattern! Suggestions welcome, if you know of something that would be really great with this yarn. I want a stitch pattern that just whispers understated elegance.

And, on the less-elegant side of things, these are my latest pair of socks, and another lousy picture. The yarn is Socks That Rock in the colorway called Falcon’s Eye. The needles are my trusty pair of Inox Gray US#2 (2.75mm) circs.

I decided first on the basket weave stitch pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. That’s a wonderful book for people like me. I have my own basic sock pattern, and I vary it by changing the stitch pattern or putting in a different heel or toe so no two pairs I make look the same. But it’s still a basic, basic, sock. Sensational Knitted Socks has whole sections of stitch patterns arranged by repeat size. So, if I know that my instep is going to be 32 stitches across, I can look for patterns with repeats that fit in 32 stitches, like 6 stitch repeats, or 12 stitch repeats, etc.

This book along with Barbara Walkers four Treasuries of Knitting Patterns are what I use most when looking for sock designs.

Once I had decided on the basket-weave stitch, I went with an octagonal pinwheel-style toe because I felt that fit in with the whole “basket” theme. This I made up by myself, but it’s a fairly standard pinwhee / tote bottom / hat top type increase pattern. I wish I had a better picture, but I think it was a happy choice. I haven’t used this style of toe before, but it makes a very nice, round toe. I think I’ll use it again.

In less happy news, one of my cats, Captain Kidd, is very ill. Poor Kidd. He’s been sick for most of his 11 years. He was sick even when I picked him up from the breeder. I probably shouldn’t have agreed to even take him. But I’m not one to throw something away just because it isn’t perfect. So I brought him home, poor skinny little kitten, and I’ve been nursing him along ever since. He has a raft of physical problems. The most serious has been IBS, which makes it very difficult for him to gain weight. He’s been on a special diet almost since day one, and every ounce he’s gained has been a tiny victory. On a frame that should carry about 16 lbs or more (he’s a Maine Coon), Kidd has never weighed more than 12 lbs. He’s always been a big, skinny, skinny cat. In the last week or so, what little padding he had on his bones has literally melted off. He now weighs less than 9 lbs. and doesn’t want to eat much of anything. I’ve been tempting him with Gerber Baby Turkey (his favorite treat) and a special high-calorie diet suggested by my vet, but it’s clear he’s not doing well. My vet has referred me to a specialist, and I have an appointment on Friday. But the prognosis doesn’t look very good. So think some good thoughts for him, poor baby.

I know that teenager’s aren’t supposed to always make sense. I know that. But, really! This is a conversation I had with #1 Son yesterday:

#1 Son: What are you doing today, Mom?

Mom: I’m going to watch the Superbowl later this afternoon.

#1 Son: Why? You don’t like football any more than I do.

Mom: I like to watch the ads. And the Seahawks are playing.

#1 Son: So just because a team from the Northwest it playing, you think you have to watch and root for them or something, even though you never care about football?

Mom: Mostly I like to watch the ads. I don’t much care about the game. But since the Seahawks are playing I’ll root for them. It will make it more interesting.

#1 Son: Superbowl ads are terrible! They’re usually the worst advertising all year. Why would you want to watch just for that?

Mom: Why not? I find it amusing. What are you doing today? Do you work?

#1 Son: No work today. I’m going to hang out at Alex’ house. There are a bunch of people coming.

Mom: What will you be doing? Anything special?

#1 Son: We’re going to watch the Superbowl.

How do you even respond to that?

This is a little snapshot that I like to call Big, burly guy with chainsaw cutting down tree before it falls on my house.

I mean, what’s not to like about this picture? I’ve been pretty much obsessing about these trees for 10 years. It was inevitable that they would fall. I’m happy about the following things:

• The trees didn’t fall on my house or damage my property in any way.
• Nobody was hurt.
• Nothing was damaged that can’t be repaired.
• MNTHD (my neighbor two houses down) has seen the light and is removing the remaining tree.
• I got to meet my neighbor three houses down (they are semi-new to the neighborhood).

If you click on the pick, you’ll see that PI boasts a new photo-popup script that lays the picture over the contents of the current window rather than popping it up in a new window. It’s not only cool because, well, it looks cool. It’s cool because it will re-size the popped-up picture so that it fits in your browser. It appears to be working pretty well in IE and Firefox. Opera… well… the two of you who are using Opera can at least see the little picture. Anyone out there on a Mac, let me know how if it works in your browser, please!

And, yes, I’m knitting, too. Yesterday I made little field trip to Woodland Woolworks in search of inspiration for my Sockapalooza pal’s socks. And I found it in the form of some wonderful yarn that I will tell you more about later, but here’s a hint. Now I just have to find the perfect pattern!

I also got started on the green Socks That Rock socks. I’ve decided on a pin-wheel toe, and I’m just about finished with that part. I have no pics yet, but I plan to get some serious knitting in during the Super Bowl.

I usually find the Super Bowl to be a bunch of really cool ads hung together by annoying little bits of football. But, this year… what can I say but GO SEAHAWKS!