Pictures on Sunday ... knitting and cats

I found this yarn online. It's Deborah Norville sock yarn (who knew the former short-lived host of The Today Show would have a yarn brand) from Joanne.com that was half price and free shipping. Who could resist? And what's best? I like the colors even better now that I've knitten it up than I did when I picked it. I keep the closet door closed, but these brilliant felines have figured out how to open them. They are mirrored doors, but that doesn't stop these guys. That's Alex sleeping atop the plastic container I keep yarn in. He's right under my hanging clothes, so I'm sure they are covered with fur. You can see Alex's white chin and long white whiskers. That's Ziggy on the floor. He was headed over to the floor section to the right that both have been known to frequent.

A close up of Alex on the plastic container. He hates bieng spotted.Wow! This is pretty close for Mowry and Ziggy.
Mowry was trained as a kitten to enjoy human tummy tickles.
This is something I have been hoping for since we got Ziggy. Yes, those are all 3 cats on the bed at once. Alex in the foreground, Mowry, who can't be mistaken with his orange fur licking himself, and that is Ziggy to the right of Mowry. He's in a little nest right where Will sleeps. Will is his favorite human.

Lots of Pictures on Christmas Day 2009

It's Christmas 2009! It's hard to believe it's almost 2010. Last night we had Ken and Diann over for dinner. Kathryn was home sick with a cold and couldn't join us. I like to do a winter theme on the table.

I finally found something to make with the yellow yarn that was in the free yarn bag I got in April 2008. It's hard to imagine that this....

Will look like this when it's done, but that's what it will be.It's Christmas and my Christmas Cactus is blooming. It's actually near the end of its bloom, but this counts.
Will did some rearraning in the garage so he could fit his full drum kit. He uses his smaller cocktail drum kit now, so these are in hiatus for now.
Meanwhile, I was outside doing clipping and photographing things. I thought this picture was interesting. The rose bush has long stems and I was taking it against the house. The shadow is from part of the bush that isn't in the photograph.My carrots are growing, but I suspect they may be growing around each other underground because I didn't thin out the plants.
The camelias are getting ready to bloom.
The pink camelias next door are already blooming. I love the view over our fence.

The Meyer lemons are aplenty again this year.
I planted this nastertium, which I hope grows like it's supposed to so I can rip out the annoying asparagus fern. The fern has clovers growing thru it and it collects leaves. Its only purpose is to hide big roots from the non-producing avocado tree. Too bad only one of the two avocado trees produces avocados.

Then we went inside for lunch - a sandwich of leftover roast beef - and we watched TV. We alternated between the Yule Log

which cracks me up every year - I JUST missed the hand putting a new log on the fire....

and Celtics basketball. Eddie House is shooting a free throw. I don't see him doing that all that often.

Ziggy was on my lap for awhile.

It's all lighting - I took this standing up of the Lakers - Cavaliers game, and there wasn't any glare on the screen.

Sorry, Mom, I know you're a big Lakers fan, but with 3:34 left in the 2nd quarter, they were losing. It's 47-30 Cavs.

Thursday - cat photos, of course

It's the 7th night of Chanukah. This picture was taken last night. Lewis Black, a very funny comedian, joked about menorahs not having holes big enough to actually fit the Chanukah candles. This is the result after a struggle lighting the bottoms of each candle to mold it into the holder.

I took a funny video of Alex coming into the office and meowing and then leading me to his empty bowl! The lighting wasn't good, so I won't post it, but it was quite funny.

Mowry got on top of the printer and proceeded to fall asleep.He finally realized he'd be safer (from falling) and more comfortable if he took on another position. What a silly cat.

Someone on the freecycle list was giving away these knitting needles. I tried to take a picture but my curious cats (Alex and Mow) had to get into the act. I wonder if the lady had a cat or cats? I brought her some lemons when I picked up the needles.
I went looking for the favorite orange cat toy pictured here in earlier blogs, but didn't find it yet. I found several other toys (and some non-toys made into toys like the fake ficus tree leaves and my "CEP Volunteer" ribbon that goes on my conference badge) and surprisingly, Alex and Ziggy were very interested in the newly found toys.
Hey, these toys are fun. Where have you humans been hiding them?
I finished knitting a long black scarf for myself. I tried to photograph it, but black doesn't photograph well in cats or knitted items.

Cats and Knitting...what else matters?

A few days ago there were some pretty red and orange leaves on the crepe myrtle tree out front. About 1/3 was gone, and 1/3 remained. ...and then there were none!

Last Monday the cats were watching the street sweeper. He went by a few times, but didn't sweep our leaves that had fallen into the street. I think the tree is in the way. I finally went out there and swept the leaves where he could reach them. He did come back, so most were gone.
Maybe this blog should be titled "it's all about the cats" instead of "Knit Mare Knit". Alex got onto my desk. It's bad enough when Mow does this, but Alex is much bigger. I can't possibly work when he's here, but he doesn't stay for long.

This blog does have some knitting content! It all started with Diann, but it's all good. Diann knitted two pairs of socks for her husband, but he wasn't wearing them, so she gave them to Will. So I thought I should knit Will a pair. He liked them so much, he asked for more, so I bought gray yarn at our local yarn store, and knitted them while sitting right next to Will. Being a guy, and not paying attention to things that don't affect him, he only once said "I like that yarn". I don't usually like surprises (as in surprise parties, but don't get me started since if you know me, you know this), I thought this would be a nice surprise. So I gave him this pair for Chanukah last night and he immediately put them on and he loves them!

These silly cats are both on the cat window perch.

Leaving the best for last, I finally got a GREAT picture of Ziggy and Alex. You're not seeing double! They look very much alike if you don't know exactly what to look for. That's Ziggy on the left - his ears are smaller and all black, his eyes are a little smaller, his face is a little scrunched like a Persian breed, his white antenna whisker is on our left, his paw pads are black, and his front paws are more black. Alex has white in his ears, has a little more white on his chin, has his white antenna whisker of our right, his front paws have more white at the tip, his nose is longer, and his paw pads are pink. But as you can see in this picture, you have to look pretty close to figure out which cat you're looking at! The are much closer to the same color than you can see from the picture.Ziggy is much better after his emergency visit to the vet last Friday for a clogged scent gland. He weighed in Saturday at his re-check at 19.6 lbs, which is down from a few months ago when he was closer to 22 lbs.

OK, maybe that wasn't the last picture. When I use this afghan that I crocheted over 20 years ago, I almost always get a cat on my lap. I know, I know, it's the blankie, and not me, and here's proof. Blankie, cat, no me.

Happy Chanukah to all those who celebrate.

Snow, Cats, Bands, oh my!

It's a cold morning for us California Weather Wimps. It was raining and only 36 degrees at 7:00 am. It's 9:30 am and it's only 39 degrees! Since it was raining and cold, I decided to work from home. Shortly after I decided that, it stopped raining, and the sun was trying to come out. It will probably be worse on Thursday, the other day I am scheduled for this client, but at least it won't be Monday! Taking the train and shuttle and walking 1.5 blocks in rain and cold didn't seem appealing on a Monday! This is yet another reason why I'm a consultant and not an employee. Bosses don't understand these things, but clients do.

The crepe myrtle out front has about 1/4 of its leaves remaining. (Glass half full, glass half empty?!!). And the street cleaners just came by three times and skipped our leaf pile. I think it's because the tree is in their way. I would have swept the leaves to where they could reach had I remembered they were coming, and had I known they'd drive by 3 times I'd have done it before one of the trips.
There is snow on Mission Peak! It's 2,517 feet but the snow was much lower, as you can see from my view from our home office window! You can see the snow right above the rooftop next to the telephone wire. Of course it doesn't photograph well because the snow is against the overcast gray background!

I know I'm a California weather wimp! While I was deciding what to do about going into the office, it was 4 degrees and slushy in Castle Rock, CO, where my niece lives. Mowry was bored this morning. He was on my desk, making it impossible to work!

Then I found him in this funny position under the desk lamp, which wasn't on, so it wasn't warmth he was seeking.
Then he and Alex got onto the cat window perch. It's a good thing Will reinforced it with strong C-clamps. Of course it's Alex and not Ziggy. Unfortunately, this wouldn't happen with Mow and Zig.

And finally he settled down next to Alex.

Speaking of Ziggy, he had an emergency vet visit on Friday. His anal glands were not clearing and ruptured. He's doing much better now. He didn't have to stay at the vet's overnight, and he didn't have to wear a collar. He's got to have two pills a day, and he's a very easy cat to pill. He's been hiding in the closet, but he came out and sat on my lap and then Will's lap last night, so all is good.

While watching TV last night we found an old episode of Bewitched. My neighbor has a stove just like this!!!
Yesterday Will's new band had a gig at a private party in San Jose. The house was huge, and their stage was a loft. There were people jammed all over. The band couldn't see the audience, and the audience couldn't see them, but they could hear them. I usually go to gigs with Will. This one was okay - I sat on the stairs in the picture and knitted! People all knew each other, so I didn't mingle, but a few people came and sat on the stairs and I talked briefly to them. The band sounded good!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Ah, the good old days! 1966 when the population was only 88,400. It's now over 210,000 according to signs, but I'm guessing more. When I first moved here almost 19 years ago people would say (with attitude) "oh, you live in Fremont" and now many of them moved here!
Last night we lit a fire and watched TV. As I knitted, I had two cats jump on my lap.
We watched a recorded "Late Late Show" with Craig Ferguson. I know it's not me, its' the blanket. Alex and Mowry LOVE this blanket that I crocheted over 20 years ago!


And here's proof - I left and Alex jumped off, but jumped back on almost immediately. He even has the remote handy if he needs to change the channel, though I don't think he knows how to work it!Mowry loves getting his scratch from his favorite human.
This morning Ziggy was waiting for the paparazzi to finish taking his picture before resuming his grooming.
Lots of lemons out back. These much coveted Meyer Lemons are great, but I can't figure out why the former owners planted the tree right up next to the house by the shed where the trash cans are usually stored.

What a difference a day (or two) makes. Friday we almost didn't get to the parade because it was raining on and off (more like a drizzle, but enough to get us wet), yesterday it was so windy it was blustery, and today it's gorgeous. The crepe myrtle out front has vibrant fall colors, with lots of leaves at its base.Today the leaves at the base are gone, but not because we raked! The leaves were blown in yesterday's blustery wind. Sorry, neighbors! I am convinced that we get heavy winds to finish up Mother Nature's job of getting the leaves off of the trees for winter.