:'(

R.I.P. Dumars, December 30, 1989 - December 7, 2006

As much as it kills me inside, my baby kitty is no more. She was just so arthritic and stopped bothering with the litterbox and... well... I feel like I've lost more than just a cat because, let's be honest, I wasn't even five when I got her. I begged mom and dad endlessly for a kitty, and my aunt's cat had kittens. I mean, the day I got her mom told me that dad was going off to get me a "surprise" and I remember clearly, standing by the front door, thinking that the "surprise" was a Sesame Street video or something.

Yeah, much better. Dad walked in with a kitten under his shirt. He probably got scratched by the terrified little kitten, but it didn't matter. It was so cool. We debated and debated what to name her. I said "Blackie" being an awesomely original four year-old. I think it was my mom who suggested Dumars, after Joe Dumars, a Pistons player that both my brother and I loved.

She was really perky and social up until the very end. It's just that she decided that grooming and litterbox use were unnecessary, as she was quite arthritic. If she was in a lot of pain, she didn't show it. She just wanted lots of love.

I really hope I can collect myself before I have to leave for work. I knew it was time, but that still doesn't help.



Happy news, Amy, happy news.

Savyminx has to have the coolest taste in color out there. Phosphor or Ultraviolet? Wait, ****, I'm on a yarn diet. The only person I've found who competes is Perchance to Knit who also puts stuff on her blog, always a good read. All the delicious fiber seems to get snatched up quickly, thank goodness, because in that case I'd be buying it all up!

Er, um, yeah. Yarn diet.

And holiday gifts. How am I doing? Uh, badly.

Etsy, how I love thee.

I didn't give Etsy much notice when it first popped up.

Now I LOVE browsing on it, and occasionally buy things.


I bought these from craftyone77, who notably makes really sweet notebooks out of found objects. I had a soft spot for the paint chip ones, having spent too many months behind the paint counter at Lowe's.

And today, it was the earrings.


How could I resist? These are from Resplendent Redhead. If I had more money, I'd have bought EVERYTHING on her shop.

I'm knitting one of my final exams. I'm getting there; might even finish it tonight. I'll post it like mad because I think it'll be pretty sweet when all is said and done. I do need to get my hands on some red or black or silver board that's used for mattes in a frame. Maybe at Art Attack?

Sorry I'm being mysterious about it. It'll be worth the wait, I promise! Hope my professor likes it. She did say, when giving the assignment, that we could basically do what we wanted, including glue macaroni to paper. Might as well use a method I enjoy, right?

Some people have lots of cats, we have fish.

I got a Betta fish to keep me company in my dorm room three years ago. I named him Cai, after one of the knights in The Mists of Avalon which I was reading at the time. I got him a bowl, a fish sitter for spring break, and he kept me company. Cai is still with me today. Over the summer he graduated to a one gallon bowl instead of his half gallon former home. He was still seeming sluggish, as he was much larger than when I got him.

So, Cai graduated again to a two gallon filtered, aerated tank:


These days, the little guy is three years old and more active than ever. The change in his disposition was remarkable. In the meantime, Steve and I had gotten five other bettas and two goldfish, each with a bowl to themselves, of course. Seeing Cai's improved state led us to decide that ALL of these fish deserve their own little tank. Except today, we went overboard:


My brother was going to give us a ten gallon tank, but it was in such a bad state of repair that we decided to forget it... and went to PetSmart and got one twice as large. There are no fish in it yet, as it is filtering, heating, and aerating its way to stability for the next couple of days. There is a tank divider so two of our remaining five lucky bettas will get new ten gallon digs complete with lots of real and fake plants, pretty gravel...


Yeah. Overboard. We couldn't decide which fishies got the two spots in the tank, so we ended up putting their names in a hat and picking them out..

This makes my head spin.

So, a peace sign wreath is A SYMBOL OF SATAN? What the HELL? This just dumbfounds me. I guess anything that goes against their narrow beliefs and MAYBE questions the war is now satanic. I guess in that case I've been worshiping satan for a long time.

No, jerks, did you forget that peace is one of the central themes of Christmas? Listen to your Christmas carols! Peace on earth, goodwill to men? A peace sign wreath fits nicely with what the holiday has always symbolized to me. Kudos to the couple for sticking to their guns. I, too, would keep the thing up through the holidays and refuse to pay the fine. And then perhaps I would accuse a bitchy neighbor of worshiping satan who owned black cat or something equally ridiculous.

And what the hell happened to "love thy neighbor?"

Okay, yeah, I think this proves that I could NEVER live in one of those ridiculous subdivisions with the ridiculous rules about how one's house is supposed to look, what color the blinds are supposed to be, how nice your garden must be, etc. I'd be sure to get in trouble and make the neighbors hate me.


...


I didn't get the Google job, either... I thought everything went well, and I got one of those vague rejection letters in my e-mail late Saturday. I did reply and ask for a more concrete reason; I've always done that, and it's always been some sort of trite bullshit. I expected better from Google, but I guess this shows that they're no better than any other large company. I'm kind of pissed that I put so much energy into all the ridiculous things Google makes you do for weeks before you even interview only to have it all shot down.

Oh, erm, knitting?

I started my fourth pair of knucks. A friend's birthday is coming up.

Wheee, a FO!

First set of SNBN Felted Furry Foot Warmers? Check.

Two wash cycles got them down to a women's size 12.



Modeled by the boy, who they actually fit correctly.

Annoyingly enough, the pattern calls for three balls of LP Bulky and two of funfur; well, I have a full skein of LP Bulky left and a good amount of funfur. Hrmph. I know I could make a third slipper; anyone want an extra?

I'm worried, though, as they're fulled to the point of zero stitch definition, and with the second pair I'll be going for a size 9 1/2 - 10... quite a bit smaller. How much can you felt something before it... stops?