Lily's skirt

I have finished Lily's skirt and it is currently blocking. I haven't put in the elastic yet either.

It is the Hip in Hemp pattern, made from five colors of CotLin yarn from Knit Picks. I am apparently bad at math: the pattern called for THREE contrasting colors and one main color. I bought FOUR contrasting colors. I don't know why.

And I bought THREE balls of each color. I have two left over of each of the contrasting colors, and one left over of the main color.

Again....poor math skills, although using too many colors does explain some of the leftover yarn, but not all of it.

Other Ravelry knitters used CotLin for their Hip in Hemp skirts and that's why I chose it, but I'm not altogether happy with it. It's a heavy cotton/linen blend. Perhaps when it is dry, it will drape nicely and the weight will help with that----I hope.

Irony Perhaps?

Not really sure if this qualifies.

But anyhow, my Texas daughter finds the all-too-occasional tarantula in her house. For whatever reason, she doesn't kill them; she relocates them to the great outdoors. (Scorpions she kills. Yay.)I would have hoped to never see a tarantula...but,

my neighbor is out of town for three days and she asked if I would feed her various pets: 1 cat, two birds, two turtles, one supposed hermit crab-I have never seen it, and one TARANTULA.

Get OUT!  A pet tarantula???

I don't have to feed it (what on earth does it eat?); I just have to spray it with special water so that its exo-skeleton won't dry out. If it does dry out, the tarantula won't be able to move. To me, and probably to Martha Stewart, this is a GOOD thing. My neighbor says no: the dry exo-skeleton might cause the tarantula to shed said exo-skeleton ahead of schedule.

They SHED their exo-skeletons? Blechhh....Gaaaaaag....

She says not to worry, that chances are, the tarantula would eat it.

Oh, even better.

Who Knew?

There is knitting music!

Found on Ravelry.

Yes, I had too much free time today.

Something There Is

that doesn't love the outside, and it's currently living in my house.

All day yesterday I heard odd knocking and thumping sounds from my kitchen. I would listen, shake my head and decide that it was just the house/cabinets/whatever? settling. After all these years?

But this morning, Bad Boy Baxter was clawing at an area under the dishwasher that goes to the basement. I don't know why that opening is there, but it is. Baxter clawed, meowed, scratched and meowed some more. Now I KNOW something is there. It's not the house settling. It's probably a chipmunk.

There is a room in my basement we call dH's "workroom." However, it is sometimes a workroom, but it is mostly a hoarder's dreamworld/landfill/toxic site. And there is a door to the outside which is occasionally open when dH goes in and out while doing yard work. I believe that is when something got IN.

dH is going out of town for the week, so I'm going to ask him to set the havahart trap in his workroom/hoarder's world/landfill/future EPA site and hope that whatever is in the house gets in the trap instead of running around the kitchen. Granted, Baxter would be happy to chase it around, but I would not.

If it turns out to be a chipmunk, I'll say hi to it and set it free. If it's a rat, I'll scream like a girl and run.......

Tinking. Tinking. Tinking.

That's what I am doing.

I think I will stop knitting skirts after I finish (if I finish) this one. Skirts have the weird ability to sabotage me. I would swear that I had picked up the correct color for this round, but when I had finished FOUR rows in the light blue, I saw my mistake.

So now I am taking four rows out, stitch by stitch, because I am too certain that I would lose stitches if I just ripped the rows out.

Knitting is fun. Knitting is fun. Knitting is...oh, rats. It is FIVE rows......

It Worked!!!

The orange yarn in this picture is from the provisional cast-on. I've done crocheted provisional cast-ons before, but this is the first time that it just pulled right out when I needed to take it out.

This is the waistband for the Hip in Hemp skirt I am making for Lily. It won't take over a year as mine did!

I promise, Lily.

Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers

Or: truth is stranger than fiction.

Senior Citizens Flash Mob!

For more on their group: go here.

Dear Black and Blue Salvia,

Yes, you.

When I bought you and brought you home and planted you, I had such high hopes: beautiful flowers, butterflies, bees and hummingbirds swarming around you, and the contrast of your color with the other colors in my garden---it all sounded so wonderful.

I planted you. I fed you. I watered you. I pruned you when you needed it.

But did you cooperate? No, you did not. You rarely flowered. You spread all. over. the. place, putting other flowers in complete shade. So I worked and worked and worked to put you in the perfect spot for you.

But did that work? Were you happy with the space I provided?

No, you were not, and this year you have taken over way too much space.

So you are gone. I have pulled every bit of you OUT. The other flowers rejoice.

And if you dare show even one bit of green above the ground, I will carpet bomb you.

With Roundup.

You have been warned.

Innocence Lost

Poor Baxter.Until last Thursday night, Baxter has had a dream life. Everyone is nice to him; he doesn't have to share his kingdom with any other four-legged animals, and lately we have even allowed him to go out on the deck, with the steps blocked off and with us out there with him or just inside on the sofa by the windows. He loves to go out and sniff whatever it is he sniffs. Along with the garage, it's his only wilderness.

The world was a wonderful and kind and safe place.

But last Thursday night, when I was at knitting, dH forgot that he left the door to the deck open. He went upstairs, turned on the Tour de France, and forgot the rest of the world, including Baxter's wilderness world. After dark, he heard the sudden crash of the gate and the yowling of two cats. He ran downstairs and saw the orange cat that wanders the neighborhood and Baxter running after him around the to the front of the house. The orange cat ran across the street and Baxter hid. dH went inside to get a flashlight and searched for Baxter. Eventually he saw the reflection of the flashlight in Baxter's eyes but Baxter would not come out of the shrubbery.

I came home to find dH sitting at the edge of the driveway with a flashlight and a container of Baxter's treats. Baxter wouldn't come out. I took dH's place and talked to Baxter while dH went inside to get some tuna fish. Baxter cautiously emerged from the shrubs (he loves ME the most; it ain't bragging if it's true), and I grabbed him.

For two days Baxter hid in his cube, not even coming out for food. He is skittish and even now (Tuesday) mostly hides. He is a little more active when he appears and he is eating, but he is not back to his normal bad boy self.

Maybe Prozac for cats?

And the orange cat? HE needs to have a chat with his owners, who in cold weather, put a PINK quilted vest on him. I don't know for sure that he IS a he, but based on his behavior and Baxter's reaction, I'm pretty sure HE is.

Yarn Bombing Gone Bad?

Mrs. G Has Left the Building

but her shoes remain!

Perhaps this means that Mrs. G (of the Women's Colony) will be back!

Or she was running so fast to escape from Baxter that the shoes couldn't keep up.

Either way, it sure was lots of fun to meet her----Safe travels Mrs. G!

Wow!

This boulder is a relatively new installation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

It must be a little weird to walk under it, but it's very cool.

My LA daughter can probably guess where we're going next time I visit.