Just Random, Mostly

Well, first of all, I do not like the new Blogger interface.  Just for the record.  Just in case Blogger even cares.

Secondly, I am knitting away on this project:

By knitting away, I mean I am on row 22 of 200 rows.  This should be an easy project, but it didn't start out that way.  It required using a provisional cast on of 395 stitches.  doG help you if you lose count along the way, which is even possible when using markers. So when I made multiple mistakes in the first several tries I made to get going on this, there was no way on this green earth that I was going to just rip it out and start over with the cast on.  No. Way.  That would be, I swear, as bad as doing a prep for a colonoscopy when you aren't even having a colonoscopy.  It is just that bad.  (I apologize for the thought, but I realize I am still offended by the stuff I had to drink for the prep.  Bleaghhh..)

But once I got going, I realized that I was going to have to count 395 stitches on each and every row.  Are you #$%^&;* kidding me?  I moaned and whined, and then I learned that the now Knittergran-certified genius Lucille had found a way around counting all those stitches.  It does involve markers and genius.  

So Lucille, this is for you:

Thirdly, I have learned that Baxter still likes yarn, LOVES yarn, as in chewing and eating yarn.  And Molly likes, LOVES the movement of the needles.  Yarn + moving needles= knitting.

So, yay.

However, I did make a mistake on a recent row and I counted the stitches to be sure.  There is nothing I can do about it, and it won't show since it's at the edge, so it is what it is.

Who's counting?  I'm not. Not any more, no matter what.

Le Pauvre Chat (with subtitles)

UH....no.

Detente....maybe

Wook at dat widdle face. How could you not wuv dis kittee?

Even Baxter might be changing his mind on this. He and Molly seem to have reached a sort of detente. They take turns chasing each other---no hissing---and then Molly retreats to the basement and Baxter remains upstairs.

Yesterday, Baxter had pretty much stopped hissing; instead he just ignored Molly's presence. I see nothing. Today he is paying much more attention. I think that Molly is having fun but I don't know what Baxter's take is on all of this running around.

I am assured by everyone with experience in bringing a new cat into a home with a resident cat that this will all work out, that they will end up snuggling up together to sleep.

Again, I'll believe that when I see it.

This is not going well.

I have written occasionally about Baxter, my mischievous cat. He loves to play, and play, and play, and then, play some more. But I am older-ish. dH is older-ish. And we can't play ALL of the time.

What better solution could there be than to adopt another rescue kitten?

So we did. Her current name is Molly; it's her third name and I think this one will stick. But for the first 24 hours we didn't even see her. She was hiding from us and from Baxter. This morning she finally came out of hiding---she had found an access hole through a wall in the basement that allowed her to get into the area under the bathtub in the basement. We can't fit in there, so we had to wait. And wait.

But she has come out of hiding and she is limited to the basement for now. dH's office is there so she is not alone, and she has gotten friendly (or desperate) enough to climb on our laps and allow us to pet her.

Baxter, on the other hand, is very put out. He is hiding in our closet, the same place he hid for two days last summer when our older daughter and her four children came to visit. He eventually joined the fun, so I hope that he will join us again this time. But he is p*ssed!!! And he lets us know it by hissing any time he hears or smells Molly. He even hissed at ME when I petted him after petting Molly. At ME!!! His favorite human!

I am told that all of this is normal, and that in days, or weeks, or months (months?!) the two cats will settle down and be buddies.

I'll believe it when I see it. And I am hoping that Molly won't like yarn.

Los Angeles

I'm back and, as Delta is my witness, I will NEVER take a red-eye flight again. I left LA at 11:55 pm and arrived in Atlanta at 7:30 am. And no, that doesn't mean that I had 7 1/2 hours of sleep. It means I had 4 1/2 hours of constantly interrupted light sleep, and I still feel drugged. Blechhhh...

But we did have a great time, and we had sort of a whirlwind tour of sights. The most unusual was this huge rock at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It was paid for by donations and cost about 10 million dollars. I'm not sure how a museum gets patrons to donate for a rock but donate they did and this is the result. It's fun to stand under it....really! But we had a 2.2 earthquake our first day in LA and I did wonder a little how this rock would fare in a large earthquake. It's considered by the sculptor to be an art installation. That is accurate, I suppose. We, art critics that we are, decided that it doesn't qualify as sculpture since the only part carved away was on the bottom in order to make one side of it fit squarely on the brace. A very strong brace, I hope.
I love the palm trees, all planted in a row.
And the collection of old street lights, all installed in rows.
A strange shoe in a shop window.
Oil bubbling up on land near the La Brea tarpits.
Oil near the tarpits that has somehow formed a cone.
The heat shield from one of the re-entry capsules; all of the streaks are from the extreme heat experienced during re-entry through the earth's atmosphere.

This is the Gamble House, designed and built in 1908 by Charles and Henry Greene, famous during the American Arts and Crafts period. It is spectacular. The house, both inside and out, is almost entirely wood. The heir who was the last of the Gambles to own the house put it on the market in the 60's, but when she heard prospective buyers discuss painting the entire interior white in order to make the house brighter, she changed her mind and donated it to Pasadena and USC.

Below is a part of the Berlin Wall. It is covered with art, both official and the usual LA street art.
We also went to the Huntington Library, which is so much more than the library I had expected. It comprises an art museum, over 125 acres of gardens, a library (we saw an original Gutenberg Bible), and a research facility. It merits a return trip because in the time we had, we could only see a small portion of what is there. (So watch out, Sarah and Ben!)

But of course, the best part of the trip was spending time with Sarah and Ben. They were enthusiastic and generous hosts. I did whine a bit about not getting to the ocean, but Good Golly Miss Molly, we saw almost everything else...and...we'll be back.

Now, I just need to get them to visit here so I can return the great hospitality.