Snow Day

If you're here in the Lou, I don't have to tell you that it's brrrrrr chilly and everything in sight is covered in fluffy white stuff. In my part of town, we got somewhere between six and eight inches depending on where you measure.

After checking in on a bit of work stuff, I spent the rest of the day sewing and knitting. I'm working on a new cowl right now using a pattern I found on Cornflower Blue's blog. She has great patterns that are in plain English; there's nothing worse than loving a project but being totally unable to understand the cryptic instruction. I'm doing a bright turquoise bulky yarn and only 30 stitches instead of 40. It's really coming along nicely. I can't wait to get it finished.

In between craft projects I took a short break to get bundled up and take a peek on the happenings in my backyard. Normally, the yard is bursting at the seams with all sorts of greenery, even in the winter months. Today, it was piled high with a thick blanket of snow. Mackie the Wonder Dog was pretty excited that I was going to hang out with him in his backyard and did a happy dance when he saw me slip on my yellow rubber boots. He really, really, likes to run around in circles and practice his herding skills when he has a visitor to corral. I love it when his nose is sprinkled with snow. So cute.

2011 is going to be awesome! LOTS of exciting things are going in the craftyverse. I can't spill the beans just yet, but I promise, I will -- soon.

Until then, be safe, stay warm, and keep it crafty.

Mascots

If you aren't already aware, the studio is chock full of fuzzy mascots.

Mackie, my Border Collie mix, is a wonderful companion with the sweetest disposition imaginable. Theoretically, being a herding breed he's a high-energy doggy. It's hard to tell though. Mostly he naps, changing locations every hour or so. I suppose he's just conserving energy since he's an avid fan of car rides and if he sees a leash there is much rejoycing. He's an excellent supervisor and will appoint himself anytime a task needs to be completed. His post is usually on top of my feet if I'm sitting or there's food involved.

Bad Cat is the youngest in the crew. Being a barn cat rescue, his hunter instincts are top-notch and keeping him contained in the house is impossible. He spends most of his time slinking around the garden chasing bugs, but once in a while, the scent of baby bunnies lures him away. Hence, the name Bad Cat. Sorry bunnies! Fortunately, he doesn't seem to want to hurt them, just relocate them to our yard. I don't think they appreciate it one bit though.

Bad Cat's time indoors is usually spent in a window watching the birds or napping on the back of the couch. He's a pretty kitty, but he's not really in to socializing and he'll let you know by giving you a swat once he's decided you've pet him quite enough. Petting is a privilege, duh!

Then, there's Mr. Wobbles. He's by far the most vocal and the biggest pain in the butt. It's hard to get too peeved since he's 100% lover, but man, is he ever bossy. The other day, I was having a little chat with Wobbles, mostly about how it's HOT and a fuzzy cat perched on my shoulder like a bluebird is a little suffocating in the summer heat. He disagreed and muttered something about being the one with fur. When I mentioned that his constant kneading was a little uncomfortable, again, he muttered something under his breath. This time I think I heard wussy. Mr. Wobbles gets away with murder mostly because he's extra-special, with only 3 teeth, a wicked lisp (think Sylvester) and the complete inability to walk a straight line; he has a rough go of things, although he doesn't seem to notice.

In general, Mr. Wobbles does all the normal cat stuff, except he can't get up on the counters and grace is something that eludes him always. He chases bugs, plays with crinkly paper, loves to be hugged like a teddy bear (so much that his motorboat purr triples with a gentle squeeze), and nobody loves to eat more than Wobbles. In fact, if you're within a mile radius of his food dish he'll start meowing at the top of his lungs for a refill, "Hey, lady! Top off my food would ya? Lady! HEY, FOOD LADY! HEY! HEY! HEY! REFILL PLEASE! CAN I GET SOME SERVICE OVER HERE?"

Subtle? Not so much. Almost as subtle as when he decides he wants to be held so you can pet him. Sometimes there's a flying leap involved -- a straight jump in the air, arms outstretched like Superman as he flings himself forward in hopes he lands where he wants. No worries, if he's close, he'll just stick his claws out and hook in to whatever he can grab. Something in your hands? On your lap? Not his concern.

As you can see, it can be quite a challenge to get anything done around here, between the demands for food, bunny rescue missions and petting, it's a miracle anything gets done at all!