This is the End

Beautiful Friend

This morning at 7.25 am our Flip had his third and final stroke. 

At the tender age of 21-ish, it was enough. 

I'll miss you.

WIP Wednesday, and we're back

Sooooo...

Thanks to some soul-searching, a good session and some retail therapy (no chocolate or actual spending of money involved!) we're back. 'Twas a bit a of a Big Dip, so much so that I didn't even get chastised this week (minor triumph, in a way). But, as they say, one comes out the other end a bit wiser and a bit older (do they say that?). Either way, ideas aplenty, and never enough time. Yadda yadda, heard it before.

I poked myself in the chest carrying this secret knitting around to take a picture of it so I could show you. The things I do to put up a half-decent picture for you, eh? It's all out of love! (told you it's better now)

I did spin a bit throughout the Big Dip, and this is some black Icelandic. It's nice enough when plied, but it wasn't a joy to work with. Seems to be a recurring thing with the darker versions of a sheep breed. I've started the brown, and it's much nicer and less hairy. Updates next week!

I did learn something non-Dip-related during the Big Dip. When in a Big Dip, it's not a great idea to start designing. The birds thingymawattums was knit to 3" about 7 times and frogged as many. After 3 I remembered to put in a lifeline. As it is, it's not reconstructed, but there are Ideas! Something will come out of it, I'm sure. Above, design #6, discarded.

Some books I'm enjoying, some newer than others, collected gifts. I like how, leafing through, I recognize patterns and stitches used by some pretty famous designers. It's like having a peek in their kitchen. It also helps with the idea that it only takes a good idea and perseverance to make something pretty. Stay tuned. (scary!!!)

Ehm, no, he's never been tumble dried. He allows us to use it, sometimes. Since his stroke he's not been able, and now not allowed back to his old sleeping place on top of the washer. It seems he just really likes being off the floor, so one night he crawled into the drier. Another night, it was emptied so he could go to bed, but one of the ridges was in the bottom so he tried the washing machine that night. It wasn't a success (Cat later told me it was like sleeping on an old mattress with the springs sticking out).

We now take care to have His Majesty's bed turned up by nightfall. As one does.

PS. Peaks Island Hood is coming along. Yippie!

Things left unmentioned...

...don't just go away.

Especially when a cat keeps kicking you.

You'll remember (or scroll down a bit) the adventures of my cat, Mop, this last winter in the snow. It was his 19th winter, and sadly it was his last. A year before those pictures were taken he lost a lot of weight in a dramatically short period of time. The vet diagnosed him quite easily and got him on some pills which kept him on weight, though didn't put a lot back on. He was 18 at the time so there wasn't much to expect. In fact, the vet gave him a few months back then. A year and a half later, his predictions came true during a horrible Ascension weekend, which is a long weekend off over here.

On the Tuesday before, his long-time bully/housemate Flip fell off the washing machine where they both sleep. It was the second time in a few months that he did that, but this time, he didn't get up. I was at work, so my dad drove him to the vet on his own. Diagnosis: a stroke. At the tender age of almost 18 not something he was supposed to recover from.
The next day Mop lost control over his hind legs so off we went to the vet again. He got a steroid shot and some fluid injected under the skin, in order to carry him over the weekend and give him a fighting chance to recover from this. We weren't ready to lose two cats in the same number of days. That night he lost all the fluids and he never touched his food or drink again. After watching him slowly slipping away we decided to give him a nudge in the right direction and took him back to the vet's on the Saturday morning. The pet cremation people sent us back a lovely card.

In the mean time, Flip had struggled back to his feet. We shouldn't laugh, but it was hard not to when he ran across the room sideways. The stroke affected his right side so in order to keep himself upright he was making good speed until he lost momentum and fell over again. After all the drama it was quite relief that he at least seemed to still want to go on.

Months later, he still has a bit of a funny walk and he's stopped looking for his long-suffering co-cat. He lost a lot of weight but seems to be as eager to eat as before. As I'm writing this he's kicking out in his sleep, and these spasms seem to be the worst he's still going through.




He's still packing quite a kick for a disabled old cat...

Besides the dull dull drudge called a job, the translation thing which lurks at the back of my mind and the teaching (scary! much freaking out! badly organised!) I manage to occupy myself well, if and when Flip steps away from the plastic project bag...



In personal achievements, I'm proud of my felted and now being knitted single ply lace, hand spun on a home-made spindle



I've turned the bulk of 200 grams of merino/silk mix in 2 colourways into singles and it's slowly turning itself into a 2-ply, light fingering at a guess. So far I've plied 186m, which means I should have 1000m or so by the time I'm done with it. Next comes the question: what to do with it?!? When I bought the above roving/bat, I got another 100gr roving in blue, which is slowly and "rustically" turning into a Navajo 3-ply. I'm actually a little proud of what I'm getting done on my own lonesome self.

Besides that, I've almost finished an Audrey in Unst. Just the length of a sleeve, a buttonhole band and the collar to go and she's done! And looking quite splendid!
Next projects are already lined up, but choices need to be made. And difficult they will be...