A Tail of 2 Kitties

We did get a second cat from the humane society. Her name is Annabelle. That was her name before we got her. We decided to not confuse her even more, by giving her yet another name.

Her previous owner boarded her at the humane society and never returned for her. She is very sweet and totally lovable.



This isn't her, but it looks almost identical.

The kids love her so much, she follows them around, gets in their way, gets in their face, and they totally LOVE it.

The two cats still don't get along yet, but they are slowly realizing that they are stuck with each other, and that neither of them are going away.

Knitting is slowing down, but still making progress. I am going to make some more beach bags I think. They are pretty quick and super easy. I want to do scarves, but I don't want to buy new yarn either. I will have to think on this some more.

School is in full swing, and J has brought home the bassoon again. He really likes playing it. In another week, he may be playing it in band.

I miss going to knitting on Wed. nights. I will be glad when this fitness class is over. I miss the back to school stories, the general welcome feeling from the group. It's almost like I am going to come back and have to start all over again, like it's a new group.

A Little Bit of This ...

Son of Dish Rag Tag is going smoothly. Teams have been chosen, all my team members have checked in, and the boxes should mail out late next week!

I can't wait! I love this type of stuff! It's so much fun, waiting to see if there is a new box when I get home, then seeing the items in the box, then seeing how much I can pack in the box to send on to the next person! It just makes me feel all bubbly inside.

And what else could make a person feel even better? How about a new kitty. Yup! We now have a new kitty at our house. Her name is Pye.



The back story: After we lost our last animals to old age and health problems, it was dictated that there would never be any more animals in the house while my grandma was alive. This was a few years ago. She held out much longer than I expected. But, I've noticed the signs that she was caving in on that old dictate.

My mom brought home this small black and white cat yesterday. Once the cat was in the house, my gran says "Now we need another one, so she isn't lonely".

So, back to the Capital Humane Society we went, to try to get another cat. Unfortunately, they were all out of adult cats. We will try back today or tomorrow. Heaven forbid the cat not have a companion of her own species.

Knitting is going well. I am getting a lot of holiday knitting done, and am really excited to knit again. Now, I must find kitty toy and bed patterns. Pye can't be left out of the knitting/crocheting gifts.

The kids are back to school and everything is good on that front too. (So far) J. has already talked his band teacher into letting him try the bassoon again this year. I think he is bringing it home today. Joy!

Well, I'm off to have a great afternoon, with possibly another kitty coming home!

Son of Dish Rag Tag

I am participating in this year's Son of Dish Rag Tag.

Emily is running this great race for a third year. Thanks so much Emily!

Last year my team had some stumbling blocks, but we still had a lot of fun. And who can beat the anticipation of a small box being delivered with yarn and goodies inside?

I can't wait to get started! Our team will be going coast-to-coast. California to Connecticut, and several stops in between.

Get your needles ready!

On the home front, things have been pretty good. J now has an official diagnosis. While this doesn't make things better, it does make things better, if you know what I mean.

We have just one major test left and that is on Saturday. IQ testing. J has never had this done before, but it will be interesting to see in what range he is at. They did some testing on his vocabulary and understanding, and he tested at/above a college level. (He is entering 7th grade this year)

It's hard to know how to handle a kid that takes everything you say literally, all the time, whose vocab. understanding/use is at a college level, but who doesn't understand non-verbal communication, teasing, or emotions (his or others).

I love him dearly, but some days I can't stand to be around him. I am positive he feels the same way about me. Probably more so.

Knitting is going great! I am knitting up Holiday gifts right now, and they are flying off the needles.

In fact, I received my new Zephyr acrylic needles from KnitPicks.com and have already worn one out. It snapped in half while knitting last Tuesday. (A new set is on it's way - free of charge!)

I am still trying to figure out what to do for gifts this year. Money is way too tight, and the things kids want are WAY too expensive. They are just going to have to be happy with less. (Are there any kids like that out there?)

Performing my Civic Duty

I spent 4 days this week serving on a jury.

It was an interesting experience, to say the least. I knit in all of our breaks, and ended up with 6 dish/washcloths by the end. I figured at least the downtime, when we can't talk about the case, wouldn't be wasted, and I still could participate in other conversations.

You learn some of the strangest things about the other jury members when you are confined to a small room day after day. (What venues have cheap food, movies about juries, etc.)

I am glad that it was a short trial though. And that we were not sequestered.

I didn't do much of anything else this week, except for go to court, go home, and knit during the day.

I am digging out of the piles of e-mail that accumulated over 6 days. Better get back to it.

Camp, Round 2

K is now at camp. We dropped her off yesterday afternoon. She was bouncing off the walls, she was so excited.

I hope she has a great bunch of girls this year. Last year, there were some divas in her cabin that weren't very nice. But, hey, she survived, had fun and is back for year 2!



Here she is at last year's camp.

And how about a few more: (Can you find her?)

Sadly, homecoming was early

Well, my dread was not unwarranted. I got the call around 9:15 p.m. last night.

"Please come get your child as soon as possible. He punched another camper in the face."

Such warm, fuzzy mom moments.

He was very tired, and very upset. He truly hated camp this week. It's hard to enjoy camp when none of your cabinmates want to include you in the activities. Combine that with lack of sleep, and problems controlling impulses and anger, and what do you get? A complete meltdown.

He did say that he really liked his horse. Her name was Honey. She was much more cooperative than Cricket was last year. J said the only problem she had was she liked to eat too much.

I couldn't get mad at J for hitting the other kid, knowing that this had been brewing since the first day. I feel bad that he is so different from the kids his age that they don't want anything to do with him. I talked to him about it briefly on the ride home. Suggested that when they were breaking the rules, that he should have involved a counselor/adult.

I am upset that he hit the boy, don't get me wrong. I know it's wrong, and so does he. And there is no excuse for hitting another person.

The final straw last night was at the lake and the rope swing. The rules say that there is no saving spots in line. The boy(s) ahead of him were doing exactly that. So, of course, my son has to be insistent that they were breaking the rules and can't save spots in line. This obviously got way out of hand. One kid got hit and another sent home. So, while the counselors knew that there were major problems with this cabin of boys, I am wondering where they were while this argument was escalating. (Simple solution would have been to have an adult supervising the line, and enforcing the no saving spots/cutting in line.) I don't know, I wasn't there. Maybe I am just too simplistic.

Today is another day. Tomorrow will be a new day too.

Time for some Mac 'n Cheese, Diet Pepsi and some knitting.

A Week of Horses

J is off to Ranch Camp at Camp Kitaki (near South Bend, NE). I am both elated and full of trepidation. I love having J enjoy time out of the house, riding horses, spending time with other kids his age. But... I also dread having J out of the house spending time with other kids his age, or those that are not familiar with his subtle signs of impending doom. (These are pictures of 2008)


I am hoping for a great week (weather permitting) for him with his horse and new friends. I think that he will keep it together. I just wish I could know for sure.


I haven't even had a chance to knit more that about 4 rows on anything for the last week. This is beginning to get on my nerves. I miss knitting every evening.

On another completely different note: "One Book, One Lincoln" announced the 5 finalists for this year's reading. They seem a bit more probable than last year's titles, but still a bit dark in theme. (racism, poverty, Sudan "Lost Boys", and civil wars). I will have to try to get one of these and see how they go.

I am starting to get K ready for her tour at camp. She goes in about 3 weeks. She's excited and ready to go.