my little wookie

So I have been knitting, but I don't have any progress pictures because nothing has changed dramatically. I've almost finished the second sleeve on my Hourglass Sweater. Then all I have left is the yoke! Hopefully I can start wearing it next week, if I can figure out how to do the hem. I haven't touched my sewing machine in maybe 4 years.

Our cat, Chewbacca, has been having a hard couple of weeks. A week and a half ago, we noticed that he was trying to pee on the bathroom floor, but all that was coming out were a few bloody drops. We took him to the emergency vet. He's had a UTI before, so we knew that's what it probably was, but he hadn't bled the last time. They confirmed that it was probably a UTI and nothing more serious. They did an ultrasound and said that his bladder was way too small and empty to take a urine sample. They sent us home with some antibiotics and pain killers.

I actually stayed home from work on Monday because of Chewy. He seemed like he was in a lot of pain still, and he kept trying to pee on the couch, in the bathtub, and also in his litter box about every 2 minutes. He roamed around the house just meowing. It was so hard to watch. I'm glad I stayed home to keep an eye on him though (and keep an eye on our couch), but it was pretty stressful for me.

After that, he seemed to improve but by this past Saturday he was still occasionally roaming around the house meowing, and he was still trying to pee in appropriate places sometimes. We also couldn't recall seeing him drink any water at all in the past week. We took him back to the vet and she did another ultrasound. Still a tiny bladder, but she tried to get a urine sample anyway. It confirmed that there weren't any crystals in his bladder, so that's good! He's just really dehydrated. So we got to bring home an IV bag to help hydrate him. Every other day, I get to stick a needle into his neck (Tim refuses....wuss ;) ) and give him his fluids. It seems this is helping though. He hasn't been meowing incessantly or peeing on the rug anymore.

Poor kitty.

In other news, I bought a fondue pot today so we are going to have some yummy cheese & beer fondue tonight! Yummmmm.

more knits in 2006!

I want to finish more knitting projects this year than I have in past years. It's not really a resolution - just something I would like to do.

So to get off to a good start, I've got two projects going right now. The first is the Hourglass Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, but it's not a gift. It's allllll mine. I'm using KnitPicks Andean Silk in the poppy field colorway. It's actually going pretty quick. It's knit in the round from the bottom up, and I'm almost to the armholes. If I finish this soon, I think it will be the first sweater that I began and finished in the same season. ;)

I also decided I needed a smaller project to work on at the same time. Since I don't have a scarf or gloves that match my coat (which is pink), that seemed like a good choice. I've loved the My So-Called Scarf pattern since I saw it and decided to use the same yarn and colorway (Manos del Uruguay in Wildflowers). I'm thinking I will use the same stitch to make some fingerless gloves. It looks so pretty.

I would also like to go to more SnB gatherings. Maybe I can go to more than 2 this year.

brain strain

My brain hurts from playing this for a few hours now. Does anybody know if it is supposed to be sudoku or soduko? It's spelled different all over the place. I've gotten a few medium level ones right now. Should I chance a hard one? Maybe I will give my brain a rest first.

I'm addicted.

xmas 2005

We had a nice, relaxing xmas this year. Both Tim and I had last week off from work too. Tim went back to work today, and I go back tomorrow. I was going to do some cleaning and such today, but I think I will lazily enjoy my last day off instead. I can start cleaning tomorrow afternoon.

such a cute snowman on top

wolfgang enjoyed rolling around in the wrapping paper

All my xmas knitting got finished, though Tim's sweater was a couple days late. I was frantically trying to finish when he told me he would rather spend more time with me than have a finished sweater xmas morning. So I wrapped it up as it was (still needing seaming and a collar) and began to enjoy the holiday. I finished it up a couple days after xmas and it turned out great! It's super soft. I don't have a picture of him wearing it yet, so this will have to suffice.

Pattern: Loosely based on Jesse's Flames from Stitch n Bitch Nation (w/o the flames)
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft DK
Colors: Thunder & Lime

I also made a hat for the secret santa exchange at work, which I model here. I have enough yarn leftover that I will probably make another one for myself.

Pattern: My own
Yarns: Manos del Uruguay, GGH Almeria
Colors: Brick, Berries & Cream

And lastly, since Lara asked for it, here's a picture of Tim in his anniversary presents. With the weather lately, it's hard to get a nice sunny shot.

There. I think I'm all caught up.