A little crafting and some drama

    Today I spent most of the day with my daughter Sara. She wanted to go shopping for a new dress to wear to a christening tomorrow. She didn't find a dress, but she did get some more maternity wear. She was thrilled. She already has a couple of dresses that she can still wear, so she wasn't worried about it.


    After I got home I was so tired, I took a nap. Well, I tried to take a nap. I don't think I fell asleep. After an hour I got up and finished the dishes I had started this morning. I also did more laundry.


    While resting after coming up the stairs from the basement I knit a couple of rows on the super secret project. Then later as I was cooking our pork chops on the grill, I worked on a cat toy that I've made for all the kitties we know. I'm pretty proud of it, actually. I call it the Lazy Person's Cat Toy. Here is a photo of it:

    It's made of two plastic rings crocheted together all around, then I do a really long chain stitch with a finger loop on the end. The original one I made for my cat Ozzy was probably twenty feet long. I call it the Lazy Person's Cat Toy because you don't have to keep getting up and getting it. You throw the ring, which has tassels on it too, while holding the other end. Then you just pull it slowly or quickly, and the cat goes nuts chasing and pouncing on it.


    I make it with plastic rings because I was afraid metal rings would break the kitties teeth. I think the most important thing is the cotton yarn. It's very strong and lasts a long time. I use Sugar and Cream, but any good cotton will do.


    As I said, I made the original for Ozzy, then my son Jesse wanted one for his two kitties, so I made one. Then Sara wanted one for her three kitties. I made this new one for my son James's two kittens. If you're counting, that makes seven grand kitties that I have. Each toy I make, I test on Ozzy. If he plays with it, I can tell people it's officially Ozzy tested and approved. I also made one for Jason's three kitties. That one was special, the only one I made that wasn't for family.


    Searching for the rings today, I had some drama. It seems that Joann Fabrics and Crafts isn't selling my rings any more. I usually use these dark plastic rings, two per toy, that are about 2" across, and flattened. They used to be in the section of the store where you get things for making your own purses. They had all kinds of rings, and handles and stuff. I had to buy a different plastic ring this time. I did still use two of them, but they aren't flattened so the toy is a bit thicker. It still seems to work.

an ungrateful cat I have

    And talk like Yoda, I do. That's right, Ozzy won't go near his custom made felted cat bed. So I'm going to take it to daughter Sara's and let one of her cats claim it as their own. In the meantime, I'm crocheting two more, so no kitteh will feel left out. The new ones aren't to be felted, I'm making them out of Lion Brand's Homespun, which I know her cats like to sleep on. She has an afghan I made for her from that yarn, and they love it.


    This morning, I was actually busy. I did some laundry, and went to the store. That was necessary, since we were nearly out of half and half, which is an intolerable state to be in. After I got home and unpacked and put away, I went over to visit my good bud Bonny. We hung out for a while, then decided to go to Michaels. I bought some more Homespun for the aforementioned cat beds.


     After that, we decided to look around in our local consignment shop. They have some awesome stuff in there! But the cast iron cauldron I had my eye on was gone. I guess it was a good thing, because I can't afford it anyway.  I'd better get back to it, or the cat beds will never get done!

an active day

    This morning, after our coffee, Hubs and I went to see a lawyer. It was a satisfactory visit. I now have lots of forms to fill out, and get back to them.


    From there, we drove down to Fishkill, and I got to hang out at the house with Julie and the kittehs, Gizmo and the Lady. Am I the only one who thinks that the Lady and the Dude should get together?


    I got to hang out, and work on my sweater, while Hubs played the good landlord and fixed the leaky faucet/pipe in the downstairs bathroom. I got nearly four decrease repeats done on my second sleeve!


    After that, Hubs and I went shopping at Sam's Club. Very satisfactory day, all in all.

The Sock Monkey Saga

    For many weeks, the Cherub and I have been discussing sock monkeys. I have a small one hanging on my rear view mirror, and she covets him. Thus, I decided to get her a sock monkey for Festivus.


    I first spotted one in the Build a Bear Workshop. It wasn't expensive, and you didn't need to buy any clothes for him, so I thought he would be perfect. The next week, I went back to get him. He was no longer available. RATS! They had brought out the Christmas ones, like the Grinch, and Clarice the reindeer.  I even looked on their website. No Sock Monkeys.


    Not really being a avid shopping person, I asked around if anyone knew where I could buy one. No one had any ideas. At work last week, I even asked a customer and his wife if they would look in all the vendor booths for me, and see if anyone was selling any Sock Monkeys. It was very nice of them to do this, and they even came back through to tell me that they didn't see any.

    I finally ended up Googling "Sock Monkey", and settled on what seems to be the original - Sock Monkey Company.com. There, at long last, I was able to get a Sock Monkey. The only problem I had was deciding which color to get. They had the original gray, of course, as well as pink, blue, purple, and a host of multi color designs.


   I decided on the purple one. I ordered him on Cyber Monday, and he came on Friday. That was quick, and I was pleased. Here is what he looks like, sitting in my chair:

I also took a close up of him:

    He's pretty cool, and even came with a bookmark, and a banana pen. He's like 21 inches tall! So, that's one present down, too many to even think about to go!