Pretty, Out!

Out and about, on my way to Woolapalooza! These three will keep the knit fires burning at home:

And they'll be waiting to see if I bring home any mini skeins to add to their number! 

Wherever you are today, I hope you've got some cat(s) at home, stoking a fire for YOU!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! (Full report next time!)

Knitting as Germ Warfare?

As it does every week, Saturday has rolled around. Today is a sunny, lonely Saturday, as the boys and their parents have some sort of "germ." So, it's just me and Pop Pop having a lazy day, with none of this

Gotta wipe those faces after Mitchell's ice cream!

or that

or this other...at our house, at their house, or anywhere in-between

and it is a little sad. 

Don't worry...there is knitting! As my preferred way to keep busy while waiting out the germs (rather than warring against them) as we watch golf, work the Wordle, Quordle and Spelling Bee, knitting is keeping me sane and helping me to drink in these quiet moments. So, what am I knitting?

Here are some face-washers I'm working on for the kiddos. Mama has requested grey, as they are to be kept in the kitchen for after meals. 

My free pattern, Gramma's Favorite Dishcloth

And here are some cats, in miniature (as you may have come to expect from Pretty)! 

Cat in a Bag, Cat in a Box, Cat on a Life Preserver

The cats are much lazier than the apple conquering t-rexes,

and I'm not sure a cat on a "floatie" is a good idea (claws, you know!),

Don't pop the preserver!

but they were sure fun to knit! Thanks MochiMochiLand makers!

I have a few more face-washers to finish, but I am thinking of doing something really bananas with my knitting soon, so I hope you'll come back in the next couple weeks to hear about it! In the meantime, there is nothing quite so lazy as a Saturday afternoon nap, and I think that I will indulge. 

How about you?

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

And Then There Were None

And then there were none...and it was a very sad week.

Even though yesterday was the first anniversary of the day we closed on our loan for the new house, there was little celebrating. I looked down at my lap, and it was empty.

I looked on the floor, 

next to me, on the sofa, 

on the table,

even in the tv stand, where she used to hide in the shadow next to the speaker with the digital clock on it. 

But she was not there, and at every turn, I almost forget that she's not going to be there anymore. And I'm sad. Because I liked the feel of a cat in my lap, under my knitting.

I liked knowing that, even though this one was more of a jerk than sweet, like her sister,

 

it was comforting to know that she was there. To know that she would be there. And now she is not.

As her final gift to me, she passed with her very annoyed, and very familiar, "What the H-E-double-hockey-stick?" scowl on her face...if you knew her, you know the look.

It's gonna be ok, and I'm gonna be okay, but first I'm gonna be just a little sad. 

And then I'm gonna laugh at that last memory, because why would that jerk-face cat go in any other way? She never really trusted people, any people, let alone her favorite people. But she had been so lonely since we put her sister-cat down, so sad and lonely that she also got sick, and it was her turn. 

They say that the last loving thing you do for your pet is knowing when to let go...and as much of a jerk as she could be, I loved her. I will miss her. It was time. 

Now, I think I'll go knit for awhile. I won't worry about a cat stealing my stitch markers or sucking on my alpaca yarn, or even stuffing her head into a sleeve... I'll just knit for a bit, in peaceful grief, until I process this loss so I can move onto better times.

I sincerely hope that your week has been more fun than mine. Whether it has or not, I hope you have some knitting, or other comfort, at hand to get you through. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health.

Anyone Want a Cookie?

For Christmas, I bought myself an embossed rolling pin. I have all this counter space now, I should definitely be baking more. And, if am going to bake, it is going to be fun! so I bought two pins and gave one to my daughter, then I made my first batch. Remember the sweater cookie from my last post? That dough was embossed with my first pin, and it was so much fun that I bought three more. Lolz... (Not a sponsored post, but here's where I got my pins: pastrymade.com)

Can I just say that these are super fun to work with! And they gave me the inspiration to find the perfect cookie recipe to use with them. One of the places I looked was my sister-in-law's recipe box. Remember these tin boxes that we all used in the 80s and 90s to store our treasured recipes?

This box first came into my possession a couple of weeks ago, and although I knew it would never be my permanent recipe box, I ventured inside to peruse the handwritten recipes, typed recipes, recipes clipped from newspapers and magazines and some other trinkets (and trick birthday candles). And yes, the family's favorite recipe for Santa Cookies, the first recipe I've tried with my new rolling pins.

Having put my hands on the recipe I was searching for, I stashed the rest in my own recipe box, and got ready to bake some cookies for my favorite cookie jar!

And they turned out pretty good. I have found that the finer details on the sheep only come out sometimes, so I will continue testing recipes for the right consistency. 

In the meantime, these are super tasty and nostalgic, after years of eating them at Cindy's house every Christmas, so I will use this recipe for iced cookies for the holidays. I am really enjoying the combination of vanilla and almond flavorings, and I've found that piping some melted chocolate onto the backs of these fancies ups the flavor and texture, since it would be a mistake to cover that embossing with icing! 

So I am still auditioning for the perfect embossed cookie recipe, and I have two or three that I've taken from the internet to try. 

The cat is not a fan of baking, since there are no laps to snuggle into when I'm in the kitchen. She would much rather I knit, so perhaps I will sign off now to indulge her (and my needles) a bit!

Do you have a favorite cookie recipe? I'd love to hear about the flavors that evoke nostalgia for you and your family, at the holidays and all year round. Drop a comment or send me an email to let me know, then grab your needles and knit with me for a bit!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

CKW Christmas Party - 2021 Edition

'Twas two weeks before Christmas, and I was preparing

for knitters to join in the fun!

The tree was decked out with cookies and caramel,

everyone came, but the sun.

Our stockings weren't hung, they were bags on the floor,

just waiting for someone to stuff them.

As each knitter came in, she took off her shoes,

Sweetie made this shoe rack, so great to have!

and headed upstairs with no bluffing!

Then they all sat around, knitting and laughing, 

and we face-timed Alice right in (yay!);

We even remembered to take our sock picture,

to show off the fun of this day!

I love that Alice's "sock" is in the pic!

Of course there was food, my counters were ready,

for cheeses, and cookies and such.

We filled up our plates and ate ourselves silly,

knitters are quite the "foodie" bunch!

The party kept going, and we knitted some more,

then decided to open our gifts.

Brown sugar keepers, sachets, bags and baubles,

notepads and markers for stitches!

.

We had so much fun, talking, knitting and singing,

which earned us an eye-roll from Judy;

I think Brenda and Alice and some of the others

agreed with Judy quite fully!

Judy does NOT want a hippopotamus for Christmas!

Back to the kitchen, before friends started leaving,

packing up each knitter's load;

Our party is so fun, but Christmas keeps coming,

just one more shot for the road!

Still not great at selfies...
but I'm in focus...hahaha!

And as each knitter left, loaded down with her goodies,

that wind blew stronger than ever.

But I heard them exclaim, blustering out the door,

"My favorite Christmas party ever!"

Even the Elf on the Shelf is jealous!

Oh, man! What fun it was to host this year's party in our new home! Thank you to all my CKW peeps who joined and participated in Stuffers this year. Everything was delicious, and beautiful, and I love each of you dearly. 

For those of you not in CKW, these friends are part of why I knit. Knitting brought me into this circle, and I never would have guessed how much my connections with them would enrich my life. If you have not found your people, your tribe, your community, keep looking. They are out there.

"Somewhere, out there, beneath the pale moonlight..."

Oops! Still vying for that Judy eye-roll, I suppose! Anyhoo...I hope you are ready for whatever comes next in your world. For me, it is Christmas (next Saturday, what? when did this happen? I feel like 2021 has just flown by!). I think most of my shopping is done...perhaps I should start wrapping? Lol...yes! I should start wrapping (but not rapping, Judy...honest).

The cat will be napping...not rapping!

Thanks for stopping by in this busy season, and Knit (and shop and wrap and sing) in Good Health!

And then there was one.

Cats come in pairs, or they should. Most everyone who has cats knows that they are better in pairs. That's why we got a new kitten in 2006, just after putting our old Stripe down. We wanted Patches to have a friend. 

Born July 4th to a neighbor cat, we named her Chloe.

Patches did not agree with our decision, and she died a few months later. And then there was one. Well, we still had the beagle, but just the one cat...

After a few years, and after the beagle crossed the Rainbow Bridge, we got Chloe a friend. Zoe and Chloe have been pretty tight ever since...

but Chloe generally took the lead in welcoming our grandchildren and other visitors. 

Of course, they both enjoyed watching birds together,

and just hanging out. These are the bestest of feline besties.

But this week, the friendship ended, and we said goodbye to our silly,

yarn-loving,

aggressively affectionate,

adorable Chloe.

It was very sad for us all, but it was time. While I have no movie guarantees that cats go to heaven, I know that God has promised there are no tears there, so I am sure she will run to greet me if I need her when I arrive. 

For those of you who had the chance to know Chloe, thank you for loving her.

Now, if you have a cat or two in your home, I know what Chloe and Zoe would tell you right now. Stop looking at your phone, and 

Thanks for stopping by, friends. Treasure your loved ones, be they furry, feathered or of the human variety, and Knit in Good Health!