Baby Bobbi Bear update

Today I bought some fluff (not the Cluster Stuff that was recommended, I couldn't find it) and started stuffing the bear. I think I may have over stuffed. Either way, I started on the right arm and I have to say, it's been the most challenging part so far. Not that picking up stitches is hard, but it just doesn't look great. I spent a great deal of time trying to make it look better but finally gave up. I think it'll look good in the end, or at least it better. grr


I can't wait until the arms are finished. Then I can sew on the ears, face and finish the neck. WEEE!

It's blue, not black

I started a new project tonight. Because I've been feeling down, fluish and generally a bit depressed, I chose something that would drive me even further into the depths of hell. HAHAHA. No, really, I thought the lace scarf would take my mind off things and would be a nice challenge. Well, tonight after knitting almost three inches, there was an unfortunate incident involving a dropped stitch and about two inches of lace. *sigh* Because the stitches were a bit complicated, I couldn't just pick up the dropped stitch. Instead I ended up frogging several rows, nay, a couple inches. And, each time I took apart a row another stitch would drop. It was bad.

Clearly I am insane as I took this on as a great challenge and continued on as if it was nothing. After about an hour I regained control of the situation and am now back to knitting.

Anyone want to make any bets as to whether or not I finish this?

Back home

I managed to catch a connecting commuter flight two and a half hours earlier than my actual flight! This is the first time I've used a commuter plane to come into San Diego and I've decided this is the way to go. The terminal is small with not many people there. It only took about five minutes for my luggage to show up and parking out front was minimal. In fact, it was even smaller than the one terminal airport in Eugene! Since it only took me about ten minutes to get off the plan, get my luggage and get out to the car, I'm definitely going to try to work the commuter flight into my trips from now on.

The cats definitely missed me while I was gone. Zoe spent the first couple days meowing at me and demanding long, luxurious deep tissue massages. Simba continues to sleep on or near me. I love my little babies. :) Even if they are demanding.

More raccoons, what can I say?

So before I get to the raccoon pictures, here's one (only one) of Jojo. She's pretty jealous of the babies so I thought I'd give her some of the spotlight.

She's looking pretty sleepy here. Jojo always wore herself out from all that biting. I don't think she liked me petting her while she was trying to sleep. The biting and scratching was a big clue.

Bullwinkle always runs straight to the water! Other than the thicker stripe running down his face, we were able to identify him because he's always wet up to his elbows. Rocky didn't care so much for the water. Either that or Bullwinkle was hogging it and wouldn't let Rocky in.

More grapes! If you click on this one, you can see a little grape in those little hands.

They're not shy about the grapes at all.

Bullwinkle figured out he could take a bunch of grapes at once and then would eat them off to one side away from us. Rocky is much sweeter though. She (we think she's female because she's timid and smaller) would eat the grapes one at a time near by and come back for more much quicker than Bullwinkle.

AWWWWW! Rocky is such a sweetheart!

Day ? The Obsession continues

Have you noticed I gave up documenting each day? Simply put, I got lazy. I guess vacations are good for that sort of thing.

So I finally got to see the infamous Holy Threads Faythe is always bragging about. It's a beautiful two story house stuffed with yarn yarn yarn! I had vowed to not buy any yarn unless I had a particular project in mind. Faythe, of course, scoffed. Any good yarn ho knows that such a statement is a silly one. I ended up buying a bag, and I mean a huge bag, of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. I'm embarassed to actually admit to the price I paid. Let's just say I should be able to make several outfits. *sigh* Totally.lost.control.

I also bought some Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton dye-free yarn. It has a cotton feel I have never experienced in a yarn. The best way to describe it is to say it is similar to a cotton ball. I know that seems obvious but since when have you felt a yarn that has the same texture as a cotton ball? I'm totally in love with this yarn. Next I'm going to get some of the dyed yarn.


I've been eyeing over the Baby Bobbi Bear pattern for a while, so when I saw it I snatched it up right away. I'm using the Organic dye free yarn for my bear. Cool thing about the yarn is it comes in several different naturally occurring colors. The texture lends itself perfectly to the bear too. I've been working on it for about three days and am almost done. I started with the lower portion of the body and knit up to the neck. Then, I turned it upside down and knit the legs. Next, I went back to the neck and started on the head. Being my first stuffed animal, it has been a fun balancing act of stitches, needles, two separate balls of yarn and stitch holders. The photo shows the butt facing up. If it continues to be an easy knit, I'll make more.

Of course, I couldn't end this post without some ultra cuteness. Any posts that are related to my stay at Faythe's will end with pics of raccoons. :)

The babies recently discovered grapes! Grapes were much more of a hit than cherry tomatoes. Rocky figured out how to chew them with her head tipped back so she could eat as many as possible in the shortest amount of time. Bullwinkle nibbled with his front teeth until he got to the meat of the fruit. As you can see by the photo, Rocky is a big fan of grapes.

Day 3 And there was evening...

Today was a tough day. Last Friday I interviewed for a different position at work. Today I found out it was offered to someone else. No biggie. But still, rejection of any kind isn't fun.

I hung out with Faythe at work, an animal shelter. The bathroom is right next to the cat room so I usually stop by and take a look at all the cats. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to know a few of them by name and site. Today, one of the more loving cats, Licorice, was moved to a different cage. At first I thought something bad had happened. When I saw her I was instantly relieved and then sad again because she lived another day without getting adopted. Then it hit me. All these animals and nobody to take them in. I looked around and saw new adorable kittens looking up at me with those big innocent eyes. Grown up cats purred their greeting and stretched their paws out of their cages in an effort to touch me. How can someone give up their animal? Even worse, how can you give up an animal that you've had for years? Animals are not possessions. If you have a cat or dog, please have it spayed or neutered. Usually you can get a voucher from a nearby shelter or vet which will either cover the full cost or part of the spay or neutering.

I was talking to Shawn on the phone when I looked over at the incinerator and I thought of Auschwitz and totally lost it. (If he didn't hear me blubbering, well my cover is blown now.) It's probably a good thing I don't work at the animal shelter. Either I would be emotional all the time or I would become cold and unfeeling. Neither is good.

After work, Faythe and I met up with Jennifer for dinner at Blue Fish. I guess you could call it a modern sushi restaurant. Dinner was OK but honestly, the best part was the dessert. Of course, Faythe has a detailed entry which, though I haven't read it yet, is probably spot on. I have to warn you though, she freaked out about a decorative cookie, so be prepared for ranting. Eating and drinking our fill, we went for a walk around downtown and ended up at the Riverfront Park Fountain.

The park is beautiful and turns out to have been the location of the Expo 1974 World's Fair. If you happen to be in the area, please take a moment to meander through at least a bit of the 100 acre park.

I almost walked into this spider. Faythe tried to touch it. Seriously, I do not know what her problem is. She is just crazy! Oops, I forgot to warn Aimee about the spider picture. HEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!

Jennifer trying to figure out what that little red hand in her view finder meant. Yes, that's what happens when you let Faythe borrow your things and she starts pushing random buttons. **update: The red hand is still on the camera. Neither Jennifer nor her husband can figure out what the problem is and have even reset the camera to factory settings. I guess it's saying, "Talk to the hand!"

I guess you've already figured out each days post will end with baby raccoon pictures. It's unavoidable. It feels good to come home to them though. They were extremely hungry by the time we got home too. Rocky was eating with his mouth open, chomping away at the food.

One of the babies reaching out to Faythe. The cherry tomatoes in the foreground are their new treat. I put them in the water dish and they play around with them like crazy. It was just a game until someone realized the tomatoes could be eaten!

After last nights curtain biting incident, we now tie the curtains up high. This doesn't stop the little trouble makers though. They're so smart!

This is their water dish. They play in this thing like it's a kiddie pool in the middle of a summer day. Thank goodness for baby raccoons. They make me smile.

Day 2 I survived another day

But Ryan almost didn't. There was an incident involving the dishwasher and a lot of water which resulted in an ass-kicking Faythe style. Faythe said she'll tell her side of the story here. We decided this photo was worth posting twice, especially since Faythe rarely wins a fight (yeah that's right, I said it).

Today I hung out at Faythe's job and worked on my baby matinee coat. I met The Hate, who wasn't all that bad.

Now Faythe, before you get all irate (you can see the irrational hatred in her eyes), I can understand how this attitude of yours can grow over time. I have a high tolerance level myself, but once someone crosses the line, THAT'S IT! So I feel your pain, sistah. His singing was pretty bad but mostly I was annoyed by the DJ on his radio that was trying too hard to be hip. Dude, you are not hip if you work for a station that plays Neil Diamond. Stop trying. (And saying "dude" is a bad sign too.)

At home, Faythe and I grabbed some sticks and string and she learned to knit. Partially due to her last attempt at knitting and her crochet experience, she was a quick study! I expect she'll be showing off by knitting up adult size sweaters with detailed intarsia in no time while I'll still be trying to figure out how to make baby booties that are actually the size they claim to be in the pattern. (not bitter)

For dinner, we drove to Idaho. Yes, that's right. We had steaks at Wolf Lodge Steakhouse in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Ryan told me if it wasn't the best steak I'd ever had then I could...well I forgot what he said exactly. The truth is I didn't need to do whatever it was because it was The Best Steak Ever! Ryan, Doug and I all got the rib eye and Faythe got the Porter House steak. WELL, our food was so delicious we all stopped talking and started eating. All you could hear was grunting and mumbling about its delicousness. I think there was even some finger licking and lip smacking, not surprising as Faythe was sitting just to my right. Anyway, I'm not sure if I can eat another steak again without being disappointed. Unless of course, it's at the Wolf Lodge.

Of course the day isn't actually complete until we say hello to the babies. Rocky decided to push his luck by biting on the curtains. Mostly he spends his time playing in water as you can see by his wet paw.

In all, it was a pretty great day. Wait...I think I hear some "oh yeahs?!!" and elevated voices. Maybe Faythe is getting ready to lay down the law again! HAAAA HAHAHAHAHAAAA!

Day 1 at Casa de Faythe

I woke up to this:


I slept on an air mattress and sat up to see Jojo staring me down. Does she look a little touched to you? Yeah, she gets that crazy look in her eye every once in a while, but trust me, she's a sweet little angel. After you look beyond the occassional biting, she's a sweet kitty. I've heard rumors of her destruction but other than her attempt to chew some of my belongings, I don't believe them. I'm sure it's all just a nasty rumor.

A couple hours later, The Toad decided it was time to give Jojo a bath. It seems she's not only a bad kitty but also a dirty kitty!


Let's just say that she wasn't too impressed with the whole ordeal. With the bathroom door shut, Faythe and I heard banging around and some mumbling from The Toad. Seems he decided to give her a shower, not a bath. While we felt bad for Jojo, the images in our head created some soft snickering.


I was surprised that Jojo wasn't angry afterwards. If it was one of my cats, I'd be dealing with catitude for days. Being the sweety she is, Jojo merely licked her fur and succumbed to some scratches behind the ear. Amazingly, for all her badness (I still think this is just a rumor), she didn't harbor any bad feeling sat all and later ended up taking a nap in The Toads lap. AWWWW!

Meanwhile, Faythe was whipping up some fresh pasta for a Supper Club she meets with once a month. Tonights theme was pasta sauces.

Faythe, a lover of quality home-made foods, had a pasta recipe on hand and quickly made up the dough.

Next, she flattened sections of the dough using her pasta machine. She ran them through several times. I ate a piece of the dough to see what it was like. She asked if I was pregnant (so she could warn me about the raw eggs), I laughed.

Using a hanger (note to self: Faythe would like a proper pasta rack), she gently collected the pasta as it ran through the machine.

A view stragglers didn't want to hang properly on the hangers. They reminded me of the pickled worms we disected in high school.

It didn't take long for the pasta to dry at all. It seemed to be enjoyed by all at the Supper Club too. For more details about the supper, be sure to check out Faythe's blog. It was really nice to meet some of Faythe's friends and listen to banter about Spokane. I really miss hanging out with women so it was nice to be in their company.

The funniest moment of the evening was when Jennifer brought out her tiramisu. Faythe was happily eating hers and said, "I don't usually like tiramisu but this is pretty good. What's it made of?" OK, now you have to understand Faythe is a real food snob. She HATES Cool Whip or any other nonhome-made whipped cream products. If I remember correctly, she almost disowned me as a best friend when she found out I didn't see the problem with Cool Whip. Sending her random Cool Whip recipe's in email throughout the day probably didn't help either. Anyway, Jennifer told her it was made of Cool Whip and Faythe about died. HEHEHE! But, she even helped herself to seconds. That just proves that Cool Whip, if used properly, is OK. So there Faythe!

By the time we made it home, the babies Rocky and Bullwinkle were enjoying their own version of Supper Club.

If you click on the picture, you'll see more detail of Rocky's adorable little hand on Faythe's arm. Hand? Paw? Well, they look like hands!

Bullwinkle is getting brave, I thought he was going to jump inside a couple times. I can't even imagine what would happen if this one of them slipped in, especially with Jojo watching. Eek! She's already slapped one of them in the face!

You can see evidence of their visit on the window sill - what cute little hands they have! They kept grabbing at us, random items on the roof and playing in the water.

Not the best photo but you can see Jojo staring at the babies while one of them stretches against the glass. Some may call her jealous. They may even be right. But after her bad day, I think she's entitled to stare down a couple raccoons all night. Better them than me.

Getting ready

Zoe's not quite sure what's going on but it smells familiar. She can't quite put her paw on it.

Poor Zoe has an allergic reaction to flea bites. If she gets bit, she gets sores that multiply overnight. A couple nights ago she had one sore. The next day she had 4. Fortunately, I had some Advantage on hand and gave both cats a dose.

After their dose of Advantage the cats have punk fur for a few days, it's pretty funny. Of course, they hate me for giving them the Advantage but I do believe it's the best thing for flea problems.

Anyway, I gotta get back to packing. I've always been a last minute packer. It's been so long since I've seen Faythe, I'm nervous!

Blogger aka Google?

Did anyone else notice the new Blogger option? I guess you can login with your Google account now and there's tons of new options! Let me know if you try 'em! I haven't switched over yet.

By this time tomorrow, I'll be on a plane getting ready to leave San Diego for Spokane! HEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEEEEEEE I can't wait! OK, I can do without all the stuff at the airport. I hate flying now! I don't mind the actual flying, it's everything that leads up to it that I hate.

But I'm definitely looking forward to visiting Faythe and tormenting Ryan! :)

Getting to know you, part 2

Someone sneezes very close to you. It's a wet one! You bless them, etc, wish them well. But, now you smell sneeze! Sneeze is around you! In fact, you're in a confined space and the sneeze is heavy in the air! Every time they talk, you smell sneeze!

What do you do?

GAH SNEEZE BREATH!

Getting to know you, Rayleen Style

You're in an elevator and you fart. You can't help it! The deed is done, there's no turning back. The door opens on your floor and you gladly leap from the odiferous confines when you almost run into your boss/owner of the company/cute guy/girl - a person you desperately want to impress. He/she is waiting to get on the elevator!

What do you do?

1 - Tell them not to get on and why
2 - Say nothing and run away
3 - Act like the smell was there before you
4 - Other (explain please)

Were does the fart go? There are no windows in an elevator. ???

Car shopping! WEEEEEEE!!!

Aimee is in the market for a car and of course I had to put in my two cents as my Big Sister role implies and help her with her choices. Even though Aimee is over 1000 miles away, Apollo and I decided to go look at some cars for her after work today to "help her" with her choice. Of course, we jumped at the chance since we are still wound up from all the car shopping I did before I bought my car. :)

Here are Aimee's requirements (from what I understand):

1) Affordable
2) Great gas mileage
3) Looks at least a little bit cute
4) Not tiny like a Geo
5) Cool color (this might be hard) like yellow or orange
6) Long term warranty

I had to take the pictures without flash so they might be a bit fuzzy. I used Apollo for size gauge in all the photos. This is the Kia Rio we checked out.

So after some surfing, the first car Aim picked out for us to look at was the Kia Rio. It pretty much meets all the qualifications but...well, it was a little small for our tastes. I won't say too much about it cause I want Aimee to develop her own opinon. (HAHAHA!)

He had a tough time getting into the seat. The salesman had to help him adjust the seat. I thought he got stuck for a minute there. hehehehehe

Apollo's review from sitting in the car only: "It's small, the seats are uncomfortable, the arm rest is this wide (demonstrating) and my arm kept slipping off of it, the cup holders were in an awkward position. I had to reach back to get to them. It was almost like they were made for the person in the back seat."

You can see the arm rest here behind the cup holders. I'm sure the salesman thought I was weird for taking pictures.

I think this car does have the option of power seats. The model car didn't though. It had knobs that you had to roll to move the seat in either direction. Chad's Jetta has this same thing. ARGH! Anyway, I think it's a cute car that will serve its purpose. It will save you gas, looks cute and has a great warranty too. And you'll probably be able to get one at a great price!

On our way home we decided to swing by Toyota, being the Toyota lovers we are. Sure, whateverR, you can say we're biased. We took a peek in side the windows of the Corrolla, Yaris and Matrix.

This is the 2 door Yaris called the Liftback. I stopped dead in my tracks and started laughing at it, much to the chagrin of the car salesman. Sorry the picture is so terrible but I had to show you so you could share in my mirth! Doesn't it look like something you would see at a Disneyland ride?

We did get to sit inside the Yaris but didn't take any test drives of course (it was after 9PM) but I have to say, we were quite impressed with the 4 door Yaris! It was cute and sophisticated at the same time! I think it may cost slightly more than the Rio but we decided this is the car Aimee should buy. Hehe, yes Aimee, we made your decision for you. This is the car you want!!

Isn't it beautiful? I like the red too!

*drooling over car*

We noticed the inside of the car seemed to echo some of the Prius interior. Or is it just me? The dash is in a different place than usual and there's a cute cup holder just to the left of the steering wheel. Yeah, yeah, I know this isn't important. But if you're going to spend that much money on a car, you might as well enjoy the little details. The Yaris does not have power seats, neither does the Corolla. But it does have power windows if you choose that package.

Anyway, I think both cars are within the same price range. Sure, the Yaris might be a few dollars more but I honestly don't think it's that much.

Gee, so much for letting Aim form her own opinion, eh? *chanting* YARIS, YARIS, YARIS!

Rosco

This is Joël's kitty, Rosco. Several days ago a house in Joël's neighborhood burned down. There is an investigation into the mysterious event as the bank was foreclosing on it as well. Everyone believes the owner of the house started the fire.

Unfortunately, Rosco was over at the house and got caught in the fire. He hasn't been shaved, his hair was singed close to his skin!

His legs are badly burned and are under wraps. Joël is supposed to soak them every day. I'm sure we all know cats - I can't imagine a cat voluntarily soaking his legs.

His nose and ears are burned too.

Rosco looks pretty upset and I don't blame him!

Poor Rosco. :(

Donut Peaches

Since I'm trying to eat better, I decided our shopping experience today would be a bit different then usual. After we dodged the islands of pastries in the newly remodeled bakery at Food 4 Less (it reminded me of a video game), we headed straight for the fruit and veggies. It was here that I discovered these peaches.


At first I thought they were diseased. But then I saw the sign, "Donut Peaches." Of course, I had to get a couple.

Apollo and I just shared one and to my disappointment, it wasn't quite ripe. I was really excited and forgot to check for ripeness.


But look! Look how cute the pit is next to this quarter! And it tasted pretty good too. Again, though hard to tell because it wasn't quite ripe, it seemed sweet without the usual peach tartness, if you can call a peach tart.

Unfortunately, I think I may be allergic to them. Either that or the plum that I ate fifteen minutes ago is still bothering me. Yes, I can now officially add plums to my list of fruit I cannot eat unless cooked:

apples
cherries
kiwi
plums

Hopefully, these are some "donuts" I can definitely eat!

You Are a Chihuahua Puppy

Small, high strung, and loyal. You do best in the city with adults - young kids could crush you!

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

HEHehEHHEheheEHehEhe

I'm so excited! Exactly one week from today I'm going to be at Faythe's house! HEHEHEHEHE

Shine booties

Since I ran out of the Baby Cashmerino with the last set of booties, I started over with some Knitpicks Shine Sport. It definitely knits a lot differently. I used a different pattern, though still a Debbie Bliss (she disappointingly recycles most of her patterns and labels them as new by modifying one small detail), and ended up with these. I'm concerned the strap isn't long enough to go around little legs. I had to do some creative knitting with them since I didn't like how they turned out after following the pattern. I think it'd be cute to add something to them but for now, here they are. If you look carefully, you can see the small heart buttons. So cute! If only I had a baby to test them on...

Shopgirl

I saw Shopgirl with Claire Danes, Steve Martin (who wrote the novel) and Jason Schwartsman today. It was great. It's not an action movie, the comedic scenes are rare. If you're one of those people who like movies that tell you what to think, you probably won't like this movie. It's like a poem. When you first read it, it says one thing. But when you read it again and really pay attention, it says something else.

I liked it so much that for the first time ever, I watched it again but with the commentary from the producer. If you like good grown-up movies, you'll like it too.

oops

So, you know I finished the first bootie. But there's a problem.


I ran out of yarn. I thought I would have enough but I'm using scraps left over from the Matinee coat I knit for Peanut. I have another ball somewhere.


If I could only find it.