The Continuing Adventures of Skeeter the Blunder-Cat:
Last night, while I was trying to go to sleep, Skeeter climbed to the top of his scratching post, and sat on the little knob (because there isn’t really a top perch, per se). And because of where the nightlight was in relation to the post, it threw his shadow up on the wall a little above him. He was mesmerized by the shadow of his own twitching tail, and finally sprang at it, into the wall, and then slid down against the wall to the carpet. And his wee little claws made a sound slightly similar to nails on a blackboard, but not quite. But was one attempt at catching his tail’s shadow enough? Of course not! He had to do it twice more before giving up. Hee.
In knitting news, I have continued work on Bad Penny. However, it is rather boring as I am just knitting in the round, under the armpits, until I get enough length to start doing the interesting stuff again. And last night I started one of those dropped-stitch scarves, in some blue acrylic for the charity bag – mainly just to see if I did in fact understand the stitch pattern.
And last night I watched this awesome movie, Spellbinder, with Kelly Preston and Tim Daly, and Rick Rossovich. And it was AWESOME! It was about two lawyers rescuing a womyn from her abusive boyfriend, and the womyn and her boyfriend were actually in a coven of Satanists/evil witches (it never really clearly said). And the best part was, the coven needed a human sacrifice for their ritual, but the victim had to come willingly to the ritual – and Kelly Preston’s character TOLD Tim Daly’s character that, and he still went to the ritual willingly, because he thought she was in trouble and he was in lurve with her. (And I really can’t judge, because I totally thought she was, too, at that point in the movie.) But then it turned out that she was still in the coven, and had just set him up elaborately, with the help of his new lawyer friend (Rick Rossovich), to be the victim of the ritual, and then they KILLED HIM! Which sucked for him, but it was awesome because sometimes I just want a movie where the good guy doesn’t get away. And this was that movie.
So I’m going to vote tomorrow or Thursday, and I’m trying to inform myself as much as possible.
I think I’ve got it all sorted out, and I’ve even got a sheet of notes for myself because honestly, some of the names I wouldn’t remember otherwise. But that damned Amendment One is giving me a hard time. I read one article that was pretty clear and persuasive, and then I read another article that was pretty clear and persuasive, but they were for opposing stances. But I’ve done quite a bit of thinking on it, and more reading of articles/information, and I think I’ve got the beast wrangled.
I’m realizing what this all means, though – that I need to start paying more attention all of the time, so I’m on top of things when the next elections come around, and I don’t have to do all this researching at once. Sigh. I always was one to put off my homework.
We did go to the state fair with Kathleen yesterday, and it was alot of fun. We started and ended with the pig races, which were amazing. There were five races: pigs, goats, ducks, Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, and then the “rookie” pigs. And they all got cheese doodles at the end of the races. And the caller had the best accent ever, and afterward we all kept saying “scrim an holla” to each other, and “squilling Tony Stewart.” That last because the racers were given names like “Squilling Tony Stewart” and “Hoggy Jarrett.” Apparently Hoggy Jarrett is the Rainbow Warrior, so I rooted for whichever racer had his number on, regardless of what section we were sitting in. We were split up into rooting sections according to where we sat, and we were actually in the section for number 20, Squilling Tony Stewart, the first time we went, and for number 88, Piggy Gordon, the last time. Actually, I cheered for all the racers, but Hoggy Jarrett the most. And at least one pot-bellied pig stopped to poop in the middle of the race each time we saw it. Hee.
Kathleen milked a cow by hand, and we all got to pet some cows. They are much softer than I had imagined, and they were all so cute! And we got to see one poop right in front of us, which Greg thoroughly enjoyed. I was a little surprised, although I’m not really sure what I was expecting to be different, since I’ve seen “cowpies” before. Just not while they were being made.
We saw a womyn spinning yarn, and talked to her and her husband. She gives classes in Apex, and I signed up to be notified of upcoming classes. She had a ball of yarn that she’d spun with hair from her Pyrenees, and the shawl she was wearing was from a lovely Pyrenees/wool blend.
I went on a rollercoaster with Greg, and HATED it. I couldn’t stop screaming, and I almost started crying when I decided that I really needed to get off but the ride wasn’t over yet. Greg said my screams sounded like screams from a horror movie. And I was shaking a little when I got off. It looked tame enough for me from the ground, but I hadn’t realized how fast it got at certain unfortunate moments. So now I know better: Just because little kids can handle it doesn’t necessarily mean I can.
We also went on a scary ride that wasn’t very scary but it was just my speed, and we went through the German Funhaus – that was lots of fun. And then we went on this bumblebee ride, where you go up and down on a track, faster and faster. And we could all fit in one car, and Greg was on the outside, so Kathleen and I got forced into him, and he got pretty badly squished. And we also did bumpercars, which I’ve never done before, and I loved them. Later, Greg and Kathleen went on a wilder rollercoaster, and I stayed on the ground and watched, so that was fun for all of us. And then Greg and Kathleen went on the Zipper, which made me a little nervous, but they both had fun. Greg especially enjoyed it because he said it’s the first ride he’s been on that made him scream involuntarily.
We tried to play a couple of the midway games, but didn’t win anything, of course. And we went through a couple exhibition buildings, like where some of the competitions (like quilting, or clothes-making) were being shown, or the “Goodness Grows in North Carolina” display. They were cool – especially the ones with farm animals. Except for when we saw the goats, and thought they were really cute, and then realized they were being raised for meat instead of just milk. That was kinda sad, because they were so cute! And one goat was clearly the king of the hill, and when other goats tried to climb up his dirt mound, he butted them off. And we got to see teeny lambs, and baby chicks! Oooooh! And when we were at the chick pen, I started laughing, and ALL the chicks in the pen flocked to me, and kept crowding to me whenever I laughed. So I guess my laugh sounds like a hen-cluck or something? I don’t know if that’s a flattering thing, but it sure is awesome that my super power is to call baby chicks to me with a single laugh! It’s like that time Jeff Corwin made otter-sounds to the river otters, and they all swam over to him. I can call chicks. Yeah.
I really liked the food! Greg and I split a funnel cake, which was his first, and it was delicious and topped with apples. He also bought me a caramel apple, which was my very first. And we got to try some pumpkin fudge, and I bought some Yam Good Sauce, which is a barbecue sauce made from yams, and it’s good as hell. Oh! And the best nuts EVER! I bought some honey roasted cashews, strawberry cheesecake almonds, and blueberry cheesecake almonds from the Almond Tree tent – they’re all vegan and delicious! And I loooooooove cheesecake. And we also had some yummy falafel pitas, and roasted sweet corn. I had forgotten how much I love corn on the cob.
So the fair was a lot of fun, and now I’m sore pretty much all over. And afterwards, we all came back to our house for french fries and Monopoly and playing with Skeeter.
And today wasn’t too weepy. We ran some errands – getting stuff for Skeeter (we had to throw out all Daoine’s bowls, toys, blankets, beds, and litterboxes because we don’t want him getting FeLV), getting shoes for the wedding this weekend. Excitement, huh. Well, it’s been a heavy weekend, and I needed a low-key day to process stuff, so I didn’t mind at all.
I realized last night that the slower progression I was expecting for Daoine’s leukemia, wasn’t what I wanted for her, really. It would’ve given me more time to get used to losing her, but I don’t know that I’d want her to go through something like that. I remembered that a little over two years ago, when we’d first gotten Daoine, and she’d been diagnosed as FeLV positive, we were talking about how, most likely, sometime in the future we’d have to decide whether or not to euthanize her. And I remembered that I had said then that when her leukemia finally became a real issue, that I wanted it to be clear what was best for her, whether that meant treating her symptoms/leukemia, or euthanasia. I didn’t want her to linger at that point where we know she’s feeling bad, but we don’t know what the best response is, because she might be suffering while we’re making that decision so we wouldn’t want to prolong it, but also, we wouldn’t want to have her euthanized unless it was what absolutely needed to be done.
And that’s how it turned out happening. Last week, she was our normal, fiesty, active Daoine. Early this week, she was still pretty good, although she was a little more lethargic than normal. Thursday night, we noticed she was sick, and went to the emergency vet. Friday, she was obviously still very sick, and we went to the specialists. And it turned out that she had lymphoma, and that it had already spread from her lymph nodes to some of her other internal organs. I’m not really sure why, when it was so advanced, she didn’t seem to feel bad until Thursday night, but I’m glad she wasn’t suffering for a long time. So she was in good spirits and pretty active until Thursday night, and when we got the diagnosis Friday and talked with the vet, it was obvious that she was getting hit hard and fast, and we had her euthanized. Treating her with chemo would have given her less than 4-6 months more – since the vet had made that estimate before she knew how bad the cancer had actually spread – and she wouldn’t have been very comfortable for those months, and we really would have been doing it for ourselves since we weren’t ready to lose her. So we chose euthanasia, and I held her and kissed her and cried while it happened, and she was really calm.
Daoine packed a shitload of awesomeness into a little over two years. She was beautiful, smart, occasionally crazed, playful, sweet, and the best-behaved cat I’ve ever had. I don’t think we’ll ever stop missing her, but I hope it’ll be less raw of a wound eventually.
I’m really glad we have Skeeter, because I think the responsibility of caring for him helps us not to dwell on sadness. For me, at least, having something to take care of helps me find a rhythm, and gives me things to do, or distract myself with, while I process. Plus he’s a sweet little guy, and it’s hard to be depressed when he’s rubbing against your feet so excitedly that he falls right over. I woke up around 5:00 in the morning, and started thinking about Daoine and crying, and Skeeter was running around in the hall being crazy. And he ran headfirst into a wall, and I had to laugh at that. And then he came and snuggled right up next to me, and purred me back to sleep. I think he’s going to be a good little cat in his own way. And I think we’ll be okay.
We made plans earlier in the week to go to the fair today with Kathleen, and I think we’re going to go still, because it could be fun, and I think getting out of the house and hanging out with friends would do us some good after the past day and a half.
Daoine’s been lethargic lately, and not eating much. Last night she started vomiting saliva and phlegm pretty profusely, so we took her to the emergency vet. She was also weaving when she walked, and her pupils were dilating differently, so that indicated a “neurological component” to whatever was going on. The emergency vet suspected an upper respiratory infection might be behind it all. But she wasn’t doing much better this morning, and couldn’t keep her antibiotics down, so we ended up going to the specialist hospital in Cary. They’re pretty sure she’s got lymphoma, and they’re running tests to confirm it. The vet said, as sick as she is, she’s likely only got four to six months left, even with chemo. So it’s looking pretty grim. I think later tonight we’ll drive back out to Cary for the final diagnosis, and some decision-making.
I love her fiercely, and I knew the leukemia would rear its head eventually, but I thought there would be a slower progression, and more time to get used to the idea of her not being around. But this has developed so quickly. I feel a little adrift, like I’ve been cut loose from something. I don’t know how to do this. And I hate it.
On our lunch break, Greg very sweetly bought me some Peruvian handknit finger puppets (from Light Years). There’s a llama, a monkey parent with a baby monkey on its back, and an octopus. They are so cute!
 |
 |
 |
 |
Monday night, I finished my Fizz scarf. Then, I seamed up some armwarmers I’d made for Maya – I gave them to her yesterday, and they’re a little on the snug side, but not too tight. And last night I started my pink ribbon warmers while watching Taboo Tuesday.
I think I’m having some problems with the warmers, because the chart I’d prefer to use is 40 rows long, and 17 sts across, so my initial thoughts of “oh, I’ll just halve it” were a little off the mark. Plus I tried to be lazy about how I added the colors in, and how I carried the yarns, and I think that’s going to bite me in the ass sooner or later. Oh, laziness. I think I’m going to have to think a little more about the warmers before I work on them, and I think they’re going to end up rather on the long side in order to fit the ribbon chart. But that’s okay – they’ll just be armwarmers instead of only wristwarmers. I still have figured out what I’m going to put on the hat. But I guess that depends on how much yarn I have left over after the warmers – I’m using Microspun, and I looked at Lion Brand’s site the other day, and it appears that the particular shade of pink I’m using may be discontinued or out of stock or something similar. Ew. You know what? If I’m making really long warmers, I may not have enough Microspun to do two after all. Shit.
Okay, so obviously I have some planning to do, rather than jump into this project like I tried last night. Back to the drawing board.
As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and as I’ve already got a Crochet for a Cause scarf, AND as I’m seeing (and being inspired by) so many awareness-related knit items, I thought it was about time to make myself matching wrist warmers, and possibly a hat. But I have to figure out what the hat will have on it. The wrist warmers are going to have ribbons, most likely from here. But I think the hat should have something more on it, as it is kind of a larger “canvas.” Anyway, so I’ve joined the Think Pink knit-along. Yay!
I’m in a pretty bitchy mood today, because our upstairs neighbors decided to start doing laundry at 5:30 in the morning, and it kept me and Greg awake for about an hour and a half. Seriously, it’s the loudest thing ever. It’s louder in our apartment than our own washer and dryer, which are right outside the bedroom, and yet I can sleep through it when we’re doing our own laundry. Which we also don’t do at 5:30 in the morning. And then I had a bit of an anxiety attack, because I had decided to go complain to the office, and Greg said they wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway, and that I should just go talk to our neighbors. So then I overanalyzed what I should do, Greg got very grumpy, and in the end said I should just go to the office anyway. And then I stopped at the office after it was supposed to be open, and it wasn’t. And if that wee-hours-laundry-shit happens again, heads will be flown. I’m tired as crap, I’m pms-ing, I’m mad, I need caffeine, etc, etc, bitch, bitch, bitch – not a good combo, in other words. Woe unto whoever crosses my path in a negative fashion today.
Bleah.
I remembered what I wanted to blog about last night:
Greg and I went to see Shaun of the Dead (I enjoyed it quite a bit), and on the way there, we pulled up next to a minivan at a stop light. And the driver was wearing like some taffeta-covered, padded tiara. So Greg pointed this out to me. And as we turned left (because we were in the left-turn lane), I looked over (and I was in the passenger’s seat) – and I swear the driver looked like it was an Irish setter. And the only explanation I can come up with, is that someone was driving around in a dog mask and a floofy tiara.
It was brilliant, and a little bit creepy. And it would have totally freaked my shit out, if I didn’t know for a fact that I wasn’t hallucinating.
And then we saw the movie, and played pool afterward. And we haven’t played pool in AGES, and we’re both horrible. Whatever skill we used to have? Has been completely lost in the…what? year? since we last played. I think it’s been about a year.
In fact, I think the last time I played pool might well have been the time we played pool with Susan and Mike in Greensboro, and all of a sudden, there was a wet t-shirt contest in the pool hall. Except it was so much more: the ladies (like six of them) were obviously drugged up, and they started getting naked, and performing sex acts with each other, while all these drunken, redneck-types were crowding around them and harrassing them and touching them and yelling instructions for what the ladies should do to each other. And the four of us are trying to play pool in the corner, and getting very freaked out. Seriously? It was NOT a comfortable atmosphere to be a womyn in. Those men were crazy. Susan and I were rather scared, and worried for ourselves, and for the other wimmin. And then my sister did the most awesome thing ever: she went outside and called the cops. I didn’t have the ovaries to do it, but she did. And she told the cops that it was a pool hall and not a strip club, and it was way more than a “wet t-shirt contest,” and that the men were getting aggressive, and it was scary, and someone should come break it up. And then, Susan marched her self right back inside, and finished the game. And I thought she was fucking awesome. Of course, she didn’t advertise that she’d called the cops, because that would be less than the smartest thing ever. Except when the cops showed up, it was obvious they had known what was going on, and didn’t really care, because they took forever to come in the door, and the ladies ran into the bathroom with their clothes in their hands to get dressed, and no one got cited for anything. But I did hear that, while previously that had been a regular occurrence, the actual owners didn’t know it went on, and once they heard, it stopped with a quickness.
And that reminds me of another awesome thing – Greg went to the bachelor-party-weekend for a friend, and they ended up going to a strip club. I think it was in Myrtle Beach? And anyway, the bouncers? Had like these taser-things on their fingertips. They were not messing around. You fuck with a dancer? You get SHOCKED. And I imagine that would put your ass down real quick. I waffle back and forth about what my stance as a feminist is on the sex industry and porn and stuff, but no matter how I feel about it in any given moment, sex workers’ personal safety is KEY. So I think the taser fingertips are pretty cool. (And if you were wondering, these days, I’m leaning more towards the “pro-sex-positive” standpoint. Although I think it’s hard sometimes to empower wimmin’s sexualities in a patriarchy. Your mileage may vary, of course.)
Anyway, now for some knitting content: I’m giving my Secret Pal some Sirdar Fizz in her October package (and I’m kind of sad the Secret Pal is ending, because I really like sending people stuff), among other items, and I decided I really needed to make myself a scarf from Fizz. Even though I try not to make scarves for myself since I already have PLENTY. But I really like Fizz. So I’m making a simple garter stitch scarf, and so far, I’m loving it.
And speaking of giving stuff away, I have some stuff to give away. Three things, actually, but I’ve forgotten what the third is. I’ll post it when I remember. For now, I’ve got two Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab imps that I don’t want, just because they’re not quite my taste. Anyway, I’m too lazy to go post them on the BPAL forums, so I’m doing it here – if you’re interested in a practically-unused imp of Tintagel and/or Blood, let me know, and I’ll mail it to you for freebies. I wish I could remember what the third thing was. Oh well. It’ll come to me eventually.
