Hermes

More to come. Just a portrait today. He was kind enough to pose for me, while staring out the window at his girlfriend (a little stray calico that he has been told in no uncertain terms will NOT be coming in the house).

The "Quickie" Project

...is taking slightly longer than I thought.

So I've been thinking for a while that there are two things that I need in my bathroom, which kind of also became Hermes' room when Jolie was staying with us (did I mention that she finally went home, after over three months? I am overjoyed! Sweet cat--not so great to have around when she makes you break out in hives and attacks the host kitty for no reason).

The first thing is a mat to go under the litter box, so that the litter doesn't get tracked all over the place. With hardwood floors, it ends up all over the house. I could go out and buy a rug from Target or wherever, but why spend the $10-15 when I have yarn?

Yeah, I know. I'm knitting something for my cat to wipe his paws on. Clearly, I have crossed over into crazy cat lady territory. But here's how I'm looking at it:

1. It's something mindless that will keep me occupied while my brain is still restarting.

2. I like knitting.

3. If it makes it easier to keep the house clean, then I am all for it.

4. It saves me $15, since I already have both the yarn and needles, and what else am I going to do with two balls of acrylic boucle? Cat crap seems like a good use for it....

I swore off boucle yarn about six weeks after learning to knit. If you don't know what it is, boucle yarn, rather than being smooth, is covered in little loops. Those little loops love to catch the tips of unsuspecting knitting needles when attempting to insert them into a stitch, and also love to snag on anything and everything that gets within six inches of them. I've knit with it. I've crocheted with it. The one thing I haven't done with this yarn that I would love to do is set it on fire, because I'm sure that acrylic would make some lovely, multi-colored flames.

And heaven forbid you have to rip it out.

I've actually found more practical uses for eyelash yarn and fun fur than I have for boucle, and it's easier to work with.

The second thing that I need (I use the term "need" loosely) is a second mat to go under the cat food/water dishes, since Hermes likes to take his water dish for a walk and the sound of ceramic dragging over ceramic is not something I like to hear at two in the morning. When we lived at my mom and dad's place,  his food and water were on a rug, and he had no problems. Here, he will stick his paw in his water bowl, drag it six inches to the right and take a drink. Then he'll move it eight inches to the left, and take another drink. But no, he's not done yet! Next he walks around the dish, and the process repeats an additional 2-3 times before he's satisfied. By this time, the floor is soaked.

I do not even pretend to understand him. I'm just trying to get a decent night's sleep.

And a bonus, since Bill asked for it:

If you haven't seen the other Hermes comics, you can find them here.

ETA: Thanks Rob, for pointing out the error with the link. It should be fixed now. Blogger won't let me link to just the correct search results, but keep scrolling for more the comics.

Typecast #10

Have I really only done ten of these? It's been way too long!

Click to make them bigger.

And as an added bonus, a photo of Hermes and his "guilty" face for unplugging my monitor.

You can see he feels about as much guilt as any cat ever does. Which is to say, none.

Last but not least, the winners of the Birthday Contest! Random.org drew numbers 20 and 4, which means that AuroraSelene will be getting the yarn and pattern, and Asteride will be getting the pattern! (you should be getting a Ravelry PM from me within the next day or so to get your details and to get the code for the download).Congratulations!

Chocolate, Writing, and a Cat.

I'm starting to think that the hardest part of writing a book is writing the proposal. Getting the manuscript out in such a way isn't so much of a challenge as convincing other people that they should care about it. My natural shyness doesn't help--I was raised to be humble, play off my accomplishments. "So I wrote this book, maybe you'll read it, if you want?...Why? Oh, well, no reason..."

This is the first time I've ever written a book proposal (I'm only just starting to get the hang of the query letter and the cover letter is still a mysterious beast for me), so I constantly feel like I'm doing it wrong. Is there enough information? Too much? Is it the right information? Is my wording professional enough? If I make it more formal, will it still convey the feel of the book accurately? How many images should I include? What size should they be? Do I sound arrogant when listing my meager credentials? Or just stupid?

I do have a book on the subject--which was, in fact, written by the owner of one of the publishers I'll be sending it to--and that is helpful, but not as helpful as I would like. But then, I'm cautious by nature and seldom like to move forward unless I have a green light glaring down at me.
 
As a form of procrastination, I've resorted to organizing my desk (don't all writers do that?). I did have a legitimate reason. I had to make room for the necessities, which are pictured at the center of the drawer there. 

Yes. Chocolate is ESSENTIAL to my creative process.

Besides, where else would I keep my stash so that the cat doesn't get into it?


You can see how intent he is. He's lately renewed his obsession with whatever I am drinking (usually water, thankfully) and has been knocking over my glasses again. I've taken to keeping bottled water by the bed and using a juice glass the rest of the time because it's low enough that I can stick it in my desk drawer when I'm working. The last time he dumped my drink, it was all over my desk. Thankfully, my laptop was on the pull out tray at the time and was spared, but it came dangerously close to an important notebook and a new book. I don't think he'd eat the chocolate, but I can see him using the Cadbury eggs as a toy because of the way they spin.

Don't let the cuteness fool you. He's trouble, nothing but.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go cuddle my fuzzy little demon.

Getting caught up

What happened to this week? Where did it go? I think there was some working in there at some point, and a bit of writing, but I think most of it got taken up with this:

Yep, that's right. Hermes and I are back under the same roof! I'm so happy. Except for the part where he has been more vocal than usual, and keeping me up for the last three nights. Where did that rumor that cats sleep 20 hours a day come from? Mostly he paces around the house chirping at me (because he's too cool to meow) and pawing at stuff like he wants attention (and then promptly runs away when I try to give it to him).

Anyway, it's an (exhausting) adjustment period. But, I've had a long weekend in which to work on this:

That's "Charlotte," the first pattern that will be available to Post Club members with Silver memberships or higher.

This entrelac neckwarmer is knit flat, with a little bit of subtle shaping. The yarn it calls for is not just soft, but a budget-friendly natural fiber, and the color progression lends itself well to entrelac. I'll be adding some more (better) photos to this post tomorrow, but I got hijacked by my photographer (Missouri is a terrible enabler) and wound up missing the daylight I was going to use for the photoshoot, and my camera does not do well with anything other than diffused sunlight.

Perhaps I should add "new camera" to my "things to do with my tax refund" list. Which, if you were wondering, is much bigger than the refund itself is going to be. Ah, well. I guess there's always next year.

Happy Mother's Day

Around here, most people know that when I say I'm going to do laundry, it's really a euphemism for "I'm going to Mom and Dad's to love on my kitty."

It hurt more than I can say to leave him behind last October when I moved out, but between student loans, illness, and random acts of God that keep happening, paying the pet deposit has been been out of the question and adding another $25 to the rent could be the difference between buying food one week or paying the electric bill.

Since I moved out, Hermes has been even less affectionate than he was before, generally running away whenever he sees me. Therefore it's been a while since I've been able to get a picture of him. This blog has been sadly kitty-free for the last few months.

But I guess that even he thought Mother's Day deserved a little respect (even if my
only "child" is furry and has four legs). He wound up on my lap no less than three times through the day and spent a total of about an hour getting lots of love and attention, and he even purred loudly enough to be heard from arm's length (normally the only way to tell that he's purring is to put a finger under his chin and feel around for a vibration).

My laundry is clean, and I am now covered in cat hair. It's a good day.

Say Awww!

Tigger has finally made her way into the Hermes comicverse.

Teaser

I started on the test knit for Northman last night. I want to make sure my math is accurate with a different number of cast on stitches, so I'm using a slightly different yarn. For this one, I'm only doing the band of faire isle at the brim (mostly because I had to double strand my contrasting yarn which meant there isn't enough for the original design). I love doing fair isle with a dark background and a variegated yarn for the pattern work. It really makes it pop.

Tigger has been with us a week now, and she is happy and healthy. She likes to sleep on our chests, but when she isn't asleep she won't hold still--this was the least-blurry shot I got of her this morning, out of the dozen or so I took. She purrs when she's falling alseep, which always gives her the hiccups. It's adorable. She's only a little over a pound, but can purr like a Harley. It's surprising, considering Hermes is about 11 pounds and has a nearly inaudible purr (except when he wants attention at 3am). The two of them are getting along a lot better now, and have even played once or twice. Now Hermes would just stop acting like a teenage girl and learn to share the bathroom with his little sister, everything would be peachy.

A New Addition

There's been a little radio silence around here, both on the blog and on the podcast. (I'd hopped to have a new episode up by this week but the essay isn't gelling the way I'd like. So if you have anything you would like to share on the subject of typewriters in film or on television, drop me a line.) On the one hand, life has been happening and there hasn't been a lot of time to write, but on the other, it's mostly boring every day stuff (Work. Knit. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.) and didn't seem worth posting about.

Today Missouri and I went house hunting, checking out several condos that fit into our budget. Now we're just trying to decide which is the best for us, and if we want to try proceeding within the next month or if we're better off waiting a few extra weeks, though that puts us closer to the unpredictable-but-always-crappy weather that passes for winter in central Ohio. The one we both liked the best was actually the handyman special that needed the most work...more work that we could afford. The other three are all basically clones of each other in the same subdivision. We'll see how it goes.

But that's not the new addition I was referring to.

Meet Athena. She came home with me this afternoon. A good friend found her on the side of the road (after nearly turning her into a kitty pancake). Since no one else would take her and said friend is allergic, I took her. She's a feisty little thing and already is standing up to our labradors. Hermes, however, is less than amused. He seems to think she's a Devil Cat, and hisses and runs away every time he sees her. Even though she's usually hiding from him and roughly the size of his head. Right now he's camped out under the kitchen table staring at the laundry room door, waiting for her to make her move so he can attack. Meanwhile, Athena is napping on a shelf, completely worn out by her new surroundings.

Hermes and I had a long talk about the proper way to treat one's younger siblings. I told him that violence is unacceptable, as are excorcisms (since that's what it usually looks like he's trying to do). He told me I'm an only child and am therefore inexperienced on these matters, and that bloodshed is a normal part of family bonding.

...It's a work in progress.


Hermes is not amused.(That's one of my typewriter covers he's hiding under, by the way.)

Typecast #3

(^^Click to enlarge^^)

Also, don't forget the Japan Relief Drawing.

Cameo Apearances

I just went to see The King's Speech, and there were several familiar faces: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter,Geoffry Rush and Michael Gambon to name a few, as well as this one:

I highly recommend the movie (because really, you can't go wrong if it involves Colin Firth, who delivers an extremely moving performance), and when you do see it, pay close attention to the scenes in Lionel, the speech therapist's office, especially the initial ones--You'll see an Oliver #9 sitting front and center, and it does get used later in the film. It's a lovely machine and I can't wait until my own Oliver is up and running.

I know I promised weeks ago to post another photo, and here it is: Me at Ohayocon with my feather and fan shawl. My first actual lace project! It's very lovely in person. Just ignore the model. And the bad photography.

The blog has fallen by the wayside lately; According to my Chinese Horoscope this is supposed to be a great year with only one unfavorable month, but I think the unfavorable one must be February because nothing is going even remotely according to plan, and I haven't much wanted to broadcast my bad mood about it to the rest of the world. So I shall leave you with your moment of feline cute:




He's playing innocent because he knows he's in trouble. He managed to get into a package of kitty treats and eat 3/4 of them before we caught him, and then got his paws on a bag of dog treats and did the same. We keep finding tiny steak treats all over the house.

Okay, so I lied about the knitting content.

It works!! So now I'll just stick the typewriter posts in as scans, and you can skip down to the knitting bits if you so desire. Just click on the images to make them bigger/readable.





Since the ribbons got here about two weeks (!!) before I was expecting them, I don't have a lot to say on the knitting front. There just hasn't been time for much because of the holidays (probably could have finished that sweater front last night if I'd had my knitting at the hospital. Darn). So, even though it's typewriter related and not knitting, here's a kitty fix for you. Hermes love the cover almost as much as I love the typewriter. Now that Henry is working, Hermes decided to get to know him a little better:

Hail the Conquering Hero

The great cat v. mouse showdown lasted a whole thirty hours. Mom found the remains this morning where he'd displayed them in the living room. He's been enjoying the way we've been spoiling. I think he's officially eared a place in my parent's house now that he's proved he's not just a kibble sucking vacuum.

Cat v. Mouse

I had no idea Hermes could dedicate this much attention to anything but sleep. He spent over three hours last night staring at the underside of our fridge because I suspect a mouse was hiding under it. He stared at it so long, in fact, that he forgot to wake me up at 2:30 the way he normally does and I got to sleep until 5:30 (is it wrong for me to hope he doesn't catch the mouse in the near future?). This morning, I didn't even see him until mid-afternoon because he was so busy staring at the underside of the stove. He was like a bookend, he held so still.


---
Do you know what this is?

If you guessed the start of my Christmas list, then you're spot on. You see here half a dozen dish clothes waiting for their accompanying hand towels. I have the towels and the sewing on them is mostly done, I just need to make the crocheted hangers.

I finished the second pocket lining for the London Calling sweater. It is cooling off for a few days while I get caught up on the other projects that went to pot during my hell unit, namely on the aforementioned gifts and also on a pair of socks that I started just because I had the urge to knit socks. I've got the heel turned on the first one, just finishing up the gusset shaping. This is the first pair of top-down socks I've ever made, and they're turning out rather well. I always forget how long it takes to knit socks until I actually sit down to knit them. It's taken me seven disks of Gundam Wing to get where I am now, though I think I might have been working on other things through about half of that. And then of course there's disc 5, which has 3 episodes of nothing but rehashing the last four disks, so I normally skip that one.

Speaking of anime, it has been decided that the CFM crew will be at Ohayocon in Columbus at the end of January. We might even be running a panel--we'll see. Anyone else going to be there?

Happiness is a Full Bookshelf

This is my current reading list. I am in the middle of Ghost Hunters, which is a non-fiction account of early paranormal investigators in the Victorian era; I got the itch last night to re-read my favorite Mercedes Lackey book (which also happens to be the first fantasy book I ever read that wasn't Harry Potter), Magic's Pawn. While I was reading it, I totally forgot I'd hoarded some cash in it and $50 fell into my lap. I went to the bookstore today to pick up a joke book (more on that in a minute) and Changeless, which I've only been looking forward to from the instant I finished Soulless. While I was in Borders, I happened by accident on Demon Hunts. I'd forgotten it came out on the 6th. So I snapped that up, too.

On the way in to Borders, we made a stop at the library, because I had a reserve in--Heat Wave. I want to be Richard Castle when I grow up, so I figured I'd give the book a shot. I figure that since it's based off of my favorite tv shows, it'll either be really good or really bad. We'll see.

Waiting in the wings I also have the next Kitty Norville book (Kitty Takes a Holiday), which I'm also eager to start. You just have to love a werewolf named kitty.

And then, my mom handed me a book of Sookie Stackhouse short stories. I love the books so much, I've decided to give the series another try, so the first season is on reserve for me at the library. Should be in just before or just after we get back from Montreal.

Which brings me back to the joke book: We're going up to see my uncle in Montreal the first week of July. I can't wait. If you've been here long, then you might remember my love affair with the city. This will be my first return visit since 2007. My uncle and I are, I guess, the funny ones in the family (that used to include his dad, my grandpa, but he passed away several years ago). He's always nagging me that I don't have jokes for him anymore, when I had tons as a kid. The problem is that grown up jokes are either really...tasteless, in my opinion, or they are more like funny stories, the "you had to be there" type. So, I picked up some new material.

Speaking of funny, here's another comic strip for your entertainment:



Yes, my cat really did pat me on the head while I was cleaning his litter box. I didn't think it was that bad at the time, but I guess I'm not the one who has to use it. :)

On my ipod: 4 Minutes (Glee Cast version)
In the DVD player: Batman: The Dark Knight
On the night stand: Ghost Hunters and Magic's Pawn

Hermes

Have you had enough Hermes yet?



While he's over his initial eye infection and the URI, he now has pink eye in the other eye and worms, likely contracted from Smokey, our black lab (eventually, they will get represented on here, too, even though they technically belong to my parents and I don't normally live with him).

The last few weeks, everything has happened at once and all of it has been expensive. I'm hoping that one day soon I'll have a paycheck that isn't completely spoken for a week before I get it. I don't even have money to get a bottle of water or a bag of chips when I'm work. I think the last time I was this broke, I was in elementary school and earning nickles for dusting the baseboards.

As a distraction, here is another comic strip. Click on it to make it bigger.

ESP Fail

(click to enlarge)

We are all still sick. Turns out my allergic reaction decided overlap with either regular allergies or a cold, I don't know what, but I slept for eleven hours last night and still had trouble getting out of bed.

Hermes however, seems to be doing better. I've been cranking out these strips at a surprising rate, but at the loss of my daily writing goal. I'm having a little trouble with my current set of scenes, so I'm welcoming any distraction I can find. Before I go in to work today though, I want to sit down and give Cassie a serious workover, though.

If you haven't been keeping track, I do have the third Cassie novel up on Fiction Press, along with the first two, so you are welcome to go read them. I post a new chapter every two weeks.

In the CD player: Jose and the Pussycats soundtrack
In the DVD player: Beauty and the Beast (Disney animated version)
On the night stand: Dark Mysteries of the Vatican

The Eyes Have It.

Conjunctivitis, that is. My poor baby had to go to the vet today. His eye has been runny all week. I knew he’d have to go to the vet, but was trying to put it off until I had a paycheck in my hand. Then this afternoon I noticed that it was swollen. No more procrastination. My vet is a saint and took a post-dated check.

It has been a Week here at chez KnotMagick. I’ve been picking up hours at the Discount Retailer, even though I wasn’t set to officially start back until Sunday. I ended up calling in sick though, because on Saturday night I had an allergic reaction to a granola bar I brought as a snack for my break. Why do all health food companies find it necessary to add soy to all of their products?

Anyway, my throat swelled up--not enough to merit a trip to the ER, thankfully, but I ended up staying in bed until 1 the next afternoon. I’m pretty much back to normal now, but I had a moment of panic when the vet gave Hermes his antibiotic, then handed me the box and told me to give it to him twice a day for a week. If you’ve never given a cat meds before, then let me tell you, it’s a very messy process involving claws and teeth. It took me, a vet tech, and the vet to hold Hermes down so that ointment could be applied to his eye (another fun chore I get for the next seven days). But the antibiotic he gave me was amoxicillin--along with it’s sister med, penicillin, these are the two things I am most allergic to. I informed the vet of this, and he swapped it out for Liquid Gold, which is what we call penicillin substitutes around here, since a one week supply for a human runs upwards of $80. Thankfully, both prescriptions plus the office visit only came in at $55, which, ironically, is the cheapest vet bill I’ve had since I got him.

I’ve had kitty on the brain lately. If I wasn’t living with my parents and their dogs, I’d be tempted to get him a sibling (actually, I’m still tempted, but I like my head on my shoulders and I’m pretty sure my dad would kill me). Alice and my friend T keep telling me I need to make a Hermes comic strip, so while I was sick that was exactly what I did. He’s just such a character, I’m surprised it took me this long. I’m looking forward to spending time with him this summer. I’ve missed the furry little demon.

Click for the big version.



On my ipod: You Can't Always Get What You Want--Glee Cast
On the night stand: Death du Jour--Kathy Reichs
On the needles: random crochet hat and Mystery Project #1. Little to no progress on either.

Ice cream for dinner is healthy, right?

So, a couple of weeks ago, Jennifer (AKA MajorKnitter, whom I had no idea read this blog and I am extremely flattered that she does) suggested giving up processed sugar/sugar substitutes in order to help with my allergies. Since I was already trying three different OTC medications, lost my insurance when I graduated making prescriptions out of the question, and the only other suggestion I'd gotten was snorting lukewarm saltwater, I decided to give it a shot.

I already avoid sugar replacements like Splenda and Sweet'n'low, because the aftertaste is disgusting and it makes me feel kind of ill (also, Alice is allergic to fake sugar, so it usually never crosses our threshold). I figured that aside from the allergies, now would be a good time to cut out the processed bits, since I've been trying to get healthier.

I've set out several rules for myself. They're based on one simple belief: All things in moderation. I'm not cutting out any food group completely (not even sweets). My goal is to find a balance in all things; balance that has been lacking from my life for the last four years. I've got enough stress in my life due to financial issues without adding what I eat to the list. I'm not going to punish myself or beat myself up if I slip. The goal is to find a balance somewhere between only having 15 minutes to eat and NOT eating from a vending machine, and working for hours at the computer but still making time to go for a walk or dance or do something.

Care to join me? Here are my "rules":

1. No fake sugar. No sweetners, high fructose corn syrup, etc. Use the real stuff, and use cane sugar when you can.

2. Only fresh meat, cheese, vegetables, and bread. No wonderbread or anything like that. It has to come from the bakery, because it has fewer chemicals and is fresher. We usually get either Italian or wheat.

3. Frozen vegetables and fruits are good to have on hand as a stand by, but fresh is better.

4. Absolutely no dieting allowed. "Diet" items tend to be full of chemicals and fake sweetners. If you want a soda, go for regular. The Jones sodas are better (made with cane sugar and fewer chemicals), but water is best.

5. I love juice. I'm drinking only juices that are 100% juice.

6. I'm allowed one chocolate indulgence a day. I'm also letting myself have other candies and sweets, but there has to be a movie involved. Why? Because of money, movies are a special treat. So if we go to Blockbuster (maybe once every two weeks) or to a theater or whatever, then I can buy candy there (usually Sour Patch, because those are my favorite), but I can't get it from the grocery store where it's really accessible.

7.I'm trying to work out every day. I have a series of exercises that I'm doing every day. They're just low impact things to help strengthen my muscles again. You remember my knee? Yeah. Caused by weak thigh muscles that couldn't hold my patella in place anymore. I have awful periods and back pain because I don't have any abdominal strength. And my carpal tunnel gets aggravated because I have no arm strength.
My list looks like this:
10-15 push ups (I do mine by bracing my hands on a hip-high counter; I've never been able to do them on the floor. My goal is to get there, though, by slowly lowing the thing I'm leaning on)
15-20 crunches
15-20 knee lifts (just sitting and lifting my legs straight out. I do this with a 1.5lb weight on each ankle. After doing 20 or so lifts, I hold my legs straight out for 30 seconds)
15-20 leg lifts (as in, laying on my side and lifting one leg at a time (again, with a weight)
After this, I switch the weights to my arms and do a "boxing dance" Basically, I punch the air in time to a song (my current favorite is "I Don't Care" by FallOut Boy). The important thing is that the strokes are powerful, creating my own resistance. I go straight out, then straight up, and throw in a couple of lifts from the side as well.

8. I bought a DVD of a cardio workout, which I'm going to try to do at least once a week. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll probably start out doing just the first part, and work my way up from there. It's danced based, and I love to dance, so it should be fun.

I think that's all of it. I might add more if I realize I've forgotten something. As you can see, this is really basic. It's not one of those "loose five pounds in a week" diets. I'm trying to change my lifestyle, so I'm not doing anything drastic, just little things here and there. Maybe my list isn't for you, but you're welcome to use it as a basis for your own small changes.

Basically, the healthiest I've been was actually in Italy, because I walked everywhere and it was almost impossible to even find processed foods. Our veggies came straight from the farmers, and even our "easy meals" were low in salt and preservatives, and didn't come drowning in sauce or gravy. I've never seen butter, white bread, and even snacks that were so healthy. I'm trying to get back to that.

Care to join me? Let me know. Leave a comment. I don't really have a support system for healthy living out here, especially since our choices for groceries are Walmart (mostly chemicals) and Kroger (where everything costs about twice as much as Walmart, and is out of my budget).

Wish me luck!


Do you see what I have to put up with? No help, whatsoever. Lies on his back while I'm trying to work out...he's already killed three of the plants I was starting indoors.