Celebration

Our weekend plans were disrupted but we still celebrated Vetgirl's birthday on Sunday.
She requested cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. So Betty and I baked yellow butter cupcakes. Homemade peanut buttercream frosting topped the cupcakes with a Nutter Butter cookie as a final touch.









The pictures switched on blogger so this post is a bit backwards. The festivities began with a family picnic and my much requested Italian Pasta salad. This is a mainstay at our picnics.








These two felines sat perched by the antique table. Their food dish is on the table due to a certain...ahem...140lb dog who thinks their dinner is his snack.
We watched this pair as they stared at the table as if they were debating who was going jump first. Ms. Aurora (the white cat) is t-r-o-u-b-l-e and as soon as Phoebe decided she wanted to jump on the table Ms Aurora jumped in front of her knocking her to the floor. Of course if you know anything about a cat you know what they do when that happens, shake it off and walk away as if she intended to get knocked down. Silly cats.

What's your most requested dish for a picnic or dinner?

Happy Birthday Wishes

There's a birthday in the works. Grab your party hat and hop over here to wish Little Miss Gretchen a Happy First Birthday!
Gypsy partied too much in advance and is sacked out on the floor.









On the other hand Mr. Bettis thinks Life is one BIG party. He also thinks Sissy is the greatest Big Sister ever. She has made some very good birthday gift choices for her little sister (wink). We all know Sissy only has her sister's well being in mind (wink).
Molly is.........well.....Molly. She truly wishes Gretchen a very Happy Birthday and she secretly hopes Gretchen receives a nice squeaky toy.








I asked the cats if they were interested in sending birthday wishes to Gretchen.
I believe this picture of Phoebe says it all.
(after all, in their opinon Gretchen is a d-o-g)

Baby, It's Cold.........

Baby it's cold outside. The temperature reading is -7 F this morning. Jack Frost is everywhere. I'm setting a cup of water outside to see how long it takes to freeze. I don't have pictures of the cold weather. How do you take pictures of the cold temps? It's too cold to even attempt taking pictures outside.

This is where I found Princess Aurora this morning. In the cold, ceramic bathroom sink. Sounds silly except the bathroom is the warmest room in the house right now. So I guess she has the right idea.

She refused to move so I could brush my teeth. I guess she was comfy.

I started this shawl. It's growing up to become a prayer shawl. It is a rather fast knit so that is good. The picture doesn't show the colors as it should. It is Melody wool and graduates into color of blue, green and purple.

This is Malabrigo in stone chat. I plan to cast on for Nutkin socks some time this weekend. Starting projects makes me happy but guess what? I'm running out of needles and totes. LOL

I'm going to get a cup of coffee and knit on my prayer shawl in solitude.

Christmas Eve Treats

Dear Sissy and Gretchen,

It was Christmas Eve and the humans decided we could have one of those wonderful gingerbread cookie treats. We gathered around the big human while he opened the box. I could have had the box opened in the time it took him to find scissors to cut the bag of treats. But, he just had to do it himself.
Do you see Gypsy begging? That gets very annoying. She acts all cute-like and makes out like a bandit with treats because of her so called cuteness. I don't know why I get told to get down when I beg for treats like she does. Do you know how many treats I could get if they would just allow me to be cute-like?



Of course because she begs so cute-like she gets teh first treat. I do wait patiently but boy, I'd love to snag the first treat just one time. I wanted you to see that I was a gentleman and shared the box of cookies.
They were delicious. Mind you, I usually only get 2 good chomps out of a treat but they were very tasty. Thank you again for the wonderful box of goodies.

Mr. Milo came to visit. He is a busy dog but a LOT of fun. The humans did a lot of yelling but we just ignored it and had fun anyway. I secretly thought the humans would leave and then we could've had a lot of unsupervised fun. I heard mumblings about "if we leave I'm afraid we'd come home to the tree knocked over and the house a shambles." Now you know I wouldn't do anything to the tree. That trouble belongs to the cats. As far as the house a shambles? I have no idea what they're talking about.

I was trying to rest for the next round of fun when the humans decided to put this ridiculous
hat on my head. Then they wonder why I do some of the things I do. They had a good laugh about me looking like the elf in the ELF movie. I have no idea what was so funny but just wait till they leave the house again.
Hope you and Gretchen had a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Paw Hugs,
Mr. Bettis

To all Finicky Felines,

This post is silly. I am sick of Mr. B & Co. getting attention. As you can see I am hiding from the humans for fear they are looking for me to wash my face (which seems to be something they enjoy doing and I detest). I hate water unless I can knock over a cup of the liquid stuff and watch Mr. B get into trouble.........LOL. I am also a bit fearful they will put that stupid elf hat on my head and take a picture only to ridicule me on the internet. What shame! If you don't believe me, just take a look at this.
I heard a story about a fellow feline who took a tumble while sleeping and her loyal subject has had wa-a-a-y too much time posting emails and comments about the feline's accident. I have noticed that she didn't post about the accident on her blog. Whew!

About the accusation of the tree knock-over; I thought my loyal subjects put up a tree with sparkly toys (I think they call them ornaments) just for my enjoyment. What is that dog talking about?

Meow,
Princess Aurora

He's Getting Coal

Christmas decorating has begun. My 1900 cookstove is ready for the holidays. I want to make popcorn strands strung across the stove top.

Miss Gypsy and Miss Molly went to the groomer to get a spiffy holiday haircut. Mr. Bettis stayed home.

This green mass monster was his entertainment :(. It was a cone of cotton yarn. The cardboard cone is MIA. Probably in Mr. Bettis's tummy.

There's no blaming the "girls" for this deed. He was here alone with the exception of the cats.

And this is what the cats were doing. It's difficult to believe the green cotton mass of yarn was the result of a sleeping cat.

I don't believe Mr. Bettis realizes that Santa is watching. I do believe Mr. Bettis is on the Naughty List this year.

Gnome MIA

It was cold, windy and snowy yesterday. I tried to capture the snow falling but the camera wasn't cooperating. Ranks right up there with my yarn/knitting pictures:). I do not proclaim to be a photographer by any means.
I'm in trouble here. I had BIG plans for hand knitted Christmas gifts. HUGE plans. Something went wrong. I know I had all year to knit gifts but Self needed socks. Self also needed a new sweater. Self has NEEDS you know?!


The eldest son is NOT getting a hand knitted sweater this year. The DH isn't getting one either. I am scratching gifts right and left from the Christmas list. There will be very little buying of gifts this year given fuel, food, utility expenses. So.............I am resorting to smaller hand knitted gifts. Like these little babies.
I found the pattern on Ravelry. My apologies to those who are not on Ravelry.
They make up to approximately 5 inches and they knit fast. I need fast right now. My needles are busy with mittens, gloves and socks. Hopefully they will get done in time for Ole' St. Nick to deliver:)
Thinking ahead to next year I plan to knit this for the youngest daughter. Fingering weight for a sweater. I know what you're thinking, "how can she possibly plan for next year when she's scratching gifts this year?" Hey! At least I have a plan.........lol

I started an Alan Dart Gnome. His body and one leg were knitted. I decided to clean the living room and change the furniture around. Mr. Gnome body parts are MIA. (I wonder if I can use MIA as an excuse for the unfinished Christmas gifts?)
There is no documentation i.e. picture, journal etc of the missing gnome. I realize no documention appears to be suspicious of, the procratinating knitter aka lil' ole me, but trust me, I really was knitting the gnome. I think I have a suspect of the 4-legged variety. Long white hair. Known to swipe yarn and WIP and stash them under beds. That Darn Cat!

p.s. That's what I get for cleaning. I'll learn someday.............

Is this exciting? Or what?

Remember a few posts ago when the hubby "did" something to the sweeper and it broke? I made a "green decision" that we could work without a sweeper. I convinced myself that a broom would do just as well as a sweeper without using electricity. It worked for a few days. The dust bunnies are now overtaking the home. I caught the teen picking them up and baptizing them with names!
Okay, I give up. 3 cats, 3 dogs, one kid and a husband and I thought we could go without a sweeper?

We're going into town tonite to purchase a brand new sweeper. I'm actually singing:
We're off to get a sweeper
A wonderful wonderful sweeper
Because, because, because, beca-a-a-a-use of all the wonderful things it does..........
hum hum hum hum.............

The next post will be of the brand new sweeper!

It's All In Fun

Friday night Football.
We take our school and our football serious in this part of the Appalachian mountains. Our first football game and band performance were held at the stadium last night. The weather was perfect. Hurricane Hanna stayed away and allowed us to enjoy the evening.




The student without a hat is our daughter, the Field Captain aka assistant Drum Major. I have mentioned in previous posts about the band director (who I know personally and actually admire as a young man) and his inconsistent decision making process. He decided at the last minute that she cannot properly conduct wearing the hat so he decided to eliminate the hat for her. I must say it is easier to spot her on the field:).


She not only conducts the band during the show but she also runs back to the band line when she has finished conducting to play the piccolo. There are 4 movements in this show and she runs back and forth 4 times. She directs the Alma mater, the fight song and the dance team performance music. She is also Flute Captain and Woodwind Captain. Although she isn't wearing a hat she is a girl with many hats.:)

This is a pic of her conducting the Alma mater. She did an awesome job and even the director shook her hand and complimented her performance. She was sharp and professional. She was pleased and we were proud.
The football team won their first game of the season. YAY!

I hate to add a damper on the whole event but I have one pet peeve. When spectators bash a band/sport performance. I want to say, "Keep in mind your child/grandchild could be in a performance/sport event and you wouldn't appreciate disrespectful, rude behavior if the shoe was on the other foot. Learn the word R-E-S-P-E-C-T & practice it."

On the home front:
We decorated for fall and came home the other day to the tree on the floor. Lights and tree ornaments were everywhere and one of the glass ornaments was broken. I must admit, I blamed Mr. Bettis......until.........I was knitting last evening and this is who was stalking the twinkling lights on the tree. Mr. Bettis's owner aka the DH was very quick to point out who was at fault with the tree, Miss Aurora.

And then there was this..........Miss Aurora climbing the tree! It started to topple and the DH jumped and grabbed it in the nick of time. He thought I should apologize to Mr. Bettis for falsely accusing him of knocking the tree over while we were gone. Not-on-your-life. What about the bag of styrofoam peanuts that were all over my living room the other day? And the paper that was shredded? And........? well you get the picture.


p.s. Thanks to all who have supported our Field Captain/assistant Drum Major. She reads and hears your comments and truly appreciates your support.

Hide 'n Seek

What is in the box? Do you think they (my human staff) can see me?










DRATS! They found me! I wonder what gave me away?











Kathy put this in the hallway to make its' way downstairs. I see her husband didn't take it down after she repeatedly asked him to take it to the laundry room. mmmm........Since they found me in the box, I think I'll hide in here. There's nothing like hiding from the human staff then hearing them call for me and of course I don't respond. hee-hee
I'm going to curl up and take a nap.






This cat is too funny for words. We get a chuckle everyday. She is always up to something.







I did a trade with Nicole and look what I got! I wanted these knitting markers and so we did a trade. She sent lots of goodies with it. Bookmarks, cards, magnet, an extra marker and a nice bag to keep my markers inside.














See the knitting theme on the markers? I LOVE them. I have markers but they're all in use so instead of finishing a project I decided I must have more markers. Hey! That logic works for me!



Go check out her site. She has awesome markers.




p.s. Stupid blogger won't cooperate today with my comments to other bloggers.

Peaceful Hair Day

I love Grooming Day. The dogs went to be bathed and groomed. It was a day of peace and quiet around here. Caring for 3 dogs at the ages of 2 yrs and under (Mr. Bettis is exactly 1 yr 8 months, but who's counting?) is quite a daunting task. Getting them there is a job in and of itself. They give report cards for their behavior while being groomed. It has become a joke around here and vet girl gets a kick out it.
Lil' Miss Gypsy posing for the camera after her groom. Her report card reflected a failing F. No improvement.



Little Miss Molly doesn't like to have her picture taken so this picture is a rare one. She recieved an A on her report card.
This does not surprise us as Miss Molly is a laid back kinda gal.





Mr. Bettis refused to sit still for the camera. So I captured this while he was nosing into what his owner (DH) was doing on the DD's laptop. He is a nosey one.
Mr. Bettis received an A+. Now I must ask, how can he possibly receive an A+ at the groomer's and yet cause so much trouble around here? See his nice kerchief? Miss Gypsy had one also but I caught Mr. Bettis dragging her by her kerchief to play. So I had to remove Miss Gypsy's kerchief because "No No Bad Dog" won't leave her alone with the kerchief.


The cats were in heaven while they were at the groomer's. Miss Aurora decided to play with the thread while I was sewing. Although she appears to be doing nothing...........la, la, la I'm not doing anything, I'm only watching.
She grabbed at the thread and made a complete mess while I was trying to sew.





When I finally chased her away from the sewing machine, I found her later, taking a nap on my printer.
Obviously this is a new napping place. She's dreaming, "Such a peaceful house without the dogs today. Can't you make them stay away more often?"


p.s. I'm going to have a conference with Vet Girl on Lil' Miss Gypsy's report card. I just know this is a set-up to make Mr. Bettis appear to be a well-behaved dog and I know better.

The 7 Day Itch

Remember in the former posts that I was going to get in the pool and have a nice swim and I was going to use suntan lotion? I planned to only be in the pool for 1/2 hour so I didn't bother with the lotion. After all, I tan. I never get a sunburn. Times have changed.
I have sun poison. Not just a little sun poison but A LOT! I am miserable. I burn. I sting. I ITCH! I should mention this is on my upper body. I spend my time sitting in front of the fan. I lay wet towels on it, I have lathered with baby oil and aloe vera and nothing seems to be working. I have even resorted to a concoction of yogurt and cornstarch. I have cut up t-shirts to eliminate sleeves, necks etc. I am now digging in the DH's shirt drawer for over sized loose shirts. The necessary garment (br*) has been eliminated. Desperate measures are in order at the moment.
I finally decided to start something new to take my mind from myself (any excuse will do). I started a wool sweater.

Unfortunately the more I knitted on it the more I thought of the I Love Lucy show where she gets a serious burn and then models a wool outfit. Makes my skin crawl. So I put that wool knitting WIP aside and decided a nice crochet doily would make me happy. I am almost finished with this and then it needs blocked.
I have to wonder though, why does every crochet doily have those teeny weeny picots on the final and very lo-o-o-ong crochet round?







This morning I'm trying to enjoy the cool temps (another desperate measure with the sun poison). I glanced in the window and there was Miss Phoebe. I grabbed the camera. The only thing separating her from the little birdies is the window screen.




Mr. Bettis saw me with the camera. He jumped and carried on like a bad kid wanting his picture taken. I told him to "SIT". It took several times of me yelling the word "SIT" in order for him to actually obey. He cracks me up, I think his one eye is cross-eyed.
He received a treat because he actually sat when told. Yeah, I know it took several times to get him to sit but Mr. Bettis thinks life is a hoot!


p.s. A friend thought I should've been a bit more photogenic and post pictures of my new "designer clothing." LOL Not Happening!

Captured!

CAPTURED! Yes, I am shouting with glee!

Mr. Smart Mouse has been captured. I am dancing a little mouse jig here. hee-hee-hee-hee

Thanks to all who gave their tips. From cheese smashed on the trap, q-tips dipped in peanut butter and lodged on the trap to locking the cats in the closet with the mouse, all of the tips were appreciated to capture the little beast. Cheese dipped in peanut butter was the capturing ticket for this unwanted house guest.

I am still trying to figure out why we have cats! Oh that's right, to pet them when they want petted. To feed them when they demand to be fed. (We have a lovely calico who will ever so kindly swat anyone who walks past her if there is no food in the dish.) To admire them in their sleeping state. To call them so they can choose to come or to just ignore the caller.

Our cats have no interest in the little furry creatures called mice but are mesmerized by the computer mouse on the monitor. They will bat at the computer monitor for hours but shrug off a mouse creature.

All in all I have concluded we have these gorgeous creatures called cats to admire. I have also concluded we do not own our cats but rather we are owned by our cats.

Wanted: Preferably Dead

WANTED: PREFERABLY DEAD!

Suspect: Mus Domesticus alias House Mouse

Height: 3 inches not including tail (this is an estimate as I certainly did get out my trusty tape measure to get an accurate measurement)

Eye: Beady presumably black (hard to tell from the atop the kitchen table)

Feet: Pink and Tiny (remember? he was washing them, so I got a good look)

Hair color: grayish brown

BE ON ALERT! This suspect is quick on his feet. He is also very brazen. There have been traps set. He steals the bait and quickly gets away. Very elusive. House cats are useless in this capture.

If anyone has seen the suspect, please report to this homeowner immediately!

Mickey Does Not Live Here

Mus domesticus or otherwise known as "house mouse". While such creature may be adorable in red pants, white shoes and have the name, "Mickey", Mus Domesticus is forbidden from my domestic residence. Unless, of course it has been purchased as a stuffed fabric creature that brings a smile to a child's face.
However, a Mus Domesticus has decided to take up residence in my residence. And no, I don't mean a mouse named Mickey.

Here's the performance so far this morning:

Cast: Caretaker performed by yours truly
Mr. Bettis performed by himself, the oaf
Gypsy performed by herself
Cats? What cats?
DH performed by husband who swears we do not have any mice and refuses to believe that we do unless they come out and announce their arrival by parade, party etc.
Mus Domesticus perfomed by house mouse

ACT I
Dogs want fed.
Caretaker retrieves food bag from pantry closet (you wouldn't want anyone else to feed the dogs, would you?)
Caretaker pours food into dog dish and what falls out with the food? A Mus Domesticus! Or otherwise known as the ordinary house mouse!
Food bag drops to floor.
Caretaker (who is known to be terrified of a mouse) yells..........okay, more like screeches, screams or more commonly known as, going into hysteria!
Mus Domesticus sits there.
Mr. Bettis went up to it as it perched its' grey, little, disgusting self on the dog food dish and that dog proceeds to sniff it. Sniff it? Don't just sniff it, NAB IT!
Gypsy runs around barking because of all of the commotion.
Caretaker tries coax a cat.
Caretaker grabs cat who then proceeds to scratch Caretaker.
Cat jumps from Caretaker's arms.
Mr. Bettis chases cat.
Cat runs.
Another cat arrives on the scene.
Mr. Bettis chases that cat as well.
Another Cat runs.
Mus domesticus is now in front of the antique cookstove trying to hide in the brick flooring. He is, now get this, washing his front feet! He has beady malicious eyes and I'm here to tell you, if he was armed, he would be dangerous. This particular Mus Domesticus is not your ordinary house mouse.

ACT II

Dogs pace floor.
Cats have been successfully chased and are now hiding from Mr. Bettis
Caretaker? Well? She is shrieking uncontrollably.
Gaining composure, Caretaker quietly picks up the telephone.
Caretaker proceeds to dial the DH at work.
Caretaker screams into the phone to the DH that it is his responsibility to protect the domestic residence from creatures. Caretaker also informs the DH that said residence is not Noah's New Ark.
DH stupidly laughs.
Caretaker then proceeds to inform DH that if he kept it up he could find himself alone in the house with Mus Domesticus. As Caretaker explains, said residence is not large enough for herself and house mouse.

ACT III
DH assures Caretaker that he will see if he has traps.
Caretaker informs DH that while he may think he is playing Mouse-opoly, he will not assume that he has traps. He will stop on his way home from work and purchase traps. He will get up each and every morning 15 minutes earlier than his normal wake up time and check the traps.
After being threatened with other actions Caretaker could/would take, DH decides that he will follow through with his job of protecting the residence.
DH is still stupidly chuckling.
Caretaker is going through the house with a pan and knitting needles banging on the pan to keep the Mus domesticus at bay.
Mr. Bettis and Gypsy are outside.
And where are the Cats?

Well, this is Phoebe sleeping soundly. She is the only one I could find to get a picture. The other cat could not be found. She's hiding and sleeping. So much for cats in this house.










I will post the conclusion of this performance as it unfolds. The black bear (Ursus Americanus) has been seen hanging around the residence and I can tell you this much, the Caretaker is more afraid of the beady eyed monster known as Mus Domesticus than the Ursus americanus!

The Second Curse

I am so ready to "chuck" 2008! I was downstairs dyeing yarn in my "new" dyeing area when I heard "drip, drip, drip." I went around the corner in the laundry area and looked. My feet squished on the piece of carpeting in front of the washer. I looked again, thinking the 2 yr old washer was leaking. Just my luck. But it wasn't the washer.



I turned and looked at the wall..............water was running down the wall! I yelled for the "one armed husband." Not sure why, instinct I guess. I mean really, what was he going to do with one arm? He came as fast as he could. I noticed a bubble in the dry wall above my dyeing area. (alright, this is where I did something stupid........again) I pushed ever so lightly on the bubble. It burst and water went everywhere bringing the ceiling with it. I screamed and Ed just stood there. Seems a pipe from the second bathroom sink was leaking. The "one armed husband" grabbed my dye pots to catch some of the water. I grabbed a tarp to throw over everything and we just stood there staring at the mess. We tried to fix the pipe but have you ever tried to fix something with the DH standing over you totally helpless trying to tell you how to fix "the" something? This scenerio doesn't work well when he's not helpless, let alone when he is.

So I called my dad. He has picked up the necessary part and tomorrow it will be fixed. The pipe will be fixed. I won't hold my breath on the ceiling. I know how this goes. Hey Diane, did you send this my way? Considering the "table saw massacre" and my DH's procrastination on repairing construction in our house, I figure the ceiling will be finished in 2 yrs......maybe. Keep in mind he was in construction for 20 yrs and everyone else's house was beautifully finished. Mine on the other hand? Well, I won't go there out of respect for his accident.

Alright enough is enough, this is the second thing to happen. Since everything comes in 3's I am steadying myself for what will come next. In the meantime, I knit.



We did get the Christmas tree down finally. But before we did there was this fluff ball sleeping soundly. I really think she was pretending she was outside under a nice evergreen far, far away from Mr. Bettis.




P.S. New song? I have now added "Bridge Over Troubled Water".

If I Only Had A Brain

We put this scarecrow decoration (that my mother made for me) on the ladder up to the loft. I arrived home before they did and found this poor scarecrow in pieces screaming, "If I Only Had a Brain!" Of course we know who did this, don't we?
Mr. Bettis was at it again! All I can say is, it wasn't yarn.


The DH claims that this beautiful white creature named Aurora was out to get Mr. Bettis.
He claims Aurora jumped on the ladder and knocked down the scarecrow. Now I can tell you that is probably true given Mr. Bettis finds it necessary to chase Aurora up the ladder several times a day when he has nothing better to do. Like, chew my stuff.
But I am still asking the question: Why did Mr. Bettis chew the scarecrow? Just because he was knocked off his post doesn't give that dog the right to chew it.


Although, I can only think the cats have had it with Mr. Bettis and are out to frame him but good! Now if I only had a brain to have put my foot down when it came to bringing Mr. Bettis here to reside in the first place. (Although I thought I'd made that clear in the beginning).

Web cams and dogs

The eldest son and wife came to visit. They brought the "grand-pup", Mr. Milo. He is the little one in the picture with the red harness. Let me tell you about this pup.

As you can see he is just a mite of a thing compared to 107 pound, 91/2 month old Mr. Bettis. They got along quite well. Perhaps just a bit "too" well. They played, ran, bounced (as much as a 107 lb. oaf can bounce), splashed in water (we found that when Mr Milo went home) and chased cats.


Milo does not tire easily. He is very curious. He wanted the camera, not sure for what reason, but he wanted it. The web cam my son installed in their home has come in quite handy. Seems my son was watching the web cam from his cell phone (not sure how that works but it must). And my son caught Mr. Milo dumping the bag of dog food on the floor, jumping, pulling and ripping the curtains, destroying his blanket etc. The son called his wife and told her to take a break from her job and get to the house before they didn't have a house. Son works an hour away, wife works 10 minutes away. Right about then the web cam turned to "snow." Mr. Milo had pulled the web cam cord right out of the socket. hee-hee I'm lovin' it.


Mr. Bettis is still at it. He chewed this dvd. He completely destroyed my "Yours, Mine & Ours" dvd. You know, the one with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda? I'm having trouble finding one so I can replace it. I absolutely love anything with Lucy or Jimmy Stewart and I was not a happy dog- care -taker when I found it destroyed. I wonder what I have done to deserve this revenge from Mr. Bettis. After all I have provided plenty of entertainment for Mr. Bettis given all of the yarn, dvds, knitting needles and books his paws and mouth have "found." In the meantime, he is in BIG trouble!

"ha-ha, so you think you have found me. I am hiding from the dogs", says Miss Phoebe.

p.s. I'm looking for a web cam.