Winter In The Valley

Winter here in the Sacramento Valley means fog. Winter mornings are gray, damp, drippy and cold. By about 11 am the sun manages to burn through and brighten things up, but there is no heat in the sunshine. The bulbs out front are hinting at the promise of spring. We have little sprouts on the hyacinth and tulips. I have not seen the daffodils, but I think they became squirrel hors d'oeuvres some time ago. Days like this It is pleasant to be inside knitting. Now that the holidays are over I do not feel the mad rush to finish projects. I still have one pair of socks to finish, but I need to try one on the recipient to see if I have them long enough to start the toes decreases.

Yesterday, I was at a birthday party and was approached by Father Candy who informed me that he loves his fingerless gloves and would like another pair and a pair for Mother Candy. Now a request from Father Candy is very much like a request from the Godfather. Its an "offer you can't refuse". I have some Baby Alpaca Grande laying around and I will see if I have some chunky wool blend in the stash.

The only hazard to knitting is the fact that when its cold, the cats become far more cuddly. Its not that they like you more, its the fact that you are a warm place to lay. At night you can gauge temperature by how many critters end up in bed with you. Sweetie Pie now lays in the bedroom and soon as Bob gets up she dances around until he lifts her on the bed and then she snuggles in the mink blanket in doggie heaven. I think she would stay there all day if she could.

Hot cats, lemony cheese

The weather is starting to heat up. According to the weatherman we should hit 100 by the end of the week. Of course I don't need a weatherman to tell me its getting hotter. If you own cats you know that the hotter it gets, the longer the cats get!




Bob and I went to the Farmers Market downtown today. So lovely to get really fresh veggies. (Our garden is just starting out so we are no where near harvesting anything.) There was a local dairy that was selling cheese and handing out samples. I got a dollop of "lemon quark" on a piece of strawberry. I thought I died and went to heaven. Its a lemony cream cheese that has been slightly sweetened. It complimented the flavor of the fresh strawberries so well. I got Bob addicted!

New Event at the Kitty Olympics

Miss Itty Bitty felt somewhat left out of yesterday's entry and has come up with her own "subtle" form of attention getting.

First, you must understand that MoMo and Sayuri do not like Miss Itty Bitty Kitty and as most cats do, they express their displeasure with bodily fluids. To protect Miss Itty Bitty's bed (and my sanity) we have placed her bed on top of the china hutch in the dining room. Itty Bitty is the only one of the cats able to leap that high and she enjoys being able to survey her domain from its lofty heights.



The other day, I discovered a hair ball on the lower portion of the hutch. Using my observational skills from watching too many episode of CSI, I determined from the hairball and surrounding detritus that it had fallen from a distance. I found this rather curious.

A few days later while sitting on the couch, I heard the familiar sound that all cat owners know too well: "HAAAK, HAAAK, HAAK!" I looked over in time to watch Itty Kitty cough a hairball from her perch atop the china hutch. I saw her shake her head and could almost hear the inner monologue. "Hmmm, with a little more loft I could probably get enough distance to land one directly on the dining room table."

I frantically rushed for the tube of Catlax while contemplating the implications this would have for my next dinner party. Watching the competition of "Hairballs for Distance" would certainly throw a monkey wrench into most social occasions!