New stuff

First of all, I have to annouce that I have picked a name for my new cat. Her name is Isabella -- Bella for short. Or Izzy, I suppose, but Bella sounds more like her. She is getting a bit more friendly, but still pretty skittish. She lets me pet her outside of under the bed, but still runs away if she hears something. And in my house, creaks are common! She's not losing any weight that I can tell, but she is still the most gorgeous cat.
I had the best time at Madge's last Sunday. Got to meet her Pasadena SnB friends. You have to check out Ellen's blog for photos. I, again, was without a camera. (What kind of blogger am I? One who forgets her camera a lot.) It was great fun and incredible eats. Teresa's sugar cookies were a big hit, as well as Ellen's mac and cheese. Madge's husband, Tom, barbequed and a good time was had by all. I brought yet another baby blanket to start, had to rip it all out and start all over again. I think it's turning out well.

I'm using the ever popular Lion Brand Jamie yarn (America's favorite baby yarn, according to the label). I was being good and knitting from the stash, but I didn't have enough of one color to make the whole thing. It will be shades of white, green and blue when I'm done. It's for one of the guys at work, whose wife was induced last Wednesday. Another boy!!
I got a call from Brit as I was driving to the party. She had gone on a motorcycle rally over the weekend and had crashed. She hit a rock, fell off and her bike fell on top of her. She has a broken clavicle and a broken foot, as well as a torn up knee. It could have been a lot worse. I drove her around yesterday and she seems in pretty good spirits, all things considered. Although it may be the Vicadin talking... She finds out the results of the MRI today to see if she will need surgery.


And, because I can't resist, here is the bellisima Bella:

New Cat!!

I have taken in another rescued cat. I am still mourning over Zulu and I still miss his big fuzzy paws and the rough kisses in the morning. But I felt I needed another cat to fill up my life, so I asked Brit to ask Dr. Sherree if there was any cat she knew that needed a home. Brit emailed me back within 24 hours. There was (another!) all black cat at the LA Clinic. She is 3 years old and was abandoned at the clinic by her owner. She has all four paws declawed (it makes me cringe) and the sweetest face with the big yellow saucer eyes. Brit and I picked her up last Saturday. The techs at the clinic made me promise to bring her back if it didn't work out. They named her Black Dahlia, but I'm not keeping that. The other two black cats I had both had rather racist names and I needed to break that cycle! I haven't picked a name yet, but I keep trying out some. She had been in a cage at the vets for a couple of months and had gained about 8 pounds -- she should be around 5 pounds, so weighs in now at about 13 pounds -- but I was assured that she would slim down when she had places to run around in. She is pretty wide with the daintiest little feet. She resembles a tick.


She spent the first 3 days under the bed. She would come up to me to be petted if I went under the bed, too. She came out to eat and poo, so that was a relief. Yesterday she did come out and look at me and this morning reclined on the guest bed and checks out the back yard through the sliding glass door. Finally I could take some photos!!



Any name suggestions?

I did forget to post one of the best photos of the Garden Show. His name, if I remember correctly, is Morton. The Entertainer.

Flower power

Last Sunday Tile David invited me and some other friends to the Garden Show at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Santa Anita. It was a gorgeous day. The parking lots were full (that was a first for me!), so we ended up parking at the Race Track, which is across the street. They had old school buses to shuttle people back and forth. Talk about no leg room. How tiny are those kids, anyway?
The gardens were lovely, as always. You could hear the peacocks screaming from a block away, but, I guess I'm weird, I love that sound. They were all over the place, showing off.


The cactus were blooming ...

and the vendors were selling.

We strolled over to the Spiney Forest from Madagascar. It was full of odd looking plants, with trees that reminded me of Dr. Suess.


I was good and bought nothing, though Sherry got an amazing birdhouse. I was tempted; they were really wonderful.

It was a great day. I had to leave early because I had an apppointment for a hair cut. I not only got a cut, but color, too!! I like it. (photos later, I promise.)
As far as knitting goes, I'm working on a tank top made out of little mitered squares. I got the pattern from elann.com and the yarn, too. It's in the free pattern section. Here it is so far:

I'm almost done with the body of it; next will be the straps/neckline. It's supposed to lace up the front, but I may modify that. I wanted to experiment with making mitered squares with varigated yarn. I like the way it worked up, so I will try it with the Koigu I bought at BSK to make a cardigan designed by Irene York.
Beautiful flowers, great company and knitting. What a perfect day!