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!

Thanks to Natalie!

Natalie had a few of us over for a Crafty Afternoon on Saturday. It was wonderful! She made all kinds of nibbly things and soaked pineapple in vodka for some fabulous martinis. I met her dogs and her cats and her husband -- all very nice and welcoming. Even after we started singing with the karaoke machine. I did a killer "White Rabbit" if I do say so myself. And we all "had the music in us", too, if you know what I mean. Here Darcy and I are admiring the handsome Bodie.




The photo was taken by Carla, who brought her Polaroid camera -- hadn't seen one of those in years!. The other crafters were Tammy and Laurie. I couldn't have had a better time.

Crocheted Shoes

I confess. I was looking at Carla's blog and followed a link to SistahCraft. It's a great blog and had photos of fabulous knitted and crocheted shoes! I went on a quest online and found the following"
Crocheted wedges

Crochet flats

Some of my favorites were on SistahCraft's blog.

and

Great clogs she got on sale and now can only be found on the internet for $65!! Damn.
I "only" have my Danskos that I love. Here are mine and Ellen 's:


My weaknesses? Yarn. Shoes. Bags. Can never have enough.

Thanks

Thanks to all for your kind words about Zulu. I appreciate more than you know.

I realized I never finished my report on the mosaic tour. After the Watts Towers (I'm still blown away by that place), David and I met Ellen and Larry at a little mercado downtown. We ate at an Argentinian place -- I had hard boiled eggs wrapped in warm tortillas and covered in a verde sauce. It was delicious.


We moved on to the St. John's Episcopal Church on West Adams. The mosaics were done in Italy and were simply breathtaking.

They had a chapel that was added in 1968. It was covered in shiny gold mosaic and had these curious "clouds"? I guess. Loved them.


David and I went off to the old Home Savings building in Hollywood, a place I've drivien by a thousand times. It's covered with mosaics of movie stars and lists names of actors. Some, I felt, were better representations than others, but it is amazing all the same.


(Betty Davis? I don't think so.)
We also went into the ATM room to look at the stained glass of movie chases. Wow. Everyone should check that out.
It was too late to go to Forest Lawn by then. I didn't mind much. From what Ellen tells me, the mosaic in Mount Sinai is much more impressive. Something else to go on my list of things to see in LA.
Tonight I'm off to a Bollywood night with some friends. Amanda is bringing some films, Jackie is bringing the food, Heather is offering her house and I'm bringing the alcohol. Should be fabulous. I may dress up -- or not.

It's been a very difficult week for me and everyone has been so kind. Thanks to all again.

Zulu is gone. He took a turn for the worse over the weekend. He could no longer stand or walk. I took him to the emergency vet on Monday night and determined he'd had enough. He was a beautiful, funny, weird cat that made my life so much better. He will be very badly missed.
Alyson brought me these flowers from her garden yesterday. They are gorgeous and I especially love the "vase".


For Zulu.

Zulu has good cancer

Today was the day Zulu went to the oncologist, Dr. Zwahlen. She couldn't have been nicer. She thought he was a good candidate for chemo, so he got his first treatment. He has lymphoma, which is the best cancer to have. It's easily treatable and he has seemed to perk up already. He chowed down his food and just looks better. He also got an ultrasound, so they had to shave a patch on his side. I wish they had shaved a bit more, as he is looking pretty raggidy lately. I also have to give him prednisone every 24 hours. More pills! He has an appointment to go back in 2 weeks, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I finished the hat, but it came out way too small. I'm bringing it in to SnB tomorrow night; maybe someone's daughter will like it.



I also started and finished a "Ballet T Shirt" from Loop-d-Loop by Teva Durham. It turned out pretty good (gotta love those size 15 needles!) and makes me look quite curvy.

I'm bringing some birthday treats to share with the SnBer's tomorrow night. Be there or be square!

Zulu Update

I was really afraid he was going downhill fast. He took a turn for the worse a few days ago -- he stopped eating and looked pretty miserable. I called Dr. Broome, who suggested getting him in for chemo as soon as possible. I called to make an appointment, but the earliest they could get us in was April 16th. Brit is going to try to pull some strings to get an earlier appointment, although last night, he seemed to perk up a bit. He ate some tuna and came up to greet me this morning, which he hasn't done since he came home. I'm encouraged. It's affected me a lot more than I would have thought. Here he is this morning with his Fancy Feast salmon:


I have finished the second blanket!! Size 11 needles really make a difference.



I've started a hat that Natalie made a few weeks ago. It's from Knitty. So, I'm learning Fair Isle knitting. So far, so good.


And, last but by far not the least bit least, at SnB last Thursday, Ellen Bloom presented me with this absolutely gorgeous purse for my birthday (it's on Monday, if anyone wants to send me a card!). It's Granny Squares at their most beautiful.

I love it. She felt a little sorry for me after seeing the evening bag I made for the A***** A***'s because it was soooooo tiny. I now have a bag worthy of any formal or informal occasion. She proves again that "Granny Squares are the building blocks of fashion©".

He's Home

I picked up Zulu today from AVMI in Tustin. Dr. Broome called me this morning to tell me the test results from the mass have come in. It is malignant. I feel sick. He said he needed to run some more tests to determine the kind of malignancy it is and I should come and pick up Mr. Z because it could take a while. He is also going to contact Dr. Sheree Stern to see about treatment. I brought him home and he is quite stressed out. He is panting and has shallow breathing, but, when I called Brit, she said that was stress and he should get back to normal. I've had him home about 5 hours now. I also got thyroid pills to give him twice a day and a diuretic for the excess fluid. Giving him a pill should be interesting, but I've got to do it.
Between the stresses at work and worrying about Zulu, I'm exhausted. I begged off a Dodger game with Elaine last night (that proves I'm not feeling all that great!) and going to the Observatory in Griffith Park today. I'm taking it easy, knitting and catching up on TiVo.
Speaking of stress (that's what I should have called this blog), that fire on Forest Lawn Blvd. didn't help. We watched it from our studio door. This photo was taken by Alyson.

Pretty scary stuff. One of the guys at work said not to worry because the LA River was between us and the fire. I thought, "That little trickle of water in that concrete basin? I don't think so", but I kept my thoughts to myself.

More News

Dr. Broome called today to tell me Zulu's heart looked very healthy! Although there is a "mass" on his heart that made it look enlarged. He wanted to do a biopsy and I agreed. I heard from him around 3 PM. Zulu made it through just fine -- they got a good size piece of the mass and have sent it to the lab. It could take up to 48 hours to get the results. Dr. Broome wanted to take care of this before doing the thyroid treatment, so that hasn't started yet. Poor kitty. He's had quite an awful couple of weeks, but I'm praying that he will come through it all like the champ he is.

Thanks to everyone (especially monkeygurrrrl!) for all your support and love.

The Latest

I talked to Dr. Broome tonight. He is sooooo cute, but I saw a wedding ring -- damn. I dropped off Zulu around 10:30 this morning. He wouldn't even come out of the carrier when the door was open. Dr. Broome called to tell me about the results of the thyroid scan and he also took some more X rays.

He found fluid around Zulu's heart and will need to do an ultrasound and take some of the fluid for testing to see if the cause is the thyroid or not. He said the scan they did of the thyroid showed nothing horrible -- two tumors that aren't very big -- so it's the heart thing now. When I told Brit, she said that the "enlarged heart" Dr. Raina saw probably was a normal heart with fluid around it. I'm a little scared and concerned, but I will talk to Dr. Broome tomorrow night when he has the results before I get in too much of a funk. He may need medication when all is said and done. God help me trying to get a pill in that cat.

Oh, Zulu, my Zulu

Dr. Sheree Stern called Brit, who called me last night. She is really worried about the enlarged heart thing and wanted me to try and get him in for his radioactive treatment as soon as possible. I called today and they can take him in tomorrow. Sheree and Brit are extremely happy about this and so am I, even if I'm missing a half day's worth of work. It's so funny -- he seems fine except for the weight loss and wobbly back legs. Brit suggested bringing some toys and an old T shirt of mine so he can smell me while he is in isolation. No one can touch him for 3 to 6 days! He is going to be very lonely. The Advanced Imaging Center has great before and after photos of cats that have had the treatment. I'm hoping it works as well or better for my guy.

On a happier note, I FINISHED THE BABY BLANKET!!! I just have to weave in the ends and block it out a bit. I think it turned out pretty cute. I hope the baby thinks so.



I've even started another, only this time I'm using size 11 needles. It should be finished in no time. I'm using Caron Super Soft -- one strand of Country Blue and one strand of Bright White. I like it.



It's a little hard to see, but the pattern is diamonds in purl and knit. The pattern comes from Leisure Arts and is called Sleepy Time.

And the cat always gets the final word...



I hope the baby doesn't come out allergic...I will wash the blanket before I give it away.

Sunday? Mosaic Day!!

Tile David and I met Ellen and Larry for the LA Conservancy Mosaic tour on Sunday. It was a drive yourself tour of 5 of the major mosaic pieces in Los Angeles. It was AMAZING. I had never been to any of the places we went, so it was a treat to find new, beautiful areas of Los Angeles, the city I love. We met at Parker Center. The mosaic was in the lobby, but usually only seen if you got arrested. It was a big abstract interpretation of Los Angeles, complete with freeways and city hall.




It is in danger because they are building a new police center and will tear Parker Center down when they move, but the mosaic is freestanding and it looks like it will be OK.

Then we zipped over to the Watts Towers. I am ashamed to say I've lived in LA all my life and had never been. It was a special treat because we were able to go inside and walk around with the docent. David was impressing us all with his expertise and even gave the docent more information about the tiles that Rodia used. I was completely awe struck. I took about 40 photos there alone. Here's Ellen, looking lovely, as always.


And some shots of the towers -- I was reminded of Goudy's work that I saw in Barcelona.




It was so whimsical, big and beautiful. We walked over to the conservation office afterwards and got a slide show of the restoration and documentation that has finally been collated and organized into a data base. Pretty impressive. We then walked around the corner to see a house that is trying for a Rodia-like look. Some of it was cute:

Some was just creepy:

More of the tour later...

By the way, I refered to David as "Tile David" because I have at least 6 friends named David. I had to add to their names to identify them when talking about them to other friends. He loves it -- his uses it on his email and it is also on his vanity license plate.