winter has arrived

Before the snow came to stay we had some foggy days. We had several snowfalls, but it would then warm and melt. This one's for real, I'm pretty sure.I've been talking about Ewie a lot and here he is, up to more shenanigans. I don't know where he thinks he's going.Xena does her part to make kindling for the fireplace.She's so helpful.All that excitement calls for a little nap ...... and a snack.I think I'm getting the hang of this knitting intarsia. It's fiddly work. What I'm making is a surprise, so I will only show you this little bit for now. This is what the intarsia looks like from the back-side.Do you know what's harder to photograph than a black cat? ... or a white cat? ... or black and white cats together? Stitchwork. I tried every setting on my camera and every kind of lighting. It's really hard to do! After about 50 shots I finally gave up and chose this as the best I could get. I have a whole new respect for those photographers that shoot "product".

I didn't know a potatoe could catch on fire

Our microwave, for the fancy schmancy gizmo that it is, is starting to scare me. I think it's way too glitzy for it's own good. It's a great big thing that doubles as a range hood (a feature I never use) and it's supposed to be very smart. You tell it what you're cooking and it figures everything out for you .... how long .... what intensity .... when to flip. It's already been to the shop once because it lost it's marbles, and now it's doing crazy things.It's a good thing I was standing right there when this potatoe burst aflame, along with the paper towel it was sitting on. You see, when I told it to "cook a potatoe" I trusted it to do that. Perhaps it thought I meant 20 pounds of potatoes .... I don't know. Anyhow, there was a "woof", then a box full of flames. I was proud of how calm I remained, so the rest of the house didn't explode, but what a mess .... and stink. It still smells like there was an army of chain smokers in my kitchen.

Ewie is a Hooligan

now here's a word for ya....

I am learning a knitting technique called Intarsia. Wikipedia says this about that ..... "Intarsia patterns are almost always given as charts (which, because of the mechanics of knitting, are read beginning at the lower right and continuing upward boustrophedonically)" ....... uh ..... what ????

I'm trudging along. Not sure if I like it or not. I'll let you know. I love intarsia woodwork. Would like to learn that someday. Art's sister Echo gave me this and I think it's just gorgeous. To each their own, right?So, back to knitting. I have to keep re-learning my lesson about NOT leaving my knitting out overnight, where some kitty (who shall remain nameless, but his initials are ..... Ewie Blomquist !) can take each ball of yarn and run to a different corner of the house with it. Two mornings in a row I found this.The yarn is spread through several rooms, so I couldn't get the full effect in one photo. It took several hours to untangle this mess ..... twice.Maybe you think I'm exaggerating. How could this innocent looking face cause so much trouble?I had a dream the other night where I was talking to someone about stray cats and the other person said "I'll take Screwie home with me", as he pointed to my little white guy. I protested that his name was "Ewie" not "Screwie" and he was mine. When I told Art the dream we both howled. The new name seems to fit perfectly.Besides liking all the same toys as the dog, this guy is a fast favourite.I keep having to confiscate the Swedish Chef from cat clutches. He was even stolen from this photo shoot.

His & Her Royal Highnesses

Xena and Yus (aka Ewie) striking a pose. I missed getting a photo of them "kissing" the other day because my camera was in the other room. When I went for it, they knew something was up so started acting all aloof. Now I keep my camera right beside me.....just in case.

That ball is Xena's new favourite. It glows in the dark.