Still Snowing

A little warmer up here right now, about minus 1 at the moment, and snowing.  The snow was THIS deep ...

... when I left for work this morning, and keeping THIS guy ...

... very busy.  (That's the front of the building I live in the background ... my balcony faces the opposite direction.)  The roads looked like THIS ...

... and people coming into our office throughout the day have all commented on slippery driving conditions.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... er, apartment ... Miss Boots is spending a lot of time looking out the windows and longing for nicer weather!

Looking at the above picture of her looking out my bedroom window, I realize she has become quite the svelte sleek gal.  Her bulgy saggy belly is gone!  (We will not be looking at photos of the hu-mom's profile!  LOL!)  Bootsy had a lot of digestive issues when she first came to live with me, and it took awhile to find cat food that agreed with her sensitive system.  (She doesn't tolerate grains.)

It is almost 4:00 pm Friday as I write this.  My work day took an unexpected shift left earlier in the day as I learned a big funding proposal I had been working on cannot be submitted for another 6 months.  Consequently, I was able to end the week by leisurely tidying up some odds and ends instead of scrambling to meet an application deadline.  Sweet!  It also means I get to go home on time, and I'm looking forward to a cozy evening with a glass of wine and a good book.  Or maybe my knitting.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Busted! Caught Red-Handed ... er ... Red-Pawed!

 Today started out bright and sunny, and Miss Boots actually ventured out onto our balcony to check it out.

Above is as far as she went.  Apparently at minus 15, any humans/dogs/wildlife invading our back yard can bloody well have at it!  Bootsy figured her energies were much better served coming back in and warming her paws on her hu-mom (who was still in her jammies at the time).

She has grown into a very loving kitty ... when she doesn't have an ulterior motive for the snuggle.  I've grown to be suspicious, and for once had my camera right at my side and caught her in the act ...

... trying to steal my bling!  Okay, so it's only an inexpensive little silver pendant, not fabulously expensive diamonds or anything, but this cat REGULARLY tries to steal my jewelry!  She gets up on me when she thinks I'm asleep and tugs at whatever earring or ring or whatever happens to be visible outside of the bed covers.  A necklace is usually the object of her affection when she snuggles on me, and heaven forbid I should neglect to put jewelry away in a CLOSED jewelry box or drawer the very second I take it off.  Same with barrettes and pony tail holders.  This cat HAS A BLING THING!  And what does she do with all her treasures?

Everything she finds (steals) through the night ends up under the dining room table.  Here is this morning's collection:  a pine cone (from a basket on the coffee table), a ball of wool (from my knitting basket), a sock monkey arm (also from knitting basket), a pen (who knows where that was), an unopened package of bias tape (from my sewing machine table), assorted cat toys (that were in HER basket), and front right, AN EARRING that was mysteriously IN MY LEFT EAR LOBE when I went to bed last night!  It's not like this critter doesn't have toys of her own.  It would sure be interesting to know who this cat was in her previous life/lives! 

I have to keep this bit of new knitting well hidden from the beast.  It's kid mohair / silk and wants to grow up to be a scarf and a gift for someone special.  She thinks it's EXTRA SOFT.

So I did go and buy myself a pair of new boots.  Nice little short suede leather dress boots.  As you can see above, WE HAVE SNOW, so it will be boots from now until spring.  (Apparently I didn't do such a great job ironing my grey dress pants ... where did that weird crease come from?) 

So I'm going into work today to PAINT.  We have decided we need a feature wall in our front office on which to display awards, plaques, and special certificates.  It's going to be the brightest royalist BLUE possible.  The rest of our office walls are VERY pastel pinkish-mauve, so a blue feature wall should really stand out in the crowd.  Have a great weekend, y'all!

Winter arrives

Winter made its first serious attempt last Saturday.  The roads and sidewalks looked like this ...

... slippery and sloppy to get around in as the temperature hovered right at the freezing mark.  It was very pretty later in the day as the sun disappeared and what had been water drips earlier solidified into ice.

Like rows of little diamonds.  My cheap little digital camera didn't do it justice!

Last Saturday happened to be one of those days when you officially get a year older.  I like to keep pretty quiet about the event, so took myself out for a glass of wine ...

... and some dinner at a local establishment.  It was Szhechuan-style chicken.  Very good.  I had a second glass of wine and read my book and felt quite happily relaxed after a stressful work week.  Just what I needed!

This morning, Miss Boots opted to climb into her "cozy cave" ...

... a fake-fur cube with a hole in one side ... after breakfast instead of bugging me to get out on the balcony where she usually spends some time telling off any passing dogs or wildlife.  Smart cat!  It looked like this when I left for the bus ...



... about 8:30 am with blowing snow and about 10 degrees below zero.  Minus 10 is not particularly uncomfortable ... okay, at least not for me ... I'd rather have cold than heat any day, and that's probably why I'm happy living up here in The North!  However, my feet (who totally prefer to spend their days nekkid) were not at all happy being confined in these ...

... knowing that they will probably be so confined until April or so next year!  My coworkers were all waiting to look at my feet this morning to see if I actually had boots on as I always push it with footwear wearing sandals well after frost and shoes well into winter.

Note to self:  those are really crappy looking boots ... quit being such a cheapskate and go buy yourself a dressier pair already!

With today's not-so-balmy temperatures I discovered something disturbing ...

The cable of my Denise Circular Knitting Needles WOULDN'T BEND!  As much as I like knitting while waiting for the bus and riding the bus, I was a little afraid to force it to bend for fear of snapping it in half.  Time to revert back to good old serviceable bamboo single-pointed knit needles!

Have a great day y'all ... stay warm!

I'm still here!

I've received numerous phonecalls and email messages wondering WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU cuz I haven't blogged for AGES.  Yes, I had a computer problem the last time I posted.  No, I don't have a computer problem anymore.  I've just plain been BUSY.  Or maybe a bit LAZY.   Anyway, I'm still alive and kicking up here, so y'all can rest easy again!

Since I last blogged, we've gone from this ...

to this ...

Yes, that is indeed our very first dusting of SNOW.  It didn't last long, but this is The North and more can't be far behind.  The Old Timers around here keep saying ... as does the Farmers Almanac ... that this is going to be a Winter to Beat All Winters for cold and snow.  I heard minus nine degrees overnight tonight.  

Miss Boots is not impressed with this cold.  It ruins her sunny outdoor balcony experiences and makes her come in and walk all over the human (me) in order to get her paws warmed up!  So lately she has a new pursuit ...

... escaping down the hall in our apartment building!  (That's her WAY DOWN at the end of the hall.)  There is a new kitty down there, and she feels very strongly about going down to the new kitty's door and expressing her displeasure about its intrusion in HER building.  (New kitty reciprocated with much hissing and yowling the other evening at our door.)  Lord only knows what will happen if they met face to face!  I guess we'll find out if my scaredy cat is a lover or a fighter.

We ... I could NEVER manage to do this without the aid of Miss Boots! ... are nearly finished hand-quilting our oranges/reds autumn quilt (photos in previous posts).  Originally, I had planned to machine quilt, but find I really enjoy hand quilting.  I'm looking forward to finishing it though so I can get on with some BABY QUILTING.  Yes, there is a new great-grand due in the spring!  It's fun being an adopted Nana.

So, WHAT'S NEW WITH Y'ALL????