Socks and Shoes

Yup.  My feet are in 'em.

Hear that faint voice?
That's my muffled toes trying to yell "No!  No!  Not 8 months of foot wear again!"

 As much as I dislike colder weather necessitating socks and shoes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the autumn colours!  I swear I could die this winter and go out with a smile on my face thinking "it was the most beautiful autumn ever"!

That's my morning bus ... waiting for me!
LOVE the colours behind the bus shelter!

Just look at the amazing colours running down the centre of the avenue!  Same kind of tree, but each one unique!

And the size of the wild rose hips!  Wow!

It's been very foggy the past 10 days or so.
This was a fairly clear day - some days it's been like pea soup, you could barely see beyond your own nose!

The last rose(s) of summer?
Even these roses are spectacular in colour!

 On an entirely different topic, I thought I lost Miss Boots this past week!  Let me tell you, I was just HEART SICK!  I just plain do NOT want to imagine life without Miss Boots!

This is our balcony railing.
Those are the frozen remains of a late Morning Glory vine on the right.

This is our balcony railing ... and the balcony railing belonging to the apartment next door to us. 
That stucco wall between the two railings is 10 inches thick.
That's like ... um ... 25 centimeters in Metricspeak?

 You need to remember that our apartment is 3 floors up ... as in a LONG WAYS DOWN should you happen to fall!

You also need to remember that Miss Boots is an indoor kitty who has regular "manicures" to keep her claws short and my furniture in one piece.

Miss Boots and I were both out on the balcony about 8:30 pm, enjoying a last cup of tea and surveying "The Queendom" to make sure all was peaceful for the night, when my phone rang.  It happened THIS fast ... 3 steps inside to pick up the phone and I heard a frantic scrambling ... turned my head and NO CAT!

I grabbed my flashlight and peered over the balcony railing ... expecting to see a broken kitty lying on the ground ... but NO CAT!  So I ran downstairs (in my jammies and flip flops), around to the back of the building, thinking she was so scared that she just RAN in whatever direction she landed, and thinking about the pair of fox and the bear that frequents the green belt behind our building that would enjoy a quick snack of domestic kitty!

I spent an entire hour (in my jammies and flip flops) peering into every bush, every clump of grass, calling and calling ... and NO CAT!  Finally, with frozen toes and tears, I headed back in.  The hopeful part of me thought MAYBE she didn't fall, that she was still on our balcony, maybe hiding under the BBQ, so I shone the flashlight up the side of the building ... AND HEARD A VERY PLAINTIVE LITTLE meow.  It took a while, but I finally caught the reflection of her big green eyes in the balcony next door ... so I raced back upstairs, out onto our balcony, and CLIMBED ONTO OUR BALCONY RAILING.  No, I wasn't THINKING ... I was on adrenaline "must rescue kitty" mode!  I know, I know!  No lectures please!

She was crouched back against the wall, and NO amount of calling or cajoling was convincing her to come anywhere near the balcony railing!  Naturally, or maybe fortunately, the neighbours were not home ... and being Canadian Thanksgiving, might not be home for several more hours.  I didn't know if she was hurt, but I knew I couldn't leave her there.  Eventually, I managed to swing one of my dining room chairs over onto the neighbouring balcony and then coaxed her up onto the chair.  Once on the chair I could reach around that 10 inch stucco wall to grab her and bring her back.  Then I had one heck of a time retrieving my chair!  It was about that point that I realized I was hanging off my balcony railing (in my jammies and flip flops) 3 floors above the ground!  And I'm scared of heights!

"Not going out there.  Nope.  Not EVER again!"

 A week has gone by, and Miss Boots is still rather uninterested in the balcony.  She wasn't seriously injured ... just one scraped paw pad, probably from trying to catch a grip on the stucco.  No hu-moms were injured either.  Phew!

Since Miss Boots became an EVEN MORE INDOOR cat this past week, she decided the best place to be was in the hu-mom's lap.  And what can be better than a hu-mom's lap?  Why, a hu-mom's lap underneath some cozy knitting!  With her ... ahem ... "assistance", we finished this 72 inch long kid mohair and silk shawl.  It's hanging over a curtain rod in this picture ... I spritzed it generously to block it and bring up the fuzzy halo of the mohair.  I've already given it away, but I think I want one for myself now.

Have a great week y'all!  Enjoy the autumn colours ... and keep your cats safe!

Heavenly Tomatoes!

I was a bit late getting home last night, and hungry, and wanted supper in a hurry.  So I headed out to my balcony and picked the day's crop of little cherry tomatoes ... a good two big handfuls and this nearly the middle of September! ...

...brought them in and tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few fresh oregano leaves.

 Popped them in the oven, but ... oops!!  Forgot the garlic!

 While the tomatoes and good stuff were baking at 400 degrees F, I put some water on to boil for pasta.  Once the pasta was cooked ... I used rigatoni ... the tomatoes had "exploded" and released their sweet goodness.

 I tossed that with my pasta and sprinkled on some fresh chopped basil.

 YUM!!!
 
Miss Boots and I had an unexpected visitor last night.  After supper dishes, I was in the "reading room" with a book, and Boots was in the "reading room" with me -- cuz we share those kind of special moments, don't you know -- scratching her chin on her hair brush.  All of a sudden, we both heard the sound of a cat eating kibble!  ANOTHER cat eating BOOTSY'S kibble!
 
I had left our balcony door open because it was a warm evening, and the kitty from two balconies down had come a'calling!  The only way she could have accessed our apartment was tiptoeing along balcony railings - 3 floors above the ground!  YIKES!  Poor Boots just stared with great big shocked eyes -- she couldn't figure out what to do!  I scooped the kitty and returned her down the hall to her rightful apartment / human. 
 
Made both Bootsy and I think about OTHER critters in our neighbourhood . . . . . .

Sunday Afternoon

Ah ... fresh brand new sheets!  Tried to get Miss Boots to pose there, but had to call in her understudy, Annie, at the last minute as The Boots was having a "I can't do a thing with my fur" crisis.

Oh, and the human had a lovely and luxurious sleep once Annie and Boots settled into their own respective beds!  Had I remembered brand new sheets were so wonderful, I would have treated myself long before this weekend!

Trying hard to post more often

And now that I've typed in that title, MY MIND IS BLANK!  Maybe my mind is still in work mode ... and it was a busy work day ... or maybe it's just blank!

What do YOU blog about when your mind is blank?  Or do you wait until you have something brilliant to share?

I have absolutely nothing brilliant to share other than it rained a bit today, my potato is outgrowing my Norfolk pine and my tomatoes are sizing up nicely on my patio.  Miss Boots hasn't done anything remarkable yet today -- no horked up hairballs or unexpected claw swipes -- and I'm not reading anything in particular at the moment.  I'm not even knitting anything in particular at the moment -- am between projects.

Perhaps this is the MOST BORING POST EVER? 

Perhaps this is a sign that I should get rid of my home Internet service and thereby put an end to blank minds and boring posts?

I should post more regularly.

I should.  But I don't.  My bad!  I find I'm not terribly interested in computer time at home because so much of my work day is at my desk and computer.  In fact, I'm even seriously thinking about giving up my Internet service at home.  I use it so infrequently and it's gradually climbing up in price.  I could use those $ for more fun things (like more wool ... or dinner out ... or ...)  But when I start thinking like that, I remind myself that I don't own a television (by choice), and I don't subscribe to a newspaper (by choice) ... so if I discontinue my Internet service, am I turning into some kind of weird recluse?

Thoughts, anyone?

Speaking about computers, THIS is my current work computer desktop ...

NO, that's not Miss Boots ... but it certainly looks a lot like her, and I can totally "hear" her making the above comment!  (Thanks for the pic, Natalie!)

Come with me to my balcony ...

Good morning!  It's a fine sunny Monday morning.  My hu-mom is getting ready to go to work, so I thought I'd show you what's happening on my balcony. 

 Well, OUR balcony ... cuz I share it with my hu-mom.  When she's good.

This is my view when I look out from my living room.  It's sure nice to see green things growing!  My hu-mom tells me those big bushy things up high are radishes and that I won't like them.  She gets all bothered and excited when I jump up on the balcony railing to check them out, so I guess I'll let her think I don't like them.

 I REALLY like lettuce though!  Fortunately, it's growing down where I can help myself whenever I feel like it.  For a long time this spring, my hu-mom got excited about me eating the lettuce faster than it could grow, but now it's growing faster than either of us can eat it.  I'm not too wild about Rhonda and Rhoda the flamingo twins ... they whir their wings in the most annoying manner when I least expect it!

 Here are two more things I REALLY like ... peas and spinach!  My hu-mom stuck those plastic pole things in there to keep me from nibbling on the peas and spinach.  Ha!  They don't really stop me ... but don't tell her, ok?

 My hu-mom is all happy because her tomato plants have flowers.  I have no idea why she's happy about that ... I tasted one, and it was YUCK!

 She's also happy because her hot pepper plants have miniature peppers starting.  They are up high so I can't taste them.  Hmmm ... I wonder what hot peppers taste like?

 Earlier this morning, my hu-mom was sitting in her chair on my our balcony and doing her knitting.  She is knitting a fuschia sock.  I don't think it's for me.

 She told me that she is thinking about adding a fold-down cuff to hide the ribbing, but can't decide what kind of pattern to put on the cuff.  The pattern for this sock is her own design.  It didn't come out of a book.  (My hu-mom thinks she's rather clever when she invents her own design ... silly hu-mom!)

Maybe you bloggy readers have a pattern suggestion for her?  She really hates to have unfinished socks around cuz they tempt me.  What!?!?  Why wouldn't I play with unattended knitting?  Doesn't she realize I'm a CAT?

Enjoy your Monday!

August already

So I've been busy with my imaginary vacation.  It was supposed to occupy my Fridays, but it overflowed!  What can i say -- I was "in" Spain, and there is an awful lot to learn about, read about, see, hear, taste and experience in and about Spain!  (See my other blog http://knittingmywayaroundtheworld.blogspot.ca/)  Last Friday, I finally "crossed the border" into France, and find myself quite unsatisfied about leaving Spain with so much still unlearned, unread, unseen, unheard, untasted and unexperienced.  Oh well -- lesson learned!  From here on, I shall have to limit myself to a small handful of specific goals for each country I "visit".  For example, while "in" France, I want to sample the wine in the Languedoc, tour a lavender distillery in Provence, and experience Celtic music in Brittany -- and try harder to limit this sampling, touring and experiencing to Fridays only.  Wish me luck ...

On an easier note, I finished knitting a beautiful pair of black lacy socks (Spanish pattern), and am nearly finished the first of a pair of delightful dark lavender lacy socks (French pattern).  The knitting aspect of this imaginary vacation will NOT be limited to Fridays.  A day without knitting is like a day without sunshine to me!

Spanish Lacy Socks.

And how is YOUR summer going?  It has been hot enough here to really feel like summer without the odd thunder and rain storm thrown in to break the monotony.  No drastic extremes like some other parts of the country are experiencing.  My third floor apartment only gets direct sun in the mornings, and is high enough to catch any breeze moving at all, so has been quite comfortable.  My balcony gardening efforts have (so far) survived "Assistance by Boots Inc." -- suddenly, I find myself unable to eat fresh lettuce as fast as it keeps growing!

Growing like crazy!

This week, Bootsy is a little turned off by the balcony.  We've had avisitor there -- a grey parrot.  She (Boots) was cautious but interested until said parrot stated 9in a definate English accent) "Allo!  Allo!  Got a light?"  Bootsy promptly determined the back of my closet was preferable to feathered that that speaks Human!  There have been "missing" posters around my neighbourhood this past week, but it appears the parrot is enjoying a traveller's summer vacation.

"Make DangerousTalking Feathered Thing GO AWAY!"

Are you watching the Olympics?  I don't own a television, so no, I'm not.  I'm not so sure I would even if I had a tv.  It's so ... so NOT what I personally believe the true spirit of the games is meant to be.  I heard a really good example of that last Sunday.  Two little girls were playing "Olympics Ball" in our back yard.  One child was both star Canadian athlete and Olympics commentator, the other a South Korean Athlete.  The ball games was a lively mixture of tennis, soccer and baseball played with a beach ball, and the Canadian "team" won by many thousands of points.  Then the two little girls switched to playing "Olympics Podium" with the same little Canadian in the role of announcer.  There was flag raising (a waving beach towel), anthem playing (off-key but enthusiastic humming), and lots of vigorous cheering for the victorious Canadians.  The poor little South Korean athlete was firmly chastised for SMILING.  She was supposed to be DEVASTATED -- ASHAMED even for letting down her team and her country!  She should really crawl away somewhere dark and just DIE cuz her country would probably SHOOT HER for being just a disappointing loser of a TRAITOR if she went home!

WTF?  Where do little kids get these ideas?  I know there are both winners and losers, but what happened to being good sports?  Winning medals are THAT important?  And what the heck did these munchkins hear their adults saying???

Guest Post

"Hi!  My name is Boots.  I am guest blogging today."

"I and my human live in an apartment
on the third floor of a building.  That's our
balcony ... the interesting one."

"Sometimes our balcony feels a bit like
a prison.  La sigh!"

"My human grows some stuff for me
on our balcony ... like these tasty
sunflower plants."

"Most of the time, I enjoy our balcony.
I can manage any wildlife or humans
that trespass in our back yard from
the comfort of home!
But sometimes, I feel like expanding my horizons."

"My human grows some stuff up high
on our balcony railing ... and it might be tasty."

"I don't know why my human frowns when
I jump up to check it out ... do you?"

Now departing for Sevilla, Spain ...

Yes, really.  Well, really IN MY MIND!  Remember, I did say it was going to be an INNOVATIVE vacation!  If you want to travel along with me, check out http://www.knittingmywayaroundtheworld.blogspot.ca/
If you're not into knitting socks with a truly global flavour, I won't bore you with my imaginative travels here.  However, if you ARE into knitting socks ... or travelling ... I heartily invite you to join me!  Bring your knitting needles ... we'll knit our way around the world together in our minds!

And in other news ...

When was the last time you ate this???

Celery sticks with Cheez Whiz used to be fancy food in our house ... the kind of "gourmet" appies reserved for company and special occasions.  I had me an urge for that kind of food over the weekend ... do you ever get urges for something from your childhood like that?  If so, what?  If I had gone all out, I would have had me some radish roses and green onion curls in a bowl of ice water too!

It's a wee bit warm here at the moment ...


That's 28 degrees Celsius here in Canada.
I'm a child of the 1950s ... I still think in Fahrenheit.

 Perhaps that's what got me thinking about company and special occasion meals ... I think most of the visitors my family entertained when I was growing up arrived in the hottest part of summer.  Dinner ... we called it supper ... generally included a big plate of sliced "cukes and tommy-toes" (cucumbers and tomatoes) from our garden.  My family always had an enormous garden.  I kind of miss that ... although I do currently have lettuce and green onions growing on my balcony (if Mizz Bootz would leave them alone!) 

Those childhood company and special occasion meals also included individual glasses of icy cold orange Tang. Did you drink that stuff?  Was it even remotely good for us?  Why on earth did the adults in my family think that stuff belonged in the fancy foods and bevvies department?

Naturally, plenty of mashed potatoes, fried chicken (also grown in our back yard), gravy, and biscuits filled out those supper menus.  Who eats biscuits with their meals these days?  I miss biscuits too!  We ate them WITH our meal, then ate them AFTER supper as dessert ... warm, with real Quebec Maple Syrup on very special occasions (my Dad was born and raised in Quebec's Eastern townships, and his family provided at least one container of "down home" Maple Syrup every year).  Or with home-made jam on less special occasions.  If there were any left, we ate them cold as a snack, or the next morning for breakfast, but leftover biscuits didn't happen very often.

Dang!  Now I want some biscuits to go with my celery!

"Me?  Move?  Nuh uh!  It's too hot to move!
I'm going to lay right here until sundown!"

 I'm with The Bootz on that idea!  And I certainly hope there's no company coming ... cuz it's much too hot to fry chicken, boil potatoes, and bake biscuits!  Stay cool, y'all!

Getting excited!

July 3 today ... 3 more sleeps (until launching off on my innovative European vacation)!  Hope you're going to follow my adventures!

So how was YOUR long weekend?

Cloudy / rainy here.

 The Boots and I enjoyed balcony time together and caught up on our reading.

"Hey!  Get your thumb outta the way ...
I'm still on that page!"

Sometimes I really need a couple of quiet days to just hang out on the balcony with La Feline.  It recharges my batteries!

I did manage to get myself dressed and out once over the weekend ... took myself on a Saturday night movie date. What a waste of money and time! "That's My Boy" ... an Adam Sandler thing. I find Adam Sandler's brand of humor thoroughly obnoxious. Had I realized he was in it, I would NOT have bothered ... I bought my ticket based on a brief synopsis about "a teenaged father reuniting with his grown son" ... thought it sounded like an interesting story line. NOT!  I have to admit, however, inflicting this movie on myself was my own fault.  Usually I take the time to check out movie trailers on line and read multiple reviews before heading out to the theatre.  That will teach me not to be spontaneous (in the movie-going department)!



Then, just to add insult to injury on Saturday, I missed the last bus of the evening and ended up WALKING HOME. I don't mind an hour long walk, but after NOT enjoying a movie date with myself, wasn't such a happy camper. Of course, once I got home, I was AWAKE and energized ... not a good state to be in after 11 pm!



I guess The Boots was too busy reading (and snuggling) to cause further gardening havoc.

What's left of our lettuce is growing well ...
I'll re-seed the middle of this pot AGAIN this week
(shhh!  Don't tell Bootsie!)

I have no idea what this happy little plant is
in the planters on my balcony railing ...
but it is sure PURTY!!!

I just heard there's a weekly Scrabble thing happening at our local book store ... YES!  I've been feeling Scrabble deficient lately.

Cheers!

End of June

Our province has been experiencing sporadic but significant rain and spring run-off at the same time, so there are floods and danger of floods all over the place.  My heart goes out to anyone who is negatively impacted by rising waters.  I remember catfish swimming in the ditch beside our driveway when I was a little girl, and that was scary enough!  (Later, we found dead catfish in our alfalfa field ... my Dad figured they tried to take an overland route back to the river cuz our alfalfa field wasn't ever under water.)

Although there have been homes evacuated around our city, Miss Boots and I are safe and dry as we live well uphill of any running water.  The rain combined with some great sunshine has contributed to blooms on my balcony!

Planter boxes on the balcony railings.
(Yes, I know ... that date stamp thing is wrong
... yet again!)

These little geraniums are the MOST VIViD
and brilliant happy SCARLET!

 Other stuff is growing well too ...

Thanks to my 'kitty deflectors', the Sweet
Peas are finally prospering!

The Parsley and Thyme is finally producing
enough to contribute to my kitchen.

Even the Sunflowers are starting
to shoot up!

 Yes, I overplanted ... that's way too many Sunflowers for one plant pot.  But there was a reason ...

... a very good reason like "WHERE DID ALL THE LETTUCE SPROUTS GO?"

Hmmm ... wreckage ...

"Whaddya mean 'DID I DIG UP THE LETTUCE AGAIN'?
I'm GARDENING here ... don't you get that, hu-mum?"

"Now PUSS OFF!  Cuz I'm going to have a NAP
in my garden!"

 Life with La Feline is sure never dull!

So I've been having fun planning my innovative European vacation.  Departure date is Friday July 6!

I had a tough time decided exactly where to start, and finally settled on SPAIN.  I've been brushing up on my Espanol in preparation ... ¿Dónde está el baño?  Cuánto cuestan estas agujas de tejer?  ... I'll be blogging as I travel, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I have a CRAZY work week happening ... 2 staff members away on holidays at the same time (who was IDJIT that allowed THAT to happen?!?!?!), a Board meeting, a monthly newsletter to get out, and so on.  If i didn't already, now I REALLY NEED A VACATION!

Happy July Long Weekend, y'all!