Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Unexpected sadness

Our family has had a tough day today. This morning, our beloved cat Buddy had a stroke. We took him to the Purdue Animal Hospital emergency clinic, but ultimately made the decision to have him put down. One of the hardest decisions I've made. We took the kids out of school so they could say goodbye. Buddy was part of our family for 13 years. We got him when Tori turned 2. Aaron is 11, so he's never known a home without Buddy. One of our friends always referred to him as "America's Favorite Kitty." 

He was a huge cat, tipping the scales at 25 pounds. But that didn't keep him from wanting to snuggle on your lap every chance he got.



If you were home sick, he was a constant companion.

The only thing he maybe loved more than a warm lap was laying in the sunshine streaming through the patio door.

He was also quite fond of laying wherever you didn't want him to:
on projects,


on the bed while you we're tying to make it,

on newspapers, magazines, books, or even your face, especially if you were trying to read.

He also loved snuggling with Diego, another of our cats, who I fear is really going to miss Buddy a lot.





Rest in peace, Buddy. You will be sorely missed.



Friday, October 12, 2012

And, we're back

September is a blur. The first 11 days of October are too. Several highlights:

I did not paint my kitchen cabinets Labor Day weekend. Instead, I knit and cooked and slept in every morning. I can't complain. It was fun. I managed to put away some 20 freezer meals, so that was nice.

September 16 was my mom's 59th birthday. I made her this:

Pattern: Haruni. Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in the colorway Piedras. She absolutely LOVED it!


September 22 was my hubby's 20th class reunion. Here we are:
Yes, I made my little shrug. More on that another day. :)

Many Friday evenings this fall have been spent at the high school because Tori is in marching band.
On October 6, the Harrison Militia Marching Band went to ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association) band contest where they took Gold with Double Distinction (for music AND visuals). It's the first time in school history they have accomplished that feat! AND, the band is 45% freshmen! Go Band!!!

Saturdays this fall have been filled with College Football. Boiler Up! Miss Tori also enjoyed Band Day at Purdue, which is a fun event where Purdue hosts numerous high school bands, and they all get to play at halftime. This year was the largest one in more than a decade. It was a blast.


As for crafting/knitting/organizing, I have to admit that I haven't done a ton of it so far this fall. Life has just been too busy. I mean, I have been knitting because I can carry it around with me and sneak in a few stitches here and there, and I knit a LOT during football games. But it's all been pretty mindless stuff. Mostly socks.

That said, I do have plans for this weekend. I know I said I was going to wait to paint the wall in the dining area until AFTER I painted my cabinets, but I can't wait any longer. I have to paint something. And that wall will be an easy, quick project that will make a huge difference and make me feel like I've really accomplished something. So, Wednesday, I took my curtain fabric to Menards and started looking at colors. I came home with a few swatches, and made a decision within about 10 minutes.
Some of you are bound to wonder what's wrong with the lovely, soft sage green that's on the wall now. Well, as you may recall, I painted the living room this summer. It used to be that soft sage green as well. Our kitchen, dining area, and living room are really just one long, big great room. And this remaining vestige of the old color choice has been driving me batty. It looks terrible with the new, much more vibrant green. So, it's definitely time for a change!

I took the picture above with my phone, so it doesn't reproduce the colors quite perfectly. The top color (Wool Tweed) is too green and looks really awful with the Amanda Signature Green in the living room. The bottom color is too peachy; not at all the look I'm going for. The second from the bottom (Warm Wassail) is quite nice, but too red. The second from the top (Ginger) is just perfect! Brown with just a hint of orange, the perfect warm compliment to my favorite vibrant green.

So that's what I'll be doing Saturday morning. What are your weekend plans?