Brrrr; Depressing Library News; Good Cat News

While I understand that my cold weather is not your cold weather, Florida did have record-breaking cold overnight Monday into Tuesday. This was what I had at 8 this morning:

Brrrr! In Florida, that doesn't merit a frost warning, but a falling iguana warning:

The local weather person shared some fallen iguana photos on Facebook today: it really does happen.

Now, by mid-afternoon, it was more like 60, and probably in the sun it felt decent. But inside, not in the sun, I was layered up. 

Brrrr.

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I've written before about how I have not only a library card for my county's library system, but reciprocal borrowing through the next county's library. Since I read more and more ebooks, I love having two cards* to use: I read an absolute TON, increasingly so this year, as escapism, and I do buy some, but I would be bankrupt if I bought them all. 

*Technically, I have a third: there's an org called the Queer Liberation Library and signing up for that gave me another 5 loans a month from Libby, nothing to sneeze at. 

I was therefore crushed, and I mean CRUSHED*, to get an email from the other library system saying that they are changing the reciprocal borrowing program to eliminate ebooks. Almost the only thing I use it for! (The closest branch to me is an hour's drive, so obviously I'm not making that trek on a regular basis to borrow physical items.)
*Now, a few days later, I'm starting to get over the shock, but that just means I changed the title of this post from "Kind of Heartbreaking" to "Depressing" Library News. Dial it down, there, ccr.

In the email, they note that they offer a non-resident card that can be used for ebooks as well as other things---for $60 per year. Sigh. 

I get it. I do. But ow.

So my Libby borrows would go from 35 a month to 15, and Hoopla from, well I don't know because it tells me how many more I can borrow this month but not for any amount of googling can I find out how many I get per month, why is this a hard question, ugh.

Ahem. I go from more to less, basically. And I probably will suck it up and pay for the non-resident card, since I can afford $5 a month to read 20 books. But, you know, ugh. Change.

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I took Newman to the vet for his checkup, and though he wasn't pleased about the experience, he was a very good boy, and got a mostly clean bill of health. 

"Why does this take so long? I guess I'll watch the TV."

He needs dental work ($$$), and they're testing to make sure the worms are completely gone, but he's at a good weight (about 12 and a half pounds, he's not a lightweight) and there were no red flags. They also trimmed his claws: I'll do that going forward, but for now the needles are gone and he can make biscuits on me without making me shriek. 

Which makes both of us happy.

Triumph!

A month or two ago, maybe longer, I bought a new shower head; I had noticed that mine was acting a little drippy, and figured I should replace it before things became catastrophic. Then of course, I put it aside and didn't do anything about it. But today I decided it was time, and gave myself the you-can-do-it (and if not you'll call a plumber) pep talk.

I turned the water off, that much I know how to do, and I got the old one off; I was pretty sure I would be able to, since I actually put it on, back when I moved in and found the then-current one needed replacing. This new one is a different style, and instead of just having the piece that goes in the bracket or can be handheld, the new one has one of those but it's surrounded by a holder that also sprays water. That sounds weird. Well, I don't know the terminology, but it looks like this:

So the shower head part connects to the wall thing, then the handheld connects to a hose and hooks into it. You can have water come out of one, the other, or both.

Long story short, I tested it out and it works and I like it! It even feels like better water pressure somehow, so win-win there. 

Thank you for letting me brag about accomplishing this fairly simple thing. Have a Newman picture. Or four.

New Wallpaper

It's too perfect.

A Little Scattered

Sometimes there are enough different things I want to write about that I somehow manage not to write about any of them. Fortunately there are no blog police and I adhere to my initial thoughts from when I started the blog, which is that I have to write for myself before anyone else. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that anyone else wants to read what I write! But it starts with me.

So, a few things with little detail and in no particular order. First, yes, those who guessed (or suggested) I open the yarn advent starting on November 1 instead of waiting until December, you win, that's what I'm doing. So far there have been beautiful blues revealed and I couldn't be happier. I took a picture yesterday:

Continuing on the yarn theme, my cousin L (who is actually married to my second cousin, to be specific; they've lived in this area longer than I have) was on a trip to Germany this summer and was inspired by all the yarn stores to bring me back yarn. She was in northern Germany, and said every village had a yarn store, and the larger town she was in had three, and she simply had to bring me back some. She has often commented on my knitting photos on social media, and apparently she showed some to the woman in the yarn store, to give her an idea of the level knitter I am! Look at this bounty:

Rainbow! Cashmere!

Naturally, I want to knit her something in thanks. I picked the Clove Hitch scarf pattern, as she said a scarf for Christmas trips up north would be nice, and she said her favorite color is teal, so I'm using these two from my stash.

It's hard to see in the picture, but they are slightly lighter and darker: it won't be a huge contrast, but I like it so far. Much better pictures to come, I promise, but I have started and so far, so good.

That's all well and good, I hear you say, but don't you have any cat photos? Newman? You know, the new guy?

Do I have any photos. Ha. Boy, do I. Here are a few.

Am I This Kind of Knitter

Believe it or not, there are things going on in my life that do not revolve around a certain orange cat!

I mean, he is the highlight of my week. But far be it from me not to use this space for my regular chatter, venting, and complaining!

After a cat photo.

In knitting, it's good to know yourself, and what kind of knitter you are. (This may extrapolate to other crafts--I wouldn't be surprised if it did--but I will stick to what I know.) Do you prefer making lacy shawls? Then ignore that sale on bulky yarn. Do you make a lot of sweaters? Then don't buy that single skein of yarn, no matter how lovely. That kind of thing.

One thing that's true for me is that generally, I prefer to know what I'm getting (into). I don't want to do a mystery knit-a-long, because I may not like the project. I don't want to get a mystery grab bag of yarn, because how do I know I would like the colors? Like that.

So it is perhaps inexplicable for me to have ordered a yarn advent set. 

If you're not familiar, some yarn dyers will create a themed set that one opens from December first as a countdown to Christmas. (I believe that some people will plan to knit a bit every day, so that they have a finished object by Christmas, though goodness, that seems ambitious to me, with everything else going on in December.)

The reason I ordered it anyway is that I was beguiled by the inspiration photo that Purple Lamb put up. Are these my colors, or what?

(The image is fuzzy, but you get the idea.)

I couldn't resist. Well, I didn't resist, anyway. And the order was delivered this week. I was eager to see what the colors actually are, because I had kind of forgotten the whole point of it being an advent. I opened the box, and:

Ah, yes. Little daily boxes. Of course.

So what it comes down to is this; I have a few options.

1. Open them all now. So far I have managed not to do this, even though I want to know.
2. Wait until December 1 and do it the way you're supposed to.
   2a. Possibly give the box to a friend to hide for me until December 1.
3. Start opening them on November 1, instead.

I'm leaning toward 3, as you may have guessed. Because waiting until December?

What would you do?

More Newman

Newman is settling in well. Even the medication I have to give him for a week isn't causing him to hate me, though he isn't at all fond of the process. He's eating well, drinking water, using the litter box, sleeping a lot. Which makes sense, as they estimate he's ten, a grand age for a cat but hopefully with many happy years ahead of him.

Here he is when I first met him at the shelter, ready to accept scritches.

Riding home. He didn't love the carrier, but he was good, and far quieter than both Maggie, and Carlos before her. We even went into Petsmart to buy food, and the cashier was delighted with him.

Home and investigating.

He has a huge purr and is almost violently in love with being petted and scritched. His head-butt is a thing to be cautious of.

His claws really need to be trimmed, ouch.

How many pictures do I have of Maggie like this?

Passing behind me on the couch.

Hanging out in the office.

Here he is attempting to look innocent after he made strong and endless passes at my dinner Monday night.

"What? I've been here over 24 hours, we should be sharing."

So far, so very good!

Say Hello

Meet Newman!

It's Time to Go Cat Shopping

I am finally ready for another cat, not replacing Maggie of course, but following in her footsteps. Paw prints? Anyway, the county's adopt-a-pet org has a form to fill out, and while much of it is simply factual, contact info and the like, I was delighted by two of the questions:

Yes, I am looking for a couch potato for my library, thank you!

I don't know if it will happen this weekend, but of course you will be among the first to know. Prepare yourselves for a return to the cat-photo-heavy blog this used to be.

Trip Recap: Saturday and Sunday

Continuing from last time:

Saturday, it was time to go to the Apple Festival! For new readers, this started when I was a kid and has grown tremendously. There are rides and games, but it's mostly a craft fair, and local organizations have food tents and fundraise from it. We used to visit my grandparents that weekend most every year, and since it's near my birthday, I always connect the two in my mind. I haven't been since 2019, though, what with covid and Mom's health and the hurricane last year (eff you, Milton), so I was very excited to get to go this year.

A few things have changed since I was young, not just the overall size of the fair:

A QR code? Heavens, welcome to the 21st century. 

A sign for my potting friends:

Fun spooky mug! Off the Hill Pottery is the maker.

Are bell bottoms coming back in style? If so, why?

This picture gives the impression that there were no crowds, which ha ha no, was not the case. The calm between the tents is scenic but misleading.

There are a few permanent buildings, but mostly it's tents on grass, and the ground is uneven enough for it to be a leg workout. My aunt did go through some tents, but she also rested on benches part of the time. I don't blame her! Between the people who step in front of you, stop in front of you, and have carts and strollers and big backpacks and totes, it's an obstacle course. At least this year there hadn't been rain recently enough to make the ground soggy. It can get hazardous!

The line at the fire department's booth is always worth it. You get to watch them put potatoes into the thing and turn them into French fries.

Yum!

My mother asked me to bring home some maple syrup. I was surprised that they had three colors of Grade A; I picked the one in the middle.

Not pictured: maple hard candy and maple cotton candy!

The foliage was not at peak, sadly, but it was a beautiful day for the festival anyway.

We rode the wagon back to the parking area, and it goes past apple trees. 

Yes, some years back the organizers bought this land, which used to be an apple orchard, to be the permanent home of the festival. I remember when I was a kid, it was held "up the hill" at St Joe's, the local Catholic church. I believe it started out on the school grounds, but that's farther back than my memory goes.

We got home midafternoon and I was wiped out, and happy to read on the couch with my soon-to-be-a-memory maple cotton candy (so good). My aunt, bless her, made dinner, and when I went into the kitchen, she had the TV on, and the weather segment talked about weather at the fest!

My legs were still sore the next day, but I did go outside briefly to see what foliage I could find.

The ivy going up the barn was fairly picturesque.

There were a few red leaves on the grass.

Not to diss Florida's home styles, but I do love NY (and Massachusetts) styles more. Give me an old Victorian any day.

We went out to dinner to officially celebrate my birthday, and there as a glimpse of pretty skies where we parked.

And this nicely turning tree!

The Brae Loch Inn has a ton of character.

And on the walls, among the photos of famous people, was one I knew without having to look closer. Bobby Orr!

I don't know why he was there, but I'll take a Bruins sighting anywhere.

The food was good, the pub-style seating area scenic, although it could have used some sound dampening; the woman 10 feet away from us was talking louder than I would have needed her to talk to me, and as my aunt pointed out, she wasn't even telling good stories! The perils of going out in the world, I guess.

I have one more day of the trip to write up, the endless return travel day, as well as the what-I-bought post and I'll get to those ... sometime.