Brief Gripes; Parts of Maggie

Last night, I got home after a knitting meetup to find that the cable TV wasn't working, and I wasn't able to get it going, nor to get through to them on the phone (I was on hold for an hour and a quarter before I gave up). We were planning to watch last night's game tonight anyway, as it was an 8:30 start, but it was still very frustrating, especially as last night's game was on NHL Network, so I wasn't sure we'd be able to access it today.

This morning I called in again, and while I was on hold, I tried unplugging different things until I found the one* that, once unplugged and plugged back in, reset what it needed. No thanks to the cable company! They suck so much, but don't they all? Why do they all? Some "service providers" they are.

*So Many Mysterious Black Boxes with Flashing Lights

Anyway, I got it straight (pats myself on the back) in time to record the replay of last night's game, so we should be able to watch that tonight (and then we'll watch tonight's 9PM start tomorrow night; I'll be so glad when they're back in this time zone).

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I went to weigh some yarn today and my little scale would not turn on, nor did putting in new batteries make a difference. It died! Why, I've only had it since ... (checks email) 2010, really? Well, I guess that's a good run for it, then. I've ordered a new one; my kind of knitter (or other yarn crafter) will understand, I can't do without one.

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This morning, Maggie was really enjoying the lap time.

Which gave me time to focus in on smaller areas. Tucked paws under tail:

Stretch out that foot!

Tail in a triangle?

Toe beans.

Belly floof.

I was glad to have a blanket over my foot, so she was gripping that with her claws, and not my bare skin, as she sometimes does.

My joints* don't love it when she pins me down for long, but the view sure is cute.

*Not to mention my bladder, after an hour or two

Maggie’s Weekend

Here’s a post for Maggie’s fan club! Her highness has had a weekend of many laps. It has been good. (I don’t want to go back to work tomorrow.)

Tired Report; Somehow, a Bit More Yarn

Y'all, I am still so tired. 

The chiropractor suggested yesterday that maybe I caught a bug on the way home and my immune system is busy fighting it off. I don't have any symptoms per se, other than a slight tickle in my throat and the all-encompassing weariness (and I did take at-home covid tests Sunday and again today, both of which were negative, fwiw). I've been home for two weeks; I want to get past this already. 

At least I get a three-day weekend now; thanks, Presidents Day.

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Now, about the yarn: no, I did not buy any yarn! After my recent tremendous windfall, well, I'm not going to say it will be a long time before I buy any, because that would be tempting fate, but it would take either an unreal sale or the most me yarn ever to tempt me. I want to go through the yarn I kept from that haul again; I feel like with the intervening trip, I've forgotten what I kept!

However. On the Friday morning, when I got back from the trip and was sitting on the lanai in a post-red-eye daze, my mother said that a friend from the charity shop was going to be stopping by that day to drop off a bag of yarn for me. I kind of blinked and said okay, and shortly thereafter went to "lie down for a minute" and napped for an hour or more. When I got up, the yarn was there.

It would have been sensible to leave it for another day, but of course I had to go poking through it on Friday, and I kept some (of course).

Not much, at least compared to the previous haul, but some fun happy things to play with. And the rest has gone to other knitters, to do some good and spread some fun.

We had the cleaners in yesterday, so I wanted to get the bags and piles of yarn put away. I had pulled all the project bags off the shelves I told you about, so I went ahead and piled the yarn in the open space. 

This is the rest of the weight class.

I want to take alllllll the fingering-weight yarn down sometime, spread it out, and sort through it, but for now, it's off the floor, which is a surprising relief. Between the yarn windfall and packing/unpacking, not much floor has been visible lately. The room looks much bigger now. And for a klutz like me, it's safer! (It's still a mess in spots, but less so on the floor; take what progress I can manage.)

I haven't figured out how to organize the project bags yet, but as the shelves were not working out well for that, it made sense to pull them out now anyway, and let the yarn expand. I'll have to figure out something for the bags, but that can wait. 

Although, if anyone wants to talk about how you organize your project bags, feel free! No detail too small.

Hawaii, Day Post-Two: CA to FL, and Home

The end of the trip at last! Many, many cat photos from the last day.

I was flying out at night, so I spent the day at my brother's; he was working, but had time to chat between calls.

The cats continued their luggage supervision tasks. What, like having a bath on top of a suitcase doesn't count?

Baths were also had on the airbed.

I spent the day on the couch, mostly, trying to lure a cat onto my lap. Not just because I like cats, but because:

Have I mentioned that my brother's house doesn't have heat? Yeah. Kind of nippy in there. (He's been trying to get it put in for a few years now, can't get a contractor to call him back.)

He gave me a space heater for overnight, and there is a room heater in the living room, seen in the background here, and it did help! But, you know, couldn't call it tropical in there.

Full of cute, though!

Half-deflated airbed, or feline trampoline? Tomayto, tomahto.

Cat on floating shelf in living room, washing.

Strike a pose.

So good at that.

Judging me.

Success! Cat napping on lap!

I was amused to see my brother has kept this memento from a long-ago game we went to. 

I just looked it up: it was in 1988! My, how time flies.

I'm not the only bookworm in my family.

Himself deigned to consider getting on my lap.

But only stayed briefly.

The chair is more comfortable, apparently.

Cats will be cats.

Later he came along and settled next to my legs. 

Then one of the littles came back for a bath and another nap on the lap.

Another floating-shelf bath.

Stretching out.

Conked out!

Nice tail curl.

"Are you still here?"

From the back, with her ears being a different color than the top of her head, she looks kind of like she's wearing a wig.

Lick.

Looking thoughtful.

The babies on the back of the desk, supervising Dad at work.

Stretching out, lap-adjacent.

A suitcase makes a nice bed.

Lap again, yay.

Enjoying a chin scritch.

"Is this still here?"

After work ended, we gathered up my things and took the bus to the Bart station, where my brother pointed me to where to go: take that escalator, it goes all the way down, and get the train that says SFO. Easy!

Getting around the airport wasn't quite so easy--it's so big, and I was so tired--but eventually, I was on the plane and heading out. Another full flight, unfortunately, and as I mentioned in the re-entry summary, I had trouble sleeping. But all things end, and eventually, we were flying in to Lauderdale as the sun was thinking about rising.

And once I was home again, Maggie conducted the final suitcase inspection of the trip.

Home!