We have reached almost two weeks with Mr. Purrmister in the house, and it’s already hard to imagine our life before him.

He had his first vet check-up on Monday, and everything went well. He weighs almost 3 lbs, and is nice and healthy. We did get sent home with de-worming meds, and some drops for ear mites, but we expected that.

He and Burton continue to be great companions. Relations with the other cats are much the same. As long as he doesn’t jump on them, they will tolerate his presence.

He’s growing fast, and finding all kinds of new ways to get into mischief. Though I think we have the plant potty problem licked.

Like all good kittens, he plays hard and sleeps hard.

He is very much an unexpected gift. And I’m so happy Dave just happened to spot him as I was driving on that cold and rainy Hallowe’en day!

And I think he is too!

The snow of last weekend has melted, but the cold remains.

As such, Rupert would like you to know that he’s gone into hibernation and he will see you all in spring.

One of my previous Leader Ender projects has been languishing for a while. You may remember the little nine patches I put together ages ago.

Well they were destined to be the centre of saw-tooth stars. I just needed to make all the star points. It required chain piecing a pile of geese, using the four at a time method.

That kind of sewing is the most efficient way to do it, but it’s definitely not the most stimulating.

That is a pile of 120 geese. They are all cut apart, I just have to iron the last point open, and trim them all up using my handy dandy Wing Clipper ruler. But I ran out of steam, so it will have to wait for another day (or several days – I may break it up into a couple mini-sessions to keep me from going crazy).

I did do four of them really quick, just so I could throw one block together.

Lemmy and Burton think this one is just stellar!!

What a difference a day can make. All those flower pictures I showed you on Saturday were taken on Friday. Overnight the temps dropped and by Saturday afternoon.

The weatherman had been calling for rain, but the temperature dropped more than they said, and it came down as snow. Wet, heavy snow. It snowed all Saturday afternoon.

As much as I love my flowers, I do love a good snow. The world is so pretty when the snow is fresh and new, so I took a walk.

Here’s a little side-by-side – Friday to Saturday.

It was a little odd seeing winter all over what was left of fall, but…

Those who put up their Christmas decorations early looked much less out of place!

Snow or no snow, holly is the only Christmas decoration you’ll see at my house at least until December 1st.

Whenever I had a moment this weekend, I’ve put it towards working on Dad’s Christmas sweater. Of course, that meant sitting in the recliner, so I frequently had help.

Some of it more helpful than the other. I’ll leave you to guess which was which.

I’m a few inches further along than this picture shows. But as you can see, I’ve divided for the sleeves and body. Now it’s just a whole lot of knitting round and round and round forever.

And maybe even longer if this one gets his way.

While I’ve been working on my other quilting projects, I have, of course, been working on my current Leader/Ender project. In fact, I blasted through all the pieces I’d put together and ended up with 16 blocks.

As you can see, that’s not much of a quilt. I’m going to need a lot more blocks before we can start putting this one together. It’s a good thing I have a lot of scraps! This one is going to be wild.

Just as Lemmy is the learning the ropes of our household, we’re learning about him..

One of his quirks has been apparent from the very start. Lemmy watches TV. Now Rupert will occasionally show interest in what’s on the screen (especially if he hears birds). But Lemmy watches it a lot.

He does seem to prefer nature shows, but if something catches his eye on the screen, he’ll sit and watch for several minutes until something else grabs his attention. As I type this, he’s laying on the back of the couch, watching a snow leopard chase a wolf off from her kill.

And while his is a total little love bug, it’s very clear that it’s all on his terms. If you try and pick him up or hold him when he’d rather be doing something else, you’re not going to hold on to him long.

And speaking of picking up…

He doesn’t mind being picked up, and sometimes even demands it. But when you do, you can’t carry him around… or hold him in place.

He prefers you stand in place, and hold you arm up so he can sit on it comfortably. I can pick Burton up and carry him around the house like a baby. That’s not going to be happening with Lemmy.

But when he does want to snuggle, you better be ready.

He purrs non-stop and prefers to pretend he’s your scarf.

In typical kitten fashion, he plays fast and furious. It doesn’t matter how many times I pick up his toys and put them away – it doesn’t take long for them to be scattered all over the floor again.

But his favourite toy by far is Burton.

And Burton seems to be enjoying it just as much. These two wrestle constantly, and it’s hilarious/

Relations with the other two cats are going at a much slower pace. Not helped by the fact that since Burton lets Lemmy jump on him, that Lemmy thinks he can do it with the other two.

Still, when he’s calm, they think he’s tolerable.

One thing that impressed Dave was that Lemmy took to the scratching post and cardboard scratchers right away.

He hasn’t once tried to scratch the couch or my recliner (or the walls, like Rupert occasionally does!) He has proved a little more stubborn when it comes to pooping in my houseplants though…

I tried cutting window screen inserts to deter him, but he just pulled them out. So when Dave and I were at Home Depot on Friday, I grabbed a bag of slate rocks from the garden centre. They are the large size slate you’d use in a flower bed, so hopefully that will keep him at bay. He has no problem using the litter box otherwise… it’s just if he’s close to a plant when he’s gotta go, that’s where he goes.

It’s only been two weeks, but we are absolutely smitten with the little nugget. And he seems pretty happy here too.

Well, the weather men were right, the mild temps held all week. Here’s a gallery of everything still in bloom.

There are still a few things trying to bloom…

Chrysler Imperial Rose, Blue Delphinium, and a native Black-Eyed Susan are all budding up in the warmth and sun. But sadly, after today, there won’t be much warmth. The cold front is on its way in and temps are supposed to return to comeihgn more seasonal.

But…

… my Burning Bush is finally starting to look a little fiery!!!

Since it Friday Felines AND Remembrance Day, it’s only appropriate to share the story of Simon

Simon was awarded a Dickin Medal, the highest British honor awarded for animal displays of bravery in battle. You can read his story here.

And there’s Tiddles:

Who was born at sea and logged more than 30,000 sea miles with British Royal Navy.

Don’t forget Pincher…

To the men, women and cats who served and continue to do so… we at Chez Wandering cat salute you! Lest we forget

With my pumpkins finally knit, it’s time to turn my attention back to Dad’s Christmas sweater. When I last left it, I had finished the raglan increases and needed to knit a few more inches before dividing for the sleeves and body.

Well – despite working on it for a couple of evenings, I still have a few inches to go before I can split. And yes, Lemmy is the main culprit.

Evenings are prime play time for the wee rascal, and knitting is VERY exciting to him right now. The rounds are long, and they are even longer when you have to untangle a ginger puss from the yarn every few stitches or so.

I’m hoping by the start of the weekend, I’ll have the split done, and be able to make some good headway on the body before next week.