I don’t have a tonne of Christmas knitting planned for this year – but I do have a couple hats I want to knit. In fact, I’ve had the yarn for several years now, I’ve just never got around to knitting them.
I’ve been working pretty steadily on the first one all week – but I still don’t have much exciting to show. I’ve gotten through the ribbing, and some plain knitting, but just two rows of the colour work. The pattern – when I get through more of it – will be the Deathflake motif. It’s one of my favourite patterns to put on hats!
I’m hoping I can get through this one by the end of this week. Now that i’m on the colourwork, it should go fairly quick.
There have been some interesting things happening on the Furby front…
It seems someone in this house has gotten extremely attached. As I’ve noted before, if we are outside, Furby is generally out, hanging out with us. We started putting food out for him to make sure he was getting enough to eat.
The extra attention has made a difference. The first picture above is from June when he started hanging out with us. The second from the beginning of this month.
A couple of months ago, Dave decided Furby needed a spot to rest. So I rustled up a basket and some flannel from the collection
Then, since he spends a lot of time with Dave in the garage, he got a basket out there too…
And he certainly looks right at home there.
But with the colder weather setting in, Dave was getting worried about him at night… so next thing you know, he was on Amazon, and…
And an insulated cat house** was being delivered. Of course, he had to repaint it in our signature green so it matches the yard.
Dave, being Dave, also added some extra insulation, straw, a heated mat… and a camera….
As you can see, the inside has two rooms (the further room has the heating mat, the front room got straw)
Furby gave it a thorough inspection, but hasn’t really bothered with it since. I told Dave he’d use it when the nights got really cold. But Dave worries.
Which resulted in this happening…
Dave started letting him into the music studio***…. where he put ANOTHER food dish and cat bed. Of course, that door can’t be left open, so Furby can only make use of it when the weather is nice and Dave is around.
But Dave was still worrying. Especially when the temps dropped just below freezing the other night. And the next thing I know…
Now he’s coming in every night before we go to bed.
He still goes out again every morning – and won’t come in until bed time. But at least Dave’s knows he safe and warm
** and the money spent on the cat house won’t go to waste. Furby can still use it when it rains. There are other stray cats that may take advantage. Or there’s always this guy…
*** the really funny thing about Furby in the studio is the studio is supposed to be a no-cat zone. There’s too many speakers that can turn into scratching posts… but then he goes and lets Furby in. Talk about favoritism!
Way back at the start of the season, I planted a bunch of Dahlia tubers – Two called Cafe Au Lait, and two unnamed ones from the dollar store (one a dark purple/red, and another a bright pink).
At first, they took off pretty well (with the exception of the bright pink one) and then they just kind of stopped. They didn’t die.. but they didn’t grow either.
But as soon as the weather turned at the end of September….
The red purple one just exploded with flowers.
Cafe Au Lait grew nicely. But she just didn’t seem to want to bloom. Finally, about a week and a half ago, she put up one single bud. And I’ve been waiting…and waiting… and waiting for it to open.
Mid week, it finally did.
Was it worth the wait? Absolutely!
But…. I have to dig the darn plant up this weekend it I want to keep it for next year. Dahlias aren’t hardy here and I need to store the tubers over winter so I can enjoy her again next year. Sigh….
I think I’ll start my Dahlias indoors next year… and see if I can get the full season out of them.
In the meantime – here are my other Dahlias. These ones were bought as grown plants instead of started from tubers. They also struggled this summer, but have done better than the ones I started. But they are certainly shining now.
(Friday Felines has been pre-empted because today is a very special day)
October is my favourite month of the year. For many reasons – I love the weather, I love the colour, I love Hallowe’en. But most of all, it’s because it’s the month when I met this guy, and decided I’d keep him.
We started talking online at the start of October 2002, and then a couple weeks later, went on an official date (art gallery and dinner at Kelseys, followed by aimlessly driving around in his ’67 Bonneville). Like all couples, we’ve had our up and downs. There were a couple of times I didn’t think we’d make it.
But after 23 years (almost exactly half the time I’ve been on this earth), I can honestly say, there’s no one I’d rather have at my side as we navigate this crazy thing called life.
Two more years marks a quarter of a century together. Now doesn’t that sound grand?
I’d promised Burton some time in the studio while I was off, and you know I’d never hear the end of it id I didn’t deliver. So into the studio we went… and banged out a block for our Blockhead 6 quilt along.
This is our version of Block 5 from the quilt-along. They are up to something like Block 20 now, so we are horribly behind. I’m not too concerned, as we didn’t plan on doing all the blocks anyway.
And while Lemmy was super excited about the whole thing… Burton and I, not so much. I fear our sewing juju has deserted us.
Even seeing all our blocks together didn’t really help.
Maybe another day in the studio will get it back… there’s only one way to find out!
I had a different post planned today, but on Monday I was working away in the garden (doing some trimming for fall) when I spotted this lovely lass napping on the front window sill.
You will recall that last year, we had several of these grey tree frogs in the yard. Mostly the front garden. I assumed it was because we cut down several trees in the backyard, and they got displaced. My theory seemed proven, because up until Monday, I’d only had one other tree frog in the yard this year. And I have been checking the front gardens around the butterfly bush (where most of them were spotted last year) on a regular basis. I’ve heard them around… but haven’t seen them.
But then there she was, hiding on the window sill behind the butterfly bush. Since it was the butterfly bush I was trimming, I left her snoozing spot completely exposed.
So I relocated her to further down the bush. She’s the biggest tree frog I’ve found – and you can see by my hand – she’s not very big.
She still put a big smile on my face for the rest of the day!
Some decent progress made this weekend on the stitching front. Though I did spent A LOT of time outside in the fresh air… so I was pretty pooped when I did come in to stitch. I suspect after this weekend I’ll be be moving the hoop up again. Onwards and upwards!
In an increasingly crazy and unpredictable world, it’s easy to feel swept up in the chaos. But as the seasons turn and Thanksgiving approaches, I’m reminded of the small, steady joys that bring light and happiness into my days.
For me, a lot of that joy comes from this little corner of the internet. A space where fellow bloggers and readers gather to share the beauty of crafting, the magic of gardening, and the comfort of creativity. Each post, comment, and shared story is a reminder that there’s still so much goodness and connection to be found.
Today, I’m thankful for all of you — this community of kind, inspiring souls who make the world feel a little less overwhelming and a lot more hopeful. Here’s to the stitches, blooms, and conversations that bind us together.
Happy Thanksgiving from Me, Lord Burton Bearbottom, Lemmy Purrmister and Baron Rupert von Scrufflebutt! And thank you for sharing in our adventures! We hope you’ll join us on many more.
Yesterday was the first day of my week-long autumn vacation. I spent the majority of the day bringing the houseplants in from the catio porch. They enjoy their summer vacation, but now it’s starting to get too cold for them in the evenings. It’s a job that takes all afternoon – not just because I have a HUGE collection of house plants, but I also inspect each plant for pests, give them a clean and trim off anything dead. Some things get repotted if needed too . Unfortunately, I have several plants infested with Mealy Bugs. So that’s on the agenda today to deal with.
While I’m doing that, here’s a look at some of the fun stuff going on with my plants.
Earlier this summer, and neighbour gave me a small cube aquarium. It was too small for fish – but just perfect as a terrarium
I planted it up with some small succulents, including a couple small cuttings I started. And if you look closely, you’ll see the plants have some wee friends!
Because Dinosaurs make everything better! It’s going to be fun to watch this grow.
My bright yellow orchid is blooming again. I bought this one last year at Colasantis. I’ve never seen one so bright, before or since.
I’ve bought and murdered multiple Dragon Fruit plants over the last couple of years. I swore off them… that is unti l saw this one in it’s sweet little planter. How could I resist.
And last… I have ALWAYS wanted a Chia Pet. But have you seen how expensive they are???? So I was tickled when I found this Chia unicorn at the thrift store for only $1.49! It wasn’t the whole kit – just the unicorn. But Chia seeds are easy enough to find at the grocery store! I’ve got this guy soaking, and later today, I’ll mix up some seeds and give him a good coating.
Wandering Cat Studio 