Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Baby cat and another cold


Here I'm sitting at my desk with a box of tissues - again. The winter is working its wonders outside: it is snowing - again. I guess this is typical for February and March, snow starts to pile up. When the sun finally comes out, the bright, white snow drifts welcome people to dig out all the gear that is needed for the outdoor enjoyment: skies, skates, toboggans, snowshoes, snowmobiles... The life on the frozen lake has been quiet for months but just lately I have seen snowmobiles and very soon there will be skiers as well. Everybody is waiting for the sun. It has been overcast, the sky has been filled with snow, and so far we have had only few glimpses of the sun. February is the third deep winter month, it is the time when extra vitamins are in order to ease off the toll of the dark and long sunless season. I am having another cold, stuffy nose and heavy head are not great companions, but occasionally, I guess, this is unavoidable. I try not to complain.
The little, lovable cat-person has arrived, and life is like it is with little ones. As cuddly as they are, they are also a lot of work. I wonder if you are familiar with Pippi Longstocking (by Astrid Lindgren) and her ape... Mr Nilsson. For some reason Väinö reminds me of him. Väinö seems to be quite mellow, and he is building his courage to get to know the dogs better. After a few days of constant dog-watching, he now lets them come close to take a sniff and but he does not quite know how to be with them. Ruusu was trying her best this morning, trying to welcome him to play with her, she was performing all the doggy tricks, but he did not get it yet. The wagging tail is very interesting and he almost could not touch it. He made a tentative gesture towards it but then did not dare. 
(I suppose it is the mother cat who teaches kittens to hunt, don't know for sure, but in this case Väinö has to learn the sport by himself, but I am not letting him out before the warm weather comes and before he is a bit bigger and hopefully a lot wiser.)
I did make another little collar for another cup and saucer but that is almost all the creating that has happened here, if you don't count a sock that is growing very slowly. Well, not that slowly, the first one of the pair is done and the second one is well on the way. I adjusted the size little bit but did not get it quite right yet. I will need to tweak the pattern little more and then must remember to write down the instructions.

I was thinking about the crochet swatches and why they are so stretchy and not like I expected them to be. This crochet journey so far has been humbling... in a good way. I had many opinions of crochet earlier and thought that it was only some areas where you could use it, but the more I get to know of it, the more I seem to need to change my opinions and to broaden my views. This has happened to me before, the more I get to know, the more I need to adjust my opinions and eat my big words.  Anyway, the quality of the swatches depends on the yarn, on the stitch type and on the hook size. Maybe something else too? I have lately watched many videos of crochet (in Craftsy and in CraftDaily mainly), thank you for the days spent sneezing (there is always a bright side to everything). I remember when I started to learn all the cool, clever, little things about knitting; like all the many ways to cast-on or to cast-off ; I have been amazed that there are a ton of cool tricks in crochet too. Getting to know them is very inspiring.

Hope you are having a good week. Stay well!  And thank you, as always, for reading.
 
Wool with you,
Lene

12 comments:

  1. What a sweet face! Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Vaino (sorry, my computer does not have the accent marks) is so cute!! So glad he has finally come to live with you. And glad you are enjoying your crochet journey...I'm trying to not get too interested so that I do not get tempted. I loved those Pippi Longstocking books when I was a young girl - hadn't thought of them in years though. Feel better soon!!

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  3. That is one adorable baby kitty! What a sweet face. I hope he will be completely ready for his doggie friends soon.

    And feel better!

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  4. Sorry to hear you are not well, Lene, but all will be well now that you have entered the wonderful world of Burma where we have lived under the firm but kindly rule of our Burmese cat for more than 10 years. Handsome Väinö may seem a little lost right now but he is now learning how best to manage the entire household to his liking. Thank you for your wonderful blog.

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  5. All the best with the cold outside ánd inside ...)
    He is a very sweet little fellow, must be fun to see him
    grow acquainted with the dog ;-)
    (no snow here : just the first flowers !)

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  6. Your kitty is quite cute. I love the story of everyone getting to know each other and find their way. I definitely got a sense of their personalities. I hope you feel better, your tea cup looks very comforting on the collar.

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  7. Sorry to hear you're not feeling well Lene. If you're not already taking Vitamin D, might I suggest 5,000ius a day over the winter. As a holistic nutritionist, I find Vitamin D is probably the most important vitamin for the immune system and the most deficient, especially when you live north of the equator. Hope you feel better soon. Penny

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  8. Such a cute kittycat to cuddle up with in the snow...!
    We are also (finally!) getting snow in Switzerland, it's been such a weird, warm winter, 16°C the other day?!?! Now the daffodils have white coats :)
    Get well soon!

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  9. Look at that cute kitty face! Too cute for words. Hope you're feeling better soon. Colds can really get you down.

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  10. Anonymous00:16

    Lene, how is your name pronounced? I've recently discovered your website, and went back to the beginning of it and read through to the present: delightful! Thank you for letting us peek in on you, your world, your creative thought process, and the products of a creative hand. -Kate in Massachussets, USA

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  11. Hope you are feeling better soon and you enjoy that new little one as he learns to brave the dogs!
    Marie N.

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  12. Lene, I do hope you are feeling better and enjoying your darling little Väinö!

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