Back to work yesterday, and what a day it was. Lots of confusion and running around. It almost wasn’t worth having two days off last week. Almost. Hopefully things will be back to normal today.

And it’s pounding down rain this morning. Because we need more rain.

Cute Mouse-a-thon Photo of the Day

This adorable little kitty is Lucie, who lives with Katrin in Germany. I had to post her photo because she reminds me so much of Izzy.

And speaking of mice . . .

Yesterday’s mouse mail!

(No, I don’t use my stove for cooking, thank you very much. I consider it extra counter space. That’s why I got a smooth-top range.)

Lucy feigned indifference.

Yesterday was a great mouse mail day! Mousies received from Vanessa in Lake Placid, FL, Ingrid in Canada, Ruth in New York, NY, Kristen in Wood River Jt, RI, Kathy in Oceanside, CA, Zeila in Seattle, WA, Cheryl in Enterprise, AL, and Susan in Gallup, NM. Thanks to all of you!

I also received mousies from Kaori in Houston TX, some from Kaori personally, and some collected from several knitters in Japan — Yumi Ikarashi, Mikiko Shigeto, and Ayako Kudo. Thank you all!

I’m so excited by how many mice we’ve collected so far. I love the notes you enclose, and appreciate the extra catnip you’ve sent. And Lucy said to send her love and thanks for the tissue paper, treats, and toys.

Extreme Hedonism

I haven’t done too much work on this, but now that I’m back to commuting I’ll be back to my commuter knitting. So here it is:

Note my Yarn Cozy, the very cool holder for my ball of yarn. This was sent to me by Claire Staples, along with her mouse-a-thon mice. It’s perfect for your commuter knitting — keeps your yarn clean if you accidentally drop it on the train. If you’re interested in a yarn cosy, you can contact Claire.

Marina

Working away on the first sleeve . . . down to the cuff! Lucy has been supervising my cuff ribbing.

It’ll probably take me as long to knit the stinkin’ cuff as it did the whole sleeve!

When the President declares the area in which one lives a disaster area, it leads some people to irrational acts.

We fortunately now have water with no restrictions, and it’s even been deemed safe for drinking or washing dishes.

I’m very very lucky to have never lost electricity. It seems as though I’m in the minority in Northern Virginia.

Marina

As you can see, I did some work on Marina over the weekend.

I hate doing the sleeves. It’s so awkward having the whole sweater flopping around as you get near the end of a sleeve!

Mouse-a-thon

I’d like to thank the following people, from whom I’ve received mousies:

Tam in Columbus, IN, Martina in Sevelsbig, Germany, Lubna in Chardon, OH, Brooks in Winston-Salem, NC, Corinne in Groton, MA, Pat in Santa Rosa, CA, Judith in Greenville, RI, and Karen in Los Angeles, CA. Thank you all!

And Lucy sends a special thank you to Karen in Los Angeles, as well!

Lucy never once lost her cool during the hurricane. She was just happy to have her mommy home all day for a couple of days.

I bet quite a mess awaits me at work. We had some tight deadlines that of course were missed because of the hurricane. And I’ve got two new employees starting today and I’m not ready for that either.

So I’d best get going. And say good-bye to my diet of Black Russians and peanuts, and return to some semblance of healthy eating.

Happy Monday, all!

I’m writing this wondering if the power will stay on long enough for me to post it. Fingers are crossed.

Yesterday was a day of waiting for the storm to hit, and then wondering how much worse it would get. It’s been pretty intense at times.

Lucy had a good day. I did catch her checking out some mousies.

I caught her before she did any damage, and put the mousies in the Mouse Room.

I finished the body of Marina.

And knitted the neckband.

I did pick up stitches and start a sleeve, too. Most industrious of me, eh?

The federal government is closed again today. Not surprisingly, considering the state of things here. Wish me luck!

Today’s the day that Hurricane Isabel is supposed to hit this area. I hope I’m prepared. I:

1. refilled my prescriptions
2. got cash from the ATM
3. filled Miss Honda with gas
4. bought lots of bottled water (for me and Lucy)
5. bought lots of sodas and seltzer water
6. bought non-perishable food (for me and Lucy)
7. bought vodka and kahlua (I have my priorities straight)
8. located flashlights and battery-run radios
9. filled the bathtub with water.

et cetera.

The federal government is closed today so at least I don’t have to make the decision about whether or not to go to work. The bus and subway system is ceasing service at 11:00am last I heard, so I probably would have stayed home anyway. No transport, no workie.

I’m a little surprised at all this hoopla. But it doesn’t hurt to be prepared, eh?

Cute Mouse-a-thon Photos

Look at these cute spokesmodels! Here is Oreo:

And here is Shorty:

These little charmers live with Karen S., who has mailed some mousies. Oreo is demonstrating the nose-down mouse and Shorty has the mousie with ears. I think it was very nice of them to allow Karen to make other mice and send them out for the Mouse-a-thon.

But wait! There’s more!

Melanie in Germany has been collecting German mice for the Mouse-a-thon. And her dog Jerry, has taken very seriously his job of guarding the mice.

Speaking of meeces, I received a bunch from Melinda in Seattle, WA (and Lucy said to say thank you to Toby for the salmon treats — yum!), Kim in Portland, OR, and I got a package from Albuquerque, NM from someone who didn’t put a first name on the package, but the last name is Hardy. Thank you all! Look at the total now!!!

By the way . . .

Did I mention that I ordered the kit to knit Amphora from Virtualyarns last week? (Bats eyelashes innocently.)

Here is a photo of the yarn in the kit. Totally yummy!

Lucy, of course, had to investigate.

I did a bit on Marina last night, but spent a lot of time in hurricane preparation — ran the dishwasher, did laundry, etc. But here’s a close-up of the front neck steek:

Okay guys. If you don’t see a blog entry from me tomorrow morning, it means my power and/or cable connection are down due to the hurricane. Keep your fingers crossed!

I phoned my neighbor across the hall last night to see if she had everything she needs and to let her know I’d be here for the duration. So if things get ugly, there’s safety in numbers! She told me that her little dog is already acting edgy because of the weather. As this moment, Lucy is still as cool as a cucumber.

So think good thoughts and send postive energy for the electricity here. I’d like to be able to work on Marina through the storm, and some good light would help! Lindsey-Brooke said I need a battery-powered Ott Light!

But if I have to knit in the dark, there’s always socks.

I’ll check in from time to time in my comments, electricity and internet connection willing!

On Monday I received mousies from Karen in Denmark. With her mousies she enclosed the above photo and the following note, which I’m reproducing here with her permission:

Dear Wendy,

Best regards,
Karen

Karen, thank you for sharing your photo and dedicating your contribution to Mr. Kitty’s memory. I defy any cat lover to read the above without feeling a tear or two welling up.

And in the “Wow! Wowie, Wow, Wow!” Department . . .

I am so happy to announce that we have yet another prize donated for the Mouse-a-thon Raffle.

It’s Kongsberg!

Offered in the blue/black colorway with an accent color of red (the photo shows apple green). This prize includes the Daletta and the pattern to knit Kongsberg in up to a size medium (finished chest size 41-3/8″).

We have the very generous Betsy Kleger to thank for this prize. Thank you so much, Betsy!

Extreme Hedonism

The Furlana is knitting up into a really nice fabric. Knitting it as such a tight gauge, it gives the appearance of almost being felted. And has a soft fuzzy look that my camera can’t capture.

I bet Lucy would like a Furlana kitty bed. But she’ll settle for Marina.

I’ve got four more rounds before I start the back neck shaping — then 8 rounds after that the body is done.