This Christmas I was broke, so I tried to make most of my gifts. (I'll blog more about those other gifts later.) But my back and neck were hurting, so I was limited in what I could do. I pushed myself really hard to finish everything on time, but I had to give up before I finished two of my gifts. I ended up hurting really badly Christmas Eve anyway.
So while I was house sitting I finished up the last two gifts. One gift involved downloading, organizing and burning CD's of all the pictures Mom and Dad have taken since 2006. The other gift was Foo-Foo.
Foo-Foo on the bookshelf with the shells.
Foo-Foo decided to explore the house after I finished her. The first picture was her with the surprising realistic looking apples. The picture above is her with some shells on a bookshelf. The homeowners have all sorts wonderful little details for her to explore.
Foo-Foo by the decorative plate on the mantel.
Foo-Foo was a gift for Dad in honor of Bunny Foo-Foo* and to thank him for all the ways he helped me with her. Dad and Bunny Foo-Foo were very close. When Bunny Foo-Foo was at home, Dad would share tortilla chips with her, so Foo-Foo came with a bag of tortilla chips.
The Knitted Bunny is pretty cool. You knit a perfect square, fold it like origami and sew it up. Of course, my square wasn't perfectly square, and I was impatient with the measurements, so I had to fudge sewing the legs a little bit. That is probably why she has a pinhead and a big butt.
(I realized after she was done that there was measuring tape in my bag.)
Foo-Foo on top of the world!
The ears are the only part knit separately from the main square. I knit them using "Barbara White's Ears Variation, " which is listed on the pattern's website. You end up with a line of stockinette stitches going up the ear to help them stand up. Mine are still a bit on the floppy side. Also, they were a little big for the head, so I sewed them so they overlapped.
Foo-Foo on the piano.
Foo-Foo's eyes are black pony beads I had in my craft stash. The original bunny doesn't have eyes, but I thought she needed some. The sewing is a little chunky so the eyes bug out a bit. I also "borrowed" a cotton ball from the homeowners for the tail.
Foo-Foo in the flowers.
There is an entire set of pictures of Foo-Foo here, including more adventures and closer looks at some of the details. I hope you check them out. They're lots of fun.
Dad with Foo-Foo.
Now that Dad has Foo-Foo, she is probably done traveling. She's in his office, watching over everyone. I may make another Knitted Bunny for myself just for some Flat Stanley style traveling.
* - If you're confused, Bunny Foo-Foo was the real bunny. The stuffed bunny is simply named "Foo-Foo."
Based on this picture, you may be expecting me to wax poetic on the loss of Bunny Foo-Foo. In reality, my main goal today is to brag about how well her grave marker came out.
I made a point of talking over the details of BFF's burial with Mom and Dad while she still had some time left. I didn't want to have to think about the details after she was gone. Among other things, I decided to paint a rock to use as a headstone. I suggested that we lay the rock on top of her grave, rather than trying to dig a hole for it so it would actually be in the ground and somewhat permanently placed. That way Dad can pick it up and move it when he mows the lawn.
I must say, I came up with a great solution. It was inexpensive to make (less than $7 for all the supplies), but still high quality and able to withstand the elements. It's definitely a noticeable landmark, but it doesn't overwhelm the yard. It's a respectful memorial, but it's got a little color and personality to it.
The rock came from Jules. He was always picking up rocks and seashells everywhere he went. It's driving me nuts now because I keep finding rocks and seashells all over my apartment. However, I'm glad he picked up this heart-shaped rock that was the perfect size for a grave marker. I was ready to get rid of it before Bunny Foo-Foo's diagnosis. Luckily, I never got around to it.
I did some research on rock painting and came across Pet A Rock, a site by Patty Donathan with some great advice and tutorials. Her tutorials are kind of like the patterns some knitters and crocheters sell. There's a few freebies on her site and some tutorials that can be downloaded for a small fee, as well as an e-Book with more tips on the craft. Rock painting is more popular than I realized. My project was very simple, but many rock painters do much more elaborate designs. Patty paints a lot of rocks with detailed pictures of dogs and cats.
Patty recommends "any craft, water-based, acrylic paint" for painting rocks. I went to Jo-Ann and got some two ounce bottles of Apple Barrel Paint for 89 cents each. I got the regular paint, not the gloss, the stuff with glitter, the stuff for wood, etc.
I had a hard time choosing colors. I ended up calling Mom and Dad from Jo-Ann. Dad thought of green because many of her favorite foods are green, and that seemed right to me. Mom suggested pink because it just somehow felt right, and I agreed with her too. But I couldn't find a shade of pink I liked. Dad also suggested other colors representing her favorite foods, like the light yellow tortilla chips he fed her* or orange carrots. I thought of red because she loved apples. I finally settled on "20598 Green Clover" and "20784 Red Apple." At first I didn't want to use Christmas colors, but I decided it didn't matter. And the names of the colors sold me, as it often happens when I buy yarn.
I bought some basic paintbrushes for less than $2. I considered using a paint pen instead of painting the letters, but the tips of the paint pens were too thin. The writing wouldn't have shown up.
When I got home, I practiced painting on paper first. I realized pretty quickly that the paintbrushes I bought weren't going to cut it. I couldn't control them enough to write legibly. I ended up using Q-tips instead.
Then I got another one of Jules' rocks and made a test rock.
'Nuff said.
Then it was time for the real deal. I washed off the rock and let it dry. Then I applied two coats of the Green Clover paint with a sponge brush. I made sure the first coat was dry before I put on the second. That didn't take very long.
Once the second coat of green was dry, I penciled in the text. I was very careful and accounted for the fact that the paint would be thicker. I was able to erase and rewrite a couple of the letters that were a little wonky.
And then came the part that I'm especially proud of. My regular handwriting isn't very neat, so trying to write on the surface of a rock with paint and a Q-tip was especially challenging for me. I went very slowly, and for the most part used little dabbing motions. I basically did one coat with the Red Apple, although I made it thick, and did go back and touch up some of the letters.
Once the red dried, I applied three coats of varnish, because according to the bottle, you should use three coats minimum if the item is going to be outside. The varnish was the consistency of water, so I'd pour a little on, then spread it with the sponge brush. It dried quickly between coats.
I'm very happy with the results, and I think it's going to hold up well.
I'm going to leave you with a clip from Watership Down. It's the ending of the movie, so consider this your spoiler alert. (Although it doesn't really give away any of the rest of the plot.) And it's that strange combo of sad and uplifting that will make you cry. It's brought me a lot of comfort in these last few weeks.
*Disclaimer - You really shouldn't feed your rabbit tortilla chips or other "human" foods (Or many of the commercially available rabbit treats while we're at it.) More details here.
I meant to post about Bunny Foo-Foo a long time ago, but I'd been avoiding it. But I know it will help me move on to blog it.
We lost Bunny Foo-Foo yesterday.
A little more than a month ago, I noticed Bunny Foo-Foo had this strange bald spot on her left hind leg. When I picked her up to take a closer look, I realized there was a giant knot on her leg. I was worried it was broken, but I couldn't afford the after hours vet. She didn't seem to be in distress, so I waited until first thing in the morning.
The vet said it was tumor. Cancer.
At the point she was diagnosed it was possible leg amputation might have saved her. It depended on whether or not the cancer had spread. But I couldn't afford amputation surgery. (Still unemployed.) Even if I had the money, should I really put a nine year-old rabbit through amputation surgery? I know they adapt well after an amputation, so I might have made a last ditch effort to find the money if she were younger. But she already had a swollen lymph node and "quiet lungs," according to the vet. Because I couldn't afford surgery, I skipped the testing and x-rays that would have determined if the cancer had spread. But I suspect it was already too late.
We made the most of our time left together. We had a Bunniversary Party on Labor Day. My family came. I made Taco Soup for the humans and Bunny Biscuits for Bunny Foo-Foo. We talked and played board games and the bunny came out so we could all pet her. And we took "family pictures."
(I don't know how to use the camera timer, so we took another picture with Aaron.)
It was right before Labor Day in 2001 when the Evil Roommates found Bunny Foo-Foo.
In 2001, I was getting back to college after taking a year off. I had just transferred to Texas State, and I had just moved into off-campus student housing in San Marcos. I ended up three people I would eventually dub The Evil Roommates.
One evening the Evil Roommates and a couple of people from a neighboring apartment came in with two baby rabbits with agouti colored fur. They proposed that each apartment take one of the rabbits.
At first I was concerned because I thought they might be wild rabbits. Eventually I heard that they had belonged to someone else in the apartment complex. He'd let them run around on his patio, and they'd escaped. He didn't care about getting them back because they "were only $5." (Sometimes I wonder if the Evil Roommates made this up so I'd shut up about the wild rabbit thing. Either way, she was domesticated pretty quickly.)
For the record, I sort of named her. We had a big meeting on what to name her. Eventually they came up with "Akira." Nothing against fans of the anime, but I thought this wasn't a very good name for a rabbit, but it wasn't worth arguing about.
However, I never witnessed anyone call her Akira. Every time they passed her they would say "Hey Bunny Foo-Foo."
The Evil Roommates had intended to keep her in a storage tub with slats cut in the lid. I was the one that ordered a cage on eBay, read up on rabbit care, bought her proper rabbit food and got her spayed.
By the time I took her to the vet to get spayed, the Evil Roommates had lost interest. She was mine and she'd been Bunny Foo-Foo in my mind for a while. So I put it on her paperwork and made it official.
You can probably guess by my nickname that the Evil Roommates and I didn't get along. (Never go potluck roommates.) When the bunny went through her "teenage years", they were done with her, and wanted to release back into "the wild" (aka the grounds of our apartment complex.) I was done with them, so I told them if they'd help me get out of my lease we'd both be gone.
I have no idea what happened to Bunny Foo-Foo's sister.
I attempted to hide her in my dorm. That lasted less than 24 hours. She and the ginormous cage I built for her stayed with Mom and Dad until I graduated. I came home every weekend to see her and clean her cage.
She went to Florida with me by car. It was just the two of us. Every time Mom brought up something about how I'd be alone on the road, I'd tell I wasn't going to be alone. The bunny would be with me.
This is a picture of her in a Motel 6 on the way there. I think this was Tallahassee.
We had a lot of fun in Florida, but there were some tough periods, especially in 2006. I know I didn't always give her the attention she deserved or kept her cage as clean as it should have been. But she was always there. And she would lick away my tears.
Eventually we drove back to Texas together. I've talked a lot about my last few years with her on this blog.
(I'm glad she decided to stick her nose in this picture.)
Over the last few weeks I've watched her gradually deteriorate. The tumor got bigger. She got tired more often. She got more and more "sideways", since the tumor threw her balance off. She lost the use of her left hind leg completely. (I can see how bunnies can adapt to amputation now. Even when she wasn't using her bad leg, she still managed to get around.) She slept more. Eventually, I think she started falling asleep standing up.
Before the diagnosis, I had posted some pictures of her hanging out in her litter box on Facebook because I thought it was funny. Dad said she was in there because she wanted to lie on a soft surface. He bought her a pet bed. After the vet visit, I put towels in all her favorite bunny spots and over most of the cage floor. The vet said the tumor probably started to grow right before she started seeking soft surfaces.
Her pain medicine made her do weird things in her sleep. It scared me before other bunny owners and the vet explained that she was just dreaming. Some bunny owners told me their bunnies twitched in their sleep all the time.
I went to a House Rabbit Resource Network spa day, where I learned that Bunny Foo-Foo loved parsley and cilantro and that I could put diaper cream on her tumor to keep the skin from getting dry and flaky. It kept losing fur as it grew.
Eventually I had a routine at night where I turned her over in my arms, used one finger to rub Desitin on her tumor,used another finger to put Neosporin on the scabs on her tumor, made sure her butt was clean, gave her pain meds, put her back down and gave her a treat. Once we got the news, we quit worrying about her weight. It was nice because after she got mad at me for making her take her medicine, she would come back to me for her treat and some petting.
The end wasn't what I had expected. I had braced my self for incontinence and loss of mobility. I watched her carefully to see how she felt. I had been looking at The Three A's, Appetite, Affection and Attitude. Yesterday, she was eating, pooping (that's important) and coming to see me when I passed the cage. But when she came to see me she started breathing really hard. She'd been gradually breathing harder and faster, but this was different. She would calm down, eat some hay, drink her water and lay around. She wasn't lying in her bed. I think she didn't have enough room to sprawl out.
It was the look on her face. She wasn't having fun anymore.
I find my self wondering if it was too soon. Although I wanted to keep her, I just wanted the whole thing to be over with. I don't think she was truly suffering yet. Then I remember the whole point of euthanasia was for her not to experience that suffering.
Mom picked me up and Dad met us at the vet. I wasn't quite sure if this was "it" until we got her on the vet table and we didn't try to struggle or hop away. The vet said he thought it was a good decision.
I'm not going to go into too much detail about the event itself. It took longer than I expected and there were a few effects I didn't expect. Mom, Dad and I stood with her and pet her during the whole process.
The staff at Westgate Pet and Bird Hospital is great. They made a point of giving us plenty of time, having us pay ahead of time so we didn't have to stop on the way out, letting me carry her into the back room and giving us a room where we could be alone with her for a while before we left.
This is weird, but I have to mention this. After it was over, I asked Mom and Dad to leave for a minute so I could be alone with her. They had swaddled her in a blanket, but I wanted to take her out of the blanket and hold her one last time.
Strange things happen to your body when you die. Everything relaxes. Including your bladder.
When I put her back down, I realized Bunny Foo-Foo had peed on me.
I was glad. You have to laugh. She made some trouble one last time.
We buried Bunny Foo-Foo in the backyard at Mom and Dad's house, under the Pecan tree. I plan to put a small marker there and have more of a "memorial" for her later.
When I was growing up, I wanted a rabbit. I used to read The Little Rabbit over and over again. The book was about a white rabbit named Buttercup and her seven babies who were named after days of the week. I tried to convince my parents to get me a rabbit like Buttercup, but they said a bunny would be too much trouble, especially the large hutch the rabbit would require.
I got my Buttercup, and it was worth all the trouble.
1. I'm approaching the halfway point on the Tapestry Cowl. However, it hasn't seen much action recently because...
2. I've been swatchingmy KnitPicks yarn for Decimal. The swatches above are, from left to right,CotLin, Merino Style and Shine Sport. I haven't broken into the Gloss yet. I don't have official measurements, but it doesn't look like I won't make gauge with the Merino Style. The CotLin may be hard to make gauge. Right now I'm using a US Size 1 with the CotLin, and it just doesn't feel good. Shine Sport seems more promising.
3. I have a new screen on my bedroom window, and there hasn't been any flies since last week.
4. After nearly eight years, I decided it was time to get the bunny some new stuff. Her water bottle has been leaking for years, and either her litter box is leaking, or she's hanging her butt over the side. So I put in an order to Bunny Bytes and it came in today. The litter box was bigger than I expected, but I think she needs it. I also got her a toy as a treat.
5. Bunny Foo-Foo is cute.
6. Tonight is my CPAP titration study, where they'll help me get fitted with my CPAP while I sleep. I'm excited because I'm looking forward to sleeping better. Still, I suspect it will be a long night.
7. Here's my parting shot - a little OPP (Other People's Projects.) This is Carrie, and apparently she is the Noro Queen. I loved her "fake isle" sweater. (Not to mention the NoroClapotis she's holding.)
I'm making steady progress on the Tapestry Cowl. I'm enjoying it, but I need to "activate" another project that requires less concentration. It's not a very good knit for waiting rooms. (Unless you're going to be waiting for hours, which hasn't happened. Yet.) It also isn't very good for talking with other people or watching TV.
Medical Crap
I think I've been spending too much time in my head with my medical crap. My family doctor said the sedimentation rate I talked about on Friday was something they'd watch, but probably doesn't mean anything. He also had me add iron supplements to my regimen, but that should be temporary. Now I'm just going to focus on my sleep study this Friday and getting on with my life. I'm making myself depressed.
I got this nifty little pill minder today to keep track of all my medications and supplements. The individual containers slide apart so you can carry one day of pills at a time. Sweet!
Crockpot
I have managed to stay on track with my crockpot. It's saved me a lot of money which I need, because I keep spending money on supplements.
This is the Brown Sugar Chicken I made earlier this week. Stephanie said her kids called it "Candy Chicken." It tasted more like a vinegary teriyaki when I made it. Most of the brown sugar slid off the chicken in the pot. Still, it was a pretty decent meal.
I don't blog about all my crockpot meals, but I take pictures of most of them. I created a Flickr Set that I plan to keep updating if you really want to follow what I'm making.
Parting Shot
Bunny Foo-Foo decided to try to get into the new bag of hay, rather than eat what she already has. Rather than stop her, I decided it would make a good picture.
A while back I mentioned that the bunny would need her teeth trimmed soon. Well, yesterday I got a call from the vet's office confirming my appointment for today. I vaguely remembered scheduling it for January, but I didn't remember the day. I had to make last minute arrangements to take Bunny Foo-Foo to Mom and Dad's house. Dad took her in first thing this morning, and she's resting comfortably at Mom and Dad's house tonight. (We decided to wait a day before making her ride in the car all the way back to my house. She hates riding in the car.)
When I made the appointment, I was thinking that I would have recovered financially from the holidays by that point. I was wrong. (I made the appointment before I went to the hospital.)
Speaking of the hospital, I mentioned here that they had found a nodule on my thyroid. After much back and forth with my doctor and the hospital, I finally got the results of the ultrasound of my neck that they did at the hospital. And the results were that they need more tests.
I thought we'd know the results based on the ultrasound. But all the ultrasound showed was that there was a 1.4 centimeter nodule. It wasn't someone else's finger on the cat scan or a Junior Mint.
So now I have to see an endocrinologist, who will more than likely do a needle biopsy of the nodule. At least my FSA rolled over, but I've still met my maximum out of pocket. Yay?
The good news is that they still think that it's nothing.
And speaking of medical stuff...
I managed to stab my self with a pair of scissors last night. And it hurt a lot.
I was trying to close a pair of folding scissors like these, and something slipped. I managed to stab myself just below the thumb on both hands. It didn't break the skin on the left hand, but it bruised both sides. This is my right hand 24 hours later. There was actually a bump last night, but it's gone now. It still hurts, though.
Tonight I finished one of Jules' Gloves and started the other. These things are huge! The good news is that one of my coworkers tried it on in the break room, and it fit him. So it's possible that they'll actually fit Jules.
In August, I took Bunny Foo-Foo to the vet for "poopy butt". Before Thanksgiving, I had to take her back to the vet because her respiratory came back.
According to the vet, she's lost about half a kilogram since I took this picture. Dad is convinced she's starving, but the vet said she is at a healthy weight. Now she can hop up on the coffee table again. I discovered this a couple of days before I took the picture above. I walked in from the bedroom, and she stared it me with the guiltiest look. I wish I had a camera at that moment.
After talking with the vet, I decided doing a nasal culture was worth the money. I'd be throwing money away if I gave her the same antibiotic and it came back yet again. The culture cost about $90. The whole visit cost about $160.
I'm really happy with Westgate Pet and Bird Clinic. They have lots of experience with rabbits, and they're open on Saturday.
I took her the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the vet said they'd probably have the results on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. When they didn't call before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, I assumed I'd have to wait until after the holiday.
But the vet called me at 9:30 Wednesday night, after getting out of surgery for the day, to tell me the results. I was very impressed. And Thursday, I found a voicemail from early that morning. They had left the antibiotic with an ice pack on the back door. (I didn't get the medication until Friday because I didn't get the message until late Thursday night.)
It turns out that I made the right call on the culture. She didn't have Pasteurella after all. She has Klebsiella. (I'm not sure if I got the name right.)
The antibiotics were only another $20. The bad news is that she needs her teeth trimmed. I scheduled an appointment for that in January. It's going to cost about $250, since they will put her to sleep for the procedure. The price includes a blood test, which is recommended for older rabbits. They explained all the costs to me in detail, and they make sense.
If you're keeping track, that's about $430 in vet expenses. I may be able to get vet insurance, but it won't cover pre-existing conditions. *Sigh*
Flickr is finally working for me, and I have some more WIPs for you.
On Friday I started stringing beads onto my yarn for the Odessa hat. (The pattern is available on Ravelry.)
I had trouble finding a needle with the right size eye, so I used the flossers I have to get around my metal retainer to string them on. (They glued one on after I had my braces off, and more than ten years later, I still have it on.) It took a while, but I got about 150 beads on the yarn.
Here's where I am now. I'm done with the ribbing, and it's time to start the pattern. I'm hoping I have the gauge right. It's always hard to tell until you get going. It looks pretty good now, but I'm prepared to frog the hold thing if I have to.
There's more to come. For now, here's Bunny Foo-Foo chewing on the tag on my knitting bag.
Today I took Bunny Foo-Foo to vet. The diagnosis? She's too fat to clean herself properly. (And her Pasteurella is acting up.)
Yeah, she knows how to get treats out of us.
The vet took her in the back and cleaned her poopy butt and trimmed the fur around it. She's gained weight since I took her to the vet in Spring 2007.
The vet said I need to quit giving her treats, which probably means I need to put her in her cage when I eat. (That's when she begs, or just jumps in my lap to go after the food herself.) I also need to cut her down to only two tablespoons of pellets. I might switch to Oxbow Hay as well, although she seems perfectly happy with the Kaytee Hay.
I also have to give her antibiotics for the Pasteurella for 30 days. That means I'll have to bunny wrestle every morning before for work for the next month.
The good news is that the vet thinks her teeth don't need to be trimmed. This is good, because a teeth trim would have required going under general anesthesia. (And it would have been expensive.)
The damage?
$114.80. That's $57.50 for the exam and $57.30 for the Baytril. *sigh* We talked about doing a "wellness" blood test, but that would have doubled the cost. I'll do it if things don't clear up on their own.
OPP
Are you ready for OPP? (Other People's Projects)
After the vet, I set up BFF at Mom and Dad's for the afternoon. We had lunch, and I saw Mom's WIP.
Mom is still working on BYOB. She had to use a really small needle to get the gauge, now the middle is a little tight. However, it will probably grow once she actually puts stuff in the bag.
Mom's also open to advice on weaving in the ends. She's using Lion Brand Cotton-Ease, and the ends are coming unraveled. Later on I'm going to see what Amy Singer says.
After talking about Bunny Foo-Foo's "affliction" yesterday, I thought it was ironic when I came across this video tonight.
I was amazed by the video, mainly because if I put Bunny Foo-Foo on a course like that, she'd be more likely to chew on the hurdles rather than jump them. She has a mind of her own.
It's occurred to me recently that Bunny Foo-Foo is becoming an old woman. She's about seven years old now. I don't know how hard it is to teach a old bunny new tricks, but I think it's time to work on number 72 on my list and clicker train her. I think we need some bonding time anyway.
I know she's smart enough to learn. I think she's too smart, if anything. She knows how to get her way. She recognizes her name, but she's more likely to come running at the sound of a bag of chips.
First I need to find that clicker I bought a couple of years ago when I first got the idea. Then...I need to figure out what to do next. (I wonder if this book is any good.)
I have a vet appointment for her in a couple of weeks. After we fix her butt, I'll get started. I doubt she'll be jumping hurdles, but I'm sure I can teach her some good stuff.
Here are some things that sucked about this weekend.
Cleaning Sucks
I put the blog on hold in an attempt to try the "Jules Method" of cleaning. Jules likes to clean, and do most other unpleasant activities, all at once. I spread them out in small doses. He often says we can clean my apartment in one day if we commit to it. I say no, because that day will never come. I think I need a year. At least.
But this weekend I was going to work on my dining room. I use "dining room" loosely. It's not a room, just the corner where the kitchen and the living room meet. And I've never dined in there.
And the fact that I've never eaten there is why I want to clean it. I think I can make better use of the space, rather than just putting a fold out table in the middle and calling it a dining room. I could move the bunny cage around and store a few things. in there.
But I didn't actually do any of this.
Bunny Poop Sucks
Bunny Foo-Foo has a problem. It's called "Poopy Butt". (Or at least that's the scientific name.) It's exactly what it sounds like. And besides being gross, it's going to warrant a trip to the vet.
And I'm not even going to go into cleaning it here.
The IRS Sucks
After multiple tries, I finally got through to the IRS about the stimulus I should have received almost two months ago. If I'm lucky, I'll get a replacement check in 4-6 weeks. If I'm not lucky, they'll discover that someone else already cashed my check, I'll get papers to open an investigation in 4-6 weeks.
I had that money earmarked for the dentist and to meet my deductible, both of which I've already done. I'm debating whether to put it in savings, or pay off debt.
Heat Sucks
It's been in the triple digits all weekend. I spent a good chunk of my weekend napping in the AC. Saturday I decided to go to the pool, but it was locked. At 2 p.m. on a Saturday. What's that about?
I did go visit friends Saturday night. I swear I burned my finger typing in the entry code at the gate to their apartment.
Running Out of Yarn Sucks
Alpaca with a Twist's "Big Baby" is awesome. The Jute Rope pattern is awesome. (Scroll down.) Together, they make an awesome project when you're in a funk.
What sucks is that the two skeins I have will make for a really short scarf. And I realized this after I had knit through an entire skein. I think I'm going to frog it and start over, making it thinner this time. I considered adding a button or making a cowl, but I really like it as a scarf.
Things that Don't Suck
Now that I've spent a lot of time whining, I'm going to spend a little time on some good stuff.
. It was an excellent choice. It wasn't stinky, it dried fairly quickly, and once it dried it wasn't the least bit sticky.
and, of course, 
from the 
. This was when I placed the marker and the Italian Parsley that I bought in lieu of a bouquet. (She loved that stuff, and it's sold in bunches that look like bouquets. Also, Mom surprised me that day with 
over and over again. The book was about a white rabbit named Buttercup and her seven babies who were named after days of the week. I tried to convince my parents to get me a rabbit like Buttercup, but they said a bunny would be too much trouble, especially the large hutch the rabbit would require.
, and something slipped. I managed to stab myself just below the thumb on both hands. It didn't break the skin on the left hand, but it bruised both sides. This is my right hand 24 hours later. There was actually a bump last night, but it's gone now. It still hurts, though.
as well, although she seems perfectly happy with the 
.
, and the ends are coming unraveled. Later on I'm going to see what 
.
