being alone is so odd. jake and i are always together, always. we rarely do things apart and i miss him. what i notice, though, is that i don't eat meals, except for breakfast, and that i push myself to do more when he isn't around. i worry that i take advantage of him, letting him run around and do errands for me. ya know?

i got two ott-lights for 100 bucks, a desk one and a standing one and i put the desk one next to my bed to see if it was any better, because i do a lot on the bed, prep-wise, etc. at first, i thought it was making my eyes go funny, like a regular florescent light, but actually, i think my eyes are just trying to get used to it. i am really sensitive to lighting. if i shop at a big box store that has floro lights, i tend to get bad headaches. i didn't really sleep last night and then woke up when the sun came up, actually feeling rather energetic. i wondered if it was the light. i know that might sound dumb, but i just don't tend to wake up early and have enough energy to get up at 6:30 and make some coffee and cereal.

in izzy news, she has been pretty wild. she figured out how to climb up one of the scratchers (as well as using it to scratch on) like spidergirl, and does that with the bed, too. she got up on the scratcher and got onto the window sill and looked out the window. she really is just all over the place. and what else? i found her in the bathroom sleeping next to pavel's socky. a sec later, pavel came in, i thought he would freak out, he doesn't like anyone, even us, touching his socky, but he not only didn't get mad at izzy but he laid down next to her...about a foot away. izzy thinks pavel is very cool, clearly, and he seems to like her following him around. cute. it would be nice for him to have a cat friend. plus, he doesn't pee everywhere like peeps does, he is really good in that respect, so he would be a good cat role model for izzy.

so, i finished some yarn orders, packed stuff up, went to the post office, popped into the craft store to get some things there to do more beaded poppies (i have loads). i think i would to do a poppy scarf that is almost solid poppies. maybe on a lace scarf or a silk scarf or fabric. dunno. it would be expensive because it would take a lot of time, but it would be a showstopper.

i am being attacked by the kitten and typing is a challenge. i am going to sign off before i freak out. oh, i finished a couple of standing amigurumi and felt birdies that i will take photos of to-morrow. woooooot!

headache. sleepy. going. going. gone.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
n.

well, jakie is in new york all week for work, so i am at chez luxe, me and the kitties, on the strange schedule, eating strange food and making stuff. i do miss him, though. sweet boy.

i worked on yarns, prep work, etc, and i need to get some dyeing done (for you and me, shannon) to-morrow. today though, i have a case of the dizzies. i woke up with the migraine, like always, went through being nauseous and dizzy and it hasn't really gone away. i am hoping it isn't a precursor to feeling super bad to-morrow. that happens sometimes. also, i have to go to the pharmacy to pick up meds, so if i am still dizzy and migrainey, well, that is an issue. i can call my mom in law, she is a doll and would do anything for me. so wish me luck on that.

izzy was pretty good today. she attacked one of the novelty yarns i was cutting up for spider yarn, at the same time, attacking her feather toy and her mouse that i made her. she gives short attention span a whole new meaning. yet, at the same time, very single minded. she has this very strange humanity in her eyes, though. not like kahlo that just has kind, soulful eyes, izzy looks like a person sometimes, like she is someone i knew before. i don't know who. as i speak. she is attacking the computer from behind and peeking around at me. so cute. give her a big 2 lb cone of yarn and she will keep herself busy. cute! now that she can use the litterbox and...oh, i forgot to tell you that she could get up and down the steps...FAST. it is amazing how quick she is. very coordinated for her age, i think.

did anyone check out the bionic woman? there are some people from battletar gallactica, so that is cool. i liked the first episode a lot. also, there is a show called journeyman that is good so far. also, i am loving brotherhood on showtime. the strange thing about that show (other than the really good rhode island accents that british actors are doing) is that a girl that i went to (one of the many)high school with is in it. she is my age (did i mention that my birthday is on the 6th? finally 22! yay!) but looks so different than she did. she was curvy in high school and is rail thin now. ages ago i saw this movie with john hurt in it about a man whose wife couldn't have children and went nutso and tried to steal people's kids. anyway, i realized that the woman who screamed "she took my baby!" was tina, too. it wierded me out. also, we have been watching weeds on hbo, which is really funny. i am reading saul bellows' "adventures of augie march". i tend to buy the really long books because if i actually like the characters and the story, i get bummed out when the book is over, so i try to get the longest ones i can. and if it sucks, i stop reading it. i won't read stuff that sucks. ya know? i really want to reread oryx and crake my margaret atwood, which is one of my favorite books evah. i was actually so sad when the book was over (like i feel about most of her newer books) and then found myself wondering what the characters were doing, like they are alive. loved it. and rant, the new chuck p book, i need to read that one again, too. such a cool book.

jakie got me the new pinback cd for an early birthday pressie and some art supplies, cause he is really sweet. i like that guy, i really do.

i will attempt to blog about some of the issues i have wanted to talk about lately, but haven't. so to-morrow, i will do my best. updates go first though. they do.

xo
n.

this will be short, i have been fighting off a migraine for the last 5 hours or so.

i got a few new yarns done and updated www.luxe.etsy.com, and i will be adding tons more stuff over the week, so please check in as often as you fancy. i have some lovely soft neckywarmers and scarves, some of my creatures, some buttons, fiber and of course some yarns. so. go. check it out.

i have to pack up orders to-morrow, do some updating, and some dyeing. shannon told me she has been doing some sun dyeing and it has been really warm and gorgeous here, so i think i will give that a shot. i haven't done any in ages. shameful.

last night (i don't think i blogged this yet), i didn't sleep, hence the headache, i assume, but izzy ended up in between me and peeps, i moved her a bit to see what peeps would do, you know, peeps, the cat hating cat, and she woke up and started aggressively grooming izzy and then went back to sleep! she did at one point put her feet against izzy like she would kick her off the bed, but still. that is a big deal. and kahlo let me drag her up onto the bed to lay on me for a bit and she purred away and drooled a bit. she usually is all over me all the time, especially at night i have all of the cats up here, but since izzy, no one but peeps, who is just taking advantage of no other cats. and pavel has been avoiding us, and he is now starting to come up on the bed. i hate it because he has no relationship with the other cats (although he really seems interested in izzy) and is so close to jake, but has been staying off of the bed at night.

i am going to attempt to just lay here and veg out because i am seeing double. so.

mwah.
n.

i was too tired to do really anything today. i think the last few days i overdid it a bit and i have still been on a strange sleep schedule with the kitten, who is at the moment sitting on the computer so that she can suck on my hand. somehow i am able to type, so i am letting her. it helps her fall asleep.


so for any of you cat people out there, i pose a question...we have one cat, peeps, who pees everywhere (and sometimes poops, too.) we got our youngest cat pavel as a tiny baby like izzy and he has always been fantastic about using the box, and kahlo, peeps' sister, is also really good. is there a way to insure that izzy won't pick up peeps' bad behaviors? she has taken really well to litter training, and basically, we keep her on the bed with us, or let her run around supervised, she is too little to be on her own, but i worry that our pee smelling carpet with tempt her. but again, the other two cats don't ever do anything like that, and pavel was a little fella. if anyone has advice or even knows any good sites or books on it, i would love it.


otherwise, not much, just crazy kittenland here, and kahlo, the one that snuggles with me all the time, is still mad at me and instead of all the cats on the bed with me all the time...just izzy and peeps. makes me sad. i always tell kahlo that she is my BFF, but she holds a grudge. i am a rather jealous person, i imagine i would be pissed off, too. and i hold a grudge. i like to think i am better now than i used to be, although sometimes i just see someone for what they are and i am not mad, i just don't want anything to do with em. so. okay, i am going to post some photos of izzy and what i have been working on. i WILL do updates all week. i have tons of stuff. some awesome halloween yarns and then some fancy ones i am wanting to keep. so.


oh...does anyone watch the show "extras"? it is on hbo, it is a british show by ricky gervais from the office? anyway, the theme song is fantastic, i find out that it is a cat stevens song and then was bummed out because he is a radical muslim that had a deathwish for salmon rushdie among other people and that is not so cool. anyway, if you haven't seen it, check it out, it is hilarious. and i am hard to please. there is a different celebrity in it each episode and they are goooood. bowie, for one! and they do a good job of looking like total arseholes, which is kinda cool. just saying is all.

good morning to ya. i will drink your coffee in your absence. it isn't right to waste good coffee.
xo
n.

well, we are into day 3 almost with the kitten. we named her isobel cash (because of her johnny cash-like pompadour) which will likely end up being izzy or belle. i liked belle a lot, but this is the best of both worlds, i reckon. she is doing well, eating regularly, pooping big smelly runny kitten poops (to her chagrin...she screams and flails and is humiliated) and sleeping lots. i have a fuzzy hat i knitted a while ago that i used as a place to sleep in for her, and then inside of the little dog carrier bag we used for pavel, and then she peed on it, so i used a little dog sweater that i made as a prototype to put her in which she is all wrapped up in. she tries to search for a nipple in the fuzz of it every so often. cute. i found two fleas on her the first night, and i swear i saw one today, but then i couldn't find it with the flea comb. anyone know any natural flea remedies that would be okay for a 2 week old kitty? here is one more for your pleasure...


as for the other cats, kahlo, who normally sleeps on me all night long...okay, anytime i am reclining, slept downstairs. she never does that ever. peeps laid on the bed but was peeved. pavel slept in the closet and is terrified of the kitten. he is terrified of everything, though. this afternoon kahlo came in and laid down on my waist, which is something, although she kept hissing. i feel guilty. here is a photo of k, so that she is involved. she is my best fuzzy friend, she is always there for me when i am sad or sick or...okay, just all the time. she is a sweet girl.


jake is absolutely enamored with this little baby. it is hard not to be. she smells of that baby animal milky smell. awwww.

otherwise, nothing. i have gotten nothing done. i had to get up every couple of hours for the kitten, so i woke up with a whopper of a headache. hopefully to-morrow will be better. it also POURED most of the day, as it has for the last week or so. i actually love the rain, although i know in lots of areas of the state people are out of house and home due to bad flooding. i wonder if i would still love the rain in those circumstances.

i reckon that is about all for now...
warm kitteh fuzzies
n.

soooo...after i posted this morning i slept off and on all day long. slept enough that i actually had dreams. i did nothing, i didn't shower until almost 4 o'clock, and i have a headache now, too. so. gah! i hate not getting anything done. i wanted to at least update today. i will be listing some of the vintage things i have picked up lately, so if you saw something you liked, let me know. i also have a ton of loose fiber that i bagged and labeled that will be listed, as well as handpainted top. really pretty. i will do that to-morrow barring pulling another rip van winkle. gah!

in other news, i came across this and i am wondering if i owe my large butt and boobage to double boobage? what do you think?


and here are some kitties who lub their handsome, sweet papa...


somehow, i am tired, so i am going to read and watch a bit of tv and hopefully to-morrow i will feel better. or awake. oh, also, i picked up coffee from a local coffee shop that roasts their own. i got some decaf and some regular so that if i want it later at night i can. the bags are marked with some other kind of coffee altogether, i think that it was just whatever bag they had, but i have no idea which is which and they look identical inside. so i have no idea if they are or aren't. sigh. the coffee wasn't great anyway, but i really won't be buying more. i am a coffee snob. ah well.

xo
n.

lovely swallow mobile and it is under 25 bucks! kondrads.com has tons and tons of different mobiles from teeny to huge and all prices between, although most or suprisingly affordable. look at this one...i love it.
anyway, i was looking for some ideas for the top part that it attaches to which appears to always be just functional and not attractive in any of the mobiles i looked at, art ones or just cheapo kids room ones alike. i found this tutorial that looks good. i already have put together most of those strange wire framed paper pieces. i really like how they look and i hand strung and twisted 28 gauge copper wire to connect them, i am not sure just yet how the top will work. i wired just about all of them in strands, so i just need to figure out the top connector, although it will likely be more than one mobile. they would look incredible in front of a window or light source. i will take photos tomorrow. i may be best off just wiring them onto a curtain rod or pole in front of a window, i reckon. hmmmm.

did i show you the lion so far? he has chest hair and armpit hair. he is balding, has sideburns and a bit of a comb-over in the front. he has little knees and nipples. he has no name yet and is naked so far. what do you think of him?

it is now sunday night. i was too tired to finish the post yesterday, we got up at 7:30a to go to one of the bigger outdoor flea markets this morning which was rather good. i scored a shopping bag full of vintage buttons still on the cards, a sewing box full of all sorts of things...here are some photos, but i seriously didn't get photos of half the stuff...

that said, if you need any vintage buttons, let me know what color you are looking for because i have loads and i am happy to sell em for a couple of bucks. after getting home i washed and organised the loose buttons that were just tossed in the sewing kit. i took tons of photos and then realized that i had accidentally put it on the low light setting. gah. i was super exhausted from not sleeping last night, getting up early and spending a few hours in the sun being overexcited, and then called barbe to squeal about my score. no worries, i am sending her some nice stuff, it wasn't just shear gloat. i wouldn't do that. the booths at the fleamarket that have only a few items and they are just utter crap, like a plastic cup from a convenience store and a dirty george foreman grill and a hot wheels car with a half chewed cookie on it. those people baffle me the most. although, i remember when i was in san francisco for a convention and crackheads tried to sell us similar stuff. so maybe that is the issue.

and, i should have taken a photo, but there was a booth that had defibrillators and some other really really strange electronic equipment that looked new. i wish i would have asked what the price was. just to know.

we left there and went to a coffee shop that roasts their own coffee to have a bite. i also got some coffee beans from them. i hope it is good, because we all know what a snob i am. bigtime.

we then went to burlington coat factory. i got these shoes which i plan to either add beading to or embroider. i have to think about it, though. they came in khaki and camo, too! i will walk around in em for a while and i may get another pair. in the summer, i have such a hard time wearing anything other than flip-flops. it kills me. or open heels, but i try to have my feets showing as much as possible. i need to take a photo of them on. i initially imagined iridescent black seed beads on em, but a little embroidered thing would be really cool, too.

i guess that is about it. i had planned to do an update on fiber and softies, but i was too tired to do anything. i will be doing it to-morrow, though. i put photos up of a lot of the things that will be listed. lovely and soft loose kid mohair, merino, targhee, baby cotswald locks, border leicester locks (so cute and teeny little curls) and then superwash merino top and 80's grade merino i dyed that is luscious. seriously. so so nice.

okay, enough for now.
xo
n.

first...cuteable.com seen it? cute stuff. lots and lots of cute stuff.

my noggin is feeling better. because of the series of migraines, my brains feel a bit scrambled and it has left me feeling...well...a bit high. i don't know why it is that way. and i have trouble coming up with words. dumb words. i have always hated that. searching for the words. anyway, i did some spinning:
at the left hand top the "HOTTT"superwash merino fiber that didn't sell. how? i would've snapped it up. anyway, i still have some of the fiber left if anyone is interested. this one is 100 percent coils, so not a ton of yardage, i may do a single from the other 4 oz to accomany it. or just sell this little pinky skein. it was a whole bobbin of singles and probably 25 yards of supercoils. fun, though. the lower left is one of the batts i did spun up. there is still a couple of the red based ones left, not yet listed. if you want on, ask, they won't last. they have mainly veggie silk fibers and sparkle and the rest is red, pink, or orange superwash fiber, or targhee. soft soft soft. a TON of sparkle in em. and twice carded. lovely! on flickr they are labeled by number. i will be listing different batts all week. and i think doing some more. i need to do some dyeing, but i think i might just take some of the dyed fiber i do and card em up. the market is so flooded right now, not that most of it is nice or anything, but everyone is selling fiber or purses or toys or what have you. crazy! oh, so the right top is fiber i got from the spunky eclectic club, they weren't my colors, so i did all supercoils and added novelty yarns in the same colors to intensify them. it isn't super soft, so it would be better suited for a something that isn't next to the skin. and then at the bottom right is the ANA superwash sock yarn...lovely, no? i want one. i am fighting myself on it. big time.

amigurumi you ask? well. the pirate, i made him some clothes, although he still needs a belt and a sash on his head and the hook. that too. i don't like his vest much, i did a bad freeform embroidered skull and crossbones and...it looks terrible. i will pull it out and do something else. dunno.

and i am workon on a lion with male pattern baldness...he is only partially done, but here he is. what do you think about a moustache to go with his sideburns and long balding hair?


i added some paper to the bottom of the box and added darker clouds that go the whole way out of the box, and more small trees and things...i think it is almost done...what do you guys think? do you think it lacks a focal point?


and my desk whilst working on the box and then a kinetic mobile i started yesterday. i will show you in a couple of days...


in other news, pavel has been acting totally crazy. seriously, i am concerned that there might be something mentally wrong with him. he was pretty laid back as a kitten. he liked to play/fight and bite, but he always seemed to be playing. now, he growls if the other cats come within 5 feet of him and he starts to act aggressive until a fight usually does break out because he has the posturing to bring it on. and then if he is just doing it to one sister, the other will come running and then it is a battle. the thing is, he is now doing it all the time. the other cats will not have aggressive posture, they are just walking by or going about their business, and he will lay his ears back and start growling until it escalates into a fight. any ideas what is going on? here is what he looks like...



i am getting sleepy. i will try to blog when i get up instead of late so i can think a bit more clearly.

mwah!
n.

i spun some yarn and worked on some paintings today and then we took peep to the vet for her appt. we had to wait a while and peepp was not happy about it, poor girl. jake was very lovey with her, and fell asleep with his head on the carrier. yeah. anyway, there was a substitute vet who was really nice and takes a lot of time with everyone, hence the waiting. anyway, firstly, she told us that peeps has a fairly serious heart murmur, and was shocked that no one had ever told us that. it was a 3 on a scale of 1-6. she said it just needs to be monitored and it should be okay. odd. 11 1/2 and no one ever noticed? um. also, she said that she didn't think peep had a blockage because her bladder wasn't full, which i thought too because her bladder wasn't tender if i felt around on her. so it is most likely just a UTI and she is on antibiotics for the next two weeks. it wasn't until yesterday that i noticed that she is having a hard time peeing, it doesn't seem to hurt her (i hope) but little or nothing comes out and usually she is peeing all over the place in large volume. i told jake that it is her way of expressing herself, it is like taking a paintbrush away from an artist. ha. anyway, she is eating and seems okay, hopefully she will stay that way. how about another cute peep shot?
how nice is this... natasha yarn? ah carrie, such a sweet lady...

i gave myself a headache from overdoing yesterday and today a bit, and managed to deal with it before butter and his cute girlfriend came over. we had some pizza and hung out and went to the bookstore where i got the new fiber arts magazine (yay!) and checked out some really gorgeous new books, including shannon'snew felt book and the secrets of rusty things which is an amazing book on the assemblages of michael de meng. i think some crafters might think it is a how-to book, although i guess if you were able to work with every medium concievable, it could be, it is more just to see his process, and what each piece is about and the amazing amount of process that goes into each piece. ah i love process. there is no faux technique that can kiss multiple process' feet. i love labor intensive art. i just do. you can see it, feel it. it is a different animal. i love layers. layers and layers and layers. i am actually messing around with just that idea. i will take some process photos tomorrow, i swear.

i checked out this book also, which is really gorgeous. there is so much going on in every page that i don't know if my brain would let me absorb much of it. again, it is meant to give you ideas, but isn't really a how-to. just more about growing creatively.

okay. tired. sore hands. gah.

xo
n.

woah! things have been a bit hectic around these parts and the update i had hoped to do just didn't happen. we had a busy weekend, and as the weather gets nice, i actually find that my energy is better and we do much more, i leave the house, we have get-togethers, parties, etc, etc. i loooove it. ah spring. butter and his adorable lady came over and saturday and we had a really fun time. i spent most of the day on saturday working on sewing until that point.

sunday, i went to get groceries, went to marshall's in search of some summer shoes to no avail, and the place was so packed you couldn't actually look at anything. i meant to look at bras and was so irritated that i just left and went for groceries. later that evening shannon, aka knitgrrl showed up and we hung out all day today. so fun. although, no work done. bad bad me. i need to do dyeing to-morrow and spinning and i need to list stuff on etsy. to-morrow my buddy donna is coming over so hopefully she won't mind hanging out with me whilst i do some work. right donna? hee.

i emailed amy butler (butter's aunt) because i was looking for her new skirt patterns and none of the stores that sell her stuff had it. she sent it to me along with several other cute patterns, the cute floppy hat pattern and some purses, i am excited to crack em open. i am hoping they won't be too hard.

i have a skirt that i think was originally a dress and it was just cut in half, not finished, no buttons, so i finished the edges and added buttons and hemmed it. i wore it and it got really stretched out, it is just thin cotton. so, i had no idea why anyone would make a waist panel...now i know, on account of things stretch out if you don't do that. so i may just add some grosgrain ribbon or something to make it more stable. hm. i bought a really cute dress pattern when i got groceries. it claims to be an easy one, we will see. i love wearing dresses and they tend to be the most flattering thing for me, so i hope i can make one that looks pretty. and then make 10 more.

i have been letting peeps go outside with me without her leash because she just adores eating grass out there. she just eats and eats and purrs away. she actually will run out as fast as she can if you open the back door and then stops 5 feet out and eats grass. when shannon and i were on the front porch, peeps wanted to come out and went to each window and meowed and then was jumping up and down in front of the front door in hopes we would see her through the window and let her out. such. a. nerd.

i guess i know how she feels, because when i went out to greet shan at her car late last night, the air smelled amazing, the stars were out and i felt like i was a kid. except way better because i hated being a kid. i just feel like a new person when the weather is so lovely. i wonder if we lived somewhere that is chronically nice, if i would feel better more often.

i am really sleepy and really behind on emails and...everything. so off i go. mwah!
n.