Spring has arrived!

It has been better busy around here the last few weeks. I was out of town last weekend for my knitting group's annual retreat, recovering from strep throat, and dealing with a sick kitty. Molly has been having some issues with gas since we got her and we took her to the vet to make sure that there wasn't something seriously wrong. After an x-ray and expressing some glands they gave us some antibiotics and recommended switching her diet to a gluten and grain free variety (read expensive). Since then she has had some diarrhea and even worse gas then before. It is pretty obvious she isn't feeling well and I can’t help but feel guilty for causing it. Hopefully she will adapt to her new diet and start feeling better soon.


In the midst of all this it seems that spring has arrived! I am excited to see what all of the green sprouts will turn into. I have already found some crocuses and am hoping that there will be some tulips thrown into the mix. It is a little like waiting for Christmas!

Better Late Than Never and Let Sleeping Cats Lie

I have been working on a very late baby blanket for Scott's cousin's new baby.  I was hoping to have it done by the time he was born, however, due to a combination of my own procrastination and the baby coming early it will be a late gift!  I really like the pattern, it is the Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stich and Bitch by Debbie Stoller.  I bought this book when I first started knitting and to be honest this is the first thing I have made from the pattern section, however it is a super easy pattern and I love the way that it is turning out!

She looks so innocent when she is sleeping doesn't she? Who would think that in her spare time she does this?

Yes folks, at one time this was a complete box.  Our house is completely covered by small pieces of cardboard.

A Snowy Wednesday's Thoughts

The snow is falling softly outside the window this morning, blanketing our lawn and trees.  This is probably one of my favorite parts of owning a house (with the exception of shoveling the driveway).  I love looking out the windows at our yard in all seasons, seeing the subtle changes from day to day.  The experience of homeownership is unlike anything I have experienced before, and although it comes with a little bit of fear of the unknown, it is immensely satisfying.  I feel fortunate that we have the means to be able to afford this privilege.

Coming to a screeching halt

Well, I feel like we have come to a screeching halt on our home improvement endeavors.  The dining room light we ordered didn't work out, it turned out that it didn't have a hardwiring option despite evidence on the website to the contrary.  We haven't decided on a rug and although we have the primer and paint I have yet to start painting the bathroom.  Hopefully, in the next few weeks we can get it together and start to make some progress!

Change is afoot!

Hopefully there will be some changes in our Bungalow in the next few weeks.  We ordered a new dining room light from West Elm, have finally decided on some paint colors for the guest bath and our bedroom, and are almost done organizing the basement where we will be moving Molly-cat's litter box.  Future projects include actually painting various rooms (which I am afraid will require scraping and patching the walls where the previous paint has bubbled), deciding on a rug for the living room, installing shelving inside a few of our kitchen cabinets and closets, and the list goes on.  I am finally starting to feel that our house is coming together.  This weekend in anticipation of dinner guests I hung some of our artwork and cleaned up some of the shelving.  I know that this is going to be an ongoing work in progress, but I am pleased with the results so far!

A roof over my head

We finally had the roof replaced last week and now have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that we shouldn't have to replace it for another 30 years.  The whole process took two days and with the exception of tromping on a few plants didn't cause too much disruption.  The arrival of the roofers did startle me a little bit.  I had stayed home that day to take care of Molly as she spent her first full day in her new home and recovered from being fixed.  I was dozing on the sofa when I heard footsteps outside the back door.  I would be lying if I said it didn't spook me before I realized what was going on.  The rest of the day proceeded with no small amount of banging and hammering which Molly took in stride.  I was a little worried the noise might scare her, but I guess she was used to the noise of the shelter.

We had asked the roofers to take pictures of the underlying structure of the roof so that we could see the condition of the wood.  We were concerned that they would have to replace a large portion of the roof running up the total cost of the job.  In the end it didn't turn out to be too bad, even though the pictures look pretty scary.  We had expected a certain amount of damage around the chimney where we had a leak due to the improperly installed flashing.  In addition, we were really worried about the roof of our addition.  At a house warming party a few weeks ago one of our neighbors mentioned that there was a problem with the roof.  It was previously shingled but because it is almost flat, we decided to install a rubber roof instead.  While not attractive, it is the right thing to do.  It will last longer and won't be as prone to leaks as shingles on a flat surface.  We were happy with our contractor and with the results.  His quote was fair and he didn't charge us for the wood that they had to replace.  I like the color of the shingles and siding that we chose and think that it will look even better when we get around to repainting the woodwork.  Now we can tackle the next item on our extensive list (repairing and refinishing the windows, replacing the gutters?), although it may be awhile before we can afford to do some of them!

It is so easy to judge...

I used to look at parents who slept with their children with no small amount of judgment.  What are they thinking?  By giving into their children's demands they, aren't teaching them to sleep on their own and to show independence.  Why couldn't they be strong and ignore the their crying for the greater good?  What a feel I was.  I quickly learned how a sweet face can break your heart to the point you are willing to do anything to make that child (or in this case cat) feel better.

This morning I woke up around 2 am to the sound of Molly crying in the guest room where we had sequestered her for the night.  We have every intention of giving her free reign of the house including our room, but we want to watch her for a few days to make sure that she isn't getting into anything she shouldn't.  Oddly enough Scott didn't wake up until I poked him so that he would suffer along with me.  I guess the recent article about a study proving that men don't hear a baby crying in the night is right!  We checked on her to make sure that something wasn't wrong.  After all, she is still recovering from being fixed.  As I am sure you can guess, she was fine, but just wanted some attention.  I gave in... I couldn't help myself... I decided that I would sleep in the guest room for the rest of the morning so that she would have some company.  How could this happen?? I always considered myself a rational human being. As I fell asleep with Molly curled up beside me I contemplated my future as a mother.  If I gave in so quickly to my cat, I don't stand a chance with a baby, Scott will have to be the tough one.