Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Am Very Tired

I am, as the caption says, very tired. Poor Evie the cat is back on her antibiotics again, but we did get good news from the vet saying that her kidney values are down, and it seems to support my theory that her upper respiratory infection was a bit more widespread than they'd initially thought. She's coughing a lot (probably because the meds are draining her sinuses and loosening gunk in her chest) but she was just playing like mad downstairs, so I think she's actually feeling much better.

The back half of December is always tricky for me. I rarely buy presents for people, preferring by far to make things for them. Unfortunately, I'm also an over-committer. I make too many things all at once and I don't plan accordingly.

I have 2 parents, 3 grandparents, 3 siblings with a partner each, 3 niblings, an incredible boyfriend, some friends, and a cat. I also have the time management skills of an overstimulated toddler.

Did I mention that some of these folks have birthdays this winter? Yeah, that's also a thing.

My final count of Making for the holidays was:

• 20+ snowflake ornaments
• 1 pair socks
• 3 amigurumi (2 cat cupcakes and 1 chibi dragon)
• 3 doilies
• 1 bag of popcorn (not crafted, but purchased!)
• 1 set of fingerless gloves
• a mouse that has already found its way under the couch beyond the reach of the yardstick

Needless to say, I was unable to find time to work on that Mystery Project I thought I'd finish in November (ha!).

Then I went shopping with Christmas money and realized that the jumbo skeins of Red Heart Super Saver Neon Stripe were very in-budget.

I've had an ongoing promise to myself ever since I first encountered the colorway that I would make myself a sweater from it one day and after bullying my way back through old Lion Brand Patterns, I chose the "One-Stitch Adult Cardigan" (pattern #957). 

It took just about 4 skeins of the RHSS in Neon Stripe and a week to achieve my dream. I lined the pockets and finished the seams with a jumbo skein of solid black I had on-hand, and next thing I knew, it was not only finished, but I have worn it pretty much every day since I made it!!!

Behold, the reason I haven't been posting lately :P

I even made the buttons myself (because I hated the selection in Wal-Mart and the local sewing shop wasn't open that day. I have one sleeve stuffed in the pocket because I didn't want to back all the way up lol. And yes, that black triangle on the sleeve is natural pooling.

The post-Christmas exhaustion was to be expected, but as I've mentioned, I also have to help pill poor Evie every morning and night. I'm one of those perpetually-exhausted-pigeon people - neither an early bird nor a night owl. I also don't get to sleep easily. And I cannot fall back asleep once I've stood up, so that means I've been exhausted for the past several days. You wouldn't think an 8AM-8PM schedule would be so grueling when I'm not doing anything else to exhaust myself!

And yet here I am, midnight rolling past me once again, and I'm stupidly tired.

At least the cat is fairly easy to pill this time around. I've got it so I hold her like we're just cuddling, but I have her paws on my right bicep while my left arm curls around her haunches and that hand gently holds her back feet. Then I press my cheek gently into the back of her head so she has nowhere to twist her face. At that point, my mother quickly apologizes to Evie and forces the pill into her mouth. We've got it down to a 30 second job that mostly involves me trying to collect the cat for pilling.

Heck, I've pilled her solo twice now with very little difficulty. The first time, my mother was busy during an evening pilling so I was alone and managed to lay down next to her on the carpet, snake an arm around her to keep her from running, and stuck the pill (and most of my finger) into her mouth. The second time I ambushed her during Wheel of Fortune because she was asleep on my mother (and waking her up would've made pilling her harder). That time I literally just petted her a few times before slipping the pill into her mouth. She did not appreciate that at all and coughed at me accusingly for a bit.

She's such a gentle cat, too!

At every juncture of the pilling process, she could easily gouge at either one of us with her little razor claws or bite me right in my fat stupid face but she refuses to do more than turn her head like the slightly cranky baby she is. We really, really lucked out with her, health problems and all.

I think that does about cover things from me this week.

I plan to do some more art on Thursday, finish more of the Mystery Project for Monday, and blather at you all again next Tuesday, but aside from that, it's too cold and precipitative for me to make any kinds of plans. Seriously, it never got above 7℉ (-13.9℃) today and we're supposed to get another storm (our 3rd this month!) on Sunday. Bleh.

I hope you guys are having a restful beginning of the year, and if not, then I hope you can at least find some time and energy to be creative!

For now though,

Go Enjoy Something!

FC