My Wookie - update

Update: Wookie passed away on August 27. She died peacefully in my arms. I am crushed and broken-hearted. She was a very special cat, and she was very loved.

I will be losing my Wookie, and my heart is breaking. Wookie is a 9-year-old tortie with the most beautiful light green eyes. She is suffering from kidney failure. She is still eating and drinking, and seems to be in no pain, so we are going to just love her until the end. It may be days, or weeks, or even months. There is no way to know when. 

Wookie is a magic cat. During her lifetime with us, I have had three surgeries: two for female reasons ending with a hysterectomy, and the third was a compound fracture of my right leg. For the female problems, Wookie would lay her chin on my stomach and purr. Then last year, I broke my leg in six places by falling down some stairs on vacation and needing surgery. Once I got home from the hospital and was bed-ridden, Wookie took care of me. She would lay her head on the broken leg through the cast and purring for days on end. I rarely needed pain killers. I swear she was healing my injuries with her purring.

Wookie is truly my kitty. She rarely leaves my side. She is so affectionate and loving; I just don't know what I will do without her. I will still have my black kitty Omi, but it will hurt so bad. 

She has helped me through pain, but she will not be able to help me through the pain of losing her. 

 

 

Wookie and Omi Forever in a Potholder - Free Pattern

 I adore my kitties and now they pictured on a potholder!

 

Omi with her yellow eyes.

Wookie with her green eyes (her eyes didn't show up very well).

This is a Ravelry pattern called Cat Playtime. It is done in double knitting, which I love doing. You can 

find the pattern at https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cat-playtime-potholder 

Gotta talk about my cats

 

I am crazy about my kitties. This is Wookie (the tortie) and Omi (the black one).

Wookie has the most beautiful soft green eyes, and she is my magic cat. I'll tell that story later. 

Omi have bright yellow eyes and the softest fur you have ever felt. We got them at the same time from the Denver Cat Cafe about five years ago, and they have been the most joyful part of our days. They got us through the quarantine and are the greatest cats ever. I will post more stories about them in future posts.

More April Snow -- and squirrel

 It is still snowing in Colorado in late April. We live in the foothills so we are a bit higher than the rest of
the cities of the Denver area. Unfortunately, the forecasts are for more rain than snow this week, so maybe the snow is gone for the season. I like the cool weather and snow, so I am not looking forward to the heat of summer. 

Wookie is looking out the window at the squirrel on the deck. Both stare at each other in relative peace.

The Wild Turkey Visit -- not the kind you drink

Here is the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, we have wild turkeys. They often hang out at our house because we don't have dogs. (No one is barking at them).

We have curious kitties trying to figure out what these big birdies are. Wookie and Omi will chatter at birds in the bird feeder, but they seem oddly silent while watching this gigantic sparrows. 

Wookie decides to keep quiet and just watch.

Turkeys will often perch in the trees. This is right outside our deck. 

(In fact, it is taken from inside the house.

By the way, a group of wild turkeys is called a rafter.

Omi is watching very carefully.

I am in my kitchen taking this from the window.

This turkey is about 10 feet from me.

Also, turkeys can fly, but only for short distances, 

usually just to get into a tree.

We counted 15 birds in this rafter of turkeys.

Fighting the Cold Weather by Omi and Wookie

Mommy, I'm cold.

 

Don't worry, I'll keep you warm.

That's better.

Mysterious Kitty Dimension

I am convinced that cats can move into other dimensions and that is why we sometimes cannot find them. 

Today, I couldn't find Wookie. I called her, shook the treats bags, looked in all her usual hiding places, opened closet doors, and she was nowhere. 

After 20 minutes, I was starting to get a little worried. Suddenly, she appeared in the middle of the living room. Just sitting there, staring at me like I'm the crazy one. She was not there a few minutes ago. I know she slipped into that other dimension where there are lots of other cats to play with, other than just our other cat, Omi. 

I have always believed that Wookie was a magic cat because she has healing powers. I don't know what other talents this tortie has. 

Time for a Kitty Break!

 Just in case you are tired of looking at pictures of my knitting, here are some pictures of my beloved kitties. Omi is the black one and Wookie is the Tortie. They are 4 and 5 years old now. They are the most affectionate cats I have ever had. Omi is a total people-cat. If we have visitors, she has to sit in their laps as soon as they sit down. Wookie is only my cat. We have had them for the 3 years, and Wookie is only starting to warm up to Ken. If we have visitors, she will sit at the edge of the room watching, but she will only come to my lap. They often sleep wrapped around each other. 

I am absolutely nuts about my kitties!!

Cat or squirrel? Cat or Pirate?

I have told you that Wookie is a magic cat. Here is her imitation of a squirrel.

She is actually playing with a crumbled piece of paper but the effect is the same.

Not to be outdone, here is Omi's impression of a pirate. She's a real chAAARGHacter.

Happy 2019! My Resolutions -- or How Long Can I Last?

Do you realize that New Year's Day is probably the only worldwide holiday? Think back  to all the holidays you celebrate during the year. 

We have religious holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Passover, but these are acknowledged by people of certain faiths. We may all get the day off at Christmas, but it isn't celebrated by everyone. Many other countries celebrate these holidays too, but it is not universal across the world.

Then we have the national holidays here in the US: Independence Day, Labor Day, and Memorial Day. Our banks are closed and government offices don't answer the phones, but cross the borders to Canada and Mexico or cross "the pond" to Europe, and they are going about their business as if it wasn't a day off. Last year, Ken and I were in Denmark for the 4th of July, and we didn't hear or see a single firecracker.

And you can't count Thanksgiving either. Canada has a Thanksgiving but it is in October, not the fourth Thursday in November. You may want to try to cite some of the shopping days such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but I know many men (such as my husband) who refuses to acknowledge such a holiday too. Actually even I don't shop on Black Friday. I consider it a day for amateur shoppers.

So that leaves New Year. We watch the new year march in across the globe with every top-of-the-hour countdown from New Zealand to to Hawaii. Fireworks blast from the Eiffel Tower to the Pyramids. 

So it doesn't matter where you are from, I hope you have a wonderful and prosperous New Year. I want everyone to success and be happy.

So here are some of my resolutions for the new year.

1. Lose weight. I know, I know, this is on everyone's list and by the first of February (or even sooner) it is forgotten. However, I already have a head start on this. I had surgery in October for some female stuff and I feel much better. Since mid-October, I have lost 20 pounds. I still have a long way to go, and 20 pounds is similar to taking a cup of water out of a bathtub, but I am feeling like this might actually work. Ken and I are both just "eating health" as opposed to dieting. We are followed Dr. Joel Fuhrman's program of "Eat to Live" which is beans and greens. I don't feel hunger or deprived because we can still have some sweets and meats. I will keep you advised on my progress. 

2. Knit more. I shouldn't even have to put this on the list, but there you go. I have started knitting baby hats to donate to the local hospital and take some of my other hats and scarves to a shelter too. I have so much stash that I need to use it up.

3. Buy less yarn. Speaking of stash, I have so much yarn that I could even start to make a dent if I needed to. So I will buy less yarn. Even if I go a yarn store, I often find myself saying "I already have something like this." I will still go to wool fairs and explore new books, but no more buying.

4. Buy less. And leading into that point, Ken and I are buying less. Less clothes, less junk, less stuff.  We spend a good two months a year or so ago, we destashed our house. We donated tons or clothes, furniture, small appliances, books, and even office supplied to ARC. We just refinanced our house and have more money every month, but we don't need anything. Actually between our Social Security and our rental incomes, we are making more now than we ever made working. Retirement is great.

5. Travel more. Although we took a month long trip to Europe last year, we are getting the wanderlust again. A month is too long however. By the last week, all I could think of was home, so we will limit out trips to 2 to 2 1/2 weeks. We are thinking of the Pacific Northwest again, and maybe going to New England in the fall. We even have Australia and New Zealand on our bucket list, but not this year.

6. Cuddle my cats more. This one will not be hard to accomplish.

7. Spend more time with my sons. Also not too hard to accomplish. It will mean going to Fort Collins more and a few trips to California, but that is great.

8. Read more. Since I read over 60 books last year, maybe I should scale this down to keeping even. I use GoodReads to track my books, and visit my library more than once a week.

9. Move more. This will be the hardest to keep up with. I hate exercise but if I just concentrate on just walking or moving, maybe I'll do better. Since I am already losing weight, maybe this will just come naturally.

A year in review - or lousy excuses for not keeping up with my blog

I made the scarves in blue, maroon,
purple, rose and red.

I noticed I did only two entries all that year. Not too good if I want to continue writing a blog, but it has been  a good year for my family and me

So I'll try to cover some of the highlights just so you know. And I hope to do better next year. In that light, I will write New Year's Resolutions tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Knitting
In some ways, I have lost some of my knitting mojo. I still knit but not at the frantic pace I did in preview years, especially the year after I retired. . I think it is because I have had so little success with selling that I just didn't build up my inventory. Even on Etsy, I have sold only a couple of items. I do better with patterns though. I think I will dedicate the next year to knitting for charity instead.  I did make a hat for my son and husband for Christmas and I completed lace scarves for my Divas (my women's group). I will include the pattern for the scarves in the next few days on this blog.

A before and after
of my personal journal

Writing

Even if I haven't kept up on my blog, I do keep up on my personal written journal. In addition to the writing, I print out pictures on full-sheet sticker paper and stick them into my journal. I did notice of the past year that I fill the pages more and more with stickers and less writing. I don't know what that means, but I hope I can do better there too.

Travelling
In June, Ken and I took a month-long trip, but not just any trip -- probably the trip of a lifetime. We went to Europe. It was not only sight-seeing, we visited family. We went to Swedish, Denmark, and Germany, with a short stay in Iceland and England. We also spent a week in Washington D.C. to attend Sophie's wedding. She is the daughter of my best friend Sheila. I will write most about these adventures in other blog entries.

Health
In October I had the bane of the female gender -- I had a hysterectomy, and it was one of the best things I even did. I feel so much better and I can't even describe why. But since then, I have lost 20 pounds and will continue to the future.

My son Lorne
My oldest son now lives in Los Angeles and works in Hollywood as a film editor. Late year, he got a job with BuzzFeed and he loves  it. I guess this means he won't be coming home to live anytime soon. I hate it when you raise independent children and they leave you. Alas.
If you want to see some of his work, you can go to YouTube and enter BuzzFeed Unsolved and Worth It.

My Son Dane

Dane modeling the hat I made for him.
The scarf came with the coat.

With an undergrad degree in classic guitar, Dane decided to pursue his other talent in Mathematics. (Funny, just not too many job opening for classical guitarist on Craiglist.) So he went back to school and will complete his masters in accounting this spring. He got an intern job at an accounting firm during tax season, and at the end of the flurry of returns, they offered him a full time job. So he is fully employed with a good salary even before he finishes his degree. CSU (Colorado State University) told him that they had a 100% employment rate out of this program. Guess they were not kidding.

And finally my kitties

We have had Omi and Wookie for a little over a year now, and I am passionately in love with this two little creatures. Omi is the perfect cat and Wookie is the magic cat. Omi (the black kitty) is loving and affectionate. She has to be next to me almost constantly. If I sit down, she is on my lap and will even crawl up to shoulder to get closer. Wookie is a tortie, but she is entirely and completely my cat. She doesn't like anyone else to touch her and hides even from Ken. But if I am sick, she won't leave my side, purring constantly as if her purrs will cure me. And I have always gotten better, so maybe she has something there.