Becca's Blog

My weekend plans just changed.

I just got my Ravelry invite (I'm berkeleybecca)--woo hoo! And Jane is spending the weekend in San Diego with her dad and sisters, so I can spread my stash out all over the house and stay up all night uploading photos.

I have quite a few blog posts fermenting in my brain (I'm posting this from work, which is strictly AGAINST COMPANY POLICY, but I couldn't wait), so I'll make some time for at least one more informative post than this. Going back to work now...

Edited later to add: My TiVo arrived via UPS just after I posted this afternoon. So in addition to yarn strewn all over, there will be cables and manuals and packing peanuts and superfluous remotes cluttering up the joint. And I'll likely emerge on Monday morning pale and squinting like some kind of mole. And yeah, I'm pretty embarrassed about the TiVo--both by what it says about my unhealthy involvement with TV and by avoiding it thus far because it seems too hard to set up and master.

I love my cat ... I love my cat ... I love my cat.

Two Thursdays ago I spent some precious knitting time threading the partially finished blue blanket onto crochet thread and putting it into a lingerie bag and through the washing machine on gentle cycle. I had to do this because the cranky old man barfed on the blanket when it was sitting on the coffee table. And of course he did it right after I joined a new ball of cotton yarn, which I had to cut, and now I'll have to rejoin.

A couple of good things came of it, though: I found out that the yarn stands up to washing pretty well, and I got to look at the blanket fully stretched out and measure it. Right now it's 36 inches across. It looks like I've been increasing too much, because the edges don't lie flat. I hope that means I can just work even for several rounds.

I'm about ready to pick it up again; for the past couple of weeks I've been working on a knitting pattern to submit to the e-zines. Wish me luck.

Success!

After three weekends of experimentation, design speculation, several modifications, and probably a half-dozen trips to the hardware store, Jane built a dog ramp that is secure enough for Josie to use with confidence. It's got high guard rails on both sides, so it's more of a dog chute. But with the grippy rubber covering and footholds, she can climb up and down it.

A few trial runs, accompanied by some cat food bribes, got the party started. Now we have some semipermanent new furniture in the backyard.

We have some trouble getting in and out the back door now, but we've already seen that Josie's more able and willing to come and go, so it's totally worth it. The ramp is actually strong and stable enough for us humans to walk on, although we wouldn't want to test it by both stepping on it at the same time. It's just three-quarter-inch plywood, supported underneath by two-by-sixes. Jane is now talking about modifying the design so that it's easier for us to walk around. While that would be great, I suspect that she just wants to play with her sawhorses and power tools some more.