Happy 7th Birthday to three of my favorite felines – Rolz, Mia, and Peanut

I remember the day like it was yesterday – Zoey was pregnant and nearly bursting at the seams. She came into my bedroom early on the morning of February 12, 2009, to wake me up to let me know she wanted me to be with her. It was still pitch dark and I grabbed my robe to follow her into the living room where I curled up with her on the couch. Her silky body was toasty warm and she tucked herself into the crook of my belly, purring up a loud storm. Read more

The afghan was nearly completed here – just waiting to add the fringe. Jazmine can purr-sonally attest that the yarn is ideal for making biscuits!

If you’ll recall, I made the hair-brained decision to crochet an afghan a few days before Christmas as a gift for my youngest son. I got the idea because he lives up North in snow country and I knew it would be the perfect gift to keep him warm during the frigid winter months. Since he also has a cat, I knew she would love the gift too. It was supposed to be a “quick and easy” pattern (6 hours or less from start to finish), but the directions I found online were horribly written and it ended up being a day’s long project with me worrying that I would not finish it in time. Read more

Today is Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day and I am taking a strong and defiant stance and not allowing it here. Instead, I am going to ask my cats a question, because I really need the answer to something. And before any fur starts to fly, let me assure you I am not being mean or unfair. Read more

Kizmet, Mia, Rolz, and Zee are very happy to see “Big Red” back on the bed!

It’s that time of year – I dig out the one sweatshirt I own and have to wear socks with my shoes. “Big Red,” our thick and fuzzy red blanket comes out of storage to cover the bed. Yes, it’s our annual cold spell in South Florida and we have to do our best to ward off the chill until it’s back to our typical 70/80 degree temperatures, which should probably be tomorrow if I’m correct. For the cats it means three things – extra snuggling time together, zoomies at night, and OPEN WINDOWS!! Read more

Because obviously I don’t have enough to do a week before Christmas… guess I’ll make an afghan… This is me with Kizmet and the afghan that inspired it all…

Christmas is less than a week away so I think I’ll make an afghan as a gift. Yes, when you’re me, that’s the insane kind of thing you decide to do. It came to me out of nowhere – I was pondering the gifts I had gotten everyone and I just didn’t feel I had that “home run” gift for my youngest son, Joe, who will be coming from Upstate New York to be with us for the holidays.

This was me with my boys – Joe and Chris – back in 2011. I am so excited that both boys will be with me for Christmas this year too!

I got him some practical stuff he wanted, but nothing that really came from the heart. The inspiration came to me by just “listening” to what was around me – I was sitting on the couch in my office, surrounded by my cats and an afghan I had made several years ago. This afghan is especially special to me, as it is the afghan that I snuggled with on the last day I spent with my beloved angel, Mr. Jazz. Joe is a huge cat lover and Mr. Jazz was a major part of his life. I knew at that moment that he needed an afghan from me (and don’t worry, I’m not spoiling his surprise – he’s one of the few people on earth that is not addicted to the Internet and he won’t be reading this).

This afghan will forever be precious to me… I am seen here in my final moments with Mr. Jazz. Sadly, I did not know on that fateful day that Harley who is also in this picture (along with Kizmet) would pass a year later…

Throwing any sense of practicality out the window, I did a search on Google for “Quick and Easy Afghans” and found one that I really liked. And I must say, despite that Google is stalking my every living, breathing move and letting me know in a not so subtle way based on my searching patterns what I can’t live without it my life, I still love Google. I love how convenient it is and I love how well it knows what I want in the three words or less I type into my search engine.

Google and I found a nice pattern and we also found an online coupon to save a few dollars at Michaels Crafts. Thanks Google! Off I went and I honestly don’t know what’s more crazy – deciding to crochet an afghan in a few days, or braving the holiday crowds at Michaels… Or maybe deciding to crochet an afghan, going to Michaels, and then writing about it and putting a blog post together…

Victory! I made it back from Michaels unscathed! I chose a variety of textured yarns in tones of cream, brown, and black.

Anyhow, as you can well imagine, I have been madly crocheting like a possessed lunatic since I came up with this hair-brained idea. I will also tell you at this point that Google and I strongly disagree on what we consider “Quick and Easy.” The person who shared this pattern must drink a lot of Red Bull, because this is not going to be a few days project…

Sorry Jazmine – this particular afghan is not for you, but you can certainly help me make it!

Oh well. No big deal. It probably won’t be finished in time, but I’ll wrap whatever is done nonetheless. Right now it looks like a really big scarf and if I can’t get it done, I’ll just mail it to him when I do. But regardless, the best part is that he has a sweet cat in his life that I know will appreciate this gift as much as he does. Just like me, cats are drawn to afghans and knowing that I will be bringing such simple happiness to both of them is the greatest gift of all.

So that’s how I rock and roll – by throwing sensibility and caution to the wind. How about you – what crazy thing have you done for the holidays?

I really like how it is coming out so far (and Zoey seems to approve too). The design is comprised of 12 long panels that will be stitched together. The pointed ends will be capped off with fringe.