I've been debating about posting this for a week now but as Zeke seems to be doing okay I've decided I'll share. That might seem an odd time to do it but I tend to mull things over a lot before I can write them down and I can't mull something that agitates me. I think about it but it doesn't translate to prose very well. I feel calmer now so it works.

Zeke had ear surgery last Wednesday. He'd developed a swelling in his left ear the previous Thursday and when we took him in to the vet they drained it and told us that it was a hematoma (a fancy kind of bruise) and that it would probably come back and require surgery.

We were pretty nervous about surgery. Zeke is an elderly cat - we don't know for certain how old he is but it's somewhere around 14 - and we were very concerned that the stress of going under would cause him more problems later, or worse, he wouldn't wake up.

We both thought about it a lot and talked to people on- and off-line. The general consensus is that for this type of cat injury (and it turns out to be pretty common - they can get these from just shaking their heads too hard and breaking blood vessels in their ears) the surgery is the best way to go since this will let the ear heal with the least trouble and distortion (have you ever hear of a cauliflower ear? That's one of these that's healed up by itself). We decided to go for the surgery (the ear had refilled and was starting to look uncomfortably heavey and balloon like by Monday evening). Because of Zeke's age the vet recommended doing some geriatric (that word makes me laugh) blood work before they put Zeke under to give them a heads up on any complications that might occur. We were also happy to learn that we would be able to pick Zeke up the same day instead of him staying at the vet's overnight.

We dropped Zeke off in the morning after a noisy night of no food or water and waited tensely all day at work to hear back. Rob got a call a little past five that Zeke was waking up and we could take him home. He was pretty zonked when we got him back and nearly fell over a couple of times when he shook his head too hard but he was happy to see us and we heard some purring. His ear looked really gross on the inside. They had opened up the swelling and folded back the edges to prevent any more fluid from getting caught. Now that it's scabbed over it doesn't look so bad but it was a bit of a shock to see the inside of the inside of my cat's ear (very white). The sutures kind of quilt his ear together to help it heal back to a nice flat shape. It looked especially quilty the day after the surgery when it was kind of puffy. It's calmed down a bit since then.

Zeke has been really good about his recovery. His ear doesn't seem to bother him very much though I expect it to become extremely itchy at some point and we have an e-collar waiting for that. His antibiotics are pork liver flavoured and he starts purring as soon as we get the package out. I had been dreading giving Zeke pills so I'm glad he likes these. We always chase it with one of his regular treats to make sure it goes down. The most difficult part of recovery is separating Zeke and Abby.

We've been trying to cultivate a good relationship between our pets but so far Abby mostly wants a playmate out of Zeke and particularly likes to chew on him (we do have good moments but you have to sharp eyes and quick reflexes). Zeke sends a lot of time stuck in the bedroom by himself or with one of us (his food is in there and his litter is in our bathroom so he's got everything he needs). I like to encourage him to walk around the house when Abby is out for a walk or asleep in her crate. Right now he is exploring my desk and trying to play with my curser; there was also a good bit of standing on my keyboard demanding pets. I think he is reading my text file right now. The moving text must be interesting.

I have another reason for posting this now. I learned today that a good friend and her dog were in an accident a little while ago and while my friend is doing well her dog is not. K'nobi is going to need some surgery and a pretty intensive recovery so I want to ask anyone who can to send some good thoughts over to Samera and K'nobi. Let's help get this little pom back to himself.

I got two new craft books this week. The first one was an early birthday present (thanks Joyce) that I discovered on my chair when I got in to work yesterday. The second is a book of knitting patterns I ordered a little while ago as a treat.

My birthday craft book is Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori and it is so cute. It's all about how to make cute stuffed animals from socks and gloves.


See the tails!


The first part of the book (where you see all the samples) is a little story and guessing game ("What do you get from a pink sock?"). Even the instructions are cute in this book (and the diagrams are fantastic).

I'm trying to decide which animal to make first.

The knitting book is Whimsical Little Knits by Ysolda Teague and is also very cute. There are ten patterns ranging from a hap blanket to a toy mouse with a lace shawl and a few hat in between.


There is a bookplate for writing my name in ...


... and she signed it! Imagine how her hand must have ached after signing all those books.


I have yarn on order to make the Icing Swirl Hat for my birthday. Hopefully I'll have the right needles.

I was in my studio this morning and just loved the way the sun looked on my blue walls. I probably should have tidied this shelf before I took a picture of it but I don't think it would have had quite the same feel if I had (and the sun would have moved anyway). I kind of like the clutter that collects here: there are bits and pieces from past and current projects (especially on the pin board above), jars of buttons and pincushions at the ready, miscellaneous items that really belong in other rooms (like the earring jar) and even a papyrus scroll left over from a Egyptology course I took at university (we had to write our names in hieroglyphics - my friend Kim and I got papyrus from a stall in the mall and then got fancy with paint and gold pens).

What was I doing in my studio? Oh right. I was working on this.


The top for my scrap scarf. The backing is going to be some pink flannel I ordered but it hasn't arrived yet. Since sewing time with Abby can be iffy I decided to take advantage of the time I got (she's always more manageable on weekend afternoons) and start the project before I had all the materials. As soon as it arrives I'll throw it in the wash and then just sew it on. I still need to do the outer layer for the muff but I only have so much space for laying things out (I don't tempt fate by putting things on the floor).

I also finished the swatch for Rob's sweater. I'd expected to have to go down a needle size but it looks like I'll actually be using the needles called for in the pattern for once. It also looks like I'm going to have to order a longer circular because I don't think the 24" is going to cut it for the sweater body (especially once the sleeves are attached). But sweaters do have sleeves so I'm going to start knitting with those and by the time they are done the new circular should be here (how I long for a local yarn shop).


I laughed when I stat down at my desk this afternoon (after the swatch was washed and laid out to dry) and saw the rest of the yarn cake sitting by my screen. I'm apparently too lazy to put away my swatching needles until I know which ones I'm going to be using.


Notice the new package of 2 mm dpns - I can finally knit socks again.