...too quiet

I must say, following a ferret with a plastic bag and a magazine subscription card to get a "sample" is a lovely way to start a weekend. As mentioned last week, Finn had his annual checkup today. After procuring the "sample", I loaded him in the carrier and we headed out. He promptly resorted to hiding under the cozy faux sheepskin cushion and declaring "No weezuls in here! Vet can't give shots to empty crate! We go home now, right?" Um, no sweetie.

The ferrets and I are actually quite lucky in our vet. Dr. Rossi is a top notch exotic specialist, with several books out. As a matter of fact, I got lucky - his new book What's Wrong With My Ferret is now available. It covers first aid and home care for ferrets, including ferret CPR - something I don't think I've seen in other books. I got a copy direct from him, and he was even kind enough to autograph it to the Insane Weasel Posse! He is also a tremendously good sport, and gladly posed for a picture with Finn when I explained I have a blog with the ferrets, and asked if I could get photos for the ongoing documentation of the ferret plot to murder humans. (Which he seemed to think was a reasonable assumption, ferrets being ferrets and all.)

As far as Finn's health, the visit went well. Finn checked out fine, got his rabies shot (we have to go back next week for his distemper, as ferrets are too small to just do everything at once). It does look like he'll need his teeth cleaned, but for a middle-aged ferret, not too shabby. He also behaved remarkably well. Too well, actually. I'm sure retribution is just a trip on the stairs or a slip on the tile away....

Slow progress

Still not a whole lot going on in Ferretland. Life has a way of doing that to you sometimes.

About the only thing I have to show is progress on a sock. This one has been lurking in the WIP's for over a year. For whatever reason, the pattern and I had a difficult start, with 4 or 5 do overs. Finally got the pattern going, knitted all the way past the heel, and finally had to admit (after it was pointed out to me) that it was a little small, resulting in a complete frogging, pattern restructure and reknit. Ah the hazards of yarn substitution.

At this point, there is one full sock (which has been tried on and verified that it does fit an adult human foot), and part of a second sock. Meanwhile, the house is still uncleaned and the yard is still unweeded.

Next week could be interesting though. Finn has a vet appointment. Fortunately, he's not much for participating in the ferret plot to murder the human. Of course, a jab in the rear with his yearly shots could change that.....

May I present.......Nothing.

Yep. Been that kind of week. Got confirmation my blocks from last weeks post made it to the coordinator. Finished one sock of a pair. Knitted a few rows on some other stuff. No sewing. Despite having at least one project done except for finishing (probably less than an hour's work) didn't finish anything. I didn't start anything either. (This is probably a good thing, considering the WIP to FO ratio around here.) This weekend I slept, I caught up reading some email lists, I did laundry, and I ate M&M's. Yay. Hopefully next week will be more productive.

Presidential Ambition

One of the many projects I'm working on is a Dear Jane quilt (the same quilt and group that I did the swap blocks for a while back). The group tends to have a lot of collaborative activities - especially around historic events. They contributed to a new and fitting grave marker for Jane A. Stickle, the creator of the "Mother Quilt". After September 11, they created a red, white, and blue "United We Stand" quilt for President Bush. After this year's historic election, it was decided to create Yes, we can Jane!, a collaborative quilt for President Obama.

At this point we are on round one of blocks. There is a rough draft (which looks amazing!) of the layout, and all participating members are sending in their first two blocks by July 15th. (If you'd like to participate, there will still be more blocks needed - feel free to sign up!) There is a designated background fabric that will be sent to you on signing up, and the rest are to be civil war reproduction fabrics (due to the President's historical interest).

My first two are ready to go - or at least as much so as I can get them. I've spent all weekend working on two little blocks, have done everything wrong I possibly could, and am still convinced they are nowhere near good enough. I'm taking a deep breath and mailing them out anyway. Yikes!

Zombies!

It's been a while since a zombie update, so here you go. From the files of the webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.

Well THAT was interesting

Ahh, summer in Florida. The heat. The humidity. The giant bugs. The freak thunderstorms out of nowhere.

I work in a call center for a large company. Think corporate campus, multiple multi-story buildings type place. Large buildings, full glass sides - you get the picture.

A little after 5 this afternoon the safety commitee comes dashing through telling everyone "Get OFF the phones, get INTO the stairwell there IS a tornado!" As I rounded the corner headed to the stairwell, you could SEE the tornado! Several people stopped to get pictures - I'm not that brave. After a quick glance, I headed straight for the stairwell.

Yes, I did gather the important things before I left my desk. Purse, car keys and knitting. Welcome to summer. I will be spending the rest of the weekend either cowering at home, or cowering in the safety of the LYS with my friends, if anyone needs me.

Fifteen of Ferret Fame

If you're on Ravelry you may be familiar with the "This Week in Ravelry" feature. One of the semi-regular columns is "Ask Auntie BubboPants", an advice column that occasionally features a guest column for pets, written by Auntie BubboPants dog, Chester.

Some time back, there was a notice that Chester would again be doing a guest column. I let the Insane Weasel Posse send a question, and in the most recent (OK, it was the June 11th, but I just realized it was up) column, Chester answered them!

For those not on Ravelry, who would still like some ferret-y amusement, I'll include just their letter and the reply.

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Dear Chester,

Hi, we’re ferrets. We’ve never seen a question from ferrets before, but we’re hoping you can help anyway, ‘cause you know stuff! And a bunch of the stuff you know, is stuff we know, and stuff we like too!

Anyway, our human Mom takes us to the park sometimes. We really like the park! We dig in the leaves, and visit with the little humans and the big humans, and sniff stuff, and dig stuff, and have lots of fun. Sometimes, we find these tunnel things - right under the ground! And kind of sticky uppy, above the ground too! Mom says they’re made by something called ‘moles’. We dig and dig when we find these tunnels, and we stick our heads down in them, but we never ever ever see ‘moles’.

Is there really such a thing as ‘moles’? Or is this one of those tricks humans think are funny, like squeak your squeaky, then hide it so you freak out and can’t find it?

Just wondering -
The Insane Weasel Posse (Frick, Frack, Finn and Elf)

YOU ARE FERRETS!!! OH MY GOD!!! the lady’s sister used to have the things called ferrets and the lady tells the very funny story about the ferrets and they jump sideways and go chkchkchkchk and sometimes I see the ferrets in the place that is the dogstore and they play tumble games and I want to play with them!

Moles. OH YES!!! there is the thing that is the mole. I see them sometimes at the dog park. and one time there was a very little dog that was not a little it was just smallish and the dog was doing the thing that was being very mean to a mole and the mole made lotsof squeaks and the lady got SO MAD!!! and we had to do the thing that was go to the other side of the park but that is good because that is the place where the toads are!! Do you know toads? sometimes the toads are the kind that are insideout and you can roll in them and they smell SO GOOD!!!!!

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(For those wondering about the toad thing, that's a reference to a very early Chester column featuring a question from a dog about why their humans would bathe them every time they found something good to roll in. Chester apparently likes to roll in roadtoads.)