Blogger interrupted

... interrupted, distracted, disturbed. April isn't the best month for me anymore, not since last year anyway. It's a month of grief and guilt and what-if. I'm not going into detail as I've moved on from there and dealt with some of the icky stuff. We'll see what happens next year.

Scotty survived his 14th birthday without hassle. It must be nice to be totally oblivious of the human cares and troubles around you! I think he slept most of the day - as usual! He has a couple of choice posi's, namely My Bed and The Lounge. Both rooms get a nice amount of sunshine and are very cat-friendly. I've noticed he sleeps a lot more than he used to, and that he moves more slowly, but he still shows his kitten side from time to time. He also still defends his territory - I witnessed that the other day in a most hilarious manner: Scotty on the inside of the lounge window, and Rascal (my neighbour's cat) on the outside of said (closed) window going at it hammer and tongs! They really don't like each other! I just laughed and laughed!

My little niece turned 4 last month, and apparently adored the colouring books I sent for her. She's so sweet. Last time I rang Pauline, Sam was in the background playing indoor golf. You should have heard her when she got the ball in the hole, she was so pleased and proud! Tiger had better watch out for our Sam!

Scotty: 13 years 364 days

With time marching on and the seasons turning, daylight is at a premium. New Zealand had an extended period of daylight saving time this year, and now that it's ended, dusk falls about 5pm, and dawn's about 6am. We've had a marvellous run of sunshine, and 'they' are telling us we're going to have a mild winter (YAY!!!) All the cicadas have gone, but on a sunny afternoon you can still hear a few crickets singing. There's no doubt  it's been getting cooler, and flannelette's sheets and extra blankets are on the beds. Haven't had the heater on yet but there's still months of autumn/winter still to come. My fingers are cold today.

I have had some trouble leaving comments on some blogs - Blogger doesn't seem to like me much anymore - so if you are reading this NATALIE I just loved your posts about Benjamin! He was such a gorgeous kitten, I think I'm even more enamoured than ever! (Natalie blogs at Chicken Blog, which has been going for EIGHT YEARS! She's a marvel)

My shawl making is still coming along nicely. I entered two more in April:

Carisbrooke Stole (link to free pattern)

Rose Diamonds (Frost diamonds)

I love the Carisbrooke stole, but not so fussed on the Rose diamonds. It isn't long enough but I just couldn't face doing any more repeats of the pattern, not to mention the fact that the long purl return rows were sending me to sleep! (However, it does make quite a nice shoulder warmer.) I'm currently making 1 knitted and 1 crocheted shawl, and have 3 crocheted and 1 knitted waiting 'finishing' - I won't be putting them all into the competition though. I've committed myself to a knit along in June and ordered my 2ply merino yarn for that this past weekend. There will be lots to see next time I post about shawls!

I think that's me for today - I want to get back to my knitting - I've only got 16 more rows and 'Chart C' to go on my current shawl! I could get it finished today .....