A few weeks ago there was a kitty in our backyard visiting. She’s a pretty kitty, and I didn’t mind her being out there.

Until the crying began.

I own two cats, but they both came from a rescue group, and they were fixed before they came home. I have never had a cat in heat. The crying and screaming? Oh my goodness. It was almost enough to drive me mad.

Eventually, the crying ended. Now I’m worried that she’s a knocked up preggo kitty without a home. I have only seen her once in the past few weeks. Today she was outside and let me visit with her. She let me pet her, she talked to me, she walked back and forth between my legs. And those eyes! She has such beautiful green eyes!

How can I tell if she is pregnant? She is a small cat. She looks a little wider across, but I’m not really sure - I don’t know if she was like that before. I tried to feel around while she was laying on the sidewalk, to see if I could feel baby kittens within, but I couldn’t tell anything. How long are cats pregnant? Anyone have any tips?

Elaine pointed out in my comments the other day that this site is starting to sound like all knitting, all the time. Granted, it seems to be the main thing going on my life right now outside of work - and while I could talk about clients, that is just not right - so … let’s see … what else can I talk about?

Last weekend, Mike took off Thursday so we could all play for Jason’s spring break. We went to the Science Museum to check out the Gold! exhibit. It was pretty interesting, and as an added perk we got to see an Imax about gold too. Did you know that gold never erodes? It doesn’t even really tarnish. It is so malleable, one coin can be used to cover a 10×10 room in gold - including the floor and ceiling.

After we left the exhibit, I picked up a plant from the gift shop outside of the butterfly exhibit. It is one of the ones that the butterflies should like to feed on. I wanted to get the dill plant too, as it is a host plant, but we decided not to get both. It was a gorgeous dill though, so I sort of regret not getting it. I’m going out to Spring in a half an hour, so I might stop at the Brookwood nursery shop there and see what herbs they have. Within this next week, I need to get outside and clean out all the flower beds and plant the herbs we have so far, along with some flowers. I think they will all be going in containers until I figure out which spots in the yard really have the best sun exposures for them. We have a nice and shady back yard, which only leaves a small corner for an herb garden. The patio is out of the question, as there is no sun there. The windowsill in the kitchen is out for the same reason.

After we left the museum on Thursday we headed into downtown to eat at Josephine’s. The owner was there, so it was great to see him. He is such a sweet man - if you ever stop by, be sure to tell Johnny hello. After Josephine’s, we decided to stop at Kavah Kane’s - Mike had coffee and studied for his certification for work, Jason had hot chocolate and played on their computer, and I … well, I can’t say what I did. Because that’s not what this post is about.

Friday we decided to go back down to Hermann Park because the weather was great. We considered going to Galveston, but out of nowhere Jason said he didn’t want to go because he didn’t want to deal with the sand. We decided it was a nice day to check out the paddle boats on the pond, and we took a football & frisbee with us and just played.

Saturday morning Mike & Jason went fishing and I stayed home to catch up on work that I missed while out Thursday & Friday. They were home in time for lunch, and we spent a nice day at home. I think we were all pretty tired after two full days outdoors - the fresh air is fabulous, but I always feel so tired afterwards. That’s a good thing though, and I don’t mind it one bit.

On Sunday we went over to my parent’s house for Easter. My mom made a fantastic lunch and it was nice to spend time with them. We stayed through dinner time, but had to head home to get ready for the new week. Mike was back at work on Monday, and Jason went back to school on Tuesday. It is strange not having someone home after having Jason off of school for so long. (He was off almost a week and a half.)

Now it’s time to head out for a knitting class. I know, I know, I was trying to avoid talking about it. But I’m going to learn how to Magically Knit, making a mobius scarf that is actually knit in one continuous loop. Not in a rectangle and then joined together with a twist - no, a true mobius. I can’t wait!

According to Tivo To Go Unleashed!, you can get Tivo To Go on your PSP. How cool is that? [via Kevin Donahue]

I have had problems with my right shoulder for at least 15 years, and one of the issues I have is numb fingers. It’s not carpal tunnel - they figured out years ago (thanks to fun rounds of testing - oh, so fun) that it originates with a nerve all the way up in my shoulder.

Trying to crochet a few months ago was almost impossible. Almost every time I worked on something, I would have a numb arm the next day. Working on a computer with a numb hand? Not fun.

Knitting is better, especially when I knit Continental. Unfortunately, I don’t purl well that way, so I’m still throwing with my right hand. I’m very cautious though, and stop if I notice any pain.

I’m going to start doing hand exercises now - I’m sure they will help. The 5-5-5 Workout, along with working on knitting loosely and maybe even some knitting and yoga.

Anyone else have any tips?

I’m over half way through the increase section of the Clapotis, after ripping it out and starting over at least 3 times. More actually, if you count the number of times I ripped out the first 3-4 rows. For anyone considering the Clapotis, I promise - it gets a lot better around row 8. Although I’m now eyeing the 144 rows I will be knitting in the Straight Rows and … wow. I’ve never had to knit so many rows with so many stitches. The Booga Bag has 100 stitches, but only about 100 rows total. I’ve made some long scarves, but the rows on those are short. 144 rows of 100+ stitches … wow. The fact that there is a pattern to the rows will help keep it interesting.

I’m making it with Plymouth Yarn’s “Bella Color” in a gray/blue stripe colorway. (Color no. 17) It was a hard yarn to get used to, and my Denise needles did not work well with it. I had to stop and get some metal circular needles yesterday so that I could keep moving on it. (Bamboo grips this yarn too much.) I’m now knitting on US#6 29″ circulars and it is smoooooth.

Now if I could just figure out how to purl the regular way Continental (instead of the Norwegian Purl), they 144 rows would probably go a lot faster. Throwing while purling is taking way too long!

Wish you had been at SXSW? Want a taste of what is discussed there? Wish you had taken notes at a panel, but you didn’t? Now you can have it all - a fabulous wiki full of SXSW Session Notes! Whee!

Kevin was one of many new people I met in Austin this year. Be sure to go and tell him “hi!” and remember, Buy Local.

Want a taste of 20×2 (one of the many evening events at SXSW)? You can check out one of the presentations by Michael Buffington or Nick Finck.

Whoo hoo! After a yarn shortage scare, where I had to take out a row just so I could bind off, I have gotten the Booga Bag off the needles! (Picture on Flickr, with a mini version over in the sidebar.) Now I just have to find a pillowcase with a zipper and I will be felting it tomorrow! Yeah!

I love the colors, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out when it is felted, but I can’t even begin to explain how glad I am that I am done with this bag. I’m not allergic to wool, but there is something about this yarn that triggers a bad allergic reaction in me. I suspect it is the dye or the finishing that they use when they make it, and no one else has complained of issues with it like I have. Hopefully when I felt the bag, it will pull out the dyes that are bothering me.

I have the yarn to start knitting my Sophie bag (a dark, rich purple), but I think I’m going to work on my Clapotis first. The only other project still on needles is the “Jay Allen scarf,” named after Jay since I only worked on it in panels that he was on at SXSW. (I learned I’m a much better listener with the laptop closed and knitting needles in my hands.) I’m over halfway done with it, so it shouldn’t take too long to finish it up. I can work on the Clapotis at the same time. New projects - wheee!

I’m mainly posting this so I remember to show it to Mike, but in case anyone else needs it, here is how to Rip NPR to MP3 for an iPod.

My latest addition to the TiVo season pass lineup? Craft Corner DEATHMATCH! How perfect is that title? Sure, we all thought that “Wickedly Perfect” was a good title, but Craft Corner DEATHMATCH is so fabulous! Oh my. I can’t wait to actually see the show. Here is a brief description:

It’s Martha Stewart Living meets Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome when amateur crafters compete against each other, against the clock–and against the imposing Craft Lady of Steel. Armed with nothing more than hot-glue guns and a few basic materials, the contestants must swiftly assemble projects that are judged on beauty, creativity and utility.

How can you go wrong with any show that has Deathmatch in the title? I mean, really? Is it Wednesday yet? Because I can’t wait!

(In case you were wondering, we can blame me watching this show on Erin.)

Back in February, I attended the Stampin’ Up! regional convention in San Antonio. I made cards for the card swap, and I submitted one to Stampin’ Up! for their review. Today I found out that it is featured in the Demonstrator’s Stamper’s Showcase! Whoo hoo! They only select a few cards, and they seem to have rather strict guidelines. I’m so excited that mine was picked!

It’s Kymberlie’s 30th Birthday! Whoo hoo! Happy Birthday, Kymberlie! 30s are the new 20s! You will love them!

Happy Birthday to Wendy, too!

While at a technology related conference like SXSW, it is really exciting to find another knitter. While waiting for the Accessibility shoot-out to begin, I turned around and spotted a lady wearing a Clapotis scarf, and I almost screamed. I immediately pointed out to Matt, “See! Another knitter! We are everywhere!” because I had pointed out earlier that there are a lot of knitters online. A whole target market that people are really missing. So it was a thrill to meet Julie of Yarnmaven, and to admire her absolutely gorgeous scarf. I’m definitely going to have to get some of that yarn - it is beautiful!

Since arriving at SXSW, I’ve been thinking a lot about that night that I told Tantek that CSS makes my eyes bleed. I’ll admit it, I’ve only been lightly reading the CSS book I got over a year ago. Why? It still wasn’t clicking for me. I just didn’t get it. At all.

Two weeks ago I had my, “Ah ha! I get it!” moment where I could understand how the CSS on a site was working to format the table-free layout. But I only got how it was working, not why it was working that way. I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those people that needs to know why in addition to how.

Of course there is lot of talk at SXSWi about CSS, semantics, how to code great pages, how to trick out your blog, and so on. There is also a Borders bookstore here featuring the books of the authors that are presenting on the panels. Today while killing time, I stopped in there and browsed the books. As my work is changing, I need to build up my skill set in this area.

One of the books that I picked up was Web Standards Solutions: The Markup and Style Handbook. In just reading a few pages, I realized it was the book I’ve been missing all along. It not only covers how to do things, more importantly it covers WHY. Why using is better than using Why you should lay CSS out a certain way. Why, why, why.

I approached Dan Cederholm in the hallway to thank him. (Well, that and to sign my book, of course.) Finally, a book that made it all clear. If you are like me, and you want to improve your web skills, I highly recommend this book. I am excited about building a better web.

No time for podcasts? How about a spotcast instead? You can read some of the first ones at EchoRadio.