More finished socks and Pied Piper Syndrome

First of all, here are the latest finished socks. They are in Jitterbug, color 48, Florentina. I've noticed on the Socknitter's List questions about this yarn lately, so here is all my info on these. I used the pattern inside the Jitterbug label since there are only approximately 293 yards per hank. I cast on 64 stitches (their largest size) since originally I was worried that they would be too small for me. They are too large, so they are going to my grandmother who needs socks that aren't binding. My gauge is 8.5 stitches per inch using size 2 Addi Turbos and Magic Loop. They went very quickly. Those bits of yarn are the leftovers. I had used a yarn meter when winding the balls to attempt to divide it into 2 equal balls. Next time I'll use my electronic food scale, especially since I can weigh the ball winder core first, then set the scale back to zero to automatically deduct the weight of the core. Well, I hope it will be that easy.

That's all I've got about socks. On to more misadventures in the land of the Pied Piper. Beth has been in Italy for nearly 3 weeks, so my work schedule has been different while she's been gone. I've not gotten over to Lifeline Animal Project to order my trap, but that's been okay since I've been paying off this last round of vet bills for Brownie. She has to go in again to have more blood work to see how the hyperthyroidism meds are working, and Scooter really needs to go in since I think he's hyperthyroid too. In the meantime, I've been feeding my ferals, getting them used to coming over here in preparation for trapping, neutering and rabies shots. Life as usual. Or is it. A new cat has shown up. She's a delicate, medium haired grey cat with white feet and a tuxedo front. She's not a feral, but a stray. Has she left home looking for a better place or was she kicked out by her humans? She's an ankle attacker. (Mom, this is where you need to stop reading) She's attacked my ankles a couple of times now. Thank goodness I've been wearing pajama bottoms so she hasn't made contact with skin. After all, I don't know her or her history. I did what I do with all cats. I call them to see just how friendly they are. The first time I called her, she came over, sniffed my hand and backed away. She came right back and sniffed me again. I carefully reached out to pet her and that ended with her bullying her way right into my lap. She is a major lap cat. So Keith and I have determined she needs to go to the vet and get checked out and have her vaccines. We aren't looking for another cat. I've got my hands full. After all, pet care is not a cheap prospect, and I do get regular veterinary care for my pets. But, if she's planning on just coming into the house (as she has done twice today), I need to make sure she's not carrying any feline diseases. Anyone looking for a very friendly, snuggly cat? And I've been calling her a she, which is an assumption since I've not been able to get a good look under the tail, but I'm pretty sure it's a she. I hope so since I've started calling her Lily. I will warn you, Lily is all cat. You know, snuggly for awhile, then gets agitated and wild. My plans are just to foster her for awhile. Really and truly those are my plans. I would prefer to work to earn yarn money, not turn over my check to the vet through mastercard.

Other than that, things are pretty normal. Work has been really busy this week. We thought things would start to quiet down as the weather got warmer, but sock knitting is taking off, and we have tons of sock yarn. We got in a very large shipment of Jitterbug and some Regia Bamboo Colors, and the sock knitters have been swarming us. My only concern is that I am able to buy the colors I want before they all get sold! I think I'm going to tackle some toe up socks in the Lorna's Laces (can't remember which one) that I bought to make socks for Keith. I've got to finish this baby sweater I'm working on first since I'm teaching a finishing class in July! I just took a finishing class from Donna, the new president of the Atlanta Knitting Guild. It was an amazing class, but I'm a little intimidated to teach it. I know how to do most of it and where to find what I can't do, but still... Teaching? I'll be fine. All those science courses in college and 10 years of bookkeeping means I'll have a syllabus for the class.

And that's almost all for today. I've got some housework to do before I go to work this afternoon. The air is horrible today since the winds are from the southeast and bringing all the smoke from the wildfires up to the metro area. It's odd to be thinking we really need a tropical storm, but we do need the rain from one. Maybe leave out the lightning and tornadoes, just send in the rain. Oh well, mopping won't get done while I'm sitting here.