Holy crap--a complete pair of socks! Yes, you are in the right place.

Pretty, aren't they? If I was a little more diligent, knit faster, and had more money to spend on stash, I'd look at having only hand-knit socks in my drawer. Alas, that'll take a while...


Sorry for the craptastic quality of the pictures. Now that The Beloved and I are actually blogging about wine, I'm working on getting a better camera and a light tent. I may end up making my own light tent, but the camera just isn't doing what I need it to, hence the desire for an upgrade.

In other news, this week will be busy. On Friday I got two calls for job interviews--one for a Young Adult/Reference position at a public library a couple of towns over from mine (20 minute commute--yay!); the other with *gasp* EBSCO, home of the uber library database. The EBSCO job is in the editorial department as a Humanities Abstractor. Two very different opportunities, but both are full-time, which the current job(s) is(are) not. Imagine--health insurance and retirement plans again....it seems almost too good to be true.

And it might be, after all, these are only interviews. But it is nice to dream. And to make the first cut. So far, one appointment is scheduled for next Thursday and I'm still waiting to hear on the other. I'm hoping they can see me on Tuesday afternoon--otherwise, it looks like I'll probably have to wait 'till next week because this week is overflowing with crazy-insanity.

Which, naturally, means it's time for more fun with cats. (Warning: discussion of cat urinary health to follow.)

Polly had been doing so well. We've changed their food to a urinary tract health formula (one you can buy in the grocery store--not prescription), and the little demons seem to love it. The bowl has been empty within a half-hour of feeding time. So, when she started whining more, I assumed it was EBS (Empty Bowl Syndrome) and didn't pay it much mind. Until yesterday when I went into the bathroom and it looked like we were performing ritual sacrifices in our bathtub. Seriously--if CSI comes over and luminols the bathroom, we'll have some explaining to do.

Since it appears the infection has recurred, I called the vet this morning and will have to leave work early to get her to the one afternoon appointment they had. Le sigh. This means I will have to forgo new shoes for my interview. Oh well. I'm wondering if any of you have ever brought an animal to a different vet for a second opinion or if that officially makes me a crazy cat lady?

Here's my problem: Our vet is convinced that we need to put Polly on Prescription Weight Loss cat food. And I won't argue that she's overweight. However, I've been reading more postings from people who own large breed cats (I joined the Maine Coon Cat Lovers group on Ravelry--we were told Polly was a Norwegian Forest/Maine Coon cross at the shelter, though she really looks more the Forest Cat, she's got behavioral traits peculiar to both breeds), and it seems to me that while Polly could lose her "udder" (flabby lower abdomen), she's really not all that far outside of the norm for her breed(s). Her last weigh-in was 17.5 lbs, which reflects half a pound lost since February. I'm just not convinced she needs to be a 14 pound cat.

Anyway--I'll put her on Prescription Urinary Health cat food if that's what her body requires. It will be expensive, but it will beat hell out of taking her to the vet every two weeks and having to hogtie and drug her three times a day. I need a little more convincing about the Kitty Weight Watchers stuff, though. (The Beloved is a bit of a conspiracy theorist, and the fact that we can only buy this special diet food from the vet makes him very, very wary.) And if that's all I get from the vet today, I'm seriously considering taking her for a second opinion--preferably with a vet who specializes, or at least has decent experience with large breed cats, if such a thing exists. Am I nuts?