Kittens, Knitting, and Random Blah

Ok, so I've been at my grandparents' place out in the cornfields (lovely...I wish I lived there again!) since Thursday, so I guess I've got some catching up to do...
First thing, I ordered the yarn off of eBay. Bernat Mirage in midnight hues. Two skeins with USPS shipping and insurance cost me $13.64. Less than what I had figured on spending, so that's OK with me. Now, I got a 29" US 10.5 from my Granma Maleitzke that I'm going to see if it'll work temporarily when my yarn arrives, since I haven't found anything better. But I'm going to have to get to Michael's or JoAnn's sometime before school starts up. I must have that sweater to wear soon! Oh, and I also borrowed "101 To-Go Knitting Projects" from Granma Maleitzke. Which is exactly what I need for the bus rides and at school. I've only ever had one teacher tell me not to knit in her class, and in five years, I think that's pretty good. And she retired this last year, anyway, so I'm good.
I have Band camp this Monday through Saturday, so I won't be around for a while, I think. Oh, and I have a scarf I'm knitting now in k1p1 ribbing to keep my needles busy until all the sweater materials are assembled. Pretty neat yellow/green colored stripes I'm doing. Love it.
Two new knitters entered the world on Wednesday: my boyfriend and his little sister. Yes. My boyfriend. I now date a knitter! Mmm...maybe someday I'll talk him into socks. But I've gotta be sure to caution him against anything but scarves and mittens/gloves for me until we're married, due to the Curse. Just in case, you know...
I have no idea how my babies have been since I left, but they were all awfully glad to see me today. Wisk was in my lap for three hours. Three hours. He doesn't usually last that long! Spaz wanted to be up there, too, but Wisk wouldn't share, so he's here now. I missed them, but Gamma has two MONSTROUS cats by name of Felix and Bear, who are 15.7 and 15.5 pounds, respectively. And they aren't fat, just BIG. And Bear is fluffy. And adorable.
So there. I think I've caught up.

So, I'm still searching for that illusive (and possibly imaginary) Bernat Illusions or Mirage (aptly named). And the circular needles I'll need for Topsecret. And guess what? I found the yarn, at a CANADIAN MICHAEL'S!!! I'm in FOWLERVILLE. No Canada trips for me. My only hope is the only slightly local LYSes. One of them carries it, according to the Bernat website. I found a beautiful blue one through a Google search last night that someone made in February of 2004. And I am now in love with the color. And I cannot find it.
So what do I do? I calmly begin to consder using Lion Homespun. But...I don't want to! I want the Bernat!!!! (insert tantrum). The Candy Apple is an agreeable color, but I really want that gorgeous blue I saw. Mmm...Mason MUST have it, they MUST!!! if Howell does, that's much better, but still...one of them MUST!!!
I need to go knit something big and fast, calm me down...
Oh yes, and that up there's a picture of my little tiny cell phone purse I made with scrap yarn in seed stitch. Crochet straps because I'm lazy.

I've been looking forward to finishing off my WIP and beginning Topsecret from Knitty, which is to be my first sweater. Unfortunately, on my materials search, I got no needles, and no yarn. Somehow, in my area, Bernat Illusion or Mirage is hard to find, and US 10.5 16" and 32", and US 11 circular needles as well. And the LYS was closed tonight. But I will have that sweater! I will!

These are my babies. First, my baby, Wiskers Ferdinand II(immediate right). He really is mine, too, since I fed him scrambled eggs, milk, and American cheese when his mother wouldn't (he was the runt). I apologize for the fuzzy pictures; our camera's very picky about how much it's moving when you take a picture. It's annoying. I'm not sure if that white thing by his bum is that stupid bear sitting there, or the cotton yarn I was making dishcloths out of during classes this past Spring. I wish I'd gotten his collar in this shot, it's a very cool one, in my opinion. It's black with a little bell and silver, reflective five-pointed stars and crescent moons on it. I was hoping to give him some extra protection beyond just the reflecty-stuff due to the silver and the moons. My other option was reflective orange goldfish. He escapes from the house from time to time, so I worry about him. He does go out on his leash and harness rather willingly, though, which I appreciate.
The kitten above him there is Spaz Nathaniel I. His brother Blue Oshtemo is right above him. I love both of their eyes. Blue's are actually a nice, golden orange color, and Spaz's change between a color matching his fur and a blue-green color, depending on the lighting. Beautiful!

Well, kittens and Cat, to be fair to my beloved Wisk. I gave up, needed somewhere else to go in my bored times, so here it is. A blog. As if there weren't enough online already.
So I shall introduce the kittens and Cat. Kitten A is a beautiful little blond tabby, by name of Spaz Nathaniel I. When first Spaz and I met, he was, well, a spaz. Still is, and we're conficned that he has both ADHD and an imaginary friend. Kitten B is an adorable little dark gray kitten of the shade I believe they call "blue," hence his name, Blue Oshtemo. Oshtemo because my sibling thinks it's hilarious. Oshtemo. (It's actually a city in Michigan, did you know that?) Both of them are approximately three or four months old. We got them from my Uncle Tracy's house when my sibling and their friend blew up the kitchen of said uncle.
Cat and I believe he deserves his own paragraph. Cat's name is actually Wiskers Ferdinand II. He is a gray tabby with white boots and belly, and a little "M" on his forehead. His coloring is perfect. It is an exact 50/50 split of both his parents. See, Wisk had two older siblings, PitterPaws and Hypurr. Hypurr looked exactly like her mother, Lansing, and PitterPaws exactly like his father, Wonder. Wonder was a gray tabby, dark stripes on a light background, and Lansing was a dark gray solid kitty with white boots and belly and a little M. What? You say you want the entire family tree of my darling Wisk? Certainly! Later. Right now, I'll give you the short version. It began with Marylin, who arrived in our garage pregnant and hungry. So of course, we kept her. She gave birth soon to Midnight (black), Wiskers Ferdinand I (who was, in fact, a classic tabby like his mother), Silky (white with gray patches), and Sebastien (another tabby). Well, Silky and Sebastien were given to my cousins, but Midnight became my sibling's and Wiskers mine. We had, about a year after, another batch, Fluffi (gray tabby) and Stympi (classic). These two had crooked tails and were slightly retarded. Stympi went to the sib, and Fluffi to me, unofficially. Sadly, Stympi drowned in the old well in our basement. We have no idea how he got down there. Then, another batch like the first, except with a solid gray. They were Salem, Walnut, Charcoal, and Wonder. Marylin soon began to have problems with her litters; very few survived. Wiskers disappeared soon after Salem was born. We don't know what happenned to Midnight. Over the years, Walnut disappeared, Charcoal accidently got dropped off in a corn field down the road, and Salem died while I was at summer camp, something I will feel eternally guilty for. Fluffi had a litter of her own, with two kittens, Lansing, and Baby Gray(gray tabby). Baby Gray got hit by a car about a year later.
And on July 2nd, 2000, Wiskers Ferdinand II and his sibs popped into the world behind our dishwasher. To our knowlegde, Wiskers is the only surviving member of his line, and he's fixed. Talk about being the Last of the Mohicans.