Northern Sheep

How to give a pill to a cat

2006-03-16T15:47:00.000+02:00

found this somewhere on the net a long time ago and it still has me in hysterics every time i read it XD enjoy!

***

You may be more successful than I have ever been at medicating a cat. The following instructions are part of the public domain, as far as I know.

1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered Doulton figurines from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.
Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
9. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
10. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw tee-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
11. Call fire department to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.
12. Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed, force cat's mouth open with small wrench. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet mignon. Hold head vertically and pour ½ pint of water down throat to wash pill down.
13. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture store on way home to order new table.

And thank you again, secret pal!

2006-03-07T22:38:00.000+02:00

alright, this time my secret pal must have read my mind :O
i decided to knit a light scarf with the beautiful yarn she sent me and while i was knitting i messed up a few stitches because i forgot to count the rows... so, what did she send me this time? a knitting counter and two pairs of beautiful circular bamboo needles!!
thank you so so much for everything, first of all for your patience and generosity :)
cannot wait to find out who you are! i wuv u!! :DDD

(photos will be posted as soon as i get the camera)

It's all my fault

2006-03-07T22:33:00.000+02:00

when my day ends i always forget to add a post here... i'm simply too tired to think.
big changes are coming my way and i hope i'll be ready, so bear with me ;)
oh, and if any of the readers lives in south yorkshire, uk, could you please contact me? thank you very much.

I wuuuuv my Secret Pal

2006-02-08T02:42:00.000+02:00

alright, here's what she sent me: a box of wonderful nag champa incense (my favorite), a cute small notepad that fits perfectly in a small purse, a bar of soap (it's caffeine soap!) that leaves the skin unbelievably silky and smooth and... two skeins of opal yarn in a gorgeous natural color! :D
isn't she great??
thank you so so much, i wuv you <3

now i'm literally tortured about the yarn, i don't know what to knit! socks? an unusual scarf? suggestions, anyone?

btw, please write me at sweetlittlemonster (at) gmail (dot) com!! i'd love to talk with you, you have great taste! :D
thanks again so much and sorry for the delay *hugs*

It's been a month!

2006-02-07T02:35:00.000+02:00

oh wow, i want to apologize to all the people who were worried about me. i'm okay, it's just a very difficult moment but it will pass :)
as for my pals of course i havenät forgotten about you! how could i?
i was waiting for a few things to arrive (they were late, damnit) and yes i got the package from my mysterious german pal :D
check the post above!

For my Secret Pal

2006-01-11T14:45:00.000+02:00

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?

Well, I do like natural fibers better and since I live in a very cold climate, any yarn with a high percentage of wool is great. However a few of my friends are allergic to wool so I buy acrylic yarn whenever I'm knitting something for them.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I'd love to learn how to spin but i wouldn't know where to start. I also used to crochet when I was a kid and then I abandoned it but I'd like to try again.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have a small bag that came with a lot of needles.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I learned how to knit and purl when I was 10 or so, then dropped it and finally picked it up again about a year and a half ago so I would say I'm still a beginner.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I have an Amazon wish list, a ThinkGeek wish list in the "wanting" section on my blog.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I like vanilla, cinnamon, coffee, chocolate and coconut scents.
i also like indian incense sticks, my favorites are nag-champa, chandan and darshan.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Definitely. I love dark chocolate, jellies, hard candy, everything XD

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

I'm learning how to sew, and I do needle-felting, clay modeling, bookbinding, painting. I also just started a course in Japanese printing.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I can listen to pretty much anything but scream and disco music. No problem with music formats either, I can play anything.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I absolutely dislike pink and i'm not fond of pastels either. I love warm colors like cherry, wine, mauve, chocolate and so on. I also knit a lot in black, military green and hues of blue for my friends.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have three gorgeous cats.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I absolutely love scarves, hats and mittens. You cannot have too many! But i think ponchos are out of fashion.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I don't have a favorite brand, but I love merino wool, 100% wool and wool blends with a high percentage of, you bet, wool :D

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

The eyelash and "novelty" yarns. Fun fur is the spawn of satan ;)

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Socks, socks, socks. I'm not very good at knitting them, but I love them!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Hats and shrugs and socks but mostly hats. They're always a big hit with friends.

17. What are you knitting right now?

Grandma's socks for a girlfriend, more socks and a hat for a boyfriend and a bag

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

You bet! There's something special about handmade gifts that makes me treasure them.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

I like circular needles better but I use dpns for socks and since last summer I have inherited a giant bag of needles from my stepmother.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I own only a pair of straight 6mm bamboo needles. They're rather old and worn with use, but I love them. I mostly knit with aluminum needles (i have a lot!) or with ginormous wooden needles in sizes above 10mm. I'm not fond of plastic needles, they irk me for some reason.

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Nope, I do all the winding by hand.

22. How did you learn to knit?

It was at school. They gave us a sweater to knit but didn't provide many explanations so I asked my mother for help and she showed me how to knit and purl. Needless to say, I didn't sew it very well but it was warm and I used it for years.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

Hm, a pair of socks which are about 2 months old. They're nothing special, but I made a few mistakes and I can't be bother to rip them yet.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

Garfield! he's simply the coolest cat in the world. I love cats.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

None in particular.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Buttons, bookmarks, small old keys and... stamps *shrugs*

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

None

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?

Bamboo circulars, I love the lonely pair of straight bamboo needles I have, it would be fun to try circulars :)

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Spinning! whenever I see all those beautiful handspinned yarns I go nuts but I wouldn't know where to start.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I do knit socks but they're fairly simple patterns. My foot is a size 6 US, 37 EU

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

It's on December 2nd

Another one bites the dust

2006-01-01T19:31:00.000+02:00

that's it, after the demise of the battery two weeks ago now also the power adaptor of my glorious powerbook g3 has died. i'm very upset because i need the laptop to work but i don't have enough money to buy the pieces i would need to use it again so for the time being i'm left with a craptastic home pc that crashes at least twice a week. lovely way to start the year, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. not.
since i moved here, getting some work has been a real pain and i still don't have a regular job, so in order to earn at least part of that money, i'm now offering to you fellow bloggers a bunch of graphic sets for your blog for a very reasonable fee.
i'll upload the first available sets & pieces tomorrow, if this pc doesn't fail me as well.

The end

2005-12-30T23:45:00.000+02:00

another year is about to end, finally! this wasn't a good year, neither for me nor for the rest of this troubled world. let's hope that 2006 will bring a lot of positive things to everyone *makes a few wishes*

on another note, i just sent the last buttons i managed to make for secret pal 7. i'm really sorry, i have three pages of sketches but i was so overwhelmed with all the holiday work that i didn't make it. shame on meh.
anyway, if someone wants a different background or text color, just leave a message on the blog and i'll make the change for you :)

*the robot is a transparent gif

Sun sun, merciful one

2005-12-20T17:53:00.000+02:00

hello from finland. it's cold here (-7 °C) and dark too because the sun sets very early so i thought that a sunny tote bag would have been just the perfect gift to lift up the spirit during this season. i used a handmade stencil which took me about 7 hours to make and cut, and pebeo textile colors. i had never used that brand before and let me tell you something about the colors: they stink! they smell so bad that i'm sick at the idea of having to use them again. gotta find some other brand.
anyway, back to the bag. what do you think?

in other news, i'm swatching to make this "magic cardi" by novita yarns after having spent 30 minutes to translate the pattern. so much for my finnish ;)

please note that the photo on novita's site is dreadful. for a much better picture of a finished cardi, visit niina's blog knitter's block.

Keep your ears warm, dude!

2005-12-18T01:07:00.000+02:00

finally i finished the pipo (hat) as per my boyfriend's request. and he's back from germany, so i can also post a picture!
the hat is knitted on 7 mm circular needles with adrianwool pirenei in color #303, 80% merino wool, 20% dralon.

the bear modeling the hat is hot, i agree :D

Ladies and... ladies

2005-12-15T00:48:00.000+02:00

There you go, I submitted a few buttons for SP7. They're aren't yet on the official website, but since I really love some of them, here they are exclusively for you.

Hope you like them!

Secret pal 7

2005-12-10T12:03:00.000+02:00

a little while ago i found out about this "secret pal" international swap for knitters and i was a bit disappointed that it was almost over because it looked so cool. but hey, they're organizing another and this time i'm going to participate *woohoo*
at the moment i'm in the process of creating a few buttons for the event as well, because the ladies need them and since i know what a hell of a job there's ahead of them, i think this is the very least i can do.
anyone who's interested in joining: visit the secret pal 7 blog!

I heart pincushions

2005-12-09T13:50:00.000+02:00

okay, i wanted to post pictures and naturally my bf took the camera with him to germany. scheisse.
well, at the very least i have one picture to show, it's my very first attempt at machine sewing (+ some hand-stitching): a heart-shaped pincushion. it's not exactly awesome but my kitty seems to like it anyway :D

Life in plastic is fantastic

2005-12-06T21:51:00.000+02:00

for my birthday i wanted a sewing machine but since i'm a beginner i felt it was better to put my hands on an used one as even the simplest machines are pretty expensive.
i then searched on huuto (a finnish only auction site), found an offer and started monitoring closely, waiting for the final rush - like good bidders normally do - but the bitch seller thought it a smart idea to close the auction before time (have you ever seen it happen?!?), so i lost the opportunity to bid and win. i was so disappointed i wanted to whack her with my very finnish kaulin but unfortunately i have no clue about where she lives. meh.
then destiny - in the shape of my friend anne - came to the rescue announcing that in italy they were selling a cheapo sewing-machine at lidl and that it might be just fine for my beginner status.
i checked and it was on sale here too, so my bf and i went and got it! *happy happy happy*
here it is, in all its sparkling new "made in deutschland" glory :D

photos of a few finished objects coming up!

Korvapuusti for everyone

2005-12-06T18:06:00.000+02:00

so, i hoped to open my crafty blog on my birthday but i didn't make it thanks to a very boring job i had to do. meh.
anyway, here we are now :D i still have some small things to fix (like the comments, i know they suck atm), but hey, at least you have that super-cute sheep on top to stare at and pictures of my projects - both finished and in progress - coming up.
let's celebrate then with a warm korvapuusti and a mug of apple green tea with a teaspoon of chestnut honey *yummy*