Kummerspeck

I have a lot of photos of my cat, Keely. There's not written rule or anything, but I'm pretty sure I'm required to take at least one photo of him every day. He also has fans on both Facebook and Instagram, so we don't want to disappoint anyone. It doesn't hurt that he's ridiculously photogenic and likes to pose for photos even though he acts like he hates it. Such a diva.

One of my favorite photos of him from 2020 involves a casserole. 

Yes, he's staring longingly at a casserole. This was taken the day after my company told us all to start working from home. I went to the store over my lunch break, and bought the ingredients to make country casserole. I don't normally make casseroles as I am one person and I don't like eating leftovers for more than a day, but country casserole is one of those things my mom made when I was a kid and it had an air of comfort about it. The craziness of 2020 was just beginning, and cooking would fast become something everyone decided to turn to for comfort. Food is comforting. When someone cooks or bakes for someone else, it's a sign they care. There's a reason food is part of so many celebrations, whether they be happy or not. Keely knew. He knew the second I took that casserole out of the oven that food would be the theme of 2020 for pretty much everyone. 

Last weekend I shared the word morgenmuffel with you. Today, let's discuss the other German word I learned this month: kummerspeck. 

Kummerspeck literally translates to "grief bacon." It means emotional eating, or the weight a person gains because of emotional eating. I recently started reading the rest of the Knitting in the City series by Penny Reid, and the word is used in book 3, Love Hacked. I immediately wrote it down with the intention of making it into a piece for this project.  

I'm pretty certain 95% of the population has done some form of emotional eating since the beginning of the pandemic. I've tried to be good about these things, but sometimes I bake a peach upside-down cake for myself or make pancakes for dinner. Is it a great way to deal with stuff? No, but sometimes I want to have cookies and sometimes I want to eat a fruit salad. Life is complicated. 

Keely had to go to the vet this week because of a goopy eye (I am currently administering eye drops twice a day until next Thursday). The vet told me he gained back the pound he lost plus a few ounces, and I need to help him lose the weight again (and maybe a little more). Keely has always been a large cat; he was 14-ish pounds when I adopted him. He gained a little weight once he settled in with me, but our vet was fine with it because he stayed consistent. He's not allowed anymore treats and I have to see if dividing his breakfast into two servings will help him beg less (the answer is probably no, but we can try). Starting next week, after the eye drops are done, Keely is on a diet. In solidarity, I will also forgo any excessive treats for me. No more kummerspeck for us. 

Details:

Stitches: back stitch and satin stitch
Thread palette: DMC 310 (2 and 3 strands), DMC 387, SS 901 (3 strands)