The Cup of Fortunes: Week 40 (September 28-October 4)

It's finally October! It's the best month of the year. There's a lot going on right now, so I get it if you're not as enthused by October as I am. I choose to find joy in small things, and the thing for me right now is enjoying October to the full extent I can enjoy it. Last night's fortune cookie seems to agree:

I'm a little bummed this one isn't part of the Cup of Fortunes. I may have to add it as a bonus fortune if I have time at the end of the project. 

As I mentioned last week, the remaining fortunes tend to focus on a few themes like finances, being successful, and travel. I'm not sure how that happened, but it is what it is. I'm not entirely sure what business ventures the fortune is referring to, but I asked Bea and she thinks we should start a business for new cat parents that ensures they have enough weird spot for their cats to sleep while also providing soft spots the cat will ignore. She's very good at this and thinks we should capitalize on her talents. I'm not so sure. 

As for my friends, I hope they all know that the countless memes I send them are my way of helping them when they don't even know they need it. Do you need to see this cat have a picnic with his chipmunk friends? Yes, you absolutely do. Can I interest you in yet another "what frog are you based on your sign" post? You bet. Do you want texts about the shows I'm watching and how they connect to the book I just read? This is what you signed up for. Love you friends!

Here are this week's fortunes and lucky numbers. I also moved the fabric a week earlier than normal. I think I'm going to have to move it more frequently from now on. 

September 28

September 29

September 30

October 1

October 2

October 3

October 4

Weeks 1-40

WIP: The Feral House Purse

I've made so much progress on the house purse! And by progress, I mean I redid the door overhang three more times, but I also finished the front panel and started the back panel, so I'm still on schedule according to the SAL schedule. 

I didn't have to buy a lot of yarn for this project since I purchased some yarn over a year ago with the intention of learning to crochet. I haven't really gotten into crochet as much as I would like, so I decided to use the yarn for the house purse. However, I didn't have anything that would work for the roof and the door overhang, so I did buy some yarn. I ended up buying two different shades of yellow brown, and my mistake was using the color I started with. It was a little too big for the overhang. I took it out again and tried the other yarn and it looks so much better. Granted, I did this twice before I was satisfied, but it got done. 

I also finished the finer details on the front panel including the window and door details and the flowers. I used a combination of DMC threads (Eco Vita and Perle) and a finer yarn Circulo's Anne for the flowers. I love how the little details came out.

I started the back panel last night. I'm hoping to get the base of it done this weekend so I can work on the details later in the week. I have to go to the office for a few days this week and that always throws off my evenings because I'm tired from commuting. We'll see how it goes. 

An orange cat! Pumpkin gets from representation. Should I add another cat in the other window?

I'm pleased with the progress I'm making and am enjoying this project. Doing a counted thread project is still new for me. I'm getting better with it. By the end of this project, I'll be counted thread project champ.

Vampire Book Club

Vampire Book Club is not a real thing, but it sounds fun so I'm going to go with it. During the month of October, I'm reading three vampire novels. I don't know why I decided to go with a theme this year, but I'm enjoying it so far. I finished the first book, Carmilla, yesterday afternoon.

Carmilla was published 25 years before Dracula and it's very clear that Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was a huge influence on Bram Stoker. A lot of the aspects of vampire stories we know are in Carmilla - the remote locations, the aversion to religion, the mysterious arrival of a young woman, a series of mysterious deaths since the arrival of the young woman, the dreams, the methods of dispatching a vampire, the random dudes who show up just in time to save the day - it's all here. Le Fanu's vampire is a young woman, which is one of the significant aspects of Carmilla. This is my first time reading Carmilla and I can absolutely see the influence its had on modern vampire stories, particularly on how female vampires are characterized. 

The version of the book I read was edited by Carmen Maria Machado. Her introduction is wonderful and she adds footnotes throughout the book to add details and context. Carmilla was recommended to me by one of the book sellers at Old Town Books. I was buying Bless Your Heart and told her about my theme, and she was like "I have a book for you." It's a quick read and this edition includes illustrations. 

Next up is Bless Your Heart, a vampire novel set in Texas in 1999. I'm super excited to read this one. I'm also hoping my brother has a DVD of The Lost Boys because it's not on any of the streaming services I have and I really want to watch it. I have a few other vampire movies to watch this month. Stay tuned!

Other Small Joys

My friend Elaine loves holiday gift giving. She's particularly fond of Advent calendars. I thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle one she gave me last Christmas. Anyway, she gave me the weird Lego-like Halloween calendar. I started it on October 1. I'm not entirely sure what I'm making, but it's fun. I think the pieces can be done as the daily piece but then can all be used to form a giant piece because there's a second set of instructions on the back of each individual set of instructions. Curious.

Bea has been a very good girl this week and not completely ripped up my hands when I give her ear drops. We go back to the vet today for a regular checkup and to see how she's doing with the ear infection and weird missing fur patch. She spent the week being cute, including being a very good loaf. 

I celebrated the start of October with a new bat shirt and by making cranberry walnut bread. If you like to make bread but don't like kneading bread, I recommend this recipe. I think I'll add a little more honey the next time I make it, but otherwise, it was great. 

I know everything feels like a lot right now. I hope you do something nice for yourself this weekend. And remember, nice can be anything that makes you feel rest or joy or whatever you need. Bea would like to recommend sleeping in odd places. This makes her very happy.