My sleep isn't being helped by another little fact. I put Lucas on a diet. I always said I wouldn't try doing that again, but I don't think an adult male (neutered) cat should look like he's pregnant with puppies. On a more practical side, the extra weight is aggravating his arthritis. From personal experience I know that diet food is the least satisfying meal imaginable, so have elected to reduce the volume of what he normally gets rather than change formulas. It's for his own good, not that you can have a rational conversation with a cat. Give them enough food, a clean litter box, and a sunny puddle to snooze in, and they pretty much ignore any words of wisdom you would choose to share with them.
He's the size of a well-fed beaver, minus the flat tail of course. And when he walks on me, I notice just how much he weighs.
He woke me repeatedly last night with what can best be described as aggressive grooming. I think this had less to do with helpfully taming my curls and more to do with sucking off my fruity hair gel for sustenance. He's also out-of-sorts about the new bed quilt and yowled repeatedly from the centre of my bed yesterday afternoon, until I put the old wool-filled comforter back on the bed for him to slink under for his afternoon nap. I tried holding up the corner of the new quilt for him to walk under. All I got for my trouble was a glassy unblinking cat stare which I interpreted as "you can't fool me - that's not my blanky".
All those repeated wakings did serve one purpose. As I lay in the dark, half-asleep, wondering if Lucas was working up to taking an experimental bite out of one of my ears, I analyzed what's been bothering me about my Shady Lanes quilt blocks and all the bordering options that just won't work.
It was pointed out to me by more than one of my Stashbuster pals and a few interested commenters, but it's something I knew already. It needs another column of blocks - both for width and for symmetry. I wouldn't say I'm a slave to symmetry. I don't have the two night tables with matching lamps on either side of my bed, for example and am more likely to use three candles when decorating rather than two (after wiping a sleeved arm over the table to dust it). But, I'm not immune to the graphic appeal of a balanced quilt and I think this one needs to be balanced. So, I will be cutting sashing strips and sew n' flip squares to make sashings for another six blocks. I'm also pulling out the strings and crumbs to work on a few Crumb-Along blocks today...
... after I google product information on my hair gel to find out how many calories it contains.
