On Multiple Fronts the Day After the Long Visit Yesterday

Yesterday was a lovely day spent with a dear, longtime friend. We've known each other since junior high and what a delight to still be getting together to gab and gossip and drink wine. On the Fur front... When my friend was in the house yesterday, Bonnie was almost absent. She threw her squinty eyed hateful looks from her perch on the lap top. Clyde was all over our guest and telling all sorts of lies about how awful Momma is. Later in the evening Bonnie made multiple brief appearances. As the evenong wore on later both Bonnie and Clyde were clearly ready for bed...and Momma wasn't showing any signs of heading in that direction. There was much pacing in the hallway and urgent looks at us. They finally gave up and perched on the arm and back of my chair grudgingly settling in for the long haul. Finally the company left and Momma went to bed! My goodness it was late. There was some jumping and leaping about on the bed and the chair before finally settling down. Even though I was tired, I still picked up my hefty 800+ page paperback and dove into the Kalihari desert of Africa. Before I knew it, it was after midnight! Needless to say, I am dragging today. It's kinda nice to not have an early alarm. On the Fiber front... I did some knitting as my friend and I traveled about in our visiting. Today I've been working on a pair of socks for a friend. I had started the socks for myself, but my friend was so complimentary about the colors that I decided to make them for her. This is a yarn that I've not worked with before. I found it in the sock yarn area at Joann's. It's Bernat Mosaic in the colorway called Psychedelic. It's thicker than sock yarn. Hopefully I'll get a full pair out of it. I'm knitting my standard sock (Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd) and using size 3 needles. The yarn is bulky enough that I've only had to cast on 40 stitches. The intended feet are size 11, so I'm thinking I'll make the foot 9 inches before starting the toe decreases. Entertainment while knitting today has involved my Molly Piglet. She's a happy assistant. Despite periodic interruptions to throw the crusty hedgehog, I've been able to get the sock knitted to the foot and I've got almost 5 inches of the foot done. Molly also carefully has licked my right calf from ankle to knee. (Silly me didn't know I needed that extra gold medal service.) Molly and I are working on her recalls in the house and breaking her concentration when she's prey focused on the kitties. She's done well with it today. The Piglet is highly motivated by food and this chicken jerky stuff must be tasty as she will come a running for it. We've also been working on sit and down. Clyde has done his part to be a distraction on the dog training front. The clunking, thunking, and shifting noises from my room indicate that both B&C are in on the dog training. They've given it up for the time being, or perhaps it's a union break, but things are quiet now. The rest of my knitting entertainment, I know...as if knitting isn't entertainment enough, is movies on Netflix. Today I've enjoyed Ladies in Lavender and Good Will Hunting. I'm currently mired down mid-way through A River Runs Through It. I've not seen this one and it's quite slow...or maybe it seems slow because I'm tired of sitting and knitting. Enough for now. Ta.

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

Hmmm...well....I'm back. It's been a long, long while. Here I am again. I seem to start a lot of things over, but in light of the options (ending permanently), starting over seems to be a pretty good choice. This blog, thus far, has been about the fur and fiber in my life. I think I'll keep it that way. In the many months since my last post, I've become a sock knitting fiend. I've certainly enjoyed knitting socks since my begining with them. Now I knit one pair right after another. Now that I think about it, it's like having books in a stack and ready to read. I have multiple skeins of sock yarn in stock and as I finish a pair, I cast on another skein. This last weekend I added to my stash by visiting a yarn shop on the beach. Specifically T-Spot in Manzanita, Oregon. The phone number is 503-368-SPOT. They can also be friended/liked on Facebook. The shop also carries teas and chocolate. I must admit that I didn't see any tea, that I recall, I did eventually see the chocolate (it is prominantly displayed beautifully and it's the pretty and special fancy chocolate sans Snickers et al), but I was focused on finding sock yarn. I chose a beautiful tonal orange from Shibuiknits and two skeins out of the discount bin (Tofutsies in a lovely solid green and Berroco Sox in a variegated salmon, peach, brown). The green Tofutsies will be my very first solid colored pair of socks. That's enough of the fiber I guess...reluctantly... On to the fur... Bonnie and Clyde are well and prosper. They still are not gainfully employed. This certainly disappointments me as the currently unemployed Momma of the household. We will get by in some fashion. Molly prospers as well. She seems to be doing just fine with out Henry. She has gathered all of the knuckle bones from the back yard far and near and settled them in a halo radiating out from the back door. Her focus is the back door. She wants in the house with every desperate and excited fiber of her Rottweiler being. I've been slowly transitioning her to life in the house. Poor, poor Molly. She wants the kitties so very much, but the kitties don't want her. Well, more on all of this later. I gotta go...off to a lunch and visit with a dear friend. Bonnie is sending her hateful looks as I finish this.