See the cool and misty view I had as I drove over the hill on my way to work the other morning? It’s that time of year where we wake up to fog that burns off by afternoon, but at just the right time of morning, the sky is clearing and there’s just some fog settled in the valleys and the lower areas.

It actually looked prettier the day before, but I didn’t think to pull out my camera until I’d rounded the bend and it was too late. I had an impatient SUV driver behind me and didn’t trust that he would stop in time if I tried to pull over, so . . . I just hoped the same light/mist thing would happen again. The next day, it came close!

And speaking of things emerging from the mist, I worked on my Union Square Market Pullover tonight. I know, it’s shocking. I haven’t touched it in days. Over a week, even. You’ll be pleased to know that I have split for the front/back and just finished the armhole shaping for the back. Isn’t that just so exciting? I knew you’d be thrilled.

I left Hyrna H (aka the unpronouncable shawl) in the bag. It’s been so difficult lately, it didn’t deserve to be worked on tonight. I’ve seen it on several blogs lately–including by people who think it’s easy and quick. I’d even be inclined to agree–the actual lace design is pretty straightforward. And it’s not like I haven’t made lace shawls before. Or that I can’t follow a chart. There’s just something about the center section of this shawl pattern that just doesn’t like me. So . . . humph . . . it can languish in the knitting bag for a night or two. It’s not like I don’t have other, better things to knit if it’s going to be difficult.

On a completely unrelated note (unrelated other than the fact that I knit in front of the television with Mom, and so this occurred while I was knitting that nice, simple, straight-forward stockinette stitch), we were watching “Everybody Hates Chris,” tonight–which is, I think, about the only funny sitcom on television right now–and 7 minutes before the end . . . the cable went out. So . . . no idea what happened. Did he play in the basketball game? What happened with the new tenant? I’ll have to check TwoP tomorrow to look for a recap. Frustrating, though. Not only that, the cable has since been going in and out, and I’ve gotten knocked offline a few times, too. On the plus side, I took advantage of the chance to go through my Documents folder and clear away some of the junk that’s accumulated in there. That’s something, anyway.

It’s not like we didn’t have entertainment while the cable was out, though. Chappy took that opportunity to play. Like a maniac. First, he grabbed his pillow in his teeth and started shaking it all over the room–he dragged, pushed, shook it from the hearth, almost to the door, and then halfway back again, leaving it in front of Dad’s chair. Then, he grabbed his Airbud toy and started tossing it in the air so he could pounce on it, and pushing it just underneath the furniture so that he could pretend to rescue it. Except for this time (photo), when he pushed it too far and it actually got stuck beneath the ottoman. He’s very cute at times like these–he’ll try to reach under to grab it; he’ll “woof!” at it under his breath (I don’t know where he learned that kind of language); and when all else fails, he’ll stare at me, waiting for me to pull it out for him. He’s really pretty patient.

This is a “game” he’s played since he was a puppy, and we’ve got the “rules” down pretty pat by now. When it’s well and truly stuck, and he’s not just complaining because he’d rather not get it himself (typical boy), I’m happy to pull it out when I’ve reached a reasonable stopping point at whatever I’m doing–the end of a paragraph, the end of a row of knitting. And the rule is I’ll fetch it three times, but if he pushes the toy out of reach a fourth time, he’s out of luck until tomorrow. (This last rule became very important early on.) But in the meantime, he’ll wait nicely–often with his front paws crossed–until I can get to him. If I’m taking too long, he may come over and nudge my knee, but mostly, he waits.

May I just say how smart it was of me to teach him how to be patient when he was still a puppy?? This is a cute kind of game–I love watching him entertain himself. When he was still really little and more interested in chewing “illegals” like my slippers, he was really sneaky. He’d take an officially sanctioned chew-toy, like his chocolate-flavored Nylabone and lie down with it right next to my slippers. He would lay there for a while, chewing innocently away, edging closer and closer to the slippers. When he felt I had reached a sufficient level of complacency, he would–with bone still between his paws–turn his head to stick his nose in my slipper instead. And then, if I didn’t notice, would quietly start chewing on those instead. The alternate version of this “Trick Mommy” game was when he would actually chase his toy right into the slippers (he bats at them with his paws, as well as throwing them with his mouth), and then, “Oh, I picked up the wrong thing!” grab the slipper rather than the toy. All a perfectly innocent mistake, you understand!

Oh, the other thing I did today? After reading about how Typepad lost some of Snow’s files, I went through and copied all of my blog archives into Word documents and backed them up. Wasn’t that prudent of me? One of these days I’ll even print them out and put them in a binder. The one, big difference blogging has made is that I rarely make an entry in my paper journal any more. It’s sad, really–the poor thing just sits on the desk feeling lonely, getting dusty. And meanwhile, my handwriting–in use less and less–is getting worse all the time, so any entries I do make are practically illegible. Poor book. It just wants to be loved. Obviously, what I need is to practice my handwriting.

Hey, while I’m in clean-up mode–do you think my blog page is looking too crowded? I’m thinking it looks kind of cluttered, and I hate clutter . . .

Tags: Chappy, Family, General // 5 Comments »