A bird tried to commit hari-kari using our kitchen window this afternoon. I was just taking a break and making a cup of tea, when, thud! The poor thing (no idea what species) managed to flutter onto our deck and panted heavily for a minute or two, getting more and more still, until it slumped over to the side and then didn’t move at all. I watched the whole thing from the window, feeling sadder and sadder about it–such a stupid way for a bird to die. After watching for a few minutes, I turned away to pour my tea water, glancing back over my shoulder . . . wait, the angle looked different. Was its head in a different position? I hurried back to the window, and it was! The bird was sitting upright, moving its head from side to side, very obviously not dead. Feeling better about it, I took my teabag out, and carried my mug over the window, telling the bird that I wasn’t going to be happy until I saw him fly away, and after a few more minutes, it did. I don’t know which of us was more relieved, me or the bird.

Chappy–except for one brief, “What’cha’ doin’, Mom” check-in while I was standing vigil–ignored the entire incident. Not because he wouldn’t have been interested to get a closer look at the bird. (It landed just outside of his “bathroom,” and if he’d gone outside, he certainly would have been able to get some good whiffs, though I’m sure the bird wouldn’t have apppreciated it.) But instead, he was playing with a long-lost toy. The one he grabbed right out of the huge pile of toys I dumped onto the family room floor before. It must be two years ago that I split his toy collection in half. I put half in a bag stashed in the guest room closet, and left the others out, intending to swap them out after a few months.

Okay, actually, I admit that the plan was that he would only have about 5 toys out at a time and they’d be swapped almost weekly, but that very quickly became impractical. But dogs, you see, are just as happy to get an old toy they haven’t seen in months as they are to get a brand-new toy, and I figured that way he’d get that new-toy excitement every week (or couple of months) with no real work on my side . . . but, um, well, that bag was in the closet for about two years . . . Mom and I have talked about it, but have never both had the inclination at the same time to weed out the “good” toys. Until today.

Today, Mom and Dad went up to my sister’s house for the afternoon. Chappy and I were invited, too, but since I had a whole slew of chores I wanted to do AND since everything would be impossibly muddy after the 6.5″ (yes, over six inches) of rain we had yesterday and therefore he (and I) would get filthy going out for his bathroom needs . . . we opted to stay home. Not only did I do the usual Sunday things–laundry, cleaning the bathroom, dusting and vacuuming my room–but I tackled some projects I’ve been putting off. Like that basket of Chappy’s toys. And adding a splitter to the tangle of cables going amongst the cable box, VCR, DVD-recorder and television so that we can record one show on the VCR while watching something else via the cable box. You know, like Extreme Home Makeover and West Wing tonight. (I even labled all the cables so I’ll know where they’re going in the future.)

I also went through my yarn stash . . . sort of. I mean, I did go through it. I even sorted a whole lot of it into large, white mesh laundry bags for a little more organized keeping. (Sock yarn in one, lace yarn in another. A bag for Miscellaneous. A bag for Kid Silk Haze–yes, you heard right. An entire bag stuffed full of knitter’s crack. That kind of thing.) What I didn’t do, but really need to, is weed some of it out. For example, I have way too much Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran yarn. I love it, but I have enough for about four sweaters, and I just don’t think that’s going to happen. I also have a nice collection of Manos wool which I keep telling myself would make a great afghan (the colors are perfect for my bedroom), but that’s been sitting there for far too long now, and . . . well . . . it’s unlikely. On the other hand, there’s a sweater’s worth of Rowan Calmer which isn’t going anywhere; nor am I willing to get rid of my Rowan Wool & Cotton (that dates back to when they still used the ampersand in the name). But there are miscellaneous balls of yarn that are either leftovers from other projects or things I’ve been gifted that I just don’t see myself doing anything with (lovely though they are), but certainly don’t want to throw away. (Re-gifting is one thing, trashing entirely another.)

And the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran I was hoping I’d be able to use for that cabled Karabella cardigan? No, apparently the gauge is completely different. Which is a shame, because I’ve using lighter-weight yarns lately and was thrilled to finally find a project for that yarn, and . . . nope. It’s going to languish a while longer. Although–it’s confusing. The gauge on the pattern calls for 24 stitches over 4″. But the Aurora 8 yarn the pattern uses and the Cashmerino Aran both say 18/4 . . . unless all the websites I’m looking at for the Aurora 8 are giving the wrong gauge? Or is that gauge over the cabled pattern of the sweater, not stockinette? I’ll have to check that when I get up. Maybe it would work, after all? But I’m leery–I tend to knit loosely to begin with–that kind of a handicap right off the bat . . . ?

Maybe what I should do is offer some of this yarn for trade, or for sale, huh? It’s all good yarn, just . . . sitting. The Jo Sharp alone fills up an entire storage bin, and even I think that’s kind of crazy, no matter how much I like the yarn. (Hmm, I wonder how my secret pal would feel about getting a box full of Jo Sharp…?)

Anyway, the rest of my day? I colored my hair–something I’ve been badly in need of for the last week or two. One of these days I must remember not to wash my shower walls before I color my hair. It’s unfortunate that the reddish-brown color I use looks (very unfortunately) rather like a bloodbath by the time I’ve gotten it all out of my hair and then, of course, I’ve got to wash the walls again! For supper, I mixed some leftover mashed potatoes with two eggs and ate that (cooked, of course) with a side salad and a fresh-baked corn muffin studded with walnuts and chocolate chips. Pretty tasty!

Next question: is Chappy going to sleep on the bed tonight? Last night, for the first time ever, he opted to sleep in his crate rather than up on the bed with me. No idea why . . . he couldn’t be mad at me, this is two days now that we’ve spent entirely together . . . too much togetherness usually isn’t something a dog exactly disapproves of!

Tags: Chappy, Family, General, Hair, Knitting/Spinning, Weather // 7 Comments »