First things first (of course, though there’s knitting to come, I promise). Here’s the birthday-boy posing with his new toy.

I gave him this toy–a Zodiac Scorpio*–at breakfast this morning, and he’s been playing with it all day. And when he’s been resting, he’s been keeping tabs on where the toy is. When we came upstairs after dinner, I brought the toy with us, and he played for over half an hour. In fact, when the toy bounced out into the hallway at one point, he tackled it, turned to the full-length mirror in the guest room doorway and paused for a minute, as if he was thinking, “Man, this toy mkes me look good!” We tossed it downstairs, and he slept with it by his nose while Mom and I were watching TV. When we came upstairs at bedtime, he hunted all over the bedroom (forgetting it was downstairs) and didn’t relax until I went downstairs to fetch the toy for him. (It IS his birthday, after all.)

It was right after I brought the toy back upstairs that he posed for this picture. All the other times I’ve tried to take his picture today, he’s been ducking his head away from the camera flash. But this time? He looked right at the camera and smiled. He’s a happy boy!

As well he should be. He was lucky enough not to be alone all day. He got to play in the backyard with me at lunchtime. He got a walk after work. He got pot roast in his supper. He got a cupcake-with-peanut-butter for dessert. (Though we spared his ears having us sing the Happy Birthday song.) He got a homemade, made-by-my-niece biscuit when I made my evening cup of tea. He got lots of extra kisses and attention. All in all, it’s been a good day for him.

Ironically, I woke up this morning dreaming about newborn puppies, but really, I’m just happy to celebrate five years of Chappy. Do you want to see how incredibly cute he was when he was a baby puppy? Check out last year’s tribute.

And, you can see my hair in this picture, even though it’s pulled back. A shade darker than it was, which isn’t that big a deal, but the color is “golden brown” rather than “reddish brown” and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I keep thinking the color looks flat. (I don’t really see the “golden” part, but that might be because it’s still the first day after coloring–it usually takes the color a few days to settle.) But anyway, I’m missing the warmth the chestnut color loaned my face. This really IS very near my natural color, but I liked that red tint. Maybe next time I’ll use the 4R Dark Auburn instead of the 4W Dark Golden Brown. Unlike many dark red-brown shades, it doesn’t have that ugly burgundy tint to it, so . . . possible! I don’t dislike it, mind you, and I think it looks fine, and I won’t be hiding under a hat for the next 4-6 weeks, but . . . that doesn’t mean a little tweaking wouldn’t be a good thing.

Now, for what you really come here for–the knitting.

Not only did I knit on my Peacock Stole . . . I’m kind of hoping I’ll be able to finish the first half this weekend, (and I’m really hoping my skein holds out) . . . but I did both heels on my Calla Lily socks. Again, I used a short-row heel rather than the one in the pattern. I used the yarn-over method by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts (illustrated here by Purlwise, link courtesy of the fabulous Toes and Heels site by Lauri B).

They’re looking wonderful, the yarn is gorgeous and a joy to work with. Now, two feet, a couple toes, and we’re done!

* Oh, and why, you want to know, did I give my July-born dog a toy for a November Zodiac sign? The answer is that I gave him his own Crab a year or two ago, a toy he loved, but it’s not like I could give him the same toy twice, right? So the second time around, i got him my own birth sign. It’s even got that handy little tail working as a handle. He’s happy; I’m happy. S’all good.

• Tags: Chappy, Family, Hair • Permalink:Happy Day //