Big Love

or...10Things I Learned From Dogs


1. Dogs can fill your heart with love until it's spilling over, then they will fill it some more.
2. Big dogs equal big lovin'.
3. The sound of your car's exhaust system will become hard-wired into your dogs' brains, causing them to wake from a sound sleep as your car rounds the corner onto your street.
4. Dogs will lick the tears from your face when you cry, nuzzle your neck with their noses until you giggle, and knock you over with their big hairy hugs.
5. There is no such thing as lonely with your dog at your side.
6. Dogs are somewhat easier to train than men.
7. Dogs will walk right by a fresh cold bowl of water to the bowl of water on which the seat was left up by the aforementioned man.
8. Dogs are never ungrateful.
9. Dogs will help you with your diet by eating the extra servings, will exercise you until you drop, and will still love you when you don't lose an inch.
10. A dog will teach you your own humanity

...in memory of a little yellow poodle who is right now wagging her tail, and waiting for her owner in heaven

No sheep for you...one year

MSWF...I didn't go. Just as well. Saved myself a pile of money. Who needs more yarn? Ouch! No throwing sharp objects! You could put somebody's eye out with that! Thanks Stephanie
for the heads up on the Juno pattern instructions. I'll just be over there in the corner ripping out the back. Sigh.

500 words or less

Frank looks longingly at the creatures of spring...

I have been off pursuing another passion...cycling. Have you looked at the prices of bicycles lately? Sheesh! It's amazing the advances that have been made in materials and design, but wow! So one evening I was on the Trek Bikes website (desperately seeking cheap bike) and happened to see that they were looking for women to represent their Women Specific Design line of bikes.
I happen to think their geometry is the most comfortable, and have always been a fan of Trek. I mean, hey, they are good enough for Lance Armstrong, right? Anyway, they were looking for five women to basically test Trek equipment, and write about their cycling experience on a blog, or website. How cool would that be?? I said, HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE? That's like Rowan saying, let us send you all our new yarns in every color, a bunch of patterns and needles to knit the stuff up, and all you have to do is talk about it on a blog. Are you hearing me now?
All they wanted was 500 hundred words or less describing why I should represent Trek WSD, and three photos. I worked for two whole days to hone my 729 word essay down to 500 words. (imagine that) The deadline was April 30th, and I emailed my response in last night at 11:53. (imagine that) I know my chances are only slightly better than winning the Power Ball, but like anything else, my chances are zero if I don't try.

And then there is the garden... I live in a townhouse so my garden plot is about a quarter mile away, down a precarious set of stone steps (remind me to tell you about the time I fell UP those steps and was attacked by two very angry rose bushes), through a small park, down some more precarious stones steps, around two tennis courts, through two gates, and about fifty feet back. I'm totally not kidding. You can picture me trudging down to the garden with shovel, hoe, tarp, etc. Sunday I carried five (count 'em, FIVE) forty pound bags of composted cow manure a quarter mile, down a precarious set of stone steps, through a small park, down some more precarious stone steps...ok, you get the point. One. At. A. Time. I'm a little sore today. I also smell oddly like farm animals.

The knitting goes, although slowly. I have completed a few pentagons on the cabled bolero. Not happy with the way I am stitching the pentagons closed, so I will get back to that later. And I started working on Juno (thanks a lot Stephanie and Victoria) in Rowan's summer tweed. Pictures next time, I'm only about six inches in. I think the gauge is working out okay (famous last words), but it looks a teeny bit small. I'll probably wait until I get the entire back completed before I admit that it really is too small. p.s. Anne, I was at favorite LYS on Saturday where I picked up the Rowan for Juno. A little bird there told me you were on your way to Maryland this weekend.

Was that 500 words or less?