It Is Finished

I was really good. I went out and mowed and raked the lawn before I sat down to start reading in earnest. And then I managed to set it down for a few hours while we went out to dinner with Franklin, Sister Sue, and Brother-in-Law Phil and had a very nice time. Then I was just going to read a little bit longer before bed. The sun is just starting to come up, and I just finished it. Could. Not. Put. It. Down. And that's all I'm saying about that.

Un Amuse-mains

Knitting monogamy is not easy for me, and yet, I have been rather monogamous for the past couple months. I finally broke down, though. With the prospect of working two nights in a row - 30+ hours of work in two days - and sleeping in a tiny overnight room here at the clinic, I decided it was time for a little something easy & mindless. The knitting equivalent of a palate cleanser, if you will. So I picked up a ball of Friendz Blendz I had gotten at Spa from my friends Pogo & Marcia at Friends' Folly Farm and cast on for my first new Dulaan project for 2008.



Just a basic two-layer hat - circular cast on working out to full diameter, then tube, purl turning row, more tube, then decrease to point & cast off, invert one side into the other & voilà. Lots and lots of plain and easy stockinette. I'm kntiting it fairly loosely, so there's been a bit of laddering, but I expect that'll come out in the wash. Because the photo was taken with the cheap work camera, the colors appear horribly washed out.

I like the pointy top because I think it makes the hat look a bit like a stupa.

Deathly Hallows

So the book has officially been released now, and I shall be headed to Portsmouth when I get off work to go pick up my copy, doubtless one of many who shall be waiting in line. I won't be absolutely devastated if I should inadvertently come across a spoiler before I've finished, but I'm hoping not to and trying to avoid it. For those who are planning on getting it but are worried about spoilers, I shall not be posting any information about the plot on this blog. Neither shall any commenters, since those have to get through me first.

For H.P. Fans

In case you haven't already seen this:

The sorting hat says that I belong in Ravenclaw!

<

Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose intelligence is surest."

Ravenclaw students tend to be clever, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable.
Notable residents include Cho Chang and Padma Patil (objects of Harry and Ron's affections), and Luna Lovegood (daughter of The Quibbler magazine's editor).

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

Guess I'm gonna have to make myself a scarf. Should I do it in book colors or movie colors, do you think?

Foxy

Our upstairs bathroom window looks out over the boys' pasture, which is just behind the house. Yesterday at around 5AM, I was flossing and brushing before bed when I noticed the boys suddenly coming out of their shed and staring intently towards the back of the pasture. So I looked over into the pasture and saw a fairly large grey fox trotting across it towards the girls' pasture. When it encountered the fence, though, it turned and ran down towards the house and slipped through the small gap at the bottom of the gate, then across our small strip of back yard and over the stone wall into the neighbors' yard.

When I called David from work tonight for our usual bedtime (for him) call, he said that he had also caught a glimpse of it when he was out in the yard during the day. We've seen red foxes in the neighborhood fairly frequently (which is one good reason the kitties don't go outside and the landladies keep their ducks penned), but grey foxes usually tend to be a bit more elusive. This one seemed rather round in the belly, though, so I think it had either fed recently or may be a female about to give birth. In any event, the fact that it was spotted twice in such a short time period makes me think the den is probably nearby. We heard a fox yipping a few weeks ago, but I wouldn't know if it might have been this one or a red fox. I'm kind of excited to see if this one sticks around and if we start seeing any kits.