Doggie Pajama Party

Roxanne is playing host to Skippy this week while all the Humps are out of town. Skippy is not generally a happy boarder, but as long as he's with his friend he seems to be quite comfortable. Roxy enjoys the company, and they behave well together. I was a little anxious because we had to go to work this week and leave the dogs alone all day, but it's going well and they have not destroyed anything. Skippy does make a blood-curdling howl when people leave, but I guess he settles down when he sees that Roxy is not all that upset once we are too far away to be impressed by her objections. Rita is having a less pleasing dog experience this week, as her hosts' dog ate her hearing aids! They were found out in the yard, mangled beyond repair. To be fair, Roxy has also done this heinous deed in the past. It's nice to know she's not the only Evil Wild Dog around.

I completed the purple Monkey Socks this morning, and coerced Shana into taking pictures for me. They came out really pretty, but their dark color made them a little hard to photograph well, and the pattern does not show up well with the socks flat. It's really hot today and wearing them outside for the pictures made my ankles itch. I don't think they will be itchy when they are washed and the weather is more suitable, but today was not the day to be outside in woolies. I immediately skeined up some Knit Picks Sock Landscape from my stash and cast on for a pair of Jigsaw Socks from Pink Monkey Knits. I have not used this yarn before, and chose it just for the color. The color is really nice: the Mesa colorway. Its an adobe sort of variegated, with a bit of dark blue to set it off. The yarn itself is not as soft as I would have expected from merino, and it is not terribly tightly spun, but does not seem splitty, and I'll reserve judgement on its softness until after it is washed. That makes such a big difference. The Tour De France started today, and I see lots of sock knitting happening in the next couple of weeks. I have a pair of plain stockinette socks on the needles and a pair of basic 3x1 rib socks started. I'm set with a variety of projects to knit along with the Tour, depending on the excitement level at any given time.

I hope to get out for a fair amount of cycling myself in the next few weeks. It looks like our every day monsoon weather is easing up, and we are "enjoying" heat and humidity. The mosquitoes are awful this year, so we'll ride REALLY FAST! I'm looking forward to being out in the country with my bike and my camera. Before the ride today I'll have to have Bike Maintenance Day. Big Blue looks a little the worse for wear, and it's time to lube. I may do it out front so the dogs have something to watch.

I have not seen Vivian this week, but I'm thinking that maybe tomorrow will be the day. Alex wanted to bring her over on the 4th, but I was really tired and didn't feel like being patient. I suggested (selfish!) that it would be better if he called me with some advance notice so I would be prepared to stay with her, rather than assuming that I would be available at a moments' notice.