Things That May or May not Go Bump in the Night

Halloween is coming and scary things abound in the world. The Neel Vet Clinic is having a trick-or-treat party for dogs tonight. Roxy and Skippy are going. Roxy is going as a ghost. Skippy was planning to go as a bunny, but at the last minute decided on something a little more obscure. He will be attending as "Christmas Dog". This should be interesting indeed. Shelley is also being escorted by a canine companion whose costume is yet to be announced.

I had an overnight guest Friday night. Alex was having a Halloween party at his place, and Miss Vivian came to spend the night where it was calm and quiet. Friday night she was a bit of a fusspot, but Saturday morning she made up for any ill humor the night before. What a cutie! She's not crawling yet, although she's making attempts at the classic Marine low-crawl. She makes up for that by rolling around wherever she wants to go. She can just about sit up without support, but has moved on to standing as the preferred posture. There is no point in sitting or lounging when there is someone around to hold you up on your feet or stand you up next to a handy support. Roxy once again showed herself to be but a poor dog auntie. She's not altogether sure whether Vivian should be classified as prey item, competition, or food source. None of these choices are appropriate. The Evil Wild Dog of the Prairie had to stay on a lead during Vivian's visit.

I've added a couple of items to the finished object list. The Jigsaw Socks are complete, and one Marsan Watchcap has joined the list. The socks are good looking. Oddly, while I made no attempt whatever to line up the striping because I though the pattern would obscure it, the striping seems to have lined itself up. The cap, while very attractive in person, is less than interesting in a photo. I've got a photo or two in my Flickr gallery which is hideously overexposed but shows the stitch definition beautifully. Sadly, it looks like an alien hat floating ominously in space under its own power.

An Idle Weekend

Last Sunday Shana and I hosted a dinner for some of her aunts and uncles. Over the last few years as they get older and some of them are experiencing poor health they have all been trying to connect a bit more often and it seemed like a good idea to get some of them together for a brunch at our house. Shana selected a menu with several of her grandmother's recipes and eight of us sat down to an old-fashioned Sunday dinner of ham, cheese grits and fried cabbage with conversation. Turns out it was such a good idea we may be doing it once a month. Next week we may have a dozen for pot roast. Fortunately they entertain themselves and have pretty straightforward taste in food.

This weekend Shana and I have dropped out of social activity for a minute. No football party, no family dinner, no Meet-up-at-Starbucks, camping trip, cycling event, spinning class, potluck. Nothing. Beautiful, relaxing nothing. Shana actually has a couple of work related events: a seminar and a softball game. All time not required for those events we are spending hanging out together and resting up. We may cruise over to Home Depot for some barbecue supplies and a peek at their pots (my tropicals are going to have to come inside really soon). I've been able to set aside some quality knitting old movie and napping time. Monday should find me rested and restored, with a better idea of what the coming weeks will mean in terms of holiday crafting.

I've put in a few more inches of the Big Bad Baby Blanket. It is probably about a third done. I've pushed it back a bit because it's a little hard on my wrists and will not be needed until after the first of the year anyway. I'm picking it up for a row or two a day, but no more than that. I'm well past the gusset of the second Jigsaw sock, still no more than half of the inside of a pocket of the cabled stole. Lots of knitting, no finished objects. Yesterday I added the Marsan Watch Cap to the works in progress. Like most caps, it's a quick knit and I'm really liking it. In black chunky Wool-Ease it's moving right along, and the twisted ribbing looks great. Shana says it's a good-looking hat. I should be into the decreases today, and may be finished tonight all things being equal. The challenge is going to be to get a good picture that won't turn this good-looking hat into a mysterious featureless black blob.

I should be back next week with more pictures, etc., but for now I am enjoying my weekend as the Laziest Woman on Earth. Peace On.

Friday Lunch Fun

Since today is Friday (yay!) I took the opportunity to enjoy a part of my free afternoon visiting with Vivian. Alex happened to be off work today, so Vivian, Alex, Jamie and I went out for lunch. As usual, I was arriving during Vivian's naptime. Jamie bundled her sleeping body into the car seat and away we went to a local sandwich shop. We ordered our sandwiches and settled in to eat, occasionally taking flash pictures of Vivian sound asleep. Serves us right, not one of them came out. I was using Shana's Panasonic, which I really don't know how to use. Every flash picture came out overexposed. But - all the flashing woke her up, and I brought her up to sit with me. Her main interest was my sandwich, my glasses, and the camera, in that order. After we finished our sandwiches we went on to ice cream. Then the interest turned out to be all ice cream all the time!

She changes so much every time I see her. Now she's trying to crawl and likes to try all sorts of food. She's crazy about guacamole, of all things. She's looking less like generic baby and more like her little self. It seems she'll look a lot like her mother, with the same eyes, lips, and chin. Her nose is beginning to look like it will grow into her mom's too.

Boomer Tuna

This weekend the OU Sooners payed the Texas Longhorns. In addition to the usual ongoing rivalry there was this little extra twist. Because each team had already lost one game (gee thanks Colorado) the winner of this one would continue on in contention for the Big 12 Championship, and the loser would go to the basement with Baylor. Shana and I entertained the WAACO's for the event. The game was fiendishly close and there was much screaming and groaning. Ruby arrived late in the afternoon and said she could tell we had scored before she even got into the house. There was also much munching and snacking thanks to an excellent Mexican themed potluck. Next game up was LSU vs Florida - Shana and I were exhausted by the time that was over. College football this year is so exciting.

The new Project on the needles is the Big Bad Baby Blanket from the first Stitch & Bitch book. I started it in the car on the way to Beavers Bend and continued it at the campfire (while daylight lasted, anyway). I'm still plugging away at it, but the endless rows of stockinette and reverse stockinette will take some determination. This one will be for Jennifer's new arrival. Nimrod (funny story) is due in the middle of February, so I've got a fighting chance of getting it in on time. The odds of completing it are also increased because it is the ultimate in TV knitting. With a couple of stitch markers I hardly have to look at it at all. Jennifer picked it out as her first choice when she was last here - I noted than this beautiful object in the book called for 8 skeins of Kiogu. At around $13.00 per skein that's a bit rich for something for the baby to throw up on. I'm going with Caron's Simply Soft in Off White. The yarn is a bit thicker than the koigu, and since it's held double throughout, on the size 7 needles I happened to have free I think this blankie may outlive us all, and also repulse terrorist bullets. I think it will also be quite nice looking, although it make take more talent than I possess to make it photogenic. In a few more inches I'll take it for a festive outdoor photshoot to see if that will get me better results.

Midweek Political Post (sort of)

By (somewhat) popular request, I have been poking around for some information concerning Blackwater's domestic contracts and I will post a few links. I think I can confidently confirm that Blackwater is doing work stateside. The contracts for drug enforcement do seem to emphasize overseas operations, but do not exclude domestic activities. Blackwater was involved in Katrina security activities, so they have already been active stateside. More information is rather quickly coming to light because of ongoing hearings and investigations. Look here, here, and here for more detail. By the way, I consider these three sites to be fairly reliable, so if you have time look around and see what else they may have to offer to supplement your regular news outlets.