This is Phil. He belongs to one of my co-workers, whose dogsitter cancelled at the last minute when she was planning to go to DC overnight with her husband. Phil joined us yesterday morning and will go home sometime this evening. He is a 14-year-old Bichon mix, and extremely sweet and very chill.
The cats are puzzled. First of all, I'm not exactly sure they understand that he is a dog. I mean, dogs are BIG, right, and this is a creature that is roughly their size. It's been very puzzling. Also, he's not overly interested in being bestest friends with them, and *that* is really throwing them for a loop!
Alfie in particular LONGS to be his best bud.
And Pip cannot understand why, when he tried to give Phil a bath, Phil ran away, and jumped onto the couch! What's that about??
The Koodle seems to sense that Phil is not that interested, and though he's somewhat puzzled about that, he was mostly appalled that Phil thought he would try out the bed that the cats love - I mean, what's going on here???
Phil is an extremely good house guest, and though he is very friendly and seems to be an overall happy boy, it's clear he misses his own family and his own home. So I imagine when he is picked up this evening, it will be quite exciting! I hope sometime he can come back for a visit, but for all I know this may have caused him PTSD and he'll never want to return ... 😉
Yarn: Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok Worsted in the Cranberry Compote colorway
Needles: US size 7
Modifications: None
Notes: This was an enjoyable, and if someone else was making it, would likely be a fairly quick knit. This is a pattern that is a freebie at the yarn store if you buy the yarn. It's very easy, and one of those patterns where you think to yourself, "I'll just knit one more repeat before I stop."
In the cranberry colored yarn, it looks like a set of bricks to me. I was originally making this for myself, because there was a sample at the shop that I just loved, but once I finished this one, I decided to save it for a gift. When I make another one down the road for myself, I'll do fewer repeats because this one is just too tall for my short neck.
But it's a fun pattern, really easy to follow, and written for numerous weights of yarn. Perfect for a quick knit - or for one that will be ready for next fall, like this one! 😉
First of all, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I hope you will treat yourself today, even if no one else does. ❤
Today is also a VERY special day in our house - today is Pip's 12th birthday!
We actually celebrated with cake, presents, and treats on Saturday, but today is the actual day we have designated as his birthday. Since I don't get home on Tuesdays until after 6 p.m., we didn't want to rush his little party, so Saturday it was.
But today he is getting all kinds of extra attention, kisses, treats, and all of the kitties will get something special for dinner to celebrate.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PIP!
Happy Birthday to the sweetest, most affectionate, most talkative boy ever! Lover of a good cuddle, crinkly toys, a warm bed, kitty igloos, sunspots, and birdwatching. The best ever at welcoming any new family member who shows up, and who loves it when people come to the house.
Pippy, you are truly the best, and words will never be able to express how we love you and how special you are.
Please give your furry and other family members a hug and/or a kiss today to help us celebrate. 😊
Or in Philadelphia, either. Sigh. Our Eagles looked good, until the end of the second half of the game when the defense apparently forgot there was still time left that they were supposed to play. It was at least a close game that could have been even better. Sigh.
Oh well, it was a good season, and it was all fun while it lasted.
I guess it's also just as well, since it rained all night here, and those celebrations could have been even messier ... 😉
Moving along, I have been trying to psych myself up to start the pair of replacement fingerless gloves for The Tim. I think the fact that the weather has failed to feel like winter has left me devoid of the inclination to get them going. I'm telling myself - and him - he'll at least definitely have them by next fall.
When I went to come into the house yesterday after my shift at the yarn store, I noticed this in our on-the-street planter.
I love daffodils, and normally I'm thrilled to see the first one, but this is just way too early. We very well may not have a serious enough cold snap again to damage them, but if they start now, they likely won't last much into March. Stupid climate change.
The funny thing is that every year, we pull out a bunch of daffodils because they get green but never bloom. And then the next year, we have even more come up and bloom, like they are mocking us. Or maybe they're just saying, "Whew! Thanks for giving us some room." (I don't speak fluent daffodil, so I can't know for sure.)
This afternoon I have my annual appt with the gynecologist, which I'm not looking forward to because, really does anyone look forward to that? I really like the dr and most of the time it's no big deal, but there are plenty of other things I can think of that I would rather do. But the good news is that since that's today, it will be out of the way first thing, and the rest of the week is clear of any appts, which after the past few weeks, is a nice feeling. I feel like I've spent all of the time I haven't been at work in dr's offices, or waiting to have tests done someplace. To have a few days with absolutely nothing will be a treat.
I hope all of you have a good week coming your way as well. Hang in there.
Have you ever seen the show "What We Do In The Shadows"? It's one of our favorite shows. It's about a group of thousand-plus-year-old vampires who live in a dilapidated mansion on Staten Island in New York. It is of course, completely ridiculous, and of course we love it. There are some particularly good episodes (when they go to a rave in Manhattan, when they visit Atlantic City, for instance), but one of those is when their next door neighbors (regular, everyday people, of course) invite them to a Super Bowl Party. Which of course they misunderstand (thinking it is a Superb Owl Party), but are nonetheless thrilled about:
Ever since we saw this episode, Super Bowl Sunday has become Superb Owl Sunday in our house. And of course this year, the Philadelphia Eagles are one of the teams playing.
Now let's get some things out of the way first. Yes, sports is not the end-all/be-all that so many people think it is; sports - particularly those like football and soccer - can be extremely dangerous and have devastating lifelong injuries; players are paid too much money; there is too much emphasis on sports in schools; blah, blah, blah, insert your own fact/complaint/whatever here. Now we've gotten it out of our systems at least for the purposes of this post.
But I have to tell you that as someone who has lived in Philadelphia now for 32 years, whenever one of our teams is in a major sporting final, it changes the way most people walk around and do things. There is a genuine, universal excitement and even people not at all familiar or usually interested in sports catch the feeling. People embrace the fun aspect of it. For instance, yesterday The Tim had jury duty, and when they called the roll to make sure who did or did not show up, people were given the option of responding "Here," "Present," or "Go Birds!" Apparently every single person opted for "Go Birds!"
In the past few weeks, nearly every time I've had a transaction with someone at a grocery store, coffee shop, or doctor's office, it's ended with "Go Birds!" Even my colleagues at the yarn store, who for the most part are neither from here originally, or are not sports fans, have gotten on board. It's infectious, and it's just really nice to have people happy and united about something for a change.
My Sunday co-worker Kate and I are figuring that this week it will be especially busy at the yarn store for three reasons: 1) people coming in to buy yarn for projects they want to work on during the game; 2) people coming in to buy yarn because they want a project to work on INSTEAD of watching the game, and 3) people with one or the other reason coming in, but mostly because it's the last day of the Semi-Annual Sale, where a lot of the winter yarns are marked down 50 percent. So we're ready, no matter what.
Fortunately on Sunday, the store closes at 4 p.m., so I can come home, enjoy the pizza that The Tim is planning to make for dinner, and then enjoy our own Superb Owl Party with the kitties and lots of snacks. Do I want the Eagles to win? Of course!!!! (Having said that, I'm not a person to have it ruin the rest of my year if the opposite should happen - I mean, that would have already happened you know?)
Even the Philadelphia Orchestra has joined the fun.
Hiya - I meant to post yesterday, but woke up feeling pretty awful. Things improved as the day went on, but I think I might be getting a cold. Today I feel congested and all of my bones hurt. Fortunately, it's not Covid, so that's the good news.
Anyway, it was a cold and lazy weekend. So cold, I happened to snap this photo on Saturday morning:
I got up a bit later than usual, and after getting cleaned up and dressed I came back into the room to make the bed, but there were three reasons I wasn't able to do that. 😊 But I couldn't blame them - the bed was cozy, and the sun was coming through the windows, warming up the room. So I left them all there and made the bed later.
I did a few cleaning-up-putting-away things, but was mostly just lazy all day, staying warm and reading or knitting. I did make some granola, which turned out very well, so I guess that was my major accomplishment!
Sunday was my shift at the yarn store. It was busy enough, but not crazy busy, and we didn't get one nut job all day, so that made it more pleasant. It's funny, but Sundays go fast as a rule. I guess it's because that's when most people are able to come in, and quite a few people show up for Knitting Circle from 1-3. We close at 4 on Sundays, so once we clean up after people leave, it's just about time to go home.
I guess it's because I don't feel so great, but yesterday and so far today I haven't been in the mood to read or to knit much. I work on my project at the shop, but even on Saturday when I felt fine, I did more reading than knitting. I'm not worried about it, but I would like to finish some of my projects so I could use them. Maybe if this cold gets under control, I'll feel more with it overall. I hope so.
And that's the exciting news from here. I hope your week treats you well.
Happy Friday! I just learned that today is National Golden Retriever Day, and oh how I wish Dug and Hamlet could be here to celebrate with us. But I know they are celebrating together, and that makes me happy.
Do you remember this project? When I finally finished the project, it was already too hot to have a photo shoot where I was actually wearing it, so you just saw it finished and on the blocking mats.
Well, last Sunday I was getting ready to head to the yarn store for my Sunday shift, and realized that I was not only wearing the sweater, but that I was also cleaned up and looking presentable. So I asked The Tim to snap a photo of me in my Steel Doodles sweater.
Not a magnificent shot, but you can see what it looks like on a body. It's really cozy and soft, and it fits me just the way I wanted it to - with some positive ease but not so much that it looks baggy. Since the initial release, they have adjusted the pattern to include a regular neck rather than only the turtleneck. The pattern is well-written and if you are not me, likely knits up really quickly.😉
In other news, I nearly had a chance to meet up with Dee this week. But I'd mixed up my timing and had to cancel. I thought I had an appt to start the process of getting a crown on a tooth for this coming week, but then I got the reminder call that it was the day this past week that I was supposed to get together with her. BOOO! But hopefully it will work out another time soon. (Though with all of the dr and dentist appts I have scheduled, it looks like most of February is a bust.)
So on to the weekend, where I have no specific plans, but hope to get some small projects cleared away. I have a dr appt this morning and then a haircut appt later, and I'm hoping to do a bit of baking in the afternoon so that's the plan for today. I know you are probably jealous of my non-stop exciting life, so I'll just stop regaling you with more details now ...
Whatever you do or don't do, enjoy your weekend. If you are in the Arctic freeze, I hope you can keep warm!
Apparently, I'm one of the few people who actually enjoys Groundhog Day (the day and the movie, actually). I have always enjoyed seeing what Punxsutawney Phil has to say, and getting to see him all over the news. Of course, I also love winter, so I'm full of unpopular favorites.
But seriously, why do people get so worked up over a harmless tradition? Already today on the news, they have said that "No one cares what a huge rodent says," and that "This has just been a terrible winter, it needs to end." And I know so many people who become *furious* on Groundhog Day, because "Why should a groundhog determine how long winter lasts?" Um, you do know how it all really works, right?
And seriously, I realize that a lot of the country has had severe winter weather, but here in the Philadelphia area, I just have to say COME ON. We've had about 5 truly winter-cold days, including this coming weekend, which is supposed to be seriously cold. We have had barely a dusting of snow, which happened overnight on Tuesday, and is already gone, and it's been way to warm for this time of year. Plus the rain. THE RAIN. Not even April showers bringing May flowers. I mean, come on people, get a grip. This is not what winter is. Yes, technically on the calendar and metereologically it's the winter season, but otherwise, it's not. And yes, I know it's due to global warming, blah blah blah, but it still sucks for those of us who would always prefer winter weather to hot weather. As I said to someone the other day, I only slog through summer because I know once it's over, winter will eventually arrive.
Anyway, leave Phil alone, people! He's carrying on a fun tradition, he's not hurting anyone, and he makes some of us smile at the start of February.
And remember to watch out for that first step, "it's a doozy!"
