He's Baaaaaaccck!

Buddy, I mean. He's back...this time to stay, I think. Our friend Tony has been given a 6-month assignment about 75 miles from home and his long daily commute simply doesn't give Buddy the human time he needs. Buddy's still a puppy (around a year old, I guess) and needs attention and companionship. When he doesn't get those things, he chews (or at least he has in the past--woodwork, in particular) and digs (under fences, etc.). Bottom line, he needs a yard and some other dogs and someone to check in on him every so often. So here he is.





I had a tough time getting a good photo. (See the hand on the left side of the picture holding him so he can't escape the camera?) He's a Pug/Boston Terrier mix--does that make him a Bug or a Perrier? I haven't decided. Anyway, he must be part whirling dervish because he is a perpetual motion machine. Now, that probably doesn't sound like an issue to you but that's because you don't live with pugs, who are mostly in Super Slo Mo at their most active. Right now, life in Casa Pug is a little like being surrounded by three blades of gently moving grass and a hyperactive bumblebee. I assume we'll all settle into this routine.





But Buddy's already found out there are lots of beds for four-legged creatures and he's momentarily settled onto one of them here.











In other news, Ellen and Pat and I went beading yesterday. This sounded like a good idea in the beginning--why not enhance our knitting with beads? After all, many of the 235 or so lace shawl knitalongs for which I'm signed up seem to be calling for beads. I opted out of beads for the Mystery Shawl (Swan Lake) shawl last year but several of my friends used the beads and the results were lovely, and special. I opted out of beads for Hanami, too. So, maybe it's time to branch out a little, my tiny brain said.






Now, let's be honest. In my heart of hearts I knew that this could lead to insanity. First, note the pictures above of the Whirling Dervish Bug. That tail of his whips around at approximately 62 MPH and Doppler Radar has already tagged him as a Category 5 tornado. Who in their right mind would bring thousands of teensy weensy little colored thingies into the house with this guy on the premises? (Try to ignore that innocent look on his face and remember that he's under restraints in that picture.)



Further, I recently entered a master's program and will be doing a lot less knitting and a lot more studying and writing papers. So who needs another obsession? (And let's be brutal here: I saw those women at the two beads shops we visited--those women were obsessed!)



Finally, I've promised Mr. Pug that I will start getting the stash organized and maybe even clear out the yarn and such that I am never going to use. Yes, I feel your pain. I know we don't usually get rid of yarn, we just collect it, but he really doesn't get it. He has this sense that I should actually be using it. Men! Can't live with them and can't live with them.



So bringing more crap, er, uh, materials, into the house probably wasn't a good idea. On the other hand, he doesn't read this blog and beads are small and can be easily tucked away into crevices of yarn and needles and what he doesn't know won't tweak his drawers.



And, let me put it on the table--I'm going to Maryland Sheep & Wool in two weeks and there's a lot of roving and yarn to deal with there. So, beads? Probably superfluous and possibly disastrous. (On the other hand, if I find some really wonderful lace yarn at MSW, I'll be ready with the beads.)



Oh, for god's sake, let's stop kidding ourselves. I had to buy them because I had to have them. Fine, it's out on the table. I had to have the beads just like I had to have Buddy. Get over it!

However, for my own sanity, I've decided to put myself on a Completion Regimen. Here's the list of things I MUST finish before I start even one more project:

1. Kiri
2. Carolina toe-up socks
3. 6 pairs of CIC socks (by the end of May)
4. Diamond vest

And here's the list of things I SHOULD finish before I start anything new but probably won't:

1. Modern Quilt Wrap (it's too hot to wear fuzzy yarn anyway)
2. Daughter's mitts (but I better get going because those girls will be looking for them this fall)
3. Mystic Light Shawl (which I'd like to finish but I'm a little iffy about)

This is going to be a struggle. I have a new baby project I'd like to work on and a lacy tee top that's calling my name, plus all those shawls that those bad girls, the Lovely Lace Ladies, are nagging me about. But I've also got some other commitments like taking the real estate exam, working on my Safety and Accident Prevention course, and FINDING A JOB that have to take precedence. Plus, it's a lot of work to take care of four P/Bugs.