Wildlife Update and MS3

I can't believe it's been 10 days since I posted, but I can only say in my defense that it's been a very busy 10 days, and not a little stressful.



First, positive wildlife news. There's a new pug on the block, at least temporarily. Buddy, a pug/Boston terrier mix who belongs to a friend of mine from work, has been staying with us while said friend gets settled into a new home. Buddy is gangly and excitable and I wasn't sure how this would work out, but we've come to love him in only a couple of weeks, and now we can't believe Tony will be taking Buddy back on Saturday. Wonder how difficult a custody fight over a dog would be....hmmmm.

And, some sad news. Remember Knit? of Knit and Purl? For about three days we had two Koi in our pond. Then Knit, the beautiful orange Koi I showed a picture of a few weeks ago, died. We were devastated. Our first fish...and one of them was dead. It hardly seemed fair. Then Purl ... well, she completely disappeared. I mean, Gone! She is simply not there. I have no idea how that could happen, but we've had to come to terms with the fact that our pond has killed off two fish. Amazingly, we've also somehow gained a frog. Again, I have no idea where he came from...he just appeared one day, sitting on a lily pad like he'd been there all along. (Who knew that frogs really do sit on lily pads? Not me!)

Two things about the frog. First, I'm not naming him. I'm a little superstitious that I named Knit and Purl and three days later they were dead. Coincidence? Maybe...but the frog will be Anonymous. And he's not hanging around to have his photo taken either. Every time I get close to him, he disappears into the mass of plants.

And, speaking of plants, we're up to our antlers in plant life, to keep up the animal metaphor. Pretty soon, this stuff will be climbing out of the pond and taking over the back yard.




Finally, speaking of the back yard, Mr. Pug has made a valiant start at building our screened porch. Today the decking went into place, which has made the pug family very happy. It was a little hairy stepping in and around those boards for a couple of days.



MS3 Update

After a few days at the beach, followed by another trip to Charlotte for Emma's 6th birthday (yes, these are busy birthday times in the Pug family), I'm finally back to MS3. It took forever to add the extra 11 inches of length and now, of course, I'm wondering why I bothered. Because it's ... surprise, surprise ... REALLY long. (If you look closely at the photo, you'll see two pinkish stitch markers at the bottom. They mark the beginning and the end of the extra 11 inches.) Maybe too long. But now I'm not taking any of it out. Not a stitch.





And the theme has been unveiled--Swan Lake. Well, that explains why Melanie recommended black or white. Odette or Odile. Needless to say, the Pug stole looks like a swan caught in an environmental hazard area, all oil slicked up.

I'm not quite sure about the wing. Yes, it's a wing. So, definitely an asymmetrical stole, and I'm knitting it according to the design. And I think I like it ... I'm almost sure ... mostly. But I signed up for this stole, not for a stole designed by the knitters, so I'm persevering. I'll let you know how it all works out.





Finally, there's a little stress at The Big Corporation where I work. There's something coming, and I don't think it's good, at least not for me. Maybe I'm overreacting, but it doesn't feel good at all. More later.