Last night I took Murphy out for a stroll and this bunch was walking past the house:


Murphy knows better than to mess with ducks (they are taller than he is and travel in packs looking for trouble, all they need are little leather jackets and cigarettes dangling from their beaks)so he was a bit disconcerted when we returned from his relief trip to find them blocking the front door:


They didn't like being photographed, the flash annoyed them and they quacked off into someone else's yard. I guess we'll never know what possessed them to walk a block from the lake to stand on my front walk. Maybe none of the neighbors have brought them bread lately so they've started begging door-to-door?

I spent a lot of time on the phone last night and never touched the trinity stitch shawl - I've gotten in a few rows with my morning coffee, though. It's a project that I need to knit slowly and deliberately, because with this easy pattern but floppy cotton lace, a dropped stitch would be a nightmare to sort out. A few rows in the morning may be the best way to go with this.

Because I'm knitting this shawl with an abundance of caution, I'm thinking of starting a crocheted shawl as well. Crochet is easier to put down in mid-row, and if I do screw up because I'm crocheting when I should be sleeping, it's easy to rip it back and fix it. I'm going to start this pattern, in the sport-weight Softball cotton I scored on ebay. I now have two big honkin' cones of the stuff and more on the way, so I do believe it's going to become a couple of shawls and perhaps Bonne Marie's Mondo Condo Poncho. I'm still jazzed that she designed a poncho that is just about exactly what I was looking for, right down to the ease of knitting and neutral color. I can't wait until she gets the pattern up on her site.

I'm feeling inspired to start new "real" projects again - for weeks all I wanted to do was crank out critter blankets (and I admit, the urge to make more hasn't entirely faded away) but I'm feeling somewhat renewed and re-inspired, fiberholically speaking. Maybe it's the change in my diet, and faithfully taking my vitamins again (after slacking off on both) but I do feel more energized, despite a return of my insomnia and weird dreams.

I've been meaning to ask the blogworld brain trust - does anyone have an opinion about those single-serving coffeemakers? I'm considering getting a new machine and I'm looking at the Senseo, it seems like a good idea, but I'm concerned that they won't catch on here as they have in Europe and I'll be left with a machine but no coffee pods. I know Target is carrying them so that's a good sign, but what are the long-term prospects for this coffee-making system?