So my "vacation" is over, tomorrow it's back to the office. I celebrated by washing the dog. I shouldn't admit my lack of dog maintenance in public, but when I applied shampoo to Murphy the water running off him turned gray. Whoops. He is silky and sweet-smelling and much happier now. He is overdue for a haircut but he can freakin' get in line because I am too. I have to change my Tuesday audience with The Great One because that's the night Home Improvement Guy and I have a date to buy electrical things so I can have the lighting installed in the cabinets and start putting things away. I haven't unloaded a single box because a) I have no countertop, and putting that in will generate more mess, I'm sure and b) wiring has to be run between/through the cabinets to install the under-cabinet task lighting. But we need to get this moving along, because L needs the boxes for her move next month, and Girl needs them for her move the month after that. Talk about getting your money's worth - we will wear these out.

My parish has launched a chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. L and I picked up information and we'll go to the organizational meeting. I'm not sure what talents I have to lend to this enterprise but I'm happy to figure something out as we go along. I believe in hands-on Christianity, and that's why I love my parish. I grew up in a dreary and introverted Catholic environment, which is why I went over the wall as a teenager and drifted from Agnostic to practicing Pagan for decades, before finding my way the Blessed Mother grabbed me by the ear and yanked me back against my will. This parish is so different from the one of my youth, it blows my mind - I had no idea Catholicism could be so...cool. And useful. And focused on the right things - a hands-on, practical and yet very rich and mystical spiritual life. I want to get more involved in the useful side.

I'm loving the Senseo, though I think I loved it too much this morning - I suspect my heartbeat was audible at a distance by the time I left for Mass. I did as I planned - drank a mug of coffee, took Murphy around the lake, had another mug, showered, had another one with makeup - on an empty stomach that created quite the buzz. But the important thing is that I no longer have the excuse of "wasting fresh coffee" to avoid walking in the morning, and the dog is eager to do it so off we will go, on any day that isn't raining. And right now that means EVERY day. Where is our share of the rain? It skips right over my house and dumps on the coast.

Knitting - Constant Companion bag in Cascade 220, in a rich chocolate brown and cafe au lait stripe. I left out the rose because when I put the three together the rose had too much of a blue undertone. It will work nicely with the rich purple, but not with these browns. The browns together are quite classy. I worked on the bag for a while but my right hand started complaining, so I switched to the crocheted All Seasons Shawl. I love that pattern (my way AND the "as written way") but as written and in light Softball Cotton, it makes a light and lacy and very drapey shawl. I'm considering dyeing it after it's done. I've always wanted to experiment with tea dyeing and this would be a great shawl in a richer, more amber color. It's pretty enough in the eggshell white, but a little too...bridal, or something. At the same time, the thought of skeining that fine cotton and dyeing it and drying it and and winding it...fergeddaboudit. It would be far easier to dunk the finished shawl, and I just may do that. (First I'll make a swatch of the fabric and see what happens, because I'm not an idiot.)

It's thundering again. Does that mean I will get actual rain? Don't bet on it.