There are cabinets in my kitchen - they are far from finished, and I'm going to be adding one more to cover a really unpleasant patch of old drywall, but it's so nice to see things moving along on schedule (knocking wood vigorously).

For Greta and anyone with a dog: Clicker training info here.
I was skeptical about clicker training but it was used at the puppy school Murphy attended and he absolutely loved it. It makes training a game, the dog catches on fast, and it's really a matter of the patience and time of the owner - the dog gets into it right away, the human may or may not like it and keep up with it. It works, though. It takes the whole "battle of wills" thing out of dog training - no matter how inherently stubborn or dumb the dog they seem to figure out this system with very little repetition, and a smart dog figures it out in two minutes and starts correcting the dumb human - in Murphy's case this is with intense looks and little muttered noises. "Hello? Excuuuse me? Do you not see how perfectly I'm heeling here? Where the hell's my click?" (I've been the recipient of that aggravated glare more than once.)

I fell off the dog training program when my husband got sick and all non-vital activities fell out of my life, and Murphy is "trained enough" for me - he's smart, happy and agreeable and comes when called and is never mean or nervous - but I did see that he had great potential and feel somewhat guilty for not training him further. I think he would have made a hell of a tiny agility dog - he loved the intro to agility in puppy school and attacked the teeter-totter and tunnel and balance beam exercises with glee - though he didn't weigh enough to tilt the teeter-totter down and had to have help. Much bigger dogs in the class chickened out and refused to set foot on the equipment, or had to be peeled off it when they froze halfway, but itty-bitty Murphy charged into everything like he was born to do it. But then, his best buddy in that class was a Rottie puppy - he had no idea he was the size of one of her chew toys - all dogs are equals to the Murphinator.

I fenced the tomato patch with foot-high decorative fencing, thinking this would keep Murphy out - he's been a leash dog for 4 years and never experienced jumping over a fence in a yard in his life, and he has been diagnosed with Grade 2 luxating patella, so I figured he was no jumper (also why I never pursued agility work with him). He sailed over a fence that is taller than he is without a running start or any hesitation, and can bop around the tomato patch whenever he wants. So much for fencing him out.

Harnesses - I use a step-in style harness on Murphy, I am too uncoordinated to put a regular harness on him. Little dogs' tracheas are very fragile and I think all small breeds should wear a harness, it's just a good idea. I worry that Murphy's trachea may have had some damage before he got "big enough" to fit into even the smallest harness - he started his leash life on a shoestring-thin show lead because no collar or harness would fit him. When I brought him home at 3 months he was about the size of a guinea pig. He was less than 7 inches long, because our tile floor has 7 inch tiles and he could stand entirely inside one tile. Now he is a whopping 8 pounds of solid muscle - I dream of being so firm and fatless - and a full pound heavier than the breed standard. At 8 pounds he is a Big Yorkie.

It's hard to find tiny dog stuff - after the dog passes 11 pounds it gets easier, then they are "small" - but X-small is another story, the items available tend to be very frou-frou and silly. I don't want to dress him in a Hawaiian shirt and jeweled collar dammit, I want to find a harness that fits! I buy them online, the stores never have 'em.

And that concludes the doggy discussion of the day.

Murphy and I walked around the lake at 6:40 a.m. and it was great - we haven't lost our speed despite slacking off badly for months. I need to listen to the dog, he's been suggesting a lake walk every day for a week. He's right.

I am still in a Get Stuff Done mode, and today I finally finished the French Market Bag started way back when, and made progress on the sleeve of the Lo-Tech Sweat also started WBW. My wrist is bothering me now. I need to switch back to crochet until it gets over being mad at me for knitting. I think the combo of serious paint roller action followed by knitting pissed off my tendonitis.

12 drops of rain fell in my neighborhood today. Please do a virtual rain dance for us.