I now think of the All Season Shawl as the Patio Shawl, because that's when I work on it. In the morning with coffee while Murphy chases lizards. In the evening with a glass of wine while Murphy chases lizards. I don't think I've worked on it indoors all week, it's becoming the patio project, and the patio is way too hot between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. In the early morning and evening it's wonderful.

I'm working off a big cone of fine Softball Cotton, the cone sits in a canvas bag from Petsmart (received for a donation) and I crochet a row or two a day, sometimes more. It's so relaxing. I love simple repetitive patterns - even I get bored with acres of stockinette or garter stitch, but this pattern is a simple single double crochet repeat, and it's so rhythmic and relaxing, I can feel my stress ooze away as I work on it. I'm so impressed that it is so light and airy in this yarn. "Cotton shawl" conjures up the idea of a body-sized dishcloth, but this is almost weightless. I keep promising photos and keep getting sidetracked, but there will be photos. I like it. I also have plenty of this light cotton, and really want to make a light airy poncho with it.

I have an urge to cast on...anything. I'm itching to start new projects, I don't know why. I did grab the remainder of some gorgeous Koigu PPM to make the simple seed stitch belt in the newest FCEK. It's purple, black, blue and rose, and another mindless knitting project from the queen of mindless knitting, but I can actually see whipping up a few of these, they're slim, cute and colorful. I modified the pattern, which was seed stitch and inexplicably designed for six stitches. I cast on seven, because I am just That Way. Why on earth do designers design a project in a stitch that works best on an odd number of stitches, and then use an even number? It's a BELT, for heaven's sake, one stitch of sock yarn is not going to make an appreciable difference in its dimensions.

Murphy is asleep on the floor next to me, sprawled on his belly on the cool tile and snoring like a small grizzly bear. He has had a very full day - today was his annual checkup. The vet tech was a very tall, very strong young man with a shaved head and goatee, who baby talked Murphy and fussed over him - there's nothing cuter to me than a big, burly rugged guy unashamed to cuddle and "Oh, you're so precious!" a little dog. Though Murphy is not so little - he now weighs in at a whopping 9 lbs. 5 ounces, or an ounce more than Girlchild weighed at birth. I'm not surprised, I could tell he was putting on muscle and bulking up from all our walking and running around the yard chasing bubbles and lizards and his tiny frisbee - he hasn't an ounce of fat on him, he's just a muscular, healthy and Sturdy Little Dog. Now he really thinks he's a Rottweiler.