Response to Bess in comments - KPPPM is one of my favorite yarns, I love it for socks (despite the label it's actually quite machine washable, just hang it to dry) and if I ever win the lottery and have time to knit an entire sweater on size 1 needles from this luscious stuff, I will. For now I'll settle for gloves and socks. I have sock Koigu in the stash, colors that will be fun with jeans and clogs or boots this winter, but wouldn't you know it, the two colors I have would clash gruesomely with my winter coat and are thus unsuitable for gloves, fingerless or otherwise. I will have to...BUY YARN. Oh, the shame. But my winter coat is a moss green, my KPPPM is in pinky pastel-ish colors and bold turquoise blues. No way. Must buy yarn for gloves for winter coat. Break my heart. Two skeins of Koigu must become mine. I think this means a trip to the NSLYS next Saturday. I hang my head in shame. Yes I do.

Another hour long bike ride this afternoon. I probably shouldn't have, I wasn't sore today but I bet my knees and butt will be mad at me about this tomorrow. But it felt SO good today. It was so gorgeous - 80, low humidity, not a cloud in the sky, I had to do it. It's been a weekend of exercise, garage cleaning, knitting and movies. And church and coffee and shopping and housework. Chasing cat hair, it's not just a job, it's an exercise in futility.

My friend L asked me if I was interested in doing Christ Renews this year - I am, if there are still openings. It's a retreat weekend, and she says everyone who has done it has formed wonderful friendships there. We both want to get more involved in parish life, and we're intrigued.

Now for a Bossy Dog Report. Not much to say about the small domineering canine until this weekend, when he broke the No Dog Zone rule and began jumping through the catflap into the garage. He is four years old, the catflap pre-dates him by a good three years, and he only went through it once as a puppy before figuring out that he can't get back in by himself, because going out is a jump down, but going IN is a jump up/push in the flap maneuver that is easy for the cats, but beyond a short dog with bad knees. For him, the catflap into the garage is a one way trip - yet he is bold enough and bossy enough to do it when I'm out there, and he blandly assumes I'll let him back into the house when he's through exploring. I'm worried about this, because I don't want him out there getting into things and possibly getting stuck in a hot garage all day while I'm at work.

So we had to have an encounter. He came through the flap while I was in the garage, I yelled at him to go back into the house. He went to stand at the door, waiting for me to open it. I said, sternly: "I'm not here. Get back into the house by yourself! I'm not going to help you. Go into the house!" He immediately melted into Shrimp Mode - this is when he flattens his ears to his head, curls his body, and becomes as small and guilty as he can be. His understanding of vocabulary is just amazing - I didn't raise my voice, just spoke to him firmly - Dude, you are on your own, figure out how to get into the house. He realized he couldn't do it. I devoutly hope he remembered this and it works while Im at work, and I'll be home at lunch this week to check on him. I don't want him stranded in the garage, but he needs to learn that there is a reason the garage is a NO DOG ZONE, and it's because Short Dogs Can't Jump. If he breaks this rule he'll have to be back in the puppy crate during the day. Oh, the indignity!

Tomorrow another wild week begins - I'm going to crawl into my freshly made bed and open the windows to let the cool evening breezes in. Yay, cool night weather!