Not So Wise Wednesday

I know it’s Wisdom Wednesday, but I swear things I've been so thickheaded that I haven’t learned a thing this week. To say it’s been pretty mellow at Chez Bee lately would be an understatement. It’s been so rainy lately that I haven’t wanted to go anywhere, so I've nestled in at home with spinning. I go by fits and starts with Mabel-the-spinning-wheel, but I’m really in the groove right now, making a bright, highlighter-colored, variegated 3-ply, fingering weight to use with black for Fair Isle mittens. I’ve also been working on a 198 Yards of Heaven shawlette out of some gorgeous CTH Possom Sock, but I’m not a very accomplished lace knitter and it’s turning out to be an exercise in major frustration. I’m contemplating re-crafting it into some kind of big ball of yarn as early as tonight! I did break my personal record and knit an ENTIRE sock in less than an hour! I KNOW! You may bow to me now. I’ll wait. Um.... OK. ‘Fess-up time. It was this one that goes on the cute little sock blocker key chain that I got at The Ear.

Ben is still on the mend. His progress took a little detour when he developed tendonitis from trying to do too much too soon. Now he takes glucosamine, aspirin, and fish oil capsules and he’s getting better again bit by bit. Good thing; at the rate he was going, I would've had to get him a motorized scooter! (Wouldn't he love that? Ears all blowin’ in the breeze as he tooled around the dog park.) He’s still bitter about not being able to jump up and sleep on the sofa all day. He’s sore abused and has to settle for his fleecy, new dog bed on the cold, hard, carpeted floor. He was particularly pathetic about it the other night so I gave him the empty peanut butter jar which kept him busy and elated for hours. The sounds emitted while he cleaned it out, however, were horrifying.

(Click to biggify to see how far a dog's lower jaw will fit in a Skippy jar!)

We did have a wee spot of excitement I guess. This little guy pulled this daredevil stunt all day yesterday even though he isn't even close to ready to head out on his own.

Consquently, he took a swan dive (...er sparrow dive?) onto the patio.

We watched him all morning and no one came to feed him. By lunch time he had stopped moving around and was lying on his side with his little birdy feet sticking out, so I picked him up and put him in a shoe box to take over to the wildlife rehab folks. I went to wash my hands because he’d used the ‘peep-like-you’re-being-ax-murdered-and-poop-on-your-rescuer-as-many-times-as-you-possibly-can’ defense. [If it’s not in the Audubon manuals it should be. It’s been used on me-more than once! It’s just that kind of attitude that gets you a nickname like Grumpy McFeatherbutt ! ] I came back in the living room after washing up and Ben had his big, goofy nose stuck in the hole at one end of the shoebox and was snuffing and snorting as fast and as mightily as he could. I don’t know which was more amusing; the thought of what the little bird saw in the hole, or the vision in my head of him being sucked over to the hole and then blown back across the box over and over. He was none the worse for wear, although I think Ben sucked 'that new bird smell' out of him. The Rehab folks seemed to think he’d be just fine.

Click to Biggify! He's so cute! Look at how grumpy he is!

Other than that I’ve been plowing through books. There is nothing like snuggling in with a good novel on a rainy evening. Two recommendations: ‘The Swan Thieves’ by Elizabeth Kostova (who also wrote ‘The Historian’) and ‘The Widow’s War’ by Sally Gunning. Good historical fiction that will suck you in and keep you up reading until way past bedtime!

Oh! I lied! I DID learn something this week! I learned that not everything translates well into English. Here is the label from the lid on a box of chocolate covered 'almonds' received from Japan.

Finally chocolate 'treats' I can totally resist! How's your week goin'?