Life's a Stitch

If you follow my blog, you know I’ve had my share of issues with wild animals. Gracee and the bear, the skunks in our yard, our close encounters with a cougar, fox, raccoons, miscellaneous coyotes, a rat in the barbecue, dead mice in the dog food, and black Russian squirrels who ate through our power lines. Geez, I grew up outside of New York City and our wild animals were limited to cute fuzzy grey squirrels and an occasional bunny or a chipmunk while on an upstate camping trip.

Although my animal stories may be relatively tame, my friend, Lynn, told us of a friend’s encounter with a squirrel. While her friend was away, a squirrel apparently fell down her chimney and ransacked her house. There was evidence of squirrel damage in every room to the tune of $15,000! Her alarm system was set off, the police kicked in the door (mustn’t have been in our town, the police don’t answer home alarms anymore), and left her a note: "There is a squirrel in your house." Thank goodness for good insurance.

At the risk of sounding like an urban myth, I personally know of a family whose cockateil was carried off by an eagle. Honest to God, the bird had escaped the house and just as it was in reach, the eagle swooped down and flew off with it, in full view of all family members. How traumatic.

Knitting: this was supposed to be my European trip project but I’m letting myself do just one skein’s worth. Besides, it’s too hot for Marina right now. The subtle colour shifts in the Top Print make this an addicting project. I learned early on that I needed to use removable stitch markers as they have to be shifted one stitch over in each pattern row.