Well, the Day Has Come

Well, well, well!

A Little Craft Show

The art league near me has craft shows a few times a year, but I haven't gone to one for a while, and when I saw it was this weekend, and the Bruins game on Sunday was at 5, that gave me enough time to go and check it out without rushing. It was fun!

There were roughly two dozen vendors; a surprising lot of them were jewelry, and I don't wear jewelry that much, so I didn't make any purchases there. And there were a couple of clothing ones where I didn't bother digging in to check for my size, since the choices tend to be limited to none for bigger people like me. There were a couple of booths that had large art/décor, that people might use for on their lanai or by the pool, which I appreciated but was not shopping for. 

But I did buy a few things! There was a tent with these little shells that a woman paints in different ways, and I had to get a couple of those. She calls them ring holders, and I'm not describing it well, so here, look:

This one is pretty (so pretty), but the next one is just funny.

The cat's eff-off expression just cracks me up. Had to have it.

The clay guild was also having a pottery sale, and I am a sucker for pottery. I have random bowls and bits all over the place. I got this one, which is lovely inside:

And out:

And then this vase-pitcher-type thing. 

It was a bit hard to get the colors to show right.

It's kind of chameleon-like.

And I like it! 

Basically, it was fun, even though it's warm and so humid right now that I was truly dripping with sweat before I left (I know, charming). But worth going! And now, I get to sit in the a/c, watch a live crowdcast, and then watch the Bruins game. Go Bruins!

Quickly on Friday Night

I know, I just did Maggie photos, but Maggie would like you to know that the third lap of the day might be the best yet.

This morning:

After work:

And now, after dinner:

She would prefer it if, this time, I didn’t make her get up. We’ll see how long my bladder cooperates.

My Lap Girl

Maggie had a good time on my lap this morning. She wasn't too pleased to have to get up, either (though I had to go to the bathroom, my butt was asleep, my hips and ankles hurt, and it was time to get to work).

Yarn Arrival

The yarn that I mentioned last week arrived safely, two big skeins of it. Lovely tonal reds.

I did a little swatching (with the bit I had left of the original skein), to see if US 8 or 9 needles would be better than the larger ones I used in the other projects. I'm going to see if anyone at my knitting group Monday night has an opinion.

Isn't it pretty?

I did wind the first one. The skeins are so large that, although I started to wind it on the ball winder, mine isn't large enough for this much yarn, so I finished it by hand.

It took forever. I also turns out that instead of 8 ounces, it's over 9!

And so is the other one. My goodness. Kind of a big difference.

Off to the races!

Rate Those Movies!

Half dozen more movie ratings from the Boston Globe! Shall we?

That is so oddly specific. Not just cleavage...

How significant is Guy Fieri in this movie, that they had to comment on it?

Ooh, snap.

A couple of casual what now? I guess that means someone says "bullshit" a few times?

Oh my!

For some reason I can't read this one without laughing.

I couldn't even tell you the last movie I went to, but these things are just so fun.

Do Your Pets Understand What You Say?

Those of you with pets, do you think that they understand what you say?

I don't just mean by tone of voice: Maggie knows that "you're so cute" and "hello, baby girl" are good things, but I could say (and in fact have said) "you are such a pain in the ass" in the same tone and she wouldn't know the difference. I'm talking about actual words, like walk or treat, or even more complex ideas.

I was thinking about it recently when she once again proved that she knows what I mean when, as she hesitates to eat the remaining food in the bowl, I tell her, "You eat this and then I'll give you more." She almost always will eat what's there, but if I don't immediately take the bowl to get her more, I will see her in the kitchen by the food, looking reproachful. "You said!"

There was a column in the Boston Globe Sunday that touched on this in the context of family code words, and I was most amused by these: 

"...my wife and I started referring to them as certain individuals, as in, ‘Is it time for certain individuals to take their evening meal?’ They have cracked all the codes for walks, car trips, etc., and they can spell T-R-E-A-T-S. But one phrase they have never been able to get is certain individuals, and so that has become the established code in our house for the dogs."

“In a house with two active dogs, you cannot say ‘walk the dog’ without causing immediate chaos. So we switch to things dogs are less likely to glom on to, like perambulate the pup. ‘Hey, I’m home! Do the pups need perambulating?’”

Maggie definitely knows some phrases. "Tuck a kitty in a blanket" is one, and specifically for my mother's bed, she knows "blue blanket." (She really likes sleeping in the blue blanket; it seems ordinary to us, but clearly we know nothing.) 

The other category has to do with her preference to be the one deciding where to snuggle in: she hates to think that she's following our suggestions. So she'll jump on my bed and hesitate when I lift a blanket for her to go under. But if I say things like "Where would you like to go?" or "It's up to you" or "It's your call," nine times out of ten she heads right under. Just so we're clear who decided.

She also understands the meaning of "no," but does not see how that applies to her. Ever.

"You can't mean what that sounded like."

Need to Relax? Maggie Can Help

Mom and I ran into Walmart for a few things on Saturday, and when I touched a blanket on a clearance display, I told her she had to touch it. She did, and told me to pick a color, so for $8 we brought home a very soft blanket (to a home that is full of soft blankets, I know, shut up).

So, if you need to see something relaxing, watch Maggie embrace the blanket, Saturday night and Sunday and through to Monday morning.

Yes, that lump is her as well. It's a hard life.