Silk, row-ed, and a squirrel’s-eye view
Sunday April 03rd 2011, 9:42 pm
Filed under: Family,Knitting a Gift,Wildlife

Happy Birthday, Michelle! The sky threw confetti flakes on the day of your birth in celebration!

Yesterday and today were General Conference, wherein members of the Mormon Church can listen to their leaders speaking. One of them, Jeffrey Holland, said that they do not assign topics nor coordinate talks between themselves, rather, they each pray for guidance and for their listeners as well as themselves and take it forward from there.

It’s interesting, but it is a bit of a knitting marathon while we watch four two-hour sessions together over the ‘Net over the two days. Yesterday’s got that Malabrigo hat finished.

Today’s, a new chemo cap for an in-law. I’d forgotten that in my stash was some Rowan Pure Silk DK tucked away, bought on closeout at Purlescence, the only way really I could afford it.

I got it about a year ago, well before her diagnosis, on the grounds that I had no pure silk yarn in my stash, there are a lot of allergic people in the world, and at some point it could well be exactly what I needed even if I had no particular reason for it just then. The color was nice but it was going to be for someone else. There were three skeins on the table, and I hesitated; two seemed the right number for no reason I knew. Three would make a shawlette but that just didn’t feel like quite…somehow…

Two it was.

I can usually talk myself out of that sort of unplanned purchase, but this seemed important.

And then I simply forgot about it.

I found them recently, totally surprised at what was inside the bag–where did I?  Oh! I remember! And I had an allergic in-law whose hair and recent chemo round had not played friends.

And yet Thursday I again did not remember that silk; I grabbed the Malabrigo on impulse while wondering what I was forgetting, and ran out the door.

Had I thought of it then, the Malabrigo hat would never have come to be, and I’m very very grateful it did.

So now tomorrow, just as soon as it would have been anyway, one new silk hat will be in the mail to that good woman to cheer her up amid all that’s going on right now. We talked to her between Conference sessions; light lavender? She loves light lavender!

And meantime, in the entirely silly news department, the new and obnoxious leader-of-the-pack squirrel I mentioned that taunted the hawk taunted me today: all the others know, you do not touch Feederfiller’s feeder and you do not climb the wooden pole next to it. I have them trained.

But this big newcomer not only leaps at the feeder, shaking out just enough to encourage it, but today it hung onto the pole at the jumpoff spot, marking and announcing its territory for all to see that it and it alone claimed this prize.  Mine! Sunbathing vertically right there.

It kept its eyes on the other side of the pole away from the house. That way I couldn’t see it. It was so proud and so sure this was so that it utterly ignored me as I opened the door and raised the supersoaker.

Can you just hear the screaming tantrum of THAT’S NOT FAIR!!! as it tore down that pole and across the yard and didn’t come back the rest of the evening? While another happily took its place and, with perfect black-glove manners, gleaned falling seeds from the birds above for as long as it wanted?


11 Comments so far
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Squirrel + Supersoaker = good video.
Love + Silk = good hat, gotta love that light lavendar.

Comment by Sherry in Idaho 04.03.11 @ 11:22 pm

Again, you amaze me with your awesomeness 🙂

Comment by Cathy 04.03.11 @ 11:28 pm

There’s another crazy squirrel slogan for you “THAT’S NOT FAIR!!!!” Plenty of squirrel lovers would enjoy their tea, coffee of cocoa in that mug.

You’re very speedy in the hat department, and in DK, too. Impressive. Your fingers zip through it like it’s bulky.

Comment by LynnM 04.03.11 @ 11:50 pm

Do wish I could have seen that. Yesterday was a hat-knitting day for me as well, but I frogged it back to the end of the ribbing and started over on needles one size smaller. Much better.

The local single sisters are doing the happy dance, as The Brethren let the dilatory single brethren (those who are reluctant to marry or re-marry) have it in those Conference addresses. Twice.

My friend just enjoyed both talks, as he is being patiently and prudently obedient.

Comment by Lynn 04.04.11 @ 2:41 am

That takes care of the bully on the block. Now he knows who the alpha person behind the feeder is. I hope your in-law knows blessed she is to have someone as caring as knitting for her. I found out from experience that after you have had chemo, sometimes your hair will grow back slightly different for awhile, mine went from straight to wavy and from dark brown to having a reddish hue , I Wished it would stayed wavy awhile longer.

Comment by kristy phipps 04.04.11 @ 7:16 am

Another cap is in the works. I’m actually loving the cotton thus far!

Comment by Channon 04.04.11 @ 7:18 am

I wonder if a supersoaker would work on that danged possum who saunters into our house and eats cat crunchies as if it owns the place, and has had the audacity to make friends with Kodak, one of the cats, who sits by while possum chows down?

Or the raccoon, who won the smackdown with Al over a five-pound bag of cat crunchies?

I must investigate.

Comment by Patricia Day 04.04.11 @ 8:06 am

I wouldn’t be surprised if THAT’S NOT FAIR!!! became somebody’s political slogan. Think old alpha will be back?

Comment by Don Meyer 04.04.11 @ 8:58 am

And life, dear squirrel, is often unfair… I need a Super Soaker. I put a stale corn muffin out for the birds this morning, and watched as a pair of very bold grey squirrels divided it between them. I know they need to eat too, but they never leave any behind for the poor sparrows! Greedy nibblers… 😉

Comment by Pegi 04.04.11 @ 2:30 pm

Your other readers are suggesting they need Super Soakers for their squirrels; I’m thinking I may need one for our kiddens as I am finding them in the middle of the potted plants (not among them, but actually inside the pots) a bit too often. Probably not the right idea for our hardwood floors, but still…

Comment by twinsetellen 04.04.11 @ 4:20 pm

yay! Super soaker 1, squirrel 0

:-}

And good wishes for your in-law on her journey.

Comment by Diana Troldahl 04.04.11 @ 7:41 pm



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