Saturday was my 40th birthday. FOUR-TEE. Four-oh.

In order to protect the innocent, I’ve refrained from posting many party photos. Everyone was cutting loose and having a good time. Party photos are never as flattering the next day, are they?

I want to thank Stephanie Gage for most of the photos. Thank you for being my volunteer birthday photographer!

This was my birthday:

	The day started with knitting group/morning birthday party at The Knitting Nest. Presents and cake and breakfast tacos and knitting! Photo courtesy Stephanie Gage.
	A few moments before my guests arrived at my evening birthday party. I was pretty excited.
	Ike and Abe spent some time behind a baby gate… Photo courtesy Stephanie Gage.
	…But later came out to help serve cake. Photo courtesy Stephanie Gage.
	The weather was perfect, and the gazebo was always full of laughing people. Photo courtesy Stephanie Gage.
	Like a junior high dance, the boys and girls mingled among themselves much of the time. (Do we talk about our boobs too much?) Photo courtesy Stephanie Gage.
	Ike entertained us with a little birthday dance. Photo courtesy Stephanie Gage.
	We were also celebrating the birthday of my dear friend Meg, so we decided to take our self-portraits with simultaneous camera action. Photo courtesy Stephanie Gage.
	Meg and I started the evening in hot shoes, but later switched to flip-flops. Photo courtesy Stephanie Gage.
	This is my self-portrait from the next day. Birthday wishes and obscenities on my bathroom wall. I love my immature friends.

Fast-topic-changing Friday, first door on your left.

	Sad. This is Arbor, the cutest dang sweater ever. My problem? The shoulder-to-bust ratio ain’t gonna fit me. It isn’t supposed to fit off-the-shoulders like this. I can either start lifting weights and hope for beefier shoulders, or I can give up. Sigh. Next…!
	New product alert! We can all be more discreet with our germophobia issues now! This is a hand-sanitizing spray, but it looks like a marker. “La, la, la…just a minute, let me write that down…” spray spray spray spray Next…!
	I might, might, might be adapting to Texas weather. Finally. It was 80 degrees in the house, and I was fine. Not whining, not sweating, not a single swear word. I didn’t even need to turn on the air conditioner. Next…!
	I had a lot of fun with my self portraits this week…here’s one I especially like. Next…!
	When you come to my house, don’t even bother trying to sit on the sofa. They have arranged it just the way they like it, and they are enforcing a strict No Human Zone policy. Have a great weekend!

I’m finding it so hard to spend any time on the computer lately, because it’s so hard to be indoors at all! Austin has to be The Greatest Place on Earth this week. The weather is perfect, the birds are singing, and everyone is just a little bit happier.

Also! Green! Since I moved here in December, everything has been brown. I didn’t know that my backyard has shade! Or that there are flowers out front! Or that my tree isn’t dead!

This is what I’ve been doing…

	I got a gazebo, and I don’t even care that I have a real house anymore. I might just move the fridge out here and sell the house to someone else.
	This is my back patio before. Concrete slab.
	Now it’s an oasis of bug-free shade. And I’m not even done with it yet! I’m currently “extending” the concrete with a border of pavers and pebble gravel. I will also add some potted plants, string some xmas lights, and (someday) get some new patio furniture.
	This photo doesn’t do it justice, but it’s a room. A room with a breeze blowing through it. All of this wonderfulness was only 200 bucks from Home Depot, plus three hours of assembly.
	A rare moment indoors.

Oy. Gotta story from last night.

4:06 am: I’m soundly in dreamland when two dogs BOLT out of bed and run for the backdoor. Thinking it’s a potty emergency, I stumble to the door, open it, and go back to bed.

4:08 am: My bedroom window is open, and I can hear that this is no potty emergency. Instead, the dogs are whining, growling, and gnashing their teeth. I slip on some flip-flops, turn on the backyard lights, and go outside.

4:09 am: My eyes are still trying to focus, but I can see that the dogs are really interested in the fence. Whatever. So the neighbors let their dog out or something. I call them back in. They ignore me. I move closer to see what is really going on…and I see a possum butt on top of the fence, it’s long tail mere centimeters from my jumping dogs. The possum is huge, and putting all of it’s efforts into balancing on top of the fence. The possum must have been afraid to move.

4:10 am: Two things are running through my mind…first – Wow! These two dogs were under the covers with me 4 minutes ago…how did they know there was an animal in the backyard? I feel safe with these guys around. And second – No! I do not want my dogs to catch this possum. They will catch it, kill it, and drag it into the house while I stand there fully grossed-out.

4:10 am: I am standing outside in a tank top and flip-flops. It is raining a little bit. My dogs won’t listen to me. I will have to catch them and carry them into the house. I step a little closer to the fence to grab Abe, and the possum’s butt wobbles right above my head. Eeeeee! Do not want possum on my head this morning! I try baby-talk to coax Abe closer to me. He hardly notices that I’m there.

4:15 am: Somehow, I muster up an amazing amount of energy and skill. I manage to catch both dogs and throw them in the house without a possum landing on me. I get back in bed.

4:16 am: Both dogs are pacing the house, whining, scratching on doors and windows. Abe grabs the corner of my comforter and tries to pull it off the bed. I yell totally useless commands like, “Stop it!”, “No!”, “Get in bed!”, and “You can’t have the possum!”.

4:17 to 4:45 am: More of the same.

4:45 to 5:15 am: More of the same, except Ike finally gives up and gets in bed.

5:16 am: I figure that the possum must be gone by now. Hoping for a little peace, I open the backdoor and two dogs bolt out again.

5:18 am: I am grateful that the whining and scratching has stopped, but my eyes are burning for some reason. I imagine that possum germs fell on me, and now I have a possum eye disease.

5:50 am: I cannot sleep. I’m pretty sure I have a possum eye disease.

6:10 am: The Mighty Hunters are zonked out in bed with me, but I am wide awake. I give up, and make coffee. My eyes have stopped burning, and I realize that I do not have a possum eye disease.

9:20 am (now): Ike and Abe have finished their breakfast and are catching up on sleep. Lucky bastards.

Hey! Glad you called! Oh, fine, fine. Busy, yeah. And you? Great! No permanent scarring, then? Very cool.

Fast-topic-changing Friday, ready for take-off…

	First up, a successful Booga Bag class. Cute, huh? My students are awesome. Next…!
	I usually take a 15 minute nap every day. A couple of days ago I woke up from my nap with the design for a new sweater screaming in my brain. Horray for naps! The Voices in My Nap even told me to use a book of scrapbook paper for color inspiration.
	I immediately drove to The Knitting Nest, and picked out the yarn. Then, surprise! I grabbed The Yarn Harlot’s new book, which, as you can see, happens to use the same colors.
	New sweater design coming soon. Next…!
	This is a receipt from the postage MACHINE at the post office. Computers are very sophisticated with their emotions nowadays, huh? Next…!
	Someone is graffiti-ing the white board at The Knitting Nest when I’m not watching. I don’t know who it is, but thanks! Next…!
	This is my favorite self-portrait from this week. I hope it looks all casual and natural, because with no remote and only a ten-second timer to work with, it was anything but. (Set the timer. Run down the block. Get the dogs to turn around with me. Try to look natural. Repeat.) Have a great weekend!

I think all knitters know the excitement of starting a new project. New pattern! New yarn! Let’s go!

Forget the dishes in the sink. Forget the work deadline. “Startitis” is like a drug. The thrill of seeing something new grow from your needles becomes an overwhelming need.

Unless…

	You read the first line of your new pattern and it says, “Cast-on 240 stitches using the provisional method”. This cast-on took me TWO HOURS. Kinda took the wind out of my startitis sails. Like sitting down to a lovely meal to find that you can only nibble on celery for 120 minutes.
	Here’s the sweater. It’s Arbor, designed by Melissa Burt. I’m knitting it with Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport in Navy. Now that I’m past the celery, I can start to enjoy the lovely meal.
	Just two. Two hours felt like a long time for a cast-on, but two dogs suddenly seems like a very small number. The good news is that my house is unbelievably calm and peaceful. And I got to use the bathroom without company this morning.

Gus and Lou go back to Houston today, but here’s a little video I shot over the weekend. Watch it.

A fast-topic-changing-Good Friday…

	Finished sweater! Knitting Pure & Simple’s Neckdown Summer Cardigan in Aslan Trends Invernal – an angora, merino, nylon blend. This is my attempt at a vintage-y photo, but…
	Truth be told, that vintage dress was SO tight, that my patience ran out pretty quickly. I had to model this myself, as Anne Boleyn is currently working at The Knitting Nest.
	Here’s how I’ll really wear it. In clothes that allow me to breathe. Details on The Rav. Next…!
	This is my last weekend with the Houston dogs. 120 walks. 240 bowls of food. 360 organic chicken treats. 25,0792 kisses. Next…!
	Are you watching the HBO miniseries “John Adams”? Can I encourage you to give it a try? SO GOOD. Next…!
	Ike soaks up the last bit of sun in the room. Next…!
	If the Easter Bunny doesn’t make it to your house, it’s because Abe got to him first. Allow me to apologize in advance. Have a great Easter Weekend!

Welcome to yet another fast-topic-changing Friday. You may be seated.

I like REM. Yeah, the band’s alright, but it’s REM sleep that excites me right now…

	You see, three out of four dogs in this house are experiencing tummy problems. Every 20 minutes or so, someone needs to go outside. DAY AND NIGHT. Sometime between 3 and 4am I just left the back door open. I might need to invest in a doggie door. TMI? Sorry. I’m just so sleepy. Next…!
	This is a still shot from a teaser for the local news last night. I think it’s me! Blonde hair, big sunglasses, Jeep, on an Austin freeway. I wonder how many other people fit that description around here. Next…!
	Now that I’ve finally finished knitting all of the samples for my knitting classes in March, I can finally do some of my own knitting again. Sad, really…I’m close to finishing this little sweater, and it’s supposed to be 92 degrees today. But I’m pretty sure that I’ll still like pink angora next winter. Next…!
	This is my favorite self-portrait from this week. I’m holding Ike in a “native carry”, the traditional way of carrying Basenjis in Africa. I love the expression on his face. So content. Next…!
	A dog bed, three toys, and the television remote control. Will the madness ever end? Have a great weekend! (I’m off to take a nap!)

Anne Boleyn (my knitwear stunt-double) normally wears a long-sleeved black tshirt to model knitwear, but today…

	She’s dressed for spring. This is Soleil, a free pattern from knitty.com.
	I made this for a knit-along/class at The Knitting Nest later this month. It is knit with N.Y. Cotton, a new yarn from Stacy Charles.
	I really like it. Maybe someday Anne will actually let me wear it.
	Hmm… Moments before this photo was taken, I was sleeping in this bed with these dogs. I don’t know how. See where my pillow is? Somehow, my body fit. Dog pile on Staci!