Fast-topic-changing? Not today. There has been one constant topic all week. It starts with a “d”, ends with a “g”, and has a bunch of badness in the middle.

I’ve had custody of all four dogs this week.

	Little Lou…
	Manly Gus… This is a yoga pose called “peeing dog”.
	Handsome Abe….
	And Ike. Besides knitting and teaching classes, this is what I did this week. You can imagine, I was BUSY. And terribly happy.
	I still managed my self-portraits. Now that I’ve found this cinder block wall, I want to marry it and take a photo in front of it every day. Unfortunately, it’s already seeing someone and has only agreed to keep me as a fondle puppet.
	Kill! Kill! Have a great weekend!

Did someone say fast-topic-changing Friday? Okay.

It’s been a while since I’ve done this…almost a year, in fact. The text below was run through free translation software into Portuguese, then translated again back into English.

Here we go…

	The Abe acted strangely a day. It acted ridiculous, then I supposed to be fair in an arrangement. Later, I found my eyeglasses of sun in the quintal, gnawed and broken-down. They are ruined, but look happy, does not do they? Near subject…!
	It look what did I do! This is the Cord Gazes Shawl, a free standard of knitty. I high recomendo this standard. Very funny it knit. It is actually called the “Lace Ribbon Scarf”. Near subject…!
	This week in my project of self-portrait I did an “Impudent Knitting Stunts” series. This it is called “Blindfolded Clear Island”. Geez…you’re going to have to go to flickr if you want to know what I really said. Near subject…!
	Canine macros of face! The Ike all, camera? Yes, please!
	Abe? Not really so lively about the idea. Have a big weekend and a Mother happy Day!

We now join the fast-topic-changing Friday, already in progress.

	Stacy entered me in the Interweave Knits poetry contest on the sly… And I won second place! I’m pleasantly shocked and amazed. The winners will be announced on Knitting Daily sometime soon. Next…!
	Playground rules at an Austin restaurant. What are the gypsies going to do with all of those bad children? Next…!
	A little knit I finished up this morning…the One Skein Wonder. I’m teaching a class on it this month, so this is the sample. This is also my self-portrait for today.
	This little thing can actually be a useful piece of clothing in Texas right now, since so many places over-do it with the air conditioning. One word: Malabrigo. Yeah. Next…!
	Is it a holey tank top? A slutty camisole? No…
	It’s a mesh market bag, knit with corn fiber. Paper or plastic, ma’am? Neither! I got me a corn bag!
	Anne Boleyn after her visit to the farmer’s market. Next…!
	Silly Munky. Have a great weekend!

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.