Okay, I'm back. Actually, I've been back since Sunday, but I've been recovering from a little time zone difference, and trying to get Z ready to go back to school on Tuesday, holy smokes... It makes me a little nauseous, partially because the summer is over and I can barely remember any of it, and partially because she is starting 5th grade! I might barf.

We left the pups at home with a housesitter while we were gone, actually the woman who babysits for Z when I'm working - it was a failed experiment on so many levels. I will be the first to admit that my dogs are high maintenance. They are the sweetest funniest wackiest dogs, and I love them so much. That being said...

Harley (who is a little less work than Stella), is no longer allowed in the yard by himself until we are able to replace the entire fence, which is no easy task. He, like so many beagles, is not to be trusted if he smells something interesting at which time he becomes totally deaf and all the shrieking like a banshee that I do does no good whatsoever( and I feel like a huge asshole - nuff said.). Stella - oh Stella - who had been so much better, really and I'm not even just saying that, is a typical Weimaraner. She suffers from separation anxiety - which is why I thought that having her at home with someone she knows would be a much better situation for her. Well, not so much. I think the two dogs were just too much for the sitter. Puppy camp is a much better plan - which is where they are going this weekend. They can bark all they want, there are distractions all day what with all the other dogs there to play with and they will come home tired and freshly washed. And my house will be exactly as I left it.

On the knitting front, I finished my One Skein project for my pal, I'm sending it out - hope she likes it! Here's the whole package -

Oh, hell - Blogger is not letting me post pictures again. WTF?! Well, anyway, I'm sending her a cute little purse that I designed for her. It's Claudia's Hand Painted yarn, lined with the most fabulous purple silk. I'm also sending a bar of Russian dark chocolate, lavender soap, the New Vegetarian Epicure - referring back to a post from ever so long ago asking for recipes, this is one of my most favorite cookbooks ever, all organized according to season and occasion. Ooh, and two lil' skeins of yarn, one Twisted Sisters cotton, and one merino silk hand painted locally. Different, but coordinated - I know it's supposed to be one skein, but limits are hard for me...

I'll try to add pictures later. Fingers crossed.