Crazy Dog, Baby Stash, and Funky Scooters

My life has been taken over by some crazed shopping person who spends what little money I have willy-nilly in yarn shops and warehouse sales. In the past week, I've spent so much money my wallet is sore. Or at least it feels that way. It may just be that I haven't been stocking up on essentials (and yarn) and it all came due this week. Plus, you know - sales. And yarn. On the plus side, I am stocked with mouthwash and various Swiffer products for the foreseeable future, thanks to the Proctor and Gamble warehouse sale. (Radically overaged toothpaste is still safe, right?)

Last weekend, for Easter, I was back in Windsor. And I finally managed to visit Knit One, Purl One while it was actually open - third time's the charm, I guess. I picked up some lovely Silky Wool in a dark turquoise that is destined to become my second Clappy. And I got to tag along on one of my dad and his dog's morning walks. This might not sound all that exciting, but I love these walks, just for the amusement of watching the craziest dog around. Shona is a border collie with issues. She is stick-addicted. As soon as she's out of the car, she must find a stick. And it must be the biggest stick she can find. I have seen her uproot small, (hopefully) dead trees, because they were to her just big sticks.

She's a walking hazard in the park. She wants the stick to be thrown over and over, and will run ahead on the path, dropping the stick where we will be walking, then lying down in the classic border collie posture, waiting for the stick to become airborne. And after a kilometer or so of this, we don't want to pick up the stick every thirty feet or so, so occasionally we'll just walk past it. When this happens, Shona will grab the stick and run past us to drop it once again in our path. The thing is, the stick she's carrying is basically a tree branch, so we're often whacked in the back of the knees when she carries it past us.

But maybe the best part of the stick addiction is her drive to always find a bigger and better stick. And when she does, she simply must have it. But she is unwilling to leave the old stick, so she runs back and forth, carrying each to the other, and trying to find a way to hold them both in her mouth at the same time.

On Tuesday, I was in St. Mary's, Ontario. While driving through town before my meeting, in an effort to find the Timmy's (I had no doubt that I would find one on the main drag, and I was not disappointed) I spotted a craft store calling my name via a large, hand-lettered bristol board sign yelling, "YARN SALE - Up to half off!" So you know that as soon as I was finished with work and before making the long trek to Hamilton, I headed in. I was fairly restrained - just picked up some Patons classic wool yarn, some wonderfully soft Kroy sock yarn, and some Bernat baby stuff for another blanket. Finally I think I can call my stock of yarn a stash.

And one random picture, from the Ikea parking lot. Happy Friday!