This was the first week of school, and yiiiiiiii. Unfortunately, it's no longer dealing with students that makes the first week so time consuming--at least this year there weren't many students wandering around lost or trying to get into classes. The work is in dealing with all the forms and paper. Plus this year we're doing another chair-search and we have two new adminstrators in the department, and 1,000 other little odds and ends. Next week will be more of the same. Then it should calm down some.

I'm once again knitting a no-brain project, just for the sake of having something to work on. I wish to point out here that this summer has been a justification of stashing: the yarn for the Ugly Shawl and for this project are both more than 5 years old and the pattern for the current project is from the Fall 1997 Knitters, The Rib-Warming Trio on p 80. It's an interesting pattern to work, based on an Elizabeth Zimmerman design, but knit in all one piece using short rows to turn corners; at the end all you have to sew is the shoulder seams. I imagine if you wanted to you could turn it into a little jacket or cardi by going back and picking up stitches for sleeves and knitting down. You do have to pay some attention to where you are with the short-rows (a stitch marker helps), but it's garter stitch, and so basically you just--knit. I'm using a rayon boucle that came in the same grab-bag sale as the yarn for the Ugly Shawl, except that this is jewel tones. I have 600 yards, which I hope will be enough. It's making up into a much softer fabric than I expected when I started the project, with a nice drape, as you'd expect with rayon.

At any rate, one of these days I hope to feel settled enough to go back to making more interesting things as well as things I'll actually be likely to wear! But this is a good project for now. :)

I'm trying to get my fuzzy head to focus and organize. Timber has indicated that he would be thrilled to work with me, so I'm trying to come up with a training plan for him. I don't know why this is so hard. I could teach him the various obedience exercises. For the CD (first level AKC obedience) it's on- and off-lead heeling, a recall, a 1-minute sit-stay and a 3-minute down-stay, and a stand-for-exam. For the next level, the CDX, it's more heeling, a 3-minute sit-stay and 5-minute down-stay with the handler out of sight, a couple of retrieves, a drop on recall, and a broad jump. At the 3rd level, UD, there's a directed retrieve (dog brings the glove of 3 that the handler indicates), directed jumping, scent discrimination, a signal exercise (where the dog sits, heels, comes, downs, and stands in response to hand cues). I taught Stella everything but the broad jump, which I didn't think was good for her hips, and the scent discrimination, because I didn't know how to teach it to her.

Anyway, he's been really more or less asking to work with me, bless his heart. At least, I think that's what he's doing. So I need to get my act together and start working with him! Mental note: CD exercises are so freaking boring for the dog--mix it up with more advanced exercises! Or maybe throw in some Rally exercises; that might make the heelwork more interesting.

Of course Taenzer could and would learn all this, too, and she'd be completely thrilled about it; it's just that it's unusual for Timber to be asking for this kind of interaction.