In case you live under a rock (an iffy place to be around here yesterday morning...) we had quite a shaker yesterday. It wasn't the big one, but it was certainly disconcerting. Since everyone else got out of the blocks on this story sooner than I did, I can do some commentary as well as tell my story.
I let the dogs out as usual Thursday night, about 10 or so, and went to bed. Monte could not settle in. He had me up at 12, 1, 2 and 3. He was barking at the windows and doors, whining, and generally making a fat nuisance out of himself. I was ready to strangle him by 3 a.m. I tell you. I let him out each time, thinking he may have eaten something bad for him while he was outside earlier in the evening, but to no avail. He'd sniff around and come right back and jump at the back door. What was Sophie, the big dog, doing during all this hullabaloo? She went out the first time, but no more. She even quit getting out of her chair. She was not agitated at all -- so I knew there were no bad guys involved. After the 3 a.m. shuffle, I huffed and puffed at Monte and put in my ear plugs.
Next thing I know, someone is shaking my bed, waking me up. Which I did actually do. Wake up that is. I can't hear anything though, 'cause I've got in earplugs. I pull them out, and daughter is at my bedroom door asking me if I've been in her room shaking her bed. Huh? I told her no, I had not been shaking her bed... had she been shaking mine? It dawned on me then that we were having an earthquake. But it seemed to be over. Daughter told me she was going back to sleep, but if we had another earthquake to wake her up... I went back to sleep too (instead of getting up, checking the house, getting my kids the hell out of that death trap! Um, right... great Mom I am.)
Of course, by 6 a.m. our little quake was all over the news. The city inspectors were going around checking the safety of roads and bridges. They, of course, found that my shortcut to Son's school is now unsafe, chunks of concrete having fallen from the underside of the bridge, but that is really the only lasting effect for me. Oh, and the fact that now, every time Monte whines or cringes (which is like hourly) I've got EARTHQUAKE! in the back of my mind. It's one of the burdens of owning an Earthquake dog I guess.
Here's Monte practicing earthquake preparedness -- he's gotten under the heaviest piece of furniture in the room. Good dog. Now, go find all of the centipedes in the house.
There is knitting in the house. 
It's Filey from Alice Starmore's Fishermen's Sweaters. It's out of the Rowan Denim I bought when we were in England. The pattern repeat is very simple -- memorized after the first few rows -- so it's certainly carry around knitting at this point. The sticky Starmore Gauge Question? I'm achieving her gauge by dropping only two needles sizes down, so it's all good. I'm doing ribbing on US2s and the body on US3s. I assume this will be my summer knitting.
You'll remember that I really don't love knitting with cotton. And, you'll think, well hoo boy this is cotton. Twine-ish almost. And in response, I'll tell you that I carry around a little swatch of this stuff that's been machine washed and dried and boyohboy is it yummy. All the motivation I need to knit through the pain.
The baby cable jacket is in the seaming process, and will be ready to be gifted soon. But in another babyish development, I ran into Daughter's beloved basketball coach's newish wife and, well not to be indelicate, but she is as big as a house! Due in a month. And sure it's a girl. So, I'll have to knit some of these, don't you think?
I've seen a lot of bootie patterns in my time, but these are among the cutest. I've read through them (straight forward directions and lots of pictures) and I have the yarn. So. I'll get right on this.
And for friends and family? The renovations are all but complete. Yay, me!
The hallway is the first picture, and yes, that wall is orange. The rest of that space is beige. The dining area in the second picture has walls the same color as the fireplace area in the third -- just a bad picture. The family room adjacent to these rooms is a leaf green that doesn't photograph well today... Area rugs, drapes, and furniture to come in a few weeks. Again, yay me.
