I have not taken leave of the planet. really.

I'm here and I have been knitting... really. Here's an 'off the top of my head' list of F.O.s with pictures I could easily locate...

-green cherry tree hill socks that I started in Mexico

-blue austerman step ( aka austerman crack) socks. I managed to avoid any knitting injuries this time.

-Orangey trekking socks

-Super softie Debbie Bliss Lara Sweater. I don't think I've even taken a photo of this yet. It's Aug. in Oklahoma, it's too hot to model sweaters.

Okay so it's not a record, but there has been knitting along with the occasional trip and mini trip. Since I last posted I've been to

• Alma, MI to the N. American piping championships, the Oklahoma boys won again this year- in a higher grade than last year.


• Au Gres, MI, home and family and a stay at the cottage. Wonderful way to spend time.


• Chicago, Il visited with lululibrary girl for an amazingly crazy tour of city. Love the bean thing and the crazy locals, cubs game, art institute as fast as I could, and more.


• Oklahoma City, Ok just a quickie to see Wicked. It was wonderful.


• Dallas, TX another quickie for work. Lots of very nice libraries there.

It's fun to get away even if it's quick,it seems like I've missed something and I probably did.

In non knitting and travel news, we seem to have finally convinced the cats that, despite their personal love of chasing and harassing them wherever, whenever, mice do not belong in the house. One of the perils of having a cat door.

While it is delightful to give the cats the freedom to come and go as they please, it also allows assorted other smallish creatures to come and go as they please ( other neighborhood cats, raccoons, oppossums, etc.) and also allows the cats to bring inside with them any creature they would like to torment and or eat.

Recently one, or both cats have decided that having a mouse in the house was just about as much fun as a cat could have. They would bring in a mouse and let it go to be chased around the house merrily until they either lost the mouse under a large appliance or under a piece of furniture. At this point they would go eat some cat food or find a good place to have a nap while the mouse made itself at home in it's newly adopted abode and the cats owners frantically tried to capture the new resident and remove it from their home.

Despite having brains vastly larger than our rodent roommates, and our use of incredibly complicated rube goldberg inspired devices and tempting peanut butter, we had an extremely difficult time ejecting our tiny squatters. They seemed to love both catfood and peanut butter, and seemed to have the incredible ability to remove every tiny greasy trace of peanut butter bait off every single trap set for them, without being caught. I have a new respect for the survival instincts of mice.

In the end we did prevail and our house is temporarily mouse free. I've spoken to the cats, and for now they are complying with my wishes for cat only access through the cat door.

I hope you're all having a wonderful end of summer.