In context?

Check out this comic!:
So, You think you can Knit?

It's the August 29th "Close to Home" comic, in case the link doesn't last...

In other news, I've been spending a lot of time reformatting patterns. Remember this?

The Scarf Cowl and Bug Finger Puppets have now reverted to my ownership again, and will soon be up on my website here.

By soon, I mean, in a week or two. I'm working on it!

I don't love the technical aspects of designing. Reformatting patterns, for instance.

Yesterday, though, Whew! I was on a roll. I took a break from the fiber festival BOOK work to do these patterns. Then, when I was going cross-eyed at around 3 in the afternoon, I went to check my email. Yes, my internet went down. There would be no emailing the web designer for a bit.

No problem, I thought, I'll go outside with the dogs. Harry and Sally shoot out the back door into the 97 degree heat. High pitched yelps and barks ensue. Next thing I know, three seconds later, Harry is carrying a young bunny out of the weeds on the side of the yard. He lays it down on the ground. He sits next to it. He looks sorry. I scream.

Harry- 1. Bunny- the big 0 in the sky.

The professor couldn't bail me out. He was teaching his first Genetics class of the term. The lucky guy is teaching an extra course at 8 AM for a few weeks, and then in the late afternoon for his usual genetics course. Needless to say, waking up before 6 AM to make all this happen, and working late into the evening, too. This death? All my problem!

The dogs watch while I shovel up poor DEAD bunny. I bring him to the place beyond the fence where the dogs can't go. It takes a long time to find a place in the ground that is soft enough to dig. (the soil is crumbly, dusty, and hard from lack of rain.) I bury Mr. Bunny.

When I go inside, the internet is up and running. I swoop through the rest of the work day, make homemade pizza, fresh salsa and chips for dinner-with guest- and bake bread for us, too. What's a little web blip? A day of technical editing? When I compare it to the life of this poor rabbit? Everything is back to normal--I can see things in context again. No griping... I have a great work life, if undercompensated. A (generally) great web connection. Even some very nice bird dogs, who are doing exactly what their genetics tell them to do. They retrieve well. They drop the dead animal quickly and offer it to me. They have "soft" mouths. Too bad for Harry and Sally that I don't hunt, and probably never will. Lately, these guys have been underworked and retrieving watermelon rinds that one of our neighbors likes to toss in our yard. If only I could teach the dogs to toss the rinds back? Is that part of hunting dog genetics? I should ask the professor...

At the farmer's market on Saturday, I bought these locally made pottery pieces. They were a bargain. I believe in art, and supporting local artists when I can afford to. We don't have much room for these textured, crackled beauties, but now that I've lived with them a few days, I'm not sure I could imagine giving them away as gifts, either!

I'm so lucky to be surrounded by this beauty...pottery. bunnies. dogs. knitted art. Even when beauty is cruel? I have to remember. I am lucky.