The Dog has been claimed

On Tuesday, we finally got a call from animal control that the owner of the dog had been located. Turns out he lived just a block away, and our Dog Found signs were just doors away from his house. He claimed that he looked all over, and visited several animal shelters looking for the dog, but somehow never saw signs on the telephone pole on the corner. Also, he has only owned the dog since September and she's run away 3 times already by jumping the fence. Funny she didn't jump our fence and run back home. But in any case, we gave her back.

One of the strangest things is that I had been thinking of names for her, and the name Heidi occurred to me. (Since Heidi is my favorite book of all time!) When he called, we asked her name, and it was Heidi. I swear, the dog was sending me the name by ESP!

Anyhow, we both agree that having a dog is a mixed blessing. She was very sweet and fun to have around, but also a big responsibility and a lot of work. So since she has an owner, we are satisfied that she went home.

On the knitting front, I am making garter stitch mittens now for my Dad, using a pattern called Lillemor's Mittens from "Knit Mittens!". Garter stitch using worsted weight wool on size 5 needles is tedious and kind of stressful on the hands. But I press on. I'm about halfway done with the first one. But I don't think I will use this pattern again. I think in-the-round stockinette is easier. The angle at which you enter the "purl" stitch every time is quite sharp and not as easy as entering a knit stitch to knit.

I spoke with Mom and Dad yesterday to assure them that the Southern California fires don't threaten us at all, and they told me it was 80 degrees in Maine yesterday. Will there even be a cold winter this year? Climate change is awfully visible these days. Nevertheless, I think mittens will still be needed!