The Week in Review

It was a bit of a rough week. Work continues to be extremely busy, which is good for preventing boredom, but not so good for getting home before 8:00 in the evening (to be fair, I normally get to work between 9:30 and 10:00; flex hours...you gotta love 'em!). By the time I eat dinner, it's 9:30, which is too late to start knitting (because a) either I won't want to stop or b) I'm tired and I'll make stupid mistakes and have to redo it all). So when I go to bed, I've been curling up with Elizabeth Zimmermann or, most recently, Rachael Herron.

The other thing that made this week particularly difficult was that Bosco developed some sort of urinary tract problem and that had us extremely worried. A couple of weeks ago I took him in to get a distemper vaccine, but even then was noticing that he was constantly in and out of the litter box without much, if any, "output." He seemed to be fine otherwise. The vet prescribed a homeopathic remedy (sulfur), which we didn't need. Bosco seemed fine.

Last week, however, the litter box behavior started again, but this time Bosco definitely was not feeling well. Over the course of the week, his energy level and appetite decreased. We took him to the vet a couple of times and he was diagnosed with crystals in his urine, which is not a good thing. The vet prescribed another homeopathic remedy (thuja) and he needed three doses before it seemed to help. In the meantime, we were petrified that he'd become blocked and would need emergency surgery, especially when he seemed to get much worse towards the end of the week.

Fortunately, he seems to have made a full recovery, although he still isn't producing much "output." But at least he doesn't seem to be in pain anymore and isn't in the litter box five or six times per hour.

Knitting and Renovation Progress
Move along, nothing to see here.

Running Progress
Because of work, I haven't had the energy to get up at 5:30 in the morning and run during the week. This is bad because those morning weekday runs help add to the mileage base. I have been able to get out on weekends to run, though, and at least am getting my long runs in. I ran just over six miles yesterday (in the rain) and 14 miles today (in the rain). (Tom, on the other hand, ran a 50K in the mountains (in the rain) yesterday where the creek crossings were waist-high. And cold from snow melt. With a fast current. Comparatively speaking, my runs were a walk in the park.)

I'm going to try to run 18 miles next weekend. I'll feel better if I can get up to 22 miles before Boston. And despite its cachet, Boston is going to end up being a slow training run. I will not finish in a blaze of glory. I'll most likely be crawling over the finish line.

On the Nightstand: How to Knit a Love Song
Long, long ago and in a galaxy far, far away... I used to read "gothic" romances written by the likes of Daphne du Maurier, Dorothy Eden, and Mary Stewart and found them thrilling (in more ways than one). Then I discovered science fiction and other genres and pretty much gave up reading (most) romance novels (I don't believe I've ever read a Harlequin romance).

So when Rachael Herron announced that her first book (a romance) was being published, I decided to buy it. And I'm not sorry that I did.

How to Knit a Love Song is a delightful book. All the elements are there: a smart, beautiful knitting heroine, a handsome hero (although he doesn't come off that way in the beginning), a truly slimy villain, a (somewhat) contested will, fleece-bearing animals, and a dog. Oh, and very well-written "steamy" scenes (it wouldn't be a romance book without those!) The characters are well-developed; the book fast-paced (although somewhat too fast-paced; I found myself wondering how we got to where we were. Perhaps I was reading too fast.). What really drew me in was Abigail's inheritance: a cottage filled with yarn and wool and spinning wheels. I wanted to be there now. Pure bliss! As a bonus, there's a sweater pattern at the end; you can see the finished sweater here. This book will be a great beach read.

Of Birds and Hatchlings
So, apparently this site is flying through the interwebs at...well...internet speed. I would also recommend the eagle cam from Norfolk Botanical Gardens. There's an infrared camera so you can see the eagles at night. This year, the pair had three eaglets. While relatively rare among eagles, it's common for this pair. Last year, another female tried to get in on the action and the first clutch didn't hatch. The second clutch did hatch, but the eaglets had some problems. Hopefully this year, the three eaglets will do better.

Happy knitting (and birding)!