Hat #3 and a Very Good Dog

Hat #3 of 4. Another Turn a Square, again Cascade 220 wool and Noro Silk Garden. This one was worked with a cast on of 82 stitches for the ribbing, then I increased 8 stitches to a total of 90 for the body of the hat. I started the raglan decreases when the hat measured 5 inches from ribbing to last row worked. I think that this is the magic formula for a woman's hat. It's stretchy and will fit up to a size medium. For a woman's large or a man's hat, I'd stick with the specs from the original pattern, except that I'd tighten up the ribbing a bit and start with a cast on of 96 stitches. (Oops, I guess that's not staying with the specs.)

Below, a picture of my very happy dog. He is starting to mature just the tiniest bit, so that sometimes, in the evening, he will settle happily down on his dogbed and chew at a bone or, as he is now, asleep with that sweet look of a sleeping puppy. (And yes, babies are cuter, but I'm fresh out of them at the moment, though it is the day that my younger daughter was born, 24 years ago! And I had a student this morning whose daughter shares her birthday, but is two years older. Happy Birthday, M!)

Below, a flash in the distance, as he runs for a tennis ball in the backyard. Another sign of settling down: he let me read the Style and Arts and Leisure sections of the Times while he occupied himself, only occasionally coming by for twenty or thirty tosses of the tennis ball before lying down or wandering off to survey the squirrel population.

This is good to see, because we had a bad afternoon. Him more than me. I had finally finished errands and packing for my trip. We were taking a long walk through the neighborhood. Gorgeous weather: blue skies, a tiny bit of a breeze, lots of sun. And as we walked past a fenced-in yard with a black dog behind it, Parker went too close and the dog reached through a gap in the gate and bit him on the nose. There was enough blood to concern me and I asked the people behind the fence, starting their barbecue early, if you know what I mean, for something to clean him up with. Enough said that it took five minutes, or that's how it felt, for them to give me a few damp paper towels. And, in a move that always astonishes me, and in this case, I was already feeling a little shaky with surprise and with concern for my dog, they started yelling at me with that "lady...look here, your dog shouldn't have come up to the fence" thing that makes me want to do something very violent. Instead, I tried to stay calm. I walked him home the 15 blocks as quickly as possible, called the vet, and then took him over. No stitches, just a clean up, some pain pills, and an antibiotic. And since Parker has a current rabies shot, I don't have to try to find out if the attacking dog had a current rabies shot (that was my concern - that I might have to file a police report in order to get someone over there that these people might respect to find out if the dog had his shots.) Here's a shot of his nose:

Not to worry, though. He is fine. Ironic that after all the stories I've heard about aggressive dogs at the dog park that we go to, it's taking a Sunday afternoon walk that ends up drawing some blood.

I'm off to training for two weeks tomorrow - hope to be able to post once in a while during my trip. Otherwise, see you in June.