I’ve Got Them Old Balalaika Blues

1. The Butcher is finally home, one $500 car repair and lunch with my parents later!

2. For some reason, this meant that the cats and dog had to go stand in the creek and refuse to come inside.

3. Yes, that was me in my bathrobe out in my front yard yelling at the animals.

4. I assume they have their bizarre customs–standing in the creek, for instance–and they respect that I have mine–yelling at them about it.

5. My dad sent the Butcher home with a balalaika. Which is weird. I didn’t even know my dad owned a balalaika. But, if you’re in need of one, feel free to come over and get your fix.

6. Fuck the zig zag afghan. I’m going to tell you a great truth about it–it’s boring. I have made many afghans in my day, none as soul-crushingly boring as the zig-zag afghan. You win for now, zig-zag afghan! You win, for now.

7. In related news, the Charlie Brown baby blanket I’m making is instead going to be a diagonal granny square afghan. So, imagine those squares, but tilted up like diamonds. The best part is that I’m having good fun learning how to make granny triangles, so that the whole thing ends up square. So, I’m winging it, but I think I’ll still end up with a blanket that is gold with a recognizable chocolate squiggle. I’m making up the pattern myself, so I’m not sure how many squares it will involve. But I’m anxious to see what other kinds of granny-esque afghans I could make both with my knowledge of how to do this tilted version and with my knowledge of how to make triangles, now.