Lazing on a Rainy Afternoon

Apologies to the Kinks for fracturing their lyrics.

Not much going on at chez Knitting at Night today. Heading out to the in-laws for dinner later. No gardening, either, because it is raining. Good thing, too, because it has been a little, um, arid here lately. I have things to plant - four pots of mountain pinks, some head lettuce, and some parsley. The last time I planted parsley, I noticed that I had these weird little bugs in it. I started squishing them, and then, for some reason, decided to look them up to see what they were. Well, it turned out they were swallowtail butterfly larvae. So, they took up residence in my parsley plants for the next several weeks, and I bought my parsley at Shop-Rite. I'm kind of hoping they'll come back again. I haven't seen too many swallowtails lately. Losing my parsley for a few weeks is a small price to pay for these beautiful butterflies.

I wanted to knit some more on Clapotis today, but Cal is all curled up on it. He looks so happy and content, I don't have the heart to disturb him. So, I think I'll read my newborn manual instead. I need to do that, and now looks like a good time.

The cats seem to know when the weather is rotten. All of them, with the exception of Meggie, are dead to the world today. Alex and Gremlin are snoring on my bed, the scaredy-cat trio (Thomas, Shadow, and Missy) are piled up together, and the rest are curled up in various places around the house. Meggie is acting like all the demons of hell are after her, and she is running around like a crazed cat.

Have narrowed my digital camera search down a little. I think I'm going for either a Nikon Coolpix or a Canon PowerShot. Both have models under $199, which puts them in my price range. I just have to make a final decision. Oh, yeah, and find out what's wrong with my car transmission. It's leaking fluid, but haven't yet had any trouble shifting. It goes in on Monday, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed this isn't a major financial hit.

Although it is cold, windy, and rainy, my birdfeeders are doing a booming business. There are several goldfinches, a Cardinal pair, some purple finches, and the usual assortment of chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers there. And, as usual, there are several indefatigable squirrels trying to work their way into the smaller feeders, and a couple of very noisy and obnoxious Blue Jays screaming at each other and the other birds and squirrels.