WOW!

Thanks for all the comments, you guys!

Yes, the owl is crocheted, then felted. He's a keeper. I've almost got his body done--had to buy fiberfill this morning (sure thought I had some in my craft room) so I can stuff his little owlie butt--

And the mini mochi eye sock original pattern, the lace panel goes down the front and back of the sock. I determined I liked it on the sides, so when I finished the leg, I turned the sock 1/4 turn and knit the heel so that the lace would be on the sides instead. It's not as easy as it sounds using magic loop, and I had to off-load one sock to dpns to do it. The final result turned out really well, I believe. The eye of the partridge heel fits me very nicely on 32 stitches!

Mandy is neither afraid of thunder or of the vacuum--which strikes me as odd. I was just watching a Ceasar Millan (Dog Whisperer) episode, where the dog tried to attack the vacuum--the owner just had to have the dog go into "calm-submissive" state before beginning, and when she turned it on, if he attacked, she had to stop and correct right away, then ignore him while she went back to vacuuming. Before long, he wasn't attacking the vacuum anymore.

We are closing on our refinance this week, hopefully before hubby gets laid off or signs up for retirement, but since there's only 2 days left, I think we're okay. I want him to retire VERY much. I don't want him to be travelling from place to place, given his medical conditions.

Beyond that, the day is supposed to be really nice, and I can hardly wait for lunch time.
CUL8R!