Beach Dog

Just returned from a week at the beach where, it turns out, Kate discovered her inner water dog. (Kate's half collie, and we suspect the other half is some kind of retriever--she looks a lot like a flat-coated retriever.) Up until last week Kate showed zero interest in the water, but something about the ocean made her curious, and, after giving me a heartattack by suddenly plunging in--and UNDER--her little head popped back up, she paddled to shore, shook off, and was ready to go back in. Fortunately, we stayed at a dog-friendly hotel, so dragging a wet dog back and forth to the room wasn't a problem, even when Katie decided to "dry off" on the carpet in the lobby.

On our way to the beach, we had a great visit with CMR and EO. Here's Katie enjoying the view from their back porch. Among many other treats, we enjoyed a dessert of homemade ice-cream from C's new ice-cream maker. C and E are the epitome of dog people, and Katie took every advantage of that fact.

I didn't do as much knitting as I expected to while we were away, but I did knit most of the second waving lace sock, which I finally finished this morning. This is an excellent pattern and, if we weren't having such pleasant summer weather (good rain, not too hot), I might wish for wool-sock-wearing temps.

Since we've been home, Kate's been spending a lot of time doing this--
Since the spring, several new puppies have moved into the neighborhood, and this is what she looks like after playing with them.