And in other news

Very little news today. I spoke to N & found out that the job I applied for last week has been filled. However, the company is thinking of hiring another person or two, and they are keeping me on the back burner (so to speak) for if and/or when that day arrives. In the meantime N is still "marketing" me (her word) and of course I'm still hitting the job websites & sending out resumes.

As you can see, I have not only finished the Weasley Twins, but actually got around to taking a picture of it. I'm really flummoxed, though. With the exception of Hermione, every single square has been knit on size 5 needles (I did her on 7s). With the exception of the Weasley Twins which has one Vanna's Choice yarn, every single square has been done exclusively with Plymouth Encore Worsted. So *why* are no two squares close enough in size that I can sew them together to make a pillow cover? Yes, I know I said I was going to knit backings for them. I even started a backing for Hermione. However, it is such dull work to knit row after row of stockinette without even a color change that I don't know when I'll get around to doing it; especially since I have so many more interesting projects calling my name.

Yesterday I baked an absolutely scrumptious citrus cake. The recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Glazed-Lemon-Bundt-Cake/Detail.aspx I didn't have any lemon extract so I used orange instead as that is what I had on hand. A lot of the glaze drips off the cake when you pour it on, so I moved it over a fresh sheet of waxed paper & poured the excess back over the cake; moved it onto the original waxed paper & poured the excess from the second sheet back over the cake; lather, rinse, repeat until virtually all of the glaze was used up. It made a nice, crunchy sugar coating over it. I just might have to have another slice for lunch. Um, I mean after lunch. Yeah, that's it, after lunch. . .

As the 4th of July gets closer, we've been hearing the pop of firecrackers more & more often. Poor Hali is a bundle of nerves; she hates popping sounds. One went off today and she came over to me for comfort, shaking so badly that I could literally hear her teeth chattering. We plan on visiting friends on the 4th, getting home before dark of course, but if they're being set off now I can only imagine what the actual holiday will be like. We intend to keep all the dogs in the house with the doors firmly shut & locked, running the fans & HEPA filter to act as white noise. That should help keep them from hearing the pops, and I'd rather clean up an accident in the house than put them outside and risk them managing to escape the yard in their attempts to get away from the bangs.

Did I mention that I finally got a library card? I've been getting a lot of reading done; six books in ten days, plus I started another one today. Mind you, they are very light reading--"cozy" mysteries rather than anything in depth. Very relaxing. Plus I can use the card at any & all of the libraries in the City, of which there are about ten or so. That should keep me in books for a while, even at the rate at which I am going through them.