I suck at yoga …

but the lovely and stick-thin Patricia Walden assures me that with practice, practice, practice I will, one day, be able to do this:

Yeah, right.

I will, however, maintain a positive mental attitude about it and maybe schedule some plastic surgery in the meantime. My lovely lady lumps get in the way when I do forward bends; if I got rid of them I could certainly bend better and I'd probably lose a few pounds, too!

Hmmmm. Gives weight-loss surgery a whole new meaning, doesn't it? Heh.

Every yoga class I've experienced, whether in person or on DVD, has been led by flat-chested women with six-pack abs. They have no idea what we lumpy Rubenesque women go through when instructed to 'gently lean forward and wrap your hands around your toes.'

I was more body-conscious yesterday, more aware of how I moved and carried myself. That's what I love about yoga. Even practicing sucky poses, I get the benefit of better posture and more graceful carriage.

Moving on … it appears that Mr. Shrinking Knitter has found a home for the stray dog, who has certainly made herself at home here in the Middle of Nowhere. One of his co-workers has agreed to adopt her. We're keeping her this weekend and then Monday she gets to meet her new family.

Today's run is a five-mile speed drill – run like hell for two miles with a half-mile recovery jog after each. Plus warm-up and cooldown miles. I'm still at the "I can barely jog a continuous mile" stage of training, so I'm not promising anything, to you or to myself. I'll be happy to do five miles and still breathe somewhat normally.

She's still here

That little dog, that is.

Our county's animal welfare organization doesn't have a physical facility. It's completely volunteer-run; foster families care for adoptable animals and a core group of volunteers respond to telephone inquiries. Unfortunately there aren't any foster homes available right now, so we're still searching for a home for her.

I've put up half a dozen signs in our neighborhood, but no one has claimed her. She's such a little sweetie and I'm afraid Mr. Shrinking Knitter is becoming too attached.

While I was running yesterday morning, he took her walking with him on our road. He usually walks two miles and she kept up with him the whole way, never leaving his side. No leash, either!

We put our dog's crate [she doesn't use it any more] on the front porch; the stray dog pops in and out for naps and nighttime sleeping with no prompting from us humans.

She plays fetch with a ball until Mr. Shrinking Knitter gets tired – she doesn't want to quit!

This dog has been well-cared-for; I can't imagine that someone just dumped her by the side of the road. Anyone who does that is contemptible.

At any rate, she's still here, wiggling her way into our hearts. Jen, if you really want her, I'll deliver!

I'm not supposed to run today, but I feel like I should, just because it's relatively cool and comfortable outdoors this morning. Four easy miles could just be another form of cross-training … couldn't it? Can you tell I'd rather run than do any other form of exercise?

I'm sure some of you have noticed I haven't talked about weight-training in a week or so. The weight bench had been littered with painting tools and equipment when our garage was getting a facelift. It's been cleared of such nonsense for several days now, so no excuse not to get back at it other than this: I don't wanna!

I can be quite petulant when I want to be. Heh.

Also, knitting for babies really goes quickly! The left front of the cardigan is done and attached to the back; the right front has been started. I'm using size one and three needles – in other words, teeny – and making great progress. To put this in perspective, the circumference of Claire's sweater is a total of 140 stitches. An adult-sized sweater on size 3 needles would be about 300 stitches around.

Until I figure out what size I'm going to be, my sweaters will be knit with fatter yarn and bigger needles.