KNITTING WITHOUT DOG HAIR IS NOT AN OPTION

That's what I was thinking when I came home on Friday night and I found this in my crafts room:

I couldn't believe my eyes when hubby showed me what he'd gotten for me on eBay. I think I was actually stuttering and then speechless - well, maybe for 10 seconds...

So, why did he get me a laptop? Well, remember when I was invited to Ravelry, I took home the firm's laptop to spend more or less the whole weekend online? I had a ton of fun entering all the data for my projects, stash, books, etc. So, the firm's laptop resided at our house for a long while, and I was breaking a rule I had for all of my life - until then: I was almost never on a computer during the weekend because I spend 8 hours 5 days a week on a computer and I like to do other things besides typing...

Anyway, the firm's laptop was at home in my crafts room, so of course I used it in the evenings and on weekends - to chat with friends, blog, look up knitting stuff and watch DVDs while knitting. But a couple of weeks ago, one of the attorneys needed the laptop and I had to bring it back. Oh well, it was a very sad parting, but it wasn't mine to begin with. Even so, I missed it. Yes, I had to admit it was nice to have a handy little laptop friend at my total disposal 24/7. But in a conversation a while ago, I made it clear to hubby that I didn't need my own computer - too expensive and clearly not essential.

Well, apparently hubby figured out that this just might not be entirely true. When I told him I had to return the firm's laptop, I said it was unlikely I'd ever see it again. So, he flew into Internet action. In just a couple of days he'd decided on his favorite, and found and won one on eBay. Naturally, the attorney who took back the firm's laptop decided he no longer needed it on the very same day that hubby's surprise arrived by UPS.

It's a Dell Inspiron E1705. The laptop is about a year old and has everything my little heart desires, and then some. Don't ask me any specifics - I'm not a computer geek. The things I've noticed so far - it is superfast, has a very big screen (nice for watching DVDs...) and has the latest MS Office software (which I actually hate because the menus got totally redesigned and I liked the old ones much better).

Hubby says he didn't wait to give me this laptop for our anniversary, which is coming up on October 22, because he didn't want me to be without one for a single minute longer than necessary. (Insert ironic smiley here - is there such a thing?) Seriously, I think he is just the best thing that ever happened to me. THANKS HUN!!!

Now here is an update on Mr. Turtle.

He was very antsy to leave our home on Sunday morning, and tried to "jump" the baby gate that separated him from the nosy fiber dogs. Noah actually had several whining fits because he couldn't play with Mr. Turtle.

Finally Mr. Turtle gave me the evil eye: "Lady, stop flashing me - I'm having no fun right now - you need to get out of my face! It's time for me to leave your lovely bathroom.":

Hubby had already decided the night before where to take Mr. Turtle for his safety. So he and the dogs took the turtle to Lake Lanier and found Mr. Turtle a nice piece of property with a lake view far away from busy streets and neighborhoods.

As I've mentioned earlier, hubby is a turtle freak. So Mr. Turtle's departure didn't leave us totally turtleless. Here's a sweep through (a small portion of) his collection:

On the knitting front - surprisingly, I finished the first sleeve for Brett's sweater (it took me three days) and I am about 5 inches into the second one. I'm glad it's going so fast. Now I'm confident I can finish the sweater before SAFF. That's a relief.

Which reminds me... Counting today, there are only 12 days until hubby and I start our vacation in a lovely cabin on the outskirts of Asheville. YIPPIE!!!