Attack of the Killer Ladybugs

I chuckled yesterday when I read about the invasion of the ladybugs over at Jen L's house. I'd seen a few of them here and there but nothing threatening. Silly MonkeyKnits, I thought, they're just a few harmless bugs. That was until my house was savagely attacked when the sun came out yesterday afternoon. A few made their way onto the windows and by the time I went to pick up the boys from school, they had covered the siding, the walkways, all of the screens and were starting to - gasp - find their way into the house.


How, you ask? I still don't know. DSS #2 started counting them every 10 minutes. 10, 20, 30 - when would it stop? And as quickly as it began, they were suddenly all gone at sundown. Even the ones that had made their way into the house. I've never seen anything like it. They've started on the windows again today. I'm extremely bug phobic and am just cowering on the couch casting sideways glances to make sure that they don't come near me. Don't worry, my Buddist friends. I will not harm a hair on their tiny heads. I believe in the sanctity of their little lives and have ushered several of them back outside :)

Did I mention that I love all things Celtic (I'm convinced that I was Irish in another life)? DH was so kind to buy me a huge stash of alcohol (I think he knew that I'd need it to get through the MIL invasion) which included a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. Now, because it has so many carbs, I've only used it sparingly (which is hard when I want to chug the whole bottle - such creamy numminess). But I did enjoy a wonderful cup of fresh ground French Roast with some today whilst listening to wonderful new age Celtic music. Makes me want to rent Riverdance :)

On the knitting front, I made some headway on the Houndstooth bag. This is a picture of the bottom and a couple of rows after I picked up the stitches for the sides last night.



It's growing on me especially since I'm seeing some progress. Good thing DH was out of town last night or he would have thought that I'd lost my mind. I constantly found myself tangled up in yarn while I tried to carry the non-working yarn behind the working yarn and keep the two strands from getting tangled (don't cross the streams, don't cross the streams). Through the fog, I finally figured out how to make it work. This is the biggest stranded project that I've taken on to date, so I'm trying to remain patient with myself. I've started two slow holiday gifts, though :( I need a "quickie" for my next project or I'll rip my hair out by Christmas. I added a countdown counter to blog margin to keep me on task. Heaven knows I need it.

Thanks for all of the Fall Foliage photos. I posted a link on the side to the photo album that I'm continually updating with new pictures. I've also added a few of my own that I took on Sunday during the brief period of sunshine. I leave you with this shot of the moon peaking its head out before the sun went down yesterday. I'm looking forward to the total lunar eclipse that we're going to have tomorrow night. Break out the blankets and enjoy!

Moon over the Blue Ridge at twilight