Squirrel Stuff I Own: Knit Squirrel

I know I mentioned before that I recently learned how to knit (this is not a knitting blog!) and that I learned this new skill from my friend L, who has been knitting for years and makes some really fantastic stuff. I asked her to knit me a squirrel friend, and this is what recently appeared in my arms.

Please note his adorable fatness! The stuffing has settled near his hips, giving him delightful little love handles and he is just oh so squirrely! I am also a fan of his perfectly white little belly! He was in our living room for a while, but had to be moved to make way for my nativity set. Now he perches atop our dresser, snuggling with the Haverford black squirrel, and watches us as we sleep. Sigh... he is just the cutest thing.

Thanks, L!

Squirrel Stuff I Own: Haverford Arboretum Squirrel Shirt

My friend E's family is very supportive of my squirrel habit. In fact, they're responsible for supplying two of my favorite squirrel items in my collection, and now have added one more to the pile.

You may recall Haverford being mentioned on this blog previously. Their mascot is the black squirrel, and I already have a beautiful plush black squirrel from their store. Well, E's father was at Haverford the other day and saw this awesome shirt with a cartoon squirrel and acorn. (Side note: Nothing tickles me like when a squirrel is depicted with an acorn. It's adorable, and reminds me that it isn't exactly normal for all squirrels to carry around bits of moldy pizza, which is what most squirrels around here seem to eat.)

This shirt is now a beloved part of my collection, and I intend to wear it around the house and to bed (because nothing screams "sexy!" like a squirrel shirt, and I know B will agree).

Squirrel Stuff I Own: Squirrel Ornament

This is a good time of year for my squirrel collection. People have been paying attention, and my collection has grown quite a bit. I have at least four new items to highlight in my Squirrel Stuff I Own series! Quite amazing. This year's first gift, a squirrel Christmas ornament.

This is from our nieces M and H. You may recall that I lived with some of our nieces over the summer, and they were all quite supportive of my little squirrel obsession. Nevertheless, I was surprised to open a squirrel Christmas ornament on Christmas morning. Surprised, and thrilled! I stuck him as close to the top of the tree as I possibly could (we still don't have a tree topper) and he sits there now and observes my every move. I sure do love that little rodent.

Thanks, M and H!

Squirrel Stuff I Don't Own: Child's Play Laptop

Sometimes squirrels can be found in the most random places.

B and I have several nieces, and this year B went to Target to pick out their gifts. For the 2-year-old he picked out a little play laptop with all sorts of educational games, and, most importantly, lots of buttons to push (her favorite). While I was wrapping I decided to turn it on and play with it a bit (you know, just to make sure it worked).

B came running into the bedroom when he heard my screaming; he probably thought I had accidentally stabbed myself with the scissors, but in fact I was screaming with joy. The host of this tiny, masterful little laptop program? A squirrel. I was so excited I turned it off and on a couple of times just to see him come in and out of his tree and greet me and say goodnight.

I had great difficulty wrapping the present and sending it to the 2-year-old.

I am the wrapping paper industry's bitch.

Something I've discovered about myself in the past few years spent as an adult is that I have terribly expensive taste in wrapping paper. It's not really a good thing... after all, wrapping paper just gets thrown away at the end of the day.

But I wrapped a bunch of presents last night and placed them under the tree, and wow, they do look special with my fancy wrapping paper.

Sometimes I write about other rodents.

I knit this little guy.
And he is damn adorable. I made him thinking that I would give him away, but yesterday I tried to stuff him in a little box to ship him and his sad little embroidered mouse eyes just wouldn't let me do it.

So I put him under the Christmas tree instead and I guess he's going to be our Christmas Mouse.

But seriously... cutest thing I have ever knit.

Happy Squirrelday to Me!