I miss both Cartman and Kylie, but Cartman was one of the best cuddling hamsters I’ve ever met. I say this about all of my hamsters because I believe it, but she was special. We bonded as well as a giant scary human can bond with a tiny prey animal, and I miss her terribly.

She was just about five months old. Kylie died even younger. They were victims of the scourge of diabetes in Campbell’s dwarf hamsters.

I love pasta salad, but I can’t stand olives. This means that I can’t eat pasta salad in most restaurants or delis, at least that I’ve tried. I pretty much gave up until I found one salad that worked for me in the deli at the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany, and devised my own recipe based on what I liked about theirs.

It’s nothing special or complex, but it’s inexpensive to make and one of my summer meal staples. I make it weekly during the summer, and pretty often during the rest of the year too.

Ingredients

• 4 cups pasta (cooked) — I like rotini, or Barilla’s new mini penne. Elbow macaroni works well, too.
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4–6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 can dark red kidney beans
• 1/2 cup Italian or other vinaigrette-type salad dressing
• Other spices to taste–think red pepper flakes, black pepper, a little minced garlic, basil,

This should be pretty self-explanatory from here.

Cook and drain the pasta. Rinse the beans. Throw everything in a bowl and mix it up. Let chill for an hour or two before you try eating it.

“Maybe this whole hamster cam thing is just a waste of time,” I think. Then Cartman gets caught by the camera looking almost unfathomably cute, and I have no choice. The cam stays.

AJ helped me to set up my display at Uncommon Grounds Saratoga. I’m still not super excited about it. I didn’t bring the best fabrics with me, and I think I could have made much better use of the space with something drapier. Not sure what else I have in my fabric stash that I could use, though. Presentation has never been one of my gifts. Making things, yes: making them inviting…not so much.

In honor of the exhibit, I set up more of a store site at HamsterdamHandknits.com instead of having it just redirect to the Etsy store. Of course, there’s hardly anything in the Etsy store right now, since the whole coffee sleeve inventory that hasn’t been spoken for or shipped is sitting right there in the window!

We got about six inches of nasty, wet, heavy snow here in the last twenty-four hours or so, and we’re supposed to get more. It’s unpleasant. It literally took me 45 minutes to drive about 100 yards on my way to work this afternoon. People are out of their minds.

On my way home, I stopped at the grocery store. I thought I might pick up some milk, because I was buying cereal and thinking about making hot chocolate. But all that was left were gallons of whole milk, which I don’t care for on cereal…and I usually buy half gallons.

What is it in people’s brains that makes them say, “snow is coming! MUST BUY MILK!” Does this drive apply even if you don’t normally buy milk? Has anyone ever studied this?

I sleep a lot better when there are animals around. I don’t know why exactly, but I think it’s pretty simple: I like animals. They comfort me. They make me feel less lonely, but I know they won’t judge me if I thrash around or snore or talk in my sleep. I move around less and the quality of my sleep is better when I have a dog at the foot of my bed or just in the room. And hamsters help me get to sleep.

After Misha died, I missed hearing him running all night in his mostly-silent wheel. He was like the cheapest white noise machine this side of a radio set to static. Now Kylie, an equally petite hamster of a different species, has his old wheel. Running in it for hours on end, she creates a soft whirring sound that helps me sleep.

It’s nice to know that I have company. Who will never leave me, as long as they’re alive. Because they’re locked in cages.

Happy birthday to my best friend and furry little sister Maggie! She turned 9 on Saturday. My parents made her a cake. Since the cake contains chocolate and flour, she couldn’t eat a crumb of it, but they told her how delicious it was.

Whenever I hear the words “sugar beets,” my mind flashes back to this “Sesame Street” segment from the early ‘80s. Then the song remains lodged in my head for hours, days, or weeks, until it’s displaced by something less infuriating. Now you can suffer, too.

I blame Abe Sauer for this.

I found my webcam, so we all know what that means!

The present stars are Campbell’s dwarf roommates, Erica Cartman and Kylie Broflovski. Familiarly, Cartman and Kylie.

Behold: my first ever completed pair of adult-size socks. I’ve made one pair of baby socks, but this was more ambitious. I think they turned out acceptable. I wouldn’t inflict them on anyone else, but I will wear them with pride and snuggles.

For the knitters in the crowd: this is all Lion Wool-Ease worsted (80% acrylic/20% wool), from the Blueberry Waffle Socks pattern.