felted swatch missing in action! bus knitting! and more!

Last night my knitted and felted swatch disappeared in the dryer. I was very, very vexed. So much so that Mr. Desultory offered to take apart the dryer, but I declined with a martyred air, declaring that it'd be quicker just to knit and felt another swatch. Which it was. This time I'm using my little mesh laundry bag. I'm just about to toss it from the washer to the dryer, but the heat has been off for several hours now, which means the basement will be unbearably cold. However, I'll brave the arctic chill because I'm a slave to my craft and, anyway, I need to know how much it shrunk so I'll know how many stitches to cast on for my bag so I'll have some knitting for tomorrow during Park Pals/Junior Rangers. Because otherwise I'd feel obligated to help chaperone the Park Pals and that truly is some martyrdom. So. My plan is to knit a sort of skinny rhombus or ellipse for the bottom, then pick up stitches all around and knit in the round up to the top. Maybe a rectangle would work just as well, now I think on it -- no need to complicate a bag for mercy's sake. I'm using Lamb's Pride Worsted in 'winter blue' and I think I'll add a narrow red border at the top and at the top of any pockets I might add. If the fabric's not too thick to sew through comfortably, I'll embroider a cat or a jolly roger or something on the front. Maybe. Desultory indeed. I knitted today on the bus, and was gratified by the response of the passengers -- the daily horde of middle-schoolers was released from school abour the time I needed a ride home. Normally I simply do not take the bus between 3pm and 4:30pm, but the kids each checked out their limit of 30 books, and I got nearly as many myself, so what else could I do? I took my knitting out in self-defense but the normally rowdy (and who can blame them, cooped up as they have been for 6 hours) kids crowded around, asking questions and talking about various relatives who also knit. In my more socially responsible (pre-child) days, I would have resolved to contact the school about volunteering to teach knitting to kids. Today I contented myself with thinking about for the distant future. The mister and I had Spaghetti Puttanesca today, but I once again forgot to set aside most of the red pepper flakes for adding at the table, the kids couldn't eat it and had to have their spaghetti with parmesan and olive oil. Entirely to blame is Jincy Willet -- I was reading her "Winner of the National Book Award" while I made the sauce. Tomorrow they get turkey burgers, cake, and family game night, so I don't feel too guilty. I suspect they prefer plain pasta with cheese anyway.