OK, I know how small things disappear. I have what I am now calling a Destructo-Kitty. When Storm first came to us, as seen in this photo, 
he exuded such an air of innocence that when his true nature began to show and he began to be quite the Destructo-Kitty, we were all surprised and amazed.
Boy, were we duped!
Small things in this house disappear because Storm doesn't think they should stay in one place. He feels it's much more interesting to move something I just set down so I can run around looking for it and cussing like a sailor. He doesn't watch TV, so I guess he needs something for entertainment.
The one thing in life that really pisses him off happens to be items in bags. He is absolutely offended when I leave something out on the counter or my dresser that is in a ziploc bag, and to rectify the situation, he gets the bag onto the floor, tears it open, and attempts to destroy whatever's inside. He was completely successful with the tea bags that Michele sent me, but had much less success with the sample bottle of lotion that came later from her.
What really makes him a Destructo-Kitty is his need to be on top of everything. Literally. This morning I awoke to a clatter in the kitchen that somehow resulted in the part that covers the track of the vertical blinds of my patio door hanging halfway down to the floor. As I can barely reach this part standing on my tiptoes, I have no idea how Storm got up there. But I am sure it was he and not Karla. Karla's just too fat to jump that high. :o)
So that's how small parts go missing. Sometimes I find them later on, but mostly I just sigh and go on with my life.
Which made it so very surprising tonight when I came up missing a cross stitch pattern. It's something I'm stitching up for my dad, which I had hoped to stitch for Father's Day but now realize there is no way to finish it and get it framed in less than a month. I had set it aside, however, because I had volunteered to contribute something to the ladies at the school who had asked Judy to whip something up handmade and put it in. I'm not sure if it's a basket you win through a raffle-type system, or if it's a donation of some sort to someone, but they're putting all sorts of handmade items in it. I had something on hand that I knew I could whip out in a very short amount of time, so I said I'd put something in.
Now that I've finished that small something, I went looking for the pattern for Dad's cross stitch.
It's gone. Poof. Into thin air. It's not in the sewing room, not in the living room, not under the couch or the love seat, not in the recycling bin, not in the china closet, NOWHERE. I spent at least an hour looking for the elusive pattern with NO LUCK. I hope I can find it; I got it from eBay and I don't even remember the name of the company that produced it.
This is the other problem with having a husband out to sea. Normally, I could just blame him. Now it's a lot harder to do.