Thursday, May 15, 2008

Things To Do...

I need to make house-warming gifts for two friends. I'm thinking "doily" for each, but I haven't got a particular pattern in mind. And I need to make something for a birthday swap.

And I have to finish sweaters for the twins. (Due 1 September, but they arrived very early...25 May.)

And a sweater for Tony and Ali's baby. (Due 4 September.)

And a co-worker is pregnant. (She's due 21 November.)


ETA (26 May 2008): And my cousin Shari is expecting. This will be her seventh. (She's due in January.)

Mr Potato Head

Sam seemed fine with his little bit of dinner last night. But at about 1 am, he got up out of my bed (thank you, boy) and barfed in the bedroom. (He upchucked on a blanket that I'd kicked off the bed. The blanket is easier to clean than the carpet would have been. Good dog!)

I worried about the possibility that a muzzled Sam might throw up breakfast while I was at work today and start choking, so he went to work with me, and so did Jacey. Sam wouldn't settle down at work, and I slipped him a Benadryl to try to make him a bit groggy. He laid down for a little while, but spent much of the day standing up in the kennel. And every time I take him outside...eeeeww. I'm betting on four or more potatoes, just based on what's coming out of him. But his breakfast stayed down.

We got home from work, and while I was doing something else, Sam went exploring in the kitchen. The first I knew of it was when I heard dishes clinking in the kitchen sink. Dishes I'd left in the sink this morning had caught his attention. There was a bit of dish soap in the plate he was licking, but it doesn't seem to have discouraged him. Apparently, Mr Potato Head thinks dishwashing liquid is a condiment.

Sam's sacked out and sleeping soundly, now. He missed his serious sleep today since he was at work with me. (The dogs didn't get baths, but did get their nails Dremeled. They had baths last week.) I'm off work tomorrow, and I'll spend the day at home with the dogs and see how Sam is doing.

Jacey's 5th birthday is Monday, and I'm off work that day, too. I have treats and toys and we'll have the full birthday "blowout."

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Sam

My Sam celebrated his 8th birthday on Sunday. Finally, I thought, he's all grown up.

Spoke too soon.

I came home from work to find that he'd slipped his muzzle at some point today. He ate at least two raw potatoes--maybe more. And he didn't just eat them in the kitchen, where a mess would be easy to clean up. No, he carried them to his bed and messily ate them there.

He doesn't appear to have eaten anything else. (The furniture is all still standing.) He seems to feel fine--except when I take him outside. He's pooping, um, foam.

I gave him a bit of dinner, in hopes that his kibble will help settle his stomach. If he's not back to normal tomorrow, I may take him to work with me so he can go outside frequently.

Meanwhile, Jacey--who was safely ensconced in her crate--she's the one I found throwing up. There's no way Sam shared his potato prize, and in her case it looks like empty-stomach blaps. And that's odd, because she had a regular breakfast this morning before I went to work and she's never had stomach trouble while I've been gone. I just fed her her regular dinner. If Sam goes with me tomorrow, she might, too, because I'm not sure how little Miss Separation Anxiety would do in the house without Sam.

(Eeewww, Sam's burping potato. Maybe a bit of yogurt...)

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Yarn-y stuff

I finished the Mother's Day sweater I was making for my mother--finished with a week to spare.

Sweater 235 Square side Sweater 237 Round side

I'm picturing mother maybe wearing this under her suit jackets on Sundays. (It isn't a vest, but it was easier to photograph if I put a dark shirt under it.) The yarn is a cotton-acrylic blend, and not too hot. Which side is the front? Well, that's just it. You can have a square neckline or a round one, whichever you choose.

I had to modify the pattern. The original stitch pattern for the yoke of the sweater was destroying my wrist--and taking forever to do. So I ripped it back and substituted a different stitch pattern, one that was kinder to my wrists and worked up faster. (Four rows/inch instead of six.)

Sweater 239 closeup Sweater 240 RSC


I have two of three baby sweaters knitted, but not stitched up. That will happen...soonish. Sweater 3 is underway. No pictures here. So there.


I went shopping for yarn Friday. I wasn't particularly looking for sock yarn, but three different kinds shoved themselves at me. One, in fact, leapt into my hands and refused to leave. Oh, boy!

DSC00226 DSC00222

DSC00227 DSC00231

My next crochet project will be a doily for my sister. In June, she and her husband will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. There's an unusual doily pattern I have, and I have garnet-colored thread to use (the lower part of the wall in their dining room is that color). I alternate crochet with knitting to give my wrists a break.

Garnet Cebelia 10 3