Miscellanea

The Silver Surprise

2011-12-13T19:56:00.004-05:00

When I adopted Silver, no one was sure whether she'd been spayed. The paperwork from her first rescue group's vet said this:

No spay scar seen or palpated, but mammary glands have no development and vulva is small and sl[ightly] recessed. All 5 vets here suspect pet is already spayed. None of us have ever seen an intact retired greyhound off the track--all are fixed very young. Pet is tattooed and suspect spayed.

SEGA's vet couldn't find a scar. Neither could my vet, and he laid down on the floor with his head under her to see if a scar was visible when she was standing normally (rather than when people were lifting her leg to take a look). No one wants to recommend opening up a dog, only to find that--Oops! Someone's been here already.

But if you were paying attention to the title of this post, you've already figured out where this tale is going.

Silver is the outraged possessor of two pairs of canine panties--in purple and hot pink. Not surprisingly, she resents having her long greyhound tail pulled through the hole in the pants. (But you can distract her with dinner.)

Ideally, bitches are spayed midway between heat cycles. Most rescue groups don't have the luxury of following that timing since they need to get the ladies spayed and on their way to new homes.

But Silver is already in her new home, with a boy who has better sense than to mess with the living embodiment of the expression Let sleeping dogs lie. (She can be irritable even when her hormones aren't on the rampage.) Besides, Sam was neutered more than nine years ago; even if he had the will, he wouldn't have the way, so to speak. This means we'll be able to wait until the ideal time (three months after the onset of her heat cycle) for the spay.

Poor baby. She's already unhappy about having to be muzzled pretty much all the time to keep her from licking and chewing at her front leg. (We're trying different meds for that leg.) Now, in addition to muzzling her front end, we're "muzzling" her back end, too.

The leg she's been chewing, licking and scratching since July. Steroids and antibiotics haven't made any impression.

Sam is sick

2011-11-23T19:20:00.002-05:00

Sam is sick.

X-rays have shown cancer in his lungs. This is probably a secondary cancer that has metastasized from some other cancer we haven’t discovered. There’s nothing we can do about the cancer we know about, and there’s no point in putting him through extensive exams to find the primary problem.

So far, he seems to feel fine. He coughs a little, then goes on trying to impress Silver with zoomies in the living room. He eats well; and although we’ve had a few nights of restless, interrupted sleep, the new meds (diazepam and gabapentin) seem to be helping him relax better through the night. (And since I no longer need to worry about liver damage, I’ve stepped up the meloxicam for his arthritic back--which is why he jumps and spins like a two-year-old.)

The thought of losing him so soon after losing Jacey makes me want to cry--so I just don’t think of it more than I can help. My job at this point is to keep him comfortable and spoiled. (“Spoiled” does not include kitchen trash can privileges, Sam.) I’ve promised him and myself that I won’t let him suffer if I possibly can help it. There’s some risk that I might come home one day to find that the primary cancer has reared its ugly head, but I just have to hope I’ll be handy when he needs me. At least there’s no indication that he has osteo, which could cause painful broken bones when I’m not home.

Sam is eleven and a half. He’s slept at my side every single night for more than nine years, and I love this boy more than words can say.

Silver and Sam

Happy Gotcha Day, Sam!

2011-10-05T08:33:00.003-04:00

SEGA once posted this picture of an adoptable dog.

I lost my heart.

And my mind.

Stat K Sam was a two-year old breed snob with a monster prey drive. (Sam's slogan: If it's not a grown greyhound, it's dinner.)

I owned Oreo at the time and was fostering. I couldn't just dump my foster and snatch up Sam, so Sam went to a foster home where they were looking for a dog to compete in agility with their other greyhound. They soon began to worry that omnivorous Sam, off-leash during an agility run, might go after another dog. And Sam really wasn't agility material: he ran into a tree in their front yard.

Meanwhile, another SEGA member fell in love with my foster. I let her take him home, and I "volunteered" to foster Sam so his then-foster-parents could hunt for another agility dog. We all swapped dogs, and I brought Sam home. That was 5 October 2002.

Oreo was horrified. She put up with the other foster dogs, but Sam was crazy and had no off switch. And he totally ignored warning growls from her. He'd look away from her--not confrontational at all--and continue to do whatever was annoying her...like using her as a pillow:

After Oreo died, Sam welcomed Jacey, who let him pretend to be the boss for about four days before she corrected his delusion. But even she was patient with him when he turned her into a pillow:

Jacey's gone, and now there's Silver--who doesn't tolerate Sam very well yet. (Just wait till cold weather. That's when Sam's pillow-maneuvers really get going.) We have had one almost-cuddly occasion--but Sam was on the bottom. And asleep:

Sam's prey drive has never slackened. I used to have a bird feeder outside my living room window. Sam would look out the window at the birds and squirrels, and he was fine with that. But one day there was a cat outside. Sam screamed, reared back, and put his foot through the glass. Fortunately, he didn't hurt himself (and he thoroughly scared the cat).

I got the window fixed, then bolted Plexiglas to the inside of the window frame. The cat came back. Sam threw himself at the Plexiglas, bounced off(!), threw himself at it again, bounced again, and I got to him before his third attempt. I got rid of the bird feeder.

These days, as a nice old man (he's 11--born 10 May 2000), Sam's prey drive is tempered by the knowledge that Mom isn't going to let him eat squirrels, birds, and other dogs. Sam mostly just drools at the sight of dinner-on-the-hoof, and walking Sam no longer is like walking a hooked marlin. (Mea culpa: I stole that descriptive phrase from another source.)

Sam still loves squeaky toys,

his vet,

cookies,

peanut butter,

and roaching.

He's a complete mama's boy, and I love him to pieces.

Green Apple Lace

2011-06-10T00:04:00.005-04:00

I've finished the Summer Mystery Shawl KAL pattern from Wendy D. Johnson.

My changes: used US8 for the lace cast-on, used US6 for the shawl body, which has one extra 48-stitch repeat. The blocked size is 50" x 25" (127cm x 63.5 cm). The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll, in Granny Smith. It's a small shawl, or a nice-sized triangular scarf. It's being offered for auction to raise funds for GPA/Tallahassee, the greyhound rescue group that functions out of Jefferson County Kennel Club, where Jacey used to race.

(But Sam's the greyhound in the photo. Jacey's coat is too busy to be the backdrop to a lace shawl.)

I finished the knitting on 8 June 2011. The auction runs June 12-20. The auction site is here.

Tuesday Morning (late--I slept in)

2011-05-31T11:47:00.000-04:00

My day off. I'll be knitting a lot, and watching Doctor Who on On-Demand.

Although the photos don't really show it, there's been lots of progress.

That's the shawl from the local LYS. This is through the first chart; two more lace charts to go, then a knitted-on border chart. This shawl gets longer with each row, so it won't be moving fast.

The tobacco-colored shawl, through chart 2. Chart 3 is next: 24 rows repeated four times. The cheering part is that each pair of rows is shorter than the rows before it.

The apple-green shawl, also through chart 2.

Some of the people who have done extra repeats on the pattern (to make the shawl longer/wider) have started running out of yarn. I've done extra repeats on my shawls, so I may run into trouble on the green one. (I'll be fine on the brown--plenty of yarn for that one.) But the apple green yarn was purchased more than a year ago, and the company no longer makes that color. If I run out, I may have to invent a new ending for that shawl (or scavenge around on Ravelry to find more--or frog the shawl and reknit with no extra repeats). I'm going to work on it now; if there's going to be a problem, I want to know asap since I'm trying to get a shawl finished for an auction if I can but I also need a shawl for my sister's birthday. (If I can finish the apple green shawl, it will go to the auction and the brown will go to Iris; if I can't finish the apple green shawl, the brown still will go to Iris, but I won't have a shawl for the auction, which is in mid-June.)

Sunday

2011-05-29T19:32:00.000-04:00

Sam's having a bad day. When his back is bothering him, he frequently tries to shake, as if he had a coat full of water. That shaking hurts, and he stops the shake quickly...until he tries again a minute or two later. That's been going on today. So he had a muscle relaxer about 3pm and a meloxicam at dinner. He can have another muscle relaxer at bedtime.

This morning, I finished the first five chapters of the novel I'm proofing, and sent them back to the author. Since then, I've been knitting. I've got the apple-green shawl through Chart B; the brown shawl is now half-through Chart B. Chart C has been released, and it's going to be a bear: 24 rows on each repeat of the chart, and I need to work it four times (I think). The one consolation is that each pair of rows is 4 stitches shorter than the previous pair of rows. (Pictures Monday or Tuesday...I hope.) Chart D (the last one) is due out on Thursday.

On the other shawl, I haven't even started the third clue; the fourth (final) clue was released today. I'm planning to work on that shawl later tonight, I think, even if I haven't finished Chart B on the brown.

Catching up

2011-05-24T22:41:00.005-04:00

I'm going to try to keep up with some regular posts, even if I don't post much. But this will be a wordy catch-up post...

Baths on Sam's birthday

The Dogs

Sam's 11, now. Jacey's 8. Sam got back the weight he lost over the winter and he looks great (he's back to 64.9 pounds after a scary 58 pounds in February). He had a bad back spell last week, though. I'm not running to the chiropractor with him: this new pain came only a couple of weeks after his last visit (and he's sore in the same area she treated), and getting an appointment and getting him there is not something that can be done on short notice. (He was fine when I left for work that day; in obvious pain when I got home...and it was Friday night, with me working the next day and unable to get him to the vet or the chiropractor.) Anyway, now we have a standing prescription for meloxicam (anti-inflammatory) and methocarbemol (muscle relaxer), and I can get the prescriptions refilled when necessary at the Walgreen's around the corner. The meloxicam is scary (the drug sheet is an entire page of tiny print with dire warnings; he can't have more than half a pill in 24 hours--and I've already cut all the pills in half so I don't get confused). The methocarbemol is less terrifying and works quickly and he can have more, more often. I think methocarbemol will be our friend--and will mean I don't wind up sleeping in the floor with him. (After he took the methocarbemol the first night, he still wouldn't get into my bed so I laid down in the floor with him. I woke up a few hours later and looked for him. He was sprawled in the middle of my bed. I made him move over so I could sleep there, too.)

Jacey looks great, but she's had a few more of those Spacey-Jacey events where she doesn't respond to her name and doesn't seem to know where she is or what she's doing. The vet thinks she's too young for doggie Alzheimer's (I agree), so we're figuring it may be absence seizures. She's a bit old to be developing epilepsy. Other possibilities include a brain tumor, but that's not something we'd be able to treat, so there's no sense in spending a fortune on an MRI to diagnose the problem. The events only happen for a few minutes, and then she's fine. She's miserable while it's happening (her tail is tucked), and it's a bit alarming to see a dog that can't figure out what to do with food. (If you put it in her mouth, she opens her mouth to chew and the food falls out. Then she just stares at it.) There's no logic to when the events happen: it's not low blood sugar or anything else predictable. Happily, Sam leaves her alone when it happens; sometimes a dog will attack another dog that's suffering a seizure.

Freelance Work

There's been a lot of it lately, which is all good. I get to do it at home,* on the sofa, with a ball game on the television and the dogs at my side. (I just watched the Braves right-fielder leave a full-body divot in the ground in Pittsburgh when he dove for a catch...and caught it.)

I've also acquired a new client, a novelist. I'm not editing her writing; I'm just proofreading and catching words misused.

Needlework

I've been doing lots of baby stuff lately, including a test-knit on a baby sweater pattern. The pattern isn't difficult, but I've had nothing but trouble, including major gauge issues. (For those of you who knit: my gauge knitting flat is massively different from my gauge knitting in the round. The sweater body is knitted flat, and the sleeves are knitted in the round. So far I've knitted four sleeves--and this is not a sweater for an alien child.) So, to get the taste of failed baby projects out of my mouth for a while, I've started three shawls--two of one pattern and one of another. The patterns are all Mystery Shawl KAL patterns: (KAL = knit-along). The designers tell you what weight of yarn to buy and how much, what size needles, and what size the finished shawl should be. Then they release the pattern, a few rows at a time. One pattern has more than 700 people working on it at once. The clues (the charts) released so far cover the first 26 rows; I've knitted through 14 rows on each shawl, and I need to get going so I can catch up. (The next chart comes out on Thursday, and it's 76 rows. The designer is trying to provide enough to keep knitters busy over the Memorial Day holiday, but I don't get any extra time off.) I'm knitting one version in a lovely tobacco-colored yarn, the other in an apple-green yarn.

The other mystery shawl pattern, which has an unusual set-up, now has three more charts released. There aren't as many people knitting that one--the designer is fairly unknown and just works and designs for a local yarn shop. But these patterns are scratching my itch for lace-knitting and breaking the baby-knitting curse...or at least postponing my next baby project long enough that the curse may evaporate.

*My most recent cable outage was not Comcast's fault. AT&T ran a line to a neighbor's condo. When they buried their line, they cut mine. (And they left a trail of little orange flags that said "ATT/D" on them.) Anyway, my cable signal is back--at least until Comcast comes to bury my new line and accidentally cuts AT&T's line and AT&T retaliates. Meanwhile, I know a nearby McDonald's and a Chick-fil-A that have wireless in their dining rooms, so I can get freelancing back to my clients from there.

DIY: Dog Grooming 101

2011-03-13T10:30:00.005-04:00

Why I don't have to groom my dogs* at home...
Greyhounds don't have enough hair to cut!

A blogger who has two Scottish Terriers--one a new rescue--was asking for advice about clippers so she could groom her dogs at home. I posted a nice, long answer (you know how wordy I can be)--and her spam filter ate my response. (The response included an Amazon link to a suitable pair of clippers. That link probably pissed off the spam filter.)

To prevent a repeat occurrence, I'm posting my message here--links and all, and I'll let Mary come here to find the info. (Take that, you pissy spam filter!)

So here goes: Scotties don't have super-thick coats, and as long as the dogs are being brushed and combed regularly, Mary, you can get by well with a single-speed Andis Clipper. (Most groomers are fans of Andis clippers for their reliability.) For Scotties, you won't need the extra power of a two-speed clipper. You'll want to avoid clippers with fixed blades, and go with one that has interchangeable blades. (The clipper at that link comes with an interchangeable #10 blade. Other blades can be ordered separately.)

Clippers with detachable blades can use blades from another manufacturer. Thus, Andis, Oster, Wahl, Laube, etc.--blades and clippers can be switched around. (I use Andis clippers with blades from everyone.)

You also will want a set of detachable snap-on combs for your clippers. Like the blades and clippers, snap-on combs from one company work with clippers made by another. The combs don't fit all blades (some blades are longer than others), but they will fit over any #10 (like the one that comes with the clippers). Most combs have springs in them to keep them on the clipper. To attach a comb, put the bottom/back latches against the bottom of the clipper blade. Push the comb "forward" (compressing the spring) until the front part of the comb slips over the front of the blade. To remove the comb, push it forward until you can disengage the comb from the front of the blade. You can do all this while the blade is on your clippers. It's much easier to do it that way than to do it on a blade that's free in your hand.

I know you have a diagram of the pattern lines for Scotties. For the dogs' heads and ears, you can use the #10 blade as it is. This will give a neat, tight result.

Always use the clippers with the grain of the dog's coat! You can brush hair against the grain to make it stand up for better clippering. But if you clipper against the grain, you'll be cutting the hair noticeably shorter than it is when cut with the grain. A #10 against the grain will be the equivalent of a pre-surgery shave at the vet's office--way too short for a pet cut.

For a slightly longer length on the dogs' backs, you can use a short snap-on comb over the 10 blade; you'll use a longer snap-on comb to blend from the back into the skirt and down the legs. Use the 10 blade (without a comb) to trim the sanitary area and shave around the pads of the dogs' feet to get rid of excess hair there. The dogs' hair should be clean, dry, and combed out before you begin the haircut.

Watch the temperature of the 10 blade. The longer it's used, the warmer it will get. Test it against the inside of your wrist, just like you used to test baby formula. (Using a single-speed clipper means the blade won't get hot as fast as it would with a two-speed.) You can buy coolant sprays (like Cool Care), or you can just take breaks while the blade cools down (put it on a piece of ceramic tile to cool it more quickly), or you can buy an extra blade and be prepared to swap between the two. You can continue to use a warm blade under a snap-on comb because the comb will touch the dog--not the blade. But be sure the blade is cool when you're using it against the dog's skin (for the head, ears, pads, and sanitary). Keep blades clean and oiled so they cut well (brush loose hair out of the blade with an old toothbrush; oil for the blades usually is included in clipper kits). When even a clean blade won't cut well, you can send it out to be sharpened. If a blade has been dropped or banged up, teeth can break off, so check the teeth before you begin any cut. A blade with a broken tooth can be used under a snap-on comb, but it cannot safely be used against the dog's skin.

You will also want a couple of pairs of shears (i.e., scissors). Thinning shears are great for blending along the edge of the skirt. Straight shears are good for trimming and shaping the tail, trimming the eyebrows; a really short pair of shears is nice for edging the ears. (Edging the ears is tricky. Safest method is to put your thumb and finger on the skin of the ear, slightly extending past the dog's skin. Then trim against your thumb and finger. That's the safest way to ensure you aren't going to cut the skin.) And don't forget to leave that traditional tuft of hair at the base of the Scottie's ear!

If you have a PetSmart nearby, feel free to drop in and ask for advice from the groomers. (Hint: Don't drop by on a weekend, when they're slammed. But maybe a quiet evening...) Ask them where they send their blades and shears for sharpening. Maybe ask them to show you how to put on the snap-on combs, if my description didn't make sense. I don't know how private grooming salons feel about potential customers going into do-it-yourself mode, but PetSmart groomers usually don't mind customer questions; since PetSmart also sells clippers and shears, it's good customer service to answer questions. (P.S. Barbers and beauty salons also have to send blades and shears out for sharpening, so you might get a good reference from one of them, too.) Around here (metro Atlanta area), sharpening generally runs about $6-$7 a piece--maybe a little less for blades, more for shears. New #10 blades run about $20. Try to avoid dropping blades or shears--it can knock them out of alignment or even break them outright. If your shears bend the hair instead of cutting it, it's time to send the shears off to an expert for adjustment and sharpening. Also, most PetSmarts have grooming salons with windows. You might not be lucky enough to be in the store when they're grooming a Scottie, but watching through the window as a Schnauzer or Westie gets a haircut might be useful.

Never cut out mats with scissors. Use the clippers and your #10 blade if you can't comb it. Be careful with the clippers anywhere there are thin folds of skin: under the arms, along the tuck-up, on the ears. (Clipper ears from the center of the ear-leather toward the edge, then edge the ears with shears.)

So this is sort of Grooming 101. If any of my readers has a question, just ask. If you stumble across this post more than three days from today, your post won't appear until I "moderate" it; but I'll get an email notification, and I'll answer you as soon as I can.

*The red-fawn greyhound in the back is my boy Sam, nearly 11 years old. The "cow-doggie" in the front is my girl Jacey-Kasey, nearly 8 years old. Sam has been with me for eight and a half years; Jacey has been here for nearly five years.

Nehalennia

2011-02-03T00:52:00.007-05:00

I have Sprint cellphone service. My phone comes with Sprint Navigation, a sometimes useful GPS-type service.

The service has its quirks.

Today, I was trying to locate Batteries Plus. (I needed a new charger for my camera battery.) I knew more or less where the place was (it's "south of the Big Chicken," which is how directions are given here in Marietta). So I'm "south of the Big Chicken" in a shopping center, and not finding the Batteries Plus.

Sitting in the parking lot of this shopping center, I pull out my cellphone, activate Sprint Navigation, and tell it to search for Batteries Plus. It finds the listing, and I tell it I want driving instructions. It tells me "Drive point-two miles."

Now, I'm in a parking lot, I'm not facing an exit, and the lot's not that big. Clearly, it wants me to drive on Highway 41, which I already figured, but I have no idea whether I should turn left or right out of the lot. I mentally flip a coin and opt for right, a right turn being much easier.

And that's the right--er, correct--choice. I'm heading south on Highway 41. "Destination is point-two miles ahead on your right." And as I get closer, I get, "Turn right." Oddly, it doesn't tell me what street name I'm supposed to be turning onto. This usually would mean that the destination is right there--on Highway 41. But it isn't. "Destination is on your right," the phone insists. And as I keep driving south, looking for an invisible store, I get the fatal ding-ding-ding. That means I've pissed off the Sprint Navigation Goddess by ignoring its instructions and doing my own thing. "Calculating new route. Proceed point-1 mile and make a u-turn."

Now I'm not sure why I want to drive another point-1 mile in what Sprint Navigation is convinced is the wrong direction, but I'm not suicidal enough to make a u-turn from the far right lane (remember, I was looking for Batteries Plus on my right)--across 4 lanes of Highway 41 traffic--just so I can appease the Navigation Goddess. (Oh, did I mention that it's lunchtime? And that this stretch of Highway 41 probably contains at least 25 restaurant/fast food establishments--everything from Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q to the Big Chicken itself?)

I do--eventually--manage a u-turn. I stay in the left-most lane, now headed northbound on Highway 41, looking for Batteries Plus on what had been the right side of the road, but now is my left. The Navigation Goddess chimes in with, "Continue on Cobb Parkway--" [that's Highway 41's alias; all roads in Georgia have to have two names--it's how we entertain the tourists]-- "Continue on Cobb Parkway point-three miles. Your destination is on your right."

What? I'm looking for Batteries Plus--not some intergalactic wormhole that shifts from one side of the road to the other, thereby always remaining on my right. The place sells batteries--and their chargers--not interdimensional travel options.

At this point--finally--Sprint Navigation actually has got the correct location. Batteries Plus is, indeed on my right. And, oh joy, they have my charger in stock. I now can recharge my camera battery, the old charger having apparently drifted through the intergalactic wormhole that isn't on your right when you're heading south on Highway 41.

Of course, Sprint Navigation wasn't through screwing with me for the day. It tried--three times--to send me back to a store I'd just left when I asked it to give me directions to another branch of the chain. I click that I want directions to Hobby Lobby in Kennesaw; Sprint Navigation gives me directions that start "Make a u-turn" (that's never a good sign), and tries to take me back to the store in Alpharetta. I know how to get from Alpharetta-to-Marietta-to-Kennesaw. But I suspect there's a more direct way to get from Alpharetta to Kennesaw. I never found it, though. I drove for a while, got tired of hearing ding-ding-ding! Calculating new route from the Navigation Goddess, and turned the damned thing off.

Today's blogpost is brought to you by Nehalennia, the Germanic goddess of navigation and commerce. I think she's taken up residence in my cellphone.

Horror

2010-11-01T20:50:00.001-04:00

Those of us who work with greyhound rescue, especially those of us with ties to Florida greyhound racing and rescue, are reeling after a weekend of horror.

The authorities know of 41 greyhounds tortured and starved to death by their trainer in Washington County, Florida. Four greyhounds are undergoing vet care but may not survive, and more victims may be found as the trainer's home is searched. Another 8 dogs made it into a rescue program last Monday, before the deaths were discovered. (It was concern voiced by the rescue group over the state of a couple of the 8 dogs that got the authorities to investigate; one of the rescued dogs had lost 15 pounds in the 30 days since his last race, and that triggered all kinds of alarms since 15 pounds is about 20 percent of a healthy greyhound's body weight.)

I'm not going to post links to the articles. You don't need to see the details...or pictures of the survivors. The trainer is in custody and is facing felony charges.

Just--hug your dogs. And if you see a dog wearing a donation jacket at a meet and greet in your area, slip a dollar or two into the pocket on the jacket.

Jacey-Kasey

2010-10-20T02:46:00.001-04:00

Several years ago, when Jacey was suffering from separation anxiety, her vet prescribed Valium. I started calling Jacey "Spacey Jacey."

These days, that nickname is being resurrected.

Over many months--since last winter, I think--Jacey has demonstrated some odd behavior. The first incidents were funny. I'd be in the bathroom, changing clothes after work, and Jacey would come in and stand in the bathtub. Now some dogs that are thunderphobic will take shelter in the tub during storms, but Jacey's not thunderphobic, and the weather was fine. And she wasn't happy in the tub: she stood there with her head down and her tail tucked. One time, when she started to get in the tub, I put my hand out to block her and she made a serious effort to push past me. When I left the bathroom, she scrambled out of the tub and followed me. After maybe three or four incidents, this behavior stopped.

But sometimes I'd come back in the house with the dogs after a walk, and Jacey would immediately turn around and stand with her nose against the door as if she needed to go back out. Thinking that I might have rushed her, I'd take her back out and she'd just stand and do nothing--stand with her head down, her tail tucked, and looking miserable. This happened a few times.

Then an episode occurred at mealtime. Nothing--nothing ever comes between Jacey and her food, but on this instance... Both dogs came into the kitchen, I put food in Jacey's dish and put it down for her, put food in Sam's dish and took it into the dining room for him, came back into the kitchen and found her standing there, staring at her dish as if she had no idea what to do with it. I offered her a piece of kibble, and she didn't take it, didn't sniff it--just stood there. It was at least a couple of minutes before she figured out what to do. Even then, she picked up a mouthful of food, picked up her head, started to chew, and all the food fell out of her mouth. But she figured it out, and by the time I was getting the cheese out of the refrigerator to give her her thyroid pill, she was back to herself enough that she snapped her head up the moment she heard rustle of the cheese wrapper.

And the latest episode was a couple of weeks later. We were out in the carport. I was working at my laptop, the dogs were sleeping off the efforts of having happily chowed down on a couple of bully sticks. Jacey got up, moved toward the edge of the carport, and just stood there in the typical tail-tucked pose. When these episodes occur, she doesn't respond to her name. Happy voice, which normally gets her tail wagging furiously, has no effect. She won't look at you, and looks away like a nervous dog who has no idea where she is or what she should do next. After a few minutes, she's more-or-less "back," and a minute or so after that, she's fully returned to normal.

So we went to the vet today. The vet took blood for a lab series like the one she had in January (before her dental). He'll compare the new numbers to the old to see if anything odd shows up.

If the lab work is fine, we'll assume she might have a tick-borne disease such as Babesia or Erlichia. She raced in panhandle-Florida--aka tick heaven--and it wouldn't be at all surprising if she picked up something that's laid dormant all these years. Tick panels are fairly expensive and not always reliable, but the recommended treatment for any of the TBDs is two weeks on doxycycline. If we're sure no other problem is lurking in the lab work, we'll skip the tick panel and go straight to the doxycyline.

And if that doesn't fix the problem, we may be left with the possibility that she has epilepsy and is having petit mal seizures. The normal treatment for seizures in dogs is phenobarbitol, but in Jacey's case that would be going overboard. I'm probably not seeing all the incidents that may be occurring--law of averages says they can't all take place while I'm home and watching her--but the episodes she's having aren't that severe or that frequent. The vet would prescribe some Valium for me to keep on hand in case she started having cluster-seizures.

These episodes aren't severe, aren't frequent (as far as I know), and they don't have any of the usual seizure aftermath--she's not exhausted and doesn't seem to feel bad. It's just that during the episode she looks so miserable, and I don't want to ignore the events and blow them off if there's something we can do to help. Happily, Sam isn't reacting to the episodes; it's not uncommon for dogs to attack other dogs that are having seizures, but Sam hasn't seemed to pay the slightest attention--and both dogs are muzzled when I'm not home.

So I'll hear something from the vet on Wednesday, and we'll see where we go from there.

Larry and Ollie: A Love Story

2010-10-18T22:43:00.000-04:00

Happy Gotcha Day, Sam!

2010-10-05T01:15:00.001-04:00

My lovely, silly boy came home with me 8 years ago today.

Sam's a lover--he leans against you to get petted, he sleeps next to me on the sofa or in my bed, spreading over on top of his sister whenever he can.

He's a serious eater. He sits next to me as I eat, watching each mouthful, hoping for a nibble or for a dish to lick. It doesn't matter that he rarely gets people food. Despite eight years of experience, hope still spring eternal.

He has cheerfully put up with two bossy bitches in his life here. (Three, if you count me.)

He has lovely wonky ears. Both ears go up, then the left one folds over backwards.

He's the love of my life, and I'm looking forward to more years with him.

Love you, BooBoo.

The knitting mojo is back!

2010-09-26T10:42:00.002-04:00

After a couple of disappointing results on knitting projects, it was very nice to have a project come out right.

That's Springtime Bandit in Cascade 220 Heathers (#2433 Pacific Heather).

(Modeled by a volunteer at Knit Night.)

I worked one extra repeat in the center section. Without that repeat, I'd have completed the shawl in two balls of yarn; with the extra repeat, I needed a little bit of the third ball.

The final measured 58" x 31". This will be a lovely pattern to use for a shawl going as a gift to someone not skilled in blocking. Just soak the shawl, then lay it out flat to dry. No points to pin out, or other awkward bits. It pretty much blocks itself.

(Knitting mojo's back. But photography mojo? Not so much. The color is a much richer, darker teal.)

Hot August

2010-08-18T10:44:00.002-04:00

I finally got a little knitting done this week--for the first time in three weeks. It's been nice to have a couple of clear evenings to work on the latest shawl.

I had knitted all but the last four rows of a shawl in Malabrigo. Malabrigo is a lovely, super-soft wool made in South America. I love the stuff, and it comes in some terrific colors. But those folks really, really can't get two skeins to come out the same color, even when the skeins are dyed in the same dyelot.

I let that shawl sit in a time-out for several days while I decided whether I was going to be able to live with the color change. On a different pattern, where the design changed in a nice straight line, I might have tolerated it. But this pattern has all these zigzags, and the color change cuts across the peaks and valleys of the pattern. I decided I really couldn't stand it and ripped it all out. I'll reuse the two skeins of yarn--for different projects that don't have to match each other (say, a hat and some gloves). Sometimes you can disguise mismatched skeins by knitting two rows from one skein, two rows from the other. That's okay for a sweater, where the unused yarn would be hidden in the seams, but that's not very practical for a shawl.

Meanwhile, I've started the shawl again in a lovely solid color from a yarn company that gets its colors right:

This is Cascade 220 (Pacific Heather). It's going well. Of course, the shawl was going to be a birthday present for a family friend whose birthday was 17 August. Oops.

After this, I'm going to make a shawl for my sister's birthday (or something--her birthday is 20 August, so this will be late). Iris is a redhead, and I got a very nice warm brown (Chocolate Heather--no photos yet). It'll be a small shawl--a "shawlette" (I hate that word, but it conveys the idea--triangular, bigger than a scarf, smaller than a big shawl). You know how stylish folks in movies used to tie the arms of a sweater around their neck and let the sweater hang over their shoulders--leaving the impression the weather was too warm to wear the sweater, but too cool to go with nothing on their shoulders? A shawlette provides about as much coverage as that tied sweater, but isn't intended to be worn in any other way than just wrapped around the shoulders or neck, often secured with a decorative pin.

The dogs and I are fine. There's some sort of bug going around, and I'd like to get just enough of it to justify staying home sick. I've got more than 150 hours of sick leave saved up, and I'd probably get paid more for a sick day than I'm earning by working. But I hate to call at the last minute and make them juggle schedules when I'm not really ill, and I can't very well schedule a sick day a week or so in advance.

And the weather? We won't even discuss it. I just scheduled my vacation days for October, when the weather should be nicer.

Third Time's a Charm

2010-08-06T23:04:00.004-04:00

I took another urine sample to Sam's vet. This time, Sam's water bowl was empty for nearly 12 hours before I collected the sample.

The verdict?

Perfect. Perfect concentration--exactly in the midrange, neither too concentrated nor too dilute. And no protein. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

The boy is peeing like a champ...and I'm breathing much easier.

Sam confuses his vet

2010-07-20T14:53:00.003-04:00

In our last episode, Sam was suffering from protein in his urine and the vet wanted a stress-free sample in three weeks. Fast forward three weeks, to today.

I took a sample in this morning, and the vet just called. No protein in Sam's urine, and every sign that Sam is a hydroholic (my expression for a dog that drinks like the proverbial fish). Mind you, Sam drank his "normal" bedtime drink (that means, he emptied the water dish), went to bed and slept for 8+ hours, got up, went outside and peed an entire lake (which I grabbed some of for the vet), and came in to eat a hearty breakfast. All of this is perfectly normal Sam-behavior; this has been the routine for seven and a half years.

Anyway, Sam's urine is very dilute, and the vet wants to try again in three weeks. He's going to take best-two-out-of-three.

Sam goes to the vet

2010-07-01T20:07:00.003-04:00

I'd been trying to come up with the money for two things: new tires for the back end of my car, and a vet visit for Sam. I'd get enough money for one, but I was afraid that the minute I committed to one thing, the other would immediately become an emergency. But I finally got enough freelance money to do both, so I got Sam to the vet ($127) on Tuesday, and got the tires ($165) today.

Sam and Jacey, waiting for the vet.

But Sam's vet visit didn't go perfectly. The vet thought he looked good, proper weight, no signs of arthritis, etc. But the lab work showed protein in his urine, which is not a good thing and could be an early sign of kidney failure.

Sam. Still waiting.

Stress--whether bad or good--can contribute to protein in his urine. For Sam, visiting the vet and vet tech he adores is good stress; the car ride that gets him there is the bad stuff. So in three weeks, I'll be snagging a urine sample from Sam here at home ("Sam, pee in this cup for mom...") and dropping the sample at the vet's. If the results of Tuesday's test are duplicated in that test, we'll see where we go. The vet says there are some very good meds available, so we'll see.

Sam, apparently hoping the vet will crawl under the door.

Meanwhile, Sam feels fine. He's figured out where to lie to get the best flow of air from the air conditioner and the ceiling fan, and he's sprawled in the floor there right now, unconcerned that this puts him right where Jacey and I need to walk to get to the kitchen...

An auction for the hounds

2010-06-20T19:06:00.005-04:00

An auction is being held to benefit the hounds rescued from the Jefferson County Kennel Club by the hard-working Tallahassee arm of Greyhound Pets of America. This GPA-Tallahassee/SEGA group brought me Sam (from heaven knows where) and Jacey-Kasey, who raced (badly) at JCKC.

There are items for dog-lovers (and their dogs). There also are non-pet items: a couple of knitted baby sweaters, a baby afghan, jewelry, etc. Lots of lovely goodies...

The auction ends Monday, 21 June 2010 at 10pm Eastern (or 15 minutes after the last bid).

Edited to add: The auction made $7,410 for the hounds at JCKC!

Yes. And no.

2010-06-20T13:33:00.006-04:00

I've finished the Traveling Woman shawl knitted in Treisur Infatuation.

The blocked shawl measures about 56" by 18" (that's three repeats of Chart A, one of Chart B):

The ends haven't been woven, and they won't be. Yes, it's done. But no--I'm not keeping it. I'm frogging this--for a few reasons.

I'm a better knitter than this. (I hope.) My tension is a bit goofy in several places and is a lot goofy in a couple of places. Often, tension problems correct themselves in blocking; the problems got less noticeable, but they didn't completely vanish (and a solid-colored laceweight yarn used for a lot of loose stockinette stitches only emphasizes the problem). I also had to fudge a couple of places where my stitch count got off (and it was me, not the pattern). And I actually dropped a stitch once. It didn't ravel (thanks to the lifeline), but when I pulled out the lifelines, there that stitch was, just sitting there, doing nothing, when it should have been anchoring the stitch in the next row (where I probably fudged a stitch to compensate). None of the fudging or dropped stitches would have been deal-breakers under other circumstances, but on this shawl it's just too much.

You see, I like the pattern. And I like the yarn. And I want to like each of them in a finished project--and this project isn't filling the bill.

When the yarn arrived, I was thinking of it as a sock yarn, which usually is a fingering weight. In fact, this yarn is billed as laceweight. The Traveling Woman pattern, though, calls for fingering weight. Although several Ravelers have knitted the shawl in laceweight, those weren't the shawls I liked the most. The ones I really liked were the ones where the solid areas of the pattern looked more dense. (The shawl pictured on the pattern's web site is a perfect example.) If I'd been paying proper attention to the yarn, I'd have realized that Traveling Woman was not the pattern to show a laceweight yarn off well. (And using solid-colored laceweight yarn just made my stitches look worse than necessary in the denser areas of the shawl.)

So I made a bad choice in combining this yarn with this pattern, and they both deserve a better result.

I'll try the Traveling Woman shawl again. I've got a Knit Picks Stroll Multi that I think will work well. It's fingering weight.

And I'll find a pattern suitable for a laceweight yarn--perhaps the Branching Out scarf.

I like knitting, I like this yarn, and I like this pattern. I just want to like them all when I'm finished.

For now, I'll conduct an experiment on this new yarn that SWTC sent to me to try out: let's see how responsive it is to frogging. Will it ravel easily? Will it show "damage" or will it look good?

Stay tuned...

Edited to add: The shawl is being spared. A friend wants it, flaws and all. I'll reblock it (the points on the lower edge didn't hold on the first blocking) and send it off to Ali in Ireland.

And I'm going to knit some laceweight bookmarks with the remaining Infatuation.

Traveling Woman

2010-06-04T19:40:00.006-04:00

So, in recent blog posts I mentioned free yarn from SWTC, the value of running lifelines, and the idea of using sock yarn for a shawlette--which I don't actually need, but would be fun to knit.

So concatenate those topics:

In the photos, I was nearly through the first pass on Chart A. Now, I've nearly finished the second repeat of A (of course I ran a lifeline after the first pass through A, as well as the one you can see here--placed before I started A). I'm planning three repeats of A (maybe 4, depending on how much yarn I have left after the third repeat), then one pass through B (which is the edging).

The pattern is called Traveling Woman. (The photos on the web site show two repeats of Chart A, one of Chart B.) The yarn is Treisur's Infatuation. The pattern--and the yarn--are working up like a dream. This is a pattern I think I'll want to make again.

Socks

2010-06-02T18:49:00.002-04:00

I really like knitted socks. I like the way they look--especially the ones with tight little geometric designs. I like the way they fit. (My feet are US 5-1/2. Regular women's socks are too big and kids' socks aren't any fun.)

I even like knitting socks myself...up to a point. That point is when the socks stop getting bigger.

I started these socks in January. It's an easy little pattern. Rows 1, 3, and 5 are "knit"; Rows 2 and 4 are "P1, K4"; Row 6 is "purl." That's it.

But that's "it"--for-friggin'-ever. I've been working on both socks at the same time (to eliminate second-sock-syndrome, where finishing the first sock leaves the knitter with no desire to start a second one). One sock is a bit further along than the other: 90 rows vs. 84 rows. Times 70 stitches per row. That's 12,180 stitches. And they aren't socks yet. They aren't even close to being socks yet.

Now, I've made socks before. My first knitted pair was these plain-vanilla socks: simple ribbing, plain foot. It was a heavier-than-usual sock yarn, so they knitted up pretty fast.

Last year, I made two pairs of socks for my sister:

The purple socks didn't take very long--or at least it didn't feel like very long. The pattern moved along quickly. The striped ones took--well, they took for-friggin'-ever. (They were Christmas socks. I had one sock done by Christmas. Frantic knitting every available minute for a week produced the second sock by New Year's.)

So I'm thinking that those lovely tiny geometric designs that I like to look at so much are exactly the kinds of sock designs I need to stop knitting.

Now I've got lots of sock yarn--variegated, solid, and striping. My family asked what I wanted for Christmas, I told them, and they obligingly gave me sock pattern books and sock yarn. And I already had quite a bit of sock yarn. Sock yarn can be used for socks. It also can be used for small "shawlettes"--little lacy scarf-cum-shawl constructions (most shawlette patterns take about the same amount of yarn as a pair of socks), although there's a limit to how many shawlettes any woman needs in her wardrobe (especially a woman like me, who wears a uniform to work every day). Beyond shawlettes, the uses of sock yarn are a bit limited. You can make baby things--as long as you want to make baby things with lots of very tiny stitches...in tan, khaki, and green stripes or some other non-infant-like colors. Most purchases of sock yarn are made in quantities that don't give you a whole lot of choices in patterns...beyond socks.

But there are lots of sock patterns out there. Lots of free-online sock patterns, too. There are patterned socks. There are lacy socks. ~~There are cabled socks.~~ (Okay, forget about the cabled socks. I've done cables and I'm not crazy about them. Doing cables around and around a sock is a more appalling idea than knitting endless geometric designs on socks. No cables for me...but take a look at those socks!) But there are socks with complicated patterns that require charts with keys and lots of concentration. The value of that kind of sock is that once you get through the repeat once time, you can really feel like you've done something, made some progress. Once you've done the pattern repeat half a dozen times--not enough times to be bored with it--you're down the leg and ready to start the heel.

I'm not going to frog my poor, boring Ridged Squares socks. Sometimes you need some mindless knitting while you're killing time waiting for your car to be repaired. Having a pattern you can pick up, look at for a minute, and resume, then put away for a week (or month) or more is very useful. Sometimes I'll work on these at work, during my 30-minute lunch break.

But I'm going to find another pattern I like, pick some yarn from my stash, and start a new pair--very soon. I've resisted having lots of projects in the works at one time, but I'm going to stop worrying about that. Having one pair of socks that is moving along like sludge shouldn't interfere with my desire to knit something more fun.

Even if the "more fun" is another pair of socks.

Shown above: The plain vanilla socks were knitted in Elann Esprit. The purple, gold and green socks (the pattern is called Sunday Swing Socks) are knitted in Patons Stretch Socks yarn. The striped socks were knitted in Lane Cervinia Forever.

Lifeline to the rescue

2010-06-02T14:20:00.004-04:00

There's an old song I've heard of, and the last verse goes like this:

This is the lifeline, oh, grasp it today!
See, you are recklessly drifting away;
Voices in warning, shout over the wave,
O grasp the strong lifeline, for Jesus can save.

(Refrain) Throw out the lifeline! Throw out the lifeline!
Someone is drifting away;
Throw out the lifeline! Throw out the lifeline!
Someone is sinking today.

I remembered that song today as a lifeline rescued my knitting.

I had started the grapevine shawl (Ravelry link) early in May and successfully completed one pattern repeat (12 rows). I picked it up Sunday to do a little knitting and promptly screwed up the 3rd line in the next repeat. I tried to tink back, but it didn't work. I wound up ripping the whole thing back and started over, resolving to run a lifeline after each pattern repeat from then on. (A lifeline is a length of yarn or thread that a knitter runs through the stitches of a completed row. If there's a problem later on, the knitter can rip back to the lifeline and recover all the stitches, all facing the right direction. In the photo, you can see white lifelines. If you look closely, you can see some pink ones, too.)

Yesterday's knitting went well...from cast-on through four repeats without the ghost of a problem. The pattern itself is easy--all K2TOGs, SSKs, and YOs, with not a single P2TOG, K3TOG, nupp, or other tricky stitch. And half the rows are purl-even rows, so really there are only six pay-close-attention rows in each repeat.

Now some people remove previous lifelines once they've run a new one. If you've just run a lifeline to protect the 6th repeat, you don't actually need one protecting the 5th repeat, right?

Well, maybe... It depends on how closely you inspected the 6th repeat before you moved on to the 7th one. Because if you belatedly spot an error in the 9th row of the 6th repeat, you're going to want that lifeline between repeats 5 and 6.

And here's the nice thing about lifelines: they make you braver about fixing problems. I needed to rip back about 6 rows to fix the error. With luck, I'd be able to recover my stitches there--even though the lifeline was further back--I could recover my stitches, fix the problem, and start moving forward again.

But sometimes picking up doesn't go as smoothly as you like, especially when you've been increasing and decreasing stitches in rows (all those K2TOGs, SSKs, and YOs). It can be hard to tell what's a legitimate YO and what's a loose loop between stitches. And when that happens--which is exactly what happened to me on the 2nd repeat on Sunday--then you have to keep ripping back either to the nearest lifeline, or to the beginning. If you don't have any lifelines in your work, your only option might be to ignore the error, keep working, and squint a lot when you look at your finished piece. And that might be the choice you have to make if you've been removing previous lifelines as you run new ones.

But a lifeline securely in place makes you brave enough to attempt the fix. If all goes well, you get all your stitches back and just reknit those 6 rows. In the worst case scenario, you reknit 15 rows: the whole pattern repeat and the three rows you'd worked in the newest section. Either way, you're in no danger of losing all your work back to the beginning.

So my project was rescued--and I only reknit six rows. Now I've got six and a half good repeats, with a lifeline in place after every one.

The pattern is downloadable (free) from Cascade Yarns. The yarn used is Cascade Sierra (80% cotton, 20% wool).

P.S. And sometimes it helps to leave the lifelines in place while you block. It helps you keep each repeat section straight, and measuring from lifeline to lifeline is a good way to ensure that you block the whole piece evenly, without stretching the length at one end or the other.

More knitting, more doggie birthdays

2010-05-20T21:13:00.003-04:00

I finished two more helmet liners. (No pictures, this time. If you've seen one helmet liner, you've seen 'em all--especially since the new ones are the same color as the previous one.) I think I'm finished with that pattern for a while. Three times in one month...

I made a hat with the Intriguing yarn.

I invented the pattern as I went along, and the resulting product fits me nicely. Of course, the pattern is nothing but ribbing, which is nice and stretchy and hard to screw up.

With US8/5.0mm needles, I cast on 80 stitches, knitted 1 inch in 2x2 rib, increased to 90 and a mixed 3x2 x 2x2 rib.

I had 20 knit ribs, 20 purl valleys. At 5 inches, I started decreasing: decreased 10 stitches (all the 3K ribs reduced to 2K); knitted even; decreased 5 stitches (every 4th rib); knitted even; decreased 10 stitches; knitted even; decreased 5 stitches (the last 2K ribs reduced to 1K); knitted even; decreased 10 stitches (knit 1K+1P together for each decrease--much easier than P2tog for the decrease, and it looks good); knitted even; decreased 5 stitches…, etc.

The hat took less than half the ball of yarn. I'm using the other half to make a neck-warmer. (I'm making up that pattern, too.) The neck-warmer is my lunchtime-at-work knitting. Pictures and details later.

The yarn knits up nicely. It's not particularly splitty (which some wrapped yarns are). It's a bit fuzzy (the mohair), but I think it probably would frog with less trouble than one normally encounters when frogging mohair--although that's an experiment I didn't have to make. :) There's some acrylic in the yarn (77% Wool, 15% Acrylic, 8% Mohair), but I blocked the hat anyway--wanted to see if the yarn changed much. There wasn't a noticeable change (the yarn didn't "bloom," if you know what I mean), but the yarn behaved well and didn't fade or tighten up, or do anything unexpected. (Having recently seen a Cascade 220 Superwash project--not a helmet liner, but another item--gain a ridiculous 20% in size when blocked, having the hat hold its dimensions was very nice.)

With the Granny Smith-colored yarn, I've started the Traveling Woman shawl. I'm still very much in the early stages:

Jacey turned seven Wednesday (the 19th). She and Sam got to have the last of the doggie birthday biscuit (with icing) that my sister bought for Sam's birthday the week before. (We parcel treats out sparingly around here to avoid stomach troubles.) And a friend's dog, Katie (MACH Never Had Braces UD),* turned a dignified twelve years old on Monday.

*MACH = Master Agility Champion, the highest AKC agility title (Katie was the first greyhound to win that title); UD = Utility Dog, a very high AKC obedience title.

Recent and Current Knitting

2010-05-12T21:39:00.005-04:00

I recently knitted a helmet liner. A blogger was asking for knitted helmet liners for a Marine unit that will be shipping out to Afghanistan. I decided to knit a liner, and it knitted up quickly.

And then a coworker asked for one for her friend, a soldier already in Afghanistan. So I gave her the one I knitted (she'll repay me for the yarn), and I bought a new ball of yarn today and have started the second helmet liner. It's nice yarn (has to be wool--no acrylics, and there's a limited range of acceptable colors), and the pattern is easy. I'm already an inch into the second liner. But let's not tell the Marines they're wearing a color called Doeskin Heather; Bambi-colored yarn doesn't quite sound right for the Corps.

***

Sam has turned 10 years old. Both dogs have coats I made for them (Jacey inherited Oreo's coats), but only Jacey has a hand-knitted sweater. Every time I've started to make a sweater for Sam, Christmas knitting has intervened, and Sam's sweater has been pushed to the back burner.

But the boy turned 10 on the 10th of this month, and I wanted him to have a sweater for the fall, so I knitted one that I finished the day before his birthday.

The turtleneck can be unrolled to stretch up his neck and give his ears some coverage when necessary.

I have yarn to knit a matching sweater for Jacey in forest green. There are changes I want to make to the pattern (I made notes in Ravelry), and I'll probably make her sweater soon, while the changes (and my notes) still make sense to me.

***

At the recent Stitches South convention here in Atlanta, I won a prize: a kit to make a shawl. The pattern is for Cascade's lacy Grapevine Shawl, and the yarn is a bright fuchsia cotton (Cascade Sierra). I've started the shawl and made it through one pattern repeat. The one repeat measures about two inches; just 26 repeats to go. ;) I have a high school reunion coming up in October, and a bright shawl might be just the thing for a fall evening.

Yarn!

2010-05-12T18:36:00.004-04:00

The folks at SWTC are now carrying a line of yarn called Treisur. They're looking for knitting bloggers to try the yarn and blog about it. (See here for information.)

I didn't hesitate to sign up, and Monday I received a package.

In the package was one 169-yard ball of Treisur Intrigue:

It's a worsted-weight wool/acrylic/mohair blend (4 stitches/inch on US9s). This colorway shades from teal to green to gold to burgundy to purple to blue, all wrapped with an orange thread. I'm not sure, yet, but I think this yarn really wants to be a hat. I'm going hunting for patterns.

Also in the package were two 250-yard balls of Treisur Infatuation:

It's a fingering-weight bamboo/wool/nylon blend (8 stitches/inch on US2s). The yarn comes in multicolor put-ups, but this colorway is a lovely Granny Smith apple green, and has a thin shiny thread wrap. (The wrap reminds me of the shiny filament wrapped around baby pompadour yarns, only much finer and tighter, and the yarn isn't fuzzy at all.) The yarn would be suitable for socks, but I'm not sure... It's such a lovely yarn (ooh! shiny!), and it might want to be something showy--something that doesn't get tucked into shoes. I'll be hunting on Ravelry for patterns...

No! No! No! No!

2009-11-03T19:51:00.004-05:00

No, this isn't another NoNoNoNo photo post.

I've totally botched the Ice Queen cowl I was making. I've frogged it, and I'm going to start it again. I'm inexplicably dropping stitches and not discovering it until 40+ rows later. The stitches weren't unraveling (thanks to my lifelines), but they were too far away--and there are yarnovers and knit-togethers--and it was just not possible to recover.

(This photo is about 20 rows in. I had 60+ rows when I ripped back.)

But I am not going to be defeated by simple yarnovers and knit-togethers. It's a simple feather-and-fan pattern(!), and I've done that before. I think the problem is just super-thin yarn on very slippery needles. Since the yarn sticks to itself a bit (it's alpaca), dropped stitches don't show up as such. I only noticed several unattached loops as I was looking back at the beginning section. I'm just going to have to be obsessive about counting stitches (there are 26 to 18 stitches in each pattern repeat); and if there's a stitch missing I've got to stop assuming that I skipped a yarnover and start looking for something that has been dropped.

NoNoNoNo 4-13

2009-11-03T13:31:00.006-05:00

Dogs in torment:

No one's tongue is long enough!

Note: The dogs were supervised the whole time they were polishing off the peanut butter jars. When they no longer could lick and started to chew the jars, I took the jars from them, scraped out the last tablespoon of peanut butter (extra crunchy), and spread it on a dog biscuit. If you try this at home, make sure you have enough jars to have one for each dog. Otherwise, there could be warfare.

Yesterday, it was turkey necks. Waiting for delivery:

(Note that they're hooked to different posts in the carport.)

Sam is concentrating:

The lady-like Jacey:

(The SciFi channel recently reran the original series V. Remember how the aliens could dislocate their lower jaws to devour huge chunks of food--something that boa constrictors can do, too? Jacey may be an alien. Or a boa.)

The landscapers recently cleared lots of vegetation and debris from the banks of the creek. See the 3-foot-diameter pipes?

Compare that to the same location in September:

That's a very sturdy little bridge. If it goes, though, I'm stranded. There's no way out of the condo complex that doesn't involve crossing that bridge. And there have been a couple of occasions when water has been over the top of the bridge. Fortunately, I live on the high bank--and the high end of the high bank--so I'm actually not in the flood plain.

And some local vegetation seems confused about what season it is:

But this tree seems to be getting into the seasonal spirit:

NoNoNoNo 1-3

2009-11-01T21:59:00.007-05:00

November is national novel-writing month--NaNoWriMo. Participants make themselves crazy trying to write a 50,000-word novel in one month.

But, as friends of mine realized, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then 50 pictures equal one novel...with a lot less pain. So several of us are celebrating Non-national Non-novel Non-writing Non-month--NoNoNoNo. Here are my first three entries.

Two knitting projects underway. Socks for my sister for Christmas:

The pattern is called Jaywalkers. The yarn is KnitPicks Felici in the Martinique colorway. (It politely stripes itself, thank you very much!) One sock is to the point where I'm ready to start the heel; the other has a few more rows to go to match the length of the first.

And a cowl/smoke-ring for my nephew's wife:

If you look closely, you can see the beads. (You can click through to the photo on Flickr.) The pattern is called Ice Queen. The yarn is Misti Baby Alpaca. The pattern calls for 80+ rows, and I've done a little more than 20. The white threads you see are lifelines: bits of thread run through the stitches so that if I drop stitches or run into some other problem, I can rip back to a point where all the stitches were correct and were captured on the lifeline. (There's also a provisional cast-on, which is all the white thread at the beginning edge.) Eventually, there will be a second cowl--in white with the same beads; that will be for the other nephew's girlfriend.

And an Owwie!:

The upper dark place you see is an old scar--one she had when she came to me. The red mark is, happily, a scratch rather than an actual cut--an angry scratch that didn't quite break the skin. I have no idea how she managed to do this, but my best guess is that it had something to do with Sam.

Doesn't it always?

Sam

2009-08-10T15:35:00.004-04:00

Well, he's done it again.

I had a partial bag of Nutro Ultra sealed up and waiting to be returned to the store. (We're no longer serving Nutro here, but that's another story.)

This morning--my day off--I slept a bit late, then walked the dogs. While out, I saw my neighbor's new puppy. I didn't go near the puppy with my two--Sam's not allowed puppies as snacks--so I took my guys home, left them inside, and went back out to visit with the puppy. And while I was outside, Sam went for the opened bag of Nutro Ultra.

The bag is upright--and tall--and he didn't pull it over. He had to stand on his back legs and stick his head down inside the bag, then inside the drawstringed plastic trash bag, to get to the kibble. When I came back in the house, he yanked his head out of the bag and trotted innocently back into the living room.

I couldn't tell how much kibble he'd inhaled. I went to feed Jacey, while I debated how much of his usual 1.5-cup breakfast I should withhold. I heard those very distinctive noises from the living room and came out of the kitchen to discover he'd upchucked about half a cup of kibble. While I was cleaning that, he upchucked another half cup. I got that cleaned up and started checking on Sam--and he was moaning and groaning. This is not typical with him. He's eaten raw potatoes and danced around like nothing was wrong.

Greyhounds--like other big-chested dogs--are at risk for bloat, and Sam was acting like that was a very real possibility. So I hauled him outside, pried his jaws apart, and poured some hydrogen peroxide down his throat. We waited a bit--nothing happened. I gave him a bit more. Bingo!

He started throwing up--probably threw up another two cups or more of kibble--and all the kibble was coming up covered with thick white foam. There'd been some foam when he got sick in the house, but there was lots of it when he got sick outside. His moaning discomfort, I think, was just gas, the result of his having eaten more in one five-minute binge than he normally eats in a day.

Anyway, he threw up half a dozen times outside, and finally was down to just bile. I took him back inside and let him have some water. After an hour, I let him have half his usual breakfast. An hour after that, I let him have the rest of his breakfast. He's been fine ever since (okay for 4 hours now)--bouncing around and his usual self.

But I've stayed home today. I'll do my errand-running tomorrow, but I didn't want to risk leaving him home alone this morning if he was going to be sick again. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a vacation day, and I'll do my running around then.

And the next time I go visit with a puppy, I'm leaving muzzled dogs* at home.

*At least Jacey stayed out of trouble. I suspect Sam got snarky with her and threatened her. Food is the one thing he'll defend, and she's smart enough to know it.

I've created a monster!

2009-07-18T21:10:00.002-04:00

Or two.

Green beans are recommended for dogs as a low-fat, healthy treat you can give a dog who's convinced he's starving--without adding a lot of calories. About a week ago, I got a bag of frozen green beans, and I started adding a handful of the frozen beans to the dinner dishes for the dogs.

The first night, Jacey gave me an uncertain look, reluctantly tried her first green bean, looked thoughtfully at me after she chewed it and swallowed it, then ate the rest of the beans and her kibble. Sam, of course, never hesitated: he instantly went nose-down in his bowl and gobbled down everything. One good thing was that both dogs actually had to chew the beans: they're cut a little large for the dogs' usual habit of swallowing food whole.

And since then, the dogs have had a handful of beans every night and have eaten them all.

Tonight, I was tired when I got home, and wasn't really thinking when I fed the dogs. I just scooped out a cup-and-a-half of kibble for each dog and gave them their bowls. (I did remember the dogs' pills: thyroid, fish oil, glucosamine.) The dogs ate their dinner just fine.

For the next two hours, if I went near the kitchen, if I even looked toward the kitchen, both dogs came to attention, Jacey usually running to the kitchen door to wait for me.

I finally got the message: I gave each dog a handful of frozen green beans.

Now the dogs are blissfully stretched out, sound asleep.

And I need to stock up on more frozen green beans. If I forget, I'm sure someone will remind me.

An auction for the hounds

2009-06-22T22:47:00.001-04:00

Our local rescue group, SEGA (Southeastern Greyhound Adoptions), is the sponsor and beneficiary of an auction at the Carpe Canem Web site. Many of the items are dog-related, but there are some non-hound items...including a baby surprise jacket with booties, and two doilies, donated by someone who does lots of that sort of thing. ;)

The auction starts Tuesday the 23rd at 10 am (Eastern) and ends Monday the 29th at 10 pm (Eastern). Take a look, and see what you can find for your own dogs or as gifts for your dog-owning friends.

1939

2009-06-22T22:01:00.003-04:00

1939 was a phenomenal year in Hollywood. One incredible movie topped another one as future movie classics rolled out of the studios.

That was 70 years ago, and TCM is paying tribute to that year during the month of July. Every Thursday evening, TCM will be showing 1939 movies (listings below taken from the TCM Web site):

The 2nd

8:00 PM The Wizard Of Oz (1939): A Kansas farm girl dreams herself into a magical land where she must fight a wicked witch to escape. Cast: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr. Dir: Victor Fleming. C-102 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
10:00 PM 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009): This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and insight into what made the year so special. BW-75 mins, TV-G, CC
11:15 PM The Women (1939): A happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays. Cast: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell. Dir: George Cukor. BW-133 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
1:30 AM Ninotchka (1939): A coldhearted Soviet agent is warmed up by a trip to Paris and a night of love. Cast: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire. Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. BW-111 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
3:30 AM Babes in Arms (1939): A group of second-generation entertainers puts on a show to launch their careers. Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Charles Winninger. Dir: Busby Berkeley. BW-96 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
5:15 AM The Story Of Vernon And Irene Castle (1939): True story of the dancing team who taught the world to two-step. Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver. Dir: H.C. Potter. BW-94 mins, TV-G, CC

The 9th

8:00 PM Union Pacific (1939): A crooked politician tries to stop construction of the first intercontinental railroad. Cast: Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Preston. Dir: Cecil B. DeMille. BW-135 mins, TV-PG, CC
10:30 PM Dodge City (1939): A soldier of fortune takes on the corrupt boss of a Western town. Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan. Dir: Michael Curtiz. C-104 mins, TV-PG, CC
12:30 AM Stagecoach (1939): A group of disparate passengers battle personal demons and each other while racing through Indian country. Cast: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, George Bancroft. Dir: John Ford. BW-96 mins, TV-G, CC
2:15 AM The Oklahoma Kid (1939): A cowboy sets out to avenge his father's lynching. Cast: James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Rosemary Lane. Dir: Lloyd Bacon. BW-81 mins, TV-PG, CC
3:45 AM Blind Alley (1939): When a gangster takes him hostage, a psychiatrist psychoanalyzes the criminal. Cast: Ralph Bellamy, Chester Morris, Ann Dvorak. Dir: Charles Vidor. BW-69 mins, TV-PG
5:00 AM Each Dawn I Die (1939): A crusading reporter becomes a hardened convict when he's framed. Cast: James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan. Dir: William Keighley. BW-92 mins, TV-PG, CC

The 16th

8:00 PM Stanley and Livingstone (1939): An American newspaper searches Africa for a lost explorer. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Nancy Kelly, Richard Greene. Dir: Henry King, Otto Brower BW-101 mins, , CC
10:00 PM Beau Geste (1939): Three brothers in the French foreign legion fight off murderous Arabs and a sadistic sergeant. Cast: Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston. Dir: William A. Wellman. BW-113 mins, TV-PG
12:00 AM Golden Boy (1939): A crooked promoter lures a young violinist to give up music for boxing. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, William Holden. Dir: Rouben Mamoulian. BW-99 mins, TV-PG
2:00 AM Gunga Din (1939): Three British soldiers seek treasure during an uprising in India. Cast: Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Victor McLaglen. Dir: George Stevens. BW-117 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
4:00 AM Only Angels Have Wings (1939): A team of flyers risks their lives to deliver the mail in a mountainous South American country. Cast: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth. Dir: Howard Hawks. BW-121 mins, TV-PG, CC

The 23rd

8:00 PM Of Mice and Men (1939): A drifter and his slow-witted pal try to make their way in the West. Cast: Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney, Jr., Betty Field. Dir: Lewis Milestone. BW-106 mins, TV-14
10:00 PM Dark Victory (1939): A flighty heiress discovers inner strength when she develops a brain tumor. Cast: Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart. Dir: Edmund Goulding. BW-104 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
12:00 AM Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939): A cold-hearted teacher becomes the school favorite when he's thawed by a beautiful young woman. Cast: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Paul Henreid. Dir: Sam Wood. BW-114 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
2:00 AM Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939): An idealistic Senate replacement takes on political corruption. Cast: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains. Dir: Frank Capra. BW-130 mins, TV-G, CC
4:15 AM The Old Maid (1939): An unmarried mother gives her illegitimate child to her cousin. Cast: Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Jane Bryan. Dir: Edmund Goulding. BW-95 mins, TV-PG, CC

The 30th

8:00 PM Gone With the Wind (1939): Classic tale of Scarlett O'Hara's battle to save her beloved Tara and find love during the Civil War. Cast: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland. Dir: Victor Fleming. C-233 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
12:00 AM The Rains Came (1939): A Hindu doctor's affair with a British noblewoman is disrupted by a violent flood. Cast: Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power, George Brent. Dir: Clarence Brown. BW-104 mins, TV-PG, CC
2:00 AM Wuthering Heights (1939): A married noblewoman fights her lifelong attraction to a charismatic gypsy. Cast: Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, Geraldine Fitzgerald. Dir: William Wyler. BW-104 mins, TV-PG, CC
4:00 AM Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939): A married violinist deserts his family when he falls for his accompanist. Cast: Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, Edna Best. Dir: Gregory Ratoff. BW-70 mins, TV-14, CC
5:15 AM Love Affair (1939): Near-tragic misunderstandings threaten a shipboard romance. Cast: Charles Boyer, Irene Dunne, Maria Ouspenskaya. Dir: Leo McCarey. BW-86 mins, TV-G, CC

Never thought I'd be grateful for a dog who gulps his food.

2009-06-18T17:40:00.002-04:00

But yay, Sam!

Three days of Panacur and six days of Metronidazole didn't help his digestive issues, so the vet changed Sam over to Tylan powder (.5 ml, 2xdaily for 3 weeks). Tylan tastes lousy, I've been told, and folks who have mixed the powder with their chow-hound's food have found Fido going on a hunger strike.

Sam is used to getting his thyroid pills wrapped in a bit of cheese, and he just gulps them down. (Thyroid pills are tiny; putting them in cheese is a way to make sure they get swallowed, and not just flicked across the room by someone's big, floppy tongue. Both dogs get thyroid pills.) So I've just been using a bigger piece of cheese and putting the Tylan powder in the center (with a thyroid pill) and rolling up the cheese and popping it into the boy's mouth. He's gulped his meds down like a champ!

But I'm tempted to ask the vet to check that they actually gave me Tylan powder...and not unadulterated caffeine. After two days on the Tylan, Sam's got more energy than the Energizer Bunny, and he's throwing his toys and chasing them.

Then, of course, he sacks out on the dog bed and sleeps the sleep of the thoroughly exhausted greyhound. :)

Sam redux

2009-06-09T14:33:00.002-04:00

Sam's home from the vet. He's on Metronidazole (aka Flagyl) for the next 6 days (at least), and Panacur for 3 days. Panacur (aka Febendazole) is a powder you mix with the dog's soft food, so Sam's getting canned food once a day for a while (he doesn't mind the taste of the Metronidazole in the food); Jacey gets to have the canned food, too, and she's delighted.

Panacur is used to fight parasites, and the fecal test from 18 May didn't show any signs of parasites. But Panacur also tends to give a quick kick to a dog's immune system, so in that sense it should be good for Sam.

The working theory is that the dogs picked up some bad bacteria from the chicken that sickened both of them in March. Jacey kicked the bad bugs, Sam didn't--quite. We need to get this under control before Sam suffers permanent damage (like thickening of the intestinal walls) that would cause more serious health issues. Inflammatory bowel disease in dogs can be a nightmare.

The Metronidazole can be extended if necessary, but if it seems not to be working, we'll change to Tylan (aka Tylosin). I'm hoping to avoid this since Tylan tastes nasty (so I've heard), and dogs hate it. It also is a powder, and if you can't get the dog to eat food you've mixed it in, you've got a problem getting it down a dog's throat. Determined pet owners have had to buy empty capsule shells and make their own pills for their dogs. I'm hoping we don't have to go that route.

Sam

2009-06-07T10:25:00.002-04:00

Sam's sick.

He's been "not right" since March, when both dogs had chicken backs and had digestive blowouts afterwards. They went on metronidazole for 9 days, although I think their subsequent improvement was due more to my keeping them on a strict and careful diet.

Since then, I've been careful about what they eat, and to help I've used yogurt, pumpkin, and probiotics (not all at the same time!). They had no more raw poultry for two months, and when I started them back on some raw food a couple of weeks ago, I changed them to turkey necks instead of chicken backs (much less fat).

Jacey got better and stayed pretty sound. Sam has been sporadically better--and then worse. He's had at least one all-liquid blowout a month--as well as lots of soft poop--and that's just not like him.

I don't think he's developed an allergy or intolerance to anything he's routinely eating. If that were it, he'd stay sick instead of getting better between blowouts. And he's been on good behavior and hasn't gotten into anything he shouldn't. (He's gotten his muzzle off a few times in the last couple of weeks, but he hasn't gotten into anything--mostly because the potatoes are locked away in a bin, the bread is on top of the refrigerator, and there's really nothing he can get into. I learned my lesson from past experiences, even if Sam didn't.)

Fecal samples for both dogs were checked a few weeks ago: no signs of any parasites.

But Sam had another blowout on Friday. Afterwards, the dogs had rice for supper Friday, fasted Saturday during the day, and rice for supper Saturday night. (When one dog is sick, both dogs go on a restricted diet.) Sam's a bit better today, but I'm taking him to the vet on my next day off. I'm wondering if both dogs picked up a bug back in March (when they both got sick from the chicken)--something that Jacey recovered from but Sam didn't...quite.

Anyway, there are a couple of other things I want to ask the vet about, so we're seeing our favorite vet Tuesday at 11:40.

Meanwhile, he seems to feel well--plenty of appetite for anything I give him.

Happy birthday to Mother's Little Helper

2009-05-19T00:59:00.005-04:00

Both my dogs have May birthdays. Sam's was 10 May. Jacey-Kasey's is today, 19 May. She's six years old.

Jacey, originally named Pinerun Torri, is one of a litter of nine (five boys, four girls). With 16 races (no wins, 2 second place finishes, 3 thirds, 6 fourths), she was the second-best racer in her litter--which tells you how bad seven of her littermates were. In a race in September 2005, she quit and turned back. In a race run on 30 November 2005--my birthday--Jacey finished 4th behind Canuhemisaurus. Canoe now lives here in Georgia in retired bliss. In her one meeting here with Canoe, Jacey snarled and growled at him. It wasn't sour grapes because Canoe beat her; it was her usual "bow-down-and-worship-me" approach to making friends.

In fact, her not-so-sweet disposition around other dogs is responsible for her wonky ears: one points forward while the other points back (unless she spots something interesting, in which case both ears point left). Jacey had a disagreement with another dog while they were at the kennel and up for adoption (24 March 2006). Both girls were muzzled, but Jacey's ear still got munched. The experience didn't teach Jacey better manners.

Jacey, then called Tori, also had a reputation with the kennel walkers for two things: smiling, and barking. She still does both (even smiles in her sleep, sometimes), although she usually manages to limit her barking to greeting me when I come home from work.

She gets along surprisingly well with Sam. She's very tolerant about his collapsing onto her on the sofa. But when she does growl at Sam (usually over food), he backs off, looks to me for help, and whines. ("Mom! She's picking on me!")

Once or twice, when we've paused during a walk, Jacey has surprised me with a lovely, spontaneous "sit," for which I've praised her highly. But if you ask her to sit, you get this un-lovely, rolled-onto-her-hip performance, and I haven't been able to break her from that. She doesn't "roach," and she may be the only greyhound I know who doesn't do the "sphinx" down. Ever. Not on her own, and not on command. If you insist on "down," you get a rolled-onto-her-hip down. There's no sign of hip trouble that the vet or I have ever seen; Jacey just has her own style.

She's mother's little helper around the house, usually following me from room to room. She helps with the laundry by lying on it while I'm trying to fold it. She races to the kitchen every time she hears the microwave ding--or when she thinks she hears it. And, clearly, her dreams involve kitchens and food. One night she'd gone upstairs (to my bed) early. She suddenly woke up, bolted from the bed, flew down the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen--running right past Sam and me on the sofa. Apparently, she'd dreamed I was in the kitchen...

Quite often, she thinks I move too slowly when I'm headed to the kitchen. She's been known to get behind me and push. When I turn around to fuss at her, she looks back over her shoulder as if to see who's pushing her. And if I order her out of the kitchen while I'm working in there, she makes it about two steps into the dining room before she whirls and scoots back into the kitchen; it takes three or four tries before "Out!" seems to stick.

In the three years she's been with me (more than half her life), she's gained quite a bit of white in her face. She's become resigned to thunder and lightning...and to Sam's antics. She's conquered separation anxiety (thank you, Valium and Clomicalm). She's grown a personality--or just relaxed enough to let it show. She's become a fun dog to have around.

Happy birthday, Jacey-Cakes.

My Old Man

2009-05-10T00:10:00.005-04:00

My old man is sacked out next to me on the sofa right now. He's sound asleep on his back, feet in the air. This picture is from a couple of weeks ago. Right now, his eyes aren't open at all, and his tail isn't as discreetly positioned--otherwise, it's an accurate picture.

Nine years ago today, a six-year-old blue fawn bitch named Hondo Comet gave birth to a litter of nine puppies--three males, six females: Stat Chiara, Stat Dimetri, Stat Echo, Stat Faust, Stat K Sally, Stat K Sam, Stat K Suzy, Stat Savage, and Stat Slick (Dimetri, Sam, and Slick were the boys). The owner of at least some of the dogs was a vet, but if he thought the name "stat"--medical-speak for "hurry up"--would produce some fast dogs, I'm sure he found this litter a disappointment. As near as I can tell, none of the nine ever raced. Sam, Sally, and Suzy were in Atlanta and looking for homes not long after their second birthdays.

I fell in love with Sam's adoption photo, and by October 2002, he was living in my home.

Sam is fearless. Well, nearly so. He's a bit intimidated by Jacey-Kasey, but otherwise, there's not much he's afraid of.

Sam is single-minded. He once put his foot through my living room window in pursuit of a cat on the other side of the glass. I bolted Plexiglas over the window, the cat came back, and Sam threw himself at the cat. He bounced off the Plexiglas, picked himself up, and hurled himself at the cat again. I got to him and stopped him before his third attempt. I got rid of the bird feeder outside the living room window: it had attracted birds, the birds had attracted the cat, and the cat...well, it stalked off with its tail held high, but not before Sam scared the bejeebers out of it by rebounding off the Plexiglas.

Sam is a serious eater. He's muzzled when I'm not at home, in the vague hope that a muzzle will stop him from eating the house. He's eaten Scotch Magic Mending Tape, pencils, lip liner, Valentine's candy, dead mice, butterscotch candy, animal crackers, and other odds and ends with no harm. A bag of raw potatoes gave him only mild indigestion. But wheat...plain, ordinary wheat, which is in many dog foods, dog biscuits, and coveted people food...wheat is Sam's digestive downfall. In the following picture, I've mentioned the word "cookie"; just the mention of the word was enough to trigger the drool starting to form:

Sam is a serious sleeper. Aside from the roaching--the sleeping on his back--he'll sleep curled up tight in cold weather:

sprawled on my bed in all weather:

and on top of his sister any time he gets the chance:

Sam is cuddly, entertaining, and always good for a laugh:

I'm lucky to have him in my life.

Laundry, with mother's little helper

2009-03-23T17:19:00.007-04:00

I don't mind the washer-and-dryer phases of doing laundry. What I hate is the folding-and-putting-away part.

I've perfected dealing with my work clothes: three stackable baskets on top of the dryer. Bottom basket is underwear, middle basket is work pants, top basket is work shirts (black t-shirts). Work socks go in a pile next to the baskets. (For work socks, I bought 12 identical pairs of black socks. No sock matching. No worries about missing socks or one sock with a hole in it. Any sock goes with any other sock. Heaven!)

But all the other laundry--sheets (which never fold neatly), towels (hey, it's not like they're gonna wrinkle), the off-work clothes--I hate dealing with that stuff. In my condo, the washer and dryer are in a wide closet on the upstairs hallway. On the other side of the hallway is a half-wall (overlooking the living room). It's a nice, sturdy half-wall, just two steps from the dryer. It's a great place to drape sheets, towels, etc., as they come out of the dryer. I mean, there's no place in the laundry-closet to be folding and stacking clean laundry, so that half-wall is terrific.

Until you start using it as the extended closet, and never put the clothes away. Until you have to move all the winter clothes off the wall so you can get to the summer clothes that are buried beneath them.

Today I did several loads of clothes, and I put away the mountain of stuff piled on the half-wall. I started by pulling the sheets and pillows off the bed, which meant first moving Jacey off the bed.

While sheets were washing, I started folding piles of clothes (two laundry loads from today, plus the wall-mountain). I made Jacey stay on one of the two dog beds in the room, and Sam took the other one. Both dogs were a bit sulky.

At one point, I had to go get another pile of stuff off the wall. I came back to this:

Jacey had abandoned her dog bed and settled herself on the largest of the piles of folded clothes. And Sam? He'd moved from "his" dog bed to hers.

As I started whittling down the piles of clothes, Jacey started to get nervous. I was pulling clothes out from under her, and she decided she was going to run out of soft stuff to lie on. At one point, she moved to another pile:

Finally, the poor bereft baby was left with just the mattress and mattress pad to lie on.

Is anyone holding auditions for The Princess and the Pea? I know someone who'd be perfect for the part of the princess.

Finally, I got the sheets on the bed and pillowcases back on the six pillows Jacey hoards at the head of the bed.

Her universe is finally back in order.

The dogs are slowly recovering from a horrendous bout of the stomach nasties. At least this time, they got sick in unison. They're taking Metronidazole and eating lots of rice and yogurt. They seem to feel fine. I'm the one that jumps every time one of them whines and glances at the door. I suspect chicken backs are to blame for this incident, although I'd pulled the excess fat off the backs first. At any rate, I'll be keeping a careful watch on what they get to eat for a while.

Stuff

2009-03-16T11:45:00.002-04:00

I have to go to Forest Park today to pick up some blades and shears that were being sharpened. I've tried all morning to call to see if the stuff is done, but the line has been busy. The line's not busy now--but they're all at lunch. I'll try again after noon. I'm already not happy about driving 27 miles (each way) in the rain, so I'd like to get this done and over with--especially since I'm taking more blades and shears to be sharpened, so I have to do this whole thing again on my next day off (Friday). (Finally got through to them on the phone, and my stuff is ready. Now to kill 90 minutes picking this stuff up.)

I've had to order new safety eyes for the stuffed greyhound. The pattern calls for 18mm eyes, which I can't find in stores or even on-line from the big-name retailers (Crafts, Etc! or Jo-Ann's). I bought some 15mm eyes (Hobby Lobby) and put them in, but I don't like them. (A greyhound with little beady eyes? Never!) I found an Etsy store selling eyes, and I've ordered from them. They have a set of "mixed" 18mm eyes, one pair in "brown" and one pair in "translucent brown," as well as several other colors. I also ordered a set of 20mm eyes, five pairs in "translucent brown." I may go with the larger eyes, but we'll see how they look when they get here. Meanwhile, I already put in the 15mm eyes, so I'm going to have to rip back to that point (only a dozen rounds or so) to get those out. I think I'll put the head on hold and just go work on legs. I'm thinking this dog will have white toes, but I haven't decided whether she* should have white toes on all four feet or not. Suggestions are welcome. (All the toes on one foot will be a single color--either the buff color or white; the pattern doesn't lend itself to three white toes and one brown.)

But before I can work on the legs today, I have more greyhound files to do. Last night I finished up the NLCC rules book and sent it to Kinko's. (I haven't heard from them today, so I assume it's going okay.) Now I need to do a tri-fold brochure for NLCC. I'll do that when I get back from the blade place.

*The greyhound doesn't have boy bits, so I'm calling it a girl.

Another greyhound...

2009-03-11T22:52:00.004-04:00

...eventually.

At present, the dog is earless, eyeless, and bodyless. Brainless, too. (I can't stuff the head until I get the eyes in place, and I'm not up to that wrestling match tonight. Safety eyes are hard to get out--or in. That's what makes them "safety.")

Progress on this dog is likely to be slow. Crocheting in the round is rough on my wrists, so I will have to limit the time I work on this.

This dog will go to Second Chance Greyhounds for "adoption" (i.e., fundraising).

The Sunburst doily is still alive and well, and hanging on to its shape. As long as it continues to behave itself, I'll be happy.

I also finished a baby sweater I was working on. This one (toddler-sized rather than infant-sized) is going to a little girl.

I've started another BSJ as my lunch-time project. I may start another one to work on at home when too much crocheting is bothering my wrists. Friends are having babies faster than I can knit.

Finally, Jacey's doing better: no stomach troubles since the incident on Saturday. This morning was full of errands--blades and shears for work to be sharpened, then the bank, Costco, gas, Michael's, Target, Walmart, recycling, and Subway ($5 foot-longs!). My next day off is Monday--when I have to go back to the blade-sharpening place to get my stuff.

Hanging by a thread...

2009-03-08T23:04:00.004-04:00

The future of this doily is in doubt.

The Sunburst pattern is supposed to make a doily that is 22" in diameter. This puny thing is 17" right now--fresh off the blocking board.

Worse: this doily, when first finished, rolled, waved, and rippled like the Atlantic Ocean, and a seasick doily is not a very useful one.

I've blocked it, let it dry (at least 3 days), unpinned it, measured it, and photographed it. Now I'm going to let it sit overnight and see what it's like in the morning. If it's staying flat, I'll weave in the loose ends and take new photos. If it has shrunk up much more, or if (as I fear) its present flatness turns out to be temporary, I'll frog this. The doily took way too many hours and uses a ball and a half of good DMC Cébélia thread. If this turns out to be a useless doily, I'll recover the thread; the time is gone for good.

I'm nearly finished with the current BSJ. I've taken a while with this one, and while I've been working on it, I've learned of three more babies (one of which was born already!). So, just a request to my friends: I'll knit as fast as I can, but no more babies until I get caught up. (I've ordered yarn from KnitPicks for the new sweaters, and the yarn shipped Thursday.)

Work has been frantic. Saturday was hectic, and today was long and unpleasant.

Jacey has had a couple of incidents of diarrhea. The first time was two weeks ago, and the dogs had had chicken backs. After they both had issues with some soft, um, output, I defatted the next backs they had. Sam was fine; Jacey was not for a day or so.

Since then, the dogs have had no chicken or anything else off their usual diets. Sam has been fine. Jacey was fine at 9 am Saturday morning, but at noon she had a full-fledged blowout. I was due at work 30 minutes later, so there was no time to go to the vet's to pick up any meds. I called in a request for meds I can pick up Monday (tomorrow) morning. I gave Jacey an Imodium AD before I left for work Saturday, and she did fine on it. Both dogs had rice for dinner Saturday night. And Jacey's been okay since then. But there's something going on with her GI tract, and I'd like to knock out this bug--whatever it is. I'll check with the vets--tell them she's better now--and see if they think I should go ahead with the meds. But I'm sure she didn't get into anything she shouldn't have: she's crated when I'm not home, and both dogs are leash-walked outside and don't get to run around, snarfing up whatever little goodies they find.

They've got the uglies...

2009-02-20T18:45:00.001-05:00

...for a little while more, at least.

I've got a few projects I've been working on this month. I managed to finish one doily:

I've been working on a BSJ and another doily, but they're moving slowly. Last week, I started having some tingling in my right hand, so I laid off the crocheting for a week. The knitting (the BSJ) gets worked on just half an hour a day during my lunch break, but I like the way it's going--like the way the increases are turning out.

I'm on row 75 (or so) on the sweater, and there are 114 rows total. This is a nice cotton yarn, and the finished sweater will fit a toddler rather than an infant.

The doily is on round 28 of 33. This pattern doesn't get all lacy and open at the edges; it gets very dense there, with lots of stitches. 240 sc (and other stitches) on round 28; 520 sc (and other stitches) on round 32, then lots of picot stuff on round 33. And the doily is going to need some serious blocking; at present, it ripples and waves all over the place:

I'm going to push a little to see if I can get these two projects finished by the end of February so they can lose their "uglies." The doily may be getting "denser," but the stitches are a bit easier--not so many wrist-wrenching double-crochet stitches. (In another demonstration of how Anglo-English and American-English differ, British double-crochet stitches are American single-crochet stitches; the American double-crochet stitches I was doing are British treble-crochet--I think.)

I'm waiting for my pregnant coworker to decide whether she wants traditional pastel colors or bright, nontraditional colors. I've got a BSJ in mind in red with a coffee-brown button band, and red, heart-shaped buttons. If my coworker wants something more traditionally colored, I might still make the red and brown one for another baby.

Backtracking

2009-02-06T23:54:00.003-05:00

I seem to have skipped posting about a November BSJ (that's "Baby Surprise Jacket").

I made a sweater for a coworker who had a boy in November. She asked if she could pay me to make a larger-size sweater for her boy, a sweater he could grow into. Well, I didn't take payment for it, but I made the boy this:

Here's a close-up of the buttons:

And with some leftover yarn I made baby washcloths:

I've now made seven sweaters from the BSJ pattern, and I'm working on the eighth...and I have yarn for more. It's a lovely pattern, pure garter stitch, which is sort of mindless knitting, easy to do during my lunch break.

Rip-it, rip-it

2009-01-28T22:12:00.001-05:00

(The photo is from before I ripped.)

I've been frogging. I'm tampering with the BSJ pattern (sacrilege), and was on row 77 (of 114) when I decided I didn't like the 'creases. (It was the increases that bothered me most, but even the decreases were a bit fishy.)

So I ripped it. I've started over, and so far, so good. But "so far" isn't very far, so we'll see how it goes.

The Letter Meme

2009-01-28T22:10:00.000-05:00

Swiped from folks.

Rules: Copy, erase my answers, enter yours.

Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real . . . nothing made up!

If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name.

What is your name? Kathy
A four-letter word: kite
A boy's name: Kieran
A girl's name: Karen
An occupation: killer
A color: khaki
Something you wear: Keds. Kilts. (Not me, personally, but...)
A food: kielbasa
Something found in the bathroom: Kleenex™
A place: Kentucky
A reason for being late: kept after school (or work)
Something you shout: "Keep away from me!"
A movie title: King Kong
Something you drink: Kahlua
A musical group: Kansas
An animal: kangaroo
A street name: Kensington Avenue*
A type of car: Kia
The title of a song: Kokomo
A verb: kayo (aka "knock out")

*From "The Boy Next Door" in Meet Me in St Louis:
"Though I live at fifty-one-thirty-five Kensington Avenue
And he lives at fifty-one-thirty-three."

Sneaker-Booties

2009-01-25T19:25:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite coworkers is pregnant.

She's 21 years old and has had two miscarriages, so this is a high-risk pregnancy. They're scheduling her for an ultrasound as soon as possible (she's only about 5 weeks along) because one of the previous pregnancies was ectopic, and they want to make sure the now-baby has taken up residence somewhere safe.

While I'll be making a baby sweater and/or an afghan for the baby a bit later on--once we know whether it's a boy or a girl and the mom chooses some favorite colors--I wanted to make something quickly. Waiting until later felt, superstitiously, like I was waiting for things to go wrong. Making something right away felt like an act of faith.

So I made baby booties and gave them to the mom on Saturday.

Playing catch-up

2009-01-17T21:30:00.003-05:00

I need to catch up on some craft stuff.

My sister was at a craft fair and bought me two balls of this:

She didn't see anything she wanted for herself, she wanted to buy something to benefit the fair's hosts, so she said, "Yarn! Kathy!"--even though it's a strange "yarn" to work with. I paired the Tiki with Bernat Satin yarn in pale yellow and made a scarf for my sister's mother-in-law for Christmas:

It measured 62" x 5", and the Tiki made an interesting texture:

I used the same stitch pattern--but a more conventional yarn--to make a scarf for my sister (6" x 66"). This is a hand-dyed yarn that I had a hard time finding a workable pattern for; the yarn just worked up in such a busy-looking batch of colors (nice colors, but busy) that I tried half-a-dozen patterns before I found one where the yarn and the stitches weren't absolutely at war with each other.

Currently, I'm working on a BSJ in sage-green cotton yarn and on a coin-lace clapotis in Kraemer Sterling Silk & Silver.

Timing is everything.

2009-01-17T16:20:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting on the sofa, watching Bleak House on DVD, and two-thirds of the way through a peanut butter sandwich, when my computer beeps to tell me there's new mail. I click over to Outlook and find this from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

FDA: Don't eat peanut butter

More than 450 people have been poisioned, and six people have died, as the result on of a Salmonella outbreak. A Blakely, Ga. peanut plant may be the source of the outbreak.

(Yes, that's copied and pasted, and no, the AJC can't spell poisoned. And "the result on of"?)

When I read the article, though, they weren't worried about peanut butter purchased in jars from the grocery store (which is the source of the peanut butter in my sandwich). They're worried about peanut butter on packaged crackers...like the ones I eat for lunch at work. Every day.

So far, the recall is for Austin's, Famous Amos, and Keebler's packaged crackers--and mine are Ritz and/or Lance. But I think maybe I'll find something else to eat for lunch tomorrow.

A vet visit

2009-01-15T18:38:00.006-05:00

Sam sits outside the kitchen while I'm winding yarn. He'd be happier
if I were cooking...or at least dropping food in the floor.

Two veterinary office exams: $70
Two bordatella vaccinations: $40
Two DHPP vaccinations: $37
Two heartworm tests: $63
Total: $210

Two healthy dogs: Priceless.

The dogs had 3-year rabies shots in 2007, so they're good for another year. Sam's weight is up more than a pound from this summer, but he's still under 65 pounds. (He weighed 70 pounds on his first visit to this vet; I don't think he's ever weighed more than 65 on subsequent visits.) Jacey weighs 51.6; her weight is down nearly 10 pounds now that her thyroid issues are controlled. Both dogs have some dry skin, but the vet said their coats look terrific: "Keep doing what you're doing."

Both dogs' teeth look better than the vet expected. Sam's are good (so keep giving him chicken backs). Jacey's are better than they were--the back ones are terrific, but the others are not as good--but we'll delay a dental for her and see if more chicken backs make a difference on her other teeth.

Sam gets an occasional limp. It's not first thing in the morning or when he first gets up, and it only lasts for a few steps before he works out whatever's bothering him. It may be spinal rather than leg-related because it's not an obvious limp on one leg: it's more that he takes a few gimpy steps as we're going outside. (And it's not his toenails...I keep them short enough.) Anyway, the vet didn't find any signs of arthritis or spinal problems on today's exam, and it doesn't seem like anything that merits major diagnostic efforts. I'll just watch to see if something else shows up, but the boy will be 9 in May, so he's allowed to be getting a little stiff.

Stuff

2009-01-09T15:46:00.000-05:00

It's my day off, and I've been running errands. I went to the post office and shipped out a couple of packages. The red BSJ went to my cousin for the new baby (actually, it went to my aunt, who will deliver it; the cousin and her family are moving soon). And I also shipped out this:

The pattern is called "Clapotis" (but that's French, so you're on your own for the pronunciation). It's a scarf/stole knitted in a self-striping yarn. This one is about 13" x 68" and very warm and soft. I've sent it off to a friend who's too far away for the hug I'd like to give her when she needs one: this'll be a long-distance hug.

I'm about to start a baby sweater, and I'm mulling over changes to the classic BSJ pattern. Why change a classic? 'Cause I wanna...if I can. But it might not be possible to make the change I'm contemplating...which might be why "the classic" is a classic. We'll see. Anyway, soft green cotton yarn (and not baby/mint green) with pink flower buttons...

I'm going to go knit now...

Bowl Wrap-up

2009-01-09T02:53:00.001-05:00

1st (24/34): Laura and me
3rd (22/34): Iris and Mary
5th (21/34): Thomas
6th (20/34): Bob and Joe
8th (19/34): Bill
9th (18/34): Lydia
10th (17/34): Caro and Daddy
12th (16/34): Ashley
13th (14/34): Daniel and Joshua
15th (12/34): Mother

The Sixth of the Sixth

2009-01-05T18:55:00.007-05:00

I was tagged on a meme to post the sixth photo in my sixth picture folder. Unfortunately, I recently archived tons of photos off my computer, so there aren't that many folders...and much of what is on my computer now is photos of yarn. *yawn*

So I went to my Flickr account. The sixth-most-recent page of photos is full of yarn pictures, but I can go to my older pictures. I've got 218 pages of photos on Flickr, so I'm pulling the sixth photo from page 213--the sixth page of photos I uploaded there.

Meet Oreo:

This photo was taken 20 November 2005--Oreo's 8th birthday. I adopted her 17 November 2001, and she was wonderful. She was such a good dog that I was prompted to adopt Sam the next year--much to Oreo's dismay. (As you can see from this photo, Sam's tendency to sleep half on top of his sofa-mates is not a recent thing.)

Oreo broke her leg on 29 March 2006. The next day, she died when she threw a pulmonary embolism during orthopedic surgery to implant a pin in her leg. I bawled for days...but I kept a promise to her and put in an adoption application a week after she died. Jacey came home with me on 8 April 2006. A little later that month, I uploaded all my photos of Oreo to my Flickr account.

My first photograph of Oreo, taken 17 November 2001.

I still miss this girl (she'd be 11 now). She was a prodigious smiler: she wrinkled her nose, showed all her teeth, and swirled her tail like a helicopter propeller. She was a good demo-dog in Jen's training class; she'd gamely follow any treat you waved in front of her if you wanted her to "down." (She also greeted Jen by sniffing her pockets. Smart girl.) Oreo frequently growled at Sam when he got out of line, but he quickly learned that she wouldn't hurt him; he just looked off in the distance (rather than facing her head-on) and continued doing what he was doing--pretending that she wasn't right there, growling, hackles up, and all.

Maybe the highest tribute I can pay Oreo is to say that she made it impossible for me not to have greyhounds in my life.

Love you, good girl.

Another Nathan

2009-01-05T02:07:00.003-05:00

This one was only a few days early: Nathan Cole Q., cousin Shari's 7th child (5th son). He was due 4 January but arrived on 30 December 2008. His daddy will be able to claim him as a dependent (on his tax return) for 2008. Nice timing, kid! He'll be getting this.

What's funny is that 40+ years ago, I remember Shari's father hoping she'd be born in December so he could claim her on his tax return for that year...and Shari wasn't born until 8 January.

Bowl update

2009-01-03T21:33:00.000-05:00

The 2nd was a bad bowl day. All three of my picks lost. But I had a win today with Connecticut.

I'm tied for first place with Bob's sister, Laura (it's Alabama's fault). Laura and I have the same picks for the rest of the games (there are three more), so we're going to stay tied--and tied for first. Depending on the results of the last game (Florida v Oklahoma on the 8th), my sister might join Laura and me, but no one else can catch us.

Bowl update

2009-01-02T01:03:00.001-05:00

I have 21 of 27 games, and I'm still in sole possession of first place. With seven games left, it's possible that one nephew might beat me (we differ on four games); it's also possible for three other people to tie with me.

Bowl update

2008-12-31T00:54:00.001-05:00

Quick post before I go to bed (up in 6 hours for work): I'm in first place by two games. Almost all of us had OK State, so losing that one didn't affect my standing. But I had Rice and Iris and Lydia didn't, so that helped me.

Five games on the 31st, five more on the 1st, so there's room for lots of shifting around there.

Oh, and I finished the knitting part of the "emergency" BSJ: have to seam the shoulders, add buttons, edge the neck.

The family's college bowl pool

2008-12-30T02:00:00.003-05:00

No money involved--just bragging rights. And I'd better post now, since the results may be very different in 24 hours.

At present, I am in sole possession of first place in the pool, with 12 of 14 picks right. My sister has 11 of 14. First through fourth places in the pool are held by women. :~D

There are thirty-four bowl games this year.

Jacey smiles...

2008-12-26T17:21:00.002-05:00

I've never gotten a picture of Jacey in full-on smiling mode. That doesn't happen a whole lot. When it does happen, there's no warning: there's just a wiggling, grinning dog about six inches from your face.

But I recently caught her half-awake, with a little sleepy grin:

How'd you like to wake up with that face next to yours on your pillow?

To cat owners...

2008-12-22T19:42:00.005-05:00

The Road Home

2008-12-15T19:32:00.001-05:00

These are the two parts of a greyhound adoption video put together by the local group. The videos explain what happens to the dogs from the time their racing careers end until they reach their homes.

My guys aren't in the moving-video sections, but the group used some still photos, and my two are the last still picture before the logo at the end of the second part. (I sent some photos ages ago but I never knew whether they were going to use any.)

Part 1:

Part 2:

You know the scene in The Music Man where the band is finally about to play something--badly--for the parents? And the parents are screaming, "That's my boy!" Well, that was my reaction seeing Sam and Jacey on the video. :D

Jacey gets it right...

2008-11-17T19:15:00.003-05:00

Jacey is mother's little helper in the kitchen. If she hears the microwave ding--or if she hears me going to the kitchen--she races ahead to "help." (She has been known to knock me out of the way so she can get there first, but that's a different issue.)

One night last week, I was sitting on the sofa, knitting, and Jacey was upstairs sleeping in my bed. The oven timer went off, and I started to the kitchen to get my pizza. I didn't realize that my tiny bit of knitting on its little needle had gotten caught in the leg of my sweatpants. I was all the way to the kitchen when I realized I was unrolling yarn from the ball, across the living room and dining room. And I could hear the pitter-patter of not-so-little feet as Jacey leaped from the bed, galloped down the hall, and started down the stairs.

I had a clear vision of Jacey getting tangled in the yarn. "Caught" isn't something she handles well, and there'd be panic, mayhem, and yarn everywhere. So I just yelled, "Jacey, stop!"

Bless her heart: she left skid marks in the carpet coming to a halt.

So I collected the unrolled yarn and put my knitting safely back in the living room. Then she got praised and patted and loved on. (I didn't give her a treat because I'm trying not to reinforce her belief that my trips to the kitchen automatically mean treats for her.)

Daddy

2008-11-14T19:56:00.003-05:00

My father wrecked his truck last weekend--hit a light post in a parking lot, so not a high-speed impact (the airbag did not deploy), but a rough one. After a week in pain, he finally went to the doctor today: two fractured ribs.

And the insurance adjuster ruled the truck is totaled.

Veterans Day

2008-11-11T19:45:00.003-05:00

John William Ross lied about his age when he joined the army. He was six days past his 15th birthday when the war to end all wars came to a halt on 11 November 1918.

That's Johnny, on the left, and his buddies in post-war Europe. In the 1920 Census, 16-year-old Johnny was in Germany...and reporting his age as 21.

Johnny came home safely from the war, married,* and raised three children. His youngest child is my mother.

*Johnny's wife-to-be gave her age as 18 on the marriage license; she was just past her 17th birthday. Given these precedents, I asked my mother what she lied about. "I had my parents' permission to get married," she told me. (She married at 17, too.)

Miscellanea

2008-11-07T12:39:00.008-05:00

That's a screen shot of a post on a Ravelry forum. That post contained another screenshot from the forum. The avatar I use on Ravelry is the same one I use here (and on LJ, too). On Ravelry, there's a feature that shows a thumbnail screenshot of a Raveler's blog. I figure a screenshot of my blog, which contains two screenshots and the avatar, too, might be fun. Or dizzying. We'll see. (With my luck, the thumbnail-grabber thingy will be broken. I may have to leave this post at the top of my blog for quite a while.)

I've started giving the dogs raw chicken backs or turkey necks occasionally in an effort to minimize the gunk on Jacey's teeth. (Sam's aren't too bad, but they're not great, either.) The dogs had chicken backs last week. Yesterday, I found turkey necks at Kroger, and the dogs each had half a neck for breakfast this morning. Sam's next to me on the sofa, and I was petting him and said, "Did you have a nice breakfast this morning?" Sam just gave one of his sleepy/happy-grunts and snuggled down deeper into the sofa. Six feet away, however, sleeping Jacey heard the word "breakfast" and her head snapped up and she started licking her lips before she even opened her eyes.

(And before someone panics: "Chicken bones! Ack!" Cooked chicken bones are dangerous; they are brittle and can splinter in a dog's stomach or intestinal tract. The bones in raw chicken are softer, and chewing those bones is very good for a dog's teeth. Just don't overdo how much raw chicken you feed your dog. A sudden, extreme change in diet can have a disastrous, um, outcome on your dog's output. My guys got one back each last week, and didn't get another yummy back until three days later.)

(And if you're worried about Salmonella, I'm careful. The raw chicken gets dropped into boiling water for a bit before I give it to the dogs. And I'm a big hand-washer. And if you're worried about Salmonella risks and dog food in general, you might want to look at this. And that's with dry dog food.)

I've gotten some crocheting done. I finished a couple of doilies for friends. There is this one:

The pattern name is "Extravaganza." The doily is 16" x 24" and is white (although the photo looks like it's ecru).

And there's this pinwheel doily:

It's actually a very nice purple that my camera can't handle. This one is 17" in diameter.

I've got several pieces here that I need to package up and send off to people. I should get organized and do it today, especially since my next day off is Tuesday, 11 November, and I'm pretty sure that's a postal holiday.* But I'm pooped (up late last night doing some freelance proofreading), and I just want to vegetate here on the sofa with warm dogs and some knitting. Maybe I'll get the mailed pieces out next Friday, 14 November. Or maybe I could get my butt in gear and mail them before or after work one day.

Nah. Organized? Moi?

*Yes, I just looked it up to be sure. Tuesday is Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day. The ceasefire at the end of World War I occurred (London time) at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

An anniversary

2008-11-04T16:54:00.003-05:00

Mary Ruth ("Dixie") Dunn was born 5 November 1908--one hundred years ago tomorrow. John William ("Johnny") Ross was born five years earlier--5 November 1903. They were married in January 1926. They were my mother's parents.

Yellow was Dixie's favorite color.

Jockeying for space

2008-10-24T23:56:00.003-04:00

It looks like cozy togetherness, with Sam hugging Jacey.

In fact, it's Sam, spreading out of his bed again, and hogging the sofa.

Mind you, Jacey's been known to spill out of her bed recently:

Sam showed up, looking for sofa space, and Jacey growled at him, which is why he's in the floor.

Sometimes, though, when Jacey spills out of the bed and takes up extra space, it's like she's mocking Sam just to make a point...

...which Sam decides to ignore:

Stuff

2008-10-21T22:00:00.000-04:00

There's a fun greyhound picture here.

Last night's fever turned out to be nothing. I went back to work today...and survived.

I'm due back at work about 9 hours from now. Yippee... < /sarcasm>

My boss will never believe it.

2008-10-20T19:12:00.001-04:00

I'm quite sure it's a coincidence that my vacation is over, I go back to work at 10 tomorrow morning...and I'm running a fever.

Togetherness (part 2).

2008-10-20T15:22:00.005-04:00

In an effort to minimize the piling on shown here, I put the dogs' nest beds on the sofa. The dogs like the beds in cooler weather and, in theory, 1 dog = 1 bed.

That worked for a while. But once Sam warmed up, he started spreading out:

A package arrived from Crafts, Etc! today. (That's the on-line component of Hobby Lobby.) Free shipping for orders over $25. Woo-hoo! And with a color of crochet thread I hadn't seen in the stores...

Togetherness.

2008-10-20T01:05:00.003-04:00

Such a nice, cozy scene.

Unless, of course, your name is Jacey-Kasey, and you're the bottom dog in this pile.

But I don't think she objected too much. She stayed there for a couple of hours before she wiggled out from under Sam.

Today (Sunday) was the last official day of my vacation. Monday begins the new work week...but my days off this week will be Monday and Friday, so I don't have to go back until Tuesday. But sometime tomorrow I need to get things organized. I need to repack the whole case of blades, shears, etc., with the newly sharpened things I picked up last week.

In craft news, I started three projects during my vacation...and I haven't finished any of them. But I'm making progress on all of them. And I've won a some eBay auctions for old craft magazines.

Running around

2008-10-16T19:12:00.002-04:00

Busy today.

Pepboys for an oil change and to get a nail removed from a tire, and the tire patched. While I waited, I knit on my February Lady Sweater; it needs another 3 or 4 repeats before I do the garter stitch at the bottom...and then the sleeves.
The veterinary ER to get copies of Sam's bills so I can file a claim with the insurance company. (I still need to go to his own vet to get a couple of more, I think. Maybe will do that Saturday morning...and take Jacey to get a current weight on her with their scales.)
The library to pick up a book on hold: Now, Voyager. (Just glancing at it, I think it starts with the cruise where Charlotte Vale meets Jerry Durrance.)
The county satellite office to vote: not. You can vote now if you go to the county's central location (someplace on Whitlock), but you can't vote at the other satellite offices until the week before the election. I'll try again, then.
A Minute Clinic for a flu shot, and (surprise!) it was completely covered by the company health plan. (And, as always after a flu shot, I now have a sore throat. It's never the flu shot, when this happens; it's always allergies.)
Costco--for lots of stuff: dog chews, chicken jerky for the dogs, sausage biscuits for me, a DVD of Meet Me in St Louis, three pairs (in one package) of magnifying specs for needlework. And lots of Diet Coke at a good price.

Tomorrow, I'm going up to my parents' place in the mountains. A cousin-in-law is in town for a friend's wedding, and she came in a day early so she could visit with my folks...and my sister and me if we could make it. So I'll drive up to see my parents for the first time in several weeks...and see Margo, too. I'll take some of my recent projects so Mother can see what I've been up to.

Vacation is nearly over, but I've seen next week's work schedule. I'm scheduled off for Monday and Friday, so I actually get to extend my vacation by one day.

A break

2008-10-14T22:04:00.003-04:00

No training today. I had errands to run.

In yesterday's training, Sam tried a new approach. I wanted him to down, and he was balking. I put my hand with the treats down on the ground, palm down, so the treats were under my fingers. Sam kept sniffing at my hand, trying to get around the fingers somehow so he could get the treat. Finally, he reached out with his paw and raked at my hand to move it out of the way, hoping that would leave the treat behind.

Son, it'd be much easier if you'd just down when I tell you to.

Lessons Learned

2008-10-13T13:42:00.003-04:00

We had another training session this morning.

Lesson 1. Sam's not 100% sure which is sit and which is down. Actually, I think he does know, but he doesn't like sit, so if you're trying to get him to hold a sit, it won't happen; he'll collapse into his nice-looking down. We need to work on this.

Lesson 2. Jacey will happily give you her version of sit. And she's ambi-sit-erous.

Lesson 3. The dog trainer has learned to take out only one mat and move it from dog to dog as needed. I'd like the waiting dog to stay on his or her toes, drool, and look interested.

In other news: the striped Clapotis is going well. I've done two of the drops:

* * *

In the afternoon session, I concentrated on down with Jacey. I thought if I could get her to do a good down--like Sam's pictured above--I might be able to work backwards to a decent sit.

No such luck. Jacey doesn't do down the way Sam does...the way Oreo did, the way every greyhound I've ever seen has done. She lies down on one hip; her back half is on its side before her front half hits the ground. I tried Jen's method: I sat on a low stool and held the treat down low, under my legs. She gave me an exasperated look ("Mom, you're making me do a lot of work for this treat"), and then settled herself down on her side.

I've never seen her do down in the usual Sphinx pose. I'd wonder if she had some sort of injury, except that I've seen her do a lovely, perfectly balanced sit without prompting since I've had her. Also, she does her wonky sits on either hip, and she's not indicating that there's any pain either way.

Hmm...maybe I need to try to find a hill and see if that'll change her approach.

And then there was Plan B...

2008-10-12T21:53:00.006-04:00

The white Clapotis is getting pretty wide (and I hadn't finished the increases in Section 2), and I'm starting to wonder if there's enough yarn for a decent length. I think there may not be...unless I rip back some of what I've worked. I don't have a good scale at home (I have a lame postal scale; there's a request for a good gram-scale on my birthday/Christmas wish list), but I think what I've done so far has used too much of the yarn to leave enough for a decent-sized middle section. And, the more I look at the "drape" of what I've done, the less happy I am with it. That lovely yarn deserves better.

After I finished bathing dogs at the SEGA kennel, I stopped by JoAnn's to return something I'd bought...and I wound up buying more yarn.

This is a bulky, fuzzy, and very pretty self-striping acrylic yarn. And it's making a lovely Clapotis.

On size 7 needles, this is working up into a nice, smooth, evenly stitched Clapotis, and it's striping very nicely. I'll work with this one, I think, and frog the white Clapotis. I can try again with the white yarn once I get a scale and can measure out the right proportions (and I'll use smaller needles). The general guideline says that a Clapotis uses 20% of its yarn in Sections 1 & 2, 20% in Sections 4 & 5, and 60% in Section 3. I think I'm at close to 25% of the white yarn in the incomplete Sections 1 & 2, and without a good scale I'd have a hard time trying to figure the amount of yarn to reserve for Sections 4 & 5. There's less of a problem figuring how much to reserve on the striped Clapotis, since I can estimate how much yarn to reserve based on the color repeats in the yarn, rather than trying to get an accurate weight.

Bathed some lovely dogs at the kennel, including the drop-dead gorgeous 3-year-old littermates Seco Twix and Seco Reeses.* Sam and Jacey went nuts when I got home and they got a whiff of greyhound all over my pants. They know when I've been around greyhounds instead of Labs or Goldens or Cockers.

*Reeses and Twix are part of a five-dog litter that included Seco Almond Joy, Seco Hershey, and Seco Mr Goodbar. The big boy, Reeses (he raced at 80 pounds), was a lackluster racer (23 races, twice finished first); sister Twix was better (37 races, six first-place finishes). Almond Joy, Hershey, and Mr Goodbar were much worse. All five candy-bar kids were red fawn dogs, and the two now in SEGA's hands are stunningly beautiful, and very calm, well-behaved dogs.

A Clapotis

2008-10-12T09:51:00.004-04:00

Friday evening, I started making a Clapotis with lovely Kraemer Silk and Sterling Silver yarn on size 5 needles. (The original pattern calls for worsted weight yarn on size 7s. Kraemer is a fingering weight yarn: 63% superwash merino, 20% silk, 15% nylon and 2% silver fibers--machine wash, dry flat.) (Oh, the February Lady Sweater is going well. It's just getting a bit heavy to work on constantly, so it's resting...and so are my wrists.)

I dropped a few stitches out of the middle of a row at one point. (I put my knitting down midrow, and some of the stitches had slipped off when I picked it back up.) The drop happened at the point where you "K1 twisted, sm, K1, K1 twisted" and the stitches had pulled loose for a couple of rows. I couldn't figure out how to retwist the stitches, so I pulled the whole thing off the needles, intending to frog a few rows, then pick everything back up.

Big mistake. Once you pull the yarn off the needles, your markers no longer are in place. And if you can't read your knitting well enough to judge twisted stitches, then you are in trouble when it comes to figuring out where you are, which stitches need to be twisted, and which stitches desperately need not to be twisted. (This is a pattern where, eventually, you'll deliberately drop a stitch and let it ravel back down, leaving a long crossbar.)

Well, the pattern is easy, so I ripped the whole thing Friday night and started over again on Saturday. This time, I've got markers, I've purled the K1 stitches (where you'll drop stitches, eventually, but it's easier to read "K1 twisted, sm, P1, K1 twisted"), and I've used lifelines. It's a sort of belt-and-suspenders approach--only I've got belt, suspenders, and, um, duct tape.

By the end of Saturday--with some lazy knitting and a couple of dog training sessions--I was almost completely through the first two sections of the scarf (stole? shawl? something long and rectangle-ish?). It's going well, and I really do like the pattern (enough to do it again and again--obviously).

But I kept thinking it looked too loose. Part of the uneven appearance is that the twisted stitches make a different appearance in your work. But still, I was thinking I could frog all of Saturday's work on size 5s and start over on the smaller size 4s. I got up this morning, though, and looked on Ravelry again. Rather than hunt through 8,053 Clapotis projects, searching for ones in Kraemer, I decided to search through 145 projects in Kraemer, looking for Clapotis projects or other projects with nice stretches of stockinette to see what size needles people used. I found a couple of very nice Clapotis projects that were made with size 7 needles (and only a single skein of yarn--I'm feeling better about my having "only" two skeins). And I found another beautiful piece that used 6s.

I'll stick with the 5s. And if I hate it at the end, I'll frog it and reknit with 4s or something.

It's much longer than this, now. This was just a couple of repeats into Section 2 of the pattern. By Saturday night, I'd finished 5 of the 6 repeats in Section 2.

Triple protection: markers, purled stitches, and a lifeline.

In a little bit, I'm heading to SEGA's kennels for a bit more busman's holiday: I'm helping to bathe new arrivals. I've put on work clothes; these work pants may be made of nasty nylon, but they dry super-fast.

Jacey is catching on.

2008-10-11T16:48:00.004-04:00

No training sessions yesterday. I was gone running errands for much of the day. But we've had two sessions today.

First session, Jacey realized that click = treat. She would turn to me, mouth open, when she heard the click. For touch-the-cup, I stacked the deck a bit. When I give her a treat, she inevitably checks the ground after her treat to look for crumbs. I put the cup right under her nose, so that when she checked the ground, she'd bump the cup with her nose. Click!

By the afternoon session, she was realizing that the white plastic cup was important. She got all excited when I brought it out. (Sam jumped in the air when he saw it.)

By the end of today's session, both dogs were responding the same way to the white cup. They'd touch it with their noses. I'd click. They'd move toward me for treats. They'd get a treat. Then I'd stand with my treat-hand firmly clenched behind my back; just stand there. Sometimes the dog would move around behind me and sniff at my hand. Finally, without any cues from me, the dog would go back over to the cup and nose it again.

Bingo! Both dogs have gone from click = treat to cup = click = treat. Next up--for Jacey: learning that touching the cup isn't the only way to earn that click.

Meanwhile, I've got to find something else to use for treats. The Pet Botanics I've been using contains wheat. It isn't much, so I wasn't worried; but in the evening, after training, Sam's gas is pretty awful. Both dogs will work for plain kibble, so I might just go with that for a while. (I firmly suspect either dog would eat styrofoam peanuts if he/she thought the other dog was eating them.) If kibble's attraction starts to pall, I'll go back to nice, smelly, turkey franks (Oreo always adored those). But training with kibble would be much easier for me--much less messy, and I've always got some on hand.

P.S. I've also realized I need to take mats outside for the dogs when we start working on sit and down. Sam has already made it clear that he doesn't like sitting on concrete. Neither dog is likely to sit/down and hold it if it's uncomfortable.

Jacey training...

2008-10-09T16:22:00.004-04:00

I had intended to work on training Jacey while I'm on vacation. I've done nothing about it before today, however. Today, though, we had two sessions. (We're in the front of the condo, with Sam hooked to a post in the carport and Jacey hooked to the dog anchor. Each can see the other, but can't interfere with the other's training. While I work with one, the other stands there, drooling.)

I'm clicker-training using techniques I learned in a class with Jen Bachelor when I trained Oreo. Sam got the benefits of Oreo's training, because he was here when I practiced at home with her. Happily, he came to me knowing sit and down from fostering with Paul and Sientay; but he learned the game of touch-the-cup* (a "trick" that gets a dog used to the idea of offering good behavior in order to get a click and treat) and excels at it, even all these years later.

Jacey doesn't yet understand what the click means. That's okay; she'll catch on to that soon.

She's offering behavior to get a treat--that part she understands. Only she's offering the most godawful sit** (rolled all the way over on her hip) when we're playing touch the cup (because she's not sure what I want). I hate to not reward her for offering the behavior, but I hate to click to reward her for (a) wrong behavior and (b) awful form.

What's funny is that, now and then, during pauses on walks, she'll do the most beautiful sit. I've always praised her when she's done it, but it doesn't happen often.

And when I try to teach sit by holding her leash and moving the treat over her head, she follows the treat as far back as she can turn her head, then loses focus on the treat and starts looking around.

Lack of food motivation is never this girl's problem. She's been known to push me out of the way so she can get to the kitchen before I do, even though she knows there's nothing for her to eat until I get there.

I've posted questions on Jen's blog. I'd love to take Jacey to classes, but my work schedule never matches up with Jen's class schedule.

Saturday, at Greyfest:

*In touch-the-cup, you reward the dog for nose-touching a cup on the ground. The idea is that the dog learns that she can make the trainer click--learns that the clicks aren't random, but are generated by the dog's own behavior. Sam understands: he whirls around to touch the cup before he's finished swallowing the last treat you gave him. Once, today, when I was having trouble getting treats out of my pocket, he'd touch the cup, turn back to me, turn back to the cup and touch it again, back to me, back to the cup and really nudge it hard--as if the cup was doing something wrong and letting him down. ;)

**The awful sit she's offering is what she gives me in her crate when I tell her to settle before I'll open the door and let her out.

Some progress...

2008-10-08T20:11:00.003-04:00

It's called the February Lady Sweater, and it's coming along:

The color's just a bit darker than that photo, and the yarn is very soft.

Yesterday I hauled blades and shears and clippers off to be repaired. It's expensive, but necessary--and tax deductible. I also went to a famous Atlanta-area LYS; I bought a couple of circular needles there, but I wasn't just bowled over by anything fibery.

I'm collecting lots of junk mail and other recyclable stuff. Friday is the Cobb County Library sale, and it's in the same neighborhood as the county's recycling facility, so I'll kill a couple of stones with one trip--buy new books and dump recycling. And the grocery store on the way home, afterwards.

And lots more knitting. And maybe a trip to the Kennesaw LYS.

And in economic news, today...

2008-10-07T13:38:00.005-04:00

I got an emailed alert from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Dow dips below 200

Stocks dipped below 200 points in quiet trading today as investors appeared to adopt a wait-and-see approach to the range of options the Federal Reserve has laid out to inject the sluggish credit markets with a dose of much-needed confidence.

The only on-line way I could see to reach them quickly was to use their "news tips" email address, so I emailed them a message with the following subject line: "News tip: AJC causes stock crash and panic"

In my message, I pointed out to them that there's a difference between dropping 200 points and dipping below 200 points. (Basically, there's a more than 7,000-point difference.) I suggested they might want to correct their message. Soon.

Honestly. If they're going to mail you "news alerts," they could make an effort to get them right.

We now return you to your regular programming...

Happy Gotcha Day!

2008-10-05T09:19:00.003-04:00

Six years ago today, I took Sam home with me to be the bane of Oreo's existence.

Then...

...and now.

Happy Gotcha Day, Sam!

More knittin' stuff...

2008-10-04T19:50:00.005-04:00

(Yeah, three posts in one day. But I'm catching up on stuff I haven't had time to post about.)

I finished my grown-up's Baby Surprise Jacket.

That is the most color-accurate photo I've gotten. This is the texture of the yarn--which is Lion Brand Homespun:

Homespun is an acrylic yarn (Were you paying attention to the previous post?), so this is fine over a shirt with sleeves, but it's not going to be comfortable on bare arms. That's fine.

I'm also starting the February Lady Sweater. It's another wear-over-something sweater, and I'm knitting it in an acrylic yarn.

The sweater has lacy panels, and since this is an acrylic yarn, I'll need to kill the acrylic to make the lace panels open up properly and stay open without repeated blocking. Here's a good use for that technique.

And I placed an order for yarn from KnitPicks last Sunday, and the yarn arrived Thursday.

There's this:

That's merino wool in a laceweight--880 yards. And this:

That's merino laceweight--Oregon Coast Heather--1320 yards. And this:

That's merino laceweight--Midnight Heather--2200 yards.

I'm planning to knit some lacy shawls from all this yarn. I might wind up donating the shawls to SEGA to sell at the silent auction--while I take a tax write-off for the yarn. I get to have the fun of the knitting, and recoup the expense of the yarn. Yay!

When I kill 'em, they stay killed.

2008-10-04T18:46:00.005-04:00

When you stitch something with a natural fiber like cotton or wool, you block it when you've finished, to make the piece assume the proper size and shape. Usually, this involves washing the piece (usually by hand), squeezing out the extra water, and laying the piece out at the right size and shape, often by pinning the piece. (It's what I've done to doilies.) You let the piece dry, and you're done...until you wash the piece again. Any time you wash the piece in its long life, you probably will have to block again. (An exception is something like a sweater that might not need special shaping. But doilies, or lace--yep, you have to re-block.)

But man-made fibers are a whole different game. Acrylics don't block well. You can wash, pin, let dry, unpin, and just watch the whole silly thing curl up or go back to its original shape and size.

But there's a procedure called "killing the acrylic."* You wash your project, pin it out nicely (so far, like regular blocking)...and then you steam the livin' daylights out of it. You have to be careful not to touch the yarn with the hot iron (there's a difference between killing the acrylic and cremating it), since acrylic will melt under that much heat. (It's why they don't make potholders out of acrylic yarn.) But you can put a damp towel over your piece while you iron, or you can just hold the iron over the piece and shoot steam jets at it. Then you let the piece dry again before you unpin it.

People who have done this to acrylic yarn say that the yarn becomes softer and has a nicer drape, and that it holds its blocked shape--permanently. (The good news is that you only block once. The bad news is that you only block once. You'd better get it right. And don't, for cryin' out loud, wash an acrylic item in superhot water and dry on a high dryer heat.)

So--does nylon count as an acrylic? "Acrylic" is such a generic name. Are there some acrylics that killing doesn't work with?

I once bought some nylon crochet thread. (The thread used for doilies usually is 100% cotton.) In fact, I've bought a few spools of it, but I'd never used the nylon for a doily. But in the interest of scientific research, I thought I'd see if killing the acrylic works for nylon.

So I crocheted a doily. I had a variegated thread in bright colors, so I chose a pattern than didn't have lots of textured stitches on top of other stitches (that doesn't show well in variegated thread). The nylon thread is a bit thinner than conventional doily thread, I think, and my doily came out a bit smaller than the size specified:

At this point, the unblocked doily measured about 12 inches; the pattern specified 16 inches. So I washed it and pinned it out. Stretched out for blocking, it was about 13.5 inches--still smaller than the pattern specs. I steamed it some while it was pinned. I let it dry overnight while pinned.

After it dried, I steamed it--with my Rowenta Steam 'n Press iron, which has a protective piece you can put on the bottom of the iron to make sure the baseplate doesn't touch the fiber. I let that sit overnight to dry. I took it off the blocking board and let it sit. The doily drew up some after it was unpinned, and went back to 12 inches unless I stretched it again. So, figure it really wants to be 12 inches.

Then I rewashed the doily and just tossed it on the blocking board, spread it out by hand, and made sure none of the picots were bent out of shape. I let it dry overnight, and it stayed nicely round, picots flat, and 12 inches.

It's not going to take special efforts to block it, so it looks like I've successfully killed the nylon. It's nice to know this is going to be possible on future doilies; I've just got to compensate for the size issues since this thread is finer.

*The joke goes like this: An inexperienced knitter asks "What's 'killing the acrylic'?" and the smart-ass knitter answers, "Red Heart." This is a knitter's in-joke; Red Heart Super Saver yarn is sort of the fast food of yarn. It's reasonably inexpensive, comes in some pretty colors, but is uncomfortable to wear (hot and it feels rough) and doesn't block at all. But it does wear well--machine wash and dry--making it a very good yarn for afghans.

Vacation: 1st of 16

2008-10-04T17:40:00.001-04:00

My vacation started today. I'm off work through 19 October. (Two discretionary days and two weeks of vacation.)

I spent the day doing nail trims and cleaning ears at Greyfest, the local rescue group's annual festival. I did about $310 in business: that's about 20 dogs for nails and ears, and another 16 for nails only.

I think I'm getting old. Nail trims on greyhounds involve getting down to ground level to do the back nails on both feet (lift the feet backwards, as if you are shoeing a horse); while you're on the ground, shift over to do the front foot on that same side. Then, stand up, move around to the other side of the dog, and get back to ground level to do the other front foot. And stand up again.

Greyhounds aren't sturdy enough dogs to haul you up from the ground: that was about 36 dogs times down-on-the-ground twice per dog, and I had to haul myself back to my feet every time.

One woman suggested I should get a stool I could push against to stand up. I said I'd prefer a strapping young man to haul me to my feet. I'll have to see what I can negotiate for next year.

Sam and Jacey went, too, and now are sleeping off their day of barking, whining, jumping, and barking some more. I have some freelance proofreading to do tonight for a client.

Day 1 of the vacation has been very much a busman's holiday.

Day 2 features a condo association board meeting. (Be still, my heart.)

Now, Voyager is on TCM tonight. Tomorrow is Anna Karenina, The Spiral Staircase, Romeo and Juliet, and The King and I. Think I'm going to give my condo proxy to someone else so I can stay home and knit...and watch movies.

The Hat Trick

2008-10-01T15:58:00.006-04:00

The 2009 calendar for SEGA will feature photos of greyhounds in hats. I didn't get any pictures taken by the deadline, but I decided to try for something today--post-deadline.

It's a big hat. And a windy day.

Sam says, "Howdy, pardner!" (*Who turned off the lights?*)

I posted these pictures on my Live Journal blog, and a friend there commented that Jacey looks like she's wondering why her "bowl" is empty.

My favorite "hat trick":

Making progress

2008-10-01T00:33:00.004-04:00

The two baby-sized BSJs are finished. They're worked in Lion Brand Cotton-Ease on size 7 needles. They'll fit 18-month-old babies (19" chest):

The grown-up sized BSJ is nearly finished. (It's just been too warm to hold a lapful of yarn.)

I've started a doily in variegated nylon thread. I'm planning to try to "kill the nylon" after I finish the doily, to see if that activity makes a permanently-blocked doily. I'll document my results. I've worked 24 of the 29 rounds. This picture is just through the first 10 or so rounds.

Believe it or not, the thread is even brighter than it shows in the photograph. And it's shiny, too. (Ooooo, shiny!)

I ordered some DPNs from Knitpicks and some laceweight yarn. The DPNs were a set on sale (sizes 0-3, for socks) and a set of #5s I need for another project. I ordered 880 yards of laceweight merino yarn in white; 3 skeins (440 yards each) of Knitpicks Shadow, Oregon Coast Heather (greys, greens, and light tans); and 5 skeins (440 yards each) of Knitpicks Shadow, Midnight Heather (dark blue). That was just enough to put me over $50 to get free shipping.

I found gas today, at the 8th station I checked. This means I have enough to get me safely through the weekend.

Jacey copies her mom.

2008-09-26T21:06:00.003-04:00

I'm on the sofa, knitting a baby sweater. Jacey is lying on the dog bed at my feet. (Sam is asleep next to me.)

As I try to pull out more yarn from the skein, there's a snag. Literally. The yarn doesn't move freely.

I look down and find Jacey, chin and forefoot resting on my ball of yarn.

When I ask her to move, she looks up, then rolls over on her side...and clutches my ball of yarn between her front feet.

Wonder if she wants to go to the LYS with me on my next trip. Clutching yarn, squeezing yarn, petting yarn...

She'd probably enjoy it.

It's been quiet.

2008-09-24T19:50:00.003-04:00

It's been very quiet. I've been knitting my fingers off--and sent two items (a crocheted doily and a knitted feather-and-fan scarf) off to SEGA to sell in the silent auction at Greyfest. I'm working on two baby sweaters, and I'm playing with the pattern, frogging, and reknitting to get decreases I like. (I've gotten the kinks out of the increases--that part's fine.)

I like this one. Tidy and unobtrusive.

Less happy with this one. Too "look-at-me" obvious.

I've bought yarn for a third baby sweater and for two me-sweaters (a Wonderful Wallaby and a February Lady Sweater), and I'm still working on Sam's sweater, although it hasn't gone well. (I frogged back three inches of gacked up ribbing. Sam wouldn't care, but I would. And I can knit better than that--usually.)

I have vacation time coming up and no money to go anywhere. I'm planning to stay home and knit and listen to audio books. The first day of vacation is Greyfest, so that will be busy and hectic. Day 2 of vacation is the condo association board meeting (blech!), and I may give my proxy to someone else and let them be bored witless; I think we're not expecting any fights this year. There's also the Cobb County Library sale, held on the second weekend of my vacation. And I have to run a bunch of errands: get grooming tools sharpened (ack! $$$!), get paperwork signed so I can file insurance claims on the expensive Sam, and I'll early-vote.

Let's see: the third baby sweater, two me-sweaters, Sam's sweater, a doily for a friend who's just moved to a new place, and a full queue of other things on Ravelry. Oh, and the Molly Weasley sweater to knit and crochet. And only 16 days off. I think I'm gonna need a time warp.

The dogs are fine. Things are very slow at work, so I came home at lunchtime, grabbed the dogs, and took them back with me for baths. The clean dogs are sulking a bit--but they smell very nice, and have clean ears and Dremeled-short nails.

Elephants never forget...

2008-09-14T20:54:00.003-04:00

...or so they say.

Neither do greyhounds.

Sam is sprawled on his back here on the sofa, sound asleep. He's got his front legs stretched out, with his feet in my face. I can touch his right foot--wiggle his toenails, poke his toes, play with the joints--and he continues to sleep soundly.

Touch the scar on his left foot? His eyes snap open and he looks at me, all offended-like. He gives a big, huffy sigh, and rolls onto his side, with his feet safely out of my reach.

Oh, well. It's one way to get his feet out of my face. ;)

Sunday's weather...

2008-09-12T18:45:00.003-04:00

I was looking at the forecast on www.pollen.com--lots of ragweed here. Sunday's weather--aside from the ragweed issue--looks like it'll be a problem:

Dewpoint: 819F ??

Kissing Cousins--Not!

2008-09-10T00:45:00.000-04:00

Greys Robin Hood is a greyhound in foster care here in Georgia. He's a very tall, very long, 80-pound white-with-black 3-year-old greyhound. With a high prey-drive.

I saw his photo on a friend's blog and thought he looked a lot like my 5-year-old Jacey, so I went to the Greyhound Racing and Breeding Database and entered Robin and Jacey (fka Pinerun Torri) so that both dogs would show up on the same screen. It turns out they're cousins (that's first cousins once removed). Jacey's grandpa and Robin's great-grandpa are the same, a dog named Greys Statesman. (Greys Statesman is Jacey's only US-registered grandparent; the other three were all registered in Ireland.)

Robin's markings are very distinctive. The boy's got a patch of white that looks like a Texas Longhorn. You can see his interesting logomark--and hear a bit more about him--on my friend's blog here.

Start-itis

2008-09-09T23:46:00.005-04:00

Monday was my day off. I was up late Sunday night working on a proofreading job. Then I got up early Monday to work on files for the greyhound group (premium lists for upcoming lure coursing events...I've got one page of forms left to create). I worked on the files all day, but by evening I was itching to get my hands on some yarn.

I've been asked to test a dog sweater pattern. The pattern is for a crocheted sweater. The pattern comes in 16 sizes (or something like that). I've looked at the pattern, and I don't like it. Crocheting to the gauge given is going to create a very stiff sweater that nearly could stand up on its own (armor-plated winter wear, anyone?). Crochet doesn't stretch the way knitted fabrics do, and this pattern is going to require you to haul the dog's feet through armholes, something that's do-able on a knitted sweater, but not-so-much on a crocheted one. And because greyhounds are such big dogs, making the sweater would take a lot of time. I don't want to invest that kind of time on a sweater I'll never force Sam into. So I think I'm going to bail on testing the pattern. I know the designer will be disappointed, but I'm not going to feel guilty about this.

So, of course, having been all-kinds-of-disappointed with this crocheted sweater project, I started a new sweater for Sam--a knitted one. I got some lovely Lion Brand Wool-Ease (80% acrylic, 20% wool, and machine washable and dryable) in a blue heather:

There's forest green heather for Jacey:

The pattern is a side-buttoning sweater designed specifically for greyhounds. It has a turtleneck that can be folded down or left unfolded for better protection for the dog's ears. Rather than forcing the dog's legs through armholes, there's a chest-flap that goes under the dog's chest and buttons at the side (no fumbling for buttons under the dog, where you can't see them). It's a very simple rib-stitch pattern, but there are nice finishing features that make this a very professional pattern. The pattern is available as a free PDF.

At this point, I now have three sweaters on needles: a tank top and an adult BSJ for me, and the sweater for Sam. I don't have any crochet projects in the works right now, although I need to make a Kitty Squid for a coworker's cats. I finally got photos of the Square Flair doily once the blocking was finished:

That's 21" square, in ecru thread.

Wednesday night I'll try to finish the greyhound files so I can email the PDFs to the event field chairman. I work an early shift on Thursday, and after work I want to go to the Hobby Lobby in Austell. (I've never shopped at that one; among other things, I want to get aluminum size 8 DPNs if I can find them.) I'm off work on Friday, and I hope to get some knitting done. The weather forecast this week calls for thunderstorms, and I hope we'll get some nice rain. But, in the usual way of forecasts, today's "60% chance of thunderstorms" translated into overcast skies--and no rain.

The dogs are fine. And lazy. Jacey's weight may finally be starting to budge...in the right direction.

Three days off.

2008-09-04T22:22:00.004-04:00

Three consecutive days off. That doesn't happen often.

But I worked on Labor Day, and I've been off Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Back to work for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It's been lovely.

* * *

Sam's foot is healing very well. The staples came out a week ago today. The scab is all gone. There's scar tissue, some of which may be hidden once his shaved hair grows back. He's been a very good patient. Well, good except for the screaming part. ;)

* * *

I spent most of my time off working on a doily that got out of hand. I finished the stitching today, and the doily is blocking now.

The doily pattern is called Square Flair, and it was designed by the legendary Elizabeth Hiddleson. The pattern was published in the June 1987 issue of Magic Crochet. The directions specified "US Size 7" for the hook size to produce a doily that was 17" square; the directions didn't specify hook size in mm. I used a Boye size 7, 1.65 mm, but I now think the magazine meant a Bates size 7, 1.50 mm. My finished doily is 21" square, and I had to buy additional thread since the 310 yards specified in the magazine didn't get me even close. I generally hit gauge or, on patterns with tall stitches like this one's treble-crochet, I fall short of gauge. This one is so much larger than specified that I think the hook size has to be the cause. I've left warning notes on the pattern entry on Ravelry, so future stitchers can be warned about the size. Size and gauge in a doily generally aren't critical...unless you're making something to fit a specific space. The doily blocks out just fine, and I'll post better photos once I get this off the blocking board.

* * *

One stitcher on Ravelry has made herself a woman's-medium-sized "baby surprise jacket" using three skeins of Lion Brand Homespun, size 13 needles, and the original BSJ pattern. I had three skeins of Lion Brand Homespun, I bought a size 13 circular needle, and I'm knitting away to see what I get. I like the colors in the yarn (they don't photograph well): there's green, purple, blue, and red.

The other Raveler modified the pattern in a way I'm not crazy about, but it used less yarn that way, and I might need to do something like that. We'll see.

* * *

I haven't used any of my vacation time this year. I have 10 vacation days and 2 discretionary days to use, and I've signed up to take off from 4 October through 19 October. That will have me off for Greyfest (the 4th), then the next two weeks...three weekends in total. I can't afford to go anywhere, but I'm looking forward to two weeks of knitting and crocheting while I listen to audio books, hanging out quietly with the dogs, and doing a bit of cleaning around here. It'll be days* like the last three have been, and I'm going to enjoy it.

*These last three days, I've listened to Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, and A Morbid Taste for Bones on audio books.

Sam scares someone else.

2008-08-28T17:22:00.007-04:00

Before

When Sam hurt his leg and had to get staples, the ER vet said the staples could come out in 12 days. That means today (Thursday the 28th), so we went to the vet's this afternoon to get the staples pulled.

Sam's favorite vet tech was there, and he was going to pull the staples. Raymond touched the first staple, and Sam screamed.
Bloody.
Murder.

Poor Raymond was so surprised that he dropped everything: Sam's foot, the staple remover--everything. I was slightly less surprised, having encountered Mr Stoic(Not) before. (In the past, Sam has handled muscle cramps about as well as he handled his staples today.)

Sam was muzzled. I figured Raymond and I would feel like idiots if Sam bit one of us when I had the muzzle right there with me. To his credit, Sam didn't even try.

He just screamed.

He screamed when Raymond pulled staples. He screamed when Raymond touched his foot. He screamed when Raymond looked at his foot.

To complicate matters, Sam had been such a very good patient--leaving his staples alone--and the skin had started to grow over the staples. Raymond really had to dig for a couple of them. And Raymond was very apologetic.

I was not very helpful: I got the giggles. For one thing, I knew it couldn't possibly be as painful as Sam was making out since Sam continued to scream when nothing was happening. And I'm a dog groomer. We get dogs who scream over nail trims or ear plucking--and dogs who start screaming and keep screaming even when nothing is happening. It's always embarrassing when it happens: you want to hold both hands in the air and show everyone that you really aren't maiming the little screaming baby. So I knew how Raymond was feeling, and I think it relieved him that I knew Sam was overreacting. Around the vet clinic, vets on the phone with owners got off quickly before the people they were talking to could hear Sam's screams. Pet owners in the waiting room fully expected us to come out of the exam room with a cringing, crying, bloody dog.

Once the last of the four staples came out, we took off Sam's muzzle. Sam then got cookies--at least two of them--and got hugged and petted by Raymond. The vet stuck his head in, too, after he finished his phone call, and sympathized with the poor traumatized boy.

Then Sam trotted out to the waiting room as if nothing had happened. Now he's home, and sleeping the sleep of the exhausted dog.

After

My only question now: How on earth did the ER vets get the staples in his leg without his screaming like this?

Edited to add: Sam has never let out so much as a whimper during regular vet visits: shots, microchipping, drawing blood--Sam takes all that in stride. (So have both the girls.)

Tonight

2008-08-25T21:25:00.002-04:00

Today, I worked some more on my tank top as I listened to a Mansfield Park audiobook:

Now I've also started on a complicated doily: three charts, complicated instructions--the works! And I'm watching Notorious, with the original mother-in-law from hell, who sits and stitches neatly as her daughter-in-law drinks poison. Back to work tomorrow.

2008 Ravelympics--Recap

2008-08-25T00:01:00.005-04:00

First, Sam: The foot looks lovely. His staples are still in place and he hasn't licked at it much. He tried licking, and I sprayed with Bitter Yuck. The next time I looked at him, he was carefully licking around the staples, getting the Bitter Yuck off his foot. I don't think the taste is going to deter him. ;) But he's the boy who likes grapefruit juice, so why should I be surprised? I'll call the vet's office Monday morning to schedule an appointment with a tech to get the staples pulled on Thursday.

Meanwhile, it's Antibiotics 3, Sam 0. Now that he's off the Cephalexin, he's really having digestive tract issues. I'm glad I'm home with him tomorrow. I have a hunch he may be getting bland rice for breakfast.

* * *

The 2008 Summer Olympics has come to an end, and so has the 2008 Ravelympics. You can see my "medals" in a row down the side of my blog; some of those are "multiple" medals because I completed more than one item for that event. Here's what I told y'all I had queued up, and info on my progress:

The camera? It came back from Sony on Friday (it was gone for three weeks). I took pictures of the baby jacket and the "repaired" pictures look exactly like the unacceptable photos from before. The camera and I--and the baby jacket--are going back to Best Buy tomorrow, I think, for a little chat.

Entered in "WIPs Wrestling" (i.e., wrestling your WIPs--works in progress--into completion), I have two items:
A Baby Surprise Jacket for baby number 7 for my cousin Shari (due in January).

It's done:
(Photo is color-adjusted in Corel.)

The other WIP is a vintage doily:

I finished the doily, disliked the border, ripped it out and redid it:

Entered in "Baby Dressage" and "Gift Knits Pentathlon" are two pairs of crocheted booties: one for Shari's baby and one for coworker Trina's baby boy (due in November). These will be made using yarn left from the BSJs.

They're done (lots of color adjusting on the photo of the purple booties):

I've queued up three doilies (also Gift Knits Pentathlon as well as Homestuff Hammerthrow). One uses DMC Cebelia in ecru. The other two, both using the same pattern, will be multicolored doilies. The ecru doily will take several days--or even a week. The multicolored doilies are from a book entitled "Easy One-Day Doilies," but I've made two other designs from this book and they took longer than a day, so I'm not expecting too much.

The ecru doily went very well. I'm not posting pictures here, though, because it's going to someone on my LJ friends list; if you want to look you can find it on my Flickr account. (There's a 2008 Ravelympics set there.) The two multicolored doilies from a single pattern were horrendous: an unnecessarily complicated design early on; about the time I beat that part of the pattern into submission, I tripped over an instruction on Round 8 that I didn't realize I'd gotten wrong until I started Round 11. Since I was working both doilies at the same time, I was going to have to frog lots of work on two versions of a pattern I really was starting to hate. I was rescued by a friend saying she'd happily give the two partial doilies a home at her house. I was glad to abandon those two:

I've also queued up two thread bookmarks (Gift Knits Pentathlon), one in light blue and one in mauve.

Success:

I've queued up the Mermaid scarf pattern (Gift Knits Pentathlon and Scarf Stroke), set to use up some mango-colored Microspun yarn.

I started this one and seriously disliked the pattern (Good heavens! 40 stitch markers?) So I hunted around for a more workable pattern and found a feather-and-fan knitted pattern. One skein and size 8 needles netted me a 6" x 42" scarf, shown here with the 2008 Ravelympics commemorative pin:

(The creators of the Ravelry site have a Boston Terrier named Bob. Bob has become the official site mascot. His image is on the Ravelry medals and on the pin. Bob's quite a celebrity on the site.)

And, by way of a triple-whammy entry (Amigurumi 'n Toy Toss, Pets Pommel Horse, and Gift Knits Pentathlon), I've queued up four versions of a pattern called Kitty Squid. It's a cat toy that will use up odd bits of leftover yarn.

Done. Meet the Kitty Squid Squad:

Other projects didn't get done: Sheldon the turtle is still queued up. The Paw Cozy probably will not be made at all. The tank top for me has been started and I'm about 6 inches into the front (or the back--at this point they're interchangeable). The two BSJs are still waiting for me, too.

At last count, the 2008 Ravelympics involved 16260 projects from 5712 Ravelers. 6431 projects are showing up on the "finish line" pages (201 pages, to be exact)--and that's just completed projects with photographs. Many more people have posted that their projects are finished, but they don't have access to cameras at present. There'll be more precise numbers later on, but it's been fun knitting to a deadline and knowing that thousands of other knitters around the world were working to the same deadline. People are already making plans for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Something the vet said...

2008-08-20T19:56:00.002-04:00

When I was at the vet's yesterday, he said he got the fax Monday morning from the emergency room with details of Sam's injury. He was reading about the exposed blood vessels, and thought, "How on earth did he hurt himself so badly?"

Then he thought, "Oh, wait. It's Sam. That explains it."

The man knows his patients.

* * *

Sam scared the daylights out of me when I came home, this evening. He met me at the door, and he was standing on three feet, sore foot off the ground. My first thought: "What has he done now?" But I think the foot was just stiff. He'd probably been asleep and not using the foot, then woke up when he heard me come in and limped to the door to meet me. He quickly started walking around without limping.

Sam, no one likes a smart ass.

* * *

There now is a 3-foot long, 1.5-inch diameter piece of PVC pipe secured to each stair. The pipe is wedged and tied to the metal risers, blocking the gap where Sam's foot got caught. And since it's tied to the risers, the pipe won't roll forward from the gap and present a hazard to me or the dogs when we're going up or down the stairs. It's an ugly solution, but it'll do for now. It's a stopgap measure--literally and figuratively.

Lookin' Good

2008-08-19T17:18:00.005-04:00

We went to the vet this morning. The foot is doing well. The nearest lymph nodes were very slightly enlarged, which isn't unusual with this kind of injury. But the vet was seeing him more than 48 hours after the injury and is sure the antibiotic is doing its job. In fact, he said we could back off the 1000 mg twice a day and go to just 500 mg three times a day, which might be kinder to Sam's stomach. The vet already authorized a five-day extension of the Cephalexin if we need it, but if Sam continues the way he is, it probably won't be necessary.

As soon as I get next week's work schedule, I can set up an appointment for getting his staples out. So far, Sam hasn't bothered the staples. The vet says that if Sam pulls them out himself, it would not be a problem unless he opened up the wound or created some other problem. But the wound isn't red, isn't icky-moist, isn't hot, and isn't swollen, so Sam's doing very well.

We're putting Jacey on two .8 mg thyroxine pills a day (up from one-and-a-half). I weighed her today, and she was about 60 pounds. (I say "about" because she was still wearing her car harness, which probably weighs a pound or so.)

I got a bit of work done for the Ravelympics today. But I've gotten two phone calls in the last five minutes from people emailing me freelance work...that they need back tomorrow. Oh, well. The work is good for the vet bills.

ETA: Famous last words. Sam started licking his foot. I doused it liberally with Bitter Yuck, a water-based nasty-taste solution. He sniffed (but didn't lick), then moved to the floor on the other side of the room...and on the other side of a chair, so I can't see what he's doing. I've put his muzzle on him, and now he's sulking. Too bad, Sam. I went through all kinds of grief when Oreo had stitches one time and wouldn't leave the injury alone. I'm not doing that again.

Less Ow!

2008-08-19T01:24:00.005-04:00

Not so swollen, and the dried blood has been cleaned out of his fur. He's stopped limping, now that the swelling has largely subsided. He went to work with me again today and just dozed in his kennel. He hasn't been licking his foot, hasn't given me any trouble. Good boy.

Vet visit Tuesday morning...just a chance for his vet to take a look at the foot and to discuss the UTI situation. I'll take Jacey along to get a current weight on her.

Speaking of Jacey--she's been very good about staying home alone the past two days. She's crated while I'm gone, and there's a limit to the amount of trouble she can get in, but she doesn't appear to have been stressed out about being alone. Little Miss Separation Anxiety may be a thing of the past.

Owwwwieee!

2008-08-17T19:12:00.003-04:00

About 21 hours after the accident. And about 10 minutes after I removed the bandage. You can see the swelling in his foot.