Random Rainy Sunday Part 1

More dark pics, despite floor to ceiling windows in the living room, but using the good camera.

Rainy Sunday...

Random Rainy Sunday Part 2

It's a bit dark and rainy here today. Everyone is soooo sleeeppppyyyyy...

Woop-de-doo [aka the Saga of Cherry]

Cherry is looking absolutely thrilled at the prospect of a new year. [Please ignore her extra long toe-nails that need to be trimmed.]

Actually, Cherry came into season about a week before xmas. Thrilling. We had no power b/c of the wind storm [which some genius is trying to have a naming contest for--hello, stupid] and trying to put pants on her was a pain. Even better--we have guest greyhounds Tara [pictured grinning above] and Tigger staying with us while their parents went to Denmark for the holidays. Not the best timing, but they're good kids. And yes, even neutered dogs will try to get their freak on with a hottie in season!

Sidebar: Tara's funny b/c she has a little gap in her lips so it always looks like she's got a weird smile/grin on her face? Very cute. She is Newell's 1st love. She & Newell were our original greyhounds--gaining us great friends that we've had for almost 5yrs now!

Back to the Cherry saga:
Lesson learned--Depends undergarments work *great* for puppy pants that you don't have to launder! When Cherry had her second season & we were lamenting at a dog event about what a pain it was to wash her panties all the time, a whippet owner suggested baby diapers. Cool! Problem is, baby diapers only apparently work for whippets. Greyhound thighs are TOO BIG! Hence the Depends. Cherry's on a 7-8mo cycle which isn't too bad.

So, Phil's staying in the trailer with Oliver & Gizmo. Which is a GREAT time since both boys KNOW she's in season & are whiny & whimpering at all hours. Phil's had -0- sleep. Blech. And, I had a long weekend for New Year's which we didn't get to spend together b/c he had to be with the boys in the trailer the whole time & I was in the house with the girls + Newell & Tigger. Not like we go out for New Year's but still. And my long weekend off of work turned into a 5-day weekend [due to President Ford's death, and me being a fed emp.] of which we couldn't go anywhere b/c of the guest dogs, Cherry, etc. Ugh. Somewhere warm & tropical was calling me!

Then the !@#$%^&* kids shooting off fireworks in front of my house didn't help matters. Newell hates fireworks & Oliver is just terrified--so combine terror + bitch in season & you get a dog who screamed & howled all night. I had to ace Newell to keep him calm & Phil aced Oliver but it didn't do any good. It's certainly a learning experience with Cherry since she's the first dog/animal I've ever owned that hasn't been spayed/neutered. We're hoping this will be worth it in the end & she has amazing pups next winter.

Anyway, happy new year. [And no, I'm still lazy & still taking pics w/the camera phone, hence the wonderful picture quality in this post.]

Happy New Year

Miss Thing is rather indifferent. She says "hmph, you shall not take my picture in this unflattering light."

She's doing better. I don't ever think she'll be 100% as she's still quite wobbly in the back end, but she's up and about & quite chatty at times. She's certainly fat. Needs to quit stuffing the pie-hole with kibble.

Ooh, my xmas gift...

well, one of my gifts. From Bridget. It's new [or just new to me since I didn't know about it]. Not the best pic, but it's Jitterbug merino by Colinette. The color is "bright charcoal." Not sure what I'm going to make with it. Maybe dragon socks from Keyboard Biologist?

Loved the pattern when I did it for my sock pal at the LYS. She & Jason also got me a GC to KnitPicks, which I'm trying to think about things to spend on!! And a gift card for a homemade dinner. Jason cooks a wicked chicken piccata.

Other cool gifts: silver lariat heart necklace from Tiffany's. Score! The heart style matches earrings & a bracelet I have already.

I also got a new alarm clock. Cherry knocked mine off the nightstand awhile back--it ended up kinda mangled. Then when we lost power, the generator had small burts of power surge that caused the clock to run about 20-60min ahead. One morning during the 7 days without power, I woke up 1.5hrs early. Not good. Anyway, the new clock has time zones, and it sets automatically! How cool. You just plug it in and the time is correct!!! Rockin.

Other score gift--gift card to my favorite spa. 2 gift cards to be exact. And some spa-ish candles. You know--candles that make your house/room smell relaxing like the spa. Love it! I have the best-est husband!

Snow, Rain, Wind & Thing

Oswego, NY from 2004 when we lived in Syracuse. New meaning of "white Christmas."

Anyway, there hadn't been any Miss Thing updates b/c I haven't had power or internet for the past 7 days. There was a huge wind storm that came through Seattle last Thursday evening & knocked out power. Trees down everywhere & initially some 1,000,000 people without power! No damage to our home, but we did lose a pretty big limb off the fruit plum tree. Lots of tree-litter everywhere & a house at the end of the street lost a *huge* pine that tore down all the power lines. Yes, we were lucky no one was hurt & all the critters are safe... However, major pain & lots of people aren't supposed to have power back well into next week. I've lived on the east coast, upstate NY, through hurricanes in FL & even blizzards in the midwest [yes, we also lived in Denver] and the response from the power company has been laughable. The whole hill up to our street had power back on Tuesday--but they didn't feel like coming back to finish the job until today. Don't even get me started...

Anyway, Miss Thing is doing well. She's up & around & moving, though still a bit wobbly on the back end. She does tip over easily. Her tail flicks in quite a sassy way & she looks at you with indignation many times! So back to her old self. Pictures this weekend I promise! Last December she cost me $2500...this December, it was $890. I'm pretty convinced now that she'll live to be 100yrs.

I made a hat for a secret pal @ my work gift exchange. It was the Odessa hat [sans beads] from Grumperina. Totally cute in a cream colored Rowan Cashsoft 4-Ply! I have some khaki colored Rowan Cashsoft DK left from another project that I beaded & will get to work on for another gift...

Weekend Thing Update...

[photo of the cats, sans Molly, in Arlington... bottom = Tommy, red & white Persian; Chloe, red flame Himilayan; Felix, black cat; Miss Thing, Siamese mix]

Miss Thing seems to be doing better as of Friday. She had xrays taken, as well as some serious IV fluids & pain meds. In short, it looks like she may have had some fluid or cartilege stuff between the vertebrae near her 13 rib blow out--which *may* have caused some serious pain. Not really sure since we can't ask her. Good news too was that she used the litter box overnight, which means that all the bits & pieces work ok! Anyway, it also looks like she has a fair amount of scar tissue on her spine resulting from a very active kitten-hood [which is believable since she was a freakin' gymnast as a child]. We visited yesterday morning & she seemed a bit responsive/happy to see us. She purred & swatted my fingers when I moved them under the covers. She did get tired easily though--so she'll be staying at the vet over the weekend & they're going to try & wean her off some of the pain meds to see how she starts moving. The vet likened it to an extreme athlete who threw out his back. Maybe with some rest & relaxation, she'll recover ok. It's just wait-n-see until Monday at this point. I forget how tough she is.

Miss Thing...

relaxing on the top of the cat post when we lived in Arlington. The apartment had a wonderful view of the Washington Monument and other DC landmarks, including the Pentagon, Kennedy Center, etc. She would sit and bake in the sun all day... This was taken in 1999 when she was about 7yrs old.

Now, she's getting ready to turn 14yrs. Last year, she survived a dislocated jaw & perforated liver, among other injuries, after 4 of my greyhounds attacked her for no reason on 12/12/05. She's been healthier & stronger than ever. She's actually always been a tough, sassy cat! The occassional flare-up of crystals in her urine, but generally healthy. Until this morning. Because of what happened w/the dogs, she now lives, quite comfortably & happily, in the guest bathroom. I went into the bathroom to clean up, re-fill foot & water & generally visit with her. Instead, I found her balled up at the bottom of her cat post not moving. She didn't even mew. I tried to pick her up but she refused. On closer inspection, her back-end just collapsed from under her!

So, now, she's at the vet getting some IV fluids & pain meds. We think she may have fallen when trying to jump on the counter [poor whisker/paw coordination at her age maybe?] and hurt herself. It's actually not the first time, since a few years ago, we noticed her lower front teeth missing! She has/had a habit of sleeping on her head right on the very edge of her cat post--and we assume she subsequently fell off, knocking her teeth out! Anyway...

I hope when we go see her tomorrow, she's doing better and it was just a simple little accident. I'm not ready for her to go yet. I feel like she had a 2nd chance after last December--and was convinced she'd live to be 90yrs old. She's been there for everything in my life since I was 20yrs old. I'm not ready yet...

New Coat for ME!

Auntie Megan made me a new coat... it's red with a nice paisley flannel lining & a bit of blue stretchy stuff up front. This is my first coat. Well, kind of... I have another coat I use in the field, but this is my first real coat... Everyone else has their own coats but me. I guess I'm stuck in the same color scheme as my sister [red]; Newell has black, Evie is green & Oliver is blue. Aren't I handsome???

Mama took the photo w/her camer a phone again. She has yet to charge the camera battery.

Everyone ran at a meet this weekend. I only got to run 1x on Friday in LGRA. Supposedly, it isn't good to bump other dogs coming out of the starting box, so mama scratched me :( But it's FUN!!! Ayway, I'm proud of my little bro Oliver! He got his first title! Now, he's offically "Mesa Coronado, GRC." Oliver's the first pup in our house w/that title just like I'm the first pup in the house with a Ch. Houseguest Tara won in the FCh dogs today. She beat my older sister Evie. She's FAST. Cherry got bored [again] and came in 3rd. Cherry and I prefer other activities.

Anyway, it's raining, so I'm going back to sleep on the sofa.

~Gizmo 

Photos are more fun

than just a boring test post!!!

Here, we have Koigu KPPM #P126. This picture doesn't do the colors justice [I need to stop being lazy & actually charge the camera batteries rather than taking pics w/my camera phone]. Deep violets, plums, navy, pine, burnt orange to slate grey-brown. LOVE it! What is it going to be? Fingerless mitts/hand warmers from One Skein for ME. Speaking of One Skein, I need to learn to crochet so I can make the "geometric accessory bags" or the bath mat.

Bottom photo: sock pal socks I raved about in my previous post. Not sure if they're Opal or maybe KnitPicks? Pattern is Hedra. Love them--though they're knit a bit looser than I would do for myself, I love that they're solid! As babulous as verigated yarn is, sometimes you can't go wrong w/just some plain, simple solid colored socks. Two Needles Up to my sock pal! 

Upddates w/out Pictures

Well, I've been absent from the blog for awhile. Busy with work & after having to look @ a computer all day, I haven't really felt like posting anything! For the most part, I'm out of classroom training @ work in into real OJT. Still falls into the *blech* category but better than staring at an instructor all day. Updates in no random order include:

Cherry's going to show class still. We're making progress & are going to enter the Whidbey Island Show in a few weeks... Hopefully all the progress we're making will have paid off! Trotting around the ring = good. Stacking = not so good.

What am I knitting???

• I used up some left-over Blue Sky cotton to make a washcloth.
• Finished a few baby hats for co-workers [from One-Skein book] with left over sock yarn--everyone loved them!
• Finished a placket neck pull over from LMKG for a friend from law school who's due in a few weeks! It's trimmed w/Classic Elite Pima Cotton & the body is from Rowan Denim in cream.
• Still working on the clapotis w/the yarn I got from Angela this summer.
• I have FAILED at the Baudelaire KAL... I really didn't like how big & baggy the heel turned out. It seemed like it would be quite saggy & not the most optimum fit. So, notice the button on the side of the blog is gone now! Have to get the yarn on the winder & pull it all out. Think I will make a pair of hedra with the olive yarn instead!
• I'm working on a gift scarf [Purl Scarf from LMKG] using some Blue Sky bulky in the stash supplemented with some kidsilk haze. I think it will be quite fun & snuggly when done! Not sure who it will be gifted to.
• I so want to make some more of the hand-warmers from One Skein!
• Need to start on the xmas gift for my mom w/the Habu Textiles bamboo!

Melanie Harris... I have no idea if you will read this or if you have a blog but *thank you* for the wonderful socks!!! I participated in a sock exchange @ my LYS [look back to the dragon socks I did]. What did I get in return??? A very perfectly fitting pair of hedra's in solid white/cream maybe from Opal or Knitpicks [not sure on the yarn]. Pics soon, as the digital camera is on the charger!

HAPPY BDAY EVIE!!!

Evie turned 6yrs today!!!

This pic is from the day we brought her home on July 4, 2003. A wonderful, darling girl who has taken me to England, France, Canada and all over the U.S., including NY, WA, IA, GA, CA, WY, ID and a few places in between.

It's only been 3yrs, but I can't imagine my life without her!

Show This!

So, I took Cherry to the faux-show [as I call it... it's really an AKC B-Match, which means that you don't get any points or anything for it if you win, but it's good practice].

She was the only GH there [c'est la vie], so that's what the 2 ribbons on the outside are for--she won her breed [duh]! Then, we had a jaunty little pharoh hound for our competition for best of adult dogs/bitches in the hound group. The pharoh kicked our butt! Still proud of her though & she got a snazzy little toy [not pictured] to add to her collection.

The *point* show is tomorrow & there are supposed to be 3 dogs, 1 bitch & 1 special that she's going up against. Hopefully she'll win!!!! I'm so new to this whole showing thing so it's a learning experience for both of us :)

I also will add, on a non-dog related note, that I started my new job w/the federal government this week! Won't mention the agency, but I'm very excited. I have 8 weeks of class training & 4 weeks of on-the-job training, and even though it's fairly "entry level" it will give me a solid background in my field & allow me to move into the position that I *really* want as soon as a position is available!!!

Bad Bad Baudelaire...

Blech! Turned the heel & it's WAY too big! Big baggy sock :( I wear a size 7.5-8 shoe & this could easily fit someone wearing a 10-11! I started the heel towards the back of my arch, but it needs to be much shorter--so, rip it all out & start all over again...ugh...

Baudelaire beginnings...

Yarn: Wolle Rodel from Germany
Color: Heathered Olive #17345
Content: 75% Schurwolle [superwash] & 25% Polyamid
Needles: Addi turbo #1s

GH Puppies!

Corrine dated Gizmo for a few weeks this summer...they ended up having sex & Gizmo became a papa to 7 boys & 3 girls on Aug. 9th! Gizmo is thinking about disclaiming paternity since he's white/brindle & the puppies look nothing like him! Hopefully he won't become a dead-beat dad...

Got Ears?

Newell, working the magic of the ear action :) And a full belly from gnoshin' on cow bones all day yesterday...his jaw is mighty tired!

Eat your Heart out CuteOverload

Some complaints that I haven't featured Evie on the blog lately. She's shy but looking ador-i-able as always!

Dragon

Extreme close-up of the dragon socks I made for my secret pal at my LYS...

Yarn: Claudia Handpaints "A Walk in the Woods"

Very purplish-blue like my Sony Vaio!

Needles: Addi size 1 [want to get the knitpicks though!]

Gauge: for socks?

I'd show more, but who knows if my secret pal is lurking out there somewhere???

+++++++++

And on a greyhound related note...Happy 100th to the National Greyhound Association!

If you want a great dog, look no further than your local greyhound adoption group!

Greyhound racing, while controversial, provided us with Newell, who ran successfully in Arizona, as well as Evie from Colorado & Oliver from Florida. Cherry & Gizmo aren't "track" dogs, have the same amount of desire for running in their pedigrees. All have come from wonderful sires and dams tracing back to the 1800s.

And thank you to the track trainers & owners who treated my dogs so well while you had them! They have been a joy to own & we couldn't ask for anything more!

Play-Puppy Centerfold

Seems that Cherry is taking after Oliver

Just wait till she has puppies & loses that toned & muscular GH figure!