Woolythyme

weekending.....for the dogs

PapaGeek spent the weekend playing with some of his water-friends out of town.  He always has a wonderful time pretending he is Bob Vila-- in someone else's space with supervision.   This left me an entire weekend to do what-ever.....with no cooking!....no set plans....no cares.....

 

until.....

 

 

Derby arrived.  

 

For the weekend.  Long story.  (the cliff note version:  #1 daughter was doing laundry--something went kahoohie with the plumbing....she ended up having to bring what seemed like everything the family owned to be washed at my house so they could get out of town to the boys' baseball game....the plumber is coming while they are gone....Derby hates the plumber.....she brought Derby over with the laundry....ta-dah, we have a weekend guest.)

 

Derby is OLD.  No, make that OLD.  Right up there with Methuselah.  She's just about deaf, barks randomly because her cataracts make her nearly blind and shadows are darn scarey, and her bones and joints obviously ache more than mine.  (Her down-dog looks surprisingly like mine, though!)   But, she's sweet beyond measure and over the years, we've all figured out what all her yips, barks, and deep sighs mean----and she put them all to use ALL NIGHT LONG.  Big breath in......deep s-i-g-h....means 'i really need to go out and prowl around---right now---and i'll keep sighing until you let me out.' (There's a cute, pitiful little 'jump' that goes with the sigh.)  This was at 3 am.  OK.  Out she went.  And then I remembered a friend who found a neighbor's OLD lab drowned in his pond one morning.  We have a little mini-water-thing....big enough that Freddie's predecessor fell in and couldn't get out---and that's another story, fortunately with a happy, if muddy, ending.  But, that's ALL I could think about.  Derby and falling in the 'pond'.  She couldn't hear me calling.  So, there I am, hunting for a black, blind, deaf dog on a starless, moonless black night--in my jammies.  Not an easy find--- she was behind the greenhouse...NO one goes behind the greenhouse--YUK.  Another happy ending. Phew.

So, when she wasn't yipping, barking, or s-i-g-h-i-n-g---she was click-click-click-clinking throughout the house on the hardwood floors.  (She doesn't sleep over often....I'm sure she was just exploring.)  

 

Freddie's exhausted.

 

He didn't get any more sleep last night than I did.  (He's made it quite clear that this was NOT a play date and NOT his idea.  He has absolutely nothing to do with her,  hovers ever so close, and almost whines if I pat her and tell her, good girl.  Jealous?  Oh, yes. Angry?  You bet.  She eats all his food.)

 

so...

 

:: the 'stash closet' didn't get cleaned out

:: the herb garden didn't get weeded

:: the stuff for the church yard sale didn't get sorted

:: the bread I had briefly considered making didn't get made

:: the nap I was sure I was  going to take never happened 

 

I really didn't want to do any of that stuff anyway (except maybe the nap).  

 

But, isn't it nice to have a scapegoat?  

 

 

Sympathy......ever so fleeting!

Yesterday was grooming day.  Freddie L-o-V-e-S!!!! going.  Three hours of people messing with him---AND a ride in the car.  No better day as far as he's concerned.

 

When I picked him up.....life wasn't so good this time.  They said he was scratching at his eye.  He wouldn't open it---even after they 'flushed' it.  No charge today.  But, we think he needs to see his doctor.  Of course, with the 'no charge' ---I'm thinking the worst.  Somebody flinched and some scissors ended up scraping his eye?  We flew to the vet's---ready to wait for as long as it took to be squeezed in.  They took him almost right away when I told them why we were there.  (Now I'm SURE I'm going to have a sightless dog.  Will my "blind" dog need a seeing-eye person with him all the time???--I do have an imagination that can run out of control quickly!)  Lots of eyedrops.  Lots of contrast.  Lots of lights.  He has a bad soap burn.  No permanent damage.  (phew!!!)  In spite of the fact that he hasn't made even a whimper, the vet assured me this really really hurts.  Poor little guy.

 

I spent all yesterday putting pain med drops and antibiotic drops in his eye every two hours.  (He's no dummy----after the first two rounds, we had to play catch-me-if-you-can to get the meds on that eye.)  I  did a LOT of cuddling.  He did a LOT of nuzzling.   By morning, the eye is still dilated because of the meds, but it's open and he's obviously feeling on top of his game......once again....

 

I'm b-a-a-a-a-c-k !!!!!

My first day back in yoga class!!  I got thrown out shortly before Christmas and put in remedial PT.  Now, I'll be the first to admit, that exercise is NOT my thing (unless you count Olympic-style knitting marathons), but the day my instructor told me I really couldn't come back I was in tears.  Yes.  I have a rather competitive streak, and being told I couldn't do something--even if it was just for awhile--and even if it was EXERCISE!!! made me genuinely sad.  

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So, here it is....two months later, what seems like a gazillion hours of one-on-one torture, and  I'm ready (?) to do this again.  Maybe.  The class is full of folks-of-a-certain-age....and one (former pediatrician) remarked as we were all dragging ourselves to the coat rack--we pay good money to do this to ourselves...and we have to do it for the rest of our lives.  (was he lamenting the 'good money' part or the exercise?  not sure.)

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I'll never be the best in the class.  (The thought just makes me LAUGH!)  My goal---to just STAY in the class.....

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and----do a 'down-dog'* as well as Freddy.

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* * * * * * * * * * * 

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*I know that's not a 'down-dog' in the photo.  Trust me.  His are perfect.  Little back end up in the air---heels touching the floor---arms stretched out sooooo far!  Even though he does it  about 150 times a day.....he's so quick,  I couldn't capture it, try as I might.  I tried negotiating this fact (the quickness) with my instructor.  She said if I wanted to do them 150 times a day that's cool---but until then, I have to hold it for her count (and no one on earth counts as slowly as she does).   I'm still considering Freddie's way.  He's my hero.

weekending.....

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I spent the weekend roaming from room to room

:: wondering how I managed to get a whole bookshelf worth of books from the kitchen on to the living room bookshelves (might have had something to do with the pile of purged magazines awaiting the next recycling run)

::  relocating a collection of old wooden apples

:: getting used to the new kitchen color

:: spending time with Fred in our favorite chair (it's a chair and a half---I usually have the 'chair', he has the 'half'; he seems to have managed to hog the whole thing most of the weekend)

:: wondering what went in the empty space on the bathroom wall ????

:: taking an extra peek at the door lintels that are dust-free  (do you have any idea how much dust accumulates in 15 years!!!  Little Miss Susie Homemaker I'm obviously NOT)

:: loving the patched corner of the hallway (yes, that IS a collection of slugs...thank you, Jody!!!)

:: finding a new place for some plants

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Now that the painting spree is over, it was so worth it.  (One of the great advantages of growing old is the fact that we most likely will never have to do this again!!!)  Every room went back together slightly differently; this 1000+ square foot space looks sort of fresh and new and the spring cleaning (for this decade) is done!

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There was time left over for the fun stuff...

:: filling the cookie jar (chocolate chip, is there really any other kind?)

:: a little girlfriend time with my best friend (#1 daughter)--and scored an Eileen Fisher skirt (new with tags!) for $15 at the  thrift shop.

:: wrapping birthday presents (#1 son turns 40! next week; I'm not sure how that happened;  his daughter --our first grand--will be 10 just 3 days later.  C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-E good times, come on!!!)

:: 'refrigerator soup' inspired by this recipe from whole foods (only I added a potato and sour cream which probably made this healthy soup not-so-healthy after all, but it sure was tasty!)

:: finished this that had been waiting to be seamed since 1999.

and, of course.......

there was time for knitting!  and even a little...

 unknitting.  

Alga. (may you rest in peace)  Didn't like that stripey thing the yarn did, didn't like the fact that the sleeves were slightly darker than the rest (although it was all the 'same' color), and really wasn't all that thrilled with the final fit-look.  Three strikes---pretty easy to frog it.   

My world is being turned upside down....

Hi.  I'm Freddy.  I'm the only one who can squirm into the tiny little space left next to the computer to write.  This place is a wreck.  Wanna see?

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You thought I was kidding, didn't you?

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Hey! That's my favorite chair.  (Well, one of my favorite chairs.  But right now, they all sort of look like this.)  I was planning on napping during  watching the SuperBowl there.

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Something about painters coming in the morning.  Phew.  I thought we were moving and no one told me.  Painters?  That should be fun.  I've never painted anything before, but I'm sure I'll love doing that.

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I haven't seen mom for hours.  (hee hee)  That means she hasn't seen me for hours, too

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I think I'll go munch on a few book corners.  No one will notice.

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a bad idea?

I love yarn.....and I love 'decorating' with yarn.  (above vases holding some of the mitered square bits).

 

Over the weekend I decided to flip-flop two tables---one moving from the little sitting space in the kitchen to the den and the little corner table in the den--to the kitchen; the den one is next to one of my knitting 'nests' and has a nice lower 'shelf' perfect for a big old bowl of WIPs.  (current WIP--solo with the shibui linen)

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this is good--pretty, handy.  (and, yes, that's really an outdoor plant stand turned into a table....)

So, I'm messing with the other table in the kitchen---and notice that my 'helper' is not by my side.  Uh. Oh.

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bad idea?  or just bad dog.

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who.......me?????????

My new favorite thing in the whole world.....

Sandy Claws really came through for me this Christmas (and if you remember, I was just the teeniest bit worried.  I had a few 'moments' in 2012 that sort of put me firmly on the Naughty List)  

Here it is....3 weeks from the big day, and I still have a toy that I not only haven't totally destroyed, but that I love almost as much as I love my mom.  (almost, not quite)

See that round plastic thing?  (It has a top, too)  It used to be the stomach of a bear or bunny or something that I ripped to pieces about 5 minutes after I got it.  I think its flat unstuffed body is around here someplace.  

Wait...here it is.

 

BUT---the tummmmy!!!  WOW.  What a treasure.  Mom puts cookies in this thing, twists it shut, and I get to open it and.....EAT!

 

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Gosh, I love this thing.

 

I love it even more when I get it opened.

 

My best time is 3 and a half minutes.  (when I first started, it took me most of the day!!)   I think that's pretty great.  Mom looked up "dog intelligence"; I'm a cocker.  They ranked me 20th.  (Think you could unscrew this using only your mouth and hands stuck in mittens--no using those opposable thumbs!!!)

 

I'm going to rest here just a second.  Then I'm going for under 3 minutes.  (SO THERE!!  Border Collie and German Shepherd.  Just try breaking THAT record!!!)

Dear Sandy Claws....

Dear Sandy Claws,

I hope it's not too late to be writing to you.  I've had a rather busy holiday season.  

It started out with eating a wise man, a camel, and a horse's ear from the nativity set.   (It wasn't the GOOD nativity set....just a little one, and I'm not sure anyone besides mom noticed the missing pieces.)

And then, there was the paper business.  As you know, I LOVE ( LOVE!!!) shredding paper----any kind of paper----and I sort of got in trouble when I ate/shredded the pattern for some holiday knitting going on (something about needing to thank Ravelry for not losing my happy home....so thanks, Ravelry, whoever you are).  Things also got a bit dicey when I got into the wrapping paper, but I know I heard mom say she hates the waste with all that paper and was planning on making gift bags.  I think I actually helped her out a bit there.

Did you know holly berries aren't good for dogs?  I didn't either.  They sure look like they would be delicious.  Gosh, mom and dad were both digging around in my mouth when I sampled them.  (They really didn't taste all that great, anyway.)

Unlike the peanut M & Ms!!!  YUMMMMMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And I think that must be a myth about dogs and chocolate, although I only got the teeniest sampling before that got taken from me, too.  I had to climb on a chair---then v-e-r-y, v-e-r-y carefully climb onto the sugarbin to get into the Santa-in-a-snowball candy jar.  I didn't even break the lid, so I'm not sure what all the hullabaloo was about.

I know my holiday track record hasn't been real great this year.....but at least this year, I didn't unhook a handhooked pillow. ( I did sort of destroy the paint job on two doors---I really don't know what got in to me on that one.  Sorry.)   But, you see, things could have been worse.

Which brings me to my letter.  I promise promise promise promise that I'll be a good boy from now until Christmas (You understand why I  couldn't send this any sooner).  Just in case you don't remember.....my stocking is hung by my food dish---in the laundry room, and there is plenty of room in it for cookies and toys.

I don't think coal will fit.

Love and lots of doggie kisses,

Freddy

we two kings of orient are.....

hoping we make it to Epiphany.....Freddy ate our buddy and his camel today.  (Yes, our horse lost an ear, too....it wasn't a good day.)

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I'm a guest blogger at Vision and Verb today!!  (I wrote about learning to knit!!!  of course, what else??)

single moment.....not just for the birds

Birdseed season!!!     YUM!

joining with amanda for a single moment from the week....