Timber's surgery

I went to the vet right after work and then sat there for 2 hours while she took care of emergencies and late appts. *sigh* Fortunately, I keep knitting in the car, so I went out and got it, and turned a heel while I was waiting. :) It's a fuzzy pink 60% angora bedsock.

Good hips! Hurray! They look real good and clear (no arthritic changes). If he was registered, I'd OFA him and some breeder would be real happy.

The vet said, "He's all hair!" I said, "I keep telling you that!" She said they shaved him for surgery, put the drapes on, and the drapes were like 3 inches off his body, sitting up on all that hair. When he's standing you can't see that he's had anything done; the hair just falls over and covers it.

Apparently she found some other little bumps on him, because he has a shaved patch with 2 incisions on his neck in front of his shoulder and another with 2 more incisions just in back of his shoulder. He can't reach either with his teeth, but first thing he did (almost) was sit down and scratch, so he's currently wearing a t-shirt and the cut-off leg of a pair of old sweatpants, and he looks so funny.

We got home and he drank a lot of water, peed a river, drank some more water, ate a small dinner (I only gave him about half what he usually gets), then went into the bedroom and jumped up on the bed and went to sleep. I spent the evening sitting on the bed with him, reading and knitting.

Taenzer got upset enough to give herself diahrrea. Silly dog. But her routine was all messed up--no Timber all day, we got home really late (I wanted to see his x-rays and the vet was running really late), and then Timber came back smelling all funny and I kept fussing over him and instead of sitting with her out in the living room, I sat with them in the bedroom. She's so *sensitive*.

I was going to stay home this morning and keep an eye on him, but when I asked him to lie flat on his side on the couch in the living room (lots of morning light) so I could get my first good look at his incisions, he fell asleep. He got all excited and was ready to come to work with me--I think Timber would make a good traveling companion!--but I think once I left he probably went back to his crate and went to sleep.

Everybody at the vet's office loves him--"He's such a doll!" Yes, he is. When we went in that morning, one of the girls behind the counter said hello to him, and he put his front feet on the counter to say hi back. Cutie.

So things look good for him. :) We go back in 10-14 days to get the stitches removed. I'm guessing 10--the incisions look so good this morning, no inflammation or swelling or oozing. I think I'll take the t-shirt and sweatpants leg off tomorrow.

Pictures eventually. The laptop is still non compos mentis--last time I looked the antivirus program was still running its scan (this is going on 4 or maybe 5 days now).

Achoo!

I've completed Day 7 of the 2008 Calendar Scarf and had planned to post a picture of it this morning, but my laptop has managed to pick up a virus. Yes, I had an anti-virus program installed, and yes, it was running in the background (at least so it told me), and yes, I had updated it, but it's still got a virus. I've got the program running a scan now, but I won't be surprised--though I'll be very annoyed--if I have to wipe the hard drive and reinstall everything. It's especially annoying since this is a paid-for antivirus program, not a freebie. Grrrr!

I'm very much enjoying knitting this scarf. The yarn is absolutely delicious to work with, and it's fun to knit a variety of patterns. And it's not hundreds of stitches, like a big triangle or square shawl, so I can always finish a row and don't have to worry about where I left off.

I'm wearing my favorite gray lopi sweater this morning, not so much because it's freezing cold (because it's not) as because I needed to wash the other sweater I've been wearing and it is too cold to substitute a sweatshirt. I love this sweater, and getting it out for the winter is like greeting an old friend.

Yesterday was sunny and comfortably warm, so we spent a lot of time outside. I'm reading a book about the history of the cult of Mary, which is really interesting. We also ran a few errands. I set up Timber's surgery for next Wednesday. I know he'll be fine, but we'd still appreciate successful surgery and quick recovery vibes! I'm really curious about how his hip x-rays will turn out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! I hope you have wonderful food and a congenial day.


For the first time in I don't know how long--years--I don't have a cat-sitting gig for the holidays. Obviously I need to give some thought to rebuilding my clientele.


Meanwhile, I've been invited to dinner with some friends. Amy says she LOVES to cook Thanksgiving dinner. Our menu is turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, squash ring, spinach souffle, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and key lime pie. I thought maybe it could use some crunch, so I'm going to take some raw veggies: baby carrots, celery, radishes, sweet gherkins, jumbo black olives, cauliflower broken into florets, and a red and a yellow sweet pepper cut into strips, with some dip.


Last year I found a lace sampler scarf pattern online-- Kalenderhalsduk 2008 . The designer posted one section of the scarf every day between December 1 and December 26, and you could print it off free and make your scarf. Since then the pattern has been for sale, but I don't know anyone in the US or Canada who's bought it since it seems to be difficult to purchase. This year she's going to do another one, so I'm all set to print my patterns out--though how I'm going to manage when I'm home over break I'm not quite sure.


At any rate, having been reminded of last year's scarf, I decided that was my perfect lace project. Found the pattern printouts, rummaged in the stash and found a wonderful yarn--Texel Cashmere, which is 40% cashmere, 30% wool and 30% lambswool. Someone must have given it to me, because I would never buy this hot tomato red for myself, but it's just a lovely yarn to work with, so soft and warm as I knit it up that I can't wait to finish the scarf and wrap it around myself!


I've completed the first two patterns:

Frankly, I don't see how anyone could do a pattern a day unless they had nothing else to do, no job or little kids to chase after. I'm going to try for the next four days, since I'll have the time, but once I go back to work I expect to fall behind. But I also expect to enjoy the knitting and the finished product!

Tomorrow I have to stop by the vet's to make an appointment for surgery for Timber. He's got an ugly, nobbly growth about the size of a grape on his neck. The vet says it's probably benign,, but it's getting so big it needs to come off, and I agree. As long as he's out I'm going to have her x-ray his hips, too, just to get an idea of what's going on in there. I think he's probably okay, but it never hurts to know for sure. If they look a little iffy, I'll start supplementing him with Vitamin C and glucosamine/chondroitin.

He was a very good boy at the vet. In the waiting room there was a young, bouncy Airedale and an old grumpy miniature Schnauzer, as well as a bunch of cats not in carriers--to my surprise, because bringing a cat to the vet just wrapped in a towel or blanket is SO dangerous! But Timber was very good, not a bark or a growl, and he sat between my feet with just a little coaxing. In the exam room, I had him do some sits, downs, and heels for treats, and that seemed to help him focus and relax. Then he sat by the door and watched the vet techs moving around, and greeted everyone. I did kind of have to put a headlock on him to get him to hold still while the vet looked at his growth--I don't know why he got so anxious about that, she was only trying to get down through the hair enough to see it! But he was very good, and I was proud of him. If I'd had any cash on me, we'd have stopped at McDonald's for a burger.

He's going to look so funny with a big shaved patch in his mane!

And for the first time I left Taenzer loose in the house when leaving with Timber, and she was good too. She gets so anxious sometimes she'll tear things up, but apparently she coped just fine. I got her "Oh thank God you're home!" greeting, but nothing was damaged. Good girl!

I'm hoping to bring them turkey scraps from dinner today.

Here we go

Ah, at last, things seem to be working.

Well, first, here are a couple of 5-hour baby sweaters I made for a friend who's expecting twins. This is the first time I've made the 5-hour sweater, and it really actually only took me about 5-1/2 or 6 hours. I think it's cute, and you could do a lot of tweaking (like, erm, adding buttonholes (*koff*)), and I love the idea that if I have the yarn and a free Saturday, I've got a nice baby gift! I have enough yarn left over that I think I'm going to make little hats and booties to go with.

This is your basic 3x2 ribbing sock made with Apple Laine Apple Pie, a yarn I happen to adore. It wasn't until I was almost finished with the 2nd sock that I realized I had two different dye lots, but oh well--no one's going to notice, and I'm going to have happy feet. I chose this color to go with olive, brown, and khaki trousers, but to my surprise it looks terrific with jeans as well.

This is my nephew's sweater, less one sleeve. I decided to send it off to his parents for a try-on, and am waiting to get it back. I think it's cute, and it's been a lot of fun to play with, since I wasn't in a hurry and gave myself permission to rip out as much as necessary. It doesn't really show up, but the solid blue at the shoulders is in knit-purl textured patterns, because otherwise the fabric seemed pretty thin compared to the double-stranded color portions. I got so involved doing that that I forgot to decrease until I got the diamond band on the sleeve finished, so I hope that works okay fit-wise. The only bad thing about this is that I'm going to have soooooooo many ends to work in!

And this is the first 8" or so of my Aran sweater. As usual, I'm doing it in the round instead of in pieces, and it takes half an hour to do an entire round, so it's not exactly swift knitting--but it is fun. I love working cables, even when I make mistakes--and I love the yarn. I just wish I could knit faster, so I could wear it! I've got a ways to go, though, so it may not get worn until next winter.

Socks, baby things, aran--I guess now I need to get a lace piece going! And I just happen to have found a beautiful blue mohair-acrylic blend in the stash--imagine that! *lol* I think I'll look through A Gathering of Lace and Victorian Lace Today to see if I can find a little project--I've only got 3 balls--about 200 yards. I'm sure I can make a little scarf or shawlette or something.

Speaking of lace books, Schoolhouse Press has reprinted Susanna Lewis' classic Knitting Lace. I wanted it when it first came out and didn't get it then, so I hope I can manage it this time.

FINALLY!

I've got my laptop back, so I can upload pictures, so here you go, pictures of what I've been working on lately:



(pause)

Or not. I can't get the upload feature to work. Okay, we'll close down and try this again later.

YIPEE!

Tonight each dog individually walked on a loose leash clear down to the end of the block and back! Yahoo! I'm so PROUD of them!

With Taenzer the trick was to keep talking to her and hand out treats fairly frequently.

With Timber the trick was getting him to remember I'm there by asking him at intervals to sit, make eye contact, and wait to be released with "Okay! Let's go!" We only had to do that a few times tonight, but it really seems to help.

I won't be taking them out together for some time yet, but meanwhile I'm just SO proud of them!

Now I have to start planning the next steps. We've been going after dark, partly because there are fewer distractions. So I should continue that during the week, but on weekends, I could start taking them out during the day, and both inside and outside we should start working on very prompt sits and very strong stays, for polite behavior in meeting people. I should work on position more, too--Timber, particularly, tends to get out in front of me, and I'd like his default positon to be much closer to a traditional heel. Taenzer does tend to push him out of position--that's something we'll have to work out in the future, I guess.

I'm a proud mama.

And the winner is...

Apple Lane Apple Pie, Winter Dawn colorway, 3x2 ribbing. (picture here as soon as I get my laptop back, which I hope to goodness will be next week!)

This is one of my favorite yarns. I happen to have it in the original mix of 50% wool, 20% mohair, 20% silk, and 10% nylon (the current mix is 65/20/5/10), and it is sooooo soft, with that lovely silk sheen and just a hit of halo. I've made several pairs of socks using it, but they've all been gifts, so I can't say how it wears, but I do love how it makes up.

This particular color is just wonderful, so many soft subtle colors, which are beautiful in any light, but especially so in direct sunlight. The color repeats are very short, an inch or less, so it would actually, I think, make up well in a reticulated pattern like the cover sock on Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. I don't have a compatible solid, though, so first I messed around with some knit-purl patterns, and finally decided to just keep it simple, so--3x2 ribbing.

Which we have lots of today, yay! Temps supposed to get into the 70s (low 20s C). Windy, but still nice. Can you believe I have windows open? In November?? I'm planning to polish the car and clean the dog-nose-prints off the windows, tidy up some of the flower beds and spread compost, and plant a few bulbs. As usual, this year I don't have many to plant, but I have a few, so I'll get them into the ground. Then I'm going to sit out while the dogs play and work on my aran sweater (the current outside project).