Kickin' and Chillin'

Hey folks.  I'm kickin' and chillin' with my girl, here.  Stella Blue Lulu.  She's a little mutt my husband picked up from a farmer up the road.   When we picked out Leo, we picked the cute little bundle that pushed his way through the litter and began chewing and pulling on our shoelaces and pants.  Charming. Turns out, that's a sign of dominance, which isn't a bad thing - you just have to know what you're doing with that kind of dog.

So this time, Mr. Darling watched as all the puppies scurried under a tractor and hid.  The farmer rolled a tennis ball and all the pups came out to play except for one.  That's the one he brought home.

shy baby girl

She was timid and shy, but we were careful about her first few days of introduction.  It paid off.  She is a bumbling, healthy, active little pup.

Chasing the boys.

And since this is a knitting blog, I will include a little section here called,

What's On The Needles

 These are unintentional knee highs.  I started them toe-up and I just kept knitting and knitting.  The yarn is Knit Picks Felici in Marine Life.

 This lump is the beginning of my Coraline sweater by Ysolda Teague.  I'm using Knit Picks Swish DK in Persimmon. 

 

This is a pair of legwarmers for my little baby niece in Utah.  Knit Picks Felici Sport in Garden Gate.

 

STAY WARM!

Nama's Knitting

Since the dog's away - the turkeys will play.

Wild turkeys on the driveway.

Hi folks,

I am, as the Yarn Harlot puts it, in the 'black hole' of my Coraline sweater.  I knit and knit and knit and seem to go nowhere.  But I do appreciate that it's mindless and can be done while watching The Dog Whisperer, which I've also been obsessing over.

So today, I thought I share a little number that my mother made last summer.  She is Namaknits on Ravelry, but she rarely, if ever, visits her page.  She needs to toot her own horn more often.  hint hint, mom.  By the way, I added the shawl to her project page for her.

Anyway, I give you Nama's Adagio Shawl with color change modifications.

She bought the pattern at our local LYS - Coldwater Collaborative.

My daughter, giving me advice at bedtime about how to remember things in the morning:

"Sometimes I write a note and stick it to my face, so when I wake up, I find the note stuck to my face so I don’t forget what I wanted to remember." ~ Belle

 

I'm still here!

My gosh.  I can't possibly thank you all enough for being THE COOLEST BLOGGY PEEPS EVER!  You took time from your day to send your condolences and it really made a difference.  My husband could not believe the outpouring of concern from not just our friends and families but from my "odd bloggy habit". 

We're moving onward.  We even visited the pound a couple of times but it's still a bit painful.  AND you won't believe this, but a week after Leo kicked the bucket, our ancient cat decided it was her time to go, too.  Can you imagine this scenario:  I'm at the front desk of the veterinarian, squaring up our account when out comes the vet saying, "I'm so sorry about your cat." and at the exact moment a tech comes out and says, "Here are Leo's ashes."  Gulp.  They just handed over a brand new box of tissues and said, "Here, take it." 

We can't believe we just paid out A LOT of cash for two pets we no longer have.  

Isn't nice to have a cute little knitting project to work on when you're feeling sorry for yourself?  I choose to cast on for sweater number two.  The little ditty is
Coraline by Ysolda Teague
I'm making mine in a rusty colored wool (Knit Picks Swish).

I think my blog looks so boring without photos, but I can't look at that puppy face anymore and so neither should you.  The new year brings new blessing and hope and, achem, socks and sweaters.  So moving on . . .

Little Buddy

There is no way to put this.  No way to tell you how difficult this is for us but we lost our dog Leo just before new years.    He was hit and killed by a car near our home.  We recognize that it's a dog - that no human lives were lost; that my children are all safe; that the driver (who stopped) was not physically hurt, my husband who lifted him from the roadside and brought him home to us was not physically harmed either.  But the pain and emptiness we feel is devastating regardless.  

I am wiping tears as I type this and know that I mean it from the very bottom of my heart when I tell you that I appreciate all of your hilarious comments and advice over the last three years regarding this rascal of a dog.  Guinifer, I can't thank you enough for helping us find his breeder.   Hold on - crying again. . .

Thanks to my family and friends for understanding and for loving and missing him, too.