Tangled Threads and Seaweed

Missing Her Already

This is probably one of the most ridiculous posts I've ever done.

Yesterday this little gal followed Joe and the dogs home from a walk:

  she was so friendly and sweet. She kept laying on her back, begging for belly rubs, when she and Gracie weren't chasing each other and playing. Our dogs got along great with her. Her brindled coloring is gorgeous. She seemed to be well socialized to people and other dogs. She hasn't had her tail docked or her ears cut.

  This little gal is probably around a year old, and no one in the neighborhood claimed her. Our nosy neighbor (you know, the little old lady who sees everything that happens) thought she had been dumped. She'd probably been wandering for a few days, as she was skinny (except for that bloated wormy belly) and I picked about 3 dozen ticks off her. She acted like she had been in the house in a past life, but I wouldn't let her in since she wasn't clean. She didn't understand the doggy door at all, but she loved laying on the deck and roaming in the back yard. Joe walked her all over the neighborhood yesterday, trying to find her a home.  She slept in the front flowerbed last night and when I turned on the lights this morning, she was standing on her back legs, looking in the living room window and whining. (Joe's first words this morning were to ask if the dog was still here) 

So I let her come through the house to the backyard with our dogs, and fed her. Joe and I couldn't decide what to do with her, because she's a pit bull mix. She has such a sweet nature that we hated to think of her being put down automatically (which we don't know if our local pound does) but we so do NOT need another dog. We ended up leaving her in the front yard, since we didn't know if she would try to dig out of the backyard, and if she did that our dogs would get out too...

Joe was in Amarillo today for a doctor's appointment and another meeting, so he wasn't around today. When I got home from work, the little tiger was gone. Part of me was sad, because I was looking forward to playing with all 3 dogs. But part of me was relieved because we DON'T need another dog. So I spent some time working in my front flowerbeds, watering and pruning and pulling weeds. Pretty soon my nosy neighbor came wandering down to visit. I mentioned that our little tiger must have traveled on, and she told me that "no, I called the pound to come get her because she kept following everyone that walked down the street, because you know she just wants to be with people" .... so that little tiger is gone. I hope she finds a good home...

Do You Ever Wonder?

I wonder what my dogs are thinking. Do they dream? Do they really understand what we say? My Goofy dog will bark at me and try to climb up in my lap. ("try" being the key word, as he's 50+ pounds of big black dumbo dog) After I shove him back down for the third or fourth time, he sighs and flops onto the floor (yep, like a 3 year old throwing a tantrum) and goes to sleep. What's that about? I obviously don't get it.

Joe woke me up this morning from a dream. He said my legs were twitching like Gracie's when she's having a running dream, and I supposedly said "YOU go to hell" right out loud. I think its funny but I don't have a clue what that was all about. I doubt if I was chasing rabbits...

You know those knit swatches hanging on the yarn display racks at Wal-Mart, Jo-Anns, Michaels, etc. Where do those come from? Do the yarn companies have people knitting 4" squares to be sent to all the retailers? Can you imagine that you've been given a huge case of foo-foo yarn and your job is to knit swatches until the case is empty? Like hundreds of thousands of swatches? Or hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children knitting these swatches for pennies a day? Or are they knit on a machine? I wonder about this. It boggles my mind. I asked Joe and he says they are knit on machines. Even the snarly foo-foo yarn?

Here's something funny from the "global warming" files. According to the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News website, its 42-degrees there today.

 

Here in the Texas panhandle, its icy and 32-degrees. Yup, its warmer in Alaska!

Joe takes the dogs walking a couple of times a day, even in gloomy wintry weather. I think its a great day for a nap...

 

December Rain

Wow, we sure have wacky weather here in the Texas Panhandle. Today the wind has blown 30-40 mph gusts and we've had rain, glorious wonderful much-needed rain. And its warm - like in the 50s. So weird.   

this is the view from my front porch.

Gracie was out a few minutes ago when the rain hit. She was so funny - she came barreling in the doggie door and stopped in the living room to look at us. She was soaked, and she looked like she wanted to say "what did you do THAT for???"

Signs of Life

I live in one of the places in our country that is experiencing spring weather. Gosh, it has been gorgeous this week...  my apricot trees look like they are covered in popcorn.  Here's a couple shots:

And the peach trees aren't very far behind:

I am SO happy to see these buds on the trees, even though I know that we'll probably not get much fruit. Between the birds and the squirrels, we'd have to stand guard 24/7 to protect the crop. 

Monday evening Goofy and Gracie ate a whole bag of Hershey Kisses with Coconut Cream filling.  I knew something was up the minute I walked in the door - Goofy tells on himself by going to stand in the corner by the front door and he won't look at me.  Jeez it made me mad; I had just opened the bag and only had 3 of them before I went out for awhile, and I put it way back on the breakfast bar.  I admit, I didn't even think of the thing about dogs and chocolate until the middle of the night.  See, Goofy was buzzing from the chocolate (the theobromide in the chocolate is a stimulant - and the content is much higher for dark and baker's chocolate). We were up and down all night long - he was hyper.  The next morning they both seemed fine, and ate like normal.  The only other adverse reaction was that Gracie threw up mid afternoon, and there was a significant amount of blue and silver foil in it...  I did call the vet that evening, just for peace of mind, and was reassured that because they weren't even solid chocolate that there was probably nothing to worry about.  (good, because I wasn't really worried anyway)  It just made me mad that good chocolate went to waste.  (probably better than going to my waist, huh?)

What Would You Do?

Our little quilt group met last Thursday and we all got our Round Robin quilt tops back.  If I hadn't been nearly dead from upper respiratory stuff (it was not a cold! it wasn't! it was so much worse!) the pics would already be posted. 

I will only say that we aren't doing any more Round Robin projects for awhile.  For the first time ever, we have decidedly underwhelming results.

This is my friend T. holding my quilt top up for the camera.  I sent a bag of tan, beige, and cream fabrics to work with and requested a low-contrast neutral palette. The next-to-last border, interestingly enough, is silver and gray.  My friend T. put on the last border and  was able to find some tan-gray-ecru fabric to use to tie the colors together.

Here's B. holding up E.'s quilt top.  She added the swag border.  This is the one I added the checkerboard border to in July.  I really think this one turned out very pretty, and though E. wasn't at the meeting, she will love this.  I'm always enchanted by how stunning the black, white, red color scheme works up.  (I once saw a kitchen in these colors and loved it)

B.'s quilt top before my checkerboard border, and...

afterward.  My border was the last one on her top.  I really like it. Her theme was brown and aqua, with just a little pink for an accent.  This color scheme was popular in the late 1800's and again in the 1950's.  This quilt top is very pretty in real life, not nearly so dark as it seems here. 

This is J.'s quilt top.  Her theme was 1930's prints with a focus on lavender, and adding another color with each border.  This one is very pretty, feminine, and fresh.  Wouldn't it look great on a small square 4-legged table with worn-smooth white paint?  (think of Country Living magazine....)

      

And this is T.'s "finished" quilt top.  I am certain she will be adding to it, in order to pull the different greens together, and to get the red accent fabrics to settle down and behave themselves.  Go back in my archives, and see this one in the beginning - I added that first checkerboard border and the burnt orange strip.  I was wishing I'd chosen green, its one of my all-time favorite colors.  Somehow, I didn't envision this.  Maybe with some applique vines and flowers.... ???

I don't have pics, but I did finish the Noro Ribbed Scarf.  Its so pretty, and very L-O-N-G.  As soon as I take a picture, I'll give it to my sis.  After I finished it last Saturday, I cast on another quick scarf.  This one is shades-of-blue variegated chenille, a Lion-brand yarn called "Colorwaves" or something similar - just one big fat skein.  Its very pretty, just a plain garter stitch worked on size 9 needles.  Its got a horizontal "furrowed-row" look to it - very unusual!   Will take pics and post in the next day or two.  I don't have *anything* on the needles right now.  Waffling back and forth between starting a SOCK or whipping out another quickie scarf (out of some green & beige Bernat Galaxy - more acrylic foofy stuff). 

I'm not currently reading anything right now either - this is truly unusual for me.  I did buy a couple of new books last weekend - The Pact, and Keeping Faith, both by Jodi Picoult.  I don't know which to start first.  I also got The Lobster Chronicles by Linda Greenlaw, which looks really interesting. 

There's a lot of other assorted stuff going on in my life right now - Joe's gone to Tennessee to pick up a truck for my sister.  In fact, he's spending the night in Memphis tonight before heading back home tomorrow. Depending on when he gets near Oklahoma City, he might call Kevin to meet him for supper.  And depending on how he feels, he may or may not get back to Amarillo tomorrow - its about 725 miles - could be as much as 11-12 hours on the road but its interstate the whole way.

My doggies were bad today.  They Goofy knocked a box of cereal off the countertop (don't ask - Joe left it there) and they ate it, plus a box of Gracie's heartworm meds got knocked off and he chewed up the 2 foil packets they were in.  This wouldn't be so bad (she weighs half of what he does) except I just dosed them both on Monday.  Some days, I have momentary thoughts of "what the hell, if he dies, he dies...." but I would seriously be wrecked.  Its just so frustrating when they pull a stunt like that.  (I know its our fault for leaving this stuff out.... I KNOW....)  Yeah, they were lonesome because Joe was gone.... But he also knows when he's been bad - he goes and lays by the front door, trying to look invisible.  I barely even have to scold him - but I do, just so he knows I'm not happy.

The chemical plant I work in had a big fire last night.  Some of our operations and processes will be down for a week or two so the repairs can be made.  It looks like I'll be getting off work on time for awhile - once we run out of some products, we won't have more until the units are back up and running.  It was really more "minor" than "major" in the whole scope of things, but it will be very expensive to make the necessary repairs.  No one was injured (by the grace of God) but there was potential for loss of life... if the wind had been blowing a different direction... so we are counting blessings today.   

Last weekend we got over 3" of rain - and it was in the 70's for high temps!  It was glorious!  Today its hot again in the 90's, but we'll have another cool front with rain again by Friday and Saturday.  I find myself actually looking forward to fall, and cooler temperatures.  Its been miserably hot this summer. 

And for a strange-but-true story, how about this?  I ran out of Celebrex last weekend, and don't have a refill left on my prescription.  I figured I'd call the dr. on Monday (I don't see him again till next month) but I found it quite interesting that my knee is not hurting since I quit taking Celebrex.  Hmmm.  I just wonder what's up with that.  How can my knee be better when I don't take the anti-inflammatory drug???  Simply amazing.

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." . . . You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

I'm back, I've fixed my computer, and I've got pictures to prove it.

First, some knitting pics:

Yes!  It is the long-suffering Black Boa.  It is draped over hubby's side mirror.  Its not very long - just enough to tuck in at the front of a jacket or coat.  Its not any great shakes, but I FINISHED it.

(Don't click to blow it up - I don't know why but my pics are ENORMOUS.  I know from experience with scanning that they don't need to be so big, but I don't know how to resize the digital pics that I'm downloading.  Maybe go with less resolution?)

         

Another CRAPPY picture.  I even did the color adjustment on this one.  Its the long suffering Moonlight Mohair scarf in Rainbow Falls colorway.  I do love this scarf.  I started knitting it when Daddy was in the hospital, then frogged it after he died.  It had rows of various widths.... very weird.  I started it again when Mom was in the hospital, and finished it this time.  It will work nicely with my chestnut brown leather bomber jacket. I've seen this yarn worked in drop-stitch in a scarf - way pretty - better than this by 100x. :-)

    

Why yes, that IS a Booga Bag in a tree.  Funny you should ask... I also knit this while Mom was in the hospital.  Its a burgundy, black, and gray Noro Kureyon - don't remember the color #.  Isn't it nice?  I am thrilled with this - I'm going to make another one, only bigger. It was so easy and so much fun.  Kevin's girlfriend Tara will be getting this some day soon.

    

Now, some Quilting Pics:

A return to the Round Robin blocks.  This one is Judi's - from a couple months ago.  I was going to do a checkerboard border, but didn't care for it.  This is a scrappy piano key border.  Way too easy, but what the heck.  I had other stuff going on.....

      

Do you see a trend developing here?  This is Romelle's block.  I did a piano key border on hers too.  Her theme is Black and White with a touch of red.  I think the black & white check corners add some pizzazz.  I used some of my mom's black & white fabrics in this border.  I really do know how to do something besides piano keys, but they're just so easy, especially when your brain is in neutral.  :-(

Some flower pics:

This is one of the floral arrangements from my mom's services. It was so beautiful - look at those roses - and it had curly willow branches in it - very chic.  This thing was easily 3' tall and probably 2.5' wide.   

   

                        

These were also gorgeous roses in this vase arrangement.  It lasted forever.  It looked kinda patriotic - red, white, and blue...  we had tons of flowers, but these were some of the prettiest ones.

                  

This iris was blooming in my yard a couple of months ago. There were actually about a dozen of them, all the same color.  Iris do very well here because they are so tolerant of dryer conditions and not-perfect soil.  We have plenty of that.  I also had some gorgeous pumpkin-gold-orange irises but never got a chance to shoot pics of them this spring. There is always next year, right?

Dog Pics:

I love this picture.  Its my Goofy sitting in his favorite place at my mom's house - between her blue chair and the window.  He doesn't let a fly get past that window without announcing to the world that its there.  He would watch for us to return for hours. 

How could anyone resist this sweet face?  That cocky ear?  He's a love, truly he is.  See, that face is what gets him out of trouble after he's been rooting through the kitchen garbage can... his eyes are like pools of melted chocolate.

Here's the beautiful Gracie - she's in her fave spot on the couch in Mom's living room.  She rules!  This couch is going to my son's new college home in Stillwater OK.  He's rented a house and has inherited a houseful of furniture.  It doesn't look much like a 22 year old guy, does it?  He's also getting a dark blue leather easy chair & ottoman.

That's going to be all for now.  I don't have a lot to write about, so I thought I'd post some pics.  Back to regular blogging later this week. 

          

Lazy Saturday

I went out early this morning and shot some pics of things blooming and growing in my yard.  Here's our "Prairie Spy" apple tree in bloom.  It is so pretty, you just can't believe it.  This tree usually just bears a handful of fruit - maybe 12 apples - but I like it anyway.  I'll put more pics of the apple tree blossoms (and other stuff) in a photo album. 

I also love this picture of our honeysuckle:  This is in the corner of our front yard.  I  have a wishing well sitting near it, which I plan to get flowers planted in next weekend.  Gardening is still kind-of difficult with my knee problems, but I still intend to put out some flowers.  I have a paver-stone patio off my front porch that I keep potted flowers (geraniums, miniature roses, petunias, moss-rose, etc.) on, but its definitely in the "before" stage right now!  I've also got roses with a ton of new growth and my peonies are up about 10" so maybe I'll have flowers for Mother's Day.

Here's one of my new roses from last summer.  It's called "Seven Sisters" and is a pink climbing rose.  (seven sisters is the name of an old quilt pattern)  There is a clematis planted to the left of the rose, and some columbine in front of it.  This is in a very protected area of my front flowerbed, just off my front porch.  It gets some morning sun, and is shaded from about 2:00 pm thru the rest of the day.  I hope the rose and clematis grow so much this year that I'll have to put in a bigger trellis!  I'd love for these to climb up to my porch roof.  I'd also love to be able to remember what color the clematis and the columbine are - I had a plan, but I've forgotten the specifics.  All of the flowers in the bed were pink, purple, blue, and white last year... and I don't remember which are perennials that will be coming back.  *sigh*  I'm kinda half-assed like that. 

I got a real surprise in the mail yesterday.  One of my quilting friends from Florida mailed me a little quilt made by my dear friend Judy, who passed away last September.  There were a group of us that had a retreat in Florida in March 2004.  One of the girls taught a class called "Petite Topiary" using the fusible grid to lay out the body of the quilt "picture".  I was making one, but Judy hadn't signed up for it, so I convinced her to do it.  She chose a red kit (mine was autumn) and we sat together working on this for one afternoon.  It was so much fun, and she was really proud of the little top when it was sewn and borders added to it.  After she died, several of the Florida girls got her sewing fabrics and projects and began finishing them up to give to her quilting friends.  This was the piece they sent me, because they knew I'd have fond memories of making this project with Judy.  Isn't that sweet?  I got weepy when I opened it, because I had no idea they were finishing her projects, much less that I'd get something to remember her by.  (specs: its about 18" square - give or take - and is machine quilted in gold metallic thread in a cross-hatch pattern)

I've also got some new pics of the dogs.  Here's Goofy.  He's starting to look a bit ratty - he needs to get a haircut in the next week or so.  He is as goofy as he looks.  Its difficult to get a good picture of Gracie.  She is very shy and turns her head at the last second.  If you do catch her looking at the camera, she has that weird yellow-eye thing happening that makes her look possessed by the devil.  I've tried the red-eye adjustment in the photo editing software, but it doesn't do much good removing that "evil glow".   

I believe I will take an afternoon nap now - they don't know its Saturday, and they got me up at 6:30 am.  As a matter of fact, they are a pain in the butt sometimes, but I love 'em anyway!

I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew better.    George Bird Evans

Borrowed from Labradorable....Holiday Pet PSA

while cruising the blogs this afternoon, I happened upon this entry at http://labmom.typepad.com/labradorable/ and thought it was great!

Holiday Pet PSA

Now's the time when there are lots of new and different things around that your pets might get into, sometimes with disastrous consequences.  Here's a list of things that really aren't too good (and can be lethal) for your pets:

Chocolate -- cardiac problems, seizures (darker chocolate is worse)

Raisins/grapes -- kidney failure in dogs and cats possible

Poinsettias -- upset stomach

Lilies -- kidney failure in cats

Antifreeze -- lethal if not treated ASAP (even then no guarantee)

Tinsel, ribbon, ornament hooks -- digestive tract damage, surgery needed

Macadamia nuts -- temporary (lasts several days) paralysis in dogs

Windshield washer fluid -- physical and mental problems

Coffee -- cardiac problems, seizures

Xylitol (artificial sweetener, often in sugarless chewing gum) -- blood sugar loss, seizures in dogs

Also, watch out for batteries, alcohol, water from your Christmas tree (if you have a live tree), salt and other ice-melting products (if you live in an area with snow), tree ornaments, candles, etc. . ., all of which may harm your pet.  Of course, a lot of these things aren't so hot for your children either, though the effects may be different -- poinsettias are lethal to humans, for example.

If you're worried about your pet ingesting any of the above, you can call the ASPCA Poison Control Hotline at 1-888-426-4435 or the MSPCA's Angell Poison Control Hotline at 1-877-2ANGELL (That's 1-877-216-4355.) for 24/7 advice from a veterinarian.  The two hotlines are affiliated and it costs $50 to call because there's no public funding for these services.  The hotlines are staffed by veterinarians who work for these two nonprofit organizations.