Bacon Apple Pie

I've been rather busy with Ren Faire stuff, and of course, an idiot who keeps forgetting to bring out her camera at said faire. Oh well.

I did do something nice for all my friends at the CRF. With Jenny's help, we made two, count them, TWO Bacon Apple Pies.

They were delicious.

And rather pretty.


And my friends came up with another interesting idea.

Replace the bottom crust with more bacon.

Gauntlet thrown. . . Stay Tuned.

New Old Wheel!

Funny how things work out sometimes. I was talking with an old friend, mentioned my spinning and she offered me a wheel, for free, that was old. Her mom had bought it some 10 years ago and never used it. After getting it, I think I see why, and I will say, this wheel is worth every penny!


only one speed



And missing the treadles (Which are rather important!)


I'm going to see about replacing it all, and making a nice usable wheel out of it. Or, give it to the next person who'd like to do the same!

Brown Sheep FIber Swap!

Goody Goody! Goodies!

On Ravelryy, a secret swap was organized; exchange some Brown Sheep fiber plus goodies that didn't exceed $15, and pamper someone you hardly know. On my end, I had the fun of sharing my absolute favorite coffee with a fellow coffee junkie, plus gave her some of my lovingly blended batts and a new drop spindle. I just love enabling people!

I got my package today as well (I guess everyone had the good idea to ship Priority!)

In it I found:


Some beautifully hand-dyed roving, lovely freshwater pearl stitch markers, some awesome looking tea, some hand-dyed silk noil scraps, plus some coccoons to play with, silver thread, beads, butterfly beads, a teeny tiny crochet hook, recipe cards for dog cookies, dog-themed cookie cutters, and. . . a mystery item. It is a square-round piece of wood, with a piece cut out of it. I can't wait to find out what it is and what I'm supposed to do with it!

More cute doggy pictures

I swear, I still am knitting and spinning, but these two are so cute!

The effects of gravity on a greyhound.

Greyhounds, one of the most graceful and beautiful dogs (in my completely unbiased opinion) are unfortunately plagued by one of the most prominent forces in the universe: Gravity.
Here we see specimen "M" who was only moments ago completely on the couch.



The most common defense a greyhound has against the force of gravity is wiggling. It is the hope of the subject that said wiggling will, through entropic forces, settle them in a state which uses less energy and is therefore, more comfortable.



Initial attempts may cause the head to become stuck between comfortable places.

But the stalwart greyhound will persevere until a more comfortable state is attained.



umm, Mimsy? Is that really comfortable?



mmmmmmyep!

Thus the subject has proven the theory that greyhounds are not only cute, but flexible. . . and a little silly.

Getting Closer. . .

It's fun watching the relationship between these two dogs progress. They went from very hands-off playing, to laying NEAR each other and now. . .

"my foot is cold"

"My hat smells funny"
"Your belly is comfy"

Also, it is AMAZING how much fur Mimsy sheds. I'm not sure if it's because she's still shedding the last of her winter coat or if it's because her fur is black and we notice it more on the beige carpet. Either way, I'm vaccuuming more!

Another reason I like my in-laws

MIL double-fisting

Greyhound Sleeping Positions

Perpendicular



parallel



With Daddy

Mimsy!

It became clear pretty quickly that Mimsy fits our new pooch's personality. And as fun as it would be to have Callooh and Callay, well, ya gotta go with what feels right.

Day 1 went really well. We had introduced them at the kennel, and they liked each other really well.

She settled right down on the car ride, laying down after about only 5-10 minutes of standing. She very easily tolerated being picked up to get out of the car, and managed to navagate the two stairs up into the house from the garage. We walked her around, and she just kept walking in a circle around the circuit of our house! very cute. Then we took them outside in our backyard and watched some synchronised peeing!

Inside into her crate and she settled down without a fuss.

My friend came over later in the evening, and we again walked her in the backyard, letting Callay stay off-leash. More sniffing and peeing.

About the only odd thing that happened was at one point while I was outside and both dogs were inside (Callay wandering free, Mimsy in her crate) I hear barking. I go inside and I see Callay barking and play-bowing at the crate, and a bewildered look on the new dog's face. I tell Callay this is not appropriate and stare her down. Then she lays down right in front of the crate.

Mimsy settled right in when we took them upstairs (carrying her since she just was spayed) and she laid down in the crate without protest, and slept through the night. The only time she whined was when I got up this morning to go to the bathroom, at which point it was time to get everyone up.

The walk this morning was interesting. We took them on leash in the neighborhood. I'd forgotten just how rambunctious a high prey drive, young dog can be the first time they see a squirrel. hoo. She was trying for all her might to slip the lead, and a couple of times I grabbed her around the chest to hold her. We made that a rather short walk. We'll try again later today.

And now, some pictures!

Bugs at home

I didn't know honeybees liked hydrangeas!





I also tried to get a shot of two cicada killers fighting, but wasn't quick enough. All I got was blurry spots.

Fun at the lake

I always enjoy watching Callay swim. Well, "Swim" really. More like she floats in her life vest and holds on to someone else who's swimming. This past trip we were making the most of the use of the lake and getting Callay some "hydro therapy" getting her to actually swim and use those muscles that have atrophied a bit with being sick.

The first couple of swims were off of the dock, with Jeff lifting her in by the handle. Then we beached the boat and went swimming off of a sandy beach, letting Callay go in at her own pace. With Jeff and Mom out in the water calling to her, and me holding the leash (but not MAKING her go) she went right out into the water and swam of her own accord!

After a bit she got tired and wanted to rest on one of us floating, so Dad tossed in a blue funoodle. She rested her paws on it to help her keep her head above water, and was walking on the bottom, pushing the noodle along!


I was helping steady her bum when this picture was snapped.

Then we got back in the boat. She likes going fast. All the wind in the face like running but without all the exertion!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 8th anniversary. We will celebrate by consuming massive amounts of sushi.

New addition!

Since Callay is pretty much all better, Jeff and I decided to head on out to Greyhound Friends of NC to pick out a sibling for Callay.

We met a few doggies, and came to the conclusion that Callay doesn't really like boys. Her reactions to them were either ignore totally or be rather annoyed by their presence. They were permitted to sniff her royal hindquarters, but if they sniffed at her breath she kept avoiding them.

So it was down to two girls, who currently go by "Sister" and "Tuff"

Callay liked both of them. Lots of face contact and tail wagging. Unfortunately, Sister seemed a bit skittish around us, and with as boisterous as we and our friends tend to be, I can't imagine she'd be that happy. While we probably could bring her out of her shy shell, it's not guaranteed and she probably wouldn't be terribly happy.

Tuff, on the other hand not only got Callay to actually RUN for a bit, they still did some great space-sharing, and some simultaneous trotting. I was having too much fun watching them to get too many pictures, but here they are (one is of Tuff from the website)




Callay was tired from all the fun


A fun car shot just for the heck of it.

Tour de Fleece Day 2

A bobbin and a half full, and most of the batts pre-drafted and ready to spin.



Callay isn't sure about all those other greyhounds in the house.

Tour de Fleece

On your mark?

Get set. . .

Go!!!

Adamas

Adamas in greek means indomitable or untamable. This name was given to diamonds because of their incredible resiliancy.

When I started this shawl, Callay was sick and I was wanting to focus my energy on something that symbolized such strength and resiliancy of diamonds. Then my uncle and father both get sick as well. So with each stitch I was thinking of those I love and want to be well, as well as those I love who are hurting because of their loved ones' illness.

One thing I know for sure: We're all tough as diamonds, and able to adapt. Much like this shawl, in both symbolism and the blocking transformation.

Before


and After

More random cuteness

Going through old photos of Callay I came across a few particularly cute ones of her "swimming" at my parents' place on Lake Oconee. I put swimming in quotations because, well. . .





She didn't exactly work on her dog paddle

Clever shawl

I've had this shawl finished for a while now, but have jsut been bad about getting pictures up.

So without further ado, a crappy in-the-hallway picture taken with my cellphone, and an even crappier on-the-bed photo of this shawl.


In all seriousness I love this shawl. The way it stays together without a shawl pin is just plain. . . clever. I don't even undo it when I take it off, I just slip it on and off over my head.

THis was made with some of my earlier handspun. It's still incredibly nice, but the stuff I've done more recently is vastly superior. I like having things like this around to remind me of my humble spinning beginnings.

Cute distractions

There's been too much lack of posting, or posting of not great things. So here's something cute instead!

Callay was feeling better for a while, and this is a photo from that period of time.

No neck pain, and eating well. This was from mid-April.

Family

I'm in a hotel in Augusta GA. Dad is in the hospital for depression, and his depression is such that he just doesn't want to be seen by anyone. I'm here anyway. His doctors say to respect his wishes, and I agree. I don't want to cause him more stress and anxiety being seen by his daughter in a state where he doesn't want to be seen.

I'm just hoping that I can lend a hand to Mom, help her deal with this, and be a nice surprise when Dad does say that he wants to see me.

The risks of texting in posts.

Apparently this is what gets posted when I "text" to my blog. *sigh*

My apologies for the weirdness.

Weird post follows. Needless to say it is unlikely I will be using this feature much.


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The results

The results from the ultrasound were, like all others, inconclusive. Which on the one hand is good because she doesn't have liver or kidney damage, but on the other hand it doesn't get us closer to an answer for what's really wrong with her. She does now have some swelling in her joints, which could be infectious material that's settled there, or it could be autoimmune. Our options at this point are to start over and do pretty much all of the tests over again, do nothing, or something in between.

Two of the in between ones that made sense were to either treat her with long term antibiotics to try to rout out what's causing the infection, or tap her joints to see what's causing the inflammation. If they tap her joints and isolate some sort of bacterium from it, they can also test it against different antibiotics to see what it's susceptible to, and then only put her on those antibiotics. The test isn't terribly expensive, and that way she doesn't have to be on an entire battery of antibiotics, where perhaps only one is actually doing any good. So after talking it over with Jeff, we decided that we're going to take this approach.

Wish us luck

Spoke too soon?

Callay was feeling a lot better. She was eating, she looked to be putting on weight, she was acting almost like herself again. So much so that I almost decided against taking her to the vet's for another checkup, but I took her to Banfield, since we have something akin to doggy insurance that makes checkups free. Well, she was running a fever, and didn't really want to eat that day, or over the weekend, and even until today. I've kept her going with gentle force-feeding (shove wet food in the side of her mouth until she swallows it) but this is not a good thing.

She's at NCSU yet again, this time for an ultrasound to see the current condition of her internal organs, if something has been damaged by all these antibiotics, if she has some lesion, or if just like all of the other tests, it shows "nothing conclusive"

This is so very difficult. If we just had an answer from this battery of tests. . . But for her to go downhill after 2 weeks of feeling really good. For her to spike a fever while still on potent antibiotics. If we just knew what the hell was causing it, we could decide. . . something. She is still acting like she feels fine. She just has a fever and doesn't want to eat. But say the words Walkie, Cookie, ride in the car, and she's bouncing all over the place. Take her for a walk and she wants to jog the whole way. Do we let her stay where she feels good enough to do all that but doesn't want to eat? When do we stop and just let whatever's going to happen happen? After what we have put into this, how do we stop now? How do we just give up on the best veterinary hospital in the state and just see what happens? I really don't believe they're pushing tests on us that they don't feel are necessary. They do seem to be acutely aware of the fact that their reputation is being tarnished somewhat by the fact that they're doing all these tests and still don't have an answer for me or for themselves. I keep asking how this test or this test will change her treatment. They always have sound answers.

I'm frustrated, sad, and worried that I'm making the wrong decisions for her care. Every test seems like it's a good idea and it will answer something or rule something out. And then it doesn't.

So what do I do?

Finished objects

Boy have I been bad about posting pictures of my finished products. Here's one now!

Samus was done in about 4 months, and almost entirely at work. Not while I was supposed to be working, but rather when the guys are hanging about chatting after I'm long done eating, I knit. I would get about 45 solid minutes of knitting done while they discuss the latest television programs. I was a little worried that I would get it done just in time to put it away for the seasone, but fortunately, there was still time after it was finished to wear it. Hooray for freezing temperatures in April! It's missing a button, but my awesome friend Aaron is going to be cutting me one from a piece of antler he has.

I also have been having some moderate success at Etsy, so made a purchase of some new roving and dyed fleeces from The Sheepshed Studio


Some blue superwash, some "dye soppers" and some coopsworth curls.

I was so excited about the order I immediately started a batt. No name for this one, but it's sooo soft and fluffy, I think I"m going to put it in my etsy shop along with a drop spindle as a learn to spin kit!

Shop Update!

www.knitkass.etsy.com