Say Hello to My (New) Little Friend

I wrote this post last spring, but never published it. It all still stands; let's celebrate Frida's Gotcha Day with her debut.

Because I've been away for so long, things have happened that you may not have heard about. Last June, we lost Stella. In early December, we realized how much we miss the pitter-patter of little feet. We had a few weeks off coming up so we started looking in earnest, filling in applications, and meeting and greeting. The first dog was a hard no with the dude. You may remember that Stella was a bit of a handful, so he was really wary. This new dog was a bit rambunctious (he called it aggressive). The second dog was a no from me. He was described as a "perfect" dog by the foster, but when we met her and her husband (and the dog) little issues came leaking out. I mean, I didn't believe he was perfect but he sounded pretty good. He was...a hound. And those who love a hound, love a hound. The rest of us know they are independent and difficult to train. As we walked him, it was difficult to even get his attention. We talked more with the fosters, and we all agreed he wasn't the right dog. (It was like the mutual breakup on Seinfeld.) We talked about what we were looking for and they agreed to keep an eye out for us. Unbeknownst to us, the first place was also keeping an eye out. And that's how we met Frida.

Unfortunately, it took us into January to find her, so we were only home for a few days before we went back to work. And she had hookworm so she couldn't go to daycare. Nevertheless, we persisted.

The Embark DNA test tells us she is 45.6% mountain cur, 37.8% pit bull, and 12.2% American Staffordshire terrier. And 100% lovable dufus.

She is a very cuddly, 38 lb lapdog. 

If Stella was a Ravenclaw (and she was so smart), Frida is a Hufflepuff, friendly and loyal. But she also does a spot on imitation of Dobby.

Waldorff Complete

I don't know who I have become, but I have spent the past two weeks working on one project. And finished it!

Waldorff

Homespun Sampler

Called for colors and fabric

January 8, 2015-April 5, 2020

Not sure where I'll head next, but you'll get the report when I decide!

Hope you are staying well and keeping your wits about you.

Waldorff, Round Five

I went back to work today. It was probably not the wisest decision but this is our busiest season, and there's so much to do. {Sigh} Now I'm home, on the couch under the throw in my jammies, and coughing up a lung.

I promised you Waldorff. Here he is the last time.

Homespun Samplar, called for colors (not sure why, some of those greens are weird), black cashel 28 ct.

Walk, Don't Run!

By Tomisti - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

I did something perhaps ill-advised. I signed up at work for a Turkey Trot. This isn't the regular Turkey Trot where you have to run a mile or five on Thanksgiving day. This Turkey Trot is a contest among Fitbit wearers at work to see who can walk the most steps over the course of the month.* So yes, I signed up to blog every day, stitch every day, and walk every day.

Sometimes I think I'm much better at juggling than I really am.

Today is also Stella's birthday. She might be starting to show her age. She's nine, but that's 56 to you and me. (I took this picture first thing, I think she still has sleep in her eyes!)

Better get to stitching! See you tomorrow.

*I'm not in it to win it. I'm in it not to embarrass myself, so I am aiming for 10K per day.

Love that Dog

I took out Love Me, Love My Dog which hasn't seen much love since February 2011. The trouble with this hit and run one day stitching is that next time I pull it out, I will have to do as much thinking about this project as I did this time just to take a few stitches. I seem to have either lost or used up the blue grey floss for one of the dogs. So I moved to the chocolate lab, only to be completely perplexed by which color is which. I needed to confirm a few things with the DMC floss box. {Sigh} So only a few stitches. I should prioritize this one in the new year because it needs getting done. I started it for the 2011 Crazy January Challenge!

This sorry state of affairs is giving Miss Stella the vapors.

November is Upon Us!

Sorry for inflicting the creepy Halloween clown on you! I hope he didn't give anyone nightmares. But Jo did want us to post spooky things.

It's November, and around these parts that means Nablopomo! So here we go. This year, I am planning to stitch on a different piece every night and show it to you the next day. Unfortunately, I met up with some girlfriends for coffee, and the next thing it was almost 8 pm! Lots of catching up to do. Then I had to walk Miss Stella. And then blog. I'm going to be lucky to get two stitches in!

I'm featuring Miss Stella tonight because today is her birthday! She's 8!

It's not so much her birthday as the day we imagine she may have been born. It's rough being an adoptee, not knowing your parents, or your siblings, or even your real birth date. She handles it all pretty well.

Today she went to daycare and when I mentioned it was her birthday, they said they'd give her a special treat. When I went to pick her up tonight, the woman who brought her to me asked if Stella had come to daycare with a Kong, or if that was theirs. So, I have deduced that they gave her a Kong while she was waiting for me to pick her up. Not bad considering that if you order a Kong for your dog during a hotel stay, it's $5. (They fill it, and I should have asked what they gave her...I know at Thanksgiving they give them turkey, sweet potato, and green beans.)

Here's proof that dog is my copilot.

This silly mutton has brought us years of joy!

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." --Edward Hoagland

The Return of Waldorff

There is something about this dignified Airedale, that in no way reminds me of the goofball dogs that my aunt had. Max, Woody, and Jameson were terriers through and through--stubborn, energetic, rambunctious, and (worse!) diggers. But she adored them all.

I'm pleased to report that I have completed page two. The colors in the leaves on these flowers are so strange, but I just go along for the ride. We wouldn't want to detract from the main feature!

Thank you for your kind words on how this rotation is working for me. I am pleased that a thing (or two) will get done this year! Three days seems to be enough time to make a difference and not too much time that I get bored. Which is my wont.

Onward!

Waldorff

I thought I might get through the second page of Waldorff but I got sidetracked by my vacation. As it should be. Everybody who saw me working on it asked if they knew who it was for, and they do--a special person who's had a few such dogs. I'm trying to decide if I can incorporate the dogs' names as well. Right now I'm thinking around the edge so I don't have to disrupt the design. What do you think?

Today we celebrate Stella's "Gotcha Day," the day--SEVEN years ago--she came to live with the dude and me. This picture is from last December. (Right now with her shaved neck, Stella would prefer no photos.) Don't be fooled; this photo documents Stella at her cuddliest

It also happens to be my dad's birthday. Later today, I'll be bringing him a blueberry cake. Blueberry cake is his favorite. My mother made it every year for his birthday until Maggie came over to help my aunt clean our house and she decided that this little stand up recipe holder that my mother had, the one with our family's most important recipes, was too dirty. So she threw it away! (She also assumed my mother didn't really cook since she wasn't much of a housecleaner.) (Not true.) Anyway, since the advent of Pinterest, I've been trying different blueberry cakes to see if we can find the old recipe.

I haven't been stitching much partly because of my parents' visit but also because some somebodies turned TWO!

And how old am I, yelling out the years as if I am completely unaware that time passes?

Greenland Rotation

Slightly more sheep than there was in February, as projected.

Stella's having a bit of a time. She got her stitches out on Tuesday and has "resumed normal activities." Unfortunately, she is suffering from antibiotic belly (or that's what they're guessing). This has resulted in the dude and I being woken for bathroom breaks any time between midnight and five am. We aren't particularly good at well...much of anything when our sleep is interrupted this way. That's my story and I'm sticking with it!

Anyway, don't worry too much about the dog; she's getting probiotics and home-cooked food. She should be back to normal soon.

Good News!

First the good news. Stella's tumor was "low grade" and the margins were clear. She requires no further treatment. Woohoo! She'll get her stitches out next Tuesday and should be back to normal before we know it. (Coming off the Benadryl has certainly raised her energy level.) It will take about four months for her fur to grow back, however.

I have returned to work so am well enough. I am no longer coughing so much that I need to mainline cough drops. I didn't even take Nyquil last night! 

I thought it might be good to get back to my 10 project rotation, so the plan for the rest of June looks like this:

June 13-15 Our Souls*
June 16-18 Cinnamon Stars**
June 19-21 Greenland Santa
June 22-24 Small #6
June 25-27 Mary's Stocking
June 28-30 Tis the Season

*I have a number of meetings these evenings, so there may be less progress than we'd hope.

**The three weekend hiatus from gardening may result in less progress than we'd hope.

Getting Back in the Groove

 I always find it so difficult to get back into the swing of things after craft month. I think I've crafted myself out.

Of course, this is compounded by the uptick at work. We have an event where donors meet their scholars in mid April, and we've been expanding it to make the trip back to campus more attractive. So, instead of spending three or four hours at work on a Saturday for a luncheon, this weekend I worked from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday after working late on Friday. Standing on my feet all day. I literally crawled onto the couch and under the fluffy blanket on Friday night. (I had to skip stamping I was so tired!)

I did not get into the garden as planned at all this weekend.

I have stitched a bit, while watching Poirot. (Somehow we missed all the later ones (series 10+), the darker (and better) episodes.)

I have been working on my small mostly, and ignoring my rotation. It's a big small packed with stitches. In the past two weeks, I have taken a few stitches on Waldorff (previously) and Our Souls (previously) as well. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? At some point, I'll be back in the groove, and I will stitch on Cinnamon Stars--that was your pick to be added to the rotation.

Also, my rooster has arrived in Alaska. Or the rooster formerly known as mine...

Man's Best Friend

This is one that I have wanted to do for a long time. So long that the original post has been removed from Modern Dog Magazine. (I guess Modern Dogs aren't doing this any more.) You could search on Pinterest, but when I did that I came up with the original I pinned that no longer exists, and a bunch of people who pinned pictures and not directions. Still, it's not rocket science.

I did require the assistance of my man for this craft but that's because the dog is who she is. I used a brayer to spread black (nontoxic) acrylic paint onto the dog's paw. Then we made her stand on a piece of paper. (The trainer was right, that "stand" command came in handy!) I had a soapy bath ready for her paw so that we could wash the paint off immediately (to avoid the dog licking it off). We also chose to do this in the kitchen with tile that could be washed. (I may have done it outside if night hadn't fallen.) Also, dried chicken--her favorite treat--was applied liberally.

I didn't use ink like many others because 1) I only have Stazon which... stays on--not good for my floor or the dog and 2) I don't think Stazon cleaner is nontoxic, even if the ink is. Ultimately the paint comes off with soap and water so it won.

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about this process, because I think this is a super special way to remember your favorite pooch!

Waldorff

Waldorff, Homespun Samplers, DMC

Waldorff hasn't received the attention he was probably expecting during this rotation, but that's what happens when you land on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday--especially when your Wednesday evening is taken up with a trip to hear Colson Whitehead. One of the best things about living so close to so many colleges is that there are any number of free events to choose from--readings, plays, dance recitals, and concerts. The dude and I went to see what he had to say for himself.

That's my excuse for a lack of progress on Waldorff. His daffodils got bigger. On the other hand, my daffodils are the saddest little things ever. The mild December led them to pop out so early, and they were nearly blooming when the blizzard came. Now the stems have lost all integrity and the yellow buds are sunk into the mud.

First Round of the New Rotation

Waldorff saw a lot of stitching time these first three days of the new rotation. On New Year's Day, I decided to do some laundry. Big mistake. My boot heel caught on the carpet, and I fell down half the stairs. I somehow managed to land on the laundry basket--knocking the wind out of me--and on top of the laundry which made the trip separately. (I don't know what went down, when I started falling I shut my eyes and went along for the ride.) I screamed when I started falling, and I could hear the dude shout from the basement, "Nik, are you okay? Nik!?" I couldn't answer because I couldn't breathe, and also, I didn't know. He made it to the foot of the stairs just about the time my head hit. "Is anything broken?" he asked--he's had a lot of practice in triaging my accidents. "I don't know," I managed to pant. "Well, let's get this picture out of here," he says as he removes this cross-stitched piece (Willow Trees from the stairway gallery) from between my legs (yeah, I have no explanation for that). I look up at my stitching; you can see the point where I took off (missing picture) and from that point down are the rest of the pictures are askew. He takes my right hand to pull me up, but I can't push off my left arm. In fact my whole left side is a mess. It turns out I still have muscle memory from all the skiing I did in my youth--I went down on my side like they always taught us. Anyway... that's how I got out of laundry, cooking, and walking the dog for the next two days, which left lots of time for stitching and television watching. 

I only have one bruise and it's not even that spectacular. I complained about this to the dude last night. "I'm too achy not to be more bruised." "What hurts?" he asked. "Pretty much everything from my shoulder to my knee on my left side." And the sternum. Don't forget that. If I may be so bold as to offer further advice on falling, remember to roll onto the side that you don't sleep on!

Last January when I started (and put it aside) Waldorff looked like this.

I've completed page one of four. I hope next month when this comes up again in the rotation, I do have to take a break to walk the dog!

Halloween Redux

Stella appreciates all your good wishes for her birthday. She would give you little licks on your hand... after she finished barking at you, naturally.

Speaking of barking...on Halloween Stella wore herself out barking at everyone who came to the door. Very early, close to six, three little girls (three or four years old) knocked on the door. Stella starts barking. I grab the candy and open the door. The little girls were confronted by a barking dog (behind the glass storm door). She must have looked like Cerberus! Two of them took one look and raced up the path back to the safety of their parents, leaving a lone brave girl who would let no man or beast come between her and her Starbursts. I went outside and gave the other girls their candy because they deserved it. After that, I did wait until the dude had removed the pooch to open the door...

Here are two little bugs looking out their front door for trick or treaters. I don't think they scared anyone...

(nb: My sister tried very hard to capture a picture of their smiling bug faces, but it's nearly impossible. With two, someone's always on the move!) (Please note the motorcycle boots. I die!)

Happy Birthday, Stella!

Stella turned seven today. Well, like the queen, she has an official birthday; unlike the queen, we don't know the day she was born. According to the chart at the vet, that's 47 to you and me. We took a walk in the woods at the state park near us. Then she got a Frosty Paws ice cream (a little snack to help get her through the time change). And there were lots of naps. What better way to spend a birthday?

Away Again, Naturally

Portland Head

As we usually do this time of year, the dude and I drove up to Maine to visit my parents. This year, with the addition of the twins, my parents' house was full-up so we were fortunate enough to stay with my cousin who lives closer to the beach.

Her proximity to the beach facilitated our viewing of the Perseid meteor shower. We walked over and lay down in the sand and watched shooting stars for almost an hour while listening to the crashing waves; it was so relaxing. My mother (a mere three miles away) said they couldn't see for the clouds, but I'm pretty sure it was light pollution. Our delightful viewing came crashing to an end when a couple of drunk guys stumbled onto the beach and started throwing a lighted frisbee. Oh well. It was great while it lasted!

My cousin's younger daughter has become obsessed with lighthouses, so we visited Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth (look for Edward Hopper's portrayals) and then to Portland Head Lighthouse. I can't believe in all the time we've been going to Maine we've never been!

We also went shopping with the girls which was a lot less painful than it sounds--especially to this non-shopper. Those girls are so good. I don't know how my sister got so lucky! They made it through lunch (where there were no high chairs, only booster seats without the seatbelts) and several stores. And my sister got to do a full shop at her favorite store.

My elder niece and her "summer friend" were especially good mother's helpers, and I know my sister was grateful for the help. I'm pretty sure this is the best birth control these girls could have (for now). (They're only 15.) The twins loved the beach especially playing in the water. But what's not to love when you have attendants like these?

If you enjoyed this postcard from Maine, you might want to check out Serendipitous Jo's Summer (Pet themed) Blog Hop. Self-promotion warning: today's postcard is from me to Vickie. You can read it here.

Summer Postcard Blog Hop

Serendipitous Jo (I've completely rechristened her, which I am very careful not to do IRL because I hate being called Nikole or, worse, Nik) (but she couldn't think of a clever nickname, and since I think of Donna at Needleworker Not in Paradise as Jo--she was when she started blogging--I have to distinguish.) Let's get on with that sentence, shall we? Serendipitous Jo is hosting a postcard blog hop, and I'm next to share. 

I received this postcard form Katie at Jeremiah's Mom:

I thought this one would fit well for all dog lovers. Now if only we could learn from them.

Thanks, Katie, for reminding us all the things our pets can teach us. Her note reminds me of this quote:

In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog. --Edward Hoagland.

As readers know, I have a rescue dog called Stella. She's been in our lives for just over six years, and that's how long the dude and I have been working on becoming part dog.

Be sure to check out the other hoppers at Serendipitous Stitching.

One Dog, Two Dog, Yellow Dog, Blue Dog

I guess that Crazy January knocked me out!

I have gathered up my stitches and photos and words and returned. Happily, I did keep stitching, and on the promised project, Love Me Love My Dog, a Mill Hill kit. I finished (except for beads) the yellow dog and started the grey dog. Below you can see the photo of the last time I worked on this in September of 2013.

I have been working on my birth samplers. Sissy sent a photo of Sugar Rea sitting up on her own. If I don't get these stitched and framed these kids are going to be off to college! Back to the coal mines...