Living on the Edge

(This photo of a Jacob sheep and hangers-on is put here for no particular reason.)
There have been things hanging over my head that I didn't want to reveal until they were resolved, jinx and all that. Big sigh of relief. 1) I've been driving Sven around with an expired rejection sticker, waiting for a new seatbelt to come in. I'm legal again. 2) My tax guy came around today, and I can afford to be an American for one more year. 3) I mentioned to the Tax Guy that although I had downloaded my new anti-virus thingy, I wasn't sure I had correctly installed it. He hit a few keys , muttered a few incantations, and glory be the anti-virus-ness is installed and humming away. I feel so safe, so secure, and I will feel this way for, oh, another five minutes.

Beloved Seed Stitch

And some gratuitous spring flowers.
I'm faking a preemie size of baby booties; the cuff is presented for general derision. It may take a week for me to finish what most folks can zip out in an evening. In my own defense, may I say that greyhounds are very demanding; just giving mine the admiration they deserve takes up most of my free time.

Pearl and Pearl

In the spring of 2001, I found out about Pearl. She was a "special needs" greyhound : terribly shy. This was an understatement. When she arrived from Florida, she had to be lifted out of the truck. She was too frightened to pee, even tho she had been on the road for ten hours. The first week, she had to be carried in and out of the house. She spent all of her time trembling in her crate. Over the next few months, she started settling down, and her personality started emerging. She's still unfolding. She's a clown, a snuggler, a couch potato. And a thousand other adorable things. I named her after my maternal grandmother; Nanny's photo is included thanks to the inspiration provided by Vicki Knitorious, who has family photos on her blog today.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Yeah, whenever I walk in here, everyone shouts, "Norm!"
OK, not really.
The Yarn Lounge is in Carytown and just celebrated their first anniversary. Excellent mojo here. Homer is the self-appointed greeter, even though he's quite shy. Stewart (shown above bonding with her laptop) is the owner. There is an actual lounge area farther back, but folks seem to congregate up front : you feel like you're at the kitchen table. Melissa and Melanie were on duty on the day I had my camera. Yarn, supplies, books, mags, patterns, classes; they sure are expanding my horizons. They specialize in all of the natural fibers, so you can find silk, yak, cashmere, quiviut, etc., as well as the best of wool, cotton, and mohair.

FO

Whew. Finished the baby booties and gave them to the girl who will give them to her cousin who will wait til her preemie gets big enough to wear them. I felt the obligation to work on them when it did not nurture me to do so, and I'm glad they're out of the house. I promised her another pair, mostly in seed stitch, (ahhhh) so I'm getting the knittin' itchies as we speak. (So to speak.) I believe I am paraphrasing Grumperina when I say that the same motion of K1P1 can turn into dull tedious ribbing or enchanting seed stitch. In any case, don't look for a photo of the booties. I don't even want to remember them.
My computer guru has graciously agreed to a visitation for the purpose of Laying On of Hands, so I can do more stuff on the blog, for the greater glory of knitting and greyhounds. Stay tuned : tomorrow I go to my Massage Guy, and across the street is my favorite LYS.

Anticipation

Rain and sleet. A series of incidents thoughout the day, conspiring to bring me a little farther down. Then I get home, and in the mail is my advance copy of the catalog for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Less than six weeks away.

Kelso in his Coat

In 2000 I agreed to foster Kelso, a "returned" rescue. He settled in well and got along with Pearl, whom I had recently adopted right off the track. One evening in early 2001,we were in our usual evening locations : Pearl hogging the couch, me on the floor knitting, and Kelso dozing on the kitchen rug. I was fretting slightly about Kelso's ability to acclimate himself somewhere else. The lightbulb came on over my head : why don't I adopt him? As soon as I had that thought, Kelso got up, strolled into the room, turned around three times, laid down beside me, put his head in my lap, and went back to sleep.
I took this as A Sign.
Kelso crossed over the rainbow bridge this past fall, at a ripe old age. His coat was the first large project I did as a new knitter. Elann was having a sale on a discontinued Classic Elite yarn, called (drum roll) Kelso. Undaunted by lack of a pattern, I got the yarn and started knitting, using stitch patterns from Sarah Don's Fair Isle Knitting (I don't know how to underline). The 'apron' in front was an add-on which makes me cringe to look at, but Kelso didn't seem to mind. I think he liked to pose and preen a bit while wearing it.
(Next week : Pearl's story)

Sultry Sophie

Dolly and Milo Chill in the Pillow Room

Pearl Had No Comment

The Week from Hell is Over. Or is it?

All week I kept thinking, 'if only I can make it through Thursday, I have a 3-day weekend'. So I get a cold, I ache all over, I'm miserable. I thought it was polio at the least, maybe meningitis, or bird flu. Nah. Just a cold. But I can still whine, can't I? Surely that's in the Bill of Rights.
Fortunately I have lots of company. I'm babysitting three wonderful greyhounds.You know that scene in Airplane - "assume crash positions"? That's what it looks like here. Bodies draped over the furniture and floors...
And the week from hell continues : Blogger won't upload my photos...
But Photobucket will.

Launching a Large Aerosol?

Well that's what it sounds like on NPR. I had a brief image of government employees throwing cans of hair spray. I'm probably wrong.
Anyway, in the knitting news, I sent off my Blue Square for the Comforting Jef project. Green Mountain Spinnery's Mountain Mohair in my favorite, the seed stitch. Sven the Volvo got his new radio, and we headed home. A receptionist at work had commissioned 2 pairs of baby booties, and the baby has arrived a month early, so I need to get them needles a-clickin'.
I've been looking forward to compiling my "100 Things About Me" list. So far I have nine...

Patient of the Day

This is Chloe. One of the techs summed up her appeal : "She looks like she's about to tell you something."

Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming In

Thanks Vicki for the introduction! Can't wait to see the Michael Blue Afgan...
This tree sits right where I get onto I64 on the way to work.It looks prettier every day. I officially mark the Start of my Day when I see this baby.

Bear and the Bumper Stickers

Perhaps my personality can be best explained by my bumper stickers. and here's my bear that I mailed off today to The Bay Window.
(The first photo, if it doesn't make sense, say it out loud)

Friday Randomness

I had hoped to have a photo of my completed bear today. Life is full of disappointments. In lieu of the bear, I offer a close-up of my favorite jammies, showing Tweety Bird knitting directly from a sheep. Oh, and Pearl says hello.
Since I'm new to this stuff, I'd appreciate any help and advice on enhancing my blog. How do I get all that interesting stuff on the sides of the page? How do I get my photo on my profile? I've tried but I keep getting negative messages in angry red.Have a good weekend everybody - I have to work. Boo.

Back Yard View at Work

This is the view in back of my workplace, when I arrived at 7 am (or thereabouts)yesterday. Yippie it's no longer dark at 7 in the morning! The cows were wandering around a little later. This is Goochland County, swiftly morphing into shopping malls and car dealerships.
No knitting content today; I had to go make an appointment for a radio transplant in Sven, my 1984 Volvo.

Soft Blue Square

This is the beginning of the Blue Square I'm doing for Knitting on Trial's Comforting Jef afghan. Hello Christine! She hopes to collect enough to make one for Michael, bro to Vicki of Knitorious.The yarn is Mountain Mohair from Green Mountain Spinnery, and the needles are Crystal Palace #4.

Large Cat

This very sweet cat was at the hospital today for an ultrasound (thus the tummy shave.)He is just shy of thirty pounds.

The Front Yard is Slightly More View-Worthy

Knitting Content for You Knitting Bloggees

This is my first project from handspun yarn, made for a secret santa swap at work, two years ago. It's cashgora - very easy to spin, but difficult (for a beginner) to get light and fluffy enough. Worked on my favorite needles - Crystal Palace circulars. Ann, the giftee, wears them to walk the dogs at night; she works the graveyard shift at the animal hospital. I work days and we pass each other signing in and signing out. We discovered that we went to the same high school, at the same time, in Alexandria a zillion years ago.

Back Yard Sunday Morning

Here's the best view I could come up with for my back yard. In May and June, it's a good place for knitting and spinning, but in March, the yard is a playground for greyhounds . The photo on top (I don't know how to move it) shows them in their usual spot, which is also Where I Knit. Not on the couch. Among the pile of pillows on the floor. In that basket is the baby blanket in progress.

Day Trip

Don't you love to ride the train? Yesterday I took the 2-hour trip to D.C. to stroll thru a couple of the museums. Best part was the Inca gold exhibit. Worst part was the teens and pre-teens, screaming conversationally in the hallways, and talking with their mouths full in the National Gallery cafeteria. Another scenic ride back home, knitting all the way, on the Baby Yoda Sweater from Dogs Steal Yarn, in Green Mountain Spinnery's Mountain Mohair. I'm also working on a bear a la Got Gauge.And a baby blanket that won't be needed until June.

Lucy

Lucy is my new dog. She is a rescued retired racing greyhound and she's been off the track a whole week now. She's a year and ten months old; still a playful puppy, and of course, absolutely adorable. My older greyhound, Pearl, is showing her the ropes of retirement. Racers live their whole working lives on the track, and they know nothing of cars, sidewalks, doors, windows, or stairs.Until I can figure out how to link stuff, go on and google if you'd like to know more about them. As if I won't be offering regular reports...

Genesis

Hello. Unaccustomed as I am to public discourse (except yelling at bad drivers) I offer my first blog post for your amusement. Knitting, spinning, greyhounds. Working at an animal critical care/referral hospital. Photos, when I figure that part out. Leslie