greyhounds in seattle

Help Special Needs Greyhounds with Stella & Dot

2011-12-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

I adopted my greyhound, Flash, From McGregor Greyhound Welfare Center in Alabama & the staff was wonderful in helping him come home to me. I truly can’t imagine my life without him! He went from a shy, nervous dog to one who is happy and bouncing – always with a wagging tail! The adoption volunteers work very hard to place these wonderful greyhounds in homes not just in Alabama but in homes all over the country! Unfortunately, the group is a bit short on funds now to help some of their “special needs” dogs such as Maddock and Slick!

So what do you have to do to help?!?!

As a stylist with the ultra-fashionable Stella & Dot jewelry, I am going to be holding an “online only” trunk show starting immediately until December 31, 2011

Just purchase any item(s) from my personal Stella & Dot website – www.stelladot.com/cindipatterson - and I will donate 50% of my commission from all purchases during this period to McGregor Greyhound Welfare Center for the benefit of their special needs dogs!

And for a super fun bonus…

Normally, if you held a trunk show in your home, as the hostess, you would be eligible to receive free and half priced jewelry based on the totally amount of sales from the event.

Because this is trunk show is “online only” - anyone making an order in excess of $150, will have his/her name entered in a drawing held on January 1, 2012 to be the online “hostess” & receive the hostess perks of free and half-priced jewelry!

(The amount of benefits you’ll ultimately receive will depend on the total amount of the overall “online only” show)

In short, you’ll look fabulous for spring in some gorgeous jewelry, help special needs greyhounds AND have the chance to win some free jewelry too!

Thank you!
Cindi Patterson
Stella & Dot Stylist
www.stelladot.com/cindipatterson

p.s. if you're quick, you can still order by December 19th & receive your items in time for Christmas!

We're Baaaccckkkk!

2011-12-08T18:58:00.000-08:00

Well things have certainly changed. For the better I hope. A very trying summer has led into an interesting fall, and what so far, as been a good winter. Flash & Evie are still together with me. Gracie is behind at the house. Without going into all the sordid details, I tried to keep all three dogs together, but logistically, I was unable to do so when I moved. We still see Gracie most weekends [as we just took her out this past Sunday]. She's quite lonely being an only dog now, and certain people work too much to care about her well-being & spend time with her, but I hope she'll adjust over time.

Flash is not the same dog I talked about a year ago or even 6mo ago! It's amazing! He's friendly, outgoing, and quite cheeky with other dogs when we're out & about.

Evie is doing well. She turned 11yrs on 10/17 and I hope to spend many more years with her! She can still be weird at times. But that's Evie. Next week she's going in for a dental & will probably lose half her remaining teeth :(

And me... the job situation is [unfortunately] stagnant. But I'm starting a GREAT supplemental opportunity to bring in some extra money & keep these dogs in the style to which they've become accustom! What is it you ask???? I will be a stylist for Stella & Dot Jewelry! Go check them out - and if you need anything, of course shoot me a message :)

Loving where I live now. Loving the great group of friends I've made over the last 7mo. Love the support I've received from friends in Australia, England, and all over the US. Odd how I can almost trust friends I've made who are thousands of miles away rather than those who are closer.

Here's a picture to tide you over. I'll write more later! Glad to be back :)

Things are Changing...

2011-04-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

Things at home are in a state of transition. Not sure about everything now but will have to post about it at a later time.

Here are pictures from the past two weeks:

Dogs Can Get Concussions [long...]

2011-03-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Who knew? I learned on Saturday. After running all over town to have sets of race jackets made for Gracie & Flash and signing them up for LGRA [straight racing] and NOTRA [oval racing] for the weekend, Saturday's straight racing finally arrived.

Practiced Flash a few times in & out of the boxes to get him used to it - and the noise. When the boxes open, they can make quite a banging sound. And knowing Flash, any unknown or unfamiliar noise can cause panic. He did VERY well with the help of a pharoh hound owner! Time to qualify...a nice lady who owns silken windhounds [totally cute little borzoi/whippet cross of a dog - bigger than a whippet but smaller than a greyhound] took Flash & Gracie down to load them into the boxes while I waited at the other end to "catch" them! Perfection! Thundering greyhounds. Flash overshot the lure. Gracie dove for it - hit her head & her right shoulder flared out in an odd angle.

Walking off the field, Gracie started to collapse. She couldn't seem to put weight on her right side and her breathing seemed "off." Did she have a dislocated shoulder or break something? I screamed for help as I couldn't get her to stand & was also trying to deal with Flash. Gracie's eyes appeared to glaze over but she could somewhat focus on people. She had weird shallow breathing - not the huge chest expanding breaths a greyhound should be taking at this point. ER vet? Her gums turned a weird purpl-ish color. Hmmm. Ran to the car & by the time I got it down to her, people carried her to me & her color came back. She began breathing normally, drank some water. Loaded up Flash & made the almost 2hr drive from down near Tacoma to Snohomish to the vet.

Xrays taken. Not her trachea [thought maybe cause she seemed to be breathing oddly], not her lungs. Diagnosis = mild head trauma [aka minor concussion]. Didn't even know dogs could have such a thing, but apparently it does happen.

SIGNS OF A CONCUSSION:

Losing conciousness for a period of time [though not always]

Woozy or disoriented behaviour [normally from a mild/light blow]

Vomiting, not eating OR eating normally & vomiting frequently

Dilated pupils in one or both eyes

Seizures

Lethargic, extremely tired or disoriented

Difficult to wake if excessively sleepy

Aggressive behaviour if the bruised area is touched

Head tilted or hanging in an odd manner

Not all of these symptoms are present but if any are, you should probably consider going to the vet as there could be a more underlying condition like a skull fracture, brain swelling or bleeding. Seizures are normally a sign of a severe brain injury. It doesn't matter how hard you were hit, but HOW you were hit. A bump on the head doesn't have to be big and dramatic to cause a lot of damage.

By the time we arrived home, Gracie was back to her normal self. Ate fine, drinking fine, and played a little. Papa was up a few times with her overnight to check on her & let her out to potty. Honestly, I was disappointed that they didn't get to run a full program of straights as the qualifying run looked SO good but I'm SO glad Gracie is OK!

Sunday, we went down for the oval racing. On vet advice [and stern lecture], Gracie wasn't allowed [quite frustrating because she was SO eager & excited] to run so we turned in their paperwork to get NOTRA numbers for next time and signed up Flash for practices.

I was concerned because Gracie wasn't running with him & was unsure if he'd run without her or freak in the boxes despite doing fine yesterday. WOW we were wrong! Flash & Gracie were QUITE vocal in the car watching the whippets run. Barking. Spinning. Yelping & yipping. Annoying, yet fun :)

Gracie & Flash watching the action with papa...

Let me at that lure papa!

And a brief run preview:

Wish Us Luck...

2011-03-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

So, Flash has had many digestive issues since he's been here in September. All sorts of trials, probiotics, etc. Determined lamb is too rich for him; salmon & sweetpotato by Diamond [at Costco] showed some improvement but ultimately too rich I think. Settled on Kirkland Chicken...

Gracie also has digestive problems. Massive antibiotics for an infection she had plus probiotics helped marginally. Her continual plant/foliage/shrubbery eating + the poo eating = she's lacking something in her diet. I started her on vitamin supplement in her food this week - but I'm suspect that it may be giving her the horrid runny poo/diarrhea she has now.

Now to be fair, I've fed super high premium dog foods before [AvoDerm, Canidae, etc] until my dogs went from 2 to 5. When I had 5 adult *performance* greyhounds in my house that ate through 2.5 bags [at 40lbs each] per month - $50+ per bag would've been insane. Kirkland was a great choice & my dogs did great on it for years. They were also supplemented by raw food with their kibbles.

So...It came down to a choice between Go! grain free and Taste of the Wild. I went with the bison Taste of the Wild. Hopefully the meat will be nice & neutral - not too rich - for Flash. Hopefully it will provide plenty of vitamins for Gracie. Maybe the extreme gas will stop too.

From their website:

Protein: 32% Fat: 18%
Calcium: 2.1%, as-fed; Phosphorus: 1.4%, as-fed
Calories: 3,719 kcal/kg (370 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy
Available in 5lb, 15lb and 30lb bags.

Ingredients
Bison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid

Yes, it's much higher in protein than Kirkland, so hopefully it won't be too rich...but wish us luck...I bought a small bag tonight & mixed it in with the Kirkland...

It's Been Awhile...

2011-03-06T13:21:00.000-08:00

and I know I promised myself I'd blog more this year. What happened?

Update on the dogs:
Flash is doing TONS better. He still has his moments. I'm thinking more about his behaviour, and his biggest phobia is new situations [not terribly uncommon] and the door. He's afraid of the door - as I think he thinks it's going to pinch him when he comes in the house. Coming in the house can totally freak him out. He's getting better around men - and warming to Alan more. He even sleeps with us in bed at night.

Gracie. She's very loving and friendly. Loves to lick your face and can be held like a baby. She's still *very* enthusiastic about things, and follows you everywhere to the point of being annoying. Her new nick-name is "chicane." She has also stolen 3 peanut butter & jelly sandwhiches off the counter [2 in one day no less] because someone in the house makes them, leaves them close to the edge, then walks away to do something else. She's also about to start a new vitamin supplement in hopes of stopping her eating poo and the plants in the back yard.

Evie. Started Glyoflex III tablets as the arthritis has been rearing its ugly head of late. After all the running today, she'll probably get a tramadol for pain at dinner. I just want her to have fun in her later years, as well as be comfortable & as pain free as possible.

Everyone [well, namely Flash & Gracie] are improving on their off leash skills. Today we went to the other side of the off-leash park nearby that has access to the river. It flooded a few months ago & the river changed a bit. There used to be a big sandy area to run - so maybe it will reappear this summer. Right now, I didn't want them too close as the current was wayyyyy to fast and cold!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-12T18:17:00.000-08:00

Pretty.

2011-01-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

We had some snow right before the new year - and because it stayed in the low 30s during the day, it stuck around for awhile. Just an inch or two, but it was pretty with all the snow near the house. It was also in the teens at night - so it all turned to crunchy icy snow :( Odd as downtown Seattle where I work had absolutely nothing! It will start to finally disappear this weekend as rain is expected.

Holiday Lights

2010-12-17T18:24:00.000-08:00

I've posted about this before, but since everyone loves xmas lights...What else can you say. The Welsh are cool. So are their sheep. And LED lights are cool to the touch - the sheep won't get burnt [we left LED lights plugged in on our live xmas tree last year & they stayed cool for hours & days on end].

Thank you and welcome...

2010-12-16T20:24:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who sent me and Evie notes from reading all about her over on Jen's blog! England seems like it was a million years ago. It's hard to believe Evie is 10yrs old now - and her trip will have been 6yrs ago this coming February.

I firmly believe that every greyhound [or any dog for that matter] has a talent. Evie was certainly great at coursing - she also did well in lure coursing [ASFA] - and participated in amateur oval [NOTRA] and straight racing [LGRA]. There were better greyhounds from the US that could've gone to England [namely her 1/2 sister Cherry] - I was just lucky because Evie was NGA registered! [AKC registered GH can't run there.]

There are plenty of GH that are fabulous in other sports as well. My dog Oliver was a wiz at NOTRA & LGRA - sadly he died too young. Jen's dogs do aces at obedience & agility. My first GH, my love, Newell, was a track dog through & through - his passion was the mechanical lure - and he was good at it! I view the dogs like kids - some are good at football, some baseball, some drama, some dance. Some kids like to stay home and read books all day.

Try a sport or activity with your GH - even if it's taking hikes in your local parks/wilderness areas. Your GH was an athlete and they enjoy exercise & being outside & being competitive on some level! Evie, sadly, is retired now. She squeaks and aches when she plays in the yard too hard with new brother Flash. Too much arthritis in her hands & feet from all the years of hard core running. But, the true competitor she is - I also know she'd give me 120% if I asked her to run again. So our adventures now are limited to local hikes and walks - and the hard running is only in her dreams.

And on that note...welcome to Gracie [Pat C Dark Moon]. She arrived in Las Vegas when we were there this past weekend. She's home now - and what a handful! A few issues we have to work on - namely counter-surfing - but she's going to give Flash a run for his money! She's about a 1/2 inch taller than Evie, but just as slight as Evie was in her prime!

She wiggles quite a bit so it's been hard to get a semi-decent photo of her!

Waiting for Santa [and other things]...

2010-12-06T18:39:00.001-08:00

Here we are waiting to have our picture taken with Santa. Flash is on the reindeer substitution list if someone gets sick. Let's be honest - greyhounds would get the job done *much* faster than reindeer.

Gracie arrives one week from today. Whheeeee! I think. We're afraid she'll be a little whirling dervish. She weighs in at 59.6lbs as of the day she was spayed. About 5lbs bigger than Evie.

And... to get a bit of background about Evie and fun sports, take a look over at Never Say Never Greyhounds - or click the link on the right. Jennifer is re-posting the article about Evie that appeared in the Spring 2005 CG Magazine.

Hello. My name is...

2010-11-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

So, we're still working with Flash's shyness & timid tinkling issues. He's got moments of brilliance then he takes 10 steps backwards for what appears to be no apparent reason. Well, Flash has a reason but he hasn't opted to share it with us at this point. [And thank you Jennifer for sending us your DAP spray. We put it on the blankets in our crates...]

Several books, including a book on shy dogs and clicker training [illustrated no less] were ordered. Along with a book on managing a multi-dog household in a positive manner. Now, I've had a multi-dog household and I thought I was managing it as best I could. I think I can do better. I WANT to do better. I want to be better for Evie and Flash...and Gracie!

Meet Gracie [Pat C Dark Moon]. I actually wanted to pay homage to her southern roots and call her Pie, a la Dark Moon Pie but I was vetoed. I had originally posted about her back-story but decided to remove it for a wide variety of reasons.

We really know nothing about her except she's not cat safe. She was a decent runner so we hope she'll be fun & help out Flash too. She's catching a ride us just in time for Christmas! What a full household all of a sudden - hence my goal to work on positive training. Not to say I wasn't positive before, sometimes I think things dissolved into chaos though. This will be better and help me keep my sanity!

Still...

2010-11-11T16:07:00.000-08:00

An upset tummy. Back at the vet. Still a LOT of bacteria in the gut. More antibiotics for 2 weeks this time. Then we'll try more hard-core gut tests to see if it's something like IBD [inflammatory bowel disease] - tests run out of Baylor vet school. Keep on the salmon & sweet potato grain free with probiotics. At the vet...I hear you coming for me Dr. Wilson...

On a fun note, I took Evie to a Petapalooza festival here in town back in September right before we went to get Flash. They were making clay paw prints. Evie had one made & we went to pick it up today.

Upset Tummy

2010-11-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

So, we figured part of Flash's problems & nerves were because he was sick. Partially true. Vet + stool sample = bacterial infection in his tummy = metronidazole for 2 weeks and some prebiotics. Meds are done. Still continuing on the prebiotics for his tummy [OptaGest brand].

STILL having pudding coming out of his butt :( Bad. I've mixed in canned pumpking, oatmeal, eggs, yogurt. Kibble was originally Kirkland lamb & rice - which I've fed for YEARS to all my dogs & never had a problem. Recently switched/added in the new Kirkland food - the salmon & sweet potato grain free. Evie is absolutely SOLID. Perfect. I've mixed in dehydrated raw - always have - including Addiction & Honest Kitchen, Evangers & Merrick canned food, and just plain ol' ground beef or chicken.

Neither dog is a picky eater. Cautious - as Evie will sniff everything carefully before digesting as my guess is she's trying to ensure it's not poisoned - but they'll both eat and polish the bowls clean.

I'd really hate to switch from the Kirkland food. I've been happy with it. But, maybe it's time for a change as Flash's tummy can't handle it. I really DREAD having to do food experimentation now :( but I'm realizing it's unavoidable to get him feeling better.

Suggestions welcome!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T18:16:00.001-07:00

The requisite Halloween pictures...we were pumpkins this year.

And we went to the park today. BEAUTIFUL fall day. The sun didn't fully break until after lunch, so I'm glad we held off & didn't go to the park until later. I had them dressed in their coats, which promptly came off as it was way too warm for them - even though it was in the low-mid 50s.

The DAP collar we are using with Flash also seems to be helping a LOT. Combined with the DAP diffuser [like a little glade plug-in] and his thundershirt, I think we have a winning combination. Well, the disclaimer being that he's not 100% cured of his anxieties, but his anxiety level has decreased from 100 to about 50 - which is significant. I'm also trying to note what his "triggers" may be - and narrow it down so we can learn things to work around them or overcome them if possible. His biggest trigger seems to be men. How to get over that fear?

Baby Steps

2010-10-12T19:35:00.001-07:00

Here we were at the vet getting our microchip after only a few days at home. He did *aces* at the vet - a bit of trembling - and we're hoping the scale was somewhat accurate since he was trembling so hard :) The longer we were there, the more he calmed down & started/attempted to relax. Even when that gigantic microchip needle was inserted, not even a peep...

Other adventures have to be downloaded off the camera, but we've been to the dog park twice. Good results both times. A large amount of trembling & the longer we're there, the more the tail comes unpinned from his tummy and relaxes. And this Sunday, he ACTUALLY CHASED A SQUIRREL!!! And he got 3 other greys to join him in the chase! Yeah Flash!

We're also wearing the thundershirt almost all the time. We aren't sure if it's helping or not - but for $37 and a 45 day money back guarantee - what can it hurt???

More pictures to come!

He's Home...

2010-09-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

We picked up Flash in Broomfield/Westminster CO on Friday morning. Headed to the dog park to let him stretch his legs and take in some scenery - and get to know Evie a bit better. The car ride home was perfect too.

He and Evie slept in the back perfectly the entire time. They were both muzzled - though Evie was quite unhappy about that. He's still a bit shy and unsure of himself but he's following Evie around the yard and starting to get the lay of the house.

Two favorite places - his crate and his bed in the corner of the bedroom. He won't eat in the kitchen - only in his crate or bed. Typical since he was likely fed in his crate at the kennels, but how to get this to stop???

He's also super white and pink - translucent - with one patch of red above his left eye. And parti ears!

We're still deciding if his name will be changed. His full name is CTW Flash Gordon.

Pedigree Adoption Drive

2010-09-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a “Fan” or “Likes” The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far more than 1 million bowls have been donated.
Special for BlogPaws West: For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive through September 19th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It’s simple: Write a post, help a dog.
Thursday, September 16 through Sunday, September 19, the Pedigree BlogPaws bloggers will host a Blog Hop, to help raise awareness for the “Write a post, help a dog” effort.
___________________________________________

At the end of the day, there's nothing worse than watching an animal go hungry. Look at little greyhound Sweetheart - and look what some food has done for her! So, I was at the DoggieStock event sponsored by Valley Animal Partners & got tons of samples of food. Went to Starbucks. Leaving & there was this guy there with a sign on the corner & his dog. No dog [or cat] should go hungry. I'm a shmuck - here I am with a sack full of sample foods & Evie in the back seat. I do NOT give money to homeless people for a wide variety of reasons - but this guy had his dog with him. I pulled up, asked him if he needed food for his dog, and proceeded to unload a ton of samples [ok, I kept 3 and 1 can of food]. Again, no dog [or cat] should go hungry.

Almost Home!

2010-09-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

One more week and the new kid will be home. I've been trying to get Evie excited about him coming. She's quite ambivalent. Sent his harness [a No-Pull Harness from Wiggles Wags & Whiskers] so he can get used to wearing it before his trip. Got his matching collar as well - and ordered a fancy kangaroo leather tag collar from Hi Tide Creations. Holding off on a coat till he gets here.

[And for people not familiar with greyhounds, no Flash isn't wearing a muzzle because he's dangerous. Greyhounds have notoriously thin skin and playing with friends can turn what would seem like a tiny cut on most dogs into a huge wound on a greyhound.]

I'm also a big fat liar. I complained well over a year ago "what's the point of twitter?" Well, Evie has had a twitter account for awhile now. She's made lots of friends all around the world! Not very exciting about what a greyhound does all day, but it's fun :)

And a quick "thank you" to Jennifer and her dogs over at NeversayNeverGreyhounds as she's writing a little story on her site about Evie! Greyhounds excel in all sorts of sports - Evie was good at lure coursing and open field coursing. Stay tuned...

Meet the New Guy...

2010-08-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

Here's Flash! He's coming up next month [finally]! His full name is CTW Flash Gordon and he just turned 3yrs old :)

Flying him up on the new PetAirways & we're taking a road trip to pick him up. So excited!

Sorry, I don't know how to make the picture bigger!

More Firsts...

2010-08-14T14:36:00.001-07:00

first blackberries of the season picked the other day from the wild & crazy shrubbery growing across the street.

And the first sunflower in the front yard.

Annoying?

2010-08-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I like the fact that people have been posting comments in foreign Asian languages on my blog. The Chinese/Japanese or whatever language characters are a bit disarming from the standpoint that I have no idea if what these people posted is insulting or obscene or something! No offense to anyone but...apologies if the comments are rude in any way!

I'm Domestic

2010-07-10T12:57:00.001-07:00

Evie was a bit disappointed I left her at home [she really needs a pal, but that's a whole other saga right now]. So I went and did this for about an hour or so before it got too hot...

And then, one packet of some new Ball pectin mix & some sugar later, I did this...

Extra chunky raspberry jam. Yum!

Garden

2010-07-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

Hens & chicks are some of my favorite garden "flowers" - ok yes, I know they're succulents. Anyway...what is going on with this hen? Note the pic of the normal ones in the garden [above], then the mutant alien one [below]. Do they flower? I've never seen one flower. This is odd...

It's Been 7yrs and Then Some

2010-07-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

Evie came home 7yrs ago as of July 4th! It's hard to believe it's been that long. So many things have changed. I never saw Evie as "my" pup. She's turned out to be a good little kid though - a bit quirky - but she's mine. Excentricities and all!

Her siblings Cherry & Gizmo just turned 7yrs on July 4th as well. I hope they're doing well. It's been almost 2yrs since I've seen them but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about them. I doubt I'll ever stop thinking about them.

This past June was an odd month as well. So many memories. June 1st was the 3yr anniversary of Oliver's death; June 12th was the "gotcha day" anniversary of when Newell came home - it would've been 8yrs we had him had he not died back in February; June 21st was Boone's birthday & the 23rd was his "gotcha day." I wonder if the memories will ever start to fade?

Ack - It's April!

2010-04-07T20:29:00.001-07:00

A picture from back in early March. How did it get to be April already? Hearing from friends back east & they're having a miniature heat-wave. Here, it's more soggy rain and lower 50s. I'm so waiting for spring/summer to actually begin. Still waiting...

Evie's chugging along fine! Back on her thyroid medicine so we're hoping that helps with her weight again. She appears to have dropped about 2 lbs so far! [Keep in perspective that 2 lbs on a little GH is a LOT.] She's at doggy day care 1x/week. Learning to socialize with dogs that aren't GH is a challenge - but confident she's up to the task. They even come pick her up in the little white bus which is totally cute.

Evie's also been to the dog park and we had some luck meeting some other GH that she got along swimmingly with. We also made a trek back to the dog park where it all began with my dear dear Newell.

Speaking of Newell...

Coldwater Newell [3/13/1997 - 2/14/2010] - sadly Newell died back in February. I hadn't seen him in the longest time due to issues beyond my control [namely my ex husband refused to let me see him - and the only thing I can say to that is *selfish*]. Oddly too, just about 2 weeks before he died, I had talked to the ex and begged him to let me see Newell to no avail.

He was beyond the best dog ever. He was everything. He was the reason I have Evie and why we got all the other GH over the years; he and the other dogs allowed me to meet some great people all over the country [and world]; he is the reason I travelled to some pretty odd places that without him in my life - I never would have gone. He is why I will always be a GH person! While I love Evie, no GH will ever compare to Newell.

The only bit of comfort is knowing that so many other great GH like Oliver, Tara, Tigger, Crusader, Joser, and were there waiting to greet him at the bridge when he arrived

Evie's been on Twitter for awhile now [to my chagrin since I was complaining about it on this blog not too long ago]...and some of her Twitter friends were greyhounds that left their people too soon - prayers to the owners of Sheba greyhound and Tahoe greyhound who recently died.

Nothing Changes

2010-02-06T12:21:00.001-08:00

well, I'm still here writing this and avoiding studying. So I guess nothing has changed...

Acutally, I spent a week in DC [Virginia to be exact] for work at the end of January for some training. Nice to be back. I used to live there so it all felt very familiar.

The Carlyle House in Alexandria - a short walk from my hotel.

A nice row of restored 18th century houses along N. Fairfax St in Alexandria.

A view from my hotel window across the Potomac River towards Washington DC - you can *barely* see the dome of the Capitol [to the very left]...if I had a 10000x zoom on my cell phone maybe!

It also gave me the chance to reconnect with a friend from law school. I'm decidedly bad about keeping in touch with friends over the years. I move around too much and it was always easy to lose touch. Shouldn't be an excuse in this day and age with all the technology out there. She believes I should join facebook. Uh, no.

I do admit though - Evie has had a Twitter account for several months now [some of you who read here have found her on Twitter]. Despite my rant months ago about why join Twitter, Evie broke down & convinced me to sign her up. So I did. She has lots of greyhound friends now all over the US, England and Australia. Plus a few cat friends too. Fun to have her chat with GH around the world though! It would be better if we could meet in person at some point!

Ok, back to studying [procrastination needs to stop...]

Ides of January

2010-01-15T20:21:00.001-08:00

The new year has been uneventful so far. I've been holed up studying [hopefully for the last time] so BF has been out and about in the evenings. He's getting space to do his own thing while I'm "attempting" a valliant effort...

I will say it's quite the setup here - nice little mood candle for ambiance [really?], music, hot cup of tea...and it's nasty outside pouring cats & dogs!

Evie is doing much better than expected being a solo pup. She gets sad pretty easy though - at least I think it's sadness - when she's left alone too long though. Helping me upstairs while chewing on her xmas gift...

I also have a new - well new to me - recipe to post later...

It's Almost Christmas

2009-12-17T18:49:00.001-08:00

Just got back from Las Vegas and had early holiday with the parents. SUNNY which was nice but not as warm as I would've like. An overabundance of food. My stomach still hurts!

We are volunteering to help greyhounds in the local adoption kennel!! Fun! Work gave me an extra day off [Christmas Eve] so Evie and I will help care for the dogs that just came from Phoenix - then Christmas day we're all going down to help! Very exciting. That should also convince the BF that Evie is in need of her new pal sooner rather than later!

Lazy as we haven't set up a tree yet [blame Vegas]. Here's a picture from last year's tree which was SO pretty...

Greyhound Charity for the Holidays

2009-11-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

There are so many greyhound charities out there - if you can't think of what to get that greyhound person in your life, or if you'd like to make a donation in memory of a greyhound [or person] for the holidays, these are the charities Evie recommends:

Royal Hounds - in memory of Tara and her brother Tigger, who both came through this group. In the Seattle WA area...

Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust - fabulous if you're in England! They've adopted over 120 greyhounds this year!

Guam Greyhounds - helping greyhounds from a track that closed with no warning get back to the US and into homes!

McGregor Greyhound Welfare Center - homing dogs from the Birmingham AL track in the southern US.

Evie doesn't need another coat or collar for the holidays this year. Giving that same amount of money to a group that can help another greyhound find a family is a great gift! Even giving up your Starbucks money for a week could put a homeless greyhound in a new coat/collar, give him a vaccine, or buy him a bag of kibbles for a month until he finds a new family. Think about it...

Sandy Sales - aka Tara

2009-11-05T19:31:00.001-08:00

July 3, 1999 - November 5, 2009

She was my friend and I will miss her terribly - love Evie

[this picture was right after Tara was diagnosed with chylothorax in early August 2009]

Spooky Halloween

2009-11-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

Somewhat belated but here's Evie in her Halloween "costume." She was being somewhat coy about having her picture taken.

Last year, tons of candy = 1 kid. This year, one small bag of candy = 2 kids. Ok, getting the hint that there aren't any kids in my neighborhood. But the new walk-way at the house all lit up made it nice!

Busy September

2009-10-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe an entire month has passed by already! BF and I spent the first two weeks of the month in Italy. Yep.

We primarily went for the Formula 1 race in Monza [a fabulous sport that I'm totally getting hooked on]. It confirms that NASCAR is just a bunch of rednecks. Yep - I said that too. I have *never* experienced anything as LOUD as F1. And the mix of nationalities was great!

We met people from Finland, Sweden, England, Scotland, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, a handful of Americans from Seattle, Chicago, and San Francisco, and Italy of course. So fun! We're going again next year to Belgium and probably Canada too. Weather was great and we did a bit of sightseeing too around Milan and Lake Como.

[Picture is of Rubens Barichello in the white hat - BrawnGP - right before the driver parade. He won the race that day!]

[Picture of Kimmi Raikkonen in the red hat - Ferrari - on his way to get ready for the race.]

Tara is doing suprisingly well. Been tracking her coughing and she didn't cough a single time while we were gone. Since we've been home, she's done it 3 times. Just tracking and keeping an eye out to determine if/when we have to drain her chest again. Her weight seems to be fluxuating a bit though. Some days she eats and some she doesn't. Picky pup.

Tara update

2009-08-19T15:26:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated about Tara in awhile.

Well, no heart disease. She was officially diagnosed with chylothorax. Underlying cause is likely cancer. We opted not to have the thoracotomy to open up her chest and see how much cancer there is. Aside from the cost, we mainly opted against it because we didn't want to have to come to the decision to not wake her up from the surgery if it was that bad. We also didn't necessarily want to know she only had "2 weeks" or "6 months" or whatever the case may be.

So, what are we doing? Just managing it. Talked with my bestest favorite vet [who helped deliver Cherry's puppies almost 2yrs ago now] and even he said that was a good option. Let her live her life and when the time comes, it comes. We just have to have the fluid drained from her chest every week or so. Ugh.

Tara's going to the vet tonight to have that done. It's been 10 days - and 20 days from the initial draining. We should have it done again right before our big trip so my dad doesn't have anything to worry about when he watches the girls. She's been eating sporadically [though the weather's been hot] and her energy level is fairly consistent. In the evenings, she loves laying the back of BF's car. Doesn't like going anywhere - just laying in his car. Silly.

And she has no problems eating cookies to her heart's desire! Picture is after she just gorged herself on 3 HUGE Trader Joe's organic peanut butter cookies [the ones with the greyhounds on the box].

Orvis Cover Pups

2009-08-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

Vote for Tara & Evie as the new Orvis Catalog 2010 cover pups!

https://coverdog.orvis.com/contest.html?contestId=1 or search for "Tara and Evie" and vote! GH need your help!

Voting will also help to donate $$ for canine cancer research!

Sickness

2009-08-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

Pleural effusion is the build up of fluid in the cavity between the lungs and the chest wall. Normally there's a tiny amount of fluid in there to prevent chaffing [for lack of a better word] of the lungs against the chest wall. It's generally related to a disease such as heart failure/heart disease or cancer.

Tara was diagnosed with pleural effusion the other day. She had 3 litres of fluid drained out of her chest [yes, that's like a coke bottle & a half]. Creamy, yellowish fluid tinged with blood. 3 litres of fluid weighs a bit more than 6lbs. She's lookin' pretty thin. We're trying hard to get her to eat to get weight back on her.

It started with a cough [like a cat trying to throw a big ol' hairball] several weeks ago, but we though she had eaten grass or had a bit of food stuck in her throat. Pisses me off that the vet [or should I say assistant, who said we didn't book a vet appointment, but only a vaccine appointment] didn't take the time to look down her throat. Hello, if you took her in the back so the vet could give her a rabies vaccine, how hard would it have been to take 5min more and look down her throat????

We had to bring her back after she seemed to drop about 5lbs overnight. And don't tell me [stupid assistant] that she's only dropped 1lb since January - when we were in for vaccines 2wks ago, your stupid scale wasn't working. I know when a greyhound looks too thin. 4-5 ribs + hard hib bones is too thin; 1-2 ribs & slight hip bones is normal. Fine we'll take xrays. That's when the xrays showed the fluid...

She goes to the cardiologist on Monday for ultrasound/EKG and more tests. Hopefully it's just heart disease to be managed with medicine - and not cancer. Hopefully.

July 1st

2009-07-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

Wow. Nice weather. Pups outside all day sunning themselves. Tara turns *10* on Friday, July 3rd.

My former pups [and I say former simply because the ex now has custody of them, which is a story in itself], Cherry & Gizmo, turn *6* on the 4th - and it will be 6 years since I got Evie! Went and picked up Evie the day Cherry and Gizmo were born! Odd that we ended up taking them both home later [Cherry the following April and Gizmo almost a year and a half after that].

Picture is from Evie on her first day home...

June

2009-06-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Can't believe June is almost over. Enjoyed several weeks of good, sunny weather. Tara's here mugging for the camera [and Evie's in the background shaded for once & not in the sun bakin' her noggin].

The front yard is coming together nicely; wired up all the lights for the new "exposed aggregate" walkway. No, solar lights don't work in Seattle. Just have to add more dirt this weekend, plant the hydrangea and lavender, and then hopefully, voila! A house with curb appeal. Please make the rain stop...

And it's done...

2009-05-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, for the details:

Cabinets - IKEA Adel medium brown
Handles - IKEA Lansa 10"
Appliances - IKEA by Whirlpool
Countertop - Icestone Amber Pearl
Faucet/soap dispenser - Price Pfister

The countertops are quite cool - recycled glass in a concrete matrix. Made in Brooklyn. You can see the detail in the photo above - there's even mother of pearl in it! From the picture, it's hard to see, but some of the chips, if you look super close, have that iridescent white/red color like a piece of chipped off peppermint candy. Sparkly!!!

The IKEA cabinets are awesome; made to EU standards, low VOC, and much sturdier than anything you could get at a box store. IMO the only thing better would be solid wood but at 10x the cost! Have you ever been to an IKEA store on the weekends? Those kitchens get the crap kicked out of them by everyone - kids hanging on the doors, open/closed 1000000 times, etc. If they can handle that, I think they'll survive our "tough" use! The flooring is IKEA too...

Backsplash is still in process as we haven't decided what to do yet. Looking at replacing the windows in the house so backsplash may wait until that's done.

Under-mount stainless steel sink. The silicone that's attaching the sink to the counter has to dry for about 24+ hrs before we're able to hook up the plumbing. So right now, it's just sitting there looking pretty. It will be nice to wash my hands in the sink again - and not have to go to the bathroom for washing what few dishes we've used.

Overall rating = 8 on a scale of 10. Why? There are a few finishing touches to do [including hanging the wine rack which I spent days trying to find a custom stain for to match the cabinets]. I can't imagine doing a remodel while working full time - thank god I'm unemployed right now! [Translation, BF's hours at work make it 100% impossible for him to do it, hence me not working helped in managing & organizing everything]. It was worth paying someone to assemble & install the cabinets. BF's house is about 80yrs old. During the install process, the cabinet guys assembled all the cabinets [12 total] in 2hrs and installed in about 5.5hrs. I learned the ceiling sloped in one spot by about 3/4 inch, there's a 1/2 inch bow on the same wall, and the other wall slopes 1/2 inch from one end to the other. Installing cabinets is quite the science to make sure everything is level & plumb.

We also like how the cabinets all have the silent closing hinges on them [custom cabinets will cost you $100+ per door/drawer extra for this feature] - which is standard for IKEA. There are some neat features too, like a lazy susan for the corner, pull out cabinet for some small appliances, huge deep drawers & lots of under counter space to fit the coffee pot & Kitchenaid mixer.

BF will be doing the plumbing hookup on his own. Hired professionals to move a handful of outlets around & run the gas line for the cooktop. Bonus points for IKEA again, as custom cabinets would've cost as much as this entire project + taken at least 4-6 weeks to get in. Start to finish on this project from demo to done was 3 weeks!

*and note, I say "we" but to be fair, it's all BF's $$$ and house since he paid for everything! I just had fun managing all of it!

Almost After...

2009-05-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

and you'll just have to wait until next week to see the final product! It's awesome, but going almost 2 weeks now without a cooking surface sucks!

Before...

2009-05-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Belated Bday to Me!

2009-05-06T19:19:00.001-07:00

I love birthdays. Something about a whole day dedicated to YOU. And gifts and cake. Love the cake. Last year, I had a great bday - as BF and I went to the Seattle Symphony to hear Vivaldi. How to top that? BF took me to Disneyland!!!! Never been to Disneyland - just DisneyWorld. It was fun & had a super good time. Awesome bbq lunch & nice dinner at the Blue Bayou. I got soaked on Splash Mountain because someone thought it was appropriate for the bday girl to sit in the front. Hmph.

Color Inheritance in Greyhounds

2009-04-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've been facinated by the varying colors greyhounds come in. There's a great article by Gavin Fitzpatrick that goes on to explain it, but in short, lately I have been coveting dun greyhounds. I know I shouldn't be picky about color but...

As explained by Gavin Fitzpatrick:

Dun is an extremely rare colour, appearing in approximately one in every 1500 to 2000 litters. It can range from a light blue fawn, through a rich red fawn, up to a deep rich chocolate colour, with the dominating factor being a pink to brown coloured nose leather. Many Dun coloured greyhounds in the past have been listed and recorded as being Dark Fawn, Red Fawn or Red. They should never be listed as a type of Fawn or Red as they are a colour apart. In addition, when fawn is crossed with another fawn or brindle, black or blue coloured pups cannot issue from such mating. However, when Dun is crossed with fawn or brindle, it is almost certain that black coloured pups will issue from the mating. Research indicates that all present day Dun coloured greyhounds will have a double cross of Rocket Jet.

Rocket Jet is an Australian dog, but dun can also be found in a number of English, Irish and Danish dogs. I'm not aware of any American bred greyhounds that are throwing dun pups.

Wonderful puppy example of white/dun:

This little guy is Eikica Lucky Lucas [Eikica Anthon Berg Finest x Eikica Beauty Belisha] - he's Danish.

Another example:

This is Glencrane [Premier County x Glencora] - he's Irish.

Enjoy!

In Rememberance...

2009-04-11T17:05:00.001-07:00

Valley Quaffel "Tigger"
March 24, 2000 - April 12, 2008
30E-90033

Also, April 11, 2004 was the day my little cat Tommy died. Can't believe it's been 5 years. Wow. He was a cute, yet sickly cat - and used to sneeze all the time. Funniest thing too.

Lovin' the Welsh -

2009-03-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

What else can I say except I heart Wales!

Miss Thing...

2009-03-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Spring 1992 - March 20, 2009

I was going home one day to do laundry and there was a "Free Kittens" sign on the driveway of a house... I stopped, and there she was. And she stayed for the next 17 years. From Missouri to Florida, DC, Seattle, Colorado, New York and back to Seattle.

She lived almost 3.5yrs after my dogs attacked her in December 2005 - resulting in a perforated liver, dislocated jaw and a miriad of other issues [plus the most jumbo vet bill ever]. She collapsed almost 1yr to the day - possibly due to residual nerve damage from that attack, but she recovered again albeit with a few physical changes.

She was there through my divorce last year, and had another collapsing incident in April 2008 that I didn't think she would recover from at all. She did, but there was a marked difference. Her balance was WAY off - kinda like a car driving with a noticably bent frame. She had difficulty walking and jumping, but she scooted along like a trooper the best she could - and she ate like a fiend.

After much thought and tribulation, I made the decision to send her to my parents in Las Vegas in August this past year, along with Molly, my other cat. I was actually hoping to go to Vegas next month for a visit and to see her.

She was a good little cat - and I'll always miss her.

What's All the Fuss?

2009-03-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm just not cool or hip. Actually, I'm pretty sure I've never been either. But anyway, I don't get it. I don't get twitter, facebook or myspace. What's the purpose? I have my little blog, email [5 different email addresses to be exact and I'm attempting to phase out 2 of them - and 2 are for junk mail only] and a cell phone - with madly insane text messaging attached to it. If you need to get in touch with me, send me an email or text or call. Why do I need to be on all this other stuff? What's the facination? I mean, I was hesitant about having a blog for fear it was too personal & there is a bit of anonymity lost. But with twitter, facebook and myspace, can you really be anonymous on the web? As it is, everything you post is out "there" forever.

Thoughts?

Jasmine...

2009-03-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

BF sent me the following text/story this morning. I'm not sure where it came from, or who wrote it [sorry, but please, if you know, I'm happy to give credit!]. For all the ick in the world, this is certainly uplifting. Enjoy...

In 2003, police in Warwickshire, England, opened a garden shed and found a whimpering, cowering dog. It had been locked in the shed and abandoned. It was dirty and malnourished, and had clearly been abused. In an act of kindness, the police took the dog, which was a greyhound female, to the nearby Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, run by a man named Geoff Grewcock and known as a willing haven for animals abandoned, orphaned or otherwise in need. Geoff Grewcock and the other sanctuary staff went to work with two aims: to restore the dog to full health, and to win her trust. It took several weeks, but eventually both goals were achieved. They named her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding her an adoptive home. The dog had other ideas.

No-one remembers now how it began, but Jasmine started welcoming all animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It wouldn't matter if it was a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, probably, a rhinoceros, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and, where possible, deliver a welcoming lick. Geoff Grewcock relates one of the early incidents. "We had two puppies that had been abandoned by a nearby railway line. One was a Lakeland Terrier cross and another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross. They were tiny when they arrived at the centre and Jasmine approached them and grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him on the settee. Then she fetched the other one and sat down with them, cuddling them.""But she is like that with all of our animals, even the rabbits. She takes all the stress out of them and it helps them to not only feel close to her but to settle into their new surroundings."She has done the same with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her nose."

Jasmine, the timid, abused, deserted waif, became the animal sanctuary's resident surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born. The list of orphaned and abandoned youngsters she has cared for comprises five fox cubs, four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and 15 rabbits. And one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, 11 weeks old, was found semi-conscious in a field. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine cuddled up to her to keep her warm, and then went into the full foster mum role. Jasmine the greyhound showers Bramble the roe deer with affection and makes sure nothing is matted in her fur.

"They are inseparable," says Geoff Grewcock. "Bramble walks between her legs and they keep kissing each other. They walk together round the sanctuary. It's a real treat to see them."Jasmine will continue to care for Bramble until she is old enough to be returned to woodland life. When that happens, Jasmine will not be lonely. She will be too busy showering love and affection on the next orphan or victim of abuse.

From left, Toby, a stray Lakeland dog; Bramble, an orphaned roe deer; Buster,a stray Jack Russell; a dumped rabbit; Sky, an injured barn owl; and Jasmine.

Doing what she does best, being a mother.

Help?

2009-03-03T07:45:00.001-08:00

I've eluded to it ever so slightly mainly because whatever is posted on the web is forever - and because this is embarassing on so many levels... But I am unemployed. I am a statistic that you read about on the news every night. And it sucks.

If you know anyone hiring, please let me know. Thanks.

Guam Greyhounds

2009-02-25T07:23:00.000-08:00

Sadly, I don't know where I've been since November, and how this horrible news has flown below the radar until now:

The ONLY greyhound track in Guam [a US territory] abruptly closed in November. For whatever reason, the owner decided to have a "come get your greyhound for free day." Seriously - I don't know how else to describe it. In short, people just randomly came to pick a GH. No formal adoption process or anything - so you can imagine how that's ending up

GH were taken to be used in dog fighting as bait dogs [allegedly], as guard dogs [laughable], and a miriad of other uses that obviously aren't suited to GH. Numbers are being found starved and abandoned; some released into the wilderness/jungle to fend for themselves.

This is unacceptable on I don't know how many levels. The only welfare group on the entire island, Guam Animals in Need, is doing the best it can to try and get the dogs OFF the island. It's working with a local group in California to ship them a few at a time. Many are malnourished and in need of lots of love and compassion @ this point.

PLEASE VISIT www.guamgreyhounds.org and donate whatever you can. Whether it's $1 or $5, any little bit will help these dogs. I'm unemployed - and have been since November. I'm trying to get $20 together to help; as I firmly believe this shouldn't be allowed to happen anymore in this day and age. I won't even begin to try to figure out whether or not the track owner was just on crack or what when he allowed this to happen...

Pass this on to anyone and everyone you know. I know times are quite tight everywhere for everyone. But even if you can only give $1, that could buy a can of food for a dog.

Do you knit? How about making a greyhound sweater with this great pattern courtesy Terry Lea Royea: http://www.royea.net/side_button_greyhound_sweater.pdf

These needy little pups could use some hand-knit lovins. Pass this around to everyone you know!

Poor Evie

2009-02-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

She's had the worst teeth, and sadly, I haven't had the money to get them fixed until now. Greyhounds are known to have bad teeth. Genetics mostly - some are blessed with fabulous teeth, others are not. It has nothing to do with NGA v. AKC breeding or anything like that. Just genetics.
I had saved enough last fall to get her teeth cleaned [and some likely pulled], but alas, I needed new tires for my car. Tires or pup? Well, if I crashed the car, I'd totally be SOL, so I went with tires. Saved up more $$ to get her teeth done.

And the results? Totally trust my vet - Dr. Kevin - who even has one of the puppies from the litter we had almost 18mo ago. Instead of 4 teeth [all pre-molars] being pulled, she had 4 pre-molars, 4 incisors, and 4 other teeth pulled = 12 total. [She also had a full senior blood panel, full mouth xrays and her nails lasered back beyond the quick to little nubbins...]

Evie is now at home, totally jacked up on tramadol, clavamox and metacam whilst recovering. Her face is swollen like a chipmunk who ate too many nuts and her tongue hangs out the right side of her mouth because of all the teeth pulled. The good thing? I swear it looks like Dr. Kevin used Crest Whitstrips on her teeth - fabulous! Also, I know that after she gets over the initial pain, her mouth won't hurt anymore [which I know was happening before] - and she'll be happy.

The cost? Hahaha. It pains me to say, so I won't burden anyone with that! Plus you all would pass out - like I almost did.

[Oh, and how 'bout that new pic of Evie this past fall in the title header? Dippin' her toes in the cool Snoqualmie River.]

21st century has arrived...

2009-02-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

Ok. So there seems to have been continual leaks under the sink for whatever reason for the past few months. Fix & think everything's under control, then voila! Another leak comes up several months later. Blech. Tiring.

Anyway, so we had another leak last weekend. BF goes to see about fixing it & runs up to the Ace Hardware for parts. Sad because they actually know his name in there. He comes home and says, "I have a suprise for you!" Of course, I'm thinking cute adorable GH puppy.

Alas no, but ALMOST AS GOOD!!! He bought a garbage disposal!!!!! WoooHoooo! His rationale was that it cost as much as all the parts to fix the sink. He's never had a garbage disposal in the house! Do you have any idea just how nasty and gross cleaning those little traps in the sink were? Bits of food particles all floating around soggy and then start to smell. He spent all day Monday putting it in rather than go skiing. How wonderful is he???

It's a joy to scrape a plate directly into the sink rather than the trash can. Part of me secretly smiles too b/c I used to tease him about it for several years before we were even dating - and I have no clue why he never had one before. He's lived in this house for almost 14yrs!

We have joined the 21st century. He bought a dishwasher about 2wks prior. I know...

And on a side note... Hope all the peeps and pets down in AU are going to be ok! Just devistating about those fires. On one GH list I follow, a very prominant trainer lost his life and another lost his home. Haven't heard anythign about the dogs being in trouble, though lots are in temporary kennel situations while other living arrangements can be found. Hope you all are doing as well as can be expected at this time. Read more here http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/

Where Did January Go?

2009-02-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

Wow, that month went by fast! Super fast. Hmph. Watched the inauguration streaming online at CNN. Pretty good, though I only really cared about Obama's speech. In terms of his prior speeches, I was disappointed. It was a solid 9 or 10. But I was expecting an 11 - the complete "WOW" factor. Something that would stay with me the rest of my life. Bummer.

Was diggin' Michelle's outfit and the kids' coats. Love the fact that they wear JCrew. Half my wardrobe is JCrew. If I ever run into her, we can bond over the latest JCrew catalog! Hehehe.

Random pictures. Here's Evie hittin' the sauce. You wonder what greyhounds do when people are at work? They raid the liquor cabinet. Apparently Evie likes the Bacardi.

And flowers from the bunch BF brought home last night. His response - because I haven't brought you flowers in awhile. I've been kinda hard to be around lately; studying for the bar exam doesn't help. He's a wonderful BF! They're still pretty.

Happy New Year [belated]

2009-01-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

We had a good holiday. It was SO much better than last year I don't know where to begin. Best Christmas gifts EVER = Tiffany's holiday pattern tea cup & saucer. Seriously, tea tastes better in it. I'm totally determined to have a table set with this entire pattern at some point in the future! It's so beautiful!

Also got a pair of my favourite Ugg slippers. I haven't worn them yet because I need a bigger size & the store is still out of stock! Uggh [pun intended].

Finished boyfriend's socks after New Year. Oh well. He loves them though; wore them about 4 days in a row. Which was followed by, "I need a Danish pair of socks."

Boyfriend is Danish and for him, it doesn't mean some sort of fancy Scandanavian patterned socks - but just something simple in red and white [the colours of the Danish flag]. I thought Trekking XXL made some, but alas no. So, went to Etsy and found Sunrise Fiber Lodge Studio - which had the perfect red & white yarn.

I can't wait - it looks so fabulous - and is self striping! It's superwash merino, bamboo & nylon so it should be super soft. This is only the 2nd time I've purchased something from an Etsy shop. I think the items people have to offer for sale are nice, but I really dislike the search process for looking for items on it. Think it could be better - the search engine that they use needs to be improved IMO.

Funny...

2008-12-17T14:23:00.001-08:00

I finished 1 sock for boyfriend. Had him try it on a bit to make sure the fit was just right - and it turned out great! Anyway, he's hilarious. Since I'm only 4 inches into the foot on the 2nd sock, he's been wearing the single sock around the house as a mis-matched pair. His comment, "hurry up and finish it because this is really nice."

Granted, he was taken aback when he learned his new pair of socks was about $30 for the yarn!

Smile.

And it's supposed to snow today. Still waiting for that to happen, although the internet has been sporadic since Sunday when I got a new computer! Hard to set up the computer when there's no solid internet connection. Damn Comcast! OOOOOOHHHHHH, flakes are now starting to fall as I write this.

1.5 projects DONE & What I Want For Christmas

2008-12-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

So, I finished the shawl. Blocked and ready to be wrapped up for Christmas!

Once I got the stupid thing started, it was a pretty quick and easy knit. The overall project was pretty cheap too. Like I said earlier, I used 2.5 skeins of Frog Tree Alpaca.

And the other project? Socks. What pattern you ask? Widdershins from knitty.com summer 2006 issue. Plain pattern though - no cables. This is going to be BF's first pair of handmade socks so nothing too fancy. Help with picking up the wraps via misocrafty's tutorial. BF has big feet - 7.5" before I started the heel.

Glad this is toe up! I also realized it's not good to try and pick up wrapped stitches at night in a fairly dark room with inadequate lighting. So, after ripping the stuff out umpteen times last night, the heel went VERY quickly once I was able to see what I was doing.

And this is what I want for Christmas:

A greyhound from Vermillion Greyhounds. As I posted earlier, my puppies, including my other dogs, were awarded to my husband in my divorce. I miss my dogs more than anything in the world. These greyhound puppies are SO beautiful! And they're lines are amazing! Strong coursing/hunting backgrounds and because they are AKC/NGA crosses, more likely than not, they'll turn into some substantial dogs! White brindle or white parti are my favourite colors, followed by the blacks and light reds. Voila - an adorable light red puppy boy!

Note: this photo is taken from Vermillion so they get all the credit & props!

Update from T-Day and our TREE!!!

2008-12-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was good. BF's family came over. Nice dinner - I thought the turkey was a bit dry, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. It cooked super fast and I probably should've pulled it from the oven around 1130am [we weren't eating till 2pm] but didn't believe it would be done that early!

As for the menu: heritage turkey, mashed potatoes [instant, though everyone thought they were real!], stuffing with cranberries, asparagus, broccoli/cauliflower/carrot medley, herb rolls and homemade gravy. Best damn gravy too!

The one "slice" of disappointment? His family was in charge of dessert. He asked me at one point what he should tell them to bring - I don't care as long as it's apple. Apple pie, apple crisp, etc. Guess what? No apple anything. Pumpkin pie only. Blech. I don't like pumpkin pie. The only good news is that I was SO full from dinner I couldn't even attempt to eat it anyway but still...

There was no pear chutney because when I mentioned it to BF, it was followed by "WTF is pear chutney?" So..... the night before, MY parents came over for dinner. I mixed up the pears I had with some dried cranberries, splash of orange juice, cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, etc. and used the Pillsbury pie crusts I had & made individual "tarts."

Very clever I must say. Just take a pie crust, cut it in half [so you get 2 tarts], spoon some filling on one end, fold it over & trim off excess dough, pinch the seams closed & cut some slits in the top. Put on a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil to catch the drippings & bake for about 30-40min till golden. Voila! Individual pear/cranberry tarts. Very cool. My mom thought it was clever too!

As for the sticky buns? They turned out pretty good. I followed the recipe but they severely needed more cinnamon/sugar mixture in the "filling" so they didn't seem so doughy but otherwise very good.

And this past Sunday we went & cut down our tree! It was the best time. BEAUTIFUL TREE - it's a Grand Pine. Really thick, curly branches make it so full and beautiful. All the ornaments are from Ikea with a few suprises here & there. All red, silver & black. And the black ornaments actually look good. There's even little Danish flag garlands - both paper and handmade fabric - around the tree as BF is Danish. [If you click the link above, it goes to Wikipedia & gives this great story about the history of the flag!]

Wishing you & yours...

2008-11-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

Recipe & dinner updates will follow! Hope you all enjoy your day!

T-Day Menu Countdown [part 2]

2008-11-22T15:51:00.000-08:00

Fresh Pear Chutney

[again from Cooking Light & another great resource for recipes http://www.myrecipes.com/ which is great when you remember the recipe but can't seem to find it anywhere!]

I did this recipe several years ago as well. I actually think the caramel pecan bun recipe came out about the same time. Either way, LOVE pears. I normally omit the onions - or cut them extra big just because I hate onions but the flavor is ok.

Yield
3 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup)

Ingredients
1 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups chopped peeled pear

Preparation
Combine first 8 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes. Place in a medium bowl; stir in pear.

Nutritional Information [ok, pears are healthy and a fruit, so this is important...]

Calories: 55 (3% from fat)
Fat: 0.2g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.1g)
Protein: 0.4g
Carbohydrate: 13.8g
Fiber: 1.5g
Cholesterol: 0.0mg
Iron: 0.3mg
Sodium: 4mg
Calcium: 14mg

From Cooking Light November 1998

T-Day Menu Countdown [part 1]

2008-11-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns from Cooking Light.

I made this recipe several years ago and it turned out REALLY well. I'm going to give it a try again this year instead of our usual monster breakfast fare.

Yield
16 servings (serving size: 1 roll)

Caramel:
1/3 cup packed dark brown muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons light corn syrup
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons chopped pecans

Dough:
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 2/3 cups warm water (100° to 110°)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (about 23 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, softened

To prepare caramel, combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat; stir frequently until butter melts. Continue cooking until mixture thickens and becomes smooth (about 1 minute), stirring constantly. Remove from heat; pour into the center of a 9-inch square baking pan; quickly spread caramel onto pan bottom using a spatula coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with pecans; cool to room temperature. Lightly coat sides of pan with cooking spray.
To prepare dough, dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in salt.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 5 cups flour to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to keep dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.

Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

Roll dough into a 16 x 12-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface; spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter over dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Roll up rectangle tightly, starting with long edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends). Cut into 16 (1-inch-wide) slices. (A) Place slices, cut sides up, in prepared pan (rolls will be crowded). Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until rolls are light golden brown. Cool in pan 5 minutes on rack. Place a serving platter upside down on top of pan; invert onto platter. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information [really, they're sticky buns - do you honestly care about nutrition?]

Calories: 232 (21% from fat)
Fat: 5.3g (sat 1.9g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.7g)
Protein: 4.5g
Carbohydrate: 41.7g
Fiber: 1.4g
Cholesterol: 9mg
Iron: 2.1mg
Sodium: 249mg
Calcium: 14mg

From Cooking Light 2005.

FOR SALE just in time for Christmas

2008-11-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

Addi Turbo needles for sale. Sizes are listed below. Plain & simple, I'm not that enamoured with them. Yes, I've spent a !@#$%^&* load on them, but, after using the KnitPicks needles, I really don't like the Addi. So, my loss is your gain!

[Note, the needles are sold AS IS and all together only. That means no picking them apart to get just one! And for the record, I take really good care of my things so do rest assured the needles are in very good condition.]

24" 3mm US2 [bamboo]

24" 3mm US3 [bamboo - though cable says US2 it measures a on my gauge a 3.25mm = US3]

24" 3.5mm US4 [bamboo]

32" 4mm US6

32" 4.5mm US7

32" 5mm US8

32" 5.5mm US9

32" 6mm US10 [markings have worn off cable]

32" 6.5mm US10.5

And...

16" 4.5mm US7 [BAMBOO CLOVER]

24" 6.5mm US10.5 [BAMBOO CLOVER]

32" 12mm US 17 [BAMBOO CLOVER]

Now for the price. Addi's on average are approx $20 each new. Hell, one web site I recently found has the US10.5 for $20.50 regularly & at that price for all the needles, it would be $185!

So... for everything, including the Clover bamboo, $100 + shipping [US priority mail to your address] unless you're military to an APO then free shipping. My guess is shipping won't be more than $10 or so in the US. Tell your friends. First one to email me [just reply to this post] so I can give payment info wins!

Enjoy

New Knitting

2008-11-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

I promised & promised to give deatils on my new project & here it is: Fiber Trends Leaf Lace Shawl. The sample looked really pretty in the shop - in a light greenish, mint-ish, blue color. I'm doing mine in navy:

Frog Tree Alpaca fingering weight - color #59 [navy]

Problem is that starting the pattern sucked. What a stupid way to start a pattern:

"Begin w/provisional cast on. Using a crochet hook about the same size as your knitting needle & waste yarn, chain 4 sts. Using shawl yarn & knitting needles, knit up 2 sts in back bumps of crochet chain. Begin shawl on these 2 sts. "

...it took forever to figure out how to rotate, knit up, remove the waste yarn, etc. I even went to the local yarn shop [www.hilltopyarn.com] to have them help me get the damn thing started. Ugh. I guess a new knitting project of lace work isn't ideal when I haven't knit in forever b/c of the carpal tunnel diagnosis last year but eh, why not?!

And on a side note, yes my personal drama is somewhat waining. Not 100% solved, but hopefully not as dramatic. It's quite true, that old saying, when it rains it pours.

I Surrender

2008-10-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

I quit. Period. Stick a fork in me - I'm done.

How many times must a person get the shit kicked out of them? Seriously. As I've stated earlier, this year hasn't been the best for me for a number of reasons. Lately, there have been a TON of fabulous things happening - things that have made me think - gee, ok, things were a bit rocky for awhile, but look, everything is turning around; life is good, etc.

So now, I'm reaching the top of the mountain. I can see the top of the mountain. It is clearly within reach & is beyond fabulous. Just as I'm about to reach my hand out to grab on & pull myself up to a point where I've been CONVINCED it can't get any better...WHAM!!!! A foot comes out of knowhere & kicks me in the teeth. I have now spent the better part of today tumbling ass over tea kettle down the mountain.

I am sick of being bumped and bruised. I am sick of getting my ass kicked for no reason. For all the crap I've been through this year, I was even slowly coming to terms with everything & accepting how things would and are going to be. I have a great boyfriend, a great house, Evie, etc. I know there are people in this world who clearly have things worse than me - so don't get me wrong but in my 60 square mile universe - I am at a loss.

I am SO SICK of trying to pick my ass up because I keep getting kicked in the teeth. For the past four years it's seemed like this vicious circle that has intensified in the last year. My health - and I'm not that old - has gone to shit. Severe weight loss [which actually has helped in some areas :-O ] - clumps of hair falling out - infections - and much more that's not right for publication seems to be killing me. My stress level is out of control.

I simply give up. Blech.

Fall in PNW

2008-10-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

Evie has a bone spur. Basically like a knot on her wrist. She's getting around ok but limps alot after running hard. Annoying because I know it hurts her & can only do pain management at this time. Good news though is EVIE TURNED 8YRS on 10/17....whooohooo....

Picture of boyfriend, Evie & Tara enjoying a bright, sunny fall morning taken last Sunday. It was unusually dry and sunny! We'll take what we can get as it's better than drying off muddy feet. The girls had to go to the dog wash afterwards because they were covered in sand and mud - and we were too lazy to do it at home & clog up the bathtub.

And a photo of a nice fall scene - on the Snoqualmie River - taken on our walk this past Sunday. Again, unusually dry & sunny. About 60 and quite crisp out. Better than rain!!!

Oh! I also slowly started to knit again. Working on a shawl for boyfriend's mom for xmas. I am SO looking forward to the holidays with him! His family is coming to the house for Thanksgiving - and we're doing everything! So fun. He's never had his family to his house & he's lived here 13yrs! Against my own holiday rules of ettiquette, we even bought new Christmas ornaments when we were at IKEA the other day [I really hate anything Christmas - or any holiday for that matter - that's 'out of order' - i.e. no Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, etc.] There were some really cool black ornaments I got but I may return them; combined with the red ones I'm either thinking deck of cards or I don't know what...hmmmmm

Updates

2008-09-11T21:08:00.001-07:00

I had promised I'd be better this year about posting to the blog, but alas, that hasn't happened.

Sad news has also filled my life for the past few months & I'm just now starting to get back on track. I went through a horrible divorce - good in many ways - and bad in so many others. Long story short is there was a custody "disagreement" over the dogs and all except my little baby greasil Evie now reside with my ex. I use the term disagreement loosely - but let's leave it at that...

Evie and I are doing ok though. We have a wonderful new house and wonderful new things going on in our lives which - dare I say - have left me unbelievably happy! Honestly I can't remember when I was this happy last [sans the puppies being born...see below]. It's a true, genuine happiness that people should experience if not daily, then at least once in their lives. I'm not a religious person my any means, but I feel absolutely blessed to have everything in my life right now. I wish I had the other dogs -and I can't stress enough how much I miss them terribly & think about them daily - but in the larger scheme of things, I think WE'RE going to be ok.

Actually, it breaks my heart on an almost daily basis not seeing or being with them. But they're all tough pups & all I can do is remember them & how special they are & hope to all ends they are being loved & cared for in their new home.

More pictures & things will come soon - I promise -and regular posts again.

AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO'S SAID SUCH WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT MY DOGS. I TRULY APPRECIATE IT. And happy bday to my dad today...

FURminator

2008-02-21T20:49:00.001-08:00

Ok, I've spent lots of crazy money on things for my dogs--some worthwhile & some wasted. Spending $35 on a comb for a GREYHOUND, which is essentially a nek'kid dog, seems ridiculous right? And of course, everyone thinks "greyhounds don't shed." [They shed like you wouldn't believe, but that's a story that will be coming this spring]

On the advise of my friend, who's also my vet, and who so wonderfully delivered all of Cherry's puppies, he said he got one at a conference & used it on his greyhound. No way would it work, I said. Ahh, but the fur comes out in thick clumps--more hair then you'd ever imagine a greyhound has.

So, we bought one. OHMIGOD does it take the hair out of several of my dogs. Doesn't really work on Star, as her coat is very sleek & fine. But tons of hair comes out of Evie, Boone, Colt & Newell... A heavy, weighty comb it doesn't feel like you're wasting your money. The cats even love it too--and talk about getting 10 new cats after they're combed [and to Gizmo's dismay, not real cats]!!!

Get a FURminator. Go to http://www.furminator.com/ & find out where they're sold in your area. Your pet will thank you--and it's pretty cool to have all that hair/fur come out of them!

CuteOverload.com

2008-02-12T21:21:00.000-08:00

will be absolutely jealous when they get this pic!!!! Under the cute rules, there is no better picture that this most perfect bitty puppy 'tock view! There is also perfect scale between the bitty puppy & mama! And don't forget the tail action & pink puppy toes! Enjoy baby Colt at 2 days old...

Since this IS supposed to be about Greyhounds...

2008-02-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned the other day, we had a beautiful litter of 9 puppies back in September 2007. We kept 2--the white/red parti male & a red female. Their formal names are Rainier Colt Forty-Five and Rainier Stella Artois. Colt & Star are absolute joy & fun! They are the most beautiful babies and are growing into fabulous looking adults! I can't believe they're going to be 5mo old next week!!!

YES WE CAN!!!

2008-02-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

I'm totally on the Obama kick now! He is racking up delegates and wins all over the country! Appears that he will take Virginia, Maryland & DC tonight...won Maine on Sunday, and Washington, Louisiana & Nebraska PLUS the US Virgin Islands on Saturday!!!

I think his message is not only positive, but inspiring for people across the country. No, all of his solutions may not be 100% right in the beginning, but I certainly believe that we can change this country & unify it because of this election! I hope you'll consider voting & making a difference!

Hawaii & Wisconsin are the next states with primaries...Pennsylvania, Texas & Ohio will come soon after so PLEASE VOTE & support! Regardless of who you choose [though I hope it will be Barack Obama], make a difference & VOTE!!!

WA Caucus

2008-02-08T20:41:00.000-08:00

Hahahah! Now for the political topics...

I have always voted for whomever I think is the best candidate for the job--never really aligning with a particular party as it's the person, not the party, who will end up doing the job. And really, who ever agrees 100% with every idea/position that a candidate has?

Well, I'm tired of the same old boring politics as usual. I think most people are. I want to take a chance on someone who has some new ideas--someone who's willing to try something new. Granted, he may not get it right the first time--but I think it's better than re-hashing & re-spinning many of the same, tired rhetoric that's been bounced around for years.

I also like the idea of someone who can be inspirational among a multitude of backgrounds [race, gender, age, etc]. I want someone positive to try to change this country...

So, as you can see by the logo, I think '08 is the time for Barack Obama. Visit http://www.barackobama.com/ for more information--I hope you'll agree too...

Can we change America with this election? YES WE CAN!

So Many Changes...

2008-02-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

So many changes have happened in the past year, I don't know where to begin.

We lost our beloved dog, Oliver, on June 1st, 2007 due to a freak accident. He was just 3yrs old. The event devistated our family and has caused a great deal of heartache. Even writing about it now breaks my heart.

On the sunny side though, our other dog, Cherry, got pregnant this summer and we had a FABULOUS litter of puppies born on Sept 19/20, 2007. Well, one was born naturally on the 19th and the other EIGHT were born via C-section on the 20th! We had 7 boys & 2 girls, all with fabulous & fun beer names! Colors were 4 black boys, 2 white boys [one white/red parti & the other white/black], 1 red boy & 2 red girls.

I'll have to get all the pictures of the babies out [who are now 20 or so weeks old] so everyone can get their belated puppy fix!

I was also diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrom in BOTH hands! So, needless to say, no more knitting for a while. The doctor actually told me that the best way to correct the problem without surgery --"quit your job." Wonderful in theory but not practical...but on a better note, I did get a better job--I'm just waiting for it to start sooner rather than later!

One Sunday...

2007-03-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

after our regular Sunday walk with the dogs, we had lunch and were walking back to the car when Bridget noticed this... A chilly tree wearing a sweater! A spring sweater--on a tree! I'm sure the tree ordered it from the JCrew catalog. It's very stylish. On such a dreary day, it definately created a smile. More posts to come, as lots of updates with the dogs and Miss Thing and some knitting. I figure since I haven't posted in awhile due to busy work schedule and a variety of other things, this would be a nice preview post.

Random Rainy Sunday Part 1

2007-01-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

More dark pics, despite floor to ceiling windows in the living room, but using the good camera.

Rainy Sunday...

Random Rainy Sunday Part 2

2007-01-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

It's a bit dark and rainy here today. Everyone is soooo sleeeppppyyyyy...

Woop-de-doo [aka the Saga of Cherry]

2007-01-01T23:47:00.000-08:00

Cherry is looking absolutely thrilled at the prospect of a new year. [Please ignore her extra long toe-nails that need to be trimmed.]

Actually, Cherry came into season about a week before xmas. Thrilling. We had no power b/c of the wind storm [which some genius is trying to have a naming contest for--hello, stupid] and trying to put pants on her was a pain. Even better--we have guest greyhounds Tara [pictured grinning above] and Tigger staying with us while their parents went to Denmark for the holidays. Not the best timing, but they're good kids. And yes, even neutered dogs will try to get their freak on with a hottie in season!

Sidebar: Tara's funny b/c she has a little gap in her lips so it always looks like she's got a weird smile/grin on her face? Very cute. She is Newell's 1st love. She & Newell were our original greyhounds--gaining us great friends that we've had for almost 5yrs now!

Back to the Cherry saga:
Lesson learned--Depends undergarments work *great* for puppy pants that you don't have to launder! When Cherry had her second season & we were lamenting at a dog event about what a pain it was to wash her panties all the time, a whippet owner suggested baby diapers. Cool! Problem is, baby diapers only apparently work for whippets. Greyhound thighs are TOO BIG! Hence the Depends. Cherry's on a 7-8mo cycle which isn't too bad.

So, Phil's staying in the trailer with Oliver & Gizmo. Which is a GREAT time since both boys KNOW she's in season & are whiny & whimpering at all hours. Phil's had -0- sleep. Blech. And, I had a long weekend for New Year's which we didn't get to spend together b/c he had to be with the boys in the trailer the whole time & I was in the house with the girls + Newell & Tigger. Not like we go out for New Year's but still. And my long weekend off of work turned into a 5-day weekend [due to President Ford's death, and me being a fed emp.] of which we couldn't go anywhere b/c of the guest dogs, Cherry, etc. Ugh. Somewhere warm & tropical was calling me!

Then the !@#$%^&* kids shooting off fireworks in front of my house didn't help matters. Newell hates fireworks & Oliver is just terrified--so combine terror + bitch in season & you get a dog who screamed & howled all night. I had to ace Newell to keep him calm & Phil aced Oliver but it didn't do any good. It's certainly a learning experience with Cherry since she's the first dog/animal I've ever owned that hasn't been spayed/neutered. We're hoping this will be worth it in the end & she has amazing pups next winter.

Anyway, happy new year. [And no, I'm still lazy & still taking pics w/the camera phone, hence the wonderful picture quality in this post.]

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

Miss Thing is rather indifferent. She says "hmph, you shall not take my picture in this unflattering light."

She's doing better. I don't ever think she'll be 100% as she's still quite wobbly in the back end, but she's up and about & quite chatty at times. She's certainly fat. Needs to quit stuffing the pie-hole with kibble.

Ooh, my xmas gift...

2006-12-29T20:36:00.000-08:00

well, one of my gifts. From Bridget. It's new [or just new to me since I didn't know about it]. Not the best pic, but it's Jitterbug merino by Colinette. The color is "bright charcoal." Not sure what I'm going to make with it. Maybe dragon socks from Keyboard Biologist?

Loved the pattern when I did it for my sock pal at the LYS. She & Jason also got me a GC to KnitPicks, which I'm trying to think about things to spend on!! And a gift card for a homemade dinner. Jason cooks a wicked chicken piccata.

Other cool gifts: silver lariat heart necklace from Tiffany's. Score! The heart style matches earrings & a bracelet I have already.

I also got a new alarm clock. Cherry knocked mine off the nightstand awhile back--it ended up kinda mangled. Then when we lost power, the generator had small burts of power surge that caused the clock to run about 20-60min ahead. One morning during the 7 days without power, I woke up 1.5hrs early. Not good. Anyway, the new clock has time zones, and it sets automatically! How cool. You just plug it in and the time is correct!!! Rockin.

Other score gift--gift card to my favorite spa. 2 gift cards to be exact. And some spa-ish candles. You know--candles that make your house/room smell relaxing like the spa. Love it! I have the best-est husband!

Snow, Rain, Wind & Thing

2006-12-21T21:35:00.000-08:00

Oswego, NY from 2004 when we lived in Syracuse. New meaning of "white Christmas."

Anyway, there hadn't been any Miss Thing updates b/c I haven't had power or internet for the past 7 days. There was a huge wind storm that came through Seattle last Thursday evening & knocked out power. Trees down everywhere & initially some 1,000,000 people without power! No damage to our home, but we did lose a pretty big limb off the fruit plum tree. Lots of tree-litter everywhere & a house at the end of the street lost a *huge* pine that tore down all the power lines. Yes, we were lucky no one was hurt & all the critters are safe... However, major pain & lots of people aren't supposed to have power back well into next week. I've lived on the east coast, upstate NY, through hurricanes in FL & even blizzards in the midwest [yes, we also lived in Denver] and the response from the power company has been laughable. The whole hill up to our street had power back on Tuesday--but they didn't feel like coming back to finish the job until today. Don't even get me started...

Anyway, Miss Thing is doing well. She's up & around & moving, though still a bit wobbly on the back end. She does tip over easily. Her tail flicks in quite a sassy way & she looks at you with indignation many times! So back to her old self. Pictures this weekend I promise! Last December she cost me $2500...this December, it was $890. I'm pretty convinced now that she'll live to be 100yrs.

I made a hat for a secret pal @ my work gift exchange. It was the Odessa hat [sans beads] from Grumperina. Totally cute in a cream colored Rowan Cashsoft 4-Ply! I have some khaki colored Rowan Cashsoft DK left from another project that I beaded & will get to work on for another gift...

Weekend Thing Update...

2006-12-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

[photo of the cats, sans Molly, in Arlington... bottom = Tommy, red & white Persian; Chloe, red flame Himilayan; Felix, black cat; Miss Thing, Siamese mix]

Miss Thing seems to be doing better as of Friday. She had xrays taken, as well as some serious IV fluids & pain meds. In short, it looks like she may have had some fluid or cartilege stuff between the vertebrae near her 13 rib blow out--which *may* have caused some serious pain. Not really sure since we can't ask her. Good news too was that she used the litter box overnight, which means that all the bits & pieces work ok! Anyway, it also looks like she has a fair amount of scar tissue on her spine resulting from a very active kitten-hood [which is believable since she was a freakin' gymnast as a child]. We visited yesterday morning & she seemed a bit responsive/happy to see us. She purred & swatted my fingers when I moved them under the covers. She did get tired easily though--so she'll be staying at the vet over the weekend & they're going to try & wean her off some of the pain meds to see how she starts moving. The vet likened it to an extreme athlete who threw out his back. Maybe with some rest & relaxation, she'll recover ok. It's just wait-n-see until Monday at this point. I forget how tough she is.

Miss Thing...

2006-12-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

relaxing on the top of the cat post when we lived in Arlington. The apartment had a wonderful view of the Washington Monument and other DC landmarks, including the Pentagon, Kennedy Center, etc. She would sit and bake in the sun all day... This was taken in 1999 when she was about 7yrs old.

Now, she's getting ready to turn 14yrs. Last year, she survived a dislocated jaw & perforated liver, among other injuries, after 4 of my greyhounds attacked her for no reason on 12/12/05. She's been healthier & stronger than ever. She's actually always been a tough, sassy cat! The occassional flare-up of crystals in her urine, but generally healthy. Until this morning. Because of what happened w/the dogs, she now lives, quite comfortably & happily, in the guest bathroom. I went into the bathroom to clean up, re-fill foot & water & generally visit with her. Instead, I found her balled up at the bottom of her cat post not moving. She didn't even mew. I tried to pick her up but she refused. On closer inspection, her back-end just collapsed from under her!

So, now, she's at the vet getting some IV fluids & pain meds. We think she may have fallen when trying to jump on the counter [poor whisker/paw coordination at her age maybe?] and hurt herself. It's actually not the first time, since a few years ago, we noticed her lower front teeth missing! She has/had a habit of sleeping on her head right on the very edge of her cat post--and we assume she subsequently fell off, knocking her teeth out! Anyway...

I hope when we go see her tomorrow, she's doing better and it was just a simple little accident. I'm not ready for her to go yet. I feel like she had a 2nd chance after last December--and was convinced she'd live to be 90yrs old. She's been there for everything in my life since I was 20yrs old. I'm not ready yet...

New Coat for ME!

2006-11-12T19:17:00.000-08:00

Auntie Megan made me a new coat... it's red with a nice paisley flannel lining & a bit of blue stretchy stuff up front. This is my first coat. Well, kind of... I have another coat I use in the field, but this is my first real coat... Everyone else has their own coats but me. I guess I'm stuck in the same color scheme as my sister [red]; Newell has black, Evie is green & Oliver is blue. Aren't I handsome???

Mama took the photo w/her camer a phone again. She has yet to charge the camera battery.

Everyone ran at a meet this weekend. I only got to run 1x on Friday in LGRA. Supposedly, it isn't good to bump other dogs coming out of the starting box, so mama scratched me :( But it's FUN!!! Ayway, I'm proud of my little bro Oliver! He got his first title! Now, he's offically "Mesa Coronado, GRC." Oliver's the first pup in our house w/that title just like I'm the first pup in the house with a Ch. Houseguest Tara won in the FCh dogs today. She beat my older sister Evie. She's FAST. Cherry got bored [again] and came in 3rd. Cherry and I prefer other activities.

Anyway, it's raining, so I'm going back to sleep on the sofa.

~Gizmo

Photos are more fun

2006-11-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

than just a boring test post!!!

Here, we have Koigu KPPM #P126. This picture doesn't do the colors justice [I need to stop being lazy & actually charge the camera batteries rather than taking pics w/my camera phone]. Deep violets, plums, navy, pine, burnt orange to slate grey-brown. LOVE it! What is it going to be? Fingerless mitts/hand warmers from One Skein for ME. Speaking of One Skein, I need to learn to crochet so I can make the "geometric accessory bags" or the bath mat.

Bottom photo: sock pal socks I raved about in my previous post. Not sure if they're Opal or maybe KnitPicks? Pattern is Hedra. Love them--though they're knit a bit looser than I would do for myself, I love that they're solid! As babulous as verigated yarn is, sometimes you can't go wrong w/just some plain, simple solid colored socks. Two Needles Up to my sock pal!

Upddates w/out Pictures

2006-10-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been absent from the blog for awhile. Busy with work & after having to look @ a computer all day, I haven't really felt like posting anything! For the most part, I'm out of classroom training @ work in into real OJT. Still falls into the *blech* category but better than staring at an instructor all day. Updates in no random order include:

Cherry's going to show class still. We're making progress & are going to enter the Whidbey Island Show in a few weeks... Hopefully all the progress we're making will have paid off! Trotting around the ring = good. Stacking = not so good.

What am I knitting???

I used up some left-over Blue Sky cotton to make a washcloth.
Finished a few baby hats for co-workers [from One-Skein book] with left over sock yarn--everyone loved them!
Finished a placket neck pull over from LMKG for a friend from law school who's due in a few weeks! It's trimmed w/Classic Elite Pima Cotton & the body is from Rowan Denim in cream.
Still working on the clapotis w/the yarn I got from Angela this summer.
I have FAILED at the Baudelaire KAL... I really didn't like how big & baggy the heel turned out. It seemed like it would be quite saggy & not the most optimum fit. So, notice the button on the side of the blog is gone now! Have to get the yarn on the winder & pull it all out. Think I will make a pair of hedra with the olive yarn instead!
I'm working on a gift scarf [Purl Scarf from LMKG] using some Blue Sky bulky in the stash supplemented with some kidsilk haze. I think it will be quite fun & snuggly when done! Not sure who it will be gifted to.
I so want to make some more of the hand-warmers from One Skein!
Need to start on the xmas gift for my mom w/the Habu Textiles bamboo!

Melanie Harris... I have no idea if you will read this or if you have a blog but *thank you* for the wonderful socks!!! I participated in a sock exchange @ my LYS [look back to the dragon socks I did]. What did I get in return??? A very perfectly fitting pair of hedra's in solid white/cream maybe from Opal or Knitpicks [not sure on the yarn]. Pics soon, as the digital camera is on the charger!

HAPPY BDAY EVIE!!!

2006-10-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Evie turned 6yrs today!!!

This pic is from the day we brought her home on July 4, 2003. A wonderful, darling girl who has taken me to England, France, Canada and all over the U.S., including NY, WA, IA, GA, CA, WY, ID and a few places in between.

It's only been 3yrs, but I can't imagine my life without her!

Show This!

2006-08-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

So, I took Cherry to the faux-show [as I call it... it's really an AKC B-Match, which means that you don't get any points or anything for it if you win, but it's good practice].

She was the only GH there [c'est la vie], so that's what the 2 ribbons on the outside are for--she won her breed [duh]! Then, we had a jaunty little pharoh hound for our competition for best of adult dogs/bitches in the hound group. The pharoh kicked our butt! Still proud of her though & she got a snazzy little toy [not pictured] to add to her collection.

The *point* show is tomorrow & there are supposed to be 3 dogs, 1 bitch & 1 special that she's going up against. Hopefully she'll win!!!! I'm so new to this whole showing thing so it's a learning experience for both of us :)

I also will add, on a non-dog related note, that I started my new job w/the federal government this week! Won't mention the agency, but I'm very excited. I have 8 weeks of class training & 4 weeks of on-the-job training, and even though it's fairly "entry level" it will give me a solid background in my field & allow me to move into the position that I *really* want as soon as a position is available!!!

Bad Bad Baudelaire...

2006-08-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

Blech! Turned the heel & it's WAY too big! Big baggy sock :( I wear a size 7.5-8 shoe & this could easily fit someone wearing a 10-11! I started the heel towards the back of my arch, but it needs to be much shorter--so, rip it all out & start all over again...ugh...

Baudelaire beginnings...

2006-08-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

Yarn: Wolle Rodel from Germany
Color: Heathered Olive #17345
Content: 75% Schurwolle [superwash] & 25% Polyamid
Needles: Addi turbo #1s

GH Puppies!

2006-08-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

Corrine dated Gizmo for a few weeks this summer...they ended up having sex & Gizmo became a papa to 7 boys & 3 girls on Aug. 9th! Gizmo is thinking about disclaiming paternity since he's white/brindle & the puppies look nothing like him! Hopefully he won't become a dead-beat dad...

Got Ears?

2006-08-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

Newell, working the magic of the ear action :) And a full belly from gnoshin' on cow bones all day yesterday...his jaw is mighty tired!

Eat your Heart out CuteOverload

2006-08-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

Some complaints that I haven't featured Evie on the blog lately. She's shy but looking ador-i-able as always!

Dragon

2006-08-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Extreme close-up of the dragon socks I made for my secret pal at my LYS...

Yarn: Claudia Handpaints "A Walk in the Woods"

Very purplish-blue like my Sony Vaio!

Needles: Addi size 1 [want to get the knitpicks though!]

Gauge: for socks?

I'd show more, but who knows if my secret pal is lurking out there somewhere???

+++++++++

And on a greyhound related note...Happy 100th to the National Greyhound Association!

If you want a great dog, look no further than your local greyhound adoption group!

Greyhound racing, while controversial, provided us with Newell, who ran successfully in Arizona, as well as Evie from Colorado & Oliver from Florida. Cherry & Gizmo aren't "track" dogs, have the same amount of desire for running in their pedigrees. All have come from wonderful sires and dams tracing back to the 1800s.

And thank you to the track trainers & owners who treated my dogs so well while you had them! They have been a joy to own & we couldn't ask for anything more!

Play-Puppy Centerfold

2006-08-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

Seems that Cherry is taking after Oliver

Just wait till she has puppies & loses that toned & muscular GH figure!

Apparently

2006-07-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

I'm still slowly re-entering the land of the living after the bar exam! It's funny how everyone asks how I think I did...being that the exam is *somewhat* subjective from the standpoint that there are certain things the graders look for, but you have no idea if you'll be rewarded for describing or using the actual word...example profit a prendre, I'll let you all know in October when the results come out! How exciting! It's also exciting to visit w/friends & generally get caught up on life from the past few weeks that I've seemed to miss!

On other news...I went to Tricoter today & exchanged my leftover ball of STR Falcon's Eye from Hourglass for STR Lapis. Very nice of them to do that! The photo's a little blurry, but there are lots of rich blues, teals [or is it more a French blue?], emerald green & violet/purple. They had some kits for the fairisle socks in--looks more complicated then I'd want to put into a pair of socks.

Working on Clapotis now [as I'm the last person on earth who's made it]. Using the Swell Yarn [see post below] for it...so far it's going well. The color of the yarn is beautiful!

Happy Birthday Oliver!

2006-07-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Oliver!

It's hard being 3yrs now huh?

Piece de Resistance! HOURGLASS!!!

2006-07-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Some of you out there know I've been working on it...and my goal was to finish it before the bar...AND I DID...small modifications must be made [namely, ripping out the neck and bringing it in more to avoid the Flashdance look, which was great in 1985, but very very bad in 2006, considering that if I bent over, you could see all the way down to business that, well...]

Anyway, the details are as follows:

Pattern: Hourglass from Last Minute Knit Gifts
Yarn: STR Falcon's Eye [3.75 skeins] lightweight
Size: 2nd to largest--I like wearing t-shirts under my sweaters & I also wasn't too sure how thin it would be w/the sock yarn!
Needles: Addi #7 body, Addi #5 dpns to start the sleeves, then back to the 7 circs...FINISHED on the new KnitPicks #7s [very very handy for attaching the neckline btw since you can put the end-caps on the cord!]

Photos show a sweater that hasn't been blocked or otherwise shaped, other than slapping it on the floor for a photo, so excuse the wrinkles & poufiness. The one sleeve is very white-green alternating stripes, which is kinda cool...not too much pooling anywhere, but note the gap in the neck? No kidding, if I stood up straight & could take better pictures of myself, it would fall right off my shoulders & end up around my waist! Generally very happy otherwise, would do the pattern again, probably in solid black [may the KnitPicks Shine?] for a dressier look? This will be perfect for comfy, casual days when you want to look better than just wearing that ratty old sweatshirt from the back of the closet but still want to be relaxed!

Bridget missed out last night seeing it 99.9% finished...very long weekend running the dogs, but more on that later...

BACK TO BAR STUDIES...one more week & it's over, yeah me!

For your viewing pleasure

2006-07-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

Giz & Cherry's step-bros...from their mom Chynna... 8wks old!

Gizmo wearing a hat...

Pretty Cherry...

New Schwag...

2006-07-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...I went to bar review class this morning, stopped by the farmer's market on the way home...got some berries [YUM], candied covered pecans [double yum]...and some eggs [since my secret Canadian supply has been confiscated at the border...]

AND found this wonderful yarn goodness!!! It's from A Swell Yarn Shop ...picked up 2 skeins of this gorgeous color called BOLD... and got a mini-lesson/demo from owner Angela on how to use a drop spindle! Very Cool [but bad b/c I have too much stuff to knit already...and a bar exam...]

How can you not like this site...

From reading her blog, I learned that she's *very* anti-puppy mill [very cool, the anti not the mill] and pro-adopt-a-pet! A kindred spirit!!!I may have to venture out to Redmond again next weekend to see what she has to sell!

[edited today to add the actual picture I took in the car on the ride home...]

WTF

2006-07-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

is up w/the wonki-ness of blogger lately? I download pics & text and the formatting sucks. If I had *time* to do it myself, I wouldn't be using blogger...

Finally, new Knitty is up! Good patterns...the last issue had a bunch of crap in it. There, I said it...you were thinking it...

And for the record, did you know:

That the WA version of UCC9 covers SI in personal property, agriculture liens, fixtures & certain intangibles. A PMSI has a close nexus to the collateral & can perfect by mere attachment for consumer goods [20-day grace period to perfect non-inventory items by filing]. Attachment gives creditors rights against the debtor, collateral & 3rd parties that know about the SI. Perfection protects creditor SIs against other SIs, most transferees for value & bankruptcy trustees. Perfection needs attachment *plus* possession, control, filing, mere attachment or a title certificate. Perfected creditors have priority over unperfected & the 1st creditor to perfect is the 1st in right. Perfected PMSIs have priority over all others...

HAHAHAH...crabby day for me doing secured transactions & commercial paper! Still no pics, but I'm on sleeve #2 of hourglass and started the branching out with the skein of hand-dyed 2ply cashmere from Sundara...Is it August yet?

~c

Happy 4th & Happy Birthday!

2006-07-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Cherry & Gizmo turn 3yrs today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

And remember to be safe this holiday & keep pets away from the fireworks!!

[public service announcement brought to you by the letter "Z"]

Bar Update

2006-06-26T23:45:00.000-07:00

Again...unexciting for those of you smart enough *not* to go to law school!

Essays completed:

Torts [practice & graded]
Property [practice & graded]
Civ pro

Still have to do crim pro by Thursday. What's in store this week? Ahh...the exciting realm of administrative law, partnerships & corporations! Might throw in some crim law for fun! Can I just share that I absolutely HATE HATE HATE torts & property. They have to be the worst subjects in the world...not only are the full of balls that can be hidden [yes, hide the ball is a favorite game in law school] BUT, they are tediously boring w/lots of crap to memorize. I am the world's worst memorizer...

My mom rec'd the KPPM one-skein gloves I sent her on Saturday. Wow to the post office for delivering in 2 days. Will post pics at some point I promise [not like anyone really comments anyway!]...

But I digress...it's 11:45p and it's still like 80 outside [probably in the 90s--around 30 something for those of you on celsius today?]--that and we have no freakin' A/C in this house!!! How is it that the last 3 homes purchased haven't had A/C???? Why don't homes in Seattle have A/C? Apparently the planet is the hottest it's been in 2000 some years, yet we here don't recognize the need for A/C!!! Conspiracy of some sort? Blech...I'm off to retreat to bed & the portable A/C we put in there...good night...