Labradorable

Creeping Towards Sanity

I know my grasp of reality is tenuous at best on a fairly regular basis, but lately I think the connection has been more faulty than usual.  I blame the rain.  We're having another rainy day.  I've lost track of them now, though I am very much aware that today is Saturday and it's time for Saturday Sky.  See how grey it is at midday?

I did eventually realize (perhaps after being reminded by somebody) that my last post was posted on a Tuesday but was written as if it were posted on Wednesday.  I had no sooner adjusted to the correct day of the week when I had a phone conversation on Wednesday afternoon with someone who closed the call with, "See you tomorrow!"  I had plans to see her on Friday, so she really threw me and I had a moment of complete and total confusion before I finally, timidly, said, "Isn't today Wednesday?", fully expecting that I was date challenged once more.  Fortunately, she was the one who was confused, so I am in good company and feeling a bit more connected with reality.

You'd think I'd be spending more time knitting because of the rain, and it's been somewhat true.  I've sort of lost enthusiasm for the Celtic Braid Socks.  I'm also now feeling the pain as I see lots of Summer of Socks 2008 participants having finished one or more socks in the one week since summer began. 

Here's where the sock stands today, about halfway done.  I am not knitting on gauge for this sock.  My gauge is off.  That said, I'm not 100% sure of the correct gauge for the sock, as the pattern merely states 28 stitches to 4 inches. . . horizontally, vertically, or both is not specified.  The author of this pattern must be a very, very loose knitter, because she used size 0 needles to get a sock to fit a US 10 1/2 women's shoe size.  I am usually a midrange knitter who usually gets gauge on the recommended needle size, and I have a size 8 1/2 foot, so I am knitting with size 0 needles.  I have been knitting away and the sock does fit on my foot, but when I got to the heel placement for the afterthought heel, the sock was at least an inch too short.  The afterthought heel instructions in the pattern didn't make a lot of sense, and it was after 10:00 at night (and beer had been consumed), so I put the sock into timeout and worked on another UFO for the rest of the night.

Today I got some very, very helpful afterthought heel advice from Karen, so I figured out how I'm going to make the heel work.  I also decided to try the sock on DD.  It's a pretty good fit, just a little too long for her, so this sock is now for her.  It does fit on my foot, and I could have knit more length in the foot before I started the heel, but I was also concerned about how the sock was going to work with my high arches and didn't want to go crazy tweaking the pattern.  I thought about frogging the sock and trying again with size 2 needles, but it looked so good on DD and she was so thrilled about me knitting socks for her that I decided to keep on keeping on and gift it to her.  I feel a little bit crazy about knitting such labor intensive socks for an almost seven year old, but this way I can salvage what I've already knit and look at it as a learning experience. 

I've also been cooking during our rainy weather, but not too much -- let's not get the impression that I like cooking or am good at it.  I ran out during a break in the rain the other day and cut some rhubarb and made sUsAn's Rhubarb Crunch.  It is *so* good.  I highly recommend it.  My kids won't eat it and DH only likes rhubarb a little bit, so there's plenty for me.

I decided not to bake Loco a cake.  We went to the dog bakery to get him a birthday cake, but the owner wasn't there and she's the only one who can decorate cakes.   So, we got him a pupcake for his birthday, as well as an apple pie, cheese cake, and quite a few other delicious treats.  We came home and sang Happy Birthday to Loco.  I think he found it incredibly frustrating to have us all standing around him, crowding him, serenading him off-key with a song he didn't understand.  Dogs, labs especially, aren't really enamored of anything that delays eating, especially anything as pointless (to them) as singing.  Loco stood and looked at us all as though he couldn't believe we were wasting so much time when what he really wanted was to immediately commence the eating of a treat.  I'm glad we didn't put a candle on it as we had planned, because he made several attempts to liberate the pupcake.  This is the only photo I got of him with it -- it was impossible to get it anywhere near him without him attempting to snatch the pupcake out of my hand. 

Once he got the pupcake, he took it into the family room, because it's better to eat something messy on the carpeting versus on a surface that the cleaners (that would be DH and me) can more easily tidy up.  Like most other kids his age, Loco ate the frosting first and then ate the cake.

The second photo shows Loco actually taking the pupcake from me.  Never fear, my fingers were not harmed and there will be no disruption to my knitting.  There should be plenty of knitting going on this evening, but I don't think I will make the knit one sock in one week goal.  I started the Celtic Braid Sock last Saturday evening, but evening is rapidly approaching and I have 70+ rows to knit.  I'm going to get moving on it, but don't expect miracles.

Before I close, I wanted to mention a swap that I've signed up for, my first swap in a long time.  You have to be a Dogs on Thursday person.  DoT will be celebrating its one year anniversary next month.  I can't believe it's only been one year.  I've met so many wonderful bloggers through DoT.  As for the swap, I couldn't resist after seeing the photo of Elise with her ears flapping in the wind -- so cute!
 

Into Every Life a Little Rain Must Fall

It's been crazy rainy here of late, complete with thunder and lightning.  Yesterday, the kids put on their bathing suits and ran around in the rain (between bouts of thunder and lightning, of course). 

My outdoor knitting corner has been vacant for the past few days as a result of the rain.  I don't actually mind the rain so much now that I am not working.  If I don't have to deal with Boston commuting traffic and the havoc rain wreaks, and if I don't have to get all dressed up and go out in the rain, I am actually quite fine with it.  DD and I spent some time last week weeding and planting more flowers outside, so the rain will be lovely for them.  However, some of us would like the sun back so we can spend more time outside.

Like most labrador retrievers, Loco doesn't really mind going out in the rain and getting wet.  What he doesn't really like is that he cannot go out and lie on the porch.  If the weather was nicer, this is what he'd be doing:

Unfortunately, for most of the past two and a half days, he's been cooped up inside with the rest of us.  He's been good company while I knit, but I can't say he's enjoying himself too much.  I think that today, the boredom has gotten the better of him.  We had a nice morning, but the afternoon has been gloomy and rainy, and he's been reduced to this:

The poor thing!  He had his birthday this week, too, and we didn't do anything fun due to the rain.  I was planning on taking him to the dog bakery to pick out some treats, but I'm really not keen on wet dog in the car unless absolutely necessary.

I did talk to DH about getting another dog and he is actually amenable to it.  It's been about two and a half months since Beast died.  It's still difficult to think about him, but I think we've all been missing having a second dog around the house.  And, being the resourceful individual that I am, I found a couple of suitable candidates for adoption.  We're not looking at getting a puppy or a young dog, but someone who would be Loco's peer, agewise.  This has a bit of symmetry to it, as Loco should be getting a new dog right after his birthday, and we originally went from a one dog household to a two dog household just after Beast's birthday, way back in 1996.  (Oh, that explains my e-mail address for those of you who are in the know!)  Other than the two periods of one dog house that we've had after one of the dogs died, we've been a two dog house ever since. 

Now that I've said all that about dogs, I'll likely have nothing canine related to report tomorrow for Dogs on Thursday.  But, many people won't read this post until Thursday, so I will be okay.  Here's a Wednesday Sky shot.  You can see the raindrops coming down.  Yes, they were that big.  Some places in New England were expecting large size hail, but we haven't seen that yet.

I've been in the house a lot, working on my new socks.  I must confess, when I first started this sock, I was a bit discouraged about it.  The pattern is available for free on the internet, and it's written by a Finnish blogger.  I think it's a lovely finished product, but there are typos in the pattern as well as places where it wasn't completely translated from Finnish to English, so some of the knitting has been slow going.  Still, it's free, so I can be patient about the issues I'm having with the pattern.  I was a bit worried that instead of Summer of Socks 2008, I was going to end up with Summer of Sock 2008 because I was only going to be able to manage the knitting of one sock during these months.  Fortunately, the rain has kept me inside a lot and that, along with the satellite tv blackouts we keep having due to the cloudiness of the sky (usually a negative, but I'm thinking of it in a positive way for this purpose), has given me quite a bit of time where I can sit with the pattern and the sock and really concentrate on my knitting.

So, here's what I have so far.  I'm on row 70something out of 170something rows, so I'm making progress.  This is my first sock with an afterthought heel, so I will be learning something new with this sock, which is always a plus.  This is also the first sock I've ever knit on size 0 (2.0 mm) needles.  I think that it's also the first toe up sock I've knit using waste yarn to knit a little tube on which to knit the sock, but I can't remember for sure.  In any case, there are some firsts with this sock, so it's keeping me interested.  I still think I might cast on for a simpler sock to have for knitting when I can't concentrate or don't have room to spread out the pattern.  (Can anyone say Stitch N Pitch is coming up in another week and a half?)

Now, for the details on this sock.  The pattern is Celtic Braid, by Tuulia Salmela, and can be found here.  The yarn is Patonyle from Patons Australia, in color 1003, which I have dubbed Cream.  According to Ravelry, Patonyle is discontinued, but I think they will be making more of it.  This is my first time knitting with it and, although the huge skeins remind me of Opal yarn, this is much softer than Opal.  I think it's perfect for this project.  It's showing the stitches very nicely and it's easy on my fingers for all the cabling.  Plus, for those of you who recall my two sad Socks That Rock stories where I ran out of yarn on the toe of the second sock, there is *plenty* of yarn in this 1006 skein to knit two socks, 409 yards to be exact.  I wouldn't be surprised if there is actually more yardage to the skein than it states on the label, though, as even after I've knit this much sock, the skein doesn't look any smaller.

I'm going to finish this post now, as the thunder and lightning are making me a bit nervous that we are going to lose electricity.  I don't know if I can knit this by candlelight, but I'm not beyond giving it a try!

Stop All the Clocks

The Beast, 1995-2008

Dear Lorna

I am writing today to call your attention to a quality control issue.  You know, I had a rough day today.  I took Beast to the hospital to see the oncologist.  After his last chemo treatment, she said to make sure to let her know ASAP if he started to vomit.  He was fine for the first week after the chemo, but the second week was not good, even though his drug regime has not changed.  After a lot of vomiting and constant dry heaving for a week, and several phone talks with the oncologist, it was decided that he needed to come in to the hospital.

The good news is that the current complaint doesn't seem to be in any way related to the cancer.  The bad news is that, in addition to an unknown cause of this problem, Beast has other, new medical issues.  He was admitted to the hospital's CCU.  He's had a huge number of diagnostic procedures performed and his results have been considered by specialists in oncology, radiology, internal medicine, cardiology, and emergency/critical care.  The best case scenario is that he has pneumonia, which would account for all the fluid in his chest.  There is also a possibility that his cancer has spread and he has a tumor in his lungs or on his esophagus.  It's hard to see it because of all the fluid in his chest.  Heart failure has been ruled out.

And what about the vomiting?  The dry heaving that he does all day long and even wakes from a sound sleep to do?  It's not caused by any of the above.  It might be due to laryngeal paralysis.  The test for that costs thousands of dollars and requires he be put under anesthesia.  If he has it, he will have to go under again because the only cure is surgery.  Anesthesia is risky in older animals, and Beast has terminal cancer, so we have decided not to put him through that.  The vet concurs.

As you can imagine, this has been a stressful time, going through this and not knowing exactly what is going on with Beast (shown here lying on the floor in the waiting room today).  It was hard to come home by myself with Beast's leash and collar but not Beast.  It was even harder when my DH got mad at me for not bringing Beast home and for not consulting him before doing that, especially since I called him more than once from the hospital with updates and he never returned my messages.  I didn't bother telling him how big the bill for today was.  I'll save that argument for another day.

Although DH probably doesn't remember, this is also a particularly stressful time of year because we lost our last two pets in late March.  The cat on the back of the chair died of pancreatic cancer and lymphoma in March 2002.  Snuggles, the dog lying on the chair, died in March 2003 of liver cancer. 

When Beat was first diagnosed with cancer, all I wanted was for him to not die in March.  In that we've been successful, but as March tails off, his health appears to be declining quite rapidly.  It's very bad timing.

I have some special plans for April, though.  I was going to start knitting a new pair of socks.  I know I'm not done with DS's cardi yet, but I love sock knitting and it's much, much more portable than that cardi.  So, this evening I set up my winder and swift and prepared to make myself two lovely cakes of Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock yarn.  Now, obviously, I wouldn't be writing this if there wasn't something unusual  about the winding of the yarn.  I mean, people wind yarn every day and it's no big deal.  Hell, some knitters have trained their children to perform this task.

I popped the skein on my swift and then untied it, as is my usual habit.  I find that this minimizes any chance that the yarn will get tangled prior to winding it.  As I started winding, I discovered that my usually foolproof method of avoiding tangles and knots was not 100 percent.  No matter, I took the yarn off the winder, fixed the problem, and set about winding again, only to have this scene repeat itself over and over again.  Now, I'd like to think of myself as fairly intelligent, but I know I was stressed out today and had other things on my mind, so I was willing to accept the blame for this mishap, that is, until I discovered this:

WTF?????  This skein of yarn was twisted and turned all over itself.  I ended up having to wind it by hand, and even doing it that way I ended up having to change the direction in which the swift was traveling in order to follow the direction of the yarn.  So, this is my very long-winded way of saying that this was not a high point in quality control for Lorna's Laces.  I have to wonder how this even happened.  I've never had this occur before with any Lorna's yarns. 

Let's face it, no one likes to wind sock yarn by hand.  (If you do, just keep it to yourself or send me a private e-mail and I will send you my sock yarn stash for your winding pleasure.)  I don't like to do it, that's for damn sure.  That's why I have a winder and swift.  I knit for many years winding skeins into balls using the back of a chair or my knees, but that was when I knit in primarily worsted weight.  One look at sock yarn and I was absolutely convinced in the wisdom of owning a yarn swift and winder.

I did wind the second skein of yarn and had no trouble with it.  But then I got all off balance about the fact that I had a nice yarn cake and a big ball o'yarn.  I want to make two socks that are the same.  I have a deep seated need to knit from two yarn sources that look the same.  I know it's no guarantee that the socks will be the same, but I can't tempt fate.  So I ended up winding my ball o'yarn into a  yarn cake with the winder anyway, for the sake of matchy matchy yarn and socks.  Damn, that yarn has seen more action and been touched more this evening that I am going to be, what with DH still annoyed at me about the dog and all.  It just doesn't seem right, does it?

Thanks for listening, and let's see some better quality control with those skeins of yarn, okay?  Thanks, Lorna, thanks very much.

Dog Update

It's been a rough couple of days, but ya'll have really lifted my spirits with all of your kinds words and wishes.  The Chocolate Dog sleeps in his crate (with a dog bed in front of it, as sometimes he likes to stretch out) at night, and his crate has been empty for the past couple of nights.  He's been in the hospital.  He came in through the Emergency service, had some lab work done, and then spent most of his first day (Thursday) in CCU.  He did have x-rays, an ultrasound, and more tests done, but he otherwise spent most of that first day sleeping soundly.  When I went to visit him on Friday morning in CCU, I thought he was dead because he was sleeping so soundly.  He was just wiped out.  The poor thing had a raging urinary tract infection and a bit of lung trouble which apparently was brought on by him aspirating vomitus.  He was on IV fluids, antibiotics, and painkillers.  He did seem happy to see me, though.

Later that day, he was moved into the Intermediate Care Ward, where DH visited him.  He was much more animated at that point.  However, some of the lab results from tests done on Thursday afternoon came back and he had to have more tests done.  Late Friday, he went back to Radiology and had another biopsy done.  He had to be sedated for that, so he was in no shape to come home Friday night.  We thought he'd be coming home this morning, so we spent the day sitting in the house eagerly awaiting the call to come get him and take him home.  It didn't come, so I called in and left my cell number and we headed in to the hospital to at least visit him.  We bumped into the vet on our way in and she told us he was ready to come home.  So, tonight, we've got our big baby back.   Here he is:

He's feeling much better now.  That won't likely be the case for very long.  Although the issues he had when he walked into the hospital have been addressed and he's improving every day, in the process of performing tests on him, they discovered that he has cancer.  We're still waiting for the results of Friday afternoon's biopsy of his prostate, but at this point, they can say that he's got an adrenal tumor that they're not sure is cancerous, he's got a big cancerous prostate tumor, and his cancer has metastasized.  It is in his lymphatic system, though it hasn't shown up in his lungs yet.  At this point, all we know is that he has between one and seven months to live, depending on the extent of the cancer and the course of treatment selected.  I'll have more information next week, after the results come in and I talk to an oncologist. 

The plan for right now is that our lives are on hold until we know what's going on with this dog.  I almost planned our spring vacation earlier this week, and I'm so glad that I didn't get it together to get it done, because I wouldn't feel comfortable planning to go away.  We fortunately haven't put down any money for a vacation that we'd end up losing if we can't go, and that's really good, because the hospital bill so far is close to $4,000.  I guess *that* will keep me on the straight and narrow with the yarn buying. 

I am buying a new DVD player, hopefully tomorrow, as ours died last night.  If we're going to be spending as much time as possible at home with the dog, then we're going to need to be able to watch some movies.  The dog isn't actually restricted from leaving the house, and he can do anything he feels like doing according to the vet.  It's just that he really isn't feeling any effects of the cancer yet and we anticipate that he'll be more interested in staying home and resting once he is feeling those and/or the side effects of any treatment. 

I guess this means that I might actually get quite a bit of knitting done in the near future.  I finished the pieces of DD's sweater but still need to add the Noro Blossom bits at the edges, then block and sew the pieces together.  I reread the pattern again today and found something else that irritates me about it.  There are no schematic drawings and the measurements of the individual pieces of the body are only given for length.  I suppose I could use the gauge information to calculate how wide the pieces are supposed to be before I block them, but, really, that information ought to have been right there in the pattern.  Sure, we knitters can do math, but when you're glancing at a pattern in a shop, trying to decide what size to make and/or how much yarn to purchase to knit it, wouldn't it be easier if there were good measurements given in the pattern -- of course it would!

I'm off to knit and hug the dog.  Thanks for all of the well wishes and support!

Daydreaming of Socks

Lately, I've been really busy at work, which isn't so bad except for the fact that it seems that everyone else isn't busy, is on vacation, or is out sick.  I can't figure out why I'm running around like a crazy woman all day long by myself.  I can't get lunch during the day, I can't get out of work on time (and had to call my emergency child care pick up two times in the last three days), and, most disturbingly, it has been taking me an average of 90 minutes between thinking that I need to hit the ladies room and actually being able to break free and get there.  However, in the midst of running around at a hectic pace, today I discovered that I really am back into the knitting groove.  I had a few minutes of time while waiting for a phone call, and I found myself online, looking at sock patterns.  If I'm spending my precious few free moments dreaming of socks I'm going to knit, I know I'm going to be okay now.

And here's the latest sock in progress, the second in the Titania's Revenge pair:

Can I just say that I love, love, love this yarn (STR in Jasper) and this pattern (Titania's Revenge by Cookie A.)?  I will admit that I like the lace pattern on the leg better than the faux cable that travels across the foot.  That really surprised me when I knit the first sock, as I raced through the lace to get to that unique cable feature.  That faux cable was really the main reason why I fell in love with this pattern the moment I saw it, yet it's the lace that really makes my needles sing now. 

I love being surprised by my love for the lace pattern.  So often I am attracted to knit projects that are similar to other projects that I have knitted and loved.  I don't think that this sock pattern has involved my learning any new techniques, but it is somewhat challenging simply because of keeping track of multiple charts while working on the foot.  It's kept my interest and engaged me in the entire sock construction process.  The only downside is that there are times when I'm too tired to make the effort to read the chart, but that's why it's *good* to have more than one project on the needles, right? 

This sock is actually my only active project right now.  I need to start another sock and I need to get moving on that sweater for DD which now consists only of a back piece.  I also have another needlework project that is not knitting, and that will debut here over the upcoming long weekend.

And here's something that you haven't seen in a long time, some puppy love.  I just signed up for Dogs on Thursday, and here's my first post.  I know it's not Thursday any more in much of the world, but it's Thursday here, and that's what counts.  Plus, I fell asleep early last night and didn't get online despite my intention to do so.  Here's the old guy, having a nap this evening.  It's been hot and humid for the past few days, and it really takes a lot out of him.  It takes a lot out of me, too, and I am incredibly jealous at the amount of time he gets to spend sleeping.  I am not jealous about his arthritis, though there are some days when I feel as old and creaky as he looks when he's walking around with his stiff hips.  It's tough to get old, as my dad always says.

And I'm going to end today with a meme stolen from Alarming Female.  My answers to this are probably going to make me seem older than I am, but here goes:

INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Put your music player on shuffle. 2. Press forward for each question. 3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn’t make sense.

How does the world see me?

Ain't That Love -- Scratch Acid

Will I have a happy life?

The Guns of Brixton -- The Clash

What do my friends think of me?

Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking -- Snow Patrol

What is some good advice for me?

Got to Give It Up (Part 1) -- Marvin Gaye

How will I be remembered?

Harmony in My Head -- The Buzzcocks

What’s my current theme song?

I'll Walk Away -- James Hunter

What do others think is my current theme song?

We Belong -- Pat Benatar

What will they play at my funeral?

Stratford-on-Guy -- Liz Phair

What type of women/men do I like?

Hypermania -- Therapy?

How’s my love life?

Well Alright -- The Shods

Some of those make no sense, but you have to admit, some of them are quite funny.  What about you?

And here are the songs that came on after those above:

Blame It on Cain -- Elvis Costello

Ranking Full Stop -- The English Beat

Pressure Drop -- The Specials

Y Las Mariposas -- Pancho Barranza

Para Que Volver -- Intocable

Here We Go -- Stakka Bo

Shake Your Groove Thing -- Peaches & Herb

No Reason -- Minor Threat

Living Next Door to Alice -- Smokie

This is Not a Love Song -- Public Image Ltd.

What's on your iPod?

All Scarfed Out

My Project Spectrum project for the month is the Vintage Velvet scarf from Scarf Style.   As you may recall, I started this months ago and went into a panic after I finished knitting the first ball because I was terrified of screwing the scarf up by doing a poor add of the next ball of Touch Me.  With Sharon's encouragement (and you can see her finished Vintage Velvet here), I forged ahead and added the next ball just like I normally would -- I knit a couple of stitches with both strands of yarn and then wove in the ends.  Will it work out well?  Who knows, but I'm hopeful.  The problem is that I'm only on the fourth of five skeins of yarn and I'm getting dreadfully bored. 

What I'm dying to do is cast on for those Sundara socks.  The problem is that I am wiped out and don't have the mental (or physical) energy to manage the new and different cast on for those socks.  DH worked all weekend, so I had the kids all day both days, which means that it's pretty much like not having a day off -- I worked last week, had the kids to myself most of the weekend, and I'm back at work for a full week this week (plus, I've got work travel both weeks).  So, it's back to the scarf again for me until I get a breather. 

I tried to take photos of the scarf using my trusty scarf model, but he had other ideas:

Like scratching himself with my scarf!  I know watching a dog do that to Touch Me is probably causing some of you to feel a bit sick.  If so, please don't look at the next photo.

Yup, it's time for the licking of the boy parts.  Please exhale -- the scarf did not actually make contact with anything nasty during this photo shoot.  Frankly, if it did, I don't think I'd be too worried, as (a) the scarf is for me and (b) it has to be felted before it is done, so there's a trip in the washing machine in its near future anyway.

And, for those of you who are wondering if any yarn that I have ever sent you has been subjected to this type of beastly behavior, let me say that I keep my yarn in plastic (boxes and bags) in my closet, which is off limits to everyone in the house except for me.  So, the answer is an emphatic no.

Finally, because I'm short on knitting content and this e-mail I received has amused me to no end, here's 100 Ways to Know if You're from Boston.  I'm going to do it meme style, bold if it's true for me and my comments in italics:

1. The Red Sox World Series win was, and will always be, one of the greatest moments in your life.
2. The guy driving in front of you is going 70 mph and you're swearing at him for going too slow.
3. When ordering a tonic, you mean a Coke.

Not true for me, but endless amusement traveling with my grandmother (who, ironically, was quite the world traveler) when she ordered a tonic, expected a Coke, and got a tonic/quinine water!
4. You went to Canobie Lake Park or Water Country as a kid

I know the Water Country theme song but haven't a clue as to where it is.  I worked at Canobie Lake Park. . . but not for the park itself. . . for three summers.
5. You actually enjoy driving around rotaries.
  These are roundabouts for the rest of you.  I freaking love them in a death wish kind of way, especially the larger of the two that I go through twice a day on my commute to and from work.

6. You do not recognize the letter "R" as a part of the English language.
7. Your social security number starts with a 0.
8. You can actually find your way around Boston.
9. You know what a "regular" coffee is.

I do not, but I have gone on Dunkie's runs and ordered regular coffee for other people, who have been happy with the beverage when I brought it back for them, so there must be some common meaning to this term.
10. You keep an ice scraper in your car year-round.

I take out the big one between May and October, but keep the little one in the car.
11. You can tell the difference between a Revere accent and a Dorchester accent.
12. Springfield is located "way out west."
13. You almost feel disappointed if someone doesn't flip you the bird when you cut them off or steal their parking space.

Okay, I don't do this at all.  Cutting someone off can equal death, just ask me -- I've sat in the bloody traffic jams after idiots with road rage end up dying on the highway.  And what Bostonians will do to your car if you take their spots -- you don't want to know.  Just don't do it.
14. You know how to pronounce the names of towns like Worcester, Billerica, Gloucester, and Haverhill.
15. Anyone you don't know is a potential idiot until proven otherwise.
16. Paranoia sets in if you can't see a Dunkin Donuts or CVS within eyeshot at all times.
17. You have driven to New Hampshire on a Sunday just to buy alcohol.
  In fairness, it's only a few minutes away.  Also note that in recent years, towns on the NH border have allowed liquor sales during limited hours on Sundays.  Also note that you cannot purchase beer at the New Hampshire State Liquor store -- beer is sold at the supermarket in NH.

18. You know how to pronounce Yastrzemski

19. You know there's a trophy at the end of the Bean Pot.

And BU usually wins it, or at least in just seems like it.
20. You order iced coffee in January
  I give myself credit for this because I drink iced tea all year long.  In fact, I went out into subfreezing temperatures tonight with a big cuppa iced tea.

21. You know that the Purple Line will take you anywhere
22. You love scorpion bowls.
  Must put in the plug for The Shods song "Scorpion Bowl"

23. You know what they sell at a Packie.
  Yeah, things you can't buy in Massachusetts on a Sunday! ;-)

24. Sorry Manny, but number 24 means DEWEY EVANS.
25. You know what First Night is.
26. You know at least one guy named Sean, Pat, Whitey, Red, Bud or Seamus.
  I'm giving myself credit even though the only Whitey I know is Whitey Bulger and I've never met him in person.  I have met Billy Bulger, though.

27. McLobster? McCrap!
28. You know at least 2 cops in your town because they were your high school drinking buddies.

I seriously doubt anyone at my high school became a cop, but this is true of DH, in spades.
29. Sure there are 6 New England states, but Connecticut really doesn't count.
30. You intentionally give wrong directions to tourists, feel bad when they drive off, but then say to yourself, "Ah, screw 'em."
31. You know at least one bar where you can get something to drink after last call.
32. You're sick of the Kennedy's, but you vote for them anyway.
I'm even more sick of people who don't know how to use apostrophes correctly!

33. You know holding onto the railing when riding the Green Line is not optional
34. The numbers '78 and '86 make you cringe.
Only because I have to listen to some sorry Red Sox fan moaning about them.

35. You've been to Goodtimes before
36. You think the rest of the country owes you for Thanksgiving and Independence Day. (...and they DO).
37. You have never been to "Cheers."
38. The words 'WICKED' and 'GOOD' go together.
39. You've been to Fenway Park several times.
40. You've gone to at least one party at U Mass.
41. You own a "Yankees Suck" shirt or hat.
42. You know what a Frappe is.
43. You've been to Hempfest.
44. You know who Frank Averuch is.
45. ADVANCED: You know Frank Averuch was once Bozo the Clown

46. You can complete the following: "Lynn, Lynn..."
  Lynn, Lynn, city of sin, you never come out the way you went in!

47. You get pissed off when a restaurant serves clam chowder, and it turns out to be friggin' Snows.
48. You actually know how to merge from six lanes of traffic down to one.
49. The TV weatherman is damn good if he's right 25% of the time.
50. You never go to "Cape Cod," you go "down the Cape".
  I might say "down the Cape" but I don't go there -- it's one gigantic traffic jam all summer.  No thank you!

51. You think that Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon are more evil than Whitey Bulger.
52. You know who Whitey Bulger is.
53. You went to the Swan Boats, House of Seven Gables, or Plymouth Plantation on a field trip in elementary school
54. Bobby Orr is loved as much as Larry Bird, Tom Brady, and Ted Williams.
I was a member of the Bobby Orr fan club before I was in kindergarten. It goes that deep.  I also learned the National Anthem from watching Bruins games.

55. You remember Major Mudd.
56. You know what candlepin bowling is
57. You can drive to the mountains and the ocean all in one day
58. You know Scollay Square once stood where Government Center is.
59. When you were a kid, Rex Trailer was the coolest guy around.  Speaking of which...
60. You can still hum the song from the end of Boom Town
61. Calling Carrabba's an "Italian" restaurant is sacrilege
62. You still have your old Flexible Flyer somewhere in your parents' attic.
63. You know that the Mass Pike is some sort of strange weather dividing line.
64. The only time you've been on the Freedom Trail is when relatives are in town.
65. The Big Dig tunnel disaster wasn't really that much of a surprise.
66. You call guys you've just met "Chief" or"Boss."
67. 4:15pm and pitch black out means there's just 3 more shopping days until Christmas
68. You know more than one person with the last name Murphy
69. You refer to Savin Hill as "Stab 'n Kill."
70. You've never eaten at Durgin Park, but recommend it to tourists.

I have eaten at Durgin Park, but not since I was a kid.  The last time we were there, so was Ted Kennedy.
71. You can't look at the zip code 02134 without singing it.
  Write Zoom, zee double-oh em, box three five oh, Boston, Mass 0-2-1-3-4

72. You voted for a Republican Mormon as Governor just to screw with the rest of the country.
73. 11pm? Drunk? It means one thing: Kowloon!
74. 2am? Drunk? It means one thing: Kelly's Roast Beef!
75. 5am? Drunk? It means one thing: You wish you had a blanket in your back seat
76. You know that P-Town isn't the name of a new rap group.
77. People you don't like are all "Bastids."

However, I actually pronounce it "bastards".

78. You took school or work off for the Patriots first Super Bowl Win Parade.
79. You've called something "wicked pissa."
Sadly, yes, but not since I was a kid.

80. You'll always get razzed for Dukakis.
81. Saturday afternoons meant Creature Double Feature with Dale Dorman.

Is it wierd that I know he's the morning drive time dj on Oldies 103.3 FM now?  And that I remember him on WRKO in the 70's?
82. Sunday mornings meant the Three Stooges on Channel 38
83. You've slammed on your brakes to deter a tailgater
84. No, you don't trust the Gorton's Fisherman.
85. You know that Papa Gino's usually has a jukebox.
86. You think Aerosmith is the greatest rock band of all time

87. Your town has at least 6 sub shops, and none of them are a Subway.
88. You know at least three Tony's, one Vinnie and a Frankie.
89. 20 degrees isn't that bad as long as there's no wind.
90. You were very sad when saying goodbye to the Boston Garden.
  I took my parents and DH to the closing ceremony.

91. Thanksgiving means family, turkey, High School football, and the long version of Alice's Restaurant.
92. You know the guy who founded the Boston Pops was Athah Feedlah.
  Only I actually say Arthur Fiedler.

93. You know what the Combat Zone is.
94. You drive 45 minutes to New Hampshire to save $5 in sales tax.
  Well, it's much less than 45 minutes, but, yes, I do save up my NH trips to save the sales tax.  So do people in Maine who head south into NH.

95. You've pulled out of a side street and used your car to block oncoming traffic so you can make a left.
96. You've bragged about the money you've saved at The Christmas Tree Shop

I *hate* The Christmas Tree Shop!
97. You've been to Hampton Beach on a Saturday night.
98. Playing street hockey was a daily after school ritual.
  We had homemade nets kept on the street.  In the winter, we carved nets out of snowbanks.

99. Hearing an old lady shout "Numbah 96 for Sioux City!" means it's time for steak.
I remember the giant cactus and the herd of fiberglass cows better, but yes, it's Hilltop, now under new management and not nearly as cool. 

100. You remember Jordan Marsh, Grants, Bradlees, Caldor, Zayres, or Ann & Hope.

Jordan Marsh -- I miss those muffins.  Grants -- I got my first goldfish there, my great-aunt worked there while she was in high school, and I once stopped and said the pledge of allegiance in front of the flag pole at a Grant's.  Bradlees -- At Bradlees you buy what Mrs. B buys and nobody can buy like Mrs. B. . . strangely, we never went there.  Caldor -- I bought the Grease soundtrack there when I was a kid.  Zayres -- We didn't shop there, either.  Ann & Hope -- This is a north shore store, we didn't go there too much, except maybe after a trip to Hilltop, ha ha!

67 out of 100, not bad!  Anyone else for some fun with this?  I'm sure that some of you out there could score much, much higher than I did.

Dog Wash

Today it's about the dogs.  Believe me, you'd rather see the following photos than some boring sock in progress photos, though I will say that the second Hedera sock is coming along quite speedily.

Today we took the dogs to a charity dog wash.  First up is the old man.  He got washed by people who know what they're doing.  I think he got washed by staff from Laundromutt but it could have been staff from a Dellaria salon.  Although he clearly wasn't too into the bath, they did a nice job and he was nice and fluffy and good smelling after his bath was over.

The New England Patriots were in Cincinnati rolling over the Bengals (Sorry, Beth!), so their cheerleaders were making an appearance at this event.  We went to the event more to see the cheerleaders than to get the dogs washed, because DD wants to be a cheerleader when she grows up.  (That is never going to happen, but she's only five so I'll let her keep hoping until the day that she realizes that she's too bloody tall to be a cheerleader.)  I introduced DD to a couple of cheerleaders and told them she wanted to be a cheerleader when she grew up, and the response was inevitably a lukewarm, "That's nice."  So I stopped trying.  The cheerleaders all went gaga over DS.  They all wanted to know his name and whether that was his dog and they went on and on about him.  So, DD, the chocolate dog, and I were all on the outs, I guess.  I think that DD was the only one who might have minded, but she seemed okay about it.  I felt bad for her, because she really was looking forward to meeting real cheerleaders.

The yellow dog, accompanied by DH and DS, got a lot of bimbette attention.

He also got a worse dog wash.  However, DS, the yellow dog, and the cheerleaders were filmed and photographed by several people.  As I look at this photo, it strikes me that the blondes gravitate toward the blonde.  Notice which end they're making the brunette wash. 

I think the highlight of DD's day was the photo that was taken with the cheerleaders who were in their actual cheering costumes.  There was a real photographer there, but we won't get that photo for a week or two.  This I took from off on the side.

I have to give that cheerleader on the left a great deal of thanks.  She noticed that DD had a Sleeping Beauty pin on her shirt and told her that she loved Aurora, and she let her hold her pom poms.  She made DD's day and so we ended on a high note, with everyone feeling happy. 

I think DH was happy.  He's not a huge football fan and he's not a cheerleader fan, so he wasn't wowed by the girls.  He didn't want one of the Patriots bumperstickers that WBCN was giving out at the dog wash, either.  I think that, like me, he was there to support a good cause and entertain the kids.  I must confess that we were entertained by the middle-aged man who arrived sans dog, wearing a Patriots t-shirt stretched tight over his beer belly.  We saw him drive off in a car covered with Patriots stickers and flags and tried to imagine what happened when he went inside to have his photo taken with the cheerleaders.  In some ways, I guess it's a good thing that DD is going to be too tall to be a cheerleader, now that I think about it that way.

I knitted the heel flap and turned the heel in the car on the way to and from the dog wash, so now I'm in the doldrums of knitting the foot on the second Hedera.  Since I'm not going to any more dog washes or any other exciting events this week, you'll likely see the sock in progress some time in the next few days.  I know that's boring.  I'll try to find something to spice up my post, but it won't be more cheerleaders.

L is for. . .

I know I got a little bit behind on the ABC's, but I offer a Lounging Labrador:

He's also a Lifesaving Labrador -- yesterday he gave blood.  This is the time of year when lots of dogs are out and, consequently, lots of dogs get hit by cars or suffer other traumatic injuries, so the need for blood can be greater than it is at other times of the year.  When a dog donates blood, they usually take the blood from the jugular vein -- a small patch of fur is shaved off and the (usually) slighly sedated dog gets the same little puncture mark that people get on their arms when they donate.  Yesterday, they tried less sedative for this pup and he did really, really well.  Here's a photo of what his neck looks like after a donation:

See, it's not as bad as you  probably thought it was.  When he's got his collar on, you can't see the shaved patch at all.  Although this guy is probably the most nervous dog (in general) that I've ever had, the blood donation process is a piece of cake for him.  He loves the attention and has made friends with everyone who works in the blood bank.  I took him out for a walk a few hours after he donated, and he was running around like no big deal.  Still, I always plan on a quiet evening when one of my dogs donates blood, just as I would when I used to donate blood. 

(Regular readers who actually retain information they read might recall this, so they can skip ahead, but here's some info for the rest of you.  I can't donate blood any more because I've spent too much time in countries where they have mad cow disease, so the Red Cross has banned me for life.  I used to donate regularly.  My chocolate dog also used to donate regularly, until he aged out of eligibility.  My other chocolate lab had a rare blood type but did not meet the stringent health requirements to donate blood.  However, his life was saved by an emergency blood transfusion in the middle of the night at the same hospital where my other dogs donate blood, so I know exactly how much those donations are appreciated by other dog owners.  Cats can donate, too, but my two cats are not eligible due to chronic health conditions they have.)

Sandy's Saturday Sky

Here's the sky at my house this afternoon.  It's a pretty clear blue sky with a couple of fluffy white clouds, which is great to have if you're planning anything outside, but which is dead boring to photograph.  So, here's the sun peeking through the trees.

Yes, I Knit, Too

I haven't knit very much this week because I didn't feel good, but I picked up the Jaywalker again the other day.  This one is going so much faster than the largest (fourth) size that I made for DH.  I am making the second size (which is the larger of the two sizes in the original pattern) on size 1 needles.  A few people expressed concern that the leg looked awfully wide when I last posted a photo of this sock, so I tried it on for you.

The leg is snug on me, not too tight or too loose.  I'm making the second size because I have very wide feet.  This is working out just right so far for me.  I should mention that I do not have thin legs.  My legs aren't fat, either, but they are fairly muscular (at least the sock end of them -- but you aren't going to see photos of my thighs on this blog. . . Ever), so if you have thin legs, you might want to knit the smallest size Jaywalker.  If you have thin legs but wide feet, I'd suggest knitting the smallest size with the legs on size 1 needles and the feet on size 2 needles if you don't feel like doing a lot of math to tweak the pattern.

And for those of you who are wondering, and I know some of you wonder because every time I post a photo of my feet I get this question, the nail polish is OPI Got a Date To Knight from the Princess Collection.  DD wants me to take it off and change colors, but I think it looks good enough to last through the week, until I get a pedicure next weekend.  When I got this pedi, I didn't bring a book, magazine, or knitting.  I don't know why I did that, because usually a salon visit (except a facial) means packing something to do.  They had some magazines, which was good, but as soon as I sat in my pedi throne (and at this salon, they are thrones -- you are way up high in the air) I regretted not bringing knitting.  Maybe I'll be knitting the second of these Jaywalkers for my next pedi.  I'll just have to explain that I'm not planning on wearing the socks any time soon, but well pampered feet deserve a treat of STR socks during the cooler weather.

Got Allergies?

I have been out of the loop and off the net most of the week, but I wanted to get out a dog post -- knitting to resume later this week.   I've had some comments and e-mails from people with itchy dogs, so I thought I'd address canine allergies from my experience.  My dog developed the allergies out of the blue, just like people can develop allergies all of a sudden.  After many, many tests, the vet concluded that it was allergies and suggested that we medicate the dog with Benadryl, the same kind you can buy over the counter.  All the Benadryl did was make the dog less mentally alert.  It did not relieve his suffering.  Each year that he had an allergy attack, he ended up losing about 30 to 50 percent of his fur.  The first year, he was so itchy that he got a bunch of abcesses from scratching himself -- the Benadryl was successful in preventing additional abcesses because it depleted the energy he would have used to scratch.

Steroids can also help dogs with allergies, although I am not convinced that they are the best way of treating allergies.  Our experience with steroids was that the itching stopped but the fur didn't grow back, which was getting worrisome because winter was fast approaching and the dog was missing a lot of fur.  His allergies flared in the spring and carried through into the early fall, after which time he usually would start growing his fur back.  During the year of steroids, he was still over 30% bald in November, and it often snows in New England in November.  It turns out he'd gotten some sort of bacterial infection that was preventing the hair from growing, so we treated that and he made it through the winter with a decent coat of fur.

We finally found a dermatologist (and you can find one near you here) who did more thorough testing.  She sent the dog's blood out to be analyzed, but there are some vets who will do the skin test, just like they do in humans.  I was rather happy that we were sending the blood out, because after all the hair loss and being poked and scraped, the last thing I wanted to do was have my dog shaved so they could poke allergans under his skin to check his reaction to them.  The testing needs to be done while the animal is *not* having allergic reactions, so for most pets that is in the winter.

The result of the testing was that our dog was allergic to almost everything outside, with grass and a few types of tree pollen being the worst offenders.  The vet ordered a custom mixed vaccine, and I started giving my dog allergy shots.  They worked great, and I would highly recommend that anyone with an itchy dog check out this option.  It's not cheap, but it really, really works.

As many of you know, this dog died of cancer over three years ago.  (I blogged about it, and that's how I met Kate.)  I took the photo of me holding this vial tonight.  I still keep it in my refrigerator, and I probably will keep it in my refrigerator in this house or anywhere else that I move as long as I live.  (After I die, all bets are off, though it would be an unusual heirloom to pass from generation to generation, would it not?)  Interestingly, DH has either not noticed the vial, not been able to bring himself to toss it, and/or not wanted to upset me by tossing it.  It might seem a little strange to keep something like that, but there's not much in the way of material goods that dogs leave behind, so this is something that I can't let go of.  I do have his ashes in a nice urn, but they aren't really a reminder of what he was like when he was alive.  I also have his collar and leash, but I don't know where they are.  I remember coming home with them at about 3:00 am, after a late night emergency visit to the vet, and realizing that in all likelihood the hospital was going to call the next day to say that the test results were in and he wasn't going to need a leash or collar any more.  Instead of hanging his leash up with the other leashes, I know I brought it into the kitchen, where the other dog greeted me and smelled the leash and empty collar.  I'm sure I haven't thrown them our, but I think that I'm also not ready to find them again, either.

For some reason, when the yellow dog was given this dog's bowl, and that upset no one.  My late dog used to sleep in my bed with his head on my pillow, so he didn't have a dog bed or crate.  DH officially retired green as a collar/leash color for future dogs at our house in honor of this dog.  I know that when the chocolate dog goes, we will retire blue, which has been his color since we got him.

So, have any of you kept anything unusual that reminds you of a pet that you lost?