The Woolen Rabbit

I Am Finally Here!....May 23, 2006

Job pressures are overwhelming.
Responsibilities are heavy.
When I close my eyes,
The demands of others are all I see.
Deng Ming~Dao

The last few months have been demanding days between the business of tending to puppies and additional work duties, but thankfully it is slowing down.  I have had the never ending feeling of being late for a bus.....running, but not quite catching up.  Feeling as though life is just rushing by me. 

Today was the first day in a long time, that I have felt that I am finally caught up.  Perhaps it came in the reclaiming of my kitchen.  When I have puppies, my kitchen table goes out into our hallway, and the puppy pen inhibits our kitchen space............today my kitchen was reclaimed.  Time for the 2 remaining pups to lose the security of the puppy litter box and learn their potty manners.  Perhaps it came back with the purchase of new plants and herbs for this years "victory garden", or maybe it was just the rush of warm spring air, signifying the rebirth of life.  Who knows, but I feel like I am almost back.........whoo hooo!!

A few of you asked how Eddy did at the show last week.  I am happy to report that he took a 3rd place in a good sized class on the day of our National Specialty.  Eddy is a little wild man, but he managed to mind his manners in the ring this day and I was pleased.  Such a pretty boy and so full of life. Doesn't he look as though he is having a good time?  A happy little boy he is for sure! 

Next month we will head to Connecticut, for Cavaliers Of the Northeast's Annual Specialty..  Fingers are crossed for good things... but at the end of the day, if Eddy does everything that he was supposed to, then I am happy.  He is such a lovely little dog, who I am proud to share my life with.  Who could ask for more?

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Fibery Stuff
The only thing that I can say about this Step yarn is.....YUM!!  I love the way the pattern evolves and I love the feeling of the yarn in my hand.  Feeling a bit frustrated from the lack of a finished object in some time, I have really pushed with these socks.  Just turning the heel of the first sock in 2 days, I am encouraged that I will have a new pair of socks by the weekend!

The inspiration for these socks came from Marguerite's blog.  The pattern is from the Winter 2005 Knit magazine....Embossed leaves.  It is an easy lace pattern that keeps your attention and moves along quickly!  I highly recommend it!!

I hope that you all enjoy the upcoming Memorial Day weekend and that many of you plant those "Victory Gardens".  In these days of high oil prices......why not support your household with homegrown veggies!   Enjoy!!

I is for Icy Waters

Kicking a pebble by the side of the road,
Watching it tumble pell-mell
Chance and randomness become order.
Deng Ming~Dao

The title to this day's meditation that contained this little phrase is "Uncertainty" and this weekend has been a whole bunch of just that.

I had snapped these pictures a week or so ago for my "I' post, but I just didn't find the  time to get the post up last week, before I left.  Somehow they ended up being so appropriate for today's post.

Weather and water are strong forces to be reckoned with.  Water can be quiet, still and gentle, or it can be ragingly wild.  The pictures that I snapped to share with you, show the calm, gentle side of water, but this weekend I experience her wild side as well.

Thursday, I left home for the Cavalier King Charles National Specialty Show that was being held in Kentucky.  My trip ended up being very much like that little pebble getting kicked and landing where it may.  I missed my flight on Thursday morning as I arrived at the airport a bit late after seeing  Bullwinkle on the road up close and personal, thankfully we did not collide, but it always rattles my nerves when I see one.  You tempt fate driving on these mountain roads in the very very wee hours of the morning, as that is when your chances of meeting up with a Moose are pretty strong.

From that point forward my day was a day of complete randomness.  Bumped from one flight to another and then another and then another, I ended up on a flight that flew directly into a thunder and lightning storm.   I felt pretty sure that Eddy and I were going to meet our maker, but thankfully we arrived at the hotel 17 hours after we left our home that morning.

More randomness throughout the weekend.  Lost luggage, moving to another room at 1:30 in the morning after finding an entire army of ants enjoying the little bit of my Kentucky Mint Julep on my nightstand and bed (aacckkk!).

A 3:00 am wakeup call to start today's journey back to the crazy wild floods that are happening here in NH.  It was only by the grace of the Gods above that I passed through Manchester when I did, as the Merrimack river flooded the portion of the highway that I had to travel, very shortly afterwards.

Whew.............I am glad to be home!!  Say a prayer for the good people of New England dealing with all of this flooding.

Yarn and Pressies
What a treat after this trip to come home to some presents!  Last month I joined Lynne's Project Colorswap.  I was a bit hesitant as I have not had the greatest luck with pal swapping, but Renee  has been a wonderful swapper!!  I certainly could have used that bright green luggage tag on this trip for sure!!  Thanks Renee!

Another little package was awaiting me as well.  Even though I had been looking forward to attending this dog show, I was very bummed out that I would be missing one of my favorite fiber events, The NH Sheep and Wool festival. This festival has traditionally been my mother's day present.  Because Mother's day wasn't a happening thing for me this year, I figured I would buy a few presents for me this weekend ;-)

I don't think that I need to introduce that soft Tomato colored yarn.......I couldn't resist that yummy orange color!  The sock yarn however is a new one to me.  It is Austermann Step yarn and it contains aloe vera and jojoba oil.  I had not seen this yarn before seeing it on Marguerite's blog and I couldn't resist picking up some on my travels home this weekend.

Thankfully now with this big dog show/work weekend behind me, life is going to quiet down a lot.  I am looking forward to having more time to focus on fibery things again ;-))

H is for Haphazad Blogger.....May 4, 2005

Yes, I admit..........I have been such a haphazard blogger lately.  It's strange how life can turn in a completely different direction in just a very short time.

My days have been filled with taking care of the puppies and work.  What little  free time i have had, I have tried to squeeze in some mindless knitting (more about that soon).

I have finally narrowed down my choice with the puppies and Miss Bibbity will be the only one to stay.  I was sorely tempted to keep her sister, but I have found in the past that littermates tend to bond to each other instead of their people, so I will only keep one of the girls.  I will bred their Mum one last time time to my little German boy, so hopefully there will be another girl to go forward with, down the road.  I have to say though, I have had so much fun with this batch of puppies. 

Next week I head off for our National Specialty in Kentucky with Eddy, my little German boy.

H is also for Healthy Pet Products

It seems as though I go thru cycles with the animals.  My focus will be on the rabbits and then shift to the dogs when necessary and then back to the bunnies. 
This little girl to the left, Libby, has struggled with chronic ear infections over the years.  She is such a dear girl and it pains me to watch her struggle with her ears.  After a lot of research and chatting with a number of people wiho have dealt with this, I have decided to put my dogs on a raw diet.  Over the years, I have resisted feeding raw for fear of the germs, but seeing what it has done for others who have fed this way and what wonderful condition the dogs are in............and the allergies disappearing, I relented.  Libby is wearing a "snood" to keep her long ears out of her food.  She looks a bit silly, eh?  She is always very excited now to see that snood though, because she knows that it is LUNCHTIME!

Of course being the type A personality that I, not only am I feeding raw, but I have decided to become a distributor for Healthy Pet Products.  I am so pleased with the results that I am seeing in the dogs, that I am convinced that this is a good thing for them.  This diet is manufactured by a good friend's husband and it is one of the few "complete" raw diets on the market.  Complete meaning that I won't have to fuss with adding all kinds of supplements, which is important to me.

Finally the Fiber

Sooo..........you can see that my focus has been almost completely on the dogs, but now that the pups are heading to their new homes and life on the job front is not quite so insane, I hope to shift gears a little bit.

Remember how much I enjoyed working on that Malabrigio sweater?  I loved every minute of it and I LIVE in that sweater.  Yes, it pills, but it is like putting on an old friend each time I wear it.  Soft and cuddly!

Well, the LYS was having their 20% sale, and given that we are trying to conserve gas by making fewer trips, I decided to splurge and get enough yarn to make 2 sweaters.

 

One thing that I have discovered during this busy time, is that it is too easy to get caught up in spending waaaaay too much time in front of the computer reading blogs and trying to knit, not just for the sheer pleasure of knitting, but more to have something to talk about in blogland.   I am looking forward to getting caught back up with what you all are doing out there, but I am making a commitment to myself to take a little more time to stop and smell the daisies so to speak and a little less time on the computer ;-).