Finished with Fireworks...

Theoretically, I could've blogged the whole time since last Thursday....I was up anyway. It was the annual Festival of Scaring The Crap Out of Animals... commonly known as the 4th of July. This year, the 4th was on a Sunday, which gave us an extra day - the Monday - of chaos. 

It was lovely. Not. I spent a lot of time with Quinn in the bathroom. We finally hit on a formula that seemed to work: a VERY noisy fan; Sileo; Lavender butt rub and in the diffuser; Burrito Wrap her in a large bath towel... And read to her. Don't even ask me why that worked, but it did. Round about Saturday, I added the heavy bath mat for her to rest upon and she seemed to like it. 

Whatever works. And I really want to shoot people. Or give them an M-80 enema. It got so bad that even Tippi, who's older and half-deaf, was upset. And ultimately, there are more than animals involved.  Well, first, let me say, there are more than pets involved. Horses bolt. Chickens stop laying eggs. Service animals even get freaked out, and then what happens is they can't perform the duties they were trained for. 

And then the people: Those who have sensory issues. Veterans. People with PTSD. There are lots of folks who just can't stand the noise. And honestly? If my WINDOWS are rattling? Your fireworks are too big. 

And in Illinois? They're illegal. 

So when I call the cops and they say, "We have crimes to deal with," I do get a little snippy. After all, fireworks, as I said, are illegal here, so that's....um.... a CRIME, I think. I live in a small town; it's not exactly Mayberry, but it's close. I'm not asking you to arrest them, though that would be nice. I'm just asking for a few more patrols. That's all. Get your butt out of the station and drive around a bit. 

It's just a thought. 

The Garden...

Well, the romaine is done. One tomato plant may not make it. My parsley is going nowhere - the stuff for the butterflies has already bolted. I may not get celery this year --- unless it grows through to fall! 

My wildflowers are going great, and we've seen a few Monarchs. I haven't seen any of my Swallowtail caterpillars since they were babies. 

But I did see a Hummingbird Moth! So. Freaking. Awesome! I could only get a video of it, because the little stinker moves like a hummingbird. I haven't seen it since, and I've been watching. But if you check the section above...many people I know have said they haven't seen the usual birds and critters since the long 4th of July weekend. 

One of my students found a kitten cowering behind her house. My hummingbirds have been AWOL for a while, and we had a clutch of baby bunnies hiding out in the kennel - not the smartest place for them to be with our 3 dogs, all of which have very high prey drives. 

The Knitting...

Still on the Endless Cowl. On the one hand, I'm nearing the end of the cake. On the other hand, I ran into another knot and I thought it was ok, but now I have to tink back a few rows, because apparently, the knot is NOT ok. 

It looks like the dark charcoal will be the end of this; I'm a tad disappointed that there wasn't more white - like only about 4" of white in the whole thing. Lots of tan. Luckily, the person I'm giving this to is relatively small - the cowl won't overwhelm them, but they can wrap it more than a few times, so if there are any boo-boos in the miles, and miles, and miles, and miles, and MILES of stockinette stitch, the multiple wraps should help...I hope. 

I can't wait to finish it and I think I should be done this week. Then I can move on to the next Christmas project. Which is another variegated cake and will more than likely be a shawlette, just because it's NOT miles and miles and miles and miles and MILES of stockinette stitch. 

Nooming...

Well, I'm a couple months into Noom, my weight is kind of on track; I'm in the "low and slow" camp because I find that when I do that, I tend to keep it off longer. I'm hoping this "keep it off" is permanent. Because I'm kind of over the yo-yo thing. 

What HAS been happening is I've upped my exercise. I work where I'm at a desk all day, when I'm not teaching yoga. And 3 nights of yoga doesn't cut it for much of anything except a decent night's sleep (absent fireworks...). 

I've been walking a lot, and getting on the elliptical more. And I've been consciously moving around more at work. Boss Lady and I are working on getting healthier; she started Noom a few weeks ago, and we're comparing notes. Luckily, we are NOT each other's "buddy." We figured that would be a bad idea...and that way, we can each be on our own journey. It'll work better that way, trust me!

Random Picture...

The one time I got a stink-eye from Tippi... The Big Bunny Ears. In her early days as a therapy dog, she'd dress up in bandanas and hats. Well. This did not go as planned. 

She hated it. I think it was probably too big for her anyway and she felt like a Vegas showgirl without all the glitter. And it probably didn't help that we all laughed at her. 

I got the "I'm gonna crap in your shoes" look for this one. But it made a great picture for our annual Howl-O-Ween fundraiser, because it was just the perfect balance on her face of  "I'm doing this because you're my human" and "you're REALLY gonna pay for this one." 

She was also a bit chubby here, so those legs look like little toothpicks and her chest was kind of broad. Not her best look, but we still love her. 

Looking for yoga and don't have a studio nearby? We offer a subscription service - do yoga on your own time at home, whenever you're able to do so. Videos uploaded regularly and we have two tiers: Senior and Complete Package. Check our website for details: www.just-breatheyoga.com

If you're in the Joliet area, workshops are being scheduled so come on out!