Quinn Unn Gerda

Saturday will be 3 weeks...And I still find myself sifting through memories. Buckle up, grab a beverage and settle in. Here is The Story of Quinn.

A little while after we got Tippi, we got news that Quinn was in need of a home. At first, my sister said she'd take her, so up Hubby went to get her. I was recovering from hand surgery, and Tippi was still getting used to us, so...that's how that went. It turned out that Quinn wasn't all that fond of men. And she took quite some time to adjust to our mainly-male household. 

I have a clear memory (though no photo) of Kid #1 trying to hand-feed Quinn, who was hiding under the dining room table. Ultimately, she was not only an EPIC foster-fail, but she feel in love with ALL THE GUYS...She definitely overcame her fear. I'm pretty sure our friend and facilitator of this "foster" knew in her heart that it was going to "fail." 

Quinn had her personality challenge, let's be honest. She was a snot. At that time, we had Tippi and our red husky, River, who was a retired show dog. Tippi wanted NOTHING to do with Quinn. (I know - Tippi was hardly "mother of the year.") River, taking a look at the situation, and assessing as a Husky would, swatted Quinn upside the head and then pinned her down with The Husky Paw of Pain and Quinn -- surprisingly -- fell in love and was devoted to Rover for the rest of River's life. (that is her sharing River's space - they often slept close to each other)

Quinn was our snuggle-bunny. She loved getting right in the middle of where the people were. She loved her "kids" and she loved to sit on them. Yes. ON them. She also found "under my chair" her favorite space. As a puppy she could get her whole self under there. As she grew, it was eventually only her head. For a good 12 years, I was never able to recline that chair - at least without checking first to see if she was anywhere near it.

She would bark. And bark. And bark. She was capable of at least a two-octave range. She sounded like we had at least 3 MORE dogs!! Her favorite perch was a little stool we placed at the front window, just to save the window's woodwork. Everyone knew Quinn. Everyone...

She also loved to challenge her place on the couch - it was usually between me and Hubby. If we dared to sit close to each other, one of two things happened: She either sat in front of us and stared, aternately, at each of us with that special, piercing Elkhound gaze -- till we gave her space. OR -- she jumped up alongside whichever one was in the middle part of the couch, and then wormed (bulldozed) her way between us. It was always a question of which one of us would get her butt in our face. When I had my hip replaced this past summer and Hubby helped me do home PT, she was right there on that couch, touching me in some way, and making sure he was taking care of me properly. 

She went through all 4 levels of obedience, and attained her Canine Good Citizen. She never really had the temperament for a therapy dog; and that was fine. She was who she was. 

Her worst nightmare was the awful curse of sebaceous cysts that she suffered with. In the Elkhound world, we've all had that discussion - we wish Quinn would've been one of those who "grew out of them," but sadly, she was plagued. Sidney was able to take on most of that care -- my job was holding her head and telling her she was the BESTEST GIRL while he did what had to be done. Needless to say, she was not happy when she had a bad flare up. Otherwise, though? She was the healthiest dog. She had beautiful teeth till she died. Her smile was contagious. 

When we brought Raisa into the house, we were still a happy band of three till Raisa hit her teens (around age 3-4). Then, she and Quinn? Not good. To be honest, I had several long conversations with the late, great Steve Chester...a giant in the rescue world; his advice saved my sanity more than once. We were a gated community until Raisa's untimely death in September 2023. Quinn suddenly became an "only dog," and to be honest? I don't know that she liked it. And sadly, she didn't have much time to adjust, since her diagnosis of advanced lymphoma was in October 2023... Definitely not divine timing.

Her other love, aside from snuggling and dressing up in weird hats and costumes for Howl-O-Ween, was running in the snow. None of us is a fan of the current snow-less winters, and we took complete advantage of the dog park when we got blizzards. Nobody else in town was crazy enough to join us, so we had the park to ourselves. Sadly, there were never enough blizzards for either of us. 

She was our "perpetual puppy" -- she always looked younger than she was, up till she was about 12 years old. She was alwas skinny -- "Skinny Quinnie" was just one of her many nicknames. She was always active. I remember trying to teach Tippi to go up a ramp to get into my truck. I had both dogs out there. Treats on the ramp. Tippi went up far enough to scoop up 3 or 4 treats. Quinn just went airborne, leaped into the truck and looked at me as if to say, "Ok, treat, please!" Both of them entirely missed the point of the ramp. Elkhounds....what can you do??  

She was a leggy girl, with a cinnabon tail, and a rogue-ish personality. She had three tricks in her arsenal, and that's what you got. She loved to dress up, stalk Hubby for toast, play with her Kong bone, and she used to jump up and sit on my lap in my chair (all 60 pounds of her) -- she would do that till she was about 12 years old. I had to make sure to pay attention, because she didn't care if I was knitting or not. When she wanted up, she wanted up. She loved frozen blueberries and cheese, and from a dead-sleep, she could tell which one I was opening up and she'd be right behind me before I knew it.  

Almost 14.5 years. Wasn't nearly enough time. We miss her.

And Then There Were None...

 Quinn Unn Gerda

11/2009 - 2/2014

Our beloved Norwegian Elkhound Warrior Princess has earned her wings. We knew from the diagnosis in October 2023 that she was not going to have a lot of time. She gave us more time than the vet (and we) expected. Because that's how she rolls -- rolled. She was just shy of 14 1/2 years old. 

I'll write more later, once my brain settles down a bit. 

General Update...

We're hanging in there with Quinn. We can see changes; we know what's coming. Now, it's all in the timing. Not letting our hearts rule, but our heads. Or in the words of our vet, "Better a day early than a day late." She's moving slower. She's taking longer to eat. She can't get on the couch as easily as she used to. She's going out MANY times per day, and drinking a lot of water. She paces, and sometimes stares out into space. The lymph nodes are increasing in size and her stomach is a bit bloated - but rest assured, the poop factory is working well!

Hubby takes her for short walks, and she seems to enjoy them - when she's done, she turns him toward home and they come back. 

She's getting "reasonably" spoiled. I'm not about to totally toss all the food she'd like at her -- no sense cleaning it up when it comes back up. Quinn has always had a dicey tummy, and even though she might WANT to eat stuff, there is a lot she should NOT eat. She gets to lick out my yogurt cup, she gets frozen blueberries, a snik of chicken or turkey (no skin or fat), her usual toast, half a banana at bedtime (this has been a life-long thing, so she has a little something on her stomach overnight)... lots of treats, considering. She got salmon skin the other night when we had it for dinner. 

She still gets the occasional "back rub zoomies," and seems happy. But there's an air about her, and I can't put my finger on it. Hubby has asked me "how much do you want to know," because he's keeping a tighter track on her. I told him that a lot of me is in denial. I just don't want to know. But it's not fair to him, so I told him I would like to "judiciously" know. I'm not using the internet to look for symptoms (he is). I'm not doom-scrolling the pet-grief pages. I'm trying to be present with her, as she is, right now. Some days, it's easier than others. 

So. We wait. 

The First Cold...

Not of the season. I'm talking common cold. Round about Tuesday, I wasn't feeling great, but hey - not like there's nothing going on around here.  

Started out feeling stuffed up and then it moved, as it typically does, down my throat. I have a lovely situation where, instead of being able to blow my nose with any results, all the gunk goes down my throat (sorry...TMI). Results are, of course, a cough. 

I took Thursday off, because I woke up without a voice. Cancelled my yoga class. Then Friday, just as bad -- thankfully no worse, and not The Plague (I tested Tuesday & Wednesday to be sure). It's fine, as long as I don't talk. So I'm also cancelling my Saturday sub job and Sunday Yin class. It's hit me like a ton of bricks, and I just want to sit and stare at a blank wall. 

Maybe it'll go away by Saturday, but I'd rather not pass these germs to anyone else. I want to be able to attend our family's Thanksgiving, which we do on this Sunday. Not like we're Canadian or anything (all due respect to our neighbors up north), we just have a lot of kids who have to carve up their holiday like you'd carve that bird...so we just have it the Sunday before and it seems to work ok for everyone. 

This year, it's back at my mom's house. She just wants what she wants, and it's hard to change some folks. We're doing the following:

Turkey, vegan stuffing, gravy

Vegan Lemon cake

Homemade whipped cream with our own vanilla

Bread & mashed potatoes

Cranberry sauce

Soba noodles & roasted veggies for the resident vegan

Other family members are also contributing, but we usually do the turkey and the vegan stuff because --- we do it better!

After he gets done roasting the turkey, I get the carcass, add more veggies and herbs and reduce it down for broth for later. Turkey soup with noodles is delicious! Just have to have a robust broth. So I use carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and Penzey's Tuscan Seasoning, which is a salt-free blend. 

And then on the regular day, Hubby  has ordered a take-out dinner - not like we need the food, but that way, my mom doesn't have complaints about "never being invited anywhere." Personally, I'd shove an old movie on, eat a turkey sandwich and call it a day. Instead, we're doing the catered dinner and the following:

Vegan pumpkin pie & vegan whipped cream

Gnocchi and roasted brussel sprouts with tomatoes for the resident vegan

There will be a non-vegan dessert included in the take-out. 

So... random memory: Raisa used to howl like the dickens when Hubby got out the electric carving knife. He's carving up the turkey (we bake it before then reheat, and yes, it's usually delicious!). With the electric carving knife. And there's not a peep, because if she IS howling along, it's over the Rainbow Bridge, and we can't hear her. Just one of those "jabs to the heart," as we try to grapple with her loss and the pending issues with Quinny...

The Knitting...

As a result of All. The. Stuff. -- I'm sticking with a mindless knitting project and am trying to finish what may well be my oldest, or nearest to, WIP. It's the Bias Before and After, which I've mentioned. Well, I finished the peacock one, did the beading (which I'm now all jazzed about) and undid the provisional cast-on to bead that end. 

There are some Things I Would Do Differently. So on the matcha-colored one (which, when I bought it, I thought it was lime, but it's not "lime" enough and it's not "sage" enough - it looks like my matcha latte, so that is what I shall call it) -- I did a different provisional cast on, over the needle and used a slightly smaller yarn. I think it will help when I tink it and do the beading. It will also help that the thing isn't going to be 10 years old... Just sayin.

You can see here why it's called "Before and After." This thing definitely needs a blocking. I will likely block them both after Christmas. I will need space, and some time to get the blocking wires just right. I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks blocked out. The matcha green matches that green in the yarn. Due to vagaries in lighting and camera quality, the pictures aren't as nice as I would like. In real life, it's actually quite pretty. Though maybe I should have picked that light blue as the contrast, I really loved how the matcha green looked. While I don't wear green a lot, I do wear basic colors such as black, navy blue and grey, so this could go with a few sweaters I have. 

And I did buy wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too many beads. I only needed 1 tube of each color and I have 3 of each color. So there will be Things To Bead at some point. Who knows? Maybe I'll bead some socks. (Yeah, probably not, but I know it's a thing) Or maybe a scarf, which will be nice. Wristlets or fingerless mitts would also be good. Lots of ideas. But they'd have to be fingering-weight or less, because these beads are going on lace weight. 

The green is knitting up pretty fast. It's a simple increase/decrease on the K side, and purl back, and I've got about 14-16" even though it doesn't look like I've made a dent in the ball of yarn. The other colorway went the same till ZAPPO --- I was near the end. I have to have 2 feet or so (and I'll likely do a bit more) to bind off with the beads. I use a crochet hook to put the bead on the stitch, instead of pre-stringing them. 

This is definitely one of those "knit when you're tired" or "knit when you're stressed" projects. I can zip along when I'm watching a movie or reading. Or as a wind-down before bedtime. 

The lace yarn is like butter in my hands. The alpaca will have a bit of a halo to it once it's rinsed and blocked. I love that - because you don't have to wear pounds of yarn to stay warm. 

So the Drops sweater will wait till 2024. I just don't have the bandwidth or the brain power to deal with it right now. 

The Ornaments...

This year, I'm doing 7 of them, because of the new baby. I had to order the whole 18 years, plus a few more in case of breakage. So the theme for this little one is "angels and stars." I finished out one (theme of trees) and I have another one who's ending in about 4 years (theme of wreaths). 

It's probably a condition of "doing them for decades" -- but I generally have, in the past few years, picked a color scheme and I manage to do them all in that same scheme for everyone. Back in the very, very beginning, I think I used all 300 of my colors (not actually that many, but I did it more as individual ornaments rather than an assembly line). 

I know I will be doing white, black, and some shade of green (though now that the tree series is over, maybe less green??). And some years, I stain some of them. Others may get a different varnish. Some get artificial "snow" effect paint, and most of them get glitter. 

I still enjoy doing them, and I still get enthusiastic responses (or maybe just polite and I'm extrapolating). Doesn't matter to me, I will keep doing them as long as my hands are steady. 

These are them - finished. I did blot out the names on the "name tag" themed ones. Just my own plug for safety. Regardless of how the parents handle social media, I will omit names where necessary. Call me old-school, won't make me lose any sleep. 

Four of these all got glitter and a bunch got metallic paint. There was a happy accident on the angel's gown. The copper paint leaked over to the barn red, so I blended the two of them. It looks cool to me. I did an angel series a few years ago, and it was nice to have some fun with the garments. These angels are a little more old-fashioned, but I can work with them. 

Random Picture...

And a rant. So since I've been feeling rotten, I've had the TV on just for noise. This commercial has been on every single time. That, or the one with "Martha," who's screeching about her Medicare. Or the frosted blond who screams at her husband about Medicare Part C. Or Medicare Advantage. Or The Great Rip-Off Perpetrated by Big Insurance... People. It's the biggest scam going. Big insurance companies, such as Humana, Aetna, United Health Care and others have bought & paid for politicians. Who allow them to use the "Medicare" name, which is trusted as a solid government program which helps elders receive medical care. We've all paid into it since we started working, just like Social Security.

The ad has a sonorous male voice urging you to CALL NOW. NOW. RIGHT NOW. Drop what you're doing, grab the phone and talk to a "licensed insurance representative" (there's your first clue to the scam) to see if "plans are available in your ZIP code." The ad voiceover tells you in reassuring tones that it's good to "check your Medicare benefits" each year. 

Is it? Probably. I know my mom does it each year. But she does have Medicare Advantage, because our trusted insurance guy worked it out for her. 

Personally, I'm going on regular Medicare. My doctors have already told me they don't take Medicare Advantage because those "free plans" are basically HMOs full of "benefits," like a gym membership, but as far as health care, there are a crap-ton of gag orders they don't tell you about. So you will get sub-par medical care because your doctor is forbidden to mention certain treatments. 

Because the insurance companies treat patients like cogs in a wheel - they want our money but don't want to pay out in claims. So they tell the doctors they simply cannot give a good standard of care by mentioning Treatment A, B, or C. Because it's expensive. 

In the Hitchcock classic, "To Catch A Thief," Jessie Royce Landis was the actress who played the mother, often dripping in jewels. She says to the insurance adjustor, "If you can't stand the risk, you need to get out of the business," or something close to it. 

I say to insurance companies and CEOs with billion-dollar bonuses: If you can't provide the care we contracted for, get out of the business. I didn't contract for 'the cheapest care' - I contracted for at least the standard of care. And because the insurance lobby is powerful, they have their stable of purchased politicians, and they get huge profits while cutting care. 

The Maga-psycho-nutballs would have you believe that Social Security and Medicare are "entitlements" which is now a bad word, because it's a "hand-out." Um. No. 

I paid in to both Medicare and Social Security for decades. That's MY money. And YOURS. 

If Congress would stop raiding each of these, they'd be financially stable. If we could get legislation passed to have Medicare for All, Medicare would also be financially stable - open it up to the 40-50 year old crowd. Yeah, it would hurt Blue Cross and the other big boys. But hey, they can lop off a zero from that executive bonus... they won't even feel it. Honest. 

A Chance to Breathe?

Probably not... As I mentioned (late) in the last blog, Quinn has been diagnosed with Lymphoma and it's advanced. So right now, all we're doing is breathing. And waiting. There's nothing we can do in the way of chemo - she's 14, and it's in ALL her lymph nodes, so it's too far advanced. All we can do at this point is keep her comfortable, spoil her within reason, and spend time with her. 

She just celebrated her 14th birthday this past week, so we had some freeze-dried sprats, she licked my yogurt cup clean (vanilla & cinnamon), and she had lots of belly rubs. 

Lucky for us, we are able to mostly have one of us at home for her the whole day. So we don't know how much time she has, and that's the hard part. I mean, on a metaphysical level, NOBODY knows how much time they have, but we're numbering Quinn's time in weeks, not years. So there's that.  All we can do - or hope to do - is time it so that she's not suffering. Our vet usually says, "better a day early than a day late." It's really hard. Elkhounds are notorious for "not telling." A very stoic breed. We shall see. 

The Knitting...

Well, I have progress to report on what may be my oldest WIP (or at least the oldest I can lay my hands on. I know there's a lap robe and a shawl that I can't find, so those 2 are still MIA) - the Before & After Scarf, which is now called The Bias Before & After Scarf and now the beads are an alternative. 

I really don't like Provisional Cast On - and the first one, I will say, was INCREDIBLY clunky. I think I used a yarn that was too big, compared to the Silky Alpaca Lace (70% baby alpaca, 30% silk), by Classic Elite Yarns. I've used Classic Elite Yarn a couple of times, and the only thing I might have done differently is to knit this on bamboo needles. I'm using Addi Turbos, and those suckers are SLICK. They're meant to be smooth, and the fact that this is an open fabric and the needles are huge compared to the yarn? It can get a little slippery. So far, though, I haven't dropped any stitches. 

The reason it's called "before and after" is basically because before, it looks like a wrinkled rag. AFTER the blocking, the magic is truly exposed. As you can see in the picture at the right, it looks like a hot mess till you block it. That little wad of yarn in the picture is what you use to bind off. You set aside about 2 feet (I did more like 2.5 feet because I'm just that extra) and tie it up and out of your way at both the beginning and the end so you have it to add the beads to the finish. I'll get to use my blocking wires with this project! A few new skills to learn, with the provisional cast on, the beaded bind off and blocking with wires. 

The peacock colorway, the first one of the 2 scarves in the pattern, is the one I chose to do first. and this was my long-time "travel project." I wasn't in any hurry, and would bring it whenever I was going to a bunch of trade shows, and this peacock also has the distinction of being The Project I Took to Switzerland... I have pictures (I'll have to dig them up) of me knitting in various places in France and Switzerland with this project. 

I finished it yesterday, and I really am now hooked on the beading technique of using a crochet hook (see what I did there??) -- the jewel-toned beads for that scarf are really pretty. Can't wait to block this one!

I did start the green one; I'm not sure exactly what shade this is. At first, I remembered it as more "lime" but now, I'm thinking a bright sage. Opinions??? Take a peek below and right...what do you think? There's only a color number, so I guess we have to use our imaginations. 

I initially said, "screw it, I'm putting the beads right on the hem as I cast on," but then, a cooler moment prevailed. The purpose of the provisional cast on is to make each bind off identical... so I sucked it up and learned how to do it over the needle, so it's a lot neater than the first one I did. 

The scarves are knit on the bias, so it's an increase at the beginning and a decrease at the end. It's amazing how nicely the green is knitting up. Of course, it hasn't sat jammed into a project bag for 12-ish years, too... that might have something to do with it. Let's put it this way: I probably have 3-4 copies of this pattern just because I've had it in the works for so long and kept losing the paper pattern! 

The idea behind the project is that you can wear either or both. The one is a hand-painted and the other is a coordinating solid. Looking at the green, I probably should have pulled a light blue or a lilac to go with the peacock, but the green does match the peacock...I just don't wear a lot of green, so it might be a challenge. The plus of this, though, is that the beads for the green are a beautiful peridot color. So they will look spectacular once it's done. The scarves are in a lace-weight yarn, but I'm using a size 7 needle, so it will be a fairly open fabric, kind of like the Sally Mellville "Wingspan" which I also did in alpaca (but no silk in that yarn). The beauty of this is that alpaca has a slight 'halo' effect, and it's incredibly warm, even in a lace-weight. And it will drape beautifully. 

I know I was talking about the Drops sweater, but I want to chug a way on this for a bit and see if I can churn it out. It's kind of mindless, and with everything going on with Quinn, right now I need mindless. 

Speaking of which, I finished the last 3 washcloths. The person for whom they are planned "doesn't like to receive gifts," but this is a relatively "un-gifty" thing. It's practical and I don't care if they use them on their face or on their dishes...either way works for me. 

I chose tones of blue because I understand that's kind of the theme of their home, so there's that. 

And for now, I am officially D.O.N.E. with wash cloths and knitting with cotton. My hands hurt. 

I have re-stocked the cloths for my own use, along the way I've knitted 6 for Xmas gifts, and these 3 as an extra gift. I think I can check "washcloths" off my list for 2023. 

The Tea...

No, I'm not spilling any tea. I have none to spill... 

I have been accustomed to drinking chammomile tea at bedtime, but it's lately been aggravating my allergies, which is really annoying. I haven't slept well since Raisa got sick and passed, and now with everything else, I'm so scattered. I don't need to not sleep. I read about Butterfly Pea Flower tea, and I just loved the idea of blue tea. 

I didn't know that research has been done talking about the effects it had as a sleep aid. High in magnesium, helps with blood pressure, helps to relax you... though honestly, any herbal tea is, in my opinion, relaxing. Hot beverages are inherently relaxing. 

So I've been experimenting for (a) the right TIME to drink this; and (b) if it makes any difference in my sleep. I have noticed that if I drink it too close to bedtime, I'm up at 3 a.m. to pee, even if I'm in a rare moment of sleep...who needs that? I don't think I've done it enough to determine if it works, but I'm sure that, as the weather gets colder, I will drink more tea at night. 

Funny, the mug I used to like to use with these "strong colored" teas (like the rose hibiscus, which is a deep pink)... it broke. And I broke it. I was washing it, I said, "Self, put this in the sink first so you don't bump it," and of course, I bumped it, and it broke into a bunch of pieces. Crap. 

Random Picture...

It's pretty much Fall, though the temps are kinda spring-ish -- till they're not. And it being Illinois, this can happen within one day. But I got to "Birken-SOCK" and I love the way my new sandals and the orange socks kind of match the leaves in the yard. 

Who says I have no fashion sense? Well, probably a lot of people, but do I look like I actually care? Nope. 

And I have hand-knitted socks, so there... 

When I bought the sandals, the leather looked a bit darker when I chose the color. Not sure if it'll get darker or if it will stay this color. I am stuck with them, however, because I'll wear them till they fall apart, which I did with my other ones. 

I love to wear my socks, and when the weather cooperates, I do wear them with the Birkenstocks. I know there are these "transparent" shoes and clogs, but I'm sorry, they seem sweaty to me. Ugh. No thanks. 

Blowing a Gale...

Holy moley... It's Halloween, and it's literally snowing sideways here. Lord knows how many (if any) kids we'll get. I saw a couple headed toward the grade school. The local Lions Club does a Halloween bash, so a lot of the kids start there. And our porch light is out -- the sensor is wonky and the thing won't stay on. So I have The Great Pumpkin lit up out there, our only Halloween decoration, and I'm hoping that's enough for the kids. But it's still too light outside to see that it's lit up. 

Catching Up...

Where do I start?

Well, let's see. Quinn may be coming out of her very natural funk. She's stopped looking for Raisa, but she still looks to see when one of us is coming home. Doesn't matter WHICH of us. If I'm gone, she waits. If Hubby is gone, she waits. I think this may have triggered a bit of separation anxiety. 

A funny thing. My friend D (not the knitting one) came by - I was driving us to an event recently, because she wasn't sure where it was. And it was a good thing, because they'd closed off a few more roads since I'd last been downtown. Yeesh. 

Anyway, THIS particular D is very involved in Lab rescue. She has 3 dogs now, and is staying at her sister's - and Sis has a dog. So she came in the house and Quinn barked, as she does. She approached D, and D being a dog person, knew how to act for an introduction.  After the appropriate sniffs, Quinn sat down, put her nose in the sky and started "talking" to her. I mean, like, singing/howling. Having some sort of words with her. That's a first! 

We gave D a couple bags of cow ears (chews we use for the dogs). We did an inventory of the treats we have, and there will be leftovers -- Quinn can't - and shouldn't - consume that many treats. She's 14. Healthy, but still, 14. We're going to have her checked out by the vet, just for our own sake. Peace of mind is at a premium here lately.

I got Raisa's memorial stone. I couldn't locate the green granite ones I usually get, so I tried a company from Etsy. I'm sorely disappointed in the laser-etched image. It's pretty much invisible unless you tilt the piece. I'm waiting to calm down a bit before I leave a review. 

The Knitting...

I have finished the washcloths for Christmas, and I've started a set of 3 more for a gift. I will wrap those 3 in special ribbon as a set. The others will be given individually with some special soap. 

And I did an insane thing. First, the story of the latte... The Friday after Raisa died, I sat down with a matcha latte. I got hit by a fit of tears, as one does, and I reached for a tissue. And dumped 16 oz. of latte. All. Down. The. Knitting. It hit books, 3 project bags, the power strip, went under the standing lamp, under the area rug, hit the side of the chair, splashed up the wall. 

I mean, physics. Liquids dropped from a height will splatter. I hollered, "CRAP!" and Quinn took off to the back of the house. 

Prior to this, I had been kind of skittish about getting up and down off the floor - we hadn't really tried it in PT, and I thought I didn't want to do something wrong. But the latte...

I grabbed a roll of paper towels and started sopping everything up. I was not happy. I got 90% of it, dumped out all the bags, mopped up and propped up everything so that it could dry. Wiped off several soaking wet tool bags. One ball of acrylic got pretty soaked. But it's acrylic; I wiped it as best I could. I'm going to make a couple baby hats, and then wash them. It'll be fine. 

Under that, I found (thank you Knitting Goddesses) three hanks of Expression Fiber Arts mulberry silk + camel. THANKFULLY in their sealed bag. The bag had matcha latte on it. I would have wept if it had gotten to the yarn. 

It's for Etude  #1 from Expression Fiber Arts. I reprinted the pattern and put it with the yarn. That's what I want to start in January. 

Except... 

I found a DROPS pattern I want to knit It's the Abstract Rose Sweater, and I chose to knit it in the yarn they suggested, but I'm hoping it's comfortable. It's DROPS Nepal, a wool/alpaca blend. Like 75/25 so it's mostly wool. Not superwash either. This will be interesting. I've heard conflicting things: "DROPS patterns are lovely and easy." "DROPS patterns are awful, good luck!" and I'm lengthening the thing to a tunic length - well maybe not that long, but at least to my hip bones, like below my tummy. I like my sweaters a bit longer. 

So as I went to grab the link, I see I could have used A + A -- which means instead of doing the Nepal yarn (which is still ridiculously cheap), I could've used yarn from the "A" category, held double. Oh well. If I love it, I can knit it again. 

I ordered the yarn from the UK, as it's not available here. It was something like $48 for the entire thing, including 3 extra balls, just in case. First off, for lengthening it, but also because I've seen reviews that the "marled" version of the yarn, which is what I bought, is prone to random knots. We'll see. Yes, forty-eight dollars (US) for a sweater's worth of yarn. Insane, right? 

I don't know when I'm going to start that. I also have the Copland shawl to finish, which I'm keeping for myself. It was going to be a gift, but now I'm keeping it. It's about 2/3 done, so maybe after I finish these last 3 washcloths, I can pull it out and finish it up over the holidays. 

And I also have the Long Sands Tee to re-start. I think I'm done with baby knitting for a while, so that is kind of a relief. 

Socks will, as always, be my fill-in work. 

The Dancing...

Yep. Dancing. So recently, we had our women's club's 50th anniversary. We had Brandye Phillips, and the Tina Turner Experience as our entertainment. Now, not only is Brandye a local gal, having gone to the larger public high school, but her father was a renowned musician. She also has done extensive research on Tina Turner. Our organization works with domestic violence issues, among other things, and Brandye was able to educate us more in detail about what Tina Turner went through, from her humble beginnings as a sharecropper's daughter to international superstar twice over. 

We listened, we clapped, we interacted with her, and we danced. Yes, even me. Now you have to understand that I look like a baby with a full diaper when I dance. I can count the rhythm, because I'm a singer. But I'm not graceful. But I had fun. And today? I paid for it. My legs were sore. Not "killing me," but "yikes, I haven't felt this sore since I last mucked out a horse stall."

It was good. And my PT took a little (very little) pity on me. I was lucky enough to meet up with good friends, we had a great time, and it was a late night. 

And then, I had to go staff an info table at a 5K walk/run. And it's chilly here in the mornings. So I'll need to balance out my "need tea" with "need to pee." I don't do porta-potties if I can at all help it. And baking an apple cake for church on Sunday. 

It was a full weekend. 

The Reading...

I finished "The Loved One," and I wonder if I'm "today's years old" to realize that one of the characters has a last name which references, in Greek, death. Evelyn Waugh certainly had a way with words. So that was a hand-held book. 

I've finished several on my Kindle, mostly mysteries. Margery Allingham, the Campion mysteries, and I'm also done with another Lord Peter Whimsy compilation. 

I'm working on another Lisa See book, "Dreams of Joy," which is a two-parter. The first was about the generation before. It's interesting to follow along, seeing as this one delves pretty deeply into the formation of Communist China. 

Whacking away at my TBR (to be read) stash, I can read while I knit, as long as it's not a difficult pattern. I don't like audio books, though. They're usually disappointing. 

When I'm not reading, just knitting, I'll often have Star Trek on as "background noise." It's too quiet in the house with just one dog...

Life Goes On...

This past Sunday, I had to cancel my Yin class. I pulled up the notice of cancellation and I sat back as if I was pushed. You see, the last time I cancelled that class was the day my sister died. This time? It was the day her granddaughter (whom she will never meet this side of the veil, as they say) was getting christened. My mom did the part of the ceremony which my sister would have done. I did have a small part, as they put a small cross necklace around the little one's neck and the priest had "fat fingers," I was the closest, so he asked if I could help. Thankfully, I managed it!

But it really was a shock to see the notice. It brought back again that loss is part of life. Not that I needed a reminder, but still... 

Not to bury the lede here, and not to minimize it, but Hubby just came back from the vet with Quinn. Seems that our luck lately is rotten. 

She's got lymphoma. She's 14. All her lymph nodes are involved, and really at this age? Steroids, but sooooooooo many side effects. Including internal bleeding. Chemo is too rough at this age, and realistically won't buy any time; Elkhounds can live between 14-15(ish) years, so why put her through whatever time she has left in misery. Palliative care it is. No clue how much time she has. Could be a month, could be weeks. 

I'm not processing this very well. I think that my entire train of thought for this blog has gone right off the rails and down into the ravine. 

Random Picture...

Quinn "checks the mail" for us. She waits (and barks) for when the mail comes and we let her "snurffle" it. She checks it all, from any and all angles and pronounces it safe for us. 

We've been doing that for her for a while now, and she's come to enjoy the game of it. 

If it's too quiet with one dog, what is it going to be like with NO dog??

Not Ribbed For My Pleasure...

I really hate ribbing. I mean HATE it. Those 12 rows may as well be 1200 as far as I'm concerned. 

I hate ribbing as much as I hate the 4th of July weekend. As I type, there are boomers going off. One dog is in the kitchen, relatively clueless. The other is in the bathroom, somewhat heavily medicated, and will be even more medicated in about 2 hours or so, when it really gets nuts. 

Anyone blowing off illegal fireworks (I'm in Illinois - if you're not a professional and it's down the block from me, it's illegal) needs to be fined. Not only for blatantly breaking the law, but for being a bass-pole and a dirtbag who doesn't care about their fellow neighbors. 

It's not only the pets. It's the folks with PTSD. The people with sensory disorders. The veterans. The livestock (where I'm at, there's a fair bit of livestock). Go visit any of the 4 or 5 towns which are having lovely, FREE displays of fireworks. It's safer, you don't have to worry about drunks, and you get to keep your digits. And those are over by 9:45 or 10 p.m. 

Last night it was 1:30 or so and tonight it'll be even later. I expect these shenanigans to go on all week. 

I get upset because these are the same people who complain that their water bill is going higher, their garbage bill goes up, or whatever. I have no sympathy. None. You blew your wad on pyrotechnics that you shouldn't have had, and now you have no money? Tough bananas.

And the other thing? It's always the same people. It's always the house one block over and up, and one on the end of our block. The town knows this. They choose to do nothing. 

And -- we're in a drought. Yeah, it rained the other day. Not enough. So maybe we wait till the houses catch on fire? Sounds like a solid plan. 

The Knitting...

So the detested ribbing is done and I've completed the first row of the leg. This is the second sock of the Petty Harbour pair. My hand hurts, and I have learned to stop when it gets cranky. Otherwise, I'm off knitting for a while. 

This weekend (I'm already thinking of the weekend), I think I'll go ahead and frog the Long Sands Tee. I will have had my first outpatient PT appointment on Friday, so Lord knows how sore I'll be Saturday and Sunday. 

As far as I'm concerned, I'm going to try to stay monagamous to the socks till I have the pair done. I feel like I want to finish stuff. So Long Sands is going to have to be in time-out for a bit anyway till the knitted yarn relaxes, and till I can wind up a few of the hanks that haven't been caked yet. 

That gives me time to make a mis-matched pair of the blue striped socks, since I don't think I can lay my hands on the pattern of the one sock that's finished. I may (go ahead, get ready to laugh) do a 4x2 rib on the second one. I think the first sock is something like an 8x2 rib, but I can't find the notes, so I figure if I get it "close enough," nobody's going to mind. 

And I might start a trend. Not only of fraternal twins, but of "almost" the same patterns. Who says it might not be a new thing? 

The Hip...

Things are progressing. I am FREE of the TED hose! One week post-op, I showed the nurse the marks on my left thigh, just above the knee. She was not happy, because the skin was being compromised. We didn't want to risk an infection so she determined I was very low risk for blood clots and off they came!! 

My skin is lizard-like, and I can't get around to my left foot yet, so that's been interesting. I've also started to sleep on the incision side. I checked with the PT and the nurse and they said it wasn't going to hurt. The hip is in there; it ain't goin nowhere... It's more building up your mind that it's ok. And I'm a left-side sleeper, so there's that. Even if I stay there for 3-4 minutes, my MIND says, "OK, we can move to the other side now." It's all a game. 

Physical therapy is doing well, except I'm not having fun with the hip flexor stretches. Your hip flexors are the muscles right in the crease of your hip, so if you sit down and place your thumbs at the very top of your thighs, you're close. My left side got really jacked up with the hip injury, and I was walking very bent over. Well, that's gotta be stretched out. And it's not happy about that. 

I have my last day of in-home PT on Wednesday, and then I go to outpatient. I'm off all the pain meds, and I have been "let outside" on my walker, with a companion and a gait belt. I'm also using a cane in the house.

So that using a cane thing... Wowza. I was using TWO canes pre-surgery, just so I could take the weight off the bum leg. Now, though, I have to use ONE cane to just lightly support the now "remodeled" hip, and bear more weight on the left hip. It's a real mind-trick, and has been an interesting adjustment. 

The other exercises, I can do pretty easily, thanks to some pre-hab work I did and just an overwhelming urge to get this therapy behind me. 

But that walking with a cane does have me slightly wobbly. I can tell how far my balance has been affected, and how much work I have to do. 

I have been practicing my Tadasana (Mountain Pose), just to straighten up my posture and get that balance back. 

I have a helper. We have a massage table, which has been a blessing for the PT, as it's firmer than a bed, and easy to adjust. And recently, when Hubby was helping me do the exercises, Quinn hopped up on the couch next to me to help. I have to tell you, it was a nice relaxing treat. I didn't think she had it in her. She's always been a snuggler, but this was deliberate - she  came up to where I could reach her, put a paw on the table and moved so that I didn't have to reach too far. Hubby said that I actually relaxed my leg more as I was petting her, so I guess she's hired for my in-house therapy dog for as long as it takes me to get this hip back in order. 

The Reading...

So aside from having a problem with my Kindle, which I will explain, I am reading Evelyn Waugh's "The Loved One." It's the book upon which the movie was based, and the movie is as camp as it gets. 

I'm enjoying the book, which is a skinny little thing considering how long the movie is. 

The book is enough like the movie that I can follow it. I love the skewering that Waugh gives the whole Hollywood scene, and he does it so lightly and completely. 

I was able to borrow this book from Kid #1, and I have to admit, I'm getting the vibe I had when I took "As I Lay Dying" on a plane trip... this might not be a book which you'd want to take as a travel book, but then again -- maybe you would. It would certainly start a conversation. Or stop one. 

So, the Kindle problem. I love Agatha Christie. I have a bunch of her mysteries on my Kindle and I noticed that the last 3 of them which I purchased had a problem with the downloads. It wasn't just me, because looking at the reviews/comments, this problem seems to be pretty consistent. It's as if all the "Alt" characters: *%&$^#@)>< -- all of that stuff just appears randomly in the text, making the books impossible to read. 

I complained to Amazon, which may or may not accomplish anything, but it's annoying because I paid for the books, and I cannot read the books. 

I'm not sure if it's an off-shore place which is digitizing the books. But I can tell you that when I was working in publishing, I had several projects in which I had to clean up stuff like this. 

I'm hoping that there's some resolution. But I'm not holding my breath.

The Shed...

So everyone always asks, "how much do your dogs shed?"

Here's a PART of ONE side of Raisa. 

As you can see, she is NOT amused. She is one of the few dogs I have had who doesn't like to be brushed. She grumbles, but tolerates it. 

Even Quinn is shedding more this year. 

When I'm asked, I always say, "Twice a year, six months at a time." My mom grumbles about her dog's hair (a puggle) and I just laugh. 

As long as you keep on top of it, it's not all that horrible. I did have one husky who liked to be vacuumed, which isn't all that common, I can tell you. 

So this is the "summer shed." There'll be another in the fall when their winter coats come in. Don't even try to figure it out - it's just how it works. 

Random Picture...

Talk about a throw-back. This is River. She's my first red husky. She's long across the Rainbow Bridge, and this was when we had the "perfect pack" of River, Tippi & Quinn. Quinn was so attached to River. 

She came to us just after Topaz (my black & silver husky) died, and was a boon to our then-first elkhound Gracie, who went into extreme mourning after Topaz died - so much so that my neighbor thought that BOTH dogs had passed. 

River was a retired show dog. She would have been the dog I trained to be a therapy dog if I had the job flexibility. This was after she was diagnosed with glaucoma, and before she had Cushing's Disease. 

She was definitely the queen. She had a presence; even people who were afraid of big dogs were drawn to her. I miss her. 

DEFCON 5

It's really weird to talk to the hospital as they give you pre-op instructions. "Take this medication, have a driver. Do not take that medication. No food or water after midnight the night before, but in the morning you can take this pill with a sip of water. Shower the night before and the morning of, using Dial or other antibacterial soap."

And from the doctor's office: "5 days prior to your surgery you're going to be doing a major antibacterial detox using Hibiclens showers once a day, and then the night before the surgery, scrubbing yourself with a special anti-bacterial wipe, and then do that again in the morning before surgery..." and they'll be scrubbing you AGAIN when they get you on the table. 

I was tempted to do the "hospital version," till a friend of mine said, "You know, the orthopedic surgeon is basically sticking a big metal and porcelain piece of equipment into your body. He's asking you to go DEFCON 5 so that you don't accidentally transmit any bacteria into the surgical site, which will go directly to the bone." 

OK. So we're going DEFCON 5. I've never felt so...sterile. Though it's a sink bath. Because I'm - quite honestly - scared witless of slipping in the shower; even though we have grab bars, a non-slip mat and there's a seat there, it's all in my head, and then there's the "get out" part. It's about 2" to step over and shifting weight onto the left leg at this point is an iffy proposition. My leg hurts. And it's kind of my own fault...

The other day, Hubby was out. I made lunch (which I could carry in a pocket, it was a sandwich that I put into a plastic container) and some chai. That was in a travel cup. I have a very small house, so I'm lucky enough (?) to have little waystations where, if I'm careful, I can move something, bit by bit, to my point of destination. 

I got careless. I was stumping along with my 2 sticks, thinking how slick I was, and I grabbed the travel cup wrong. The lid sprang off, the bottom (14 oz) fell to the ground, and chai went. All. Over. The. Place. It was on the couch. On the sewing machine. On the floor. On the dog. On me. On. The. Ceiling... 

To say I was dismayed would be an understatement. Hubby was not long gone, so I had no recourse. I stumped back to the kitchen, told Quinn to "leave it" (the last thing I need is a dog buzzed on chai and sugar). Grabbed a towel and a roll of paper towels and started to mop up. I sponged it off the knick-knacks on the sewing machine. Wiped off the legs - of the sewing machine cabinet and then my own legs. Got it off the couch, where I could see it. Then, the floor. Ice cubes and chai. Me on sticks. What's a girl to do? 

I got down onto the floor, on my knees (yeah, about as much fun as you'd think) and started to gather the cubes into the cup, and swab up the chai. There was no way I was going to be able to mop, but if I could get it up off the floor, at least that was something; Hubby could mop. 

Quinn just settled herself on the rug near the TV, well out of the way. 

I got it all up. Managed to get MYSELF up off the floor in a very wonky wide-legged downward-facing dog in reverse. It was not fun. I got myself to the kitchen and rinsed out the towel. Put the paper towels in a small bag and left them there for a bit. Sank into my chair and wanted to just weep. Ate my sandwich. Took a fitful nap and berated myself more than a bit.

And Hubby mopped after he got home. He and I didn't notice that it got to the ceiling till the other day... And that's cleaned now too. 

The Knitting...

I don't know why I'm dallying. Usually at this point, I'm whizzing along to get the sock finished, but I'm doing bit by bit on the toe of the first Petty Harbour. I know part of it is me being fidgety. I hurt, in my hip and in my hands (death grip on the canes). The surgery is this Friday (it's Tuesday as I type this). 

Tonight, I have a Zoom meeting, but before then, I'll try to get a few more rows in. Tomorrow, I'm at the office till late - the last office visit till I'm let loose by the docs, so I have several things that must be done. And that 12-hr day wipes me out. I don't get home till 7 p.m. and I can't do much for meals, because I'm careful of what I can carry in safely, since I probably -- if I had any sense at all -- would have planned to stay home like any normal person. 

The sock was started December 19. 2017...it's not like I'm in a hurry. Maybe if I can get this one done in the next few days, I'll feel better. 

I will look in the stash after the surgery to see what I might have to do another pair of these. I like the texture on the leg; and maybe the next pair will be pattern on leg only, which is my usual style. 

I know I'm not frogging the Long Sands till after surgery. I just figured that would be a good "between walks" project. 

Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll start the second Petty Harbour sock before surgery. Not counting on it, but one never knows. I just can't seem to focus on much right now. 

Random Picture...

This will be a very short blog, kids. Again - that lack of focus thing... This was Quinn yesterday.

Totally zonked and getting some of her "solid 18" in the form of a snorting, snoring nap in the afternoon. She even slept through several people walking across the street. She didn't even mind the little bit of blanket covering her nose, which normally would have bugged her. 

Normally, if a cricket farts 3 blocks over or a leaf drops in the next town, she's going nuts barking. As a senior (she's 12 now), the sleeps are deeper. It's sort of melancholy to watch, because I know that she's getting older. Does she drive me nuts sometimes? Yeah. But. She's my Quinnie...