Not (just) Thinking

Well, having a blog about what I’ve been making and doing is a bit hard when I’m so busy that I don’t even update it. The latest adventure has been adopting a second dog. Now, I have to admit it was tempting to find a dog on the computer and run out and get her. That said, the first one was adopted before we could meet her and the second one too (except that we still met her). Anyway, we looked at dogs at The Pixie Project, The Oregon Humane Society and Family Dogs New Life. I really liked Amy at the Pixie Project but the one dog that really grabbed our hearts was already spoken for. OHS was nice because the dogs are looked over by a vet so there’s definitely a better chance of avoiding a dog with hip displaysia or some other major problem. That said, most of the dogs that were at OHS the day we went were a bit bigger than we were thinking…and maybe a bit wilder.

Finally we ended up at Family Dogs New Life and a goofy bearded lady seemed like the right dog for us. She had only been in Portland for a couple of days and was formerly in a shelter (Barks R Us) in Yakima. She came to them as a stray. She was kind of a mess - she had a wound on her leg, kennel cough and coccidosis. Only the first two things were clear at the shelter. We hoped that her limping would clear up with the wound but that was a bit of denial on our part. She was sweet and I think she was coming home with us once Scott said, “What do you think?”

We took her to the vet as soon as we could and tried to get her all straightened out. Nothing seemed serious so we didn’t even treat the kennel cough. Of course, a holiday weekend came and we went away and the kennel cough got much worse. Reika starting coughing until she gagged/vomitted. After a night of no sleep for anyone, I drove eighty miles round trip to the emergency vet for antibiotics and cough suppressants.  The vet also looked at Reika’s leg and guessed she might have a torn cruciate (ACL in humans aka CCL in a dog). In the two weeks since then, we’ve got another opinion on the leg and we’re hoping it isn’t the CCL and that Reika might get better with rest. We’ll see. In the meantime, it is inside for her and outside on a short leash only for potty breaks…and no playing. Hard for a one year old pup!

While Reika is officially part of the family - getting tortured by Clara with dress-up and sharing dog beds and crates with her and putting up with medicine and grooming from me - there’s one way she’s the odd one out. She hates cameras! She runs away and hides. I got a few shots the first few moments we had her but since then….well, she runs and hides and cowers. We’ll have to put some good treats and pets to work on that one. Maybe we’ll have a willing model by Christmas!

Long book. Didn’t feel long and I finished its 600 pages in about a twelfth of the time I took to read The Known World. Nothing wrong with the that book, either, but it didn’t grab me like Tree of Smoke. 

We brought the little one to see a sled dog race at Frog Lake. I brought my camera and had loads of fun. It’s tempting to take lessons learned today and go out and shoot again tomorrow but, alas, I have many things to do here. The images could use a little love (uh, editing) but feel free to check them out as-is.

Taking photos of a lunar eclipse isn’t easy…especially when you don’t plan at all. I really couldn’t believe that it was clear out! Anyway, here’s one photo. I tried so many different things that I haven’t really looked at all the images. I’ll be sure to post if there is something great hiding in there.

I wanted to make a tiny baby hat for my friend’s little one (born today, I think!). When we had Clara, I found that all our hats were too big - only the hospital hat fit at first. I liked the idea of a hat that might fit in the first weeks. I’ve done this hat (it is based on a hat in Debbie Bliss’s Baby Knits for Beginners) before in Paton’s Grace and I loved it…though I really wanted a nice soft pink for Frejya and I didn’t find any in Grace in my neighborhood. So, I tried Rowan Calmer. I think the hat is a bit bigger than it might be otherwise (I did adjust for Calmer’s gauge but not carefully) but it was a good excuse to try Calmer without a big commitment. It knits up nicely though I imagine it might like a bit more care than a baby hat will see. Of course, it is small enough that it will soon become a hat for a baby doll. Hopefully that doll will be a bit bigger than my model.

I finished my first project for my husband. He hasn’t really been banging down my door looking for a hand knit gift but he got one anyway. I had some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran that was previously slated for a baby project that didn’t happen. I thought would make a comfy hat. I used a pretty generic pattern for a hat and made the ribbing much longer to make it more of a watchcap. If I had to do it again, I think I would have knit between the decrease rounds (top view). Scott isn’t really picky about his hat tops, though, so this works for trips to the coffee shop. Clara also likes the hat quite a bit! 

I wanted a blog to share what I’ve been doing and making. I haven’t quite figured out all the details so things might keep changing a little or a lot for a little while. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to post projects (knitting, crocheting, sewing, etc.) that I’ve finished, books I’m reading and recipes that I think are worth sharing.  That said, I do other things so I plan to post about favorite hikes or snowshoe outings and who knows what else? Oh, last but not least, I take hundreds of snapshots of my family and our adventures. This will be a place to share photographs that please me more than the rest.