Socks and dogs

Where to begin. I've neglected blogging for at least a week. Shame on me.

We'll start with SOS08. I have completed one sock and part of another. I know, I'm slow. The yarn is Tempted, the color is Envy and the pattern is my own generic 2X2 ribbed sock. It turned out good, but it is boring not having a pattern.

My next one will be a brighter color and have more pattern. Sometimes I almost doze off while I'm working on it.

Update on Bunny. We have gone over a week at the reduced phenobarbital. I talked with the doctor and he said to keep it the same until after the 4th of July. Then we will further reduce the dose to 1/2 tab once a day. He said the stress and noise of the 4th might cause her to seize, so he prefers to wait until after. That is OK with me. I'm just happy that we are down to 1/2 grain of phenobarbital. We are still giving her the herbs and the potassium bromide. (Isn't she funny sleeping on her back?)

My sister in Portland got a new puppy yesterday. It is an Australian shepherd, merle. She hasn't been named yet, but she is 8 weeks old and 10 pounds of fluff. She will send current pics soon, I hope.

Now I'm going to check in on Ravelry and see all the beautiful socks that others have posted for SOS08. Can you believe that some have already knit 3 pairs?? I guess the thicker yarn and larger needles go faster, but I prefer to wear the thinner socks.

Summer of socks: The beginning

Here are the grey and black socks Finished! I finished them at the family reunion on Saturday. Just in time for Summer of Socks 2008. I cast on green (Envy from Tempted) and by bedtime I had done about 2-1/2 to 3 inches. Not much. I was hoping for so much more.

My sister went home today. It was good visiting with her. I think she had a good time. We visited with our mom's relatives last Saturday and with dad's relatives this Saturday. I even took off work a day and a half. It was fun having her here.

We worked in the yard this morning. Watered and fertilized all the flowers, raked the mulch and the sandbox, and put out food for the birds and squirrels. Here is the way we ended the morning. Buster and Bunny love the hose!

Day three

Day three of giving Bunny 1/2 tab of phenobarbital twice a day. I realized earlier that when we reduced her to 1 tab a day we were giving her the whole tab at once. This time the vet has us giving a half twice a day. So far, so good. Last time it took four days of that before she had a seizure. I'm optimistically hopeful this time.

I.Have.To.Finish.The.Sock.Today! I'm more than half way down the foot. (Picture was earlier.) But today I have to go get my nails done, buy a truckload of groceries, make some food to take to the reunion, finish the laundry, and FINISH THE SOCK. (I've never had this problem before.)

I found a sweater pattern that I'm considering. (I've never knitted a sweater.) It is from Knitting Daily Online Store and is called Kenobi Jacket. I have only knitted scarves, hats and socks. I'm not sure I would be able to hang in there long enough to finish a garment. I guess I'm a process knitter.



Here is a little picture of Buster so he won't feel left out. He is really the best dog I've ever had. He's sweet and funny and no trouble at all. He was a rescue dog. I wish everyone could have a dog as good as Buster.

More of the same

Yesterday we took all the photos that were taken at the birthday party and we had a scrapbook party with them. My sister had ordered some great pages that had room for memories, greetings, wishes and pictures. We matched photos to the ones that were filled out, added the guest list, and several extra pages of photos in the back. Then they were put into the binder that came with the pages.

Here is our "sister" picture from the party. #4, #1, #2 (me) and #3 (from Portland.)

Today we took our aunt to lunch and gave her the "book." I don't know whether to call it a photo book or a scrapbook. She loved it. It had pics of everyone who came to the party, and many of those people filled out one of the pages. We made CD's of the photos for everyone who asked, and some for people who didn't get to come.

Now I can get on with other things. Like the reunion we are going to Saturday in Arkansas. (Other side of the family.) We have it each year the weekend after Father's Day. It is a good way to keep in touch with family. These are my dad's remaining brother and sisters from a couple of years ago. These are all that are left of the 10 brothers and sisters.

We each bring an item to put in an auction so we can raise the money to rent the building next year. Last year we also all brought a quilt square which will have magically turned into a quilt to put in this year's auction. For my item, I bought a pretty frame and printed a picture of my dad in his Army uniform. It turned out so nice that I may bid on it myself.

My last gray and black sock is moving slowly. I have turned the heel and worked an inch or so on the foot. I discovered after I was bragging on how pretty the heel is that I made two different heels on the two socks! Pretend you didn't hear that. I'm not going to rip it back to make it match. Besides it was too nice to rip out.

Here is my pet picture of the day. Buster and Bunny on the big guy's lap. There is a bit of jealousy there. (Bunny started on another reduced dose of phenobarbital this week. We are hoping for the best.)

What a Party!

Today was my Aunt G's birthday party at my #1 sister's house. There were 90+ people there, all of them related to me (or married to someone related to me) except for 2. Our oldest cousin was there. She's 88. Most of the families were represented, and the ones who couldn't come sent cards or called. It was terrific. I'm exhausted. This is my aunt on the right and our oldest cousin on the left.

There was no knitting for WWKIP Day because it was such a mess, but I gave Aunt G. a pair of socks for her birthday. Also gifted my youngest sister with another pair to wear when she teaches her yoga class. I have one more person to make a pair for. Her birthday has come and gone, and it is too long until Christmas, so I guess I'll just make them and send them for a surprise.

OK. I received some stash enhancement lately that I haven't posted pictures of. I left it in the plastic, I haven't had time to caress it yet. I like the colors but I haven't had time to swatch with it yet.

I will go ahead and say "Happy Father's Day" to all you who celebrate it. I miss being able to celebrate it with my dad. The big guy and I will have a quiet day with the dogs. Our kids will not be coming this year.

Company's Coming

I'm taking a break from cleaning house and doing laundry. I'm finished in the kitchen, still have some tidying to do in the living room and bathroom. My sister will be at the airport about 4:00 (airlines willing). She only gets to come home about one week a year. It is a long way from Portland to Tulsa!

I've been picking out some yarns and patterns for SOS08. I have decided to use the pastel yarn from Tempted Sock of the Month Club with the pattern they suggested. It is Belle-Maman Sock by Audrey P. downloaded from http://inukshuk71.blogspot.com/ . It will not be mindless knitting. For that I will do a 2X2 ribbed sock with some varigated or self-patterning yarn. After that...who knows. I like to have 2 different socks going at the same time.

Happy news! I received my circular needles in the mail today! Yay! I ordered one each of 16", 24", 32" size US#1, and 32" size US#2 in the Knitpicks Options. I swatched with the size 1's and they are great!

Back to work for me. Tomorrow is my Aunt G's 90th birthday party. There will be cousins from all over. We're excited! Pictures will surely follow.

Dirt, Inside and Out

Today I am going to try to make my plants happy. I'm going to re-pot one and fertilize the others. We've had so much terrible wind and heavy rains lately that my poor little flowers are not happy.

Realize that I hate to get dirt under my fingernails, so I will glove up. And I will make the big guy help reach and lift. But it has to be done. I'm so short that I can't reach the ones that are hanging from the tree. That is where the big guy comes in. Also the plant I have to re-pot is pretty large, so we will tag team it. Of course, Buster and Bunny will be lots of help.

I'm still trying to finish up my knitting before the SOS08 comes along, so here is what I have left to do. I've ripped back both of my sister's sock to the heel flaps, I've finished re-knitting one, and I'm working on the toe decreases on the other. Then I will wash and re-block them. I have one of my gray/black socks finished and have the ribbing started on the cuff of the other. So that gives me almost 2 weeks to finish that one. I'm going to make it! (But will I be able to resist casting on another sock before SOS08? Remains to be seen.)

Company will be coming next weekend, so I must start working (harder) on getting the house presentable. If I can get the wood floors and the rugs done, then I can work on the clutter on the tables and cabinets. A little sprucing up in the bathroom will make it good. So I've got my list for the week. If I can get in one round of golf I'll be doing good.

Back to the Drawing Board

After 7 weeks and 2 days, after reducing her phenobarbital for 7 days, Bunny had another seizure. On the bright side, it was only ONE seizure (they usually come in groups) and it was smaller/softer/less intense than any she's had before. And she recovered quicker. We gave her the obligatory 2 tabs afterwards and 2 this morning, and now have new instructions from her vet. One-half tab in the a.m. and one whole tab in the evening. I feel like we are just on the verge of a breakthrough in balancing her meds.

This weekend I finished my baby sister's blue socks. (They look just like the picture above.Ignore my emergency sock blocker.) Now I'm working on my older sister's socks I gave her at Christmas. The heel flap wasn't right, but she wore them anyway until the weather got warm. I frogged back to the heel flap and am knitting the whole foot again. Of course the yarn is all squiggly, but hopefully with blocking I can make them look OK.

I'm looking forward to our other sister and her partner visiting the middle of this month. They live in Portland, Oregon. We are having our Aunt G a 90th birthday party. Cousins will be coming from all over for the occasion. Unfortunately the party will be on Knit in Public Day. So I guess I will knit at the party instead of "in public." Maybe I can recruit a new knitter!

There is a cool contest for knitters who are interested. It is at the Simply Sock Yarn Co. blog site. They are interested in what is your favorite sock yarn and why. The address is "http://www.simplysockyarn.typepad.com/". Prizes will be awarded.