Sunday, November 30, 2008

Giving Thanks

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours went well, though we made too much food. We were grateful for our little feast and as happens at Thanksgiving we are still eating it.

The rest of the holiday weekend went so quickly. Friday half the house got picked up on jacks. I've seen houses up on jacks before but not while I was in them. The front part is level now but when you walk though the rooms, it feels crooked. It's amazing how sensitive your feet get.

Saturday was committed to house guests (one a stranger) so mad cleaning ensued and snack and cookie making. That night after they left I cast on for Provincial Waistcoat with some Reynolds Lopi from my friend Lynnette that I had in my stash. The folks on Ravelry weren't kidding. Holey moley, the first two rows of this pattern were definitely hellish. It's knitting along nicely now with tons of markers:



This morning Wee Winkie came down with horrific pain in his stomach. He was doubled over, shaking, high fever, pale gums, vomiting, diarrhea and generally a scary mess so we took him to a local emergency vet clinic. After an hour and half of bloodwork and x-rays, the vet came to us and asked us if he'd had anything "special" to eat and we told him no -- just his usual dry food with a little wet mixed in. He hung an x-ray up and there in Phoenix' lower intestine and stomach was a tremendous pile of small bones. I absolutely should have been more careful watching them because the neighbors have been known to throw bones and carcasses out before. (In my defense, I have been more focused on it currently being hunting season here.) Blessed sighs of relief and a bit of a joke about it being the Thanksgiving day parade at the clinic and I was off to the knitting/waiting room to wait for our (holy shit) $718 bill.

In the three hours that ensued, I witnessed:

A young couple who brought a mini poodle in who had eaten rat poison that they put down in their house to kill mice. The young man informed me he still intended to use the stuff, even though it will take more than a month for the dog's body to get the poison out of its system (with medical treatment).

A woman whose dog was not able to eliminate in 24 hours and in fact could not stand on his feet. She fed him twice anyway and then (another holy shit) gave him human Tylenol (though she was careful to measure out the teaspoons by body weight!). Her regular vet was driving home from NYC and informed her by cell phone that he did not think it a good idea that she catheterize the dog herself because dogs are "a little different than humans".

Three separate pet owners who brought their animals to the emergency clinic because they "would not" and/or "could not" take time off to go to their regular vet. These emergencies were things like "he's scratching his face a lot" and "she slept 6 hours straight". I could understand if they were worried about a big bill but believe me, in my humble experience the bill there is WAY more expensive than a regular office visit to the vet.

So my thanks went this weekend to vet techs and vets everywhere. That five and half hour day spent at the clinic was just a tiny window into what their world is really like. And I was able to work on Tom's Spey Valley socks (from Knitting on The Road):



Phoenix is sleeping comfortably. They gave him the dog equivalent of Pepto Bismal and Imodium and on the way home things definitely started to shake up. It was 30 degrees and freezing rain and we had to open the windows all the way home, eyes burning but giggling away.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

First Snow

We had our first snow last night, even if only a tiny bit. I stayed up late last night and finished Diamond Rain Vest so I could wear it to work today. It's a little big and if I feel ambitious I might take it in a little under the arms but I will likely leave it alone.



I'm loving knitting vests right now. At work they keep the heat fairly high (about 80) so you feel like you are smothering. Layering is easier than being an out-of-control miserable office grunt.

Not much else going on here. Planted a few bulbs last weekend and have quite a few more to get in. I already miss the garden. Saw an absolutely gorgeous four point buck last night on the way home and hope he makes it through the season. This evening there were three opossums on the porch eating the cat food -- two young ones and a BIG mama (at least I think it was a mother). She looked harassed. The young ones were chewing on each other's heads. Cutest little things.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Williams

Williams Pullover is finished. The collar is my favorite part (though I have to re-tack the front so it lines up a little better). It is extremely comfortable and I'm really happy with how it came out - not as slim as the designer intended but I'm not into snug sweaters.



Saturday, November 1, 2008

Finished Some Socks

Jaywalkers (from Grumperina, MagKnits, September 2005): Love this pattern - made them from Opal I got I don't know how long ago from Ebay.



Monkeys, knit from Mountain Colors Bearfoot (this stuff is SO soft):