Don't Feed the Basset

Well, it's not great news, but Fred has a diagnosis. He has a rather hearty infection, likely brought on by eating something he shouldn't have. It's his second episode of what Dr. Nancy calls "garbage gut" and like the first time, his inability to keep his slobbery jaws off of non-food items has landed him overnight IVs and the rapid healing only IV drugs can bring.

No, we don't have a clue what, when, or even where said toxin came from. Senior hound that he is, he doesn't roam like he once did. He hasn't been out of our sight, save working hours, and bless his clumsy heart, he leaves a trail of evidence when he does get into things that aren't his at home. But, Dr. Nancy is confident the fluid push will keep reducing the fever and will eventually motivate the gunk of undigested food to move on, and she predicts that Fredders will walk out to leave with me tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks so much again for your kind words and support. It has kept me sane. The day is coming when both of our aged dogs will need me to let go, but it seems we've bought more time for now.

Happy Fred Thoughts

There's a daily click for a Fred Basset in the UK, who seems to be our Fred's soul twin. I click in daily, and often email it to the Knight, because it just seems like the artist/writer channels our Fred.

This is going to be a multi-post day. I see it coming, but I want to thank you for your concern, prayers and general good wishes for Fred. The Knight used and abused his family/supervisory powers today, and sent his crew on without him, while he went home to get his boy. He found Fred significantly weakened, and we rushed to Dr. Nancy. I have a hard time being strong when my rock of a Knight has his 58 lb. baby in his arms, whispering away. He stayed at my desk for a speaker phone chat with Dr. Nancy, and has begrudgingly gone to the job site. (Fred was weak because of the meds from last night.)

We're awaiting blood tests now, and Fred is on IV fluids. What's interesting is that while our human docs make us wait days, weeks, or even months for test results, Dr. Nancy is calling me back in two hours. Go figure. My mother inlaw assures me it is because vets genuinely CARE about their patients. Hmmm...

I'll update you later, but I suspect Fred is at the vet's for at least 24 hours of IV therapy.

Dogs on Thursday

Fred's needing some love, so here's a shot I adore. It was taken two summers ago, at work. That's the Knight on the left, and a baby Shadow in the bottom. We were up into the wee hours of the morning, at the emergency vet. They were afraid it was bloat, but we were sure it wasn't. The good news is it wasn't bloat. The bad news is, we don't know why that lump of food is at the top of his stomach, not digesting.

He's miserable, so much so for those of you who know him, that he's not fussing. It broke my heart to leave him at home, but Shadow frets him so. Once my mother inlaw arrives from her doctor's appointment this morning, I'll go home, load up Fredders, and take him to our Dr. Nancy.

Of course, all of this is going on while Mugsy's allergies rage on.

Sadly, we're not alone. Other friends have pet and personal medical issues, and Amanda has had a very sudden, tragic loss. Sending prayers and good vibes out to all of you...

I'll keep you posted on Fred. Tomorrow's Mugsy's 12th birthday too, so I guess this blog has gone to the dogs.

Sock and Swap News

Well, Camille got her Sock it to Me package, and unless she is so sick she's delusional, she seems to really like them. Hooray! It seems yet again I stressed over socks for a stranger unnecessarily. Whew!

Via email, Adrienne, my Sockza pal, let me know that my socks are world travelers now. Not only did the fly from Virginia to England, but they biked around Europe with her this summer. That should calm my socks for strangers fears, but, erm... no. I'm glad my sock swaps were successful, but I'll not be signing up for more.

My tea swap package is still out there, looking for its home. Perhaps today? I'm eager to see if my pal is as pleased with it as I was when I assembled it.

However, I'm not sitting idly waiting on my packages. (I've lost track of what is on the way to me - things I've ordered and swapperly goodness.) My dearest mother inlaw brought me some chocolate mint tea from her cruise! OH. MY. GOODNESS. It smells like a peppermint patty. Add hot water, steep, and a dash of sweetener, and you have a cup of liquid happiness. It's in a cute little wooden box. It's the same brand she found on another adventure this summer, but that raspberry tea wasn't as impressive as this. Of course, I can't find it locally, and only in a couple of spots online. Figures. Still, I count myself blessed to have such a thoughtful mother inlaw, and I even politely offered her a cuppa' too. We've also decided we need an electric kettle and a teapot for the office now.

Warning! Grab a Snack First

As when I was teaching, I'm not one to stop for structured breaks. Just quietly get up and do what you need to do, and I'll keep talking. Food and drink are encouraged, unless you have a known spewing problem...

The things we do for friends! Firstly, pop over HERE and check out Holly and Anne's coffee swap. They both seem a little surprised that I'm excited about it, but firstly, when two pals of mine host a swap, I want to be a part of the fun. Secondly, Anne has taught me that I don't HATE coffee; I hate run of the mill coffee. She's also promised my pal isn't allowed to make fun of me if I ask for Starbucks or McDonald's gift cards. Dudes... even Anne adores McD's iced coffees. My funny little mother inlaw had FITS on her cruise, because they kept seeing McD's, but no iced coffees! I guess it never crossed her mind to ask someone on the ship to make her one...

Also, for a great cause, please go visit Nicole's first contest. I'd also like to encourage you to help her meet her donation goal for the year. Heck, let's see if we can blow her goal out of the water, okay? Pets everywhere need a helping hand, and the ASPCA is a great organization. You even get bonus entries for adopting a dog this year. I won't be getting those points, but I can assure you that our next basset will be a little girl from our rescue. There are so many pluses to adopting, but this is going to be a long post anyway...

Now, y'all have been great about reading along without pictures long enough. So, look out! Here come the photos.

First comes my current pride and joy, the shrug done in Amanda's yummy yarn. Giving the camera the green table and the gold project bag to focus on seemed to help me get closer to accurate colors. That's four of the nine repeats of the lace. Then, another cuff, stitch the cuffs together as sleeves, and then pick up about a gazillion stitches all the way around for a little ribbed border there too. It's warm outside now, but just you wait. I'm going to be wearing this by the weekend, no matter what!

Next comes several days worth of stash and supply building packages. These Peace Fleece needles are Nicole's fault. The Knight has asked me to knit *HIS* cloths on smaller needles, so I ordered some #6s. (Don't tell him I'd already ordered #6 Bryspuns, okay? I'm sure in time, I'll use them both.) They sure are pretty, and knowing that I'm shopping and knitting and making the world a better place all at the same time is a great feeling.

Next comes the fiber love. It's been a while since I really did some shopping with Loopy, so I got a little crazy last week when I arrived home just in time to get my Loopy's Groupies notice that a sneak-up was happening. I scored a couple of Wendy's sock patterns, and this Bambewe in "Sedona" which makes me want to skip the cruise and go back to those warm, red rocks and The Red Planet diner. But that's another story. If you haven't been to Sedona, you're missing the jewel of the Southwest. If you have, you know exactly what I mean.

I also snagged some Yarn Pirate in Loopy Blues, because I could and because so many of you swear by this yarn. I love the colors. I seem to be hung up on turquoise again, not that it's a bad thing. The brown actually has some red in it, but I guess the redwood stain on the deck didn't help draw that out.

Last, but hardly least in my Loopy haul is the Yarntini in Designated Driver. It looks like my favorite pair of almost thread-bare jeans, and I think it will make socks just as comfortable and long-lasting. Yummy, yummy yarn, all of it. And stash police? Don't worry. When my inlaws retire, I'm taking my knitting to work and my productivity will double. I will use up my stash, but I thank you for caring.

I also grabbed some of Bernat's Cashmere, which only has 5% of the fine fiber in it. However, I'm in search of a soft, favorite sweater meets easy-care yarn, so someone will be getting a little something made of this buttah. It sure is soft to the touch, but it's a relatively new yarn, so no one on Ravelry has been complaining about it pilling or anything yet. (See? Once the inlaws retire, I'll have my queue stacked and my stash built up for another 20 years of knitting at work and at home. There's a method to my madness, right?)

But wait! THERE'S MORE! Not much more though, I promise. Just my two sets of cable needles. I thought I'd show you both sets, since I know Anita (check out her darling Etsy store too!) has the "plain" wood set and is still waiting on her Harmony Knitpicks. Despite the fact I still don't cable, I'm feeling very happy with my purchases. The two sets offer different diameters, and if you can't tell, the plain wood set is notched about twice as often as the Harmonys. Interestingly enough, if I'd lined them up by size, largest first, it would be Harmony, plain, plain, Harmony, and the two smallest sizes are pretty darned close.

And my pretty #10.5 tips. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go switch those tips out on the secret bag project, and settle in for House.

What's that Mugsy? Oh yeah. Dinner for me. (Which means second dinner for the dogs, because when the Knight's away, I share a lot more. I learned to cook at the firehouse, where the average group was about 15. I don't do meals for one or even two so well.)

FFBE #2

The colors of fall tend to be oranges, yellows, crimsons, and other 'leafy' colors - what is your favorite "Color of Autumn" and where do you see it?

My favorites are maroon and gold. I do love all of the colors of the changing leaves, but I prefer to look at them rather than wear them, save the dark reds. I'm not sure where I'll see them this year, as I suspect the continued drought will make the leaves rather muted.

Questions and Answers

So, my Fall Felted Bag Exchange pal has questions.

Questions: what is your preferred sock knitting method and what needles do you use? Also, favorite sock yarn or one you want to try?

Well pal o' mine, I like anything BUT Magic Loop. Which is to say, I like dpns a lot, but two circs are so easy to travel with that I guess they are in the #1 slot. Needles? Addis and KnitPicks. I thought I was all about metal, but of late, I've been into wood and bamboo. ANYTHING bamboo appeals to me, because it's the ultimate renewable resource. The stuff makes Virginia Creeper (read: kudzu) look like a slow grower. I'm also really liking the toe-up approach to socks, just for the record.

Favorite sock yarn. Okay gentle reader, I know I've professed my love for about ten different sock yarns, but honestly, Tofutsies has to get the #1 slot. For merino/superwash, I'd go with Lorna's Laces or the local Misty Mountain, both available at the Loopy Ewe. Heck, if all else fails, if you can buy it there, I'll like it. Wick is the only worsted weight sock yarn for me, although I might be trying some others in the holiday knitting rush, which I do believe is upon us. The simple fact is, I love wee little skinny sock yarns. I want to try them all.

Lace is also working its way into my heart, but we have a problem; I'm fickle and want a fast, but passionate fling with my works in progress. Lace? She's a demanding mistress. She wants my full attention, my time, and to Mugsy's chagrin, a lot of my lap space too. She's what the boys call high maintenance, and ask my bigger than a wallet felted bags and baby blankies where that will get ya'. I'm high rent but not high maintenance, so lace is happening on my terms. (Read: Some of you will be getting pictures of your intended holiday gifts instead of the items.)

I have questions too. Why did my new-found joy in one LYS get dosed with cold water today? Do they really not want to sell me more yarn because I haven't brought in a finished project from their stock yet? (I swear. I wouldn't lie to you. That's about word for word what the lady said, in the 14 seconds she took away from her friends at the table in the back. I need to finish up something(s) with the yarn I've purchased there so I can buy more. 'Scuse me? Me and my yarn appetite walked out without even a good-bye. There's a Fiber Festival this weekend, you know!)

Do you (specifically, Anne) know how hard it is for me to not to share a cool work in progress with y'all? I'm learning new skills, trying a new yarn, and keeping it to myself is killing me. I know you'll love the bag, because I'm already thinking maybe I need one for me too...

And now, I have to walk away from this idiot box, so that knitting can actually take place.