One sick puppy

First it was SO, then it was me, then Chancey had to go to the vet, now Robbie had to go. It's a trickle down thing.

He was acting funny last night. He whined extra long when I came in, but I figured he was just very talkative. He is a big mouth, which I am happy about. My first Schipperke was a "talker;" I trained her to sing and she vocalized fairly frequently. Chancey is quiet, and never would learn those tricks, but Robbie's a talker too. So when he whined, I just asked my mother, as is our little joke, what on earth she was doing to my son all day that he had such a sad story to tell me.

He was snuggly last night, but he's always snuggly when I am watching TV. I think sometimes he gets mad that I go to SO's as much as I do, so I try to give him all the snuggly time he can get. But he was quiet. I noticed last night he is starting to look like an older dog, but I didn't think anything of it. He's been pulling hair out of his legs, but I watched those and they didn't seem to be infected, so I figured when he was acting funny, the booboos stung or he was just annoyed because I keep telling him to quit it. I was planning on taking him to the doctor tomorrow to see if it was something to be concerned with.

I woke up this morning at 4:00 and he was at the foot of the bed, where he never sleeps. So I cuddled him up to me. He didn't seem to want that. That should have tipped me off that something was up, because Robbie worships me. But again I figured, "Oh, it's that leg, let me look at it in the morning and I'll put peroxide on it if it looks yucky."

This morning, he went potty, but he came in and sat down. No water, no food. If you remember, when he was sick in April, he did the same thing. Warning bells started going off in my head. I thought I would take a look at his gait and see what was going on, so I took him out with me. He did the run and sit, run and sit. Which is pretty much the universal, "Something is wrong" move. He started scooting. I've never owned a male dog before. I don't know what scooting signifies. All I knew was my son was NOT acting like he is supposed to act.

Brought him back in. He went for a drink of water.Chancey wandered in the living room. She smelled his hiney. And then looked at me with a disgusted look. So I figured he had a hanger-on--that makes sense for the run and sit, cause Chance does that (life is not easy when you lack a tail). I got me some paper towels and took a look.

He had a huge swollen area right under where his tail would be, if he had a tail. It was so huge and red, I thought it was a tumor that had ruptured, and started getting upset, because how could that happen to MY dog? I watch the twins for things like that, like I watch for coughing or the other things that happen to Schips. And I haven't had him long enough to feel, in my heart, that the love I've given him was given long enough to make up for his travels down the broken road. I know that's silly, but I worry about things like that. But my mom calmed me down, because she said tumors don't come up that quick, and they aren't as sore as his seemed to be, at least not until they are late-stage, and he probably didn't have butt cancer.

I got the appointment for him--I couldn't take him because I had to work--and mom took him. He had an infected anal gland. I am glad that I didn't go, because Mom said he screamed when the doctor touched it and I can't bear to hear my furbabies scream. She said it was so bad that he had to be put to sleep to get it cleaned out. And the vet cleaned his teeth. Great, they got him coming and going, LOL.

I feel relieved, but I still feel horrible. Even though I know I couldn't have seen this coming, part of me feels like I should have seen it sooner, or done something so it didn't happen. He was in pain all night at least. My poor widdle man. I feel wretched about it.

He is spending the night at the vets'. And I have to go get him tomorrow.

An idea for a Christmas present

I don't know if this really counts as a present, but I had an idea.

I've been spending a lot of time lately pondering the blessings of my life and whether I am a good caretaker of those blessings. Sometimes, especially when I look at all my stash, I don't think I do the best job, because I really do have a lot. I know, stash is not the same as having a thousand pairs of designer shoes or 15 expensive purses, but . . . it's all relative.

My favorite human charity offers a gift catalog and one of the choices is to buy chicks for someone. When I checked, it was about $20 for 20 chicks that can grow and provide meat and eggs and income and . . . hope. When I look at that $20 spent on cross stitch, that doesn't buy much, but it gives someone the chance to better themselves. $20 for hope, or $20 for something that I may hang on the wall someday.

So this is my gift to myself as we enter the holiday season. I will not buy any stash. Not on Ebay, not on a sale list, not from a shop. Any shop. Even if they have a discount or a sale, or awesome freebies. And that is going to include buying any kind of supplies. I have floss and needles and fabrics, and UFOs and kits enough to keep me busy and out of the craft store. And, when I see something that I really really want, I will donate the price to a charity. The charts will still be around in January, as will the floss and fabric, if I still want them and I'll have something way better than a new stitching gadget.

Oops packs

Oops packs can be purchased here . You do have to do a control+F move for them, but they are there, and she had SUPERFAST shipping. I started buying them at the CATS shows a couple years ago, and they really are fun. WAY better than a chart grab bag. And Jo is really nice. I actually got introduced to her at last year's CATS by my friend, Chris. Apparently, a lot of people thought I was invisible, but now I've been introduced, and I am not.

I have yet to use these threads. But, I mean, with all the dyers who aren't in business, and how pretty the threads are, it's more fun to just have them and keep them, LOL. But they will be pretty in my Quaker Seasons. I am picking out what I want to use. And I may break down and mix silks and cottons. This is a huge step for me, LOL.

A tale of two fibers

I came home last night to find my Oops packs had been delivered. Fantastic service from Dinky Dyes and it was great to see that so much had been crammed in that bag for $10. Probably 15 skeins of floss in each bag, and in some gorgeous colors. Since one was for my Secret Sister, I had Mom choose one and we put it away til Christmas. I spent a good time fingering it and planning what to do with it.

Then I pulled out Treaty fairy. She is almost finished, and is so pretty. However, (ain't there always a "however"?), because I followed the magazine instructions and stitched her with two strands of Kreinek, I don't have enough green braid. Crap crap crap crap! I can't go back and pick it all out and put it back in with one strand, and that irks me. Now I have to go pick up another package of the braid when I take my ornament over to my LNS on Friday to get it finished, and I won't get it all done in time to have her finished on Halloween, not with going over to Baltimore, then going up to SO's house and getting all the candy ready, and taking care of the boys--they have to have their playtime outside, and their dinner, and be inside and away before the kids start trick or treating, because they'll scare little kids (well, not so much the little kids, most little kids see a dog, and it's . . . a dog, and the boys aren't intimidating looking, unless wagging tails and kisses intimidate you, but adults see that they're pitty bulls and think they are savage killers), and the older kids in the neighborhood might mess with them, and that would upset me a great deal. But I'll figure it out. She'll get done. I guess it would have not irked me so much if, knowing they were putting in there to use two strands, the magazine had said we'd need two spools. Not every craft store carries Kreiniks. It's not a tiny thing to ask a person to purchase.

A long weekend

We had the worst weekend. Both SO and I have been nose-sick for the better part of a week and a half, but SO got stomach sick yesterday. We were supposed to run into town to do some errands, and he got to playing around with my car and the boys--they're starting to recognize my car as "ooh, that's Rachel's car," but then their Daddy in it, and he honked the horn at them, and they were confused in their own special way, and then they were happy dancing because Daddy was playing with them, and he got sick. So I was off to run errands on my own--it's funny how men never seem to think that wrasseling a huge back of dog food when you're short is a big accomplishment, but the boys were suitably impressed when I returned home, and happy danced with me. But he was dog-sick. I didn't feel so hot either, and worried we had eaten something bad, but I feel better, and he was sick all afternoon, and into the evening. We both woke up at 4 AM and he was still sick, so I stayed up to rub his back til he fell asleep again.

We did have a bit of a horror movie marathon this weekend. We saw The Hills Have Eyes, The Birds, and The Shining. I liked everything but The Shining--Jack Nicholson went nutcakes just a little too quick in the movie, versus the book. I mean, come on, it didn't snow til December, he could have warded off cabin fever by going for a walk in the woods. Obviously, only that one murder had taken place, the other caretakers managed to find something to do to pass the time. And I wouldn't lock myself up in any kind of building with someone looking like Jack. I'm sorry, he is scary. The Hills Have Eyes is just another example of why you should never be condescending to locals when travelling. Or go travelling in the desert. Anywhere. Though I did think to myself, the whole incident could have been avoided had they just had OnStar. I just loved the Birds. SO watched it with me for a while, but it interfered with football, so the next time he got sick, he just watched it on the TV upstairs.

I finished my little Blackbird freebie sampler. It's really really pretty. I am pleased with it. I thought about starting "Autumn Leaves", but I want to get Halloween Fairy finished by Halloween, so I am working on that. It's going pretty quick now, just one pumpkin and some backstitching and the beading to do. I'm off on Halloween, so she should be finished by then. Then geisha is getting finished, so I get her framed for SO for Christmas.

We're trying to cut back on our spending, and I am supposed to be finishing all these WIPs and UFOs. SO has decided that we are not cutting the heat on unless we absolutely have to. I need to finish my Hummingbird Trellis afghan, so I can foresee long periods of winter afternoons spent under that afghan, keeping warm while stitching on it, LOL.

Happy Dance with me

Longtime followers of this blog may remember how I misplaced my kitted up PS Autumn Winds. I had kitted it with Vikki Clayton silks, and I loved it, so this was a pretty worrisome loss for me. I figured I hadn't truly "lost" it, I figured I just stuck it in a box, and it would turn up.

Well, y'all, it did.

I was getting ready for bed last night, and I opened my painted chest of WIPs, and it was in there. I don't know how it got there. I have looked in that chest several times for it, and it was not there. I assure you, it was not in there. That was the first place I looked, and it was not there.

The twins were on the bed and they watched me Snoopy-style happy dance. I assure you, they were impressed. Jazz hands played a prominent role. I think a pas-de-chat occurred, perhaps a tour jete, I'm not sure. I was in a whir of cold-induced haze, joy that I had managed to fix my error of the previous evening, and incredulity that I had found this chart.

I'm cuddling it now. I may fondle silks at lunch.

I did break down and bought some Oops packs from Dinky Dyes. One is for my Secret Sister--I love grab bags, and these are so fun to open, such a nice mix of perles and silks and cottons. The threads I bought for myself are from the animals for my birthday; they apologized for not going all out and ordering from England, as is their usual way of purchasing my birthday presents, but they said times were hard on the boulevard, and the companion animal field is not a particularly lucrative one financially, so these were all they could get. Which is fine, I like em just fine. But I can't open them til my birthday. Lets see if I hold out that long.

Cue the violins

I should know better than to try to stitch when I am taking cold medicine, right?

Especially one that is mostly alcohol, right?

Well, I didn't. And it bit me in the butt.

I was making such good progress on my freebie. I thought, "This is not so bad. I must be only moderately high, because I can do this." Then last night, when I was feeling moderately better, I sat down to watch Ghost Hunters and stitch, and realized I was off. I had counted wrong. FRACK FRACK FRACK! So I spent most of the show, which was a particularly good one, frogging. I was so mad at myself.

Maybe I should just put my stitching down til I feel better. I do feel scads better this morning. I am not saying the Nyquil helped that much. It at least didn't help me sleep any better, because it took a while for me to fall asleep last night, but this cold doesn't seem to be lasting as heinously long for me as some of my other colds. I certainly don't think I got it as bad as SO had it--he looked like death warmed over whereas I just look like I had a really fun night at the bar.