Spring!

Our garden will be expanded this year-- almost doubled from last year.  Quite excited.  Nothing like fresh vegetables.   I love gardening.  I really do.  This year we started early with seeds-- bought them a few weeks ago, planted and have been waiting patiently for our plants to sprout. 

When originally discussing what we'd plant, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans and peas topped the list.  The girls wanted us to grow broccoli and cauliflower (something I've never tried growing-- there's a first time for everything, right???) as well as spinach.  We've got some squash and cucumbers planted also.

Goals for the garden:  salsa!  We plow through nearly a jar a week (sometimes more) and have decimated the stash of salsa we've canned from last year.  I also hope to do some pickling again this year.  Really enjoyed it the last time I did (and apparently my pickles turned out well).  If we have excess of other vegetables, we might can or freeze them, too. 

 Broccoli

Cauliflower

Peas

 Some more peas (I love the way they look when they sprout-- call me weird... while taking these pictures I had flashbacks of the plant biology class I took... Hooray for dicotyledons!)

 The girls wanted to grow Sunflowers... here's hoping the squirrels will leave them alone!

Poly-deficiency

I like to think that I understand dogs.  Their behaviors often follow a 'cause and effect' kind of relationship.  Cats, however, play by a different rule game alltogether and are in the realm of things I'll never fully understand (also in this realm: car mechanics, organic chemistry, and losing socks to the dryer...)

Oliver is our resident feline.  Since the canine invasion, his life has been reduced to finding dog-proof areas to hide (typically buried in closets or under blankets) and almost nightly games of 'chase the hairtie down the hallway.'  This little guy has some odd habits.  He enjoys pestering people while in the bathroom, drinking from the toilet, sitting on the scale, loves lapping up water from the shower and has an obsession with plastic. 

Oliver- caught in the act

We joke that the plastic-licker is poly-deficient and therefore requires additional intake of some form of polymers.

Why do cats do that?  Is there any science behind the feline plastic-lickers of the world?  I've not yet found any factual explanation for this behavior-- only a few hypotheses.  These include the thought that there might be a slight odor in the plastic that is simply irresistible to cats, that cats like the texture, or just an oral compulsive behavior....

...the world may never know.

House Guests

One of the joys of fostering dogs is having the opportunity to hear positive feedback from the great people that adopt the dogs I've cared for.  Usually it comes in the form of pictures, an e-mail or Christmas card... but this week, we've been blessed with the opportunity to puppy-sit. 

Sidney, Sammie, Junior and Maggie

The two Yorkies on the left are our special guests that arrived today.  Sammie has recently celebrated her one year adoption anniversary :)  She has come a long way-- from being a scrawny little pup that had some severe dental issues (that was next in line for euthanasia at a shelter) to a happy, healthy dog that is extremely loved.

If Only It Were This Simple...

For the last post, I was flipping through my folder of pictures and stumbled upon these pictures from our trip to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. 

Somehow I think the anatomy is a bit more complex than the diagram shows....

Wound-up Wednesday

Lately I've been trying to finish up a lot of projects before beginning new ones. Hopefully I'll get the chance to update this with new and exciting completed projects weekly, but we'll see. There's a lot that I've made this winter that I haven't taken pictures of...

 Scrap Scarves

 This is the first pattern I've bought in a long while-- Snowdrops Scarf by S-type Creative.  Saw it at a local yarn store and fell in love with the pattern.  Still have a few rows to go, but hopefully it'll be done soon.  You can't really see the pattern too well with the blue yarn, but it's definitely unique.

 First handmade yarn ever-- I made it into a small potholder  (was so anxious to get a chance to actually use the yarn I had made)

 Potholder #2 from second hand-spun yarn.

Working on granny squares for a charity blanket.  I've completed a stack of them and have found this to be a good use of all that spare yarn I've got sitting around.

My big mission for this upcoming year is to get better with varying stitches and to actually count stitches.  Yes, I know.  It's almost a sin in the knitting/crochetting world to not count stitches-- to this day my Grandma--the one 'responsible' for me being addicted to yarn crafts--doesn't understand how I've made anything decent-looking without counting.  For me, it's more centered around visual inspection and making sure it 'looks right' rather than counting.

I Did It!

YARN!  First yarn spun on the spinning wheel (the wheel makes me smile... lots of alterations from its original with a bungee strap scotch brake... kind of like 1800's meets MacGyver....)-- it's a bit of alpaca that I had received from the incredibly creative woman that taught me to use a drop spindle.  I had thanked her for the alpaca fiber and told her she really didn't need to-- to which she replied that what she was doing is similar to what a crack dealer does.... start you off with enough to get you hooked.... 

Seems like it's worked... I now am on the "oooh... can I spin that?" kick.  Prime example: we watched Amazing Race the other night.... I was told that we couldn't have a yak within city limits.  Someday I tell you... someday... 

Just in Time for Easter....

Yesterday was a day full of errands. Got a new 'orthopedic' bed for Maggie. Simply put, it's eggshell foam wrapped in a fuzzy liner... how a brand company can consider that orthopedic, the world may never know. In theory, it should feel better for her to lay on instead of the floor... but... well... neurotic dog is terrified of it and lays next to it. We've tried convincing her to get on the bed using treats with limited success.

Stuffed hedgehog #3 came home and upon introduction received a face-lift (kid you not, Junior had the little bugger fo 5 minutes and managed to rip its nose off). Stuffed animals don't need noses anyway, right?

And, the highlight of yesterday, we got the rabbits! They're both about 1 year old jersey wooly rabbits. I'm definitely in love with these two. Since they're wooler rabbits, we figured what better names than Knit (the sable buck) and Purl (the pointed white doe).

Knit (above) and Purl (below)

I have a lot to learn about lagomorphs. They've settled in and have survived their first grooming, manicures and pedicures. I'm uncertain of appropriate length for rabbit nails, but I'm sure that the talons they came with are on the long side.
From previous experiences with rabbits, these guys are extremely easy to work with. I remember the two we had when growing up-- Oreo and "Bunnicula" (for the life of me, I can't remember the actual name of the second rabbit-- only that we called it "Bunnicula"). They weren't friendly and because of that, I never really had positive rabbit experiences (c'mon, when you have to put work gloves on to even attempt to handle them, as a kid, it isn't fun). Here's hoping that Knit and Purl will lead to a 'hoppier' experience.