Whew, that was some train ride!!

HAhaha, i have not been on here in a while!
Actually, i had forgotten my password. I was leaving a comment on someones blog earlier though, and BAM, there it was. It just flowed out of my brain and onto the keyboard.
So, small update. Henry had surgery two weeks ago, not to get too personal (he would be mortified), but he had his anal glands removed. Awful surgery, dirty, and rough recovery. BUT, he is recovered, and today we go and get the stitches out. This surgery followed months of trouble with his hiney, and when the vet felt a "density" inside one of the glands, the decision was made then and there to get the thing OUT of him. Whew, glad that is over with.

I am knitting away on a WONDERFUL sweater. I am using my Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed, finally. Have had this stuff since 2005, and it has almost become SEVERAL sweaters. I am knitting the neck down v-neck cardi from Knitting Pure and Simple. Love it! I am a little concerned i will not have enough yarn, so may need to crop the sleeves a bit, which is fine with me. I live in summer-sweater-country, so a cropped cardi will get plenty of use in this neck of the woods.

Speaking of summer...went to the Flower and Garden show...my garden gets to have some Dinnerplate dahlias this year...wooowhooo, and a pineapple lily or two. Cannot wait. But have to wait, until mid to late May to put them in the ground. Still snow on the ground here, but rain is on the way on friday!!

Train Ride

We took a train ride a few weeks ago with some good friends up in the Adirondacks. The train was supposed to give us a great view of the newly emerging fall color (now it is in full swing, possibly even past peak in a lot of areas), but kind of hard to do when the windows of the train were not air-tight, which resulted in foggy, ucky windows!!

The train was kind of neat though, and who does not like a little train ride every now and then?

Really though, it was a bit of a snoozer! Great idea, but they just are not quite there yet! I do hear that one region (the Utica train?) offers a dinner train tour. I think i could get on board with that idea.

Please send a good thought/prayer/white light or whatever it is that works for you to my good friend at Purlin' Goldens. Her heart dog is going through surgery this morning on what the vet fears may be the "C" word.

I hate when my dear friends go through any kind of stress with their pups. We finally have Miss G's Beau back onto the road to recovery, and now sweet Sunny is having problems. So hard when they are not perfect, they give us so much.

Some knitting, and Fred's Halloween costume

I guess Fred has decided what he wants to go as for Halloween! I walked into the living room the other day, and this is what greeted me. Such a clown hound! I told him to "stay", as i ran and grabbed the camera.

And look! Knitting!! I have had this Lornas Laces Black Watch Shepherd Sock yarn for ages now. I bought it when i thought i would like thick yarn socks. I knit one pair, and realized that i did not like the way the thicker yarn felt on my footsies. But it sure is great scarf yarn!! I have a knit a couple of scarves with this yarn, and it is uber soft. The multidirectional scarf is kind of vanilla, i know...but, i love the way the edges of it never curl. The pattern also is a great way to show off the multicolored yarn. I have knit up this pattern with Noro Kochoran, and Berroco something or other...i cannot remember the name of the yarn, and several others. In fact...Miss G has a scarf that i knit her in this pattern a loooong time ago! I guess this could be considered my go-to scarf pattern. Excellent car knitting, which i plan on doing this weekend as we head into the Adirondacks for a little fall color!

Know Your Boobs!!

Well, October came barreling in with some sad news for me. A life long family friend, and one of my favorite childhood babysitters, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Specifically, invasive lobular carcinoma. I am completely shocked, and saddened, but hopeful that she will become one of the survivors. I was talking with my dad on the phone last night, and crying a little, and he said "boy, it takes a strong woman to fight this, and she is one." I could not have said it better myself, because she really is a strong woman. She is a few years older than me, and someone that everyone looked up to in our neighborhood. Seriously, that girl who just was a ray of sunshine to be around, and could do ANYTHING. She was Homecoming Queen, and a cheerleader in high school, and is now a local news anchor/reporter in my home city.
Kind of fitting that i heard this news on the first day of October, which just so happens to be Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One thing that my friend said (in an article that is published on her news channels website) is to "know your boobs". Something that ALL women need to be reminded of. We all KNOW we are supposed to do our monthly self-exams, but how many of us actually do? I know i rarely even think about it. My friend did them so infrequently that she did not even feel her tumor...she SAW it. Scary. It had been there for long enough to be visible, before she ever even felt it.
So, the message this month is to spread the word. KNOW YOUR BOOBS. Save The Ta-Tas!!
Empower yourselves, and protect yourselves.

Help!! Need a shawl for a formal!!

Ok...this idea is kind of hijacked from Chan's post, and since i have TWO readers, :o), i probably will not get much advice here...but my two readers ARE wonderful...so i am betting they can steer me in the right direction.

We have a formal coming up in December, and i cannot find my trusty black pashmina shawl that I usually wear to the formals. Have turned the house practically upside down looking for this stinking thing, and all i can come up with is that it got left at a restaurant or movie theatre.

So, my dress is black. always black...i just do not deviate from that, as i have all the necessary accessories for black dresses. When you have three to four of these things to go to a year, you learn to economize!
The spouse is an Engineer, so that means Engineer RED. So...the shawl can be red, or black. Preferably black though. I live in a FRIGID climate, so it needs to be warm...but not crazy warm. They do heat the buildings here. And, it needs to be formal, so nothing too chunky.
Oh, and i have never knit lace before, but i am not scared to knit it either.

Mesmerized by the Spinning, among other things

A couple of weeks ago we went to the State Fair. As far as State Fairs go, in my humble opinion i do not think that ANY fair can beat the Western Washington Fair at Puyallup. Aside from the fact that MY MOTHERS Norwegian sweater that she knit for my niece won a BLUE RIBBON (yay Mom!!!) this year, the fair has EVERYTHING that a fair should have. Scones (my personal fave, and a necessity for a successful fair), rides, cows, cow pies (big cookies), hottubs, saunas, camping trailers, food (ribs, yum!), amazing flower, and vegetable displays...and i mean AMAZING. If you want to see some cool stuff done with veg, DO THE PUYALLUP!!
Ok, but back to the New York State Fair. It is the first fair that i have been to outside of my home state that can come close to being half as good. We try to visit all the state fairs, of the states that we have lived in, but they usually fall pretty miserably flat, and leave us deeply disappointed.
New York is big on dairy, and let me tell you, there were some CUTE cows at this fair. Guernseys are my personal fave, and these ones did not disappoint. There was a newborn calf that i just wanted to pick up and snug. So sweet.
Ok...on to the spinning. In one of the pioneer houses, i spotted a gal in the corner working away at the spinning wheel. Being a knitter, it was like a drug addict being drawn in by a crack display. So mesmerizing to just sit and watch her work. And i just love to talk to fellow knitters. She told me all about her little fiber farm, and her sheepies. One of my dreams for the far off future is to retire away to a little hobby fiber farm, and spend the day with my alpacas, sheep, and goats...and of course dogs!

Gotta Love It....

....when people come to my house, and then tell me how to properly train dogs, how dogs SHOULD behave, and how to feed them properly so that they do not beg.
We had a dinner party on Sunday, and two of my guests did just this. How sweet, no? And so totally helpful. i REALLY appreciated it!
I just smile and nod, and secretly laugh to myself. Funny how all the people who do this, do NOT, nor have they EVER....been owned by Vizlsas! usually...they own, or have owned a Labrador. You know...America's most popular, and pretty much most easily trainable dog. Well, aside from the need to eat anything not strapped down. Nothing against labs, i love them. Had two of them when i was younger, and they are wonderful. But they are not exactly brain-busters to train.
The thing about my dogs...i train them to the point that "I" want them trained. I do not mind when Fred jumps on me. I actually train him to do it. I like it, and it is a very "Vizsla" thing to do...and besides, if he did not jump on me, how else would he give chin nibbies? He learned that one from his mama, so it is pretty much in his blood!
My dogs got into a spat at one point when the first people (among them, the advice-givers) were arriving. Anyone who lives in a multiple dog household knows that SOMETIMES, despite their excellent behavior most of the time, dogs will act like, well....dogs. Animals, you know? Well, apparently, that is just not acceptable behavior, as my friend pointed out! It is NEVER ok for them to act like that.
Ok....smile and nod. Give him a glass of wine, and talk about the weather.
:o)

No knitting going on, which is beginning to bother me. It is in the air though....