If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves. ~ Maria Edgeworth
The red sock blank is making lovely socks. They are flying off the needles. I turned the heels Saturday night.
Over the weekend Milo participated in the Sleeping Olympics.
One year ago today I spotted this at the Humane Society.
I cannot believe it’s been a year already. I’ve had so much fun getting to know Luka.
Well, most of it has been fun. That day last summer when I arrived home from work and discovered he’d shredded 15 rolls of toilet paper and 5 rolls of paper towels was definitely not fun (at least not for me).
Happy anniversary, buddy.
Life is the art of drawing without an eraser. ~ John W. Gardner
Spring is on its way to this part of the world and that means more time outside.
The dogs and I went to the park this weekend. The main activity of the day was running.
There was running in the woods.
And running in the fields.
Both dogs enjoyed exploring.
I love the look on Sadie’s face in this picture.
And in this one.
Luka continued his love affair with water.
At one point he became a bit obsessed with a tennis ball.
Where was Sadie while Luka was frolicking in the stream? She was catching a quick nap in the sunshine.
All of the park activity led to Sadie’s second favorite pastime….holding down the couch.
Sometimes Luka helps Sadie hold down the couch.
Luka is clearly not as committed as Sadie is, though. He’s been busy making friends with his new brother. (Notice how Milo’s paw is ready to bat Luka if he gets too close.)
Speaking of Milo, I don’t believe I’ve adequately demonstrated just how adorable he can be.
Here’s something random I noticed the other night.
Sadie is not a dainty girl, but her paw is dwarfed by Luka’s paw.
Finally, some knitting…the current pair of socks.
A person who has never owned a dog has missed a wonderful part of life. ~ Bob Barker
Three years ago today a lovable blonde entered my life.
I’ll never be the same.
Happy anniversary, Sadie!
Follow the grain in your own wood. ~Howard Thurman
We’ve had arctic cold around here lately so the dogs and I haven’t gone on any adventures. We can barely go on our daily walks. All I have to post today is a mish mash of pictures.
Sadie doing what she does best (holding down the couch).
Photogenic Luka.
Mister No Name continues the cuteness.
The cats have become friends and are now hanging out together.
Finally, a new pair of socks.
Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were big things. ~ Kurt Vonnegut
The dogs and I hit the park yesterday. It wasn’t very cold, but there was a heck of a cold wind blowing. I kept my gloves on most of the time to make sure my fingers didn’t freeze. I only snapped a few pictures of the dogs.
Both dogs enjoyed the cold water. Sadie loves to take a big gulp of water and then let it trickle out of her mouth. This is very cute while outdoors (not so cute in the living room).
Luka was playing with a tennis ball and it drifted underneath the ice. He obsessively searched for it.
Sadie watched him for a bit.
Then she grew bored and settled in to wait.
This next picture isn’t the best quality but I love the expression on Sadie’s face.
And, a final thought for today:
Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories. ~ From the movie An Affair to Remember
The arctic temperatures moved out in time for the weekend and we took advantage of it. I had some errands to run and then we ended up at the dog park.
Being cooped up in the car for a couple of hours meant they were ready to run.
Once they burned off all that energy it was time to explore.
The stream has started to freeze.
Both dogs enjoy exploring the ice.
Sadie loves to eat snow.
Luka splashed in the freezing cold water.
Sadie preferred lying in it.
But not for long.
Exploring the woods is always enjoyable.
When Sadie took a break I was able to snap a nice portrait of her.
My portrait of Luka didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped.
This one is better.
All of the running was exhausting. Here’s how Luka spent the evening.
The kitties continue to (literally) sniff each other out.
And I will soon have a new pair of socks.
Finish each day & be done with it. You have done what you could. Learn from it; tomorrow is a new day. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’ve been knitting socks but the pictures are still in the camera. The socks I’m knitting are from one of my favorite sock blanks.
I love dyeing sock blanks. The problem is finding time to knit all the socks!
I have been snapping pictures with my phone so I’ll share those.
Sadie is a snuggler. She sleeps on the bed with me all night and most mornings I wake up to this.
We’re supposed to have a snow storm tonight, but for now there is only one patch of snow left in my yard. Luka is a fan of snow.
I spotted this last night.
It didn’t last long, but it’s a start. The new kitty is still without a name. I figure he will tell me his name at some point. Hopefully soon.
As always, Sadie has been excelling at holding down the couch.
She tried to nap on the floor earlier today but was plagued by an itchy nose.
Both dogs supervised me while I was eating lunch today.
Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland
What is it about getting older that makes the years fly by? I cannot believe the sun is setting on 2010.
2010 was a rather slow knitting year. Life was busy and I also had several weeks when I did not knit a stitch. I still managed to finish six pairs of socks.
My big knitting related accomplishment this year was my yarn diet. The last time I bought yarn was one year ago today. I didn’t think I’d be able to go a year without buying yarn, but I did. And, shockingly, after the first few months it wasn’t difficult. If I’m tempted by pretty yarn I just look at my stash and realize that I already own a ton of pretty yarn and don’t need more. I’m going to extend my yarn diet to 2011 and attempt to go two years without buying yarn.
Personally, my life hit rock bottom in March. That’s when I had to say a sudden goodbye to my sweet Kishka.
I miss that dog and her songs of woo every day.
Sadie lost her buddy, but other than that she had a good year in 2010.
She lost 10 more pounds (total of 28 lbs. lost) and has become a running wonder.
Sadie’s world was rocked a bit in April with the arrival of her little brother, Luka.
Sadie gets annoyed with Luka at times (he loves to play…she loves to nap…this causes conflicts), but I think she’s glad to have a partner in crime.
The summer of 2010 was the summer of adventure. For the first time since my debilitating hip/back injury I felt strong enough to hike. The dogs and I logged a lot of miles on the hiking trails.
The highlight of our hiking adventures was the discovery of a place for the dogs to swim.
I anticipate many hours spent there in the summer of 2011.
Romeo had a quiet year.
Well, it was quiet until last week. He’s accepting the (still nameless) new guy better than I anticipated.
There hasn’t been any snuggling or affection, but the hissing has stopped. I’m confident they will become friends in 2011.
My life has been such a roller coaster in recent years that I no longer try to imagine where each new year will take me. I have no idea where I’m going in 2011 but I’m looking forward to the journey.
Deal with the world the way it is, not the way you wish it was. ~ John Chambers
I have new things to blog about! (Finally.)
There is new yarn (it was a gift so my 2010 yarn diet remains intact).
I finished a pair of socks last night.
Complete details (and more pictures) are on Ravelry.
My workplace shuts down for 10 days at the end of the year so I’ve been spending a lot of time hanging out with my furry family.
I’ve found out just how much time Sadie spends sleeping on the couch.
To be fair, we are back to our regular walking/park activities (7 weeks after my ankle injury) so Sadie is getting a lot of exercise.
It’s been very mild here so Luka has to cool down when we return home from our walks.
Here he poses with his new stuffed cow.
And, I caught him sleeping with his tongue sticking out.
Finally, there is something else that’s new around here.
I would love to do a proper introduction, but the poor guy doesn’t have a name.
Ever since Parker died 3 years ago I’ve thought about getting another cat. I didn’t know how Romeo would react, though, and didn’t want to tick him off.
About 6 months ago I decided that Romeo would be okay with it and started making periodic visits to the Humane Society. Until last week, no one caught my eye. Last week this face caught my eye and (most important) he meowed at me each time I walked past him.
The new guy is around 3 years old and he was a stray. He has claws and this has been rather startling for the dogs.
Sadie approached the new cat like she approaches Romeo (slowly, with her tail wagging). However, she didn’t get the head nuzzle she was expecting. She got swatted across the face. If a dog can give a “what the hell?” look I believe that’s what she gave me when she ran to my side.
While Sadie is keeping her distance from the new guy, Luka is a slow learner. Here he is a few nights ago (moments before being swatted across the face):
The swat sent him looking for cover:
A short time later the cat went into Luka’s crate and chased him out. An hour or so later they declared a truce.
If I don’t come up with a name soon this cat is going to start answering to Orange Cat. Anyone have any cool cat names to share? I’m leaning towards a couple of names but don’t know if they fit him.
A dog owns nothing, yet is seldom dissatisfied. ~ Irish Proverb
The dogs and I returned to our favorite park this weekend. To say they were excited is an understatement.
They ran through the stream.
Luka chased Sadie up the hill.
Sadie chased Luka down the hill.
Then they circled around and Luka chased Sadie down the hill.
They ran through the woods.
Sadie explored the woods.
Luka found a tennis ball in the stream.
Something in a tree caught their attention.
Sadie kept an eye on me (I was dawdling behind).
Luka kept an eye on me, too.
There was an amazing sunset here the other night. This was the view from my front door (picture is straight out of the camera…no editing or color tweaking).
