September

My late friend was fond of old cupboards, and this was one of her favorites.  Her daughter gave it to me, I just had to go fetch it.

It's going to live on my inside porch, and store things that don't mind getting cold.

At the same time, I picked up this old beauty, that I gave my daughter a couple of years ago.  It was still sitting in her garage, and she didn't have any place for it.  So it came home.


It's very heavy, and it's not going anywhere again.  In fact, it will be a part of the estate I leave behind, and someone else can think about moving it.

Lois and I have lugged on it twice, and that's two times too many.

Willie has been here a month,   I think he feels pretty much at home.

 Though I will admit, that there have been moments when I asked myself WTH was I thinking?????


Some of his issues are just age related, I hope, and some are related to the lousy start he got in life.
Someone asked me WHY I adopted him in the first place.

Well, to be honest, I didn't think I was doing enough.  And that thought kept reoccurring, and I couldn't shake the feelings of guilt that came with it.
Here I am, with a huge house, and a huge fenced in dog yard, and I have one dog; when there are so many languishing in shelters.
And I'm home, most of the time.  A dog's dream.

Then I saw Willie, not once, or twice, but three times.

I just couldn't leave him there another minute.   It was a total gut reaction.

"Mom, why is she in my crate???"

So I got the prong collar, which is working well.  Eventually, maybe he can graduate to a harness, but not now.
We also bought a crate, my FIRST ever, for those times when we have to leave, and honestly, I don't trust him not to have an anxiety attack and do some damage.  We only leave him in it for an hour, or an hour and a half, and he's doing well with it.

The most annoying thing about him is his reactivity on a leash.   Took him to the vet the other day, and at the mere sight of another dog, he lunged, and barked, and howled, and cried.   He acted deranged.  I tried to calm him down, but it was nearly impossible.

And yet, he went to doggie day care today, and he plays with a whole gang of dogs.....no problem.
I don't get it.

On the other side, he is the most lovable creature on earth.   He loves Naya, he loves kids, he loves everyone he meets.

He plays hard, and then he crashes.
Like a kid.

He is annoying, and dear.
What a combination.

Putting together some more clothes for our last two events....one next weekend, and one in November.

 
This is a Mickey cape.

 A long ruana

And a shorter one.

I am loving the weather........in the 70's most of the time during the day, and down to the 40's at night.

Heaven.

I will be glad when the frost kills the ragweed though, it is not my friend, and makes my headache so much worse.

I guess you just can't have it all.

This and that

I go through phases.  One of them is a reading phase........I read book after book, as L would say, I'm a serial reader.  Like her.

Until I'm not.   Then I take a break, for no particular reason, for a few weeks, then I get the bug again.

Here are two I just read........very good reads, both of them.

So you all know I'm a tea-aholic.  It's true.
I really am.  I blame it on my English mother.

This shawl was not here long.   I think I sell more things on FB, than I do on my web site.
Makes me wonder sometimes why I still keep it.

One of my favorite things, Cassoulet beans, from Rancho Gordo.

First some onions and garlic, celery and carrots, then the presoaked beans, and some vegetable, or chicken, broth, and cook until tender.  Simple.
So. Very.  Delicious.


My little grandson, who has my heart, along with his sister.

A good friend took L and I to lunch the other day.........we sat on the deck overlooking the Mettowee.

 
Pictures out of order, that's just how I'm feeling today.

It's been an interesting week.

These two are pals, he is good for her, gets her moving, and she is good for him, she settles him.

They share their beds, and their food dishes, and me.

The other day, we went to Maine, for a quick overnight.  I was on a yarn buying mission.

It was a troublesome trip, with my husband almost losing consciousness while he was driving,
me driving to the nearest McDonald's, rushing in to demand orange juice, practically pouring it down his throat.........trying to get it done, while he was conscious, because after that, it's a mad dash to the nearest ER.

His recovery is as quick and remarkable, as is his decline.   Because his kidneys are not working correctly, insulin is not processed the way you would expect.......and to be honest, you can not really have any expectations at all.

Finally, we got to Maine, and I had wine with lunch.  I figured I deserved it.

Later, while he was napping, I sat and enjoyed the breeze by the ocean, and had my own pity party.

Times like this, I miss my mother.

She always listened better than anyone else.

She would always say, "It's going to be O.K."   And I always believed her.

Naya and Willie may be buddies, but they are very different.

Naya is very food oriented, she loves attention, but she can be diverted with food.

Not Willie.   There is no food item that will lure him away from being loved.

He loves everyone, and he expects to be loved pretty much all the time.

My dear, sweet, adorable friend Alice stopped by........and Willie was smitten.

Do you blame him?

Every morning, these two go out and race around the yard for 20 minutes, it's become their routine.

And then they sleep.

I have always been fearful that if Naya got loose somehow, she would run off, and get lost.

Yesterday, on a walk in the fields, I stepped in a hole, and fell hard.

As I started to get up, I realized that Willie's leash was still on my arm, and Naya was running off up ahead, loose.

My worst nightmare.

I called to her, she turned.

I said, "Come, Naya."

And she did.

so, see.  sometimes things do turn out ok.

S is for September OR for Settling

Yes, Willie does seem to be settling in.
It's a adjustment for everyone, but I think he is beginning to believe that it's real.

And that's half the battle, isn't it??

And hallelujah, it's September!   Summer is over, and I don't mind one bit.  It's been too hot, and WAY too humid.  I love the autumn, with its cooler weather, beautiful colors, and slower pace.

Time to start making soup again.

Four more weeks until the last actual show we are doing..........a lovely show in a small Vermont village, at the perfect time of year.

I finished the silk warp on the AVL.......it wasn't a problem at all.   I quite enjoyed it.

I had never dyed silk before, and contrary to all the instructions out there, I used MX Reactive dyes, and it turned out just fine.

This last bit was only long enough for a shawl.

When I was uploading these photos, I accidentally clicked on this one, of me and Bubbalee just last year.

I miss her, she was the girl in charge.

So I've accumulated a stack of fabric collages, and now I'm trying to decide what to 

do with them.

I can only make so many greeting cards.

I had thought of selling each of them as they are, for someone to do whatever

they wanted with them.

I would kind of like to make a wall hanging, or two.  I am stuck on deciding what I would use for "grids" to separate them.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Here they are, in no special order.

I could just keep making them, and stacking them up.  I enjoy the process that much.
But I just keep thinking that I should have a plan.
And I don't.



I am very glad that I did not buy a new couch when I was shopping for one a couple of months ago.

Because this bird brain loves to make a special place for himself out of it.

Like I said, he's settling in nicely.

Ay yi yi