Getting out of Dodge ~

 

Just a quickie here.  Since my son's flight home was cancelled at Christmas, I am making a quick trip to the "city that never sleeps".  I am flying Spirit.  ARGH!  I could not get in to my account this morning to check in.  I have reset the password twice and still no luck.  I do not look forward to contacting them.  

I am not checking a bag.  Not even a carry on.  I will just pack the little under the seat bag.  I need to pack very judiciously so there will be room for a pumpkin roll 😁  Thankfully I am pretty low maintenance so don't need much for just a few days.  Have I started to pack?  Of course not!

Molly continues to improve.  She is standing and walking a bit more.  Not as good as before she went to the puppy hospital, but better.  It is just heartbreaking to see her fall down or drag herself across the floor, but she doesn't want to be out of my sight.

She looks so sad in this picture!

Her grey face just melts my 💓

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Hooky Stuff ~

 

I have been hooking a bit ~ and finally have something to show.

I finished my little heart mat and it should have arrived at its destination today.

Next month, I am taking a needle felting class and before class we need to have an small mat hooked, about 8" x 8", in black and white.  Hooked in any design we chose.  This is my version of black and white.  I just can't hook with white.  At class we will needle felt a puffy heart to it.  Not really my style, but a good friend is teaching it.

And finally, the progress I made on the guild raffle rug.  I had hoped to have more hooked.  I will have it a couple more days before it is passed on to the next hooker.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

OH NO Second ~

Have you ever had an oh no second, when as soon as you finished doing something you cried "oh no!"?  Today I had one 😝  So I am giving Miss Molly her afternoon anti-seizure med.  I set the pill on the counter with the intention of going to the fridge to get a little cream cheese ~ the magic potion that has her gobble down her pill.  The next thing is my oh no second.  I picked up the pill, took a swig of diet Coke and swallowed it.  I don't think it had even made its way to my stomach when I realized what I had done.  So I figure I should be just fine.  The med - which is also a human med - is for a 15# dog so I don't need to worry, right?  Well, for about a half hour I thought and thought about it and decided the smart thing would be to call the poison help line just to be reassured all is well.  I had the sweetest poison control rep.  She took my information, asked my age (Gulp!  I assured her I did not have dementia), how much I weighed and what prescription meds I was on.  Then she tells me that is not uncommon.  I say "you mean I am not the only one who has done that?".  Thankfully it is a human med and not just for animals.  Then she asks how I feel, and I reply, "STUPID"!!!

My new decorating style is "yoga mats".  For a long time I have contemplated getting some to put on the hardwood floor and kitchen linoleum to allow Molly traction on smooth surfaces.  I finally broke down and got several.  And then today, Molly actually started walking a little before falling over.  I am hoping this helps her regain some strength in her hind legs.  Please think good thoughts and keep her in your prayers.

Other than the bitter cold snap we had at Christmas, it has been a very mild winter.  I think today is only the second day we have had any measurable snow.  It was such a pretty snow ~ the kind where each flake sticks to every blade of grass and twig.  Plus about 32* with absolutely no wind.  The downside was that it curtailed my plans for the antique flea market about an hour from home.  I got about halfway there before the snow started and since it quickly was sticking to the road, I turned around and came back home.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Miss Molly Update ~

Just a quick little update on Miss Molly.  I truly appreciate all the concern.  Blog friends are the best.

Overall, she is doing okay.  No seizures since early last Friday.  Her legs still are really bad and she can barely stand or walk more than a few steps.  I took her back to the emergency clinic on Tuesday.  She hadn't pooped in 2+ days (I know, TMI 😁) and $368 later I knew there was no blockage which was good news.  Things still are not "normal" but my regular vet is back in town and I just spoke with her and she says not to be concerned.  Fingers crossed that Molly continues to improve.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Miss Molly ~

My poor baby.  On Thursday, she had a seizure, the first since I adopted her almost three and a half years ago.  I rushed her to the vet where she had more.  They sedated her, intubated her and God only know what else.  They said I could take her home, but if she had another to take her immediately to the emergency vet clinic.  Sadly, within the hour she was rushed there.  They said sudden seizures are not uncommon in older dogs.  She is 12ish.  She spent 2 days in ICU.  Here she is one of the times I visited her.  She looks good in the picture but she was highly drugged 😢

As I stated previously, Molly has pug myelopathy, hence the funny way she sits.  Her back legs are weak and they go out from under her often, especially on smooth surfaces.

She is now home.  They cannot determine what caused the seizures, but thankfully has not had one in two and a half days.  She came home on a boatload of meds (7) and two of them may be forever.  I had to make out a spreadsheet to keep them all straight.  1/2 pill, whole pill, 1, 2 or 3 times a day, certain ones with food, etc.   Argh!  After having been sedated/crated (I never crated her) for two days, she has no strength in her legs and can barely walk.  Hopefully she will regain the use of them.  Please keep her in your prayers!

I finished hooking my heart.  Now on to the dreaded binding, but it being small should not be too bad.  I would like to get it mailed off in a few days.

This just absolutely cracked me up!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

So Gloomy ~

The house looks so gloomy with many hundreds of little white lights no longer brightening up the home.  I keep silicone candle lights in some of the windows and others sitting on tables, on the bathroom vanity, etc., year round, but it is not the same.  In a couple weeks it will all look "normal" again.

All of the Christmas stuff has been hauled up two flights of stairs to the attic except for the big tree and the tinsel tree that half died . . . oh, and one other 3' one.  But . . . I keep finding things I missed!  Next task is to re-decorate, a major undertaking.  Half the battle is figuring out where I put everything.  Things were stored in the attic, in the basement, in cupboards and a couple bowls of stone fruit are even sitting under a bed 😬

Little progress has been made on the raffle rug, but I am also hooking a small heart mat to gift to a friend's daughter. For you non-hookers, the row with the alternating colors is a technique called beading.  I love the look but have only done it a few times and find it very cumbersome.  With this being such a small piece (approximately 10" x 11") I will persevere.

Not much else is happening in my little corner of the world.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Raffle Rug Confusion ~

I am still working a bit on the Crooked River raffle rug and will be until the meeting later in the month.  I guess I wasn't too clear about the rug.  There is only one rug being worked on and upon completion, the guild will be selling raffle tickets.  I will post ticket purchase information when the time comes, hopefully in April.  One lucky winner will be chosen at our hook in this September.

Progress so far.  I am almost done with the pumpkins and will work on the center leaves next.

Well . . . tinsel tree #2 has decided to have a light malfunction.  I am not a happy camper, but am thankful it waited until today.  I don't know if anyone has ever had luck getting a light strand to work again.  I know I have not.  I need to make myself a note . . . and hopefully remember where I put the note . . . to deal with this before next Christmas.  Damn!

I know I ask the question every year.  Am I undecorating or dedecorating?  Well spell check doesn't like dedecorating so I guess I am undecorating 😁.  Thankfully the decorations come down much more quickly than they go up, but I have a loooong way to go.  Once everything is boxed, the trips to the attic begin once again.  Then I will need to figure out where I put the stuff that is normally out . . . and the redecorating will begin.  Why am I my own worst enemy?

Time to pack up more Santas.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Floss Chaos ~

In the 80's, I was a huge counted cross stitch aficionada.  It was rare I stitched on anything other than a sampler.  My floss was all nice and organized.

Fast forward to the rare time I have stitched in the last 10 years or so.  (I also used DMC floss for what little punch needle embroidery I would do.)  I would check to see if I had the floss wound on one of these cards, but other than that, I had skeins of floss everywhere.  Total disorganization.  Many different baggies in different locations, so rather than search for the color I needed, it was easier to run to Michaels and purchase new.  So of course I have MANY duplicates.  Kind of like when I hook and it being easier to cut new wool rather than search through my worms . . . sigh.  So here is the mess trying to sort them by color number.  Oh, and I also have dozens of floss colors wound on wooden bobbins from punch needle projects, some marked with the color number, some not.  Not sure what I am going to do with those.  I am sure this is nothing compared to a "real" cross stitcher's stash of DMC (if they still use it rather than specialty threads).

I purchased this antique 2 drawer chest at least 5-6 years ago and always thought it would be perfect for  floss storage.

DSO recently made me the most wonderful dividers . . . he made a frame to that it so that it fits in the drawer but can be removed in the future without damage to the drawer.  (He's pretty handy to have around 😁.)  Now at least the floss is organized by color number.

I'm sure "real" cross stitchers have much better ways to store their floss, but this will work for me!

This cracked me up!  English has to be such a hard language to master.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

At Long Last ~ Hook in Hand

It has probably 5-6 weeks since I have pulled a loop.  I have 3 largish (for me) rugs in various stages of completion, but for whatever reason, could not make myself work on them.  Since I can't sit and not do some type of handwork, I worked on a couple little cross stitch pieces.  Sweet Pineberry Lane designs.  I found a scrap of 26 count linen so these worked up rather large but will make sweet little pinkeeps if I ever get around to finally finishing them.  (They are both hooked on the same piece of linen.  Photos taken in the same spot with the same lighting, but the linen color is showing differently ???)

Crooked River Rug Hooking guild hooks a rug each year to raffle as a fundraiser at our annual fall hook in.  I have never worked on the raffle rug before, but absolutely love the rug chosen this year.  It is a Therese Shick design sold by the Wool'n Gardener, titled Four Patch Pumpkins.  The finished size will be approximately 30" x 30".  Dear friend Heidi (who started the guild) did the color planning and the start of the hooking.

Here is the progress I have made so far.  It is a fun one to hook.

Normally, once January 1 rolls around, I am most anxious to get the decorations put away and the house back to its usual state.  This year is the exception.  I have not taken a thing down and have decided to wait until Old Christmas, then I will probably be a mad woman trying to get it finished.  Thankfully it comes down much more quickly than it goes up.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊 

Lauren