Thursday, March 27, 2008

Happy B-Day to my baby, Easter ... and some knitting stuff too

no no no ... not the ginger one ..... the one covered in black fur. LOL, ok, for the people that know me, that wont really narrow things down, will it??!!

Our Hasia turns the big "4" today. it's hard to believe that we brought our first Dogguide foster puppy home a little less that 4 years ago. she was only 7 weeks old, and SO CUTE and so little !!! none of us realized how much this new bit of volunteering would change our lives forever. it's been an emotional experience, with us learning along with Hasia, all about puppies and what being a Dogguide was all about. I've fostered 4 puppies in total, and DD has fostered 2 more of her own, and on top of that I have 10 grand-puppies to brag about. at times, our house is absolute bedlamn at times ... but I wouldnt trade one day of it for anything .... the unconditional love they give more than makes up for the odd bit of frustration they cause or the urge to kill once in a while *LOL*.

DD and I went on our semi-annual pilgrimage to Winona to get our hair cut yesterday. DD, of course, also included a colourful dye job to the event. we're both getting shorter with each visit !! it's always great to see Carrie, and catch up ... plus I'm always able to get some knitting done while DD is in the chair. last night, I finished the final centre pattern repeat to the Annissette Wrap, and began the outside pattern. I seemed to be going thru more wool than called for, and wasn't able to knit the suggested 18 repeats of the centre pattern, but prior to the last one I completed, I felt the wrap was long enough, so adding the last repeat and then the ending pattern should be fine .... I'm hoping to get it cast-off and blocked this weekend (with the assistance of DD).

this past weekend was Easter. DD came home on Monday morning with the most beautiful bouquet of lilies. OH MY GOSH .... I cant believe how good the house smells !! as you can see, as nice as they were when I opened them, they have opened up like we couldnt believe !! have I mentioned what a thoughtful DD I have !!

We heading out to Ancaster for a quick "Easter Hello" to MIL. Hasia and Betty, both thrilled to get out visitting. (Emmett stayed home, as he had a busy weekend away with DD at her dad's ... besides, 3 large dogs is just much) MIL doesnt see the puppies as much any more so everyone enjoyed the short visit. then it was over to Hamilton for a visit and Easter dinner with my parents. as usual, the mutts got spoiled, and were fed WAY too many treats (my opinion, not theirs).

for those that have been following my knitting machine drama .... it's far from over. I was beyond the point of frustration, when it was suggested that I get my knitting machine tuned-up. a brilliant suggestion, it was in desparate need. so off I trucked, knitting machine & related bits, to Hamilton to meet Pat from Cardiknits. she's a wonderful woman, and I knew right away I was in good hands. my knitting machine looks like new, and it apparently works beautifully (I have a sample Pat knitted as proof) .... although you cant tell by the cursing that came out of my basement over the weekend. OMG .... why in heaven's name would ANYONE want to do this to themselves when you can produce beautiful results using knitting needles ??!! I'm almost at the point where I want to give up!!! I have followed the instruction book TO THE LETTER .... and still crap !!!! needless to say, I'm NOT a happy camper !! ok, I'm giving it one more shot before the entire contraption becomes the new base for my compost pile. Pat will give lessons, so I'm going to phone her and see if I can get one booked. there is a wonderful workshop in April, that's been recommended, but there's no point in me seeing what everyone else can do if I cant even cast on with the bloody thing !!

ok ... I'm going to end on a good note ... final B-Day wish to Hasia, and all her brothers & sisters out there. we've seen sister Hazel who also went into the Breeding program (and is now also retired), brother Havoc was adopted by a very nice family and came for a visit last summer. sister Hillie (Hilton) graduated SSD and is partnered with Pam. I'd love to hear from any of the other "H" puppies, but no matter where they are, and what they are doing I know that parents Daisy & Pyke are very proud of their puppies and also wish them a Happy 4th Birthday !!!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to Hasia!!!! I look forward to seeing your anisette wrap. I can assure you my first few hours with the knitting machine drove me crazy. Even last night I picked up 200 stitches to have them all fall off in the first row because I forgot to hang the weights. How are u casting on? I find the ewrap the easiest although you need to bring the needles out to the hold position for the first few rows to make it work. I'd recomment the hamlynn book of machine knitting, its out of print but sells on ebay for pennies and has really good pics and step by step instructions. I'm sending lots of positive knitting machine vibes ... btw the pics were perfect, thanks!