Worried about my puppy

I'm worried. Mia hasn't left my side all day. She has been curled up under the blanket beside me. Any time I get up, she cries and cries until I sit back down. Normally, on a Saturday, she'll wander off into the other room and chew on her toys, but not today.

So tonight's post is short, and I'm going to skip the writing to cuddle with her. Hopefully, she'll feel better tomorrow.

Long, long, long, long week.

Have you ever had one of those weeks that just kept going and going and going?  It felt like you never got to take a break?  That's what I had this week.  I was actually afraid that it was going to continue on into this weekend, but one of my obligations was postponed, so I may get a chance to just sit and knit for a bit (because just sitting still would be, well, weird).

I've got to say, I'm over this whole rain thing.  It's been raining almost constantly for most of the week.  Gray, dreary skies do not make for happy people, and not-happy people are just no fun.  Also, rain makes it less than pleasant to go to the dog park.

Last Sunday, I took Mia to the dog park for the first time.  She was a bit freaked out when we got there, because we drove.  Well, I drove, and she rode in the car.  She's not a big fan of cars.  But we made it there in one piece, and headed straight for the small dog section.  I figured, since it was her first time, and since she was still recovering from Bella (hi, Otter!), the small dog section was our best bet.

I let her off the leash right away, but she didn't go too far at first, which was a good feeling for me.  She wandered around, sniffed at some stuff, then came back to me.  It looked she had managed to get a piece of foam stuck to her lip with all of the sniffing, so I reached out to wipe it away.  It wasn't a piece of foam.  No, it was drool.  For the next half hour or more, Mia drooled and drooled and drooled.  And also wiped her face on my pants.

It was the weirdest thing!  I've never seen her drool like that before!  I really wish I had managed to get a photo, because it was just crazy-looking.  As she relaxed, though, and started playing with the other dogs, the drooling decreased, so I figured it was just her being freaked out by something new.

Maybe by next weekend, the weather will have dried up, and I can take her again.  And maybe get some pictures of the epic drool.

Crochet, Cards, and a Puppy Photo

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It's been a slow week, but the temperature has been far too hot to be all that productive. There was also a day off on Monday (spent recovering from eating grilled cheese and watching fireworks on the 4th), which wasn't nearly as productive as one might have expected.

I did get stuff done, though! I made 40 feet and 20 ears, enough to finish off 10 hamster beans. Of course, I only got one hamster bean body done, but the body is probably the easiest part for me. The fiddly little ears and feet are the parts that I don't like. I figured that, by doing those first, I was much more likely to finish the beans. I hope that I should finish the bodies in the next two weeks, then I can make another set of feet and ears. The plan is to have enough hamster beans to give out in goody bags for NaNoWriMo this year. Last year's co-ML has volunteered to help out, too, so I'll be sending her the pattern and recruiting her. If she can make a dozen or so, it'll help out a lot.

I also did another section on my Hufflepuff scarf. My friends and I are talking about going to the Harry Potter theme park in November (hmmm... that's NaNo... I'll have to rethink that!), so I've got a deadline now.

I didn't work on the picnic blanket at all, since I didn't watch LOST this weekend, but I did get another six rows of Spencer's baby blanket done! He's about three weeks old now, so I want to get it done ASAP.

I made some cards, too, for my grandpa and sisters. Overall, not bad for a slow week.

Oh. Crap. I just realized that I was supposed to make maternity pants for one of the girls at work this weekend. Hmmm.......... I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow!

One last photo - Mia, bathing in a sunbeam. She's just so pretty, isn't she?

Not feeling fictional tonight

I had always thought that it was just a TV thing. On all of these TV shows, people would hang up the phone at the end of their conversations without saying 'goodbye.' I really thought it was just a television thing.

I think I was wrong.

I think it's an American thing. That would be why it always happens on TV.

At work today, I had to make phone calls. It felt like a million phone calls, but it was actually only about 50. In any case, I talked to a lot of people. And only about a half-dozen of them said 'goodbye' at the end of the conversation! Seriously, people? It's a standardized social format, meant to indicate the conclusion of a telephone conversation! Saying 'goodbye' lets the person on the other end of the phone know that you are finished, that you have no other questions or comments, and that you're about to hang up the phone!

'Goodbye' shouldn't be reserved for friends and family, it should be for any phone call, whether it's your doctor's office, a telemarketer, or your grandma. Saying 'goodbye' is just good manners.

*end rant*

In other news, my puppy's ear seems to have recovered - it's back to being perky, and she's not scratching at it any more. Yay! No vet required, although I will continue to keep an eye on her.

Crafty Holidays

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Between Canada Day on Tuesday, and today being the Fourth of July, I got far less crafting done this week than usual. Because I'm barely getting in under the wire on this post, here's a short list of what I got done:

- baked and frosted 7 dozen cupcakes

- a few more picnic blanket squares

- T's MadHatter dice bag

- half a round on the blue baby blanket

And that's it. Yeesh. I feel [relatively] unproductive. I think that, with tomorrow off, I'll spend some time making hamsterbean ears (so that they're ready as the hamsterbeans get made). I'll probably also make some more squares.

Then on Tuesday, I'll be seeing about taking Mia to the vet - I think she's got an ear infection, the poor thing.

Cards, check!

I finished writing out and addressing my last Christmas card tonight, and I should have them all in the mail tomorrow. Yay! I'm all proud of myself - usually it's much later in the season before I even start making the cards.

I also took Mia to get her nails trimmed today... that's always fun. Richard came along to help, but ended up getting a bit banged around by the overly-anxious dog. She did much better in the car when sitting in his lap, though. Usually, she spends the entire ride whining. Today, she talked a little, but didn't cry. I think she's forgiven us, though, because she got a pile of new treats when we got back home. There's a reason I try to avoid PetSmart...

In other news, I'm heading downstairs to clean up, since the Mooselings are heading over to party tomorrow - should be much fun!

Also, on row 28 of part two of Karen's present, still on ball 2 of AH's present.

Adorable!

My friend Heather brought this present for Mia today - I have a gingerbread dog! She wore it amazingly well, too. Very little squirming or chewing.

Thwarted!

I wanted to exercise a bit today, so I pulled out my big ol' exercise ball, thinking that I would do some sit-ups and planks and whatnot - you know, working on the core muscles. It was a good idea.

I sat on the ball and rolled into position, ready to do a sit-up. I sat up, I relaxed back down, and a dog materialized in my lap. She then crawled up and laid down on my chest. Apparently, she doesn't think I need to exercise today.

After a few minutes, she got up, and I tried another. She materialized again.

So I'm giving up for now. I'll see if she supports my attempts at fitness later this evening. And if she doesn't, she may go sleep in the kitchen for a while, because I'm very close to fitting into my summer shorts. Don't say anything about how far into summer we are.

Puppy love!

Today's post is brought to you by the number two.  I have no clever links tonight.  Sorry.

This is Mia.  She is also known by several aliases, including Patricia Perrera.  (Don't ask.  Seriously, I don't know.)  She is the most adorable creature living in this apartment.  (But I'm a close second.)  Show some puppy-love!

Food?

Sweet pickled cheesecake covered in orange salsa.  That is all.

Actually, no, that's not all, but that's all I need to say on the subject tonight.

In other news, my dog has learned a new trick (mostly).  We've been working on 'touch' - she touches my hand with her nose.  She's doing it about 90% of the time now, as long as my hand is near face-level for her.  Next week, we're gonna move the hand higher and see how she does.  I'm so proud of my baby!

And in other news, an update on my resolutions:

- Blog every day.  Check! 146 days and counting!

- Finish at least two craft projects before I start on a new one.  Check!  I've finished three projects, so I started a new one... once I finish one more, I'm allowed to start another... which is good, since I need to get started on costume bits for Chicago.  I'm making my own fishnet thigh-highs ;)

- Lose 20 lb.  Check!  Down 6 so far!

- Get in better shape.  Check!  I've been exercising lately, and while I plan to stop doing aerobics for the next seven weeks, it's because I'm going to be dancing in a show, so it balances out.

- Read more.  Check!  I've read 12 books so far this year, which isn't bad, considering that I've been at the theatre almost nightly since, well, the year started.

Naked puppy!

I went out and bought a new harness for Mia today.  She had been using an extra-small size, but it seemed awfully tight under her front legs, even at its largest.  So I picked up a small... and it looked huge!  But it seems to work well, so I guess she's bigger than I thought.

I decided that it was kind of goofy to have her wearing a collar and a harness, especially since her collar doesn't have any tags on it, so I took the collar off.  She wore the harness around the house all evening, so it was easy to take her outside as necessary.  It's bedtime now, so I took it off, and I've got a naked puppy running around!  It's so strange to see her without any sort of collar on... I'm considering putting it back on, just so she doesn't look so bare.  I'd hate to feel the need to knit her a sweater!  And I'm sure she'd hate to wear one!

He's so dreamy!

I think this cold is affecting my brain.  Here's last night's dream.

It was about five a.m.  My dog woke up, and started to stretch, standing half on top of me, her hind legs digging into the squishy part of my belly.  This was (obviously) uncomfortable, so I groaned.  She looked at me, and said, "You should really stretch as soon as you wake up."

The weirdest part, though, was not that she spoke to me, but that she had the voice of Alton Brown (from FoodNetwork's Good Eats).  

I looked at her,  and gave a half-hearted stretch, mostly just moving my arms a little bit.  She looked at me and frowned, then said, "That wasn't a good stretch.  This is a good stretch."  She demonstrated a 'good' stretch, and it looked good - like it woke up every part of her body, but in a nice, gentle way.

I looked at her and said, "Of course it wasn't a good stretch - I don't want to be awake!"  I then rolled over and went back to sleep.

Any dream analysts out there want to tackle this one?

Sleep? We don't need no stinking sleep!

Wait!  Yes, yes I do need sleep!  Please, give me sleep!

The run of The Sound of Music is now finished, the set is struck, and the theatre is closed.

Until tomorrow.  Rehearsals for Sunshine Boys start tomorrow, and as Stage Manager for that show, I'm getting ready to get going again!  Luckily, the director has taken pity on me, and I don't have to attend rehearsals this week, at least until Thursday or so.  Whew!  

So tonight, I shall sleep, and it shall be good.  And tomorrow, I shall sleep, and it shall be better!

And if anyone has an old playpen that they're looking to get rid of, let me know - if I get one, I can take Mia to rehearsals with me for this show, at least until tech week.

Moment of panic!!

So I was upstairs today, turning my computer on, and Mia was sitting with me.  And then she wasn't.  I called a couple of times, but she didn't come running.  Then I realized that I had left some knitting on the couch downstairs, so I hurried down, ready to yell at her for eating my yarn.

She hadn't eaten the yarn.

She had eaten the chocolate.

For those of you who haven't heard, chocolate is toxic to dogs.  I had never looked into how much was needed to cause problems, because I just assumed that by NOT feeding chocolate to my dog, I wouldn't have any issues.  

So I panicked a bit.  Luckily, I have Colby to turn to for advice, and she assured me that one piece of milk chocolate was not enough to hurt Mia.  Might upset her tummy a bit, but it wouldn't hurt her.  

Phew.

If I react like this with my dog, it's a really good thing that I don't have kids!

Mia made friends!

I took Mia for her usual walk after work today, and over by the mailboxes, my puppy made two new friends!

Samuel is a six-month old standard dachshund, and he's adorable.  He's paper-trained, so he's not entirely sure what to do with himself outside.

Itsy is an older miniature pinscher (I don't know how old), who is definitely a lot more stout than Mia.  Her mama says it's because she's been fixed.  She's got the same sort of chest as Jacky, my parents' Jack Russell terrier.  

Both of the new friends were, well, friendly!  It got a bit messy, because all three dogs were on those retractable leashes, so we had some untangling to do, but it all worked out. 

The best part, though, was that Mia was so well-behaved!  She didn't bark or bite at all!  There was some jumping, but all three of them were doing that, and a lot of it was more like gazelle-style leaping.

In related puppy news, Mia has almost completely figured out that she has to walk on the same side of the tree (or light post) as me.  Almost.  We've had a few little incidents where she's nearly clotheslined herself.  And she doesn't apply this to people.  But we're getting there!

An Alexander Day

When I was a kid, one of my favourite stories was "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."  I don't think my family actually owned a copy of the book -  I think it was one of those books recommended by Reading Rainbow that we checked out of the library (I remember writing down every book at the end of every show!).  In any case, I loved the story.  A few years ago, I special-ordered a copy of it, and now I have it for myself, and it's still awesome.  Every once in a while, when I'm having a bad day, I sit down and read it, because Alexander knows how I feel.  

Today was mostly an Alexander day.  This morning actually was not too bad.  I got to work almost on time (2 minutes earlier than usual, but still technically a minute late).  I got out for lunch on time.  I had a nice lunch with a friend.  After lunch, it all went downhill.  A word of advice to those of you out there who are getting older (aka everyone who is not dead yet): when you are 91 years old, and your eyes feel tired and weak, it's probably because YOU ARE 91 YEARS OLD!  Trust me, there's nothing that the ophthalmologist can do to make you NOT 91.  Also, if you suddenly lose vision in one of your eyes, GET YOUR ASS TO THE DOCTOR NOW!  Don't wait two hours, or three days, because "it might pass."  If you can't see, it's NOT A GOOD THING!  The longer you wait, the less your chances of ever getting your vision back!  Did I mention I had to work late today?  Also, my dog puked in my bed at four a.m.  And tonight was the first time that we actually ran through the full second act of the show that opens NEXT FRIDAY!  Oh.  And my internet has taken almost an hour to get a connection stable enough for me to copy and paste this post.  Lovin' it.

Ahem.  My stress levels are a little on the high side tonight.  I'm going to go and have a drink of chocolate chip cookie liqueur, then go to bed.  If you need me before noon tomorrow, tough shit.

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

When it rains, my internet goes away.  I'm planning to have this fixed by actually getting my own internet connection next month, but until then, when it rains, my internet goes away.  Hence the early post - I'm between showers, and making the most of it.

Today is my puppy's first birthday!  It feels like a really big milestone to me, but she doesn't seem to care.  I wanted to post some pictures of her today, in celebration, but, well, the internet is being quirky, and I don't have the power cord for my camera, so I can't upload anything yet.  *le sigh*  But I promise, as soon as the cord comes back from Canada, I will have puppy pictures!

I was trying to find some way to celebrate for her, but, well, I can't really come up with anything.  I'm thinking of going online (later, of course) and finding a recipe for a cake for dogs, and making one this weekend.  If I do that, I'll totally photograph the whole thing, even if I have to go old-school and use *gulp* film!  For today, she's allowed to have a Ziggy, one of the treats made to go in the Kong.  Normally, she only gets those as a bribe on days when she's going to be stuck in the kitchen while I'm cleaning or doing other stuff where I can't have her underfoot.  She was a little suspicious, I think, but has been dragging it around since I got home, and seems pretty happy about it.  Yay!

I'm hoping to have more fiction up soon... it looks like it might be foggy again, and that seems to be a big inspiration lately.  I really need to work out just what kind of a creature Mel is!

Puppy-related delays

When I resolved to blog every night, I assumed things like being tired, or having no internet, or being out at rehearsals would be the reasons that I would have short, sucky entries.

It turns out, having a dog sitting on my arm is another reason.

Mia has decided that she wants to put her butt on my left arm, and her head on my right shoulder.  She’s not a big dog, only about 8 lbs, but that’s enough to be uncomfortable.

So tonight, I’m going to have a short blog, then go lay in my bed and knit, because when I’m laying in bed, she prefers to be under the blankets (and out of the way of the knitting).  Tomorrow, I think I’ll give her a Kong before I blog.  Tonight, she’s just too cuddly.

Feeling Random

For Christmas, I got the complete series of Friends on DVD, so, of course, that's all I've been watching.  (Have I mentioned that I don't have cable?)

In any case, I just watched the episode where Rachel tells Chandler that she had a raunchy dream about him.  Ross reacts badly to this, and Chandler apologizes with, "I'm sorry, it will never happen again.  I was very drunk and it was someone else's subconscious."  (I LOVE that line!)  This got me  to thinking... is it wise to tell someone that you've had an erotic dream about him/her?  I think, in some cases, it can go fairly well - the someone is amused and teases you mercilessly until something new comes along.  In other cases, well, it might result in this awkward tension between you and the someone, and cause all sorts of unpleasant moments.  I don't think I've ever told anyone about a dirty dream I've had about them... I've told other people, because it amuses me that most of the men who show up in my raunchy dreams turn out to be gay, but I've never told any of the ones who were actually IN the dream.  Has anyone out there tried this?

In unrelated randomness, I tried writing my blog this evening, around 6, and it just didn't happen.  Nothing came out.  I stared at the screen.  It sucked.  Apparently, I can't write before 9pm, unless I'm sneaking in writing time during work hours.  Strange.  When I become a world-famous author, I think I'll end up staying up all night, and sleeping all day, just so that I can always be awake during peak writing time.

And in another unrelated random thought, one of the gals at work almost convinced me to buy another puppy today.  But then I thought of Mia, and as much as I would like for her to have a friend to play with, I'm not ready for another puppy, and she's not ready to share my attention.  So I stayed strong!  Barely...

Finally, I've had a link open in my computer all week for this site that sells bookplates, because I love having bookplates in my books, and I've finally found a company that sells the bookplates that I got years ago when I joined the SFBC (Science Fiction Book Club - like Columbia House for SciFi/Fantasy).  But I haven't purchased them yet, because I keep forgetting to bring my credit card upstairs.

Tomorrow,  I think I shall produce fiction!

Choosing sides

I have learned that if you want to live in Georgia, you have to pick a side eventually.  You know what I'm talking about... UGA or Tech.  There's no in-between.

Given that I really don't give a flying anything about football, especially American college football (I can kinda get into the CFL... kinda), it was hard.  I mean, really, how can I get excited about a team when I don't care about their sport?

But I finally gave in.  I picked a side.

And my reason may be the dumbest reason ever, but, hey, it's my reason.

I picked UGA, because their colours are red and black, and my school colour was red, so I can wear my current clothing and look like I'm supporting them.  I don't think I own anything yellow.

A friend of mine is a big Georgia fan, and for his birthday, I made some accessories with polar fleece (won't specify what yet, because I haven't given it to him yet!), and I had some leftover, so I made a Dawgs blanket for my dawg.  Isn't she adorable?