Stasia's Place Of Grace

Friday, November 18, 2005

 

Poor Anmiryam. She didn't do so well, for some reason, with the "What's Your Blog Worth" meme. Seeing her entry sucked me in, of course:

My blog is worth $14,678.04.
How much is your blog worth?

Sorry, Anmiryam!

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'Tis The Season

This would be a really neat gift for the budding fiber artist on your list. It's a pyramid-building marble game that teaches color theory, from Levenger. Click on the link for "more photos" to see it in action.

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Grateful For...

Fi successfully completing her first week of radiation therapy! Go, Fi! Our girl is doing well!!!

Our Miss Fiona Fearn of Avondale

The first snow, a dusting which has remained over the dried prairie grasses and naked oaks and birches, and which makes the pine trees stand out beautifully.

Seeing five hawks on the long drive back from the vet hospital.

Breaking down and getting a cell phone in case I literally break down in my 10+ year-old car. The fuel pump is being replaced on Monday which will give me an added sense of security. I really like the TracFone prepaid service since I'm not a big chatter and only need it "just in case". Since Clark Howard recommends it I don't feel (too) guilty about the purchase. I love this tiny little phone - I used its "composer" function to make a ring tone of the James Bond theme - hee hee hee! Ok, must rein in the enthusiasm, must be cool and not a total geek... but this is my first mobile phone! I confess I am too embarrassed to have it ring in public, though, so it's set to "silent" everyplace but the car. There I can play James Bond all I want.

Speaking of embarrassing, if you ever use the very good Eucerin lotion for rosacea, which happens to be green, please do not make the same mistake I did and apply too much and not rub it in, or you, too, will look like Frankenstein in public for five hours before you look in the rearview mirror in daylight and see what you have done! This is what happens to an incoherent person having to get up at 5 a.m. in the dark for a two-hour drive...

The following event, which happened earlier this week (apologies to friends who've already read this):

I thought, last week, it was a big deal to see a St. Bernard, a Mexican hairless, a miniature bull terrier, and a Scottie at the hospital... I mean, you don't often see those dog breeds on the street.

Then yesterday I thought it was a big deal to see a GIANT iguana. Just the body was about 2-3 feet long and the tail was about 6 feet. He was held against his owner's chest in the waiting room and all the dogs were strangely quiet as they stared at him. It was the BIGGEST iguana I have ever seen... I mean, the body must have been 12" around, at least!

Then on the way out, I saw a truck with a Belgian horse in it in the parking lot - apparently they do the large livestock animals there, right in the city of Madison! I thought they took them to another location, but they are treated there, just blocks from the State Capitol. How neat!

But NO. Those were NOT the most exciting things I saw thus far...

None of them compared to the giant wooden box with holes in it that the four men in tan shirts brought in today, struggling under its weight, and which they placed on the big floor scale in order to weigh the animal inside.

All the ladies with doggies in the waiting room raised their eyebrows in silence, and we glanced nervously at one another. The box looked like something one of those raptor dinosaurs in that movie ("The Lost World"?) would hop out of.

One brave gal spoke up and said, "Um... what have you got in there?"

The zookeepers, for that is what they were, said, "A rodent."

"A rodent???" the ladies all murmured...

"That's a heck of a rodent," the brave gal said.

But by then I had guessed what it was, and I was RIGHT! It was...

A CAPYBARA.

You gotta' have confidence in a veterinary hospital that can treat a capybara. I mean, geez... a CAPYBARA, for crying out loud, with Miss Fi, in the waiting room! (It stayed in the big box, thank goodness!) I read in the hospital's newsletter that they recently pulled a rotten tooth from the zoo's 30-year-old grizzly bear, so I guess Fi is in pretty good hands.

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On The Nightstand

"Mistress Of The Elgin Marbles"

"The Portrait of a Lady"

I'm enjoying both so much that it's hard to choose one over the other each night.

I'm also reading "Knit Lit Too" and "Knit Lit The Third" at the vet hospital - the short vignettes are just what's needed when I'm distracted so frequently - today's big attraction was a one-eyed rescued Boston terrier named "Popeye"!

On The iPod

Marie Irshad's KnitCast, of course, but also Coyote Oldman's "House Made Of Dawn". There is nothing so soothing to me as this CD (you can read my complete review of it below the description at Amazon.) I really needed it this week, being too tired and stressed (though remaining positive!) to be able to function very much after the vet trips, and it has kept Fi mellow as well.

On The Needles

Finished one sleeve of the pink Cashmerino Aran top-down raglan t-neck, ready to start sleeve two. This is the second year this sweater has been on the needles. Do you think I will ever finish it? I always think it is easier to do my own projects rather than follow patterns, but I forget that there is math involved - blech!

Working on a secret project I can't share with you yet and almost finished with that - it has been relaxing and portable so good therapy this week.

Finished a pair of Trekking XXL socks in a medium grey for Jeff (BIG feet!) and ordered some long, small needles to do my next pair with the magic loop method, after experimenting on these with a needle that wasn't quite long enough. I also used that technique on the secret project, above, and thereby found out that the concept works quite well to make a flat knitted object, too. Neat! My new 40" needles and the Trekking are from TheKnitter.com - don't forget your Socknitters group membership discount!

Started a sweater for Fiona in red Lion Brand Wool-Ease, to match her red and white UW-Wisconsin collar and new red and white L.L. Bean "college" tote bag (which was the hit of the vet hospital), but had a brain fart on the calculations (no surprise) and will have to do a do-over on this one. I need to get going on it - the weather here has been in the twenties this week, and she can't wear her regular coats because of the IV catheter that must remain in her leg. Can't have a frozen Fi!

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Wishing my American friends a wonderful Thanksgiving next week! I plan on spending mine sleeping as Fi will not have an appointment that day. Unfortunately - but I'm grateful for it anyway - she will have had two treatments the previous day, six hours apart. Now that is going to be a long day for us! Hopefully Chef Jeff will have some turkey and stuffing waiting for us when we get back. You should have tasted the curried squash soup he made this week!

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