Hot Schmot

So it's officially summer in Texas, which means I no longer need a sauna I can just stand outside in the shade and get my sweat on. Surprisingly I don't mind it all that much. I've always been a lover of weather in general: hot, cold, and everywhere in between. There are several things I love about a Texas summer:

1. Air conditioning. I can go from my air conditioned house to my air conditioned car to my air conditioned destination. I really think air conditioning beats the invention of the wheel, even though I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be a/c without the invention of the wheel. But I'm not thinking that deeply about it. I like to keep my preferences small minded and self centered.

2. It takes me half the time to blow out my hair and it looks twice as good (this only applies assuming there is no rain). Fifteen minutes to Victoria's Secret super model hair. I can live through three months of upper lip sweat and pit stains for that little bonus.

3. WATER! The ocean calls to me the loudest in the summer. I'm coming South Padre! The rivers (and Texas has plenty) insist you lazily float on them while they do all the work of keeping you cool and taking you somewhere yet nowhere at the same time. Since we can't always make it to the ocean or a river there's always the pool! We are on a four year waiting list to get into the local pool (don't get me started). Hence we have once again taken matters into our own backyard with this magic...

Who has patience for pride these days? Not us. We are way too hot to pass up this little $30 gem of unadulterated refreshment. It's not like were swimming laps people. Think more along the lines of drinking beer and listening to baseball.

4. It's daylight, like, all the time. Well, most of the time. It's awesome. It makes getting up to workout/run in the morning a little easier. Mostly because I know if I don't get up early and do it I will suffer the heatstroke inducing, sunburn causing, general asswhip of an afternoon/evening work out.

5. Another excuse to eat Blue Bell's Banana Pudding ice cream.

6. All my teacher/school nurse friends are on vacation and we can hang out!

7. Summer fruit is kick ass!!

8. Snow cones.

9. Did I mention my hair looks fabulous today?

10. A little color on my skin (mostly in the form of freckles). There's some good vitamin D to be had out there these days. Just don't forget your sunscreen!

I know it's hot and there are a million things to complain about because of the heat. But who wants to be hot AND miserable?! Do your hair, get in your air conditioned car, go pick up a snow cone, come back and jump in your pool. It's Texas, for Pete's sake, you knew this was coming.

Patton's Knee Surgery

** Note: I wrote this last Wednesday, June 13, but has issues with the pics.**

Patton had knee surgery on Monday and it was pretty traumatic for both of us. As his dogmother I have felt very conflicted over the surgery for some time now. This is in large part because Patton has yet to learn to speak English, and although he understands a vast variety of English words (most of which revolve around food or how to go about getting food), we still have a little bit of a communication barrier. I feel terrible for being unable to explain to him what and why this is happening!

He has had a luxating patella (loose knee cap) since he was born. It has slowly progressed to being permanently out of socket and the cartilage was completely worn. After talking to and being told he would need surgery by four different vets (one of which is my neighbor and very good friend) and doing a bit of research I finally decided this surgery would help restore his quality of life. And although he may not ever understand the surgery, I'm hoping he soon forgets about it when he is walking, running, sitting, and playing without pain or discomfort.

It's hard to do what's best for those you love sometimes, especially when they don't understand what or why you are doing it.  

He made it through surgery and I was granted the luxury of staying home with him today while he's getting used to three-legged-dog mode. He does not appreciate the E-collar (bedazzled by the vet staff) nor being crated. He puts no weight on that leg yet.

Despite the discomforts of surgery, he still looks at me with love and a sense of solace that come from one of the best forms of communication, actions. I'll always do right by him, even if it might hurt in the process and he might not comprehend. I love him and that he understands.

Working Girl Panties

Last night was nurses knit night at my friend Marlys’ house. I got to see her and a few of the nurses I used to work (and play) with back in my school nursing days. It was wonderful to catch up with them and see what kind of projects they have on the needles. I love how we can all just pick right back up where we left off. 

It gave me the perfect opportunity to get a little done on my “short list”. Coral’s scarf is coming along swimmingly and I am less than a foot away from being done! I’m excited about it because it is my own pattern, designed special for an old friend. But that will get its own post.

LeighAnne’s baby blanket is well under way. I have approximately ¼ of it left to knit, including the border.  I special ordered some fabric from CityCraft to line the wrong side of the knitting but it still hasn’t come in! And I’ve already spent a good hour scouring their stash looking for an alternative as well as JoAnn’s. I can be patient and wait through the weekend but I’m hoping to have this all sewn together by the end of next Tuesday. 

Today I am working from home and gearing up to head to a site tomorrow. I’ve been scheduled to work from home for the last couple months so putting my working girl panties on tomorrow has proven to be quite the daunting task. I am proud to say that I have managed to shower and dress myself daily (with a few minor exceptions) while I have been home. But my mid afternoonhomemade latte and mini house cleaning breaks appear to be over for at least a week. Sorry Jeremy, looks like you’ll be wearing dirty underwear and yelling for a towel from the shower again.

Hello Espresso!

I might have gone a little bat sh!t crazy and bought an espresso machine. Once you get yourself hooked on $5 dirty soy chai lattes from the local coffee shop your wallet weeps a little on a daily basis.  Here she is in all her glory:

I did my research and ended up with a De'Longhi EC702. It's semi-automatic, which means it requires a live being to do a little bit of work, which I enjoy.  They have others that will grind the beans, tamp the grounds and pull the shot for you but these tend to run in the $1000 and up price range. I'm pretty sure I even saw one that wipes your ass. I digress.

Many YouTube videos, including Alton Brown, random baristas, and some European dude filming himself with his camera phone, later I have managed to pull a few decent shots of espresso.  Jeremy is enjoying my new skill set especially since he does not have permission to touch my machine (which he doesn't have a problem with as long as I continue to make his lattes).

This purchase was in part to thwart some of the overhead on our morning cup of joe expenses. However, I failed to take into consideration that consumption has gone up do to the accessibility and perceived savings. Oh well, it still has it's entertainment value as I continue my quest to perfect my barista skill set. I see a mean neighborhood brunch at our place in the near future!

Short List

With the craziness that I am decidedly calling two-thousand-and-twelve, I have been somewhat slacking on the the knitting front. I have several projects on the needles and shoved in bags and in the back of my brain somewhere but I just haven't managed to organize myself enough to get anything done. People just keep having babies and the seasons change with out so much as consulting me and my project progress.

Chances are that if you are a friend or family member you have most likely been waiting for your handmade gift for so long that you've forgotten about it or just plain given up on me. Well I haven't forgotten and this is my effort to light a fire under my own ass. Granted there are many more people I would like to make something for, (especially you, Dad!) I have got to start somewhere. This is my short list of things I will finish in the next two weeks:

 1. The scarf I promised Coral D. back in January. I don't think she thought I was serious when I told her I would have it to her by July.

2. LeighAnne's baby gift. Little Mr. Wright is due in a couple weeks. Wright, you are not in any hurry; two weeks, okay buddy?

If you can think of a humiliating consequence for me should I fail to complete my short list will you please post it in the comments. I'm hoping the fear of public humiliation will thwart my procrastination. Or leave me a comment on the blog about what hand knit you would like and I'll see about making that for you! I would love to hear what sewn or knitted item you might like. Just don't expect it in the next two weeks.

Decoration Day 2012

Today is Decoration Day (the last Monday of May) as it used to be called until the Federal government officially adopted the more popular Memorial Day back in 1967. This is a day when Americans remember those who have died in military service for our country. A day when we fly American flags at half staff from dawn to noon in tribute to our fallen soldiers and then raise them to full staff as a symbol of our continued dedication to liberty and justice. 

We Americans are good people. While not perfect, we work to take care of ourselves, our people, and our neighbors. At the root of our democracy I believe we, as a people, are righteous, brave, and mindful.

While this is a solemn day, we will also be celebrating the freedoms our country affords us.  We remember what this day is truly about and we promise that the souls who gave their lives fighting for the greater good did not do so in vain. We will be thinking of them all day today.

Of Blogs and Beds

I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to have two blogs (one for family and one for crafts) or combine them into one.  Seeing as to how I hardly ever write on either of them I really suppose it doesn't matter as much as the time and thought I'm giving it would suggest.

Having said that, for now I am sticking with this blog.  I've had it for a while and there have been a few good posts along the years. Besides, I'm not really all that good at compartmentalizing my life. So here it is, a crafty post on the family blog. I'm sure we'll all manage to deal with it.

We moved back into our house in Dallas about 3 1/2 weeks ago. The entire place is hardwood (with the exception of tile in the kitchen and baths). This is great aesthetically, but our poor pupcake, Patton, has not a place to lay his head. That's a lie, he has several couches, but a dog just needs to lie like one sometimes. The hardwoods are not forgiving of little boney puppy elbows. I've looked for several beds at the usually pet stores and even tried to find one online.  They are all either way too pricey, not very cute, or a combination of both. That's when I decided I would make Patton a bed!

I picked up some outdoor fabric from the local JoAnn's and basically made a glorified pillow with piping. It turned out pretty darn handsome, especially when he lies on it!

For some reason he knew it was his. It might have been my, "Mommy's making you a bed! You want a bed?" comments all day. He periodically would come over and sit on any part of it that hit the ground. I could barely keep him off of it while I was stuffing and hand sewing the last little opening. When we finally let him have his bed he jumped on before I even got it out of my hands. The only thing better than having a cute dog bed is having a cute dog that likes his cute dog bed!

ps- I am first and foremost a hand knitter, but I must publicly declare how much I like the speed and efficiency of a sewing machine. The relatively immediate gratification of a handmade creation is most excellent.

pps- I just walked into the other room to get my camera so I could load the pictures of him on the bed and guess what?! He was on the bed! Sigh.

ppps- So happy my sewing machine didn't die a traumatic shaken and smashed death on it's ride from NYC to Dallas. I was a bit worried after seeing the state of our garbage can and a couple of boxes. The movers did manage to write a big "TX" on the case with permanent marker. I was aggravated by the unapproved tattoo at first, but now it's kinda growing on me. It's a traveled machine with stories to tell. Plus she knows where her home is :)