Take This Job and Bucket.

Thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes for Hedy Lamarr. Hedy has been a rascal while we were out. She has been somewhere grubby, I don't know where.

And she has chewed the new buckets. They only cost a dollar each, but these are buckets three and four. One and two went into the bin last week.  The buckets fill up with rain water, and those marks in the aqua bucket are where Hedy likes to pop a front paw in, and try to empty the bucket.

Lorelai Gilmore would never chew a bucket, look at how good she is, and how lovely!!! Autumn is four days old and already the mornings are crisper and the nights are closing in. Gilly runs to greet Rafa and then runs back to tell me she has greeted him. So much running for an older dog.

Oh and back to Hedy's birthday, we assigned comments ordinal numbers as per the post and then employed a random number chooser, and the bag and chocolate treat goes to: Deb!! I know Deb in real life and so this will perhaps give us a much needed excuse to catch up for coffee, tea and cake!!

We had two medical emergencies this week. On Wednesday Gilly was bitten on the leg by a wasp floating in the paddle pool. We rang the vet and they saw us within twenty minutes. Here are The Labradors waiting for Dr Michelle to bring back Gilly's antihistamine injection. Because she takes Imuran to suppress her immune system we have to be very careful of her treatment.

Is Dr Michelle coming back?? Gilly and Hedy think they hear her......

Yes, she's here and she has liver treats!!!

There were quite a few wasps, not a nest, but enough to be a worry. My neighbour helped me to hang some wasp traps. Hang them Very High. But not high enough. Somehow Hedy jumped up and ate the wasp trap contents. It was a hard decision to make: should Gilly run the risk of being bitten again, or should we use a wasp trap? There was less than 1/2 a teaspoon of the wasp powder in the trap. We rang the vet and they rang poison hotlines and thankfully, a dog Hedy's size would not be affected. But they both had to skip dinner, as the vet said not to induce vomiting. The lovely chemist at the corner says she knows of a very stinky, but safe, wasp trap filler, and so I shall be able to use that. I feel terrible, but I truly had no idea Hedy could jump higher than I could reach. I baked the vet a very large Banoffee sheet cake as a thank you, for they didn't charge me at all for their advice.

I know it is difficult to believe, but I am about to sew a dress. The Kimmy Dress was one of this month's Seamwork patterns. I really like it, and I am going to make the hack with a flared skirt, a longer flared skirt. MrsDrWho's mum brought this material back from Singapore. It is less than a metre wide, so I have bought some plain green to be a border at the hem. The fabric itself has borders, and I want to try use them as well. I'll also have to add a dart, as I need an FBA. And I know I am behind the times, but I finally realised The Officeworks is able to print out patterns in PDF in A0. Thanks to Beth who talked me through the email process. No more taping 32 pages together, I am happy to pay $8-50 for two sheets.

Lorelai Gilmore and Hedy Lamarr are very accommodating and stopped half way down the steps so I could take a photo for The Blog. On the right is a tortoise... I want to say bird bath, but it is really a kind of teeny tiny pond that Hedy likes to drink from. The gardener comes tomorrow, so there will be some at long last weeding and trimming. The grape vine is taking over the entrance.

I have three new balls of sock wool, so I am eager to finish the socks I am working on. I just have the foot and then the toe.

I also have a new-to-me phone, an iPhone 4. WeeJock and Bessie's family had a passing down of phones and I was lucky enough to be on the end of the line.

My older phone costs just $9 and really just did texting. My new phone might be eight years old, but it is so exciting to be able to text my mum and not say: "I am knitting rocks today", or "Fear Mum". I can iMessage and I can add photos to The Instagram. I am so very grateful!!

MrsDrWho and I watched the last episode of Star Trek Discovery this afternoon. I loved the entire series. There were parts that shocked us with their unexpectedness, and the plot was riveting. The characters were both familiar and new and I especially liked that it was a darker version, more like DS9 than TNG. The cliffhanger ending has us eagerly awaiting the next season. And the theme music, very good music and the music over the last credits was perfect.

The weather has been cooler and I have been feeling much better, though I see it will be 28*C at the end of the week. Bah humbug.

 

Some Like It Not Hot

We saw Bonnie the Labrador @randomknits had a new toy. I decided Gilly should have a new squeaky toy. Hedy wants it, Gilly has it, and so it begins.......

Oh so many things have happened. The heat is somewhat less, 27*C instead of 37*C, and the nights are often cool enough to sleep. I did have a little crisis. I heard a beeping sound in the middle the night and thought it was coming from the fuse box. I worried all night and I could feel my heart beating fast and my stomach swirling and I could not think properly. I rang The Lifeline people at about 6am because I didn't want to wake up anyone I knew!! The woman on the phone listened, and suggested I ring an electrician and ask their advice. I did. He answered the phone at 7am, and was so kind and understanding. He asked for a photo of the fuse box and I emailed one to him. He said it all looked absolutely fine and there was no sparking or fizzing or other weird things happening. I left a little gift of thanks for him, and for his dog, at his office.

I felt so much better, and that night when I heard the sound I called my next door neighbour and she said it sounded like a cricket. And over the next week we had all sorts of cricket noises because of the hot weather. I was just so hot and so tired and unwell that I could not employ any of my usual coping strategies. This year, if there are no medical or major appliance emergencies, we are going to buy an air-conditioner for the bedroom. Being able to sleep and be cool will be so wonderful!!!

I like to talk about my anxiety and/or depression because when I didn't talk about it, things became very terrible. And I don't want things to be terrible again. I also know to ask for help. That helps!!

Lorelai Gilmore and Hedy Lamarr met a new friend. Sandy's dad and mum are respite carers for Guide Dogs and Guide Dogs in training. This last week they looked after Cobie. He has some Golden Retriever in his mix. Cobie is about the same age as Hedy but he is bigger than everyone and has beautiful longer fur.

From the left you can see Hedy, Gilly, Rafa and Cobie.  Lots of happy waggy tails. All the dogs get on very well and play happily together. Cobie is on his lead because he is worth a lot of money and must be kept safe from falling into gorges or over cliffs.

Lorelai Gilmore is feeling better now the weather is cooler. Hedy is always pushing to the front and demanding attention and pats, but Gilly just stands quietly and waits. I asked the other humans to pat her too, and she was as pleased as punch.

Hedy just wants to play with her Billyball. She is more than a little obsessed.

I love back to school time, I love all the stationery and the accoutrements. I have also had a lot of therapy and I no longer feel sad when my friends go back to teach their new classes. I did some lunch and recess prepping for MrsDrWho to make the transition a little easier. In the shops I saw a lot of coffee cups, keep cups, travel cups and on a pamphlet I saw a tea travel cup, which used tea leaves. I emailed the Sistema company, but they said it was discontinued in Australia. To my surprise and joy, Tash offered to send me the showroom Twist'n'Sip tea cup. I am very grateful and it is so lovely. I put tea leaves in and it brews. I can close the top so it doesn't spill and I can click it open to drink. Now I am likely to take this to the back yard, or maybe to a picnic, not in the car. Thank you Sistema, for your unexpected kindness.

MrsDrWho and I went on a  little road trip to Latrobe to visit Reliquaire on the last Thursday of the holidays. Reliquaire was razed to the ground on Christmas Eve 2015, but they relocated and then rebuilt. It is a shop full of lovely bits and bobs, from a $1 badge to a $5500 giant bear and everything in between. We spent a few hours browsing and found lots of hidden things behind secret doors like these dinosaurs.

We had morning tea first, and later on lunch, and stopped at Ashgrove cheese for cheese supplies. I love cheese. I am glad it is chocolate I cannot eat because I could not live without cheese. I bought Harvarti with jalapenos, Double Gloucester and cheddar with cracked pepper. MrsDrWho bought matching Harvarti with bacon. I had cheese for dinner.

Artists and schools have painted the cows which decorate the Ashgrove grounds.  They amuse me.

I am well enough to have knitted a sock, using Opal Fresh & Juicy in the Sweet Chocolate Dream colour. I used my usual pattern which I cobbled together. One sock down, one to go. I love the colours, and Opal does knit up beautifully, my stitches look so nice. None of the colours are really right. maybe the first one but a little less bright than the second?? I mainly watched Altered Carbon on The Netflix while I knitted. I have also sewed a little.....

I bought two T-shirts from The KMart, one on sale for $5 and one for $10. I plan to make this raglan T-shirt in Autumn, with the Star wars picture and logo cut out and used with some green material.

I saw on The Instagram that people made a Make 9 goal. I think I will join in, but instead of nine patterns, I might choose the nine different materials I want to use to sew dresses. I bought this pattern from The Etsy. It is a trend, and I am at the very end of the trend, so far at the end that I couldn't buy it here. I like the low cut front, but even so, I shall raise it a little. I always feel my cleavage can draw the eye from other parts I would rather were not so prominent!!

It is 21*C now, so it feels about 27*C and we shall lie in bed with the cool breeze blowing and hope to sleep. I have chosen something for my Friday Food, and there's a day up my sleeve so I am very hopeful!!

If you left a comment on Lorelai Gilmore's birthday post, expect an email in the next few days!!!

Waffle On. Waffle Off.

There has been much socialising and, ergo, much sleeping ensued!! We walked at the dam this week, but we slept all day and all night. Twice. I think today we have caught up at last. Private school teachers are already back at work and State school teachers return next week, so there has been some determined catching up. MrsDrWho had a BBQ and I made Donna Hay ice-cream waffles. Oh they are so easy and look pretty fabulous. I made all three kinds:

1. Raspberry and white chocolate ice-cream with raspberries from MrsReno's garden, dipped in dark chocolate and coconut.
2. Mashed banana and peanut butter with vanilla ice-cream dipped in milk chocolate and pecans.
3. Chocolate ice-cream with choc bits, a few pretzels and a smear of Nutella, dipped in nothing as they were chocolaty enough.

I bought frozen waffles and filled them and froze them for two hours and then did the chocolate dipping. We had a little heatwave of 30*C so I didn't want to bake. I didn't taste any because I can't have chocolate, but the BBQ people said they were delicious. And as a bonus they keep in the freezer for ages if you don't eat them!!

The next night we went to the posh restaurant at the Casino and then on Sunday I had a long and leisurely brunch with Judy-May. I came over all faint and woozy as it was hot and she kindly reorganised the seating and I spent the bulk of the time over the air-conditioning vent, feeling soooo much better. How kind!!

I sewed a Rey Zippy pouch. I am a big Rey fan, Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

I have been buying material at The BlackSpot of Doomlight (TM) Their Christmas material is on sale for $2-50 a metre, or $1 if you buy the rest of the bolt and with member discount it comes down to 75 cents a metre. I may have been back three times. I did buy some material to make my Rey dress. Now it is home I am not sure it is right.

There was a better khaki colour but it was plain, and I always spill things on the bodices of my dresses. The Rey material has a tiny bit of green on her outfit, a bronze/khaki colour. I think I might wait and see if there is a better colour later on. This green will not go astray!!

I am racing against time to knit a hat. Today I suddenly remembered a vague promise to knit a hat for MrsDrWho's god-daughter, and it is her birthday tomorrow. We are so old that a god-daughter is perhaps thirty??!!

I need to knit 250 metres by tea time tomorrow. I have knitted a ball so far this afternoon. I've made this hat before, it is the Michele hat, and I have named this The Neil Diamond Hat and I am using Merino Magic 8ply from Heirloom. I am knitting as fast as I can. The slip stitch pattern is easy: one row K6 Slip 1, the next row just K to the end.

Such good news for Lorelai Gilmore at the vet. Her results were excellent and from a starting point of 3 1/2 blue tablets every day, she is down to 1/4 of a tablet every second day, and an Imuran(sp?) every second day too. Dr Tim was very pleased and Gilly seems so happy, playful and normal again. The days have been delightfully cool, but sunny in the afternoons and so Gilly likes to lie on her cushion and soak up the warmth.

Hedy Lamarr pulls like all get out when she walks on her lead so Dr Tim suggested a new harness. I don't have a picture, but as soon as she put it on, she walks like a good girl. MrsDrWho bought Hedy a rope toy for her birthday last week, and she loves to fetch it. I also think it is hefty enough to survive her sharp chewing teeth for quite a while. We are making Hedy work when she wants to play: she has to sit and not bark. She learned to sit in no time flat but she is contrary and barks if throwers are too slow for her. Sadly, that means she has to wait even longer.

We haven't really done very much at all, what with all the sleeping and resting in bed. We are very grateful for the cool weather, it even rained this afternoon!! The poor people in Sydney have been suffering from the heat with the hottest month ever in January, but Cooma has had 36 straight days over 35*C. Now I must go back to the couch to watch The Weekly and knit, knit, knit......

The Truth, The Hole Truth.....

Sometimes this is what Life feels like: you are just sitting there, minding your own business, and suddenly.... Hedy!!! And not just Hedy Lamarr, but Hedy Lamarr woofing in your ear and being very annoying.  Poor Lorelai Gilmore, but every night when we go up to The Forbidden Zone to do a wee before bed, Gilly comes in the gate herself and back down the steps leaving Hedy trapped by the dastardly gate, and when I ask where Hedy is, Gilly wags her tail and runs up the steps to show me where the puppy is. Gilly is all wriggly and I give her lots of pats, even though Hedy tries to muscle in, and she is as pleased as punch with herself for rescuing Hedy.

It has been cool, warm, humid, raining and cold today. In that order. Gilly took some time to drink the paddle pool. Since only 1% of our $900 yearly water bill is for actual water, I don't mind filling up the paddle pool for The Labradors. There is no incentive to be water conscious. We don't go overboard, but a Labrador can't drink murky water that's been paddle in by paws that have been who-knows-where.

Hedy is handy, today she stood up on her back legs and chewed open the new bag of dry dog food that was on top of the freezer in the laundry, and I imagine she and Gilly stood under the hole while dog food poured into their mouths as if manna from heaven. I worked this out, Sherlock style, by observing Hedy's very round belly after dinner. Celery and carrot doth not a round belly make. She's too sated with food to move.

I have been doing jobs with money: new tyres and servicing the car. Thank goodness, all my worry about something leaking under the car was not needed. My rear shock absorbers (???) may need replacing but they are not urgent. Gilly has a new appointment at the vet and I need to make one at the dentist. We feel very happy that ominous tasks have been completed and turned out not to be so bad.

Look!! Shopping bag #101, with Christmas Koalas, because of course when you think of Christmas you think of koalas!! And a new zippy chip bag. I have remembered not to press the lining before I top-stitch the zip, because it slightly melts the plastic and it is never the same again, no matter how careful I am.

I have been watching many and various things: the new series of Sherlock, Travelers (sp is American), Murder She Wrote (totally up to date) and The Librarians. I'm watching lots of other things like Fringe, The West Wing, Designated Survivor, Frequency, Shannara Chronicles, Enterprise, Taxi Brooklyn, The Delivery Man, The Wrong Mans(not a typo), Billions, Ray Donovan, iZombie, Younger: when the show starts to get a little bit frightening or I don't like the way it seems to be going I stop watching and change to something happy and good. Later on when I feel ready, I go back and start watching again.

Whilst watching many and varied things I have been indulging in a little more knitting. Small things so as not to make myself hot underneath them. Three face washers, because that's what we call them here, not facecloths, and the third leaf I managed to eke out of the teal cotton. I used Cottonwood 8ply and it is lovely to knit with, it doesn't make my fingers hurt.

The hydrangeas at the dam are looking beautiful: pink, blue and pale blue/lavender.

All the colours are on the one plant, though I think each flower is actually hundreds of tiny flowers.

Tomorrow I am going to make some more boozy fudge with Kirsch and dried cranberries, because I can't find dried cherries. We don't go for a walk on Wednesday so we can sleep in and maybe read in bed for a while. No-dog is going to need a big breakfast after The Incident in the Laundry!!! The weather forecast is for 21 and 20 until the weekend. I heard a scientist talking about heat stress on the ABC Radio a few weeks ago, and realised that what I experience in Summer is not just hating the hot weather but heat stress: headache, nausea, dizziness, irritability, thirst, weakness- but not heavy sweating. Apparently, some people do not experience heat stress and this is why they enjoy the hot weather. They just don't feel the effects of heat stress. I am happier knowing that what I am feeling is a proper thing, that I am not just a hot weather Moaning Myrtle. This Summer has been much cooler, with fewer consecutive days of very hot temperatures. The hottest day was 31.5*C, mostly it has been around 25, which is just right!!

 

Now It's Music I've Found, And I'm Tired, I'll Sleep Sound.

Oh I am so tired. I am beyond tired. Today we went for a walk and unexpectedly met Rafa and his dad. Hedy played so much she had to have a little lie down.

Then I had my hair cut and this afternoon I went to be a Patient-Partner at the Hospital. Seven people searched for, found and then palpated my spleen.  An enlarged spleen is a rarity, so the almost newly minted doctors and their tutors were excited to feel my spleen. I also had to exert myself so that they could hear the murmur in my heart. And get on the bed, off the bed, several times. I want to go to sleep, but I know if we go to bed now, I shall be awake in the middle of the night again.

Lorelai Gilmore is feeling very well. We met a new puppy, Sebastian, but I don't have a decent photo of him. Hedy, Sandy and Rafa played with him. Gilly?? No, Gilly met Sebastian's human and ascertained immediately that she had treats in her pocket. Gilly has never met a pocket full of treats she doesn't love!!

Lorelai Gilmore has her "asking for a treat" face and paw down pat. Look at that face.

Hedy Lamarr never passes up a treat, she also never passes up a muddy puddle.

When Hedy bites Gilly, I squirt a little diluted apple cider vinegar at her. I only had to do this a few times before she realised what it meant. After that I just had to show her the bottle and say "No!". Unfortunately I left the bottle on the desk and Hedy wrought her revenge quickly, chewing off the top.

I have been knitting something from Craftsy's new free Autumn Knit-along . They say Fall, I say Autumn. It is a gift, so I have not shown it as it truly is. I am very pleased though. It was a fun knit and looks great too.

I've also been trying to eat more vegetables. Tonight I had peas, sweet potatoes and potato. Yesterday I had some carrots, Hasselback potatoes with bacon and broccolini (not shown).

I am tired in other ways too. A female politician has said she felt bullied by a male politician. The male Premier has decided there is no case to answer and the male politician apologised for his tone, but not the bullying. Now he is saying that he is the victim. How is it that he seems to have turned the whole thing around and made it about him?? The Premier says there should be mediation, but I think there should be a proper third party inquiry. I don't believe that putting a bully, and the person they bullied together is a good idea. I think it can give more power to the bully. No-one really know what happened, but the male politician threatening to sue anyone who discusses it seems wrong.

It is still a man's world.

Today is International Day of the Girl and a survey released shows that two-thirds of girls believe that gender inequality is a persistent problem in Australia. 40% say they do more chores than the boys in their family and only 16% feel they are valued for their brains and ability. Things have changed, but not enough. It seems that because girls have been given the same opportunities as boys, boys feel they have had something taken away from them. And when women are given equal opportunities to men, men also feel that they have lost out: I am speaking generally. I think of the way Julia Gillard was, and Hillary Clinton is, treated so poorly by men and by the media. I despair of old rich entitled white men. Women and men are certainly different, but deserve the same opportunities and respect. A few weeks ago I found a credit card on the road behind my parked car. I took the card to the police station and I had to fill in a form. The form was all "he", "him" and "his". Not even a pretence of "s/he". I do feel not as equal when simple things such as government forms only have male pronouns. I would like to see all forms with just female pronouns and then tell men that these pronouns are inclusive. I don't feel included.

What else can I talk about?? The Plebiscite for Same Sex Marriage. I cannot for the life of me work out why I can have a vote-that-might-not-even-be-worthwhile about same sex marriage, but not one about going to war or the deficit. It does seem now that The Plebiscite might be off. I think couples should be able to be married in a civil ceremony. Everyone should have a civil ceremony and then they can have their marriage blessed, or whatever, in a church if that is what they choose. And churches should be able to refuse if they want to. I don't want to interfere in their religion. I can't think of one good reason why there should not be same sex marriage. The arguments used against it sound oh so familiar to those used against African Americans, against our Aborigines and against women. And saying that children deserve a mother and a father?: even fifteen years ago in my classroom most of the children's parents were no longer together in their original family unit. There were single mums, single dads, people who had remarried, people whose spouse had died, the list goes on. I believe children are better off with two people, or one person, who loves them, rather than with two people who hate being together and make their home an unhappy or unsafe place.

I feel like Hillary after saying all that!!

And I just can't even start thinking about Donald Trump.

There. I've managed to while away an hour. Time for a cup of tea, maybe another episode of Fringe and then sleep. Tomorrow there is no walk, we don't walk on Wednesdays, so I plan to sleep all morning.

And now I plan to press "Publish" and be damned.

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Bedtime

The football finals came and went. This was Hedy's first footy party next door and she was not impressed: too noisy and too many new people. Gilly went to the part a few times but there was no barbecue and so no real incentive to stay. It was underdogs winning all round in the finals.

This week I ate somewhere nice: twice. I spent most of the rest of the week sleeping, or lying on my side on the couch watching Fringe from the start all over again. The weather has been typically vernal, with heavy rain interspersed with warm sunshine. Today after our walk we went to bed and I didn't wake up until 5-09pm. The sound of rain on a corrugated iron roof is very soothing, except if it results in floods and we have had floods again in the north and south. The Hydro lowered the dam in expectation of the heavy rain. Even so the dam has been overflowing all week.

I made some teeny tiny Baby Kiwi socks with the wool left over from my socks. I wound wool on, checking the repeats, and had enough left over. I am very pleased. I think the colours work better than an adult sized sock.

I rescued my new Vogue pattern from Hedy. Luckily she didn't tear it up, as she did with an old paperback from the recycling, but it is very grubby on the outside. I plan to make the dress without the gathered pockets.

Gilly continues to improve. She is wicked, she has stolen things from the grocery bags and on our walks she ranges far and wide. She is interested in life again, and maybe there will be some extra food involved??

Hedy has never really played inside the boom gate area, so she was quite worried about finding Gilly. You can just see Lorelai Gilmore in the bottom left corner. Hedy Lamarr heard the noise and leaped towards Gilly.

The Labradors love going for a walk. It has been very wet, but we don't mind the rain. I am a little tired of wet dogs inside. Thank goodness we have plenty of dog drying towels at home.

We always take a toy for Hedy to play with, to encourage her not to bite Gilly. MrsDrWho bought The Labradors two new balls-on-a-rope. Really, only Hedy plays with them, but the first thing to do is to remove the rope!!

And then remove the covering. We are careful to throw out old 'tennis' balls because the ball inside splits into pieces very easily.

This week nine Australian men were arrested in Malaysia for undressing down to their Speedos which were embellished with the Malaysian flag. I shall not say any more, Internet search them if you wish,   but the general reporting called them "boys" and basically, boys will be boys, right? Boys??!! They ranged in age from 25 to 29. These are not boys, they are men, and men with responsible jobs.  I don't understand why drinking too much and stripping to your undies in a foreign country is dismissed as just boyish behaviour.

Our duopoly supermarkets are complaining that customers using the self-serve option are keying in the wrong codes, saying a mango is a potato for example, and so stealing from them. What did they think would happen when they stopped serving customers?? I am always in a long line waiting to be served by a person. I won't use the self-serve as it takes away people's jobs. I know it is a pointless protest and I am cutting off my nose to spite my face, but apparently that is who I am!!

If it's Thursday, it must be bedtime. Oh look, it is and so it is. I don't think the fact that I slept for seven hours today and seven more in the night, will stop me sleeping again as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Lie-low and Stitches

In between the snow and rain and wind, we have had some sunny days, and there is nothing a Labrador enjoys more (well, apart from eating and walks) than lying in the sun soaking up the Winter warmth.

All went well when Hedy went to the Vet to have her stitches removed. We went straight into a consulting room as there was a very barky unhappy-to-be-there dog in the Waiting Room. The nurse whisked Hedy out to the surgery and Gilly waited for her. Waited and waited, even though it was only five minutes. She was quite worried.

Hedy cared not one jot, she was ready to run and play again.

Instead of being like an angry giant parrot on the end of a stick, Hedy was allowed to run free at last. I am not sure Gilly was so happy, she liked being Boss of the Walk. You can just see Gilly, being Boss of the Walk, far away up the hill. She was rather naughty to run up there, but since Hedy was on the lead, she took the opportunity when it arose.

Now things are back to normal, with Hedy Lamarr at Lorelai Gilmore's heels.

We all went to bed yesterday and most of today as I had a migraine. The DVR in the lounge-room has decided not to Timer Record any more, so I had to use the others. I have two old DVD recorders that can only tune in SD stations. The remote control may have been on the bed so I could turn the news on. Late this morning I was awakened by a strange noise.....

Oh dear, this is Hedy's first official Naughty Thing. Gilly was shocked, shocked and horrified. It can not be all Hedy's fault as she had access to the remote. It still works, but intermittently. What good luck it is the remote for the DVR that is broken. Household appliances know when your Tax Return is expected. They know. So far we need a new DVR, a new Rice Cooker and a new mixer. The Rice Cooker costs less than $20 and works very hard almost every day, so I am not so bothered by that.

I am knitting WeeJock&Bessie's Mum a hat in some soft and luxurious Debbie Bliss Andes: mulberry silk and alpaca. I have only made the ribbing, twisted ribbing, thus far and I need to buy some more short 4.5mm ends to do the actual hat. This will be the not so slouchy version.

I am also sewing a Star Spangled Jacket. Here is a tip: always cut sequinned fabric out on a sheet or some other protective covering. Ask me how I know. There are sequins from dawn till dusk all over the house. The jacket doesn't have a full lining, and the spangled fabric is not solid, so I needed to make my brain work extra hard to figure out how to work the full lining and facings. I am almost to the putting it all together stage. When you are about to take a photo and you say "Wait" to The Labradors, this is what happens: Gilly waits patiently and Hedy just rolls on into the picture.

Our Sewing night has changed this term, so I have to be organised and sew this fortnight's block and bake some cakes for tomorrow night. I am thinking of baking the Cherry Ripe cupcakes from this month's Taste magazine. I bought some fresh cherries to tizzy them up. I am not sure about the overflowing chocolate ganache. Sure, it looks great, but it is not very eater friendly.

 

Tooth Or Derring

The tooth in question is Hedy Lamarr's. Hedy lost a baby tooth early this week and you can see her Big Girl tooth coming through.  It's the tiny point of tooth just poking out of her gum. No wonder puppies chew, the tooth fell out somewhere and she had a big hole in her gum. It must really hurt.

Oh the indignity of having a tooth photo taken.

The derring-do occurred when Hedy broke into the kitchen, opening the baby gate by herself, and ate the carcase of a BBQ chicken from the bin- no drumsticks or wings, just the cartilage middle section.  I knew something was afoot because Gilly came and told me with her Special Ears on. As we are on to dog number 6 I didn't panic. I rang the vet and Dr Megan remembered Hedy. She said to keep an eye on her for either emission or non-emissions from either end, and no dinner or breakfast. We have tied the baby gate for the time being. Of course I knew what she had eaten and always ring the vet. I thought I should add that. Hedy usually likes to do whatever Lorelai Gilmore does:

On our walk we usually just see this: Gilly off on her walk, and Hedy trying to keep up and keep on task, looking to Gilly. 

I have knitted a hat for the baby next door, Modern Sweet in some Loyal 10ply in a hot pink. Very cute and I love the flower. It just took an evening to make.

I'm also knitting a new hotwater bottle cover for my new back-up hotwater bottle. It is a pattern of my own design, and the last one was in 5ply so this 8ply is a tad too big but I don't care. I am using all odd ends of wool and using Fibonacci stripes, because they make everything pleasing to the eye.

Nothing much has been happening this week because I have a cold, a cold which I suspect I caught at Leukaemia Support group when I was in a room for two hours with the hot air-conditioning on. We don't walk on Wednesday, and I took them walking this morning, but both days I have slept till way in the afternoon. I did wonder if it was time for Hedy to have just two meals a day, but no, they continue till she's six months old. So the sleeping is why Hedy wasn't being sufficiently supervised.

At the weekend I read about an Eco-Cooler, an air-conditioner that works without power. It uses the principle that air you breathe out with an open mouth and a "ha" is hot, but air you blow out through pursed lips is cool. It needs a lot of plastic bottles and I'd like to try it out in Summer. So, I bought some fizzy cordial, as we call it, and conducted a taste test so no-one else has to. Believe me, no-one else wants to.

There are three Fan Made flavours: Fairy Floss, Fruit Tingler and Pineapple Coconut and then Traditional Pink Lemonade.

I don't drink fizzy cordial, maybe some lemonade in Summer, but rarely, so the first overall impression of the flavours was how sweet they were: incredibly sweet.

The blue Fairy Floss tastes vaguely of almost burnt sugar and sweetness. It doesn't really remind me of Fairy Floss very much.

The Fruit Tingler is perhaps the best of the four. It tastes distinctly of Fruit Tingle lollies. And sugar.

The Pineapple Coconut has an artificial and strong coconut smell, but a lesser flavour. The pineapple flavour is not prominent.

Can a drink taste pink?? Yes, it can because that is what the Pink Lemonade tastes like: pink. Or what I imagine pink tastes like. Pink and sweet.

Well, that was certainly an experience. And not an altogether pleasant one. I think of myself as having a sweet tooth, but these were all overly sweet, being 31/34/31/31% sugar respectively. Definitely a sometimes food and one that I will not add to my menu any time soon.

Our Sewing group continues on, and some blocks have been sewn.

I had all sorts of plans for this week, but none of them will come to fruition and I am just not worrying about it. Tomorrow I have an appointment to have my hair cut I shall and bake a chocolate cake for the vet. Dr Megan talked to me over the phone and the nurses were very kind to ask her to ring me back. The Labradors snuggle together on the couch every evening. And I have a hotwater bottle and some yoghurt full of the right kind of healthy bacteria for tea. We watched Doctor Thorne this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't wait for Episode 2. I like Trollope. I remember watching The Pallisers and then Barchester Chronicles on TV and we read Trollope at Matric. Very witty and he writes excellent women!!!

Rolling In The Sleep

I have been sleeping. I have been sleeping for five days in a row. We went out for walks, and supplies, but other than that is has been all sleeping. The weather has been cold, we just had the coldest May day on record, so it has been all hotwater bottles and extra quilts on the bed. Today is the first day I feel un-tired. We still had a nap this afternoon, but I went out to do some shopping and left Hedy Lamarr out of her crate to run free in the house and back yard with Lorelai Gilmore. I did shut the hidden dining room door and the hall door, but when I came home Gilly was waiting at the gate and Hedy came from inside when I called- she was probably asleep in her crate!!

Consequently, not much else has been happening. Hedy goes for a walk off her lead. She comes when she is called and runs like the wind. So fast that she is a blur. Gilly is poking out her tongue. It is the season for rolling in something smelly and eating it as well.

Hedy has met Rafa the Border Collie and Sandy the Failed Guide Dog. They have both been champions. They have put up with a wriggly, licky puppy with hardly any growls at all. And if there is a little growl, Gilly appears from nowhere and puts herself between them and Hedy. What a good job she does.

And all The Labradors...

Hedy is so cute and she is such a good girl. Her worst fault is stealing balls of wool, and that is because I haven't put them away. She has grown out of her cute dark green baby collar and has a new one. I felt guilty, so I went back and now Gilly has a matching collar. Gilly woke up on the couch next to Hedy Lamarr the other day and she wagged and wagged her tail, and licked Hedy's paws and belly. I think Hedy is settling in well. She doesn't bite me all the time either, which is nice!!

I have almost finished MrsDrWho's birthday socks. I have made both the afterthought heels and knitted past where I think I should start the toes. Which is annoying, but sensible because it is a new style of sock and I need to ask her to try them on. The stripes match so well, I am so chuffed.

I bought myself a present today: two Pyrex bowls in a gorgeous aqua colour. They were on sale for half price so I treated myself. The container with the lid in already filled with some salmon pasta sauce, which I ate from the cute bowl for my tea.

I drove MrsDrWho's automatic car with no problems at all. I feel slightly silly that I was so worried. Now I feel confident that I could drive any car at all. She had a lovely trip away and if I need to drive the car to the airport again I will definitely be available.

Well, our house has been quite boring. I watched the end of River, a TV show on The Netflix and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am making my way through The Night Manager now.

Tomorrow I plan to start knitting a corgi for The GardyGardeners. They have always had corgis and as they leave for The Mainland soon, a corgi will be a nice keepsake for them.

Sisters Golden Hair: Surprise!!

Today it rained, rained all day with gale force wind and so much water everywhere. Hedy had not really seen rain. She is apparently fine with thunder and lightning, but hard rain hurts her delicate baby skin- or so she says!! It rained torrentially at 8am and there were warnings of trees and power lines down, so Gilly didn't go for a walk. Instead there was a bonus trip to The Vet for Hedy's last baby vaccination. And it tipped down when it was time to leave. The waiting room was full of wet dogs, wet dog smell and breath. It fogged up the windows in the waiting room and my camera too.

In exciting news, we met Hedy's actual litter sister: Daisy!! I am sure they recognised each other and much playing ensued.  The photos are too foggy, but I have a reasonable one of Daisy.

Daisy was there to be vaccinated as well. We are obedient human companions!! It turns out that Daisy's sister Abby, is also related to Hedy, Daisy and Gilly. They are all from the same breeder. What a good advertisement for such lovely Labradors. Abby is 14 and was there to pick up her arthritis medication.

Gilly was bemused by the whole thing. It was a Labrador whirlwind. Hedy is the perfect weight. She was so well behaved for Dr Megan and Dr Megan was most impressed. I am also secretly so proud of Hedy who could sit and wait when I asked her too, while Daisy just jumped on the seat, larked about and generally ignored her human!!

Lorelai Gilmore is also the perfect weight. She should not weigh any more, and could weigh a little less. I can stop worrying so much about her now. Poor Gilly was a little put out because lots of the doctors and nurses came to especially meet Hedy, though Dr Megan did slip her a few extra treats.

The house has been full of wet and muddy dogs for the last two days. The rain is wonderful, it is the first time Hedy has seen rain in her whole life. We could do with a little less all at once though.

I printed some material at Spoonflower for my sister. It has her dog, Archie, on it. I had to work with the only photo I had, but I think the bag turned out quite well. I have enough for two bags and Archie is back and front. He's a Shar-Pei. I tried to take a photo for my blog:

After eight attempts I finally had something approaching reasonable. This is bag #80.

I am not quite sure when we will get to sleep tonight. It is 11-04pm and Lorelai Gilmore and Hedy Lamarr have been playing rowdy rebel games in and out the dog door and round the house for an hour. Thank goodness it is not raining. They need some time to calm down before they will be ready to sleep. Oh, no, Hedy is woofing.

Right, all is well again. I have been knitting some TARDIS hand warmers for Mrs HouseOf's oldest daughter. OldestDaughter is very thoughtful and sent me a gorgeous knitting brooch, which is in a  bag somewhere, safe from Hedy, and I can't find it right now. It is tiny wooden knitting needles with some green knitting on them.

I have made one and a bit hand warmers. I knitted the cuff and the rib at the top in the round and the rest back and forth. I sneakily used small pieces of the wool to knit the windows on the front and back so I didn't carry them across the blue part in the centre. I am quite pleased with the writing too. It needs a good blocking to make the windows and writing sit properly.

Ah, peace reigns once more. Well almost. Lorelai Gilmore is in bed, and Hedy Lamarr is in the dining room making little cross noises because she wants some attention. Tomorrow I am baking a banana cake and then going with MrsDrWho and some of her teacher colleagues to see a play presenting three episodes of Dad's Army at the theatre. It should be great!!