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A Sad Farewell
I never really allowed myself to believe that my dog might die one day. Wensley always looked like a puppy, so even when he started limping from arthritis and sleeping most of the day I thought we would still have years together. I was wrong. Wensleydale Danger McDoggiepants, my partner in crime and Netflix binging, passed away on Sunday. No, that’s a lie. I called a veterinarian and asked him to come to my house to give my dog a life ending shot and he died. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Maybe the hardest. The only kindness in this is that it…
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Animal Encounters
Wensleydale has had a rough time this winter. His arthritis is acting up. He had some teeth pulled. And once the snow came he started peeing in a corner of the kitchen rather than asking to go out in the cold. He’ll be 16 years old in March, which for Yorkshire terriers (the internet tells me), is the equivalent of 80 human years. The site only went up to 17 which made my heart stutter. I had to google “oldest Yorkie” to get some sense of what I could hope for. I found this article about a 26 year old Yorkie who died in a dog attack, which was helpful…
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Yoga Poser
We were standing in Warrior II (never one of my favorite poses as it forces me to look at my body in the studio mirror at an unflattering side angle), posed with our back legs straight, our front legs bent at a 90° angle, and arms outstretched in both directions, one over each leg. “What is the significance of looking forward over your bent leg in this pose?” Judd asked the class as he walked down a row of rubber mats, correcting postures as he went. Someone said something in response, but I didn’t catch it over the music. But Judd did. “Yes!” he said. “We are reaching back into…
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My Year in Books
(Please note: This post contains affiliate links.) I had an epic reading year in 2019. I set a goal in Goodreads to read a book a month. I’m not a fast reader, but I do read a lot. Still I don’t usually set a reading goal so I wanted it to be attainable. I got a message half way through March that I had met my goal. I slowed down a little after the weather warmed up, but I still finished 30 books over the last twelve months. And so many of them were amazing, I need to recommend a few of my favorites here. I also got a bunch…
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He is Pretty Orange
Wensleydale got a shot at the vet this morning. When I brought him home I tried to make him a special treat by combining his two favorite things: peanut butter and carrots. Only something weird happened. Maybe I’m just watching too much political coverage these days, but do you see what I see? I swear, I cannot get away from that man! Wensleydale did not notice. He is now napping with his lobster, Pinchy. Meanwhile, the carrot is currently being impeached in Wensley’s stomach. He will convict sometime tomorrow.
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Does Your Christmas Need Some Krampus?
Mine did, but I didn’t know it! Not until I took a shortcut through a little neighborhood trying to avoid shopping traffic last weekend and saw this: Do you see it? One of these things is not like the others, right? What? The? Holy? Fuck?! It has plastic hands but that is fur of some kind. I took a friend by the next day in the rain and it looked even crazier when it was soaked. It reminds me of Ethan’s books on extinct Ice Age animals, so I’ve been calling it a sloth. But my friend Gina was like, “That’s a Krampus!” Neither is quite right. I’m just going…
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Thanksgiving Crafting
Growing up, Thanksgiving was spent with my large extended family and, while food was the main event, football was also central. If my uncles didn’t get into a fight about something (it’s not just drinking families that argue; Mormons do it, too), like which of them loved Ronald Reagan the most, then they would hunker down around TV and the children (and there were oodles of us) needed to stay quiet. If not quiet, then in the basement. Preferably both. One year we did a craft around the kitchen table while the menfolk watched football and talked politics. And I loved it! I couldn’t figure out while we weren’t doing…
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In the Pink
I was recently reminded that I am a NEW stepparent, and as such I have MUCH to learn. It was a weird “off” moment that I’m still trying to make sense of, but here are the basics: It was a Monday a few weeks ago and Ethan (seven) had the day off from school, but was a regular workday for us. My work has been slow so I took the day off. He has a friend in his second grade class who’s mother has kindly watched Ethan a few times this year when school got out early, so I volunteered to take her son, also. Let’s call him Chad. Chad…
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Knitting Weather
I finished a baby blanket and put in in the mail for a friend who is expecting a baby girl in the next month. As soon as I walked out of the post office I realized I forgot to take a photo of the finished blanket. Doh! Here is a photo of the first quarter: I love this pattern. It’s called the Llyr Baby Blanket and you can find the pattern here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/llyr-baby-blanket I think of it as The Dragon Scales pattern. I’m using Malbrigo yarn. The color is Whales Road but I forget the weight. Of course I started another blanket right away, because God Forbid I should watch…
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Witches Brew: Repost
I just learned a historical fact that blew my mind. Matt is reading a book on the dark ages right now, and he told me that there is a paragraph describing that from ancient times, beer was made almost exclusively by women. But in the 1500s, men decided that they wanted to take over beer making as careers and set about putting the brewers known as “alewives” out of business. So they called them witches and drove them out beer making. Here is a video that shows how the details we associate with witches, such as brooms and cats, directly came from the legacy of the alewives. So interesting! Makes…
