In Which Criquette Comes Out of Hiding, With an Update

I'm baaaa-aack - after my long, involuntary sabbatical from blogland. And what a month it's been! (What a week it's been, but I'll save that for another post.)

First off, I want to thank Nichole for the wonderful collar I won in one of her contests. When she said the collar was a "small", I thought of Scout, who is small. Apparently she needs "toy-size". But I will keep this for next spring's batch of foster puppies - surely we'll have one who fits into this luxurious collar!

Gives new meaning to the word "choker"

Last week, Scout (now re-named Cordelia, Cordi for short), was adopted by a very talented local dog trainer and her family. Cordi's new mom knows all about how to help tiny dogs whose tiny bladders can't "hold it" when they get overexcited, so wasn't concerned about Scout's little "problem". Cordi also has a new dad, a big human sister and brother, and 2 Boston terrier brothers who love having a baby sister! Since her mom's training studio is in their home, Cordi gets to meet all kinds of new dogs and their people, and goes on long walks along a beautiful walking trail every day. We're getting together soon - can't wait to see my little rat again!

One lucky dog

Kona also hit the adoption jackpot 3 weeks ago, after 3 long weekends of being down at the shelter with me, searching for the right match. He was adopted by a great family - the parents saw him on PetFinder and knew he was the kitty for them. They brought their 10-year old daughter in to meet him and it was a mutual love-fest! He also has 2 Shi-tzuh brothers, who happen to love cats as much as he loves dogs. Hooray! We got an update from them and apparently the dogs have decided that Kona is a rockstar (which he is) and they defer to his every whim. He's always in someone's lap, demanding pets and love. And so far, he's been well-behaved, except for one incident involving an unlucky houseplant (keep your fingers crossed). I still really miss him, but Criquette is back to being sweet again and even Bitsy has been in a good mood.

They grow up too fast!

I have managed to make time almost every night to do a little knitting in order to maintain some measure of sanity. Current projects include a scarf for my niece, who is away at a college in the Blue Ridge mountains and needs a soft, toasty alpaca scarf to keep her warm as she scurries across campus. I am also making myself a pretty scarf in autumn colors. There's a another chemo Hurricane Hat in the works. And I couldn't resist casting on for a couple of dishcloths to carry around with me. Finally, I have a pattern I am creating for a knitted pumpkin that is turning out great so far - can't wait to show it off, although by the time I finish, it will be an Easter pumpkin!

And of course, since this is my absolute favorite time of year, and the weather has been outstanding, I've been sneaking in gardening whenever possible. I have such a bumper crop of hydrangeas this year (off of only 5 medium-sized shrubs), that I had containers of drying hydrangeas covering every available surface in my kitchen and dining room. I have already given away 3 big bunches of dried hydrangeas as hostess and birthday gifts, and still have a ton left. I called a local florist and they are interested in buying the rest. It won't make me rich, but it should be enough to cover the cost of a few skeins of yarn, a couple of new knitting books and a few new Addi's!

This is only about half of what I've dried so far

I am also trying to come up with some durable and inexpensive garden markers for the plants that go dormant in the winter. I got my supplies today and if it works, will share my idea in a future post. I refuse to pay an exorbitant fee for cheap plastic or metal markers that don't make it through the winter.

Not that my life has been all fun and games and knitting, of course. I'm in my super-busy time at work, and should continue with my 50+ hours/week until the end of school. My practice now consists almost exclusively of kids and teens being treated for some type of anxiety or stress-related disorders and I turn away several each week. I could write a month's worth of blogs on why I think there are so very, very many kids who are so stressed-out that they need professional help. I love what I do, but I wouldn't be sorry if our society started changing in ways that made kids (and adults) have less pressure and fewer things to worry about and fear - in fact, if it put me out of business, I'd be the happiest person on the prairie.