New Life!

Sandy is fitting in nicely. For a few nights he was up every three hours to go out, but the last few nights he has been going out at midnight and then sleeping until I get up, about 6:30. I suspect he was having a growth spurt. Dusty has been keeping the puppy entertained. Sandy is growing like a weed. Here you can see their relative sizes. They should be close to the same size when Sandy is grown.

The breeder suggested we get a playpen like this. It's really useful when I can't watch the puppy. He can still play with his toys, but he can't get into trouble. It pretty much takes up the whole center of the living room.

I've found that if I keep the kibble inside the crate, Dusty won't raid it, even though he walks through the playpen when it's open. We have to keep Dusty's food put up when Sandy is loose, because it isn't age-appropriate.

They both get a spoonful of whole-milk Greek yoghurt every day and a NuVet Plus tablet, but that's all that's the same, so they have to stick to their own bowls. Dusty understood right away, because we had been feeding him with Rocky, but Sandy caught on quickly.

Each dog gets a treat after breakfast, but they have to do a trick for it. Sandy learned to "sit" by the third try, so now we're working on "shake hands." Accidents in the house are rare, because we take Sandy out regularly. He has learned to go to the back door when he needs to go. Now we need to learn to believe him.

On Saturday we decided it was time for a bath––Sandy's first in his new home. He cooperated pretty well, and we had the usual run-around-crazy routine after he was toweled off.

The Talvinen cardigan is coming along. The first sleeve is finished. The second one has about four inches done, but when I took this photo, I had just picked up the stitched for the sleeve.

I managed to get some clothes made or purchased for Zachary's new doll. Besides the PJs and new shoes, he has a tan cardigan. They should arrive on Tuesday.

Saturday was Zachary's birthday. Here's his reaction to his new doll.

The A Girl of All Time doll Max has been renamed Josh. He will be needing more clothes, but the late return from our "vacation" and my cold threw a monkey wrench into the planned sewing/knitting.

On Sunday I made more bread for sandwiches. Now that I know the starter can sit around in the fridge for a month, I'm just using one jar each week.

I'm still coughing, so I'm going to go lie down and rest up.

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil and Mariah, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Talvinen cardigan and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Pawternity Leave! Mandy and Veronika explain to the other dolls that The Writer is going to take a break from writing the stories to spend some time raising the new puppy. It's called pawternity leave.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Just finished listening to The Shape of Lies by Rachel Abbott. Now listening to The Weaver's Daughter by Sarah E. Ladd.

What's in my wine glass: Monte Planus Pinotage 2020. Spicy, in a nice way.

What's my tip of the week: Keeping a washable quilt on a couch or chair your dog is allowed on can save a lot of cleaning.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 

Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. The stories are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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