HighFiber: May 2023

Monday, May 29, 2023

Adventures in Puppy Parenting

Obviously, Sandy has grown.

He's also getting better at staying put for photos, but not as good as Dusty.

It only took seven or eight tries to get this photo of Sandy.

I took them for walks a couple of times by myself this week. It's a little like trying to drive a buckboard standing up, but it's getting easier. I've been working with both of them on "heel," which I expect will help eventually. Dusty has the "heel" part down, but not the "sit" when you stop. Sandy doesn't get the point of "heel" but is great at "sit."

We have managed to walk every day this week, taking varying routes. Usually we put harnesses on the pups. Sandy has already grown out of the puppy harness. The one he's using now needed a lot of adjustment for him, but fits better than the one we use for riding in the car. When he grows out of this one, I should be able to adjust the other harness like Dusty's so it's small enough for him.

I keep finding Snowball in different places around the house. I thought this was Snowball doing cat yoga.

Sandy has grown so much, we keep moving things, and he still manages to get something he shouldn't have, either because he can destroy it or it might be harmful for him if he swallows some of it. The other day, I caught him like this. (It's too bad the light wasn't on in the room, because it would have been a great photo.) We don't know who put that stool there, but neither of us remembers doing it. He couldn't have done it himself, could he? What was he after, the coasters or the fly swatter?

This morning, I heard what sounded like rummaging in my purse, which was in the middle of the dining room table. Could it be? Yes! When I checked, Sandy was standing ON THE TABLE! I wanted to laugh. I wanted to grab my phone and get a photo. I didn't want to give him the idea that it was OK, though, so I told him no and took him down. Then I made sure all the chairs were placed right up against the table, so he couldn't use one to climb. What a monkey!

I've written a new story, the first one since April 7th. When each story is written, I copy it into a word-processing program, edit it to fit to use less paper, if I can, and print it off. I make notes about what kind of photo I want. Then I take photos or sometimes find things online and check them off on the script. Well, Sandy got my script. He took it outside, but brought it back when I didn't chase after him. However, it wasn't much good when it came back. Fortunately, I only had two photos left to take, and I remembered what I wanted them to be. (I wonder if he's a literary critic in a fur coat?)

Dusty has had his paws full, dealing with the growing little brother. They get along great, unless Dusty has to correct Sandy, who doesn't always take correction from Dusty well. They often look sweet together.

We are well into spring here, with wildflowers blooming. Plant.id says this is probably flixweed. If so, it's edible. We need some of it in our yard. This photo was taken on one of our walks.

This was growing on a slope next to the Larkspur Trail, on someone's property, and probably planted, but also a wildflower, most likely Basket-of-gold, a type of Alyssum, and related to the flixweed.

I managed to get some progress on the new book. Now it's time to walk the dogs.

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 Kultaimnen käki, but not much progress, just a few rows of ribbing, and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom: I really hope to warp for placemats soon!

What's on my sewing machine: Also plan to start working on some quilts.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Dipping into Art...Again, a rerun from 2018. Jolena and Veronika do some finger painting and have a look at what art is.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Didn't get a chance to listen to White Silence this week.

What's in my wine glass: Bordeaux Supérieur 2019 from Kirkland, Grand Vin de Bordeaux. Not bad.

What's my tip of the week: If a recipe calls for lemon juice, you can substitute lime juice. If you don't have lime juice, you can substitute orange juice, but it isn't as acidic. I used half orange and half white vinegar in a recipe that called for 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and it worked fine. However, if the lemon is a major ingredient, this won't work.

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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Monday, May 22, 2023

Bigger Puppy, Same Old Lady

The Talvinen cardigan is finished.

The buttons arrived Monday, as anticipated. I was delighted with how they look with the colors in the yarn.

I was happy with the fit, too. Putting in the steek adds the width of one of the bands to the overall bust measurement. It will be loose enough to wear over a couple of layers, if I need to do that, but isn't too big. (I had to stand on the bottom rung of the utility ladder to take the photo in the bathroom mirror.)

The pups went to the groomer on Monday, too. Dusty doesn't look much different, but Sandy sure does! They both needed a nap after they got home, but I got this photo first.

After the nap, they had to go out into the dirty backyard and try to undo some of the groomer's hard work.

Sometimes we can get a glimpse of what our adult Sandy will look like, although we know he will lighten up a lot from this.

In anticipation of the next rain, Charlie had covered the lawnmower (already waiting in the backyard) with a tarp. The pups thought they had a better use for the tarp...or maybe they thought they could mow the lawn for us and were just distracted from their task by the removal of the tarp.

Sandy is still trying to get his friend Snowball to come outside to play. Eventually, he should make it.

Sandy really enjoys the sidelight. He can look out and see some of what's going on, although his view is partly obstructed by the front porch rail and a big bush. We have since removed the metal dog play yard, because Sandy doesn't go upstairs to potty anymore, only to look for something interesting to investigate, so we just keep the doors closed now.

Wednesday was a nice day, so I took some photos outside.

Friday marked a week since Sandy's final Parvo vaccine that should give him immunity to this dangerous disease. Our vet thought a week was all we needed to wait before taking him out on the trails, which are used by lots of dogs. We still cleaned paws and took off shoes at the door one last time, but have since stopped. We had to take a photo to commemorate the event, so we paused at the fence with the Bigfoot signs (also mentioning that they had a baby dragon). Sandy has outgrown his harness, and the second harness like Dusty's is still so big one of the front legs comes out.

We're minimizing contact with other dogs for now, because Sandy hasn't had the canine flu vaccine yet. At the groomers, they were treating him as an unvaccinated puppy, by cleaning surfaces and keeping him in his kennel except when he was being worked on. It has been a week, so if he caught anything, he doesn't have any symptoms. That's good. Here's what our Walk for a Dog app showed for the walk.

Saturday we just took our usual walk around the block, to fit it in between rain showers, thunder and lightning. Sunday, though, was pleasantly warm and sunny, so we walked through the neighborhood to the park by the Recreation Center and came back on the Larkspur Trail, taking a side trip through the Juniper forest adjacent to the trail. It was a little longer than Friday's walk.

My computer glasses were missing most of yesterday. Charlie found them in the grass in the backyard. They're dirty, but probably not any more so than they were. I can't believe they don't have scratches from Sandy's little piranha teeth, though.

Speaking of piranha teeth, Sandy (like all puppies) likes to bite our feet, shoes, socks and pants. The breeder recommends Grannick's Bitter Apple, which we have used with success in the past, but it didn't seem to deter Sandy. I don't know if it loses its effect over time. The bottle we have is one we've had for years. I decided to look for something I could concoct at home. I found a recipe online that called for apple cider vinegar and white vinegar with a little chili pepper. I didn't have any cider vinegar, so I made it with only white vinegar. It didn't work. I'm trying with cayenne now, but the spray bottle has broken.

Sandy also moved up to larger-sized kibble this week, as recommended at four months. We switched him over several days, because we're using a different brand with a different formula. It's the puppy version of something Dusty is getting, so eventually they will be able to free feed from the same bowl. Right now, I either supervise their mealtimes with an open bowl of Sandy's food in the playpen (where Dusty won't go) or I fill their Kong toys with the kibble and make sure they don't swap.

I have a start on a new book. I'm working on the layout now. Stay tuned.

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

What's on my needles: Just cast on the Kultainen käki sweater, again as a cardigan and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom: Dust, but I still plan to make some placemats.

What's on my sewing machine: Still ready for back of T-shirt quilt and quilts for Soren and Johan. I washed the backing fabric for the T-shirt quilt this week. Progress.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Still doing reruns, while I cope with puppy. This week's reedited story is Insomnia. Jolena tries everything to help her go to sleep but the one thing all Happy Kids need. Mandy helps her out.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to White Silence by Jodi Taylor. Still haven't gotten very far.

What's in my wine glass: Monte Plants Breedekloof Pilotage 2020 from South Africa. Not bad.

What's my tip of the week: I discovered that I can use the air fryer to make cottage fries without mixing everything in a bowl first, since I spray the cooker pan with cooking spray first anyway. When the pan has heated up, I just put the cut-up potatoes in, sprinkle in the seasonings and give it a stir. No added oil. Worked fine.

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

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.

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Monday, May 15, 2023

Growing Up

Spring is here, as evidenced by the beautiful flowers! We have thousands of these lovelies in our yard!

We may have to use them to make wine. Or "coffee." Or salad! Some people consider dandelions to be weeds, because they grow so fast.

Something else that grows fast. These were our pups on April 8th. Sandy was somewhere between 7-8 lbs. (We didn't get him weighed the day this was taken, but he was 8 lbs a week later.)

This is what we had on Thursday. We visited the vet the next day, and he was 11.22 lbs.

That was a very important visit to the vet! Sandy got the final dose of the vaccine in the series that should make him immune to Parvo (after a week or so for it to take effect). That means we will soon be able to go out on the trails with him. It means he can take a puppy training class. It means we won't have to take our shoes off at the door and sanitize the pups' paws anymore! We have an appointment to see the vet again when Sandy is six months old to evaluate the location of his potential dangly bits that will need to be surgically removed. It would be nice if our vet didn't have to dig around in there to find them. Our other males have been neutered at five months with no problem, but this line of dogs likes to hold them back much longer.

We haven't had any more "accidents" since we put up Dusty's old wire puppy play yard in front of the stairs. Sandy got the message quickly that it was against our cultural traditions to potty in the living area of the house, but he didn't seem to realize that the upstairs hall was living area. This is working well.

One thing I really like about this pup is that he prefers to leave his poopies around the very edges of the backyard, instead of out in the middle. I pick them up if I'm with him, because it's easier to find them. While I have a bag open, I look around for any others I might have missed. It's getting harder to see them, now that the grass is finally growing again.

Sandy has become quite comfortable with letting himself out through the dog door to potty, to play or just to check things out. Sometimes he takes a a toy or a friend with him. His friends need help getting through the door.

Snowball has been through the dog door (with help, of course), but it's a struggle. Snowball is pretty big. It's easy to help him out of the playpen, though.

Sandy hasn't figured out how to get Dusty through the dog door. That problem falls to me to solve. I have to either hold the flap up for him or open the door. They have a lot of fun playing in the backyard, once they're both out there. I prefer they not play with sticks, so I've been removing them and substituting a rope tug, but Sandy doesn't seem to be eating the vegetation, other than a little grass. When he chews things, he spits out any pieces that come loose, so I don't worry too much.

Dusty seems to have let up a bit on his obsession with having a ball thrown. He's happy to chase the ball or a toy if we throw it, but he really seems to enjoy Sandy's games of tug, chase, roll around on the ground and try to rip the other dog's throat out, etc.

When the play moves indoors, it sometimes changes the feel of our decor. This is a little more casual than we intended. (The bits of mud from the backyard on the quilt are a nice touch.)

He has a bit of a rebel in him. He took a chew toy out to the backyard the other day. I went, got it away from him and brought it inside, leaving my backyard shoes by the back door. I left the chew toy in the playpen and came back to find this.

It's good this one is here, but I needed two. He had the other one outside. I got the message. He thinks I took something of his, so he took something of mine. You don't get something back by chasing him, though. That's how his game is played. You have to pretend you don't care and start playing with something else. Dusty is very useful at helping with this. When Sandy took the dog comb out into the backyard, Dusty and I played alternately with the Frisbee and a toy, throwing and chasing, and totally ignoring Sandy. Soon Sandy dropped the comb and went after the toy. I snatched up the comb but kept up the game, so maybe Sandy doesn't catch on to my ploy.

Sandy is beginning to behave a bit like an older dog. He spends less time in the playpen now. I don't have to enforce "quiet time" after breakfast anymore. The other day, he sat for nearly a half hour, just watching the birds.

He has begun to "mark" our route when we go for walks. When I come home from being out, he wants to jump on me, of course, and bite me, but I praise Dusty for "good down" and "good no bites" and ignore Sandy. When he starts behaving the way I want, I praise him, too. Sometimes he challenges Dusty for the right to have a toy or a chewy, or Dusty gets after him for doing something he isn't supposed to do. They have an altercation. If it gets too serious (in my opinion), I tell them to knock it off. They do, usually within a few seconds. Sometimes they make up by kissing each other.

Sandy is getting very shaggy. Dusty needs a haircut, too. That's happening today. Sandy won't look like this anymore.

One of my online friends likes to color. She made this for me in honor of Sandy.

It has been a busy week, but Sandy doesn't need constant watching anymore. I was finally able to get more done on my Talvinen sweater. I decided to make the buttonhole and button bands before cutting the steek and use crochet reinforcement instead of sewing on the sewing machine, because this yarn is fairly sticky/clingy.

After I cut the steek down the middle, I had to trim the facing next to the crocheted row. If I had made the steek only five stitches wide, I could have saved this step.

I used the main color yarn to sew down the facings on the inside with an overcast stitch. The blue vertical line is the only part of the original steek left exposed.

I used lace-blocking wires to help with the blocking. My wooly board is really useful when the sweater has a drop shoulder, making it T-shaped, but this one has a round yoke, so that doesn't work as well. It took less than two days to dry.

I used stitch markers to decide where to put the buttons when they come, today or tomorrow, I hope.

These are the buttons I picked out, the 15mm ones. They are made of abalone shell.

Daphne's birthday was Sunday. She has had a lot of dancing and music in the past few days. I can't believe how much she has grown up!

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

What's on my needles: Ready to sew the buttons on Talvinen cardigan. On Saturday I swatched for the Kultainen käki sweater from Knitted Kalevala, which I ordered during the Rose City Yarn Crawl. And of course the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom: Dust, but I still plan to make some placemats.

What's on my sewing machine: Still ready for back of T-shirt quilt and quilts for Soren and Johan.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: A Picnic by the Lake. Charlotte and Jolena make some sandwiches and then go to an imaginary lake for a picnic. We don't see Jolena eat her sandwich. Find out why not when you read the story.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to White Silence by Jodi Taylor. Didn't get very far. Crazy week.

What's in my wine glass: Colossal Reserva 2018 from Lisbon. We've had this one before. It's very nice.

What's my tip of the week: I've discovered that I only need to use the sourdough starter from one jar (of my two), so I've been putting the newly fed jar behind the one already in the fridge, so when I need to use the starter again, I can just grab the one in the front.

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

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.

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