Holy Week Adventures

It was a busy week for the pups. Dusty had to get his teeth cleaned on Wednesday, and a couple of benign lumps removed from the back of his neck and from between the toes on his left front foot while they had him under. He wasn't going to be able to have a bath for a while after the surgery, so we moved his grooming appointment to Tuesday. The surgery went seamlessly, and the lump that was between his toes was sent off for analysis to make sure they got it all. He was so good during it all, they gave him a Certificate of Bravery.

We took the cone off for him to be able to eat. We left it off because he was mostly not bothering with his foot. He can't reach the incision on the back of his neck.

Dusty went back to most of his usual activities, like lying in the sun on the dining room floor. Sandy joined him, in solidarity.

The pups like to hang out on the couch when nothing much is going on.

Sandy's grooming appointment was on Friday. Now both dogs are looking nice.

Friday was pretty busy. After dropping off Sandy at the groomer's, I stopped at the grocery store and then went on to Trinity Episcopal Church for the noon Good Friday Service. Members of the choir were encouraged to attend, even though we weren't singing officially. I think there were four of us there. I got this photo before the service, when not too many people had arrived. I love the stained-glass windows and the architecture of the church. 

The pews filled up when it was almost time for the service. I went back for the 6:00 PM service because the choir was singing for that one. It was a longer service because there was more music. Saturday we had the Easter Vigil service. It was even longer with lots of music. I didn't get home until after 10:00 PM and had to get up at 5:30 AM to be at the church again by 7:15 AM to go over music for the 8:00 AM Easter service. We weren't done yet! We moved over to St. Helen's Hall for the 10:00 AM service, because more people were expected than would fit in the much smaller Trinity Church. The Hall was packed, and they even opened the balcony. The view from the balcony is somewhat restricted, so they projected a better view on the wall of the sanctuary. We sang the same pieces, and I think we did better, having practiced it one more time at the early service. We had some additional singers for both services. They sat with the congregation and then came up to sing the anthem with us.

If you want to hear us sing our anthem, you can watch it here. It's at about 51:30.

Sunday afternoon, I crashed on the bed and took a long nap.

The Summer Sorrel top is coming along. When I got to the end of the first chart, I put half of the stitches on another circular needle, so I could try it on. I think it's going to be OK.

Here's a look at the progress so far:

Although it was a busy week, I managed to rework some stories that might go into the new book.

I managed to find time to make bread on Saturday.

I'm going back to Wisconsin later this month, so when I cook for supper, I put one or two servings of whatever it is in the freezer for Charlie to have while I'm gone. Anything left over after I get back can be used when we go camping.

I have some more medical adventures coming up this week.

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, BlueSky or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon or B&N and search for Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". 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, Mariah, Classic Tales Retold, Our Favorite Verses, More Classic Tales Retold or Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, 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: Making progress on the Summer Sorrel Tee.

What's on my iPhone: Just finished The Strange Case  of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss on the AudiobooksNow app. Picking out a new book to listen to.

What's on my sewing machine: Put away until the next project.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The story for Friday was Mandy, Why Do Stars Twinkle. Emil and Mariah listen to Charlotte playing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and wonder why stars twinkle. They look for Mandy to get some answers.

What's my tip of the week: I use small amounts lime juice (about 2 tablespoons or the juice of one lime) in some of my recipes, so I like to keep it on hand, but I don't like the kind that comes with preservatives. I've found bottled lime juice that is only juice. It will only keep for 60 days after opening the bottle, so I pour 2 tablespoons in each compartment of an ice cube tray, freeze the juice and then pop the cubes into a plastic bag for storage in the freezer.

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

The stories in Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Talking About Boys, Changes, Shhhhh!, Staying After and Money in a Jar.

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

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

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook 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, only 8%, because the vendor gets a cut. My author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your local library to order the books.

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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Getting Nekkid!

Not what you thought? Well, it is what it is. Doggies went to the groomer on Thursday. We decided to have all the hair cut short. Here's how they looked.

Out on the trail during one of our walks since the extreme grooming session a lady walking alone stopped me and asked what breed of dog they were. "They're very cute, and a matched pair," she told me, "but I don't recognize the breed."

"Poodles," I told her. 

"Poodles!" she exclaimed. "They don't look like poodles!"

I had to explain that, yes, they are purebred poodles. This is what poodles look like without all that hair clipped in various designs.

Why did we have all the hair removed, you might ask? Dusty and I both have seasonal allergies, and this is the time of year when it happens. It occurred to me that all that hair around their faces can collect and hold pollen. Sandy hasn't shown any signs of allergies, but the dogs play vigorously together, so it made sense to do them both the same. They are also less likely to pick up foxtails and cheatgrass seeds with less hair. It makes water play more practical, too. If they get muddy, we can just hose them off. They don't need combing or brushing. Sandy loves to get into the water.

Speaking of water, we put some in the wading pool on Saturday. Sandy was squealing with delight or impatience while I was trying to turn on the hose. Dusty could care less about the pool. He loves to chase the ball, but if it ends up in the water, Sandy can get it.

We took turns throwing the ball either out into the yard or into the pool. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see Dusty looking up at Sandy, who had retrieved the ball from the pool. Dusty thought Daddy had thrown the ball into the grass on the other side of the deck behind the pool.

We decided we needed Real ID cards in case we need to fly again soon, so we went to the DMV on Wednesday. Charlie had no difficult signing up for his card, but they turned me down because the name on my birth certificate and driver's license doesn't match my name exactly on my Social Security account. I will need a passport to fly. My current passport expired five years ago in May, so I just missed the window for signing up for renewal online. I had to fill out the form online, print it off and go to the post office. I have an appointment for this morning. I have my passport photos, taken at the Automobile Club (AAA) on Wednesday, my expired passport, my driver's license, my birth certificate, my marriage certificate AND an appointment. Wish me luck!

The whole-cloth quilt is coming along. I'm almost halfway across the second side, filling in all the way to the edge of the quilt. (The last completed corner is on the left; my needle is barely visible in the incomplete section on the right.)

I did get some knitting done during the hours we were waiting at the DMV and while waiting to see my physical therapist. I reached the point in the The Love of Spiders shawl where I need to use the green yarn and decided to stop there rather than risk getting partway done with the green stripe in the border and running out of yarn. It's a superwash wool with nylon mixed in, so I needed something similar, so when I wash and block it all of it responds to the treatment in the same way. I've ordered some Knit Picks Stroll in what I hope is a close match to the green color. It's supposed to arrive on Wednesday. 

I decided to start a swatch for my next knitting project, the Gentle Spirit Tee. It calls for a US 4/3.75mm needle. After a few rows, I could see that it was going to be too loose, so I've gone down a needle size and am continuing on with that.

We gave Johan a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble for his birthday. It gave him a chance to stock up on books for summer reading. He has the grand sum of 5¢ left on his card after this shopping spree.

We will be going camping again in another week. Jim and the Oregon grandkids will be joining us at La Pine State Park. Stay tuned for more fun with the nekkid dogs on land and in the water.

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 More Classic Tales Retold or Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". 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, Mariah, Classic Tales Retold, Our Favorite Verses or More Classic Tales Retold, 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 working on The Love of Spiders shawl by Melanie Berg. Also swatching for Gentle Spirit Tee. 

What's on my iPhone: Still reading The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles. Haven’t made much progress. Listing to music for Summer Choir.

What's on my sewing machine: Still waiting on something new.

What's in my hoop: My whole cloth quilt. Still filling in the rest of the border.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In Playing at a Distance, Billy shows Jolena how she can still have fun with her friend who is moving away.

What's my tip of the week: Don't throw out those worn-out bed pillows. A cover using upholstery fabric is easy to make. What home doesn't need more pillows lying around?

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

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

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

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Coming in a few months: Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook.

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, because the vendor gets a cut. My author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well.

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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Life at Home

The boys are back to having their grooming sessions together. Here they are, relaxing after their spa day.

I picked up that pink poodle body pillow during a grocery-shopping outing. It was on the clearance table at Freddy's. Sandy has been taking his Lamb Chop toy, which is as big as he is, out to the backyard and getting her dirty. When "Pinky" caught my eye, my first thought was: It won't go through the dog door easily. So far Pinky has stayed indoors. We'll see. Lamb Chop made another trip to the backyard and was wiped around in the dirt, so she went into the laundry, protected by a zippered pillowcase.

Before I dropped the pups off at Deschutes Dog Salon, we stopped at Ponderosa Park's off-leash park for little dogs so they could get their wiggles out.

Here's how they looked after grooming.

The whole-cloth quilt is coming along. The swags are almost done. Look at the bottom of the stitched area, and you will see one swag partly done and one more not begun. All the others are finished.

Just the rest of the border out to the edges to finish. There will be a lot of fabric and backing to cut off when it's done. In this closeup of the same photo, the arrow points to where the edges of the border are, so you can see, there won't be too much more work to do.

Rehearsals for Sound Fourth continue. Friday afternoon is our performance. It's a lot of music to learn in a short period of time, so I've been listening to the practice tracks and going over my part. It's fun to see people at rehearsals I haven't seen since last year's event.

Charlie has been working on the garage, which has been half-full ever since we moved in. We didn't know what kind of home we would have when we moved here, so we brought things we ended up not being able to use. Most of it has just been sitting there. Our photo albums were in trunks buried in the middle. I think I inspired him to get at the huge job by mentioning wistfully how I wish we could get to our photo albums. He made a big pile of trash, which will take a few weeks to have picked up in our regular trash pickups. Another pile was stuff to give away. We still can only fit one vehicle in the garage, but it's easier to walk, at least.

Our rhododendrons are blooming. Charlie brought me this lovely flower he clipped off from one of the bushes.

Karen's family made it home from Europe after a delay of a day due to a mixup in their return tickets.

And the new book has gone to my proofreaders!

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 More Classic Tales Retold or Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". 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, Mariah, Classic Tales Retold, Our Favorite Verses or More Classic Tales Retold, 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 working on The Love of Spiders shawl by Melanie Berg. I finished a row while waiting for my doctor.

What's on my iPhone: Finished listening to The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Emily Rankin on the Audiobooks Now app. Now listening to music for the Sound Fourth Concert on Friday.

What's on my sewing machine: Still waiting on something.

What's in my hoop: My whole cloth quilt. Almost finished with the swags. Then just fill in the border to the edge, and it will be done. 

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The dolls say goodbye for now to Gabi, and Dolly will be leaving soon. They will be working as project models at the yarn store showing knitters what they can make for dolls in Earning a Living.

What's my tip of the week: When I'm ready to put my dirty dishcloth into the laundry, I rinse it out well, wring it out and use it to wipe the edges of my kitchen floor. There are always spots where something had dropped on it, and I can use my foot to wipe. Then it goes right into the laundry.

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

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

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

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The 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, because the publisher gets a cut. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well.

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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