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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Books, Grass, Water

Well, I'm no Gutenberg, and it isn't The Bible, but I'm back at it again. It won't be too long before there's a fourth book. The new one is in the works. Soon the inside pages should be ready to go to my little team of proofreaders/editors. Then I can start on the cover.

There will be some new material in this book that was not included in the online story blog version, and of course, Pauly had to be added to the "cast of characters." There will be more pages, too.

I wasn't sure I could put out a book this year, with a new puppy, but Sandy's getting where he needs less time and supervision. He still puts us through our paces, though. For instance, he thoughtfully made up a puzzle for Daddy to put together, because puzzles are so much fun, right?

The real game, though, is to get Daddy to try to get the puzzle pieces away from him. That's so much fun! If we don't want to play this game, though, we need to keep important papers (and Fearless Flyers from Trader Joe's) out of reach, which is getting higher almost daily. He always brings something back that he's taken out to the backyard, but things like papers may not be in the same condition they were when they went out.

Sandy is settling in nicely, though. Dusty has clarified any misconception Sandy might have had about who is the boss among the canines in the family and who gets the end of the couch with the view out the front window. Sandy doesn't seem to mind, although he tests the limits with Dusty the way he does with us. It's part of the learning process. As of Friday, he's up to 13.2 lbs.

Dusty is helping Sandy learn new things. When I teach Sandy a new trick, Dusty demonstrates. (Not every dog gets a demonstration for sit, shake hands, lie down and stay.) Dusty also demonstrates not jumping up and not biting, but that's a little more difficult for Sandy to understand.

Thursday we went to the big dog park at Hollinshead Park in Northeast Bend. It's a very large, open area where dogs can interact off-leash. Probably because it was a weekday, there were only a few dogs of various sizes, which was perfect for the first time. 

Sandy did get a chance to meet a few dogs besides just passing them on the trail. He was a little intimidated by the big dogs, but everyone was well-behaved, so he warmed up to them, and he got a chance to run on real grass. (Our "lawn" at home is pretty pathetic.)

Sandy is growing up to be a very nice dog. We've signed him up for a puppy training class beginning in early July. We know how to train a puppy, but we think he will learn more easily with a little competition. 

We zipped out to PetSmart after that and picked up some more dog food. Sandy enjoyed looking at the parakeets. Both dogs rode in the cart, because Dusty doesn't like the floor, and we didn't want to overdo exposing Sandy to other dogs inside too much. He hasn't had his canine influenza vaccine yet because there's a shortage in our state, but we're hoping to be able to get him immunized before his class next month. Right now, we don't have any reported cases here, but that doesn't mean that a traveling dog might not bring it in. Dusty got to meet his teacher, too. Of course, they took to each other right away. I don't think we've met a person Sandy didn't like right away.

After that we stopped at Trader Joe's. The pups and I waited in the car, so I could knit and the pups could nap. It wasn't too hot, and we were in the shade, but I kept my door open a bit, and we stayed comfortable.

On Saturday, we took the dogs to our usual dog park, where there is a separate area for little dogs. Our miniature poodles are over the height permitted, but we were invited when we first moved here, because they were tall for their weight and obviously not vicious (old photo).

This time there were only two other small dogs there, and Sandy seemed quite comfortable with them. We've noticed, though, that he seems very much more interested in people than dogs, very much like our Rocky. He had very nice interactions with these people, too.. The young man said Sandy was a therapy dog, not the first time anyone has told us that about Sandy. I'm not sure I'm up to taking on being a therapy dog partner again, but maybe there will be an opportunity for Sandy to help others in the same way on a case-by-case basis. He needs a little polish first, though.

Yesterday we picked up a wading pool. Dusty isn't fond of swimming; not the way Rocky was. Guess who's a water dog, though. He seemed to know right away what it was for, even before we added the water.

We found some toys that sink to the bottom, and Sandy showed Dusty how to pick them up. Dusty's very competitive, so soon he was putting his face under the water to get the toy out. You can see bubbles coming out through their noses when they get the toy. Sandy is so excited! It's supposed to get warm over the next few days. This should be fun to watch. 

I haven't made a lot of progress on the Kultainen käki sweater, but did get a few rows done. I'm still on the bottom ribbing. (This one starts at the bottom.)

I'm looking forward to the colorwork section. Any bets on whether I'll get to wear this in the fall?

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 Kultainen käki cardigan and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom: I have the yarn for my warp. Just need the time to start on it..

What's on my sewing machine: Still ready for quilts.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Sandy makes a starring appearance in this week's story as The Writer's puppy, coincidentally named "Sandy." We look at what growing up is all about in "Growing Up." It's also a good (though partly fictional) look at Sandy's development so far, from a doll's point of view, of course.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: I've been listening to the music for Sunday's service.

What's in my wine glass: Arriccio Merlot 2019. I have a good wine steward!

What's my tip of the week: Dogs should have a spoonful of full-fat plain yoghurt every day by itself, not mixed with food, to stay healthy. Probiotics as part of kibble are of no use.

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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