Who Could Get Mad at This Face?

Pipsqueak faked me out by going into what the acupuncture vet called a wolf heat September 24 and 25--a little spotting, jumping onto and snarling at an innocent DoodleBug (completely unprovoked), and basically acting like a little girl dog in heat. So we didn't go to dog class. We stopped taking daily walks, because the last thing I wanted to do was attract any of the coyotes to my backyard. Three weeks later, I thought, hooray, it's over.

And then she really went into heat. Nine days of bleeding and spotting. Another unprovoked, snarling jump onto an unsuspecting DoodleBug. Finally, the spotting stopped on Saturday. Sunday she was running after a tennis ball and I saw the unmistakeable sign of a girl in heat. Sigh. She's spent the past three days being a shameless hussy and planting her tuchus in front of one of the boys. I can almost see her wiggling that tail, glancing over her shoulder in a coquettish way, trying to lure somebody into wooing her. Sadly for Pipsqueak, she doesn't realize the boys are really eunuchs and all her attempts at seduction will be in vain. DoodleBug is happy to 'help' her by enthusiastically licking her. Sigh again, accompanied by 'ugh.' We probably have 4 or more days of this, and then the final phase (another week) to live through. The acupuncture vet wants me to wait 3 months before getting her spayed so that all the estrogen will be out of her system.

Let's see if having finally gone through these crazy hormonal changes will make her settle down into a nice, young adult lady. After all, she's going to be 1 year old on Saturday.

Crafty Madness

Some recently completed crafting projects that I absolutely love. In fact, I'm feeling so good about my skills I may be ready to try a full-fledged knit sweater. Whoa!!

Ocean Purls Cardigan in Elann.com Endless Summer Luna in a gorgeous raspberry color. Modified the underarms slightly to use a half double crochet stitch to make the transition flow more smoothly, and this has the best underarm comfort of the four crocheted cardigans I've made.

Anna's Shoulder Wrap in gorgeous purple acrylic/wool blend. Just a big rectangle, but I love it because of it's versatility. I plan on making another in a summer-weight yarn.

And I love this Aspen Infinity Cowl I made for a swap out of a bamboo/silk mix. It's so soft, and the orchid color is such a beautiful, saturated purple.  I wish it were colder here so I could make one for myself.

 

I had taken some outdoor photos, but oh dear, oh me, oh my! Where did the crepey middle-aged neck come from? I've been slathering on my Oil of Olay for years.  I'm trying the L'Oreal Revitalift this month to see if the firming action they claim actually happens. Oh my, what a shocker that was. Okay, I'm in a confessional mood. Here's the photo. This is what nearly 50 looks like. Nearly 50 with work- and play-related sun damage. Sigh.

Don't look at my neck, look at the color of the yarn.

Dang. I'm going to  have to start wearing flowy scarves and cowl to hide that old lady neck. No disrespect to old ladies intended at all. Ya'll are beautiful. My neck? Not so much.

DoodleBug Gooses a Really Big Stuffed Animal

DoodleBug and I did a 5K on Sunday. Not a big deal, we normally walk 2 miles every morning. But the organizers were a bit disorganized and we started 1.25 hours after the posted start time. You can imagine how DoddleBug was going stir crazy, waiting nearly 2 hours for his daily constitutional. He amused himself by flirting with everyone, charming some little babies in strollers, and goosing the largest stuffed animals he'd ever seen, a.k.a. the university mascots. I have no idea if he thought these were huge stuffed animals or really big golden retrievers, but he did sneak up on them from behind to launch a surprise DoodleHug.

Echt

Echt: something authentic.

Roger Cohen has a lovely opinion essay on authenticity of experience in today's New York Times.