Again???

Winter just isn't letting up for a minute this year. Another foot or so of snow is headed our way tonight and all day tomorrow. It has been brutally cold these past few days, so at least it has to warm up a little to snow (I'd be happy to hit the mid 20's!). The snowblower is getting quite the workout this year!

Dad's mittens are progressing quickly, as colorwork seems to do! I am just about done with the top, and then I just have to pick up and knit the thumb, then one will be complete. The pattern is showing up very nicely in the colors I chose.

I like the little braid detail between the cuff and mitten body too. A very, very cool technique! Once this first mitten is complete, I can move on to the second.

Poor Otis was back in surgery yesterday. His tail didn't heal from the last time and pretty much split back open where the stitches were. They had to take off a bit more and stitch him up again. I feel so bad for him.

He is getting lots of loving and special attention while he's healing.....

A Bit of an Unintentional Break

I didn't mean to be away for that long without a post. It's been a bit crazy around here lately. Tucker and I went away for a long weekend up to New Hampshire to an agility trial. There were so many entries that they actually had to cancel some classes. The days were very long - starting around 6:15 and going until about 7pm each night. Days were busy too. Five runs per day for us - kept us on our toes and a bit tired. It took a few days to recover from that!

Otis was healing up pretty well, but in a flash, he had the bandage off and the stitches ripped out. Back to surgery and we are starting the healing process again. I feel so bad for him. I know it must be miserable!

There has also been some knitting. A new, smaller hat for my dad as the last one was a bit big on him. I went down a needle size and did not do the typical increases after the ribbing. Here's hoping for a better fit this time.

Whitney came up with a brilliant theme for 2009 - The Year of the Yoke! Yoked sweaters are perhaps the easiest and quickest kind to knit. They also lend themselves well to all sorts of customization. I joined up and now have to find a pattern to start with. I'm eyeing Aftur (lots on Ravelry here) as well as a couple of others. I'd like to pick one that will use up some of the single balls in my stash. One of my goals for this year is to try and streamline the stash and get rid of the odds and ends.

We are in the midst of a big snow/sleet/freezing rain storm right now, so it's not pretty out there. At least it isn't the coating kind of freezing rain like we had last month - this stuff is bouncing all over the place and it sounds like someone is throwing gravel at the windows!

Last Post of The Year

I can't believe 2008 is coming to a close already! Like usual, time has just flown by. Summer seemed like just yesterday! Mother Nature has managed to keep us on our toes right until the very end. We are getting quite a bit of snow today - right now it's coming down at a frantic rate, and the winds are very gusty too. Makes for some nice sideways falling snow.

Of course, Ace loves being outside in it. Tucker is curled up on the couch, and Otis is recovering from his minor surgery yesterday.

He got the last two vertebrae of his tail removed. He had an injury at the end of his tail that would just not heal. We have tried for months with no luck. It hurt and was very irritated, and it's all he thought about, so in his best interest, I decided to just have the end removed. He seems much happier and much more comfortable already. His tail isn't running his life anymore! I'm hoping for quick healing and he'll be back to normal in no time.

I have been managing to do some knitting also! Hubby's sock #2 is now complete.

I'm still not 100% happy with the ribbing or cast off. I did 1x1 rib, but it just doesn't seem "elastic" enough. It doesn't bounce back the way I'd like. I went down a needle size also. Would 2x2 maybe have been better? Sock #1 is going to get mailed back to me as I needed to do a couple of modifications to make it fit just right. I was pretty close on the first try though! It just needed a few more rows in the foot to make it a bit longer, and tighter ribbing.

The mittens have also been cast on and the corrugated ribbing complete.

I'm afraid I won't be able to show much more of them once I start the fun colorwork part, but I hope to have them done quickly so I can begin work on some other projects waiting in the wings! Socks (of course), along with another Turn A Square hat for dad (the first was too big) and a scarf/shawl for mom. Lots to do in the new year!

I wish everyone a happy, healthy and craft filled New Year! See you in 2009!

Snowed In!

We didn't get quite as much as the weather people predicted, but we did end up with about 17" total from the storm Friday and Sunday. It was all light, fluffy snow, so it made for wonderful snowblowing and playing in.

This was after Sunday's snowfall. The snowblower died about 1/3 into removal of Friday's snow - Naomi and I ended up shoveling the rest of the driveway. It took a couple of hours and we were exhausted! Luckily it was just a faulty spark plug and we ventured out and got a replacement on Sunday.

The boys had a great time. We had to drag them inside - they would have stayed out there all day playing and running in the snow.

Ace especially - it seems like he is immune to the cold.

The woods were beautiful. The snow stuck to all the branches and made it very quiet and serene. It is a brutally cold day today - temps only in the low teens and winds up to 40 mph. Not fun. All the snow we had blown off the driveway was back on it this morning! Looks like I have a project for when I get home from work!

Being that we were pretty much snowed in this weekend, we made a TON of cookies for gifts, and I got a bunch of knitting done! More on that tomorrow......

Stripey!

I am happy to say, I think, just maybe, I have found some knitting "umph". It may have something to do with casting off and finishing these.

Pattern: Basic toe up sock using Magic Loop cast on. I didn't increase at all for the calf. I knit straight up and decreased after 10 rounds of ribbing.
Needles: #2 KnitPicks 32" circulars
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock #185

I used every single last little bit of this yarn. Literally, I think I have 1/2" leftover from trimming ends I wove in. I do admit, I did run out on the second sock. My scale is not as accurate as I would like, so I believe it didn't split the skein exactly equally (this scale would be more what I would like for the future - it's accurate to 0.1 grams), I ended up with not enough of the dark green for the second sock's ribbing. Not a big deal though. I may use some leftover green sock yarn from a different sock, or just leave it. For some reason (I believe it is because one of my legs is definitely shorter than the other) the same amount of stripes landed me with a longer sock on one leg. So, in the end, the sock still fits fine, and with no increases for the calf, it is nice and snug and not going anywhere!

It was such a nice day yesterday, my sister and I decided to do the photo shoot at the orchard while picking apples. It was very strange. All the trees in the area we were picking in were just about picked clean. We had to hunt for apples! I don't mind hunting for blueberries when blueberry picking, but hunting for apples? I think the orchard was saving their really full trees for this weekend - a long holiday weekend - when the masses will be out. Lucky for me though, the orchard is only a few short miles away, and I can go anytime after work and grab a small bag to hold me over. I plan on looking through my many apple recipes today to see what I can make. There will always be apple pie, but I like to broaden the apple horizon a bit and try something new.

We got home and it was just so nice out we couldn't go inside. The dogs entertained us for a while with their antics, and Ace gladly chased after his Jolly Ball. His most loved and favorite toy ever. He literally screeches in delight when he plays with it!

You can see Tucker in the background looking thrilled. He spent our time outside grazing. He's not so much into the playing, but loves to just be with me. Otis, on the other hand, was feeling rather playful!

Tucker and I are off to New Hampshire for a trial this weekend, then Monday off for a nice relaxing day. I think I am going to get some knitting done.....

Thanks to everyone for hanging in there while I went through this little knitting and blogging slump! It really helped knowing you were out there looking for me!

Mini Vacation

Tucker, Ace and I headed West to New York state (Chenango Forks to be exact) for a three day agility trial. The weather was spectacular, and the accommodations, provided by my friend Tracey, were amazing.

She has a few hundred acres with many spring fed ponds. Needless to say, we did lots of hiking! The bugs were minimal, and no ticks to be found.

She has all sorts of trails all over her property. There are lots of corn and hay fields also that dot the landscape. It was beautiful.

After a long hike, it was great to be able to let the dogs swim to cool off.

Ace is still not a very graceful swimmer. He needs to learn to use his back legs to swim - right now he is just using his front and it makes for lots of splashing.

The other dogs don't like it too much either. He comes near and almost drowns them with his flailing paws!

We used corn from the nearby cornfield for fetch toys, being that we forgot to bring any on our hike. They worked just fine.

Ace wouldn't swim all the way out to get the corn, but he created a stealthy style and grabbed it from incoming dogs.

After we were done, Tucker settled in for a little snack.

It was such a fun weekend. Tucker and Ace were exhausted from all the swimming, agility and hiking, so they slept like rocks on the 4 hour drive home. I crashed when we got back. All that outside air is just wonderful!

I didn't get much if any knitting done, but I hope to have pictures of a finished stripey sock this week!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

It was blazing hot again this past weekend. There was only one place to be.

Lucky for me, my folks have a great pool and backyard to cool off in. The water was still a bit chilly for me for swimming, but it felt great just to sit at the edge and dunk my feet. Some, however, found the water just right for a dip.

That is Simon, my cousin's 14 year old Golden Retriever. He spent much of the weekend either swimming or just hanging out by the stairs soaking in the cool water.

We tried to get Ace and Tucker in, but they seem to prefer water where they can't see the bottom (like lakes, ponds or the ocean). Hopefully eventually we can get them swimming in the pool.

Knitting on the Spring Forward socks continues. I'm at the gusset of sock #1 and working on it at lunch every day. I am knitting!!

Welcome Summer!

I'm just starting to get back into the swing of things after a long weekend in Maine. A whole bunch of my agility friends went, and we had a blast. None of us did very well in the qualifying department (I think there were only about 5 qualifying rounds total amongst the 6 of us and our 36 runs!) but we had so much fun just hanging out and wandering around Freeport at night. We ate at one AMAZING bar-b-que restaurant (I couldn't stop saying how good my sandwich of pulled pork, fried jalapeños and chipotle sauce was!), wandered LL Bean and got some ice cream. The weather was a bit iffy - hot and humid when the sun came out, beautiful when it was overcast. We did get a few thunderstorms also. Good thing Tucker doesn't mind them!

I also spent a lot of time watching the Standardbreds train. There was a track right next door to the area we were at, so inbetween runs, Tucker and I would walk over and watch. We were so close that you could smell the horses - it really took me back to my "horsey" days. They were just memorizing flying around the track. I'm always surprised how many agility people are ex-horse people. I guess it's very similar to Showjumping, but on a smaller scale!

Believe it or not, I have also been doing a little knitting. As I mentioned in my previous post, I managed to get the sleeves and body of the Phyllo pullover all on one circular - now, with about 300 stitches per round, it's taking a while, but I know that the end is near and the fun part of the pattern is about to begin!

I'm hoping to do some more on it this week. Seems like nights have just been going so fast lately that I barely have time to sit down and eat dinner, then it's time for bed!

In honor of the start of Summer of Socks 2008, and the fact that I haven't knit on a sock in I can't remember how long, I cast on for the Spring Forward socks. (looks like Jessica had the same idea!) The yarn - Woolarina Shimmer, a wool/nylon/bamboo blend - just screamed summer to me. It reminds me of sherbet (I'd really like to put another "r" in it - sher-BERT - but spell check insists it has none. I guess I've always pronounced it wrong?). The pattern is easy to memorize, and knits up fairly quickly (when you work on it!).

I think these will be for my sister. We'll have to see if she likes them....

Everything is growing but my knitting........

There has been little knitting around these parts lately - the lack of posting probably tipped you off. Agility trials, gardening and just wanting to be outside during the short New England spring has pushed my needles to the back burner for now. The recent heat wave had me thinking even less about knitting. When I got into my car after work on Tuesday, the heat was staring right back at me.

Not pretty. The humidity didn't help much either. If I lived in the desert, or somewhere you expect these kind of temperatures, not a big deal. But the average temperature for this time of the year around here is mid to upper 70's. Centennial temperatures are a huge departure. But it is New England - anything can happen. Luckily we got a huge thunderstorm to blow through and bring us some relief.

The garden, however, loved the heat. Things started springing up like crazy!

I decided to to my peppers and some tomatoes in containers on the deck this year to see how it goes. They seem to like it so far! My other exciting crop?

Brussel sprouts! A recently discovered love, I was really excited when I saw seedlings at the local garden shop. I also planted two more in the garden in the yard. I'm hoping a few will produce some yummy little mini cabbages!

Another experiment was growing hanging veggies. My garden space is limited - there aren't many places that get full sun all day. I also didn't want to clog the entire deck with pots. Enter hanging veggies!

I did both a tomato and a pepper plant like this. Essentially, it's an upside down two liter soda bottle with the bottom cut off. The seedling is shoved gently through the bottle opening and grows that way! Pretty neat! They look pretty happy too!

I also planted cauliflower, broccoli, string beans, snap peas and more tomatoes and peppers in the garden. I tried to plant things that our CSA was lacking in last year. Hopefully in a few months I will have a bountiful harvest!

Doggie activities have also been going strong. Ace has continued with the herding and still really loves it.

Tucker and I are at agility trials every weekend and having lots of fun hanging out with our doggie pals.

As for knitting, it has been happening intermittently for short bursts. I am about 5 rows away from finishing the front of the Phyllo Yoked Pullover. Just writing that makes me realize how close I am!

I've also been starting to build some of my own agility equipment so I can do more training at home with both Ace and Tucker. More details on that soon!

Thanks to those of you who are still reading!

Canines, Cowls and Celebrations

After reading Nova's Birthday post yesterday, and realizing our birthdays were only one day apart, I just knew it was fate and I had to cast on for my first cowl. It's well known around the blogsphere that cowls are the new scarf. Megan did it, Lolly did it, Elinor did it, Whitney did it, Ashley, Kirsten and Christy too. So, what was I to do? Cast on, of course.

The yarn is a super squishy soft wool/cashmere/angora blend. I'm really liking how it knit up. I didn't finish it on my birthday, but I got a good third done. I have a feeling this cowl thing will be a great stashbusting opportunity for all those single balls of yarn I have!

Speaking of my birthday, I want to thank everyone who emailed me and messaged me through Ravelry! It took me a while to figure out how everyone knew! I had a really great day - all thanks to everyone out there!

I spent a nice, relaxing evening with the boys. We had gone for a nice long walk and a very exuberant off leash jaunt, so they were pretty exhausted when we got back. Ace has had a buddy sleeping over for the past few nights - Fios (named for the speedy Verizon internet service). He is a 5 month old Border Collie and is on the go constantly! He's been a good match for Ace.

We are off to a 3 day agility trial this weekend, so lots of sun, dogs and hopefully qualifying runs! I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing holiday weekend!

Soaking in the Sun

What an incredible weekend! We had temperatures in the 70's both days, and more sunshine than you could imagine. I did get a bit pink on Saturday, but we remembered and brought the sunscreen on Sunday. The weather was a lot more successful than we were though. Tucker went 0 for 4. It was our first outdoor trial of the year, and it was a bit frustrating, but we did have good things about each run, even if we didn't qualify.

Even with the heat, he did have some pep, which was nice. My sister took all the pics in this post, and she did a great job capturing his enthusiasm and intensity in this one.

All in all, it was a nice weekend. I got to sit in the sun, hang out with both my sister and the dogs, and reunite with friends I haven't seen since last season.

Ace had a great time. I love this trial because of the huge fields it has. Seems like the only places left in Massachusetts with decent amounts of fields and land are old State Hospitals. Strange, huh?

I got a Chuckit! ball launcher, and it just flies.

After three or four throws, he was panting pretty heavily. He had lots of fun. Otis had a somewhat more relaxed weekend at my parents house.

His favorite activity.....

Just to get some knitting news in, the sample socks are blocked, dry and ready to be shipped. They turned out beautiful, and I can't wait to see them in the book!

A New Season Begins

This weekend marks the beginning of the 2008 agility trial season for Tucker and I. It is at one of my favorite venues in Wrentham, Massachusetts. This will be our third season of agility, and he is only getting better (hopefully I'm improving some also!)

It is such a great experience - the bond you create with your dog is just amazing. I thought we were pretty close before we even started agility. Now, our bond is even stronger and more special. To see skills that we work really hard on in training finally materialize at a trial after months and months of practice. It is truly amazing.

This year, our goal is to qualify for the 2009 AKC National Agility Championships in North Carolina. In order to qualify, you need a certain number of double qualifying runs - meaning you need to be perfectly perfect for the entire day on both of your runs, as well as a certain number of speed points. Every second you come in under the standard allotted time for the course, you get one speed point. It's going to be a battle, but I think (and hope!) we can do it!

It's really neat to see how far he has come. All of the frustrations and victories, the journey we have taken together. The amount we have both learned it pretty substantial. The logistics alone of traveling 4 hours to a 3 day trial and figuring out the things to bring, places to stay, eat and the maneuvering at the trial itself. Quite a feat. Now, it is all second nature, and I find myself helping out "newbies" at the trials.

I love spending an entire weekend outside with friends and the dogs. When the weather is nice, there is nothing better. When it's not so nice, Tucker and I spend lots of time together in the van listening to books on tape and chatting about how his runs went. Because agility, I have created a whole new circle of doggie friends. Wonderful people and wonderful dogs.

In digging out all my spring and summer agility gear this week (sun screen tarps, water buckets, lounge chairs, coolers, portable crates, treats, treats and more treats) memories came back to me of the seasons past. The fantastic runs as well as the not so great, milestones reached - by me and by my friends. I'm sure this year will hold just as many memories as we venture out onto the agility field once more.

In other doggie news, Ace and I want to congratulate his mom, Deuce. As of March 31st, she is the #1 Australian Shepherd in the country. You can check out stats on your favorite breeds here.