The Chocolate Shoebox

Nim and I started our day with a trip to the Arboretum. I left rain in North Bend, but fortunately Seattle was holding out. Just overcast.
My training friends were pretty quiet when they saw Nim's bandanna. Then finally a friend of mine commented that she just didn't see me as the dog bandanna sort...nevermind a Valentine's Day one. :)

I may be sick of all the radio ads for flowers and jewelry, but I am not sick of the Bow-Wow! Bandanna.
After training, Nim and I headed to The Chocolate Shoebox which was having a vegan Valentine's bake sale to benefit Precious Life Animal Sanctuary and Action for Animals. I had never been in the store before. Absolutely not my style or budget as far as shoes go, but super nice people and a really enjoyable little shop.

I bought Nim Hank's Peanut Butter and Yam Biscuits and bought myself a Raspberry Ginger Valentine Scone. The scone was very good and satisfied my current ginger fascination.

In the above photo you will a frosted heart-shaped dog treat. That is one of three I bought at Earth Pet on Friday. I decided that he will get one today, one tomorrow and one on Valentine's. :)

I also bought the very important Rescue Chocolate: Peanut Butter Pit Bull bars. Reading about these chocolate bars actually is what really made the decision to visit The Chocolate Shoebox (even more than the bake sale - shocking I know). I have a special dessert planned for tomorrow and high hopes that this chocolate will do. Stay tuned...
Nim and I enjoyed our Valentine's day treats on the spot. :) I had all these aspirations of sitting outside and maybe taking him for a walk but honestly I was pretty cold and worn out from the morning in the Arboretum and more than happy just to sit.
Nice drool. I think Nim was content to sit as well. :)

Earth Pet Bow-Wow! Bandanna

One of my errands today was to find Nim a special Valentine's Day dog treat. So I stopped at Earth Pet to accomplish my Valentine's Day errand and hoped the rain would hold long enough for a quick walk.

Not only did I find him special heart cookies for Valentine's Day but they gave him a special Bandanna! These are made by one of the employee's mom who loves animals and loves to sew. She does different theme bandannas for the holidays. What a fun contribution!

The rain did hold and we were able to get a quick walk in. The above photo is taken at the Salmon Hatchery. Nim got to broadcast his love all over Issaquah. :)

Suddenly Friday

Somehow this week is suddenly over. The entire thing feels like a blur.

My homework this week was heavy on the online videos. I actually learn well from them but several hours of different lectures can be very hard to pay attention to.

Usually I get through a lot of the lectures with a knitting project. The project has to be basic so I am not counting or following a detailed pattern. I have to be able to drop it at any point to take notes. My sweater was that basic project - until I had to scrap it.

With the sweater scrapped, and my existing sock project requiring me to follow a detailed pattern I was inspired to start another project. I had received another Flat Feet skein awhile back and so I grabbed that and went back to a pattern that I have had previous success with and I know is mostly mindless.

I am doing the "His-Her Crew and Knee Socks" pattern again from Interweave Knits, Spring 2002. I will do the crew pattern again which knitted up nicely before and I even wear the finished product.

The amazing thing is that I referenced my previous blog post on this project and not only could I not follow the video I previously used how to do an invisible cast-on, but I couldn't follow any other video I tried. This was on Monday and I eventually gave up because I was wasting homework time.

I tried again on Tuesday and this time I used written instructions found on Knitty.com (no video). Thankfully this got me through it and I was able to start the sock.

A Day of Odd Projects

This morning we got out in the "sun." It wasn't raining, it was bright, it was also freezing.

Still, Nim had a great time and got to enjoy his toy.

Once I got home, I realized I was so tired that I needed to scrap my day of homework (that will be tomorrow) and work on whatever projects I could get done that would keep me awake. It was that or take way too long of a nap.

Projects included finishing the body of the sweater.

I then tried it on and hated how it laid. Faced with the knowledge I would never wear it...

...I then occupied my time pulling the entire project.

Fortunately I have a sock project from at least 2 years ago that I haven't touched. Hopefully I will remember how to do it.

This quilt was a charity kit from the Snoqualmie Valley Quilters. I don't even know if they are active anymore. I completed the top today and maybe work on completing it this week. We will see - it is a heavy homework week.

Meanwhile Nim did the sleeping for both of us...

Ready for February

Rusty is standing on my new weapon against the encroaching mud. I had a towel system going before, but the darn cats (we all know it was Leela) liked the towel so much that it would mysteriously be twisted up in some ball whenever I needed it.

I think January tried to make me dislike it less by not raining today - of course, as I have started typing this, the rain has started.

I am ready to give February a chance.

Even better yet, February 2, around 7:25am, EST, Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog will hopefully decide that winter will not drag on and on.

Rusty is having a tough tough time and in about two weeks I have cycled a ton of emotions trying to adjust and keep up.

I busted out his favorite chew today and while he would start on it he eventually walked away and left it which is unheard of for him. You can see in the above photo that he is in a semi-crouch. He would normally lay with this chew. I watched him try and try and then give up. I was so busy dealing with the weather and the water that I wasn't really giving him adequate support. Senior dogs unfortunately rarely do well in weather extremes which ironically is usually when their humans are at their worst as well.

I watched the movie "Buck" this weekend. Even if you are not a horse person, much of the training principles show up in dog training with a knowledgeable trainer. One of Buck Brannaman's thoughts is to "operate on a feel." In his case this was in the context of horse handling, but absolutely applicable to dog handling as far as I am concerned. It made me start to think about how much or how little I can "feel" Rusty especially right now while he is doing so poorly. It definitely has been changing my focus with him.

Quinoa and Black Bean Recipe

One of my first tasks on Friday once I got water was to start a black bean soak (laundry was the first task). While searching for new recipes I found a Quinoa and Black Bean Recipe. I just made it tonight and it was absolutely incredible.

I omitted the red pepper flake (don't like spice) and used frozen bell pepper and frozen green beans instead of corn and also quartered up some grape tomatoes to add. Definitely a recipe I will use over and over. I omitted the cilantro too because I didn't have any. I love cilantro and would have included it if I had it around.

This is midterm week and it is nice to have such a good meal option.

Nim is downstairs keeping my spot warm. It has absolutely poured today which just sucks the energy right out of you. I think Nim is just as happy to den up and stay warm and dry tonight as I am.

Thankful for Water

Everyone is gone and I have running water and flushing toilets. It is a really good feeling. All the area of dirt is point to which the new line was laid from the well house.

One of the trees that had fallen a few seasons ago is now gone. It was mostly a bunny hiding place anyway and with Rusty I really don't miss that option for them.

We are clear and frozen today which actually helped cut down on the track damage from the backhoe coming across the lawn.

North Bend opened emergency yard waste options for today and tomorrow. I was only able to do two loads. I have a lot more to do but my body pretty much hasn't been talking to me since last week. It is time to start letting it rest.