XsoX

I am starting to think I am not meant to knit socks. Being tired yesterday, I took my toe-up Mermaid Sock to knitting group, as it was mindless knitting, and I wanted to get a little further before I officially declared it Too Big and tore it back. So I knitted for about an hour, then took off my shoe, put my foot up on the table, and slipped it over my toe. We all looked at it forlornly. It really doesn't take long to rip something back.

That's the second "pair" of socks that have failed. Is it the patterns? My math? My feet? I don't know. But I'll keep trying. The siren song of hand-knitted socks being the most comfortable things in existence is too strong to let me be beaten by these failures.

Yay for long weekends. I will take the opportunity to sleep, crochet a couple more greyhounds (in pink and blue!), keep an eye on the weather for the tomato plants, and clean the house since it needs it. A picnic might be nice too.

I got stung!

So we went to pick up Mesa on Saturday morning. There was a wasp nest underneath their front door. When it came time to go out to the Priestmobile, the lady asked us if we wanted to go out through the garage, to avoid said nest. "Oh, no," says I. "I'm not afraid of them."

I know. I totally jinxed myself.

Thirty years of not being stung by bee or wasp came to an end within a few seconds of setting foot outside that door. And you know what?

DAMN! Does it hurt!

First it hurt. Then it stung. Then it ached (my entire leg). I iced it so I could sleep that night. By the second day, I had a rash. I've recovered now, but now I have multitudes of mosquito bites to deal with. I can't win.

Mesa is settling in well. She's such a resilient and happy dog. Which is good, because I'm pretty sure this isn't her forever home. She'd do so much better in a house with children, and is independent enough to be an only dog. But seriously. She's such a personality. Why has she not been adopted? I'm going to send an update from foster mom to the adoption rep to add to the website. Maybe it'll help.

Priest and Mesa went to the vet yesterday to get their nails trimmed. Mesa's were so long, I didn't dare touch them. Well, they cut three of Priest's quicks, and then didn't tell me. So I took the dogs to the arena afterwards, and then they came home and were playing upstairs, and when I went up there, there were blood spots all over the carpet. Thanks, vet people. I don't mind (to a certain extent) that you cut the quicks, but at least tell me so I can adjust my plans and maybe expect some bloody carpet... *sigh*

We also took apart the upstairs bathroom sink last night. That was an adventure in disgusting-land. But the sink actually drains now, so it was worth it.

In random otherness, I can't get my head around this. How do you make yarn out of milk? And can you get it wet?

More on dogs

Priest and I went for our walk this morning, as Red once again declined to join us for our 5:30 am stroll. Priest was his regular self, sniffing, walking beside me, walking ahead of me. He knew the route, knew which places he wanted to use as washrooms, and wasn't waiting for or watching Red. It was a nice walk.

We will foster Mesa. Mesa will stay in foster care until she's adopted, and while I don't think it's necessarily good to have a dog in limbo for so long, she will be safe and homed until she finds her forever home. But we wanted to start fostering, and if we chip, we chip. If we don't, we're still doing a good thing. I love Priest. I am confident and content in that.

We're FINALLY getting rid of the old couch and chair today. What a process. I'll be glad to have my living room back!

Possibly a bad idea...

This may be a bad idea, or may be the best idea, but Mesa needs a foster home for two weeks starting this weekend, and then if she's not adopted, she will be transferred to Calgary, where there may be forever people who can look past the fact that she's always going to limp and see the amazing dog she is. And since Red goes home Thursday, and we're going to Calgary in two weeks, it seems rather fortuitous.

The adoption reps said that they've had some inquiries about Mesa, but the minute people see her leg, they start to ooo and aahh and feel sorry for her. She walks on the leg, runs on the leg, does stairs on the leg, and hasn't found anything to be an obstacle. Yes, she limps. She's got tendon damage! But she is not defined by the limp any more than I am defined by my chronic pain or Mike is defined by his, and it certainly doesn't stop us from living. Pain or injury is not an end to life, but a boundary to be respected as you live. Pain clinic allowed me to put that into words. It holds true for people and for dogs (or cats, or birds, or any living thing). /end soapbox

I know. I'm crazy to foster a dog that I'm obsessed with. *sigh* But one's gotta be the first, right? Why not one that I understand?

Yarn...

Mmm... The actual called-for yarn for that poncho comes in a colourway called Fall Herbs... (you have to scroll down. Last one on the third row). And Red Cinnamon right next to it looks lovely too. Decisions, decisions.

I'm a third of the way through the HEOPC Scarf, and now can't decide if the yarn is eye-burning yellow, or eye-burning green. Oh well. It's eye-burning. I'm also ready to start crocheting the head of the first greyhound doll. It's been a yarn-productive weekend!

I did a lot of work in the yard yesterday, and I'm pretty pleased. I wish I'd read the directions on the WeedNFeed earlier, as I've been waiting for a nice non-rainy stretch to apply it, which is exactly not the weather I'm supposed to apply it in in July and August. Who knew? I'll try to take some pictures here soon (just ignore the infested and patchy grass) and put them up. The random bush is no more, except a little stump-like thing I didn't feel up to digging up, the weeds are mowed, the mulch is in, and I'm happy. Maybe I'll convince Priest and Red we need to spend some time out on the patio this afternoon.

Ups and Downs

Downs:

We had something stolen from our backyard: the LED stake that Mike's mom gave us for Easter. Rat-bastard neighbourhood children. I thought when the terrors moved away from two doors down, we'd be done with this kind of thing. Why even try to beautify your yard, then, if it's just going to get stolen? Are we supposed to lock our back gates now too?

The house is an absolute mess. Between the second dog and the old furniture and old buffet not gone yet, and the couch table not moved upstairs yet, the place is crowded and impossible to move around in, let alone get tidy and clean. And when things aren't at least approaching tidy, I get cranky and tense, which totally doesn't help. Insert expletive here.

Pain clinic is almost over, and I'm finally starting to feel like they're treating me as not a whiny, unmotivated, frightened, person who says they want to get better but doesn't truly mean it. It only took them seven of the eight weeks to figure it out, and I bet it's because I talked to the psychologist about it briefly on Monday, and he probably said something equally vague to the team during their daily meeting. Posture is a ton better (okay, that should probably go in the Ups category), but pain level is up, so that means I'm not as restful at night, so I wake up tired and more sore.

I really really wish we were going fishing with Mom and Dad and Sheila and Nathan. Instead, Mike has to work in a place where the tension level seems to ratchet daily, and I have to finish pain clinic and deal with work stuff when my board and all the clubs seem to have gone AWOL for the summer and no one seems to want the position we have available, clean the house, try to keep Priest off the new furniture when I can now that he's discovered it, try to not give Red any opportunities for further drama-queen-ness, and try to not kill anything or anyone (except the random bush in the backyard and the weeds).

The supplements and nutrition aren't working on the fatigue, so I feel like I'm just flushing money away and not enjoying anything in the meantime. Time for that to stop, I think. It's just increasing my frustration.

Ups:

Okay, what was that, five downs? The psychologist at pain clinic suggest that to keep equilibrium in your life, you balance each positive or negative thought with one from the other side. So now I will try to come up with five positives of equal power to the negatives. This will probably take longer...

My GP seemed to believe me that I am tired all the time, and is willing to start testing to figure out why. So as soon as I can figure out a time, I'm going to go get more blood taken (hopefully), which will look for things like CFS, sleep apnea, and some other things like some kind of virus and my testosterone levels (I have no idea why; I can't remember). But at least it's motion to try and put a name to whatever's happening.

The new vehicle is nice to drive. Priest fits well in the back, and there's still lots of room for other things. Someday I'll figure out how to turn down the bass in the stereo.

Knitting group is going well. I managed to get an ad in the St. Albert Gazette this past week, and there were a few new people who came on Wednesday. I started work on my Hurray End of Pain Clinic scarf, which is in the eye-burning yellow/green cotton/rayon yarn that I bought when I was in Calgary last time. It's super easy, and I've already memorized the pattern, though the yarn is splitty as hell and the rayon catches on the knitting needles (!) and pulls. I've also started the light blue on the Endless Afghan/Great Gauge Experiment, but figured out that at an average of an hour per round, I'm still looking at between 50 and 60 hours left before it's done. I told knitting group that when it was ready to cast off, I'd save it and bring it to group and spend the whole time casting off. I swear, it'll take that long... And I'm crocheting the first of however many I can finish greyhound dolls for the Chinook Winds barbecue and fundraiser in September. More adventures in three dimensions! I've also picked out a fall project (Mmm... Pretty. Can anyone suggest a colour?), and at some point must go yarn shopping for it.

That's three...

Priest is doing really well with the extra dog in the house, except for the getting on the furniture thing. He hasn't growled, snapped, or done anything aggressive. He is a little more clingy on our walks, and prefers to walk beside me rather than out in front sniffing everything. Although the house really is too small for a second permanent dog (not that we can afford one, although I'm completely infatuated with Mesa), it's a good sign if we want to start fostering or doing more babysitting. Just need to get rid of the extraneous furniture, and things'll be much more manageable.

One more... (squeezes brain for some happy thought) I knew the positives would be hard today...

My posture is a lot better. People even comment on it. So if I get nothing else out of pain clinic, at least I got this. And the chance to meet some really interesting people, and some people who are interesting from an observer's perspective, and to be able to look at the people who come to pain clinic and know that, despite the fact that I too have chronic pain, I am actually one of the ones who is better off. I'm still working, I have something that resembles a life, and I am not in so much pain that that is all there is in my existence. So despite the way it messed with my work schedule and my summer, it was worth it.

*deep sigh* There. Done. But I reserve the right to still be twitchy and hostile until the house is clean and the chores are done.