Admitting defeat

I have been trying to write a post about Monty. He died earlier this month, and I went to his funeral two weekends ago in Calgary. I've been trying to write something that does justice to him, and to my own grief. I've been trying to find the words to say how much I'll miss him, and the things I wish I'd been able to talk to him about, and how much he meant to me. But words aren't coming. Maybe the grief is still too strong or maybe there can be no words to fully capture a man like him. So for now, I have had to admit defeat. The post I wanted to write just can't be written right now. So I will move on to other things until such time as the words come.

Dog costumes are mandatory at the upcoming Hallowe'en Edmonton greyhound walk, so I've been turning my boundless creativity and less than boundless seamstress skills on what to dress Priest up as. The obvious ones (a priest or a magician a.k.a. Dumbledore, after all he is Magic Priest) wouldn't be too hard, but maybe that's just too easy. So I was thinking and thinking and looking at toddler costumes online (as Sue told me that they're a pretty decent fit with few alterations), and I saw some like a unicorn, or a pirate (and I succumbed when Sue showed me the martingale she had for sale with pirate skulls and crossbones on it, so dressing him up as a pirate would be very appropriate), and then I thought maybe I could find a white costume and modify it so he could be a fencer. But then I saw the ninja costume. Oh, but wouldn't that be perfect? I could dress Priest up as a YARN NINJA! Because my seamstressing skills are so limited and I don't have ready access to a sewing machine, I'm going to go to look at toddler costumes and let inspiration guide me from there. Honestly, a pirate or a fencer or a YARN NINJA would all be great costumes. But if you have any other ideas, or suggestions for creating these costumes, I'd love to hear them! Also, people costumes are optional, but wouldn't it be fun to, say, dress up as a knitter with my dog as a YARN NINJA, or dress up in my whites if my dog was also a fencer? Hee hee

Priest has also been limping quite badly for the last 24 hours, and limping like that is so pathetic in greyhounds because they're all leg. I have him booked in with the vet this afternoon. No idea what's causing it. Wish us luck.

Also, for you crafty people, you'll get a kick out of this. Last Wednesday our library contact came to the knitting group and asked if we might be able to knit something for their silent auction in support of the United Way. Sure! we replied, when is it? Oh, October 3. Just over two weeks. Well, whatever we knit won't be big! Isn't it amusing sometimes how much time things actually take to make, and how long people think they take to make? But we'll have something, and they're also having a virtual auction on the 23rd, so we'll definitely have something by then.

Also, I'm not impressed with Stephen Harper for calling an election on my birthday, but I have my second trigger point injection that day anyway, so we'll just call my actual birthday kind of shot, and celebrate some other day. More on trigger point injections later; my first one is in a week!

Quick photo post

ARGH!

It's not my birthday yet! Why is it not my birthday yet? I want these!

Wednesday was definitely a misaligned day. Was it for you too? It started not for me, but for a friend, whose car broke down at a gas station in St. Albert (I boosted him), then again about two kilometres down St. Albert Trail (I boosted him again), at which point the car just wouldn't start at all (I drove him and his girlfriend home, and picked them up in the morning to go to work). Then, because I was late getting home as a result, Priest slipped on the hardwood and bodychecked one of the dining room chairs, cutting his leg, and the chicken (which was totally thawed and cooked according to directions) was still raw after half an hour in the oven, leaving me starving while it went back in the oven, and then I was late for knitting. Ugh... At least yesterday was better.

We have company again this weekend, but I have to get the greyhound dolls done, and I have two shawls to finish as well, and a row of cabling to rip back on my poncho. The shawls won't get done, but I might be able to work on them a little. I would also like to get my hair cut, and do the recycling.

Priest seems slightly depressed, but maybe I'm anthropomorphizing. He lays down a lot, and is laying more curled up than normal. Is he cold? Or is he depressed? Or is he lonely? I wish I knew. But the picnic is coming up next weekend, so we can see how he reacts to lots (and lots and lots) of greyhounds, and maybe if I'm lucky, one of Terri's sweaters will fit him and we can win it at auction. Or I could just knit him one (see above for the projects that need to get done first...). But I'm getting cold too, and I have a poncho and fingerless gloves I'd like to knit for myself so they'll be useful this winter, and not next. Too... many... projects...

Okay, off to try and concentrate. It's Friday, thank heavens.