LATEST PUPPY PICS!

If you've been following my blog for at least a few weeks, you shared my drama with the great-grandpuppies. We started with 9, but nature unfortunately took its course, and there are now 6. My daughter just sent out an email with some of her new pictures. I just couldn't resist posting them. This is Ryanne and the babies . . . Brutus, Bo, Tigger, Lenny, Kodiak, and Sam (the only female).

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

Wow, yesterday was a very hard day for me. When I get on here to post something, I always do my best to keep things upbeat, even if what I'm talking about is on the dreary side. I just couldn't bring myself to write yesterday. Then, today, I decided it would do me good to share my sadness. I had a boyfriend once who would say, "Just go scratch your tail and get glad!" It used to make me so mad at the time, but now I can see what he was trying to say.

Yesterday, September 16th, would have been my beloved Mother's 75th birthday. Mom left us way too early, at the age of 62, on October 8, 1996. Since her death, her birthday has always been a much harder day for me than the day she died. It was on this date, in 1996, that I took her to the hospital, and she never made it back home. She spent three-weeks in the intensive care unit before finally succumbing to heart and lung failure. So, I guess I always look at this date as being the "beginning of the end".

As in years past, I prepared myself as September 16th approached. I knew it was going to be a difficult day for me, so I did my best to stay immersed in my work. I had even asked my boss to give me extra work, just so I could keep my mind occupied on mundane things, anything besides death. I guess I did okay, considering. I got through the dreary and gray day, shedding my usual tears and allowing myself to be sad. By evening, I felt better and knew that this dreaded day was, once again, almost over.

Then . . . . . . . I watched the 10:00 pm newscast and heard the heart-breaking news that Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame, had passed away, after her long fight with leukemia. Well, there went my resolve to not shed anymore tears. I loved Mary Travers. I grew up listening to Peter, Paul, and Mary in the 60's and 70's, and I still listen to their music today. I think it was either three or four years ago that I heard they were going to be appearing in Las Vegas. I made flight and hotel arrangements in order to go out to see them. Their concert schedule was unexpectedly cancelled when Mary was diagnosed with leukemia and had to undergo treatment, including a bone marrow transplant. Well, she did well from her treatments, and the group eventually resumed their concerts. Once again, I bought plane tickets and made lodging arrangements, and my husband and I flew out to Las Vegas to see them. It was wonderful, and it brought back so many happy memories from my childhood. I will always cherish that trip.

So, today I am doing better. I appreciate you all giving me this forum to share my grief and sadness. I hate to be a sad-sack, and I promise to be more cheerful and uplifting when I return.

Oh, I also realized last night, in my pitty-pottiness, that I do not even have a picture of my mother on my computer. Of course, I have thousands of photographs, but I've never taken the time to scan anything in. I really need to do that. That will be my next rainy-day project, and I will have some pictures of Mom posted very soon.

Thanks again for listening.

STILL WORKIN' ON THE BLOG

Thanks for all your comments and helpful critiques. I liked the bright colors of the other blog background, but I agree that even with the bold, black font, it was still hard to read. I decided on this one to get me into Autumn. Tina, you'll appreciate that, right???   Anyway, I've got work to do today, so I won't get time to mess with the text colors until later in the weekend. Hope you'll bear with me. :)

Another Organizer Box

Hunter took her organizer box to school to keep her supplies in. Some of the kids asked her if I could make them one. I said I would get some whipped up "as time permitted". Well, I worked on this one over the weekend. I'm not real fond of the camouflage, but due to the fact it's for a little boy, and I didn't think I would find any other use for the camo yarn, this is what I picked. I made 2 "M's". The first one, using my "H" hook and RHSS yarn, was WAY too big. I made a second one, this time using a "G" hook and Peaches and Cream cotton. It was still big, but I squished it to get it all to fit. :) Another thing I did differently on this one was to use plastic canvas on the inside, rather than a discarded tissue box. I thought this might hold out a little longer. It took more time, but I'm much happier with the results.

So, anyway, just wanted to let you know I've been keeping my crochet hook busy. I'm getting ready to get started again on my OU afghan. I've been holding off, waiting for some helpful advice from Carolyn, The Kansas Hooker. Now, I think I'm ready to take off on the graph part of the afghan. I'll keep you posted on progress.


Tomorrow is 09/09/09, my baby girl's birthday. She'll be 27. ARRGGGHHHH!!!  Makes me feel really old!

I STILL LOVE MY SOONERS!

I'm in mourning at the moment, since my Sooners were just defeated by the Brigham Young Cougars. But, life goes on, and I'll have my smile back by tomorrow. I just pray that our quarterback, Sam Bradford, is not seriously injured. He's an unbelievable athlete, and just a great human being. Get better soon, Sam!

I'VE GOT SOME NEWS TO SHARE!

First and foremost, I want to tell you all about my very special friend, Gloria, at Hooked on Yarn One Stitch at a Time. Not too long ago, Gloria had a little contest on her blog. I somehow ended up winning the contest, and my reward was a surprise package from Gloria. Well, I drove up in my driveway the other day, and to my utter delight, saw a HUGE box on the front porch. I brought it in and couldn't wait to open it. When I pulled back the lid, I was literally in shock as I peered at the contents. I have taken pictures to share with you, but I will list the unbelievable goodies that waited within:

1.   Four crochet pattern books - "Dog Sweaters to Knit and Crochet", "More Crochet Stitches", "Plus-Size Sweaters to Crochet", and "Crochet Made Easy"

2.   Susan Bates bamboo hook

3.   Decorative tin that included a scented candle and a package of big-eye needles

4.   Metal wall bucket decoration

5.   JoAnn Fabrics tote bag

6.   "Doggie" scrapbooking sheet

7.   Artwork matting frame

8.   Three colorful fabric swatches called "Quick Cuts"

9.   Umbrella party straws (Hunter has already gotten into those!)

10. Three skeins of metallic crochet thread

11.  Ten skeins of beautiful yarn, one of which I have already sampled by making a beanie :) 

Oh my gosh!!! I am overjoyed and so very grateful for the wonderful surprise box of goodies. I apologize that I did not get this posted sooner. I had left my camera at my Ryanne's house in order to get puppy pictures, and just got it back on Monday. So, Gloria, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You are a sweetheart. I know you are in the process of moving and may not get this message for a few days, but just know how much I love the very thoughtful surprises!

The other news I have to share is a bit sad. We lost one of the male Corgi puppies the other night. They had been to the vet on Monday to have their tails and dewclaws docked. The vet gave all nine of them a huge "thumbs up" and said they all seemed to be very healthy. He also said Mama Disney was in extremely good shape for having just delivered such a large litter. He said she was producing much more milk than he would have anticipated. Ryanne brought the puppies home at noon and went on to work. She came home at 5:00 to check on them, and they all seemed fine. She got home again at 8:00, and she noticed that one of the little males seemed to be lethargic and was separated from the rest of the litter. She called the vet, and he suggested that she bring him in. For the next 2 1/2 hours, they waited, and the little pup died. The vet, after first seeing the puppy, was not encouraged about its chance for survival, so he didn't want to put Ryanne or the puppy through extensive labwork and xrays. He did check its urine and stool and both showed blood. He said it was very possible that Disney stepped or laid on the puppy, causing internal bleeding. He said it was really not that uncommon.  Ryanne, understandably, had a really rough day yesterday. She is such an animal lover, and it broke her heart to have this happen. But, there are still 8 more hungry little mouths to feed and lots of puppy excitement in the days to come. :)

Oh, I almost forgot . . . and since this is actually a crochet blog, I guess I should mention that I got a little project finished this weekend. Hunter wanted a little crocheted "box" to keep her supplies organized at school. So, I went back to a tried-and-true, tissue box pattern I had used before and created this little box. It was easy and quick to make, which is a good thing because she already has requests from kids at school for boxes of their own. :)