On the Subject of Dogs, Contacts, Charity and the Fugliest Sweater Ever Knit

I haven't had much time for blogging lately. We're in the middle of the inevitable end of the school year frenzy of activity. Every year we are pretty much booked solid for the last four weeks or so of school. It's exhausting but at least it's all nice busyness. :)

So I'll just sum up:

I don't talk about my kids on the blog so all I can say about them is that they are awesome!

Some other things I'm happy about:

1.I got contacts and I'm absurdly pleased. I'm convinced I'm actually better looking now that I have contacts. Maybe I'm just not as blurry? :) The only sad thing is that I can't find colored, daily wear lenses in my prescription. :( Bummer. I totally want to change my eye color everyday.

2.I got an update on my projects from Aura's House. There was a long but unavoidable delay but happily the totals have still gone up!

Aura's House update:

Ana's Project: $1419/2770 - we're over halfway there!!
Nyslin's Project: $389/550 - only $161 left to raise!!
Zoila's Project: $293/824
Joey's Project: $236/723
Lesly's Project: Completed!

Hopefully Hubby and I will have a chance this weekend to complete the quilted placemat sets and get them up in the Etsy shop. We should be able to raise enough money to finish Nyslin's project.

And I got some beautiful pictures of Ana today so I will post those ASAP. She is such a gorgeous girl!

3. My fellow sponsors (and friends!) from our sponsor group are helping me to raise money for yet another one of my sponsor children! Click on the link to see Jester's fundraising page. We have started a fundraising group using a "pay it forward" philosophy that has helped us as a group to raise funds for Special Needs and Income Generating Projects for six children so far! Jester's project is to set his mother Agnes up in a reatil clothing sales business. If she can get this business started she will be able to live with her children rather than her current situation where she has to work and live in another city. If you think you might be able to help with Jester's project that would be awesome. Any little bit helps and, like Aura's House donations, these are also tax deductible.

4. I'm also happy because I was able to make another Kiva loan! I think I have 8 going right now. And I am tickled pink that the one that has been the most successful so far has been the one I made supporting a crafts group in Bolivia. Go crafters!!

5. In non-charity related news - After much thought we decided to get Clementine and Sarah ready for summer with some pretty drastic haircuts. Here they are sporting their new looks:



Clementine had hair that a showdog would kill for. Her feathers were literally down to the ground. But it was a really big pain to keep up with because it tangled and matted very easily. She also gets the typical spaniel problem of ear infections so I thought taking away all that extra hair would help get some healthy air circulation going there.



You can't tell it from this photo but Clemmie loves her new haircut. It's like we cut off a couple of years of her age rather than her hair! She has been playful and happy and frisky like a puppy. Actually exactly the opposite of her usual self. :) Some dogs act ashamed and embarrassed when they get a drastic haircut. Not Clemmie. She gives her new look two paws up! We will be keeping her hair trim and tidy from now on.

We let Sarah keep her long ear hair. She doesn't have the same tangly type of hair as Clemmie and no ear infection problem. The rest of the fluffy hair had to go though.



Sarah always looked like a fat little muffin with all of her hair. Now she looks like a lowfat muffin. Both of the dogs are so soft and pettable now - they feel like bunny rabbits.

The verdict on the haircuts is: A+.

Sadly, there is also one item on the unhappy list:

I recently knitted the worlds ugliest sweater. I'll try to get a photo to show you (if you think you can hack it) before I frog the beast. It's pretty appalling. Not only did I knit the whole thing, but in defiance of logic I actually sewed it all together too. Shudder.

I had to cast on for a February Lady in Noro Cash Iroha and Silk Garden to try to erase the memory of the fugly sweater. It's really that bad.

Clemmie and Sarah

Clementine and Sarah would like to show my blog readers that they have mastered their primary function in life - keeping the dog bed warm.



Clementine says, "It's an art form. Clearly I am the greatest dog bed warmer of all time. Cats have nothing on me. Now back off will ya?"

Sarah can't be bothered to comment. The effort of lifting her head would be too taxing.

Clementine

My hubby takes wonderful pictures.

How could he fail with a beautiful model like this?



Clemmie is a favorite subject because she is completely unfazed by the camera. The other dogs often break their pose when they see the camera or when hubby gets down to eye level. They just can't resist coming to investigate. Not Clemmie. She's unflappable. Must be the English in the English Toy Spaniel. :)

Summer Snoozes

Clemmie is dog tired. Me too sistah!

Doesn't her little nose look like one of those fake plastic ones that some teddy bears have? :)

I've been devouring books at an amazing speed lately - here are some recommendations:

The Observations by Jane Harris - reminds me mostly of Slammerkin with a bit of The Crimson Petal and The White and Vanity Fair thrown in. Great read & great main character. Ghosts, mysterious people with mysterious pasts, and revenge all in a wonderful period setting.

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier - the movie was okay (if you can stand Nicole Kidman) but the book is fantastic. Frazier is a REAL writer. He comes up with descriptions that are not at all obvious until he mentions them. I love that. I tend to have a immediate negative reaction to the "Southern American Novel". It's just SO cliche to me. Not so with Cold Mountain. Nothing is forced or formulaic about Frazier's writing. And the story deviates quite abit from the movie so if you've seen the movie you haven't read the book.

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan - again a great writer & a story that is significantly different than the movie. Obsession, paranoia, guilt = great story. I loved Attonement too so at this point I'm pretty sure everything by McEwan is worth reading.

Clementine

Clementine would like me to remind you that she is....

Lord of the Couch!



She also takes her title of Supreme Denizen of the Carpet Under the Computer Chair very seriously.



:)

Hubby says that Clementine is my daemon. I think he is right.