Hip to be Pumpkin

My kids have a four day weekend, so I've had lots of extra help with the puppy which has enabled me to finish a knitting project; and since I'm finished one I'll be able to cast on for another! Yay! You know, or finish one of my WIPs. I do only have two WIPs on the go right now so casting on another wouldn't be entirely sinful.

This FO is a two parter. The main part -- the blanket -- is Hip to Be Square. It's just a simple stockinette stitch  block pattern blanket. I'm calling it Hip to be Pumpkin though because it's orange. The colour is called mandarin but it looks much pumpkinier to me than that. For the second part I added Just a Leaf to each of the four corners to give it a finished pumpkinesque look.

I'm not sure who the blanket is for. Definitely a baby, but I'm not sure which one. My youngest son thinks it should be given to my sister's baby (due to pop very soon) but I'm not sure ... maybe. I have another blanket on the needles for her baby.

On a side note I think a baby is really going to enjoy the the leaves on the corners. To play with, chew on, whatever. :)

Hip to Be Square: Patons Decor (mandarin) x3
5.5mm needles

Just a Leaf: Patons Decor (brown and sage)
4.5mm needles

Next up I'm going to be knitting myself a second Yogini Bolero. I wear mine a lot, but it's wool and it's too big on me (I've lost a bunch of weight), so I figure I need another one. I'm going to be using Super 10 cotton in Ecru (off white).

He Grew!

It's hard to get a puppy to hold still for a photo, unless said puppy is sleeping, but I managed when I had him out for some business this evening.

Does he look any bigger to you?

What a handsome young man.

There HAS been knitting. Stay tuned and thank you for your patience. :)

Beads!

Yesterday I popped into Lens Mill Store after my physio therapy. I only spent $8.50 (ish), which even shocked me. LOL I bought a package of 6/0 beads and the smallest crochet hook I could find.

Yup, that's right folks, I'm going to try knitting with beads.

Unfortunately the hook is still too big, so my search continues. I think I'll pop into Mary Maxim next week and see what they have. If I still can't find anything, there's always eBay.

My dogs are awesome. Just sayin'.

Still No Knitting ...

I still haven't been knitting, so I will distract you with cuteness!

Bitey face!

Big n' Little ... Could Dozer look happier?

You want to kiss this face, don't you?

Pardon my French: A Half Marathon Memory

While I was on the elliptical yesterday, pumping away, listening to my iPod, the first song that played was Livin' on a Prayer by Bon Jovi.

It jogged my memory. A memory from my half marathon last week.

Let the record show I do not have a play list. I just hit shuffle on my songs and they come up at random.

The song came on just before the 11km marker. I shit* you not. For those who aren't marathon length savvy a half marathon is 21.1km. That means 10.55km is half way. Coincidence? Perhaps. But very cool. Gotta love it.

Whooah, we're half way there
Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Livin' on a prayer

No knitting has taken place since Moose has joined the crew. Today when he naps I am going to either knit and watch a movie or I'm going to nap too, I haven't decided yet.

Have a great day!

*this is the french I was referring to. LOL

Can You Say "Awww"?

Aww.

Invisible Dawgs

This is a picture of Dozer and Moose.

My dawgs are invisible!

Can you see them?

No?

Me neither.

The little buggers walked out of frame before the click.

It would have been really cute too. Moose was standing under Dozer's belly. Such is life.

You're going to have to be satisfied with this one for today ...

Shhhh.

Yes, it's as cute as it looks. He dragged his blue blanket from his crate and plunked it and himself down on my foot. My sock is epic, I know. Not quite hand knit epic, but who the heck is silly enough to wear hand knit socks around a puppy? Not I!

More of Dozer & Moose

Since I have been too busy in the last few days for knitting I don't have any progress (or pictures) to share. Instead I will share more pictures of Dozer and Moose.

Team Sniffing

Rear view. Such a cute butt.

Climbing the steps.

I know, he's cute. Irresistible even. Until the shark teeth come out.

Right now Dozer and Moose are laying **almost touching** on the floor beside where I'm sitting. I'm willing to bet once Moose has been here a few days they'll be snuggling.

OH, I spoke to soon. I just glanced down. They're TOUCHING. Not snuggling, but there is contact! They touch all the time playing, but Dozer has never had another dog want to snuggle with him, and he's a snuggley dude, so this is, I imagine, very strange to him. I'd take a picture, but you remember the last time I took a picture and disturbed Dozer, don't you?

Moose on the Loose

Moose came home yesterday. He's been here less than 24 hours and already the chaos is flooding the house. At least it's chaos and not pee. Lucky for us I'm really good at reading puppy signs (needing potty) and he's really good at doing the biz outside. Also Dozer must have told him how much I need my beauty sleep because the little dude slept 8.5 hours last night. SWEET.

As you can see he is very typically "lab shaped"

My sister has a new puppy, George. George is VERY cute. George is three days older than Moose. He's a hound/lab mixed breed pup. We were joking yesterday about how Moose is so very rolley polley compared to George's lean stature. My sister was calling Moose a piggy puppy and I would reply with "No, he's just LAB shaped" and he is. 

"Anybody in there?"

When I got him home he wouldn't come out of the crate. Dozer wanted him to come out and even tried to entice him with toys. I guess Dozer figured if he wouldn't come out he would go in!

Moose n' Dozer

Dozer likes him a lot. Which is good. Then again Dozer likes all the other dogs in the world. If he didn't we'd not have gotten a puppy.

"Hey look! I fit in here!"

Typical puppy, he has a shoe fetish. About a week ago I got an email from the breeder that said, among other things, "I hope you have a crate because he is into everything." No lie.

I love my pink elephant!

His elephant is pink because when I was buying toys that were on sale we thought we were going to end up with a girl puppy. Obviously we were mistaken. 

Have a great day!

Magpie: At Long Last

I know it has been awhile since I promised you pictures of Magpie and I apologize for the delay ... drum roll please ... voila!

Magpie
 Wandering Cat Yarns Twinkle (fingering)
 Emerald City

It was gifted to my Mom. Just because. She's a May baby and emerald is the gemstone for that month so I thought she would like it. I was wrong. She didn't like it. She loved it!

Close up of the stitch pattern

Tomorrow is the day I pick up Moose from the breeder. The entire household is filled with excitement! Everyone is all atwitter!! :) Even Dozer is excited; can you tell?

Feel the excitement!

Cheers!

Chilly Half Marathon

We ran, we conquered.

Yesterday Jenny and I ran the Chilly Half Marathon. It was a fun filled, well organized event. The entire route is on Lakeshore Road in Burlington; out and back again. It's either because it was 21.1 kilometers or because the scenery never really changed, but the road seemed to go on forever. Probably a combination. LOL

Getting ready (sitting backwards) in Jenny's truck

The weather was absolutely perfect for a long run. It was about -5°C with a slight head wind (in both directions) and the sun was shining beautifully.

Running with an injury isn't fun, but my knee didn't start to bother me until around the 18km mark, at which point it went from being complacent to being really pissed off. The last three point one kilometers were killer and we lost a lot of time because of it. Such is life. I'm still really pleased. Two weeks ago I had planned to walk the whole thing, but my physio therapist assured me I would run it, and run it I did. He said "It won't be pain free, but you'll do it."

Jenny and I at the start line waiting for the gun.

I didn't set a goal time, but I knew I wanted to finish in under three hours. I was successful. With a time of 2:54:13 I soared across the finish line. That's about 8:14 minutes/kilometer. Jenny and I planned to cross at the same time, but just before we got there she slowed down and said "It's all you girlfriend, you deserve this!!" and she let me cross first. She is an amazing friend. I couldn't have done this without her.

At the Mandarin for a post race celebration.

Up next, more training, recovery and physio and in May another half marathon.

Two more sleeps until puppy day!!

Crazy Busy

Good morning and happy Saturday! I've been a slacker in both writing posts for my blog and reading posts on other people's blogs, but I have a valid reason ... Life is CRAZY busy. I won't get into all the boring details, but I will tell you it's not looking to slow down any time soon. Next week is even busier and to top things off Moose comes home on Wednesday. Yay! The week after next is March Break, so the kids won't be in school and life will be more relaxed. I'm looking forward to it.

Tomorrow is my half marathon. I'm ready and not nervous at all. I will run it and finish it and it will be fun. :) Today I drop the kids off at my parents house and am a free woman for 24 hours. I'm going to enjoy my free time eating a healthy pre-raceday dinner, knitting and watching some TV.

Chilly Half Marathon Race Bib

Speaking of knitting, I know I promised you an updated/finished picture of Magpie and I did take some before gifting it to my Mom, but I've been lazy and haven't taken the pictures off my camera yet, so you'll have to bear with me for a little while longer.

I started another shawl for myself, but I screwed up on the pattern so I frogged it. Now I'm knitting a bias afghan in chunky yarn and garter stitch. Easy, carefree, tv watching knitting. Gotta love it.