Happy Birthday, birthday boy, er, dog

Yesterday was this little boy's 8th birthday.

1st professional bath - 1 year old.

A year ago February we had a bit of a scare and weren't sure he was going to make it to 7 let alone 8.  What we thought was a normal Friday evening turned in to a trip to the emergency vet then a trip to Cornell where we found out Odin has an enlarged heart and atrial fibrilation.  Talk about a scary (and expensive) weekend.  We're so lucky to have him and love him to pieces - even when he's randomly barking at a cat or chipmunk, poaching food off the counter, kicking us in our sleep when he's on our bed, stealing food from his little 2-legged sister and hogging the couch.

Halloween 2010

Happy Birthday to our 4-legged baby!

You say it's your Birthday?

Well, it's Odin's birthday, too.

He's the big '0-5'.

Here he is at 45 days old weighing in at ~16 lbs.

And here he is this spring.

You're the bestest buddy ever! We love you, Odin!

Walking, walking, walking

Every day for the last 7+ weeks we have been taking Odin for a 2-4 mile walk. So far, he's only missed 8 out of the 53 days. Some days he goes for a 2 mile walk in the morning and the evening. Yesterday, for example, we walked Odin before work and before dinner for a total of ~5 miles. I also walked 2.5 miles during my lunch break.

Odin looks great. In fact, he's down 5 pounds from when we took him to the vet last fall (not that he needed to lose any weight). We walked Odin during the winter months. However, those walks were shorter and less frequent. Much of his winter exercise consisted of chasing snowballs and couch surfing (he's a pro at both). When we the weather warmed and we started walking longer distances I was a bit concerned that it was too much walking too quickly and that he'd have a stenosis flare up. However, our vet says he looks great and to keep it up.

Dang dog......he's at my goal weight. Well, at least one of us is. But I'm working on it and I'm going to get there, too.

Beware of Dog!

Warning....if you are afraid of large dogs do not read any further.

Warning...photos of aggressive, attack dog below...

Charity Dog Wash - 1st time gettin a bath at doggy day care - don't think he liked it!

Monday, Monday

We had an interesting weekend. The weather was great for walks at the local State Park (how lucky am I that we have an amazing State Park w/i 5 miles of our house), working in the yard and organizing my space (more on that later). All the positives were overshadowed by the unexpected death of a long time family friend last Friday.

Sometime since my last post I finished up Stephanie's block for the PTQB. I really like the fabric she sent. My initial design was to sew the block w/o having to do any pieced strips. Well, that did not work out and I'm actually happy about that as I really like the way her block came out.A sunny spring day at Green Lakes State Park. There were lots of runners, walkers and other dogs. Odin was spent after the 3+ mile walk.

Chillin'

Just Chillin'. The big goof is just chillin' on the ottoman. And you know, he has never fallen off it. See that brown thing in the bottom, left of the picture? That is his dog bed. And, yes, he uses it, and the couch, and the guest bed, and our bed, and our laps and the chair and ottoman. Spoiled? To be sure. Here's a good one....our dog is at my goal weight - how many people say that?!Us? We're chillin', waiting for the snow that was forecasted for this evening. Yea, after we have 60+ temps on Saturday. Ah, spring in central NY.

This weekend I finished up April's Buzz Cuts blocks. It was a lot of fun working with the fabrics that were sent out. We're only required to make 1 block. I had enough to get 3 full fulls block and 1/2 of a 4th block.

Interested in winning a Marie Osmond 200 Quilter’s Companion sewing machine? Check out the giveaway at youcanmakethis.com. In April they are launching a new site: youcanquiltthis.com - how cool is that?!

An early spring and giveways!

Before I start rambling, take a minute to check out the Kimberly Bag pattern from Amy Butler giveaway at The Fabric Shopper.

While your bouncing around out there, go and sign up for Alison's great giveaway.

Saturday the temperature hit 50! No winter jacket needed. Now, I am not silly enough to think that winter is officially over here in central NY. But, it sure would be nice! Odin got a nice long walk Saturday, Sunday and today. He's not a cold weather fan and during the winter he does not get nearly the exercise he deserves. Me? I need to get back in to shape or I am going to have a miserable summer (as hard as I try, I let my self perception limit me from doing things....I know better but...).

I went to another class at Nadine's on Saturday. We did some cutwork embroidery on white fabric to make a pillow case (that I have yet to sew together). Not necessarily a style that I would put on clothes for myself but I can see using it for gifts (wedding, baby, etc). Next time I'll buy pillowcases on sale to use for cutwork. I'll post a picture as soon it's completed.

This weekend I completed Stephanie's block for the Pieced Together Quilting Bee. I've never done hand embroidery and I quite enjoyed it. There is something relaxing about it. I'll definitely do some more!
I finished up 4 blocks for Kathy in this bee. She sent us a focus fabric to be included somewhere in every block. I think I need to do reading on color values, etc as I really don't think my blocks highlight the focus fabric. The 3rd block is not quite to size (middle picture). I did not have enough of the blue fabric to frame the left and right sides and I did not want to piece it. Kathy said she has extra fabric so she'll be able to finish that block to the correct size. The 4th block is truly a scrappy block. It is not trimmed to size yet - figure I'll let Kathy decide how (if) she wants to use it in the quilt.

Lists and a listing dog

I like lists. What I like most about lists is the feeling of accomplishment when I can cross an item off 'The List'. I am not opposed to breaking items in to smaller, more manageable tasks which can often lead to a lengthy list. I like my lists to be neat and clean. No smudges, no scratched out items due to improper spelling, only 1 color of ink. I have lists for work and lists for home. February's creative list is starting to take shape:
1. Buzz Cuts (Feb) virtual bee - mail blocks
2. Finish curvy black and white tablerunner
3. Pieced Together Quilting Bee - sew and mail block
4. Choco / Fabric swap - gather items and mail out (by 2/17)
5. Pieced Together Quilting Bee - get my fabric ready and send out to participants (goal: 02/21)
6. Swap Til You Drop - Anything Goes - make and send (by 02/28)
7. Swap Til You Drop - Paper Pieced - make and send by (02/28)
8. Hop, Skip and Slip - finish cutting out fabric (for my nephew)

Odin, our dog, has stenosis (vertebrae compression of the spinal cord - some breeders call it 'Wobblers'). As needed, as determined by us, we put him on prednisone (our vet has approved this and has provided us w/ proper dose and weening info). He's on it right now and usually responds really well to it. This time Odin seems to be a bit slower to respond. Or, is it my imagination? Is it more the fact that he's, in dane years, past middle aged (Odin is 4 1/2 years old)? Odin gets around, up and off the couch and beds just fine. He just seems to be a bit more hitchy, lists to one side or the other a bit more than normal. Time will tell. For now, I am going to make some room on the couch for me and give him a good cuddle!