A New Friend

Tater and Winston are definitely figuring out their relationship... I think they are destined to be good friends.

(Winston and Tater were both helping me update my blog!)

Introducing... Winston

After trying out several names, Winston is what stuck. He looks much older than he is (the vet thinks he may be just over a year), has great jowls, and is English (by being both a beagle and a basset). So we thought Winston fit. I'm sure Churchill would be proud!

He is working out really well in our house. We are baby-gating him into our guest bathroom during the day. Yesterday he had chewed some of the wood frame of the baby gate (but thankfully not the door frame) but he hadn't had any accidents the whole day. This morning when we left we could hear him baying inside (thank goodness for not being in an apartment any longer! I commented to Reid on the drive into town just how fabulous our neighbors in Richmond were for putting up with the quiet training that we had to do with Tater).

His vet appointment went well. He seems to be a healthy, young dog. He does have a cherry eye, which is basically a tear duct that has slipped out from under his third eye lid. Apparently this is common in beagles and bassets. It is also easily surgically treated. As he'll be neutered in a couple of weeks we may have them take care of his eye at the same time.

He and Tater are having a good time "rastling" as our family calls it. But both of them are getting better and better about reading body language and knowing when it's time to lay down and be calm (usuaully when we are watching a movie or it's time for bed). I am sure that as they get more and more familiar with one another they are going to be good friends.

An Announcement!

Reid and I like to plan things out... we like to take our time and make sure we're making the right decisions... And in the span of the last three days we decided to make a life changing decision... and adopt a second dog.

The Humane League called us and let us know that they had a beagle/basset mix and wondered if we would like to meet him. I went down and met him Monday afternoon. This afternoon Reid and I took Tater down to meet him. They met one another with tail wags, shared a little puppy kibble with no growls and commenced to happily humping one another (and haven't stopped yet, despite both of them panting and tongues hung out).

He is young (probably around 2 years old?). He has a neutering appointment on February 9, though I'll be taking him to the vet tomorrow to get his rabies shot and a check up. He does appear to have a slightly inflamed/infected tear duct and so we can hopefully get that treated quickly and easily.

The big problem is he doesn't have a name. The shelter nicknamed him "Dallas" but I don't really think that fits him (and it doesn't really go with Tater). I called my mom and teased her that she needed to name him (as she named both our cat Clementine and Tater over the phone) but she said she needed pictures first. So... here are pictures. What do you think everyone? Any name suggestions?

(He's already figured out that flashy box! Closing your eyes is definitely preferable)

Reid is forging!

It's official...

the forge has been running for several evenings now!

Hot pointy piece of metal!

This is what he was making... it's a forge tool, to rake the coal and break up the coke.

And here is an up close of the end... kind of cool, hunh?

Bloggy Give-away!

I can hardly believe that it has been three months since the last quarterly Bloggy Give-away Carnival, but apparently it has been! I had a lot of fun last time, met a few more bloggers, and thought I would do it again.



Since it is January and we are in the midst of many nights of below zero temperatures here in Colorado, there is only one thing I can think of to give away... Hot Chocolate!




The drawing is for the mug and bear you see above, a couple of containers of hot chocolate (not necessarily from Safeway) and a package of cookies (though not these as apparently someone has opened this box and eaten a few... I'm not saying who).

In order to win, here is what I am asking you to do:
1. Comment and include a way for me to contact you... and your favorite book and/or movie to curl up with on a cold winter's night!

2. Can I send food products international? Tell you what... if you are international and you can answer that question with an affirmative, you can enter!



I will close the drawing whenever I get to it on Saturday and will e-mail the winner this weekend!

The Office

I'm just sitting here watching Dwight Schrute give a speech by Mossuloni... What a great way to end a weekend!

What Can Reid Make?

Stephanie asked after my previous post what I meant by metal work and what sort of things could Reid make.

Reid was trained in the tradition of historical blacksmiths. He was trained in hand forging and forge-welding. This means that most things a historic blacksmith made, he can. He can make horse shoes as well, though he is not a farrier by trade (which means he doesn't put the shoes on the horses, which is good 'cause horses can be really difficult to work with).

The four things I've asked him to make are:
1. A Boot Scraper (to put on our back porch which is where we always enter and exit)
2. Hand latches for our three gates into our backyard
3. Sets of curtain tiebacks for all of the windows in our house (at least seventeen sets... should keep him busy for awhile!)
4. Hooks for our laundry room to hang coats, etc. on (to replace the cheesy wire ones that are currently there)

He can also make fire place tools, coat racks, candle holders, kitchen utensil sets, hardware (hinges, handles and such), curtain rods, bathroom accessories like towel rods and toilet paper dispensers... and really anything else that you can think up that is made out of metal. If you search "wrought iron" online, he can make just about anything you find (and you'll be guaranteed that it is not made by a poor man in India who is getting paid 12 cents/hour to make it too!).

He worked for a couple of hours last night and made himself some forge tools (necessary items)... as he said, it is definitely going to be a slow process to get back his skills (so that his hammer marks are consistent and he gets the timing of leaving objects in the fire for long enough but not too long) but I was amazed at how much he did and how it seems to be like riding a bike for him.

A Full Week

A full week between posts... sorry folks. This past week was the first week of school which meant lots of prep during the days... and evenings of plunking down on the sofa and watching movies! I, frankly, don't remember much of what I did on Saturday except that I finally took down Christmas (though it's still all piled in the study to go upstairs and find it's final resting place). Yesterday I sat in on auditions for the first set of spring student one acts. The two directors asked me to come back to their call backs this afternoon. So I'll head back to school in an hour... of course what that means is that my three day weekend was actually only a one day weekend. Good thing I love my job, hunh?

Tater has been under the weather. Same thing as over the summer... refusing to eat, diarhhea, and throwing up water. So, he and I went to the vet's office this morning. And of course, he met everyone with a wagging tail, happy, happy, happy... So, the vet put him on the same meds as last time and we both agreed that we would like for this to not be an every six month thing. Hopefully the meds will help and he'll be back to his beagle-chowing self soon.

I've started a new project... wrist warmers!

The yarn is technically baby yarn... but I think it's a lovely bright, colorful mix!

These are in preparation for me to learn how to make socks. I though I'd do a project first that required little double point needles (or DPNs for those in the know) and on which I could work on ribbing, without having to dread the coming heel! I did buy some sock yarn while I was in Indianapolis. So those might be the next project (though I have to get a stitch holder before I can get started on them.

And finally, by far the most important thing that happened today (or in Reid's opinion the last several days)... Reid's pile of coal was delivered today! 3 tons of it, to be precise.

The coal getting dumped next to our garage!

Who knew coal could make someone so happy?

He got a really good deal on it and hired a dump truck to drop it off. He is now at the metal supply store buying stock... I have a feeling that when I get home from call backs he is going to be in the garage hammering away! I'm so excited for him! He'll spend the next several months getting his skill set back (and making projects for around our house... I've already told him four things I want!), then hopefully at the beginning of the summer we can register his business and get a website up and running! So... if there are iron projects you would like, it's never to early to preregister! (and don't worry Lucy... your project will be one of his first!).

Let's see here... goals of this post.
1. Apologize for lack of posting. Check.
2. Complain about being at school a lot. Check.
3. Get sympathy for my sick puppy. Check.
4. Share my mad knitting skills (seriously, don't go look at my sister's blog... she puts us all to shame!). Check.
5. Show you the boy who got coal for Christmas... and was happy about it. Check!

I Love It!

As I sit in my pajamas, on my sofa, I'm surfing the internet... I love my new laptop!

Now... can someone tell me how I keep my cat from trying to sit on my lap while my computer is there too?

We're Home!

We are finally home... after over 1250 miles (one way), two full days in the car, 260 pages of our 1050 page book read aloud, and goodness only knows how many calories consumed, we are home.

The car is unloaded. The pets have been fed. The bills that need to go in the mail tomorrow or they will be late are written and stamped. I'm going to go sort laundry so that we can put away suitcases and then it will be an early bedtime for us.

Tomorrow starts spring semester... and I, like most of my students, am not feeling ready! But my syllabi are printed, and my schedules are set... and I have until eleven am to be ready for my first class! Wish me luck... anybody else ready for next wekeend already?

Indiana

We are back in Indiana visiting family and friends and it has been great so far. We got in late Saturday evening. I spent Sunday morning and afternoon with my parents and the Fout clan (and got to meet Jamie's one month old daughter girl who is adorable!).

Last night and today (and most of the rest of the week) will be spent with Reid's family as we saw so much of my parents the last few weeks. In fact right now Reid and his dad are out grocery shopping. And I'm typing on my laptop (have I mentioned that I love this thing?).

So, if you don't hear much from me this week, that's why. We're soaking in the family time. Then I start school a week from today, which will no doubt consume my time! A few days in, and 2009 is already busy!