March 15, 2004
Double Trouble
Some photos dedicated to my Corgi-owned readers and to anyone who enjoyed the March 3 entry about our private “dog walker.”
Below, a picture of Frankie’s playmate Rico, looking like a junkyard dog but, in fact, he’s just surrounded by toys: a blue rubber dumbbell, a Frisbee, a pink hedgehog, a tennis ball, a basketball, a purple pacifier, and a “hamburger.” All of the toys are supposed to be in the black container. Ahem.
A classic example of the difference between Rico and Frankie is the way they exit TMK’s house on their way to the backyard and all these toys for more playtime after their morning constitutional. Rico, ever the mischievous boy, just blasts right through the back screen door, leaving it swinging and banging in his wake. Frankie screeches to a halt in front of the screen door and waits, nose quivering 1/64” from the screen, for someone to open it for her. On days when their timing is off, it can be a bit of a train wreck. But not to fret; we massage Frankie's nose thoroughly to get rid of the mesh-shaped indentations.
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This second photo is Frankie and Rico on their morning constitutional. Again, notice the difference: Frankie is trotting steadily along; mischievous and enthusiastic Rico, on the other hand, in his manic desire to reach TMK (who is taking the photo and who, mind, he sees every morning), is scrambling and pulling and lunging and not paying the leash no nevermind. (Can't you just sense him gacking on his collar?) And, yes, those are the legs our of our hero, the dog walker.
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Lastly, a photo of Frankie's furry butt as she lies in her “den,” under the blanket, under TMK’s legs.
Knitting Knews
No photos today but I'm pleased to report that the Catalina socks are finished! I never realized until this project that knitters are so powerful that we can toy with the laws of the space-time continuum. To whit: While I was knitting these socks, I saw the time that I had already spent on them stretching endlessly behind me and the time that I still needed to spend on them stretching endlessly in front of me, and I felt like a True Martyr for continuing to plow along on The Project That Would Never Get Done. But as soon as I was done, I thought, Wow, that didn't take long, and felt like an Efficient and Fast Knitter for having knitted them up so quickly. See? Continuum, shmontinuum!
If I may say so myself, I'm thrilled with this pattern. The first time I used Fixation, I loathed it. It felt as if I was knitting with extruded rubber and the finished socks felt gummy. But this time, the Fixation felt cottony and perfect for the airy, summery feeling I was aiming for. On the down side, I think one sock is slightly longer than the other, despite my measuring, measuring again, and measuring yet again, but perhaps my sister, for whom these socks are intended, has one foot slightly bigger than the other and it will look as if I did it on purpose. (Wait; did I say that out loud?)
I also finished the first clog and, boy howdy, was that a strange trip to some outlandish universe. This pattern requires you to do some Truly Odd Things, inlcuding knitting exactly the same thing twice for the same clog. In the long run it's worth it though, since I understand that anyone who knits these clogs comes out the other end a licensed architect.
Posted by Ryan at March 15, 2004 09:46 AMYour comment about coming out the other end of the clogs an architect reminded me of this story: a friend of a friend retired, but found that he was getting sort of bored just doing nothing except gardening. He decided to get a mechanic's training and work on cars for a hobby. He went to a technical school and at exam time he was told he would take a 50-point hand-on exam where he would have to do take apart and rebuild an engine on an old car. He was told not to worry if his score was lower than he expected because nobody had ever received more than 45 points before. So he set to work, and two hours later was finished. He washed his hands while waiting for his score, and the professor soon came out with a funny look on his face. 'What's the matter?' asked the retiree. 'Well,' says the professor, 'I gotta ask you. What'd you do for a living before you retired?' 'I was a gynecologist, why?' 'Because not only did you take apart the engine and put it together again perfectly and in record time, but you did it all through the tailpipe!'
Posted by: Sheila on March 15, 2004 10:04 AMHarhar, Sheila, harhar! :-)
Posted by: Ryan on March 15, 2004 10:14 AMSuch cutie dogs!! Indeed, Mz Frankie does have quite the mischevious twinkle in those eyes! And Ricco sounds like another dog I happen to know! Does he happen to be under 2 years old? I hope you say yes, 'cause then I will have hope that our "Kita" will 'cool her jets' eventually! Different breeds, mind you, but I'm hoping the theory will work.
Architect....hee hee, you almost always make me laugh Ryan. ;) L
Posted by: Lisa in Oregon on March 15, 2004 10:24 AMI think Rico is just over two (correct me if I'm wrong, TMK). The good news/bad news is this IS his mellower self!
Posted by: Ryan on March 15, 2004 10:29 AMAieee! Those pics of the dogs are so cute! :D Frankie seems so ladylike in comparison to Rico. That pic where they're trotting along is going to have me smiling all morning!
Posted by: perclexed on March 15, 2004 10:35 AMActually, Rico is just about 1.5 years old. So he WILL calm down. We've noticed this year that he doesn't run around the yard quite as many times after walkies as he did last year. And he and Frankie are the same size this year, so no "corgi tipping". Last year, Frankie could get her nose under Rico's stomach, flip him over on his back, then pounce on him, and bark (aka The Lion King style), "pinned yuh!".
Posted by: The Mysterious K on March 15, 2004 10:40 AMHa!! I can just picture the Corgi tipping, TMK! Too funny, thanks :) L
Posted by: Lisa in Oregon on March 15, 2004 10:56 AMAwwww....loved the pics! Dylan came in & said, "That looks like Emma's butt!" Ahem - such an outspoken 11 yr. old. Emma just turned 2 on Saturday and is WAY too smart for her own good, but that's the best part about owning a Corgi. Now, if she'd only play with toys like yours do!
Posted by: Bron on March 15, 2004 04:13 PMBron: If Emma doesn't play with toys...what *does* she play with?
Posted by: The Mysterious K on March 15, 2004 05:51 PMRyan, thanks for the lovely comments about my blog. I decided to come over and take a gander at yours. Little did I expect to see adorable Corgis. My stepson adored Corgis when he was little and was always asking us to get one. They're such sweet and well-tempered pups. I've bookmarked you, so I'll be back!
Love the dogs, love the dogs! Too darn cute for words. More doggie pictures, please! Frankie is just adorable - I wanna pick her up and hug her.
Posted by: Yvette on March 16, 2004 11:23 AMYvette, Frankie would very much enable the picking up and hugging. If you lean down with your arms in a curved position, she will leap right into your arms, all four feet off the ground. You need to be prepared for this because if you lean down to do something else, say, tie your shoelaces, you may end up with a faceful of leaping corgi instead. You have to be extra careful when you go to pick her up off the bed because she may launch herself into the air well before you get to the bed, especially if she's excited about something.
Nathania, welcome to the blog. Nathania has some beautiful quilts on her site, Dear Readers. Give her blog a visit!
Posted by: Ryan on March 16, 2004 01:21 PMMysterious K: Emma plays with people - period. As a puppy I believe she chewed on the occasional slipper, but that's it - no balls, sticks, squeaky toys, etc. Believe me, we've tried! She does chase rabbits, chipmunks & roadrunners. I'm not really sure what she'd do if she ever caught one...probably try to herd it. :)
Posted by: Bron on March 17, 2004 07:06 AM