The Word of the Day is...WOOF

I'm back. Second post in a week. Trying to get back on track with the entries, but it's hard. I had plans today that got cancelled, so with the exception of going out for milk this morning and getting gas later, I don't have anyplace to be or anything to do. Yay! This is probably going to be a long one, because I have SO much to talk about. I'm going to start with the newest addition to the fam. As you all know, I've been mother to a collection of fancy cats for about the last 20 years. I love Siamese and Orientals. If you've never met one, they are like a dog in the body of a cat. Orientals are hysterically funny, but they are loud, they are clingy and they are manipulative. Here's Munchie helping me frog a sweater, and hanging out at the window. I can't find a decent picture of Tubby right now, but she's a black Domestic Shorthair, she's really fat and she has a miserable disposition. If you've met her, most likely you've been bitten by her, right? She only likes me. So anyway, I've wanted a dog for a long time, but didn't think I could swing it due to my long hours. Now that my room mate G moved back in, I started thinking seriously about it because she and I work opposite hours. On Thursday I finally got word that everything is a go. Next Saturday I will be the proud owner of Thor, who is pictured here on the left. He is a rescue dog, and he is coming up from AR. (It should surprise no one that I first clicked on him because of his name. G was just reading my old blogs and reminded me that a few months back I named the water heater at the condo Thor, so the water heater's new name is Ulrik. Yes, it's true; I'm drawn to all names Viking, but that's a story for another day.) According to the woman who has had him for the last seven months, he's a big (70 lbs), sweet, baby. I have so much to do between now and next Saturday. Crate, bed, leash, harness, collar, bowls, toys. I already picked up 40 lbs of food, which is enough to get started and I made his first vet appt for March 19th. Speaking of the vet, I'm taking the cats there tomorrow for their annuals. Munchie has had a problem (a herpes virus, actually) with one of her eyes since she was born, and at her appt last year it was recommended that she see a kitty opthamologist. I've never quite gotten around to THAT $900 appointment, so my vet is probably going to give me shit about it. Munchie doesn't like anyone fussing with her eye, she doesn't like medicine in her food, medicine in her eye (we tried that for years, literally) or wet washcloths on her face. With the exception of the fact that it looks bad, it doesn't seem to bother her. Anyway, Thor is a mix, but I can't tell from his puppy pics online or the new pics shown here what he's a mix of. Any thoughts? I'm thinking Lab and Pit Bull Terrier. H - what do you and K think? I expect it's going to be a rocky few months here at Hol's. Probably Munchie will adjust better than Tubby, who will probably take up permanent residence under my bed...
So G is recovering nicely from her surgeries. She still has minimal use of her hands, but she's been off the pain killers since mid-day Friday, so she's completely clear headed. My friend D is having rotator cuff surgery (UGH) in May, so I'm taking the day off to do the surgical escort thing again, then she'll be camped out on my couch for a couple days. G thinks I should start a service - Hol's Home Healthcare. It's actually pretty funny because I'm the least nurturing person on the planet. D was awesome to me when my foot was broken most of 2008. I was totally non weight bearing on crutches for 7 (yes, seven) months, and D kept me company and drove me everywhere I needed to go. My mother also deserves a shout out as she was with me for my bone graft surgery and recovery, which in my limited recollection, was a horror show. (Just tried to find a lights-are-on-but-no-one's-home pic of Holly on dilaudid, but the disc is missing in action. Probably for the best.) If D needs to camp out on my couch post-op, she can stay as long as she'd like.
The other day I was looking for a fun, quick project to knit, and decided on this hat. I'm only an inch and a half in but here's a pic. It's in Cascade 220 in a dark teal. I've got 17 100 gr skeins of this because I started to knit a coat with it. The coat took so long - I probably worked on it on and off for a year and a half - that I got bored and frogged it. Now I have a ton of this teal in my stash. I'm probably going to do Bella's mittens in it as well. Hopefully the teal isn't so dark that you can't see the cables. I think it'll be okay.
Wow. I hope this isn't as exhausting to read as it is to write... This is the last thing and I'll finish up. I own a print and small original by an artist named Tom Barnes. He paints primarily long-necked ladies dressed in bright colors. I decided that I wanted to spend part of my tax refund (that I don't actually have yet, ha!) on another small painting, so I called him and he painted something for me. He sent some images and I picked the coloring of one and the composition of another, blah blah blah. So here is a picture of the painting (not yet signed). I should have her sometime this week. He named her Holly and I didn't even have to ask. She will be hung next to or above Celeste, who is pictured below.
Okay, that's going to do it for today. Hope everyone enjoys the long President's day weekend. Thanks for stopping by.